- 05
- Sep
With the weekend here, and the all important first week of NFL play upon us, here is our first game-by-game look at fantasy performances for week 1.
Cincinnati at Baltimore – The biggest question is about Willis McGahee and Ray Rice. It is looking as if Rice is going to get the start against last year’s worst run defense. It will be interesting to see Joe Flacco take control of this offense, but not from a fantasy standpoint. I am not expecting much from him. On the Bengals side, it will be our first view of Chris Perry in a Rudi Johnson-less backfield. Another big question mark will be how involved Ben Utech will be in the offense. The Baltimore run defense is not what it once was, but is still effective. It should be a good test. THE GOOD: Carson Palmer, C. Ocho Cinco. THE OK: TJ Houshmandzadeh, Chris Perry, Ray Rice, Todd Heap. THE UGLY: Joe Flacco, Derrick Mason, Ben Utech.
Detroit at Atlanta – Everyone will be anxious to see if their gamble on Michael Turner is going to pay off. Will he be as good as he was when backing up LT? I think so. Matt Ryan gets his first taste of full speed action, and should do a fair job against the Lions secondary. Calvin Johnson will begin to supplant Roy Williams as the primary WR on this team that will not be throwing the ball as much as in recent memory. Kevin Smith should gain solid yardage. THE GOOD: Michael Turner, Calvin Johnson, Kevin Smith, John Kitna. THE OK: Roddy White, Matt Ryan, Roy Williams. THE UGLY: both defenses.
Houston vs. Pittsburgh– Look for the Steelers to establish themselves as Superbowl contenders against a traditionally weak team. While the Texans should be better this season, they are not in the same class as the powerful team from Pitt. Big Ben should be able to work the ball downfield, and Parker will find the holes. Andre Johnson should be able to gain good yardage, but the Texans will not score much with such a suspect running game. THE GOOD: Ben Roethlisberger, Willie Parker, Santonio Holmes, Andre Johnson. THE OK: Matt Schaub, Hines Ward, Heath Miller, Owens Daniels. THE UGLY: Ahman Green.
Jacksonville at Tennessee – This should be a battle. A game that you should stay away from in your king of the hill pool. The only sure thing here is that the Jaguars should be able to run the ball effectively. Look for good days from both Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. Vince Young will be forced to move out of the pocket often with less that stellar options to throw to. The most interesting question that will be answered is how the Titans will use Chris Johnson and LenDale White. THE GOOD: Fred Taylor, Maurice Jones-Drew, Alge Crumpler. THE OK: David Garrard, Justin Gage, Chris Johnson. THE UGLY: LenDale White, Vince Young.
Kansas City at New England – Wow, if you need me to tell you what is going to happen in this game, you either have never done fantasy football before or you lived under a rock last season. Huge day for most Patriots, not so much for the Chiefs. THE GOOD: All Patriot Starters. THE OK: Larry Johnson. THE UGLY: All other Chiefs.
NY Jets at Miami – Oh boy! Brett Favre’s first appearance in New York. It will be a good one. Look for him to exploit the defense forced to cover the run by throwing the occasional bomb deep. I’ll also be looking to what develops in the Jets use of the TE position. The ‘Fins should be better than last season with Chad Pennington at QB (think he wants to prove something in this game?). With the improvement on both lines for the Jets, however, I don’t think much can be done to stop them. THE GOOD: Brett Favre, Jerricho Cotchery, Thomas Jones. THE OK: Chad Pennington, Ted Ginn, Dustin Keller. THE UGLY: Ricky Williams, Laveranues Coles.
Seattle at Buffalo– This one shouldn’t be close, but it will be. Buffalo is improving and Seattle is in the midst of transition. The Seachickens really don’t have a feature RB and it remains to be seen how effective Maurice Morris can be as a 20-25 carry a game back. The Seattle WR core is mostly hurt with the exception of Nate Burleson. Look for Marshawn Lynch to run all day. THE GOOD: Marshawn Lynch, Nate Burleson, Lee Evans. THE OK: Matt Hasselbeck, Trent Edwards. THE UGLY: Maurice Morris, Julius Jones.
St. Louis at Philadelphia – With most of the Eagle receiving core dinged up, Brian Westbrook will be used even more than usual. Look also for LJ Smith to have a big game. The Rams will struggle against the improved Eagle secondary, and Marc Bulger could have a rough day. Steven Jackson will be the only reason this game will stay close. THE GOOD: Torry Holt, Brian Westbrook, Donovan McNabb, LJ Smith, Steven Jackson. THE OK: Marc Bulger. THE UGLY: Reggie Brown, DeSean Jackson.
