The second weekend on the pro gridiron has a slew of interesting games. Fantasy owners now have a week of meaningful production to analyze before setting their lineups. Are Matt Forte owners actually considering benching their top pick against the Steelers? Read More There are plenty of good games on the docket this week as we prepare for week two in the NFL. Let’s take a look at some of fantasy’s tougher lineup options in this week’s Start Sit or Squat and Pray!
Quarterbacks
Start: Kurt Warner, Arizona Cardinals – This guy needs to be in your lineup as long as he is healthy. Another week should allow receivers Boldin and Breaston to recover from nagging injuries. With RB Tim Hightower emerging as a legit pass-catching threat out of the backfield Warner is surrounded by quality options.
Sit: Jason Campbell, Washington Redskins – There are not many tough calls at the QB positions this week. However, if you are thinking about trotting Jason Campbell out there as a replacement for Donovan McNabb…let’s just say I’m not optimistic. The match up is there, but keep in mind Rams HC Tony Sparano knows the NFC East pretty well having previously been the Giants’ defensive coordinator. The ‘skins should have enough success on the ground to limit the need for Campbell to throw the ball in this game.
Squat and Pray: Brett Favre, Minnesota Vikings – I expect the Lions to sell out against the run and try to make Favre beat them. Favre should be able to make the quick reads and should have WR Bernard Berrian fully healthy.
Running Backs
Start: Jamal Lewis, Cleveland Browns – Playing on the road in Denver isn’t an easy task but if you are looking for a flex guy this week give Lewis some love. The Browns should give him plenty of touches and there is a good chance he’ll get some carries inside the five this week.
Sit: Julius Jones, Seattle Seahawks – Please don’t let last week go to your head. Although it is certainly encouraging to see Jones produce, the 49ers just finished bottling up Arizona’s rushing attack.
Squat and Pray: Matt Forte, Chicago Bears – A consensus top-five fantasy pick this pre-season, Forte faces arguably the toughest rush defense on the planet. Unless you built your fantasy football team around running backs and have two other quality starters, you have little choice but to plug Forte in and hope for the best.
Wide Receivers
Start: Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers – The