Fantasy Football with Phil

Aside from intramural flag football last year, I have never played a down of football. However, I study fantasy football more than most of my classes and I promise this column will be honest above all. If I'm wrong, I'll admit it. For example, I was high on Rueben Randle, the New York Giants' mercurial and often bumbling second wide receiver. Through two games, Randle has posted four receptions for 28 yards. Oops.

Whether you are a first-time fantasy football player or a pro dominating four leagues, I want to help with your actual dilemmas, not just explain why I took Chris Ivory in all three of my leagues. There's no point in my writing a column that might not help my readers, so I've decided to take your specific questions. Ask me about which players to pick up, to explain whose value is rising/falling and even to weigh in on your trade offers. I also give pretty good life advice, but let's try to keep it to fantasy. Email me your questions at Tuftsfantasyfootball@gmail.com. Make sure to let me know your league settings as well -- PPR, how many teams, flex or 3 WR and so on.

Two weeks into the season, a number of noteworthy players have been injured. The Packers' star wide receiver Jordy Nelson is out for the season. His "replacement," sophomore Davante Adams, is now slowed by an ankle injury. The recommended play would be to stash James Jones on your bench just to be safe, as Adams, despite returning to Sunday's game against the Seahawks, is banged up. Nelson, the No. 2 wide receiver in an Aaron Rodgers-led offense, has averaged roughly 950 yards and seven touchdowns over the last seven years.

The quarterback position is no longer quite so deep after Tony Romo's collarbone broke and Jay Cutler pulled his hamstring. I recommend Andy Dalton, Marcus Mariota and Tyrod Taylor as replacements who might still be unowned in your league.

Dez Bryant's injury, coupled with Romo's, pose existential questions for the Cowboys' offense. Backup Brandon Weeden has a career TD/Int rate of 27:28. Despite their dominant offensive line and their so far effective defense, the Cowboys are now a recommended defense streaming target.

Speaking of high-powered offenses failing to get off the ground: Chip Kelly's Eagles look like a sports car stuck in neutral. A rocket-armed quarterback, the deepest stable of running backs in the league and a formerly dominant offensive line combined for 21 total yards in the first half Sunday against the Cowboys. The running game, which most pundits assumed could support both DeMarco Murray and Ryan Matthews, posted negative yards in the first half. Kelly has promised to "evaluate" everyone involved in the offense, but this is a backfield to avoid for now.

Despite a 2-0 record, the Carolina Panthers haven't inspired confidence in their offense. Cam Newton will get his superman scores as he did in Week 2, but his wide receiver corps hasn't done him any favors since Kelvin Benjamin went down.Rookie Devin Funchess is clearly not ready to step up -- he has caught two of seven targets for 24 yards thus far. A recommended stash play in the preseason, I am willing to cut ties at this point.

My recommended pickup of the week is Eric Ebron, the Detroit Lions' starting tight end. With two touchdowns in as many weeks, Ebron is clearly a scoring threat and I can almost guarantee he is unowned in your league. You can't do much better in terms of price and scoring potential for your backup tight end.