Clay Matthews set to score big in Week 2

It’s too early to make any sweeping revisions to rankings and projections, but there are players trending up and down, and of course there are good and bad matchups to look at in the second game week of the year.

Tackle production is the crux of IDP success, so Jeff Ratcliffe’s series on stat crews and the awarding of tackles is essential reading. Jeff’s work has charted how home stat crews have awarded tackles over the last three seasons and shows the variation between crews, which should be factored into tougher start/sit decisions each week. Don’t start benching your LB1's for LB3's based on the data, but do use it to highlight potential breakout weeks, or act as a tie-break.

The top-five most IDP-friendly stat crews, and their opponents this week are as follows:

*taPOP is tackles awarded per opportunity

Only three of the top-five crews will be in action this week, as the Jets and Panthers are both playing away.

ATL @ NYG

Jon Beason’s status is still unknown, so Uani Unga will be of interest as the G-Men’s every-down middle linebacker. The undrafted rookie had 12 total tackles in his debut, and was vulnerable in coverage, so he will be challenged by Matt Ryan this week. I like him as an upside LB3. Prince Amukamara and Landon Collins are both borderline DB1s this week, with Julio Jones expected to get his, while Robert Ayers will hope to convert some of his pressures into sacks against a much more porous Falcons O-Line after a tough matchup with the Cowboys. Ayers is a sneaky play in deeper leagues as he is solid against the run and has a higher tackle floor at home with the friendly stat crew.

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Ross Miles is a Lead Writer for Pro Football Focus Fantasy. Follow him on Twitter – @RossMilesNFL
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