Tampa Bay at New Orleans – That Tampa defense still has some teeth, so this will not be an easy game despite the offensive prowess of the Saints. Look for the Saints running game to struggle much as it did last season, forcing them to throw again and again and again. I see a pick or two in the near future of Drew Brees. Despite that he will have a good game and should hook up for at least one long score. The Bucs should be able to move the ball pretty well on the ground, allowing them to occasionally look deep for Joey Galloway who has great numbers against the Saints in his career. THE GOOD: Earnest Graham, Drew Brees, Joey Galloway, Marques Colston. THE OK: Jeff Garcia, Reggie Bush, Robert Meachem. THE UGLY: Deuce McAllister, Antonio Bryant.
Arizona at San Francisco – Call me crazy, but I think the 49ers will be offensively improved this season despite JT O’Sullivan starting at QB. There actually are plenty of decent weapons surrounding him, and should be able to dump the ball off often to Frank Gore and Vernon Davis. Add to that Issac Bruce who knows the system well, and you have an offense that should move the ball. You know what you get with the Cards. They will try to run, that won’t work, so they will throw often. THE GOOD: Larry Fitzgerald, Kurt Warner, Anquan Boldin, Frank Gore, Vernon Davis. THE OK: JT O’Sullivan, Issac Bruce, Edgerrin James. THE UGLY: Bryant Johnson.
Carolina at San Diego – Even if Shawn Merriman plays, the Chargers aren’t going to be as good defensively this season. The run should work better against them, and the Panthers will look to exploit that this week. Mushin Muhammad will be their primary WR, and should catch several balls that add up to a decent day. The Chargers are not expecting Antonio Gates to be 100% for this game, so look for Chris Chambers and Vincent Jackson to step up a bit. THE GOOD: Jonathan Stewart, Ladanian Tomlinson, Chris Chambers. THE OK: Jake Delhomme, Phillip Rivers, DeAngelo Williams, Vincent Jackson, Mushin Muhammad. THE UGLY: Antonio Gates.
Dallas at Cleveland – The real question here is how improved the Cowboy secondary will be. The Browns have the tools to compete in a shootout. This game has the potential to be wild (take the over). While I hope their secondary is improved, I doubt it is, and feel that this game should produce oodles of fantasy points for players on both teams. THE GOOD: Tony Romo, Derrick Anderson, Braylon Edwards, T.O., Marion Barber, Jason Witten. THE OK: Jamal Lewis, Dante Stallworth, Felix Jones. THE UGLY: the final score.
Chicago at Indianapolis– Kyle Orton takes the helm for the Bears as they go into Indi for a true test. They will fail. Their rookie RB will produce average numbers, their WRs will be covered all day. Orton will throw the occasional pick, and the Colts will move the ball at will on the ground and in the air. The Bears defense is now overrated. THE GOOD: Peyton Manning, Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison, Joseph Addai. THE OK: Dallas Clark, Matt Forte, Greg Olsen. THE UGLY: Kyle Orton, all CHI WRs.
Minnesota at Green Bay – Aaron Rodgers is probably pretty happy his first test is coming on the road. Unfortunately for him, it is against a good defense that will force him to throw. Ryan Grant is not 100%, and the Vikings defense is great against the run. Look for Donald Driver to sacrifice his body in order to make his QB look good. A.P. should have a great game despite the fact that everyone on the field, in the stands, and at home watching TV knows he is going to get the ball. THE GOOD: Adrian Peterson, Donald Driver. THE OK: Ryan Grant, Aaron Rodgers. THE UGLY: All Vikinigs not named A.P.
Denver at Oakland– Oakland may be the team with the most unknowns out there. They have a QB we haven’t seen much of, a rookie RB that should get plenty of carries, and few WRs. Denver apparently has better tools, but is no sure thing to play a great game. With Brandon Marshall suspended, they have lost their best offensive threat. Despite that, they will beat the Raiders in a game that will be closer than you expect. The Raider run defense was pretty good last season, so even Selvin Young may struggle. THE GOOD: Eddie Royal, Justin Fargas. THE OK: Darren McFadden, Jay Cutler, Ronald Curry, Zach Miller. THE UGLY: Jamarcus Russel, Darrell Jackson, Selvin Young.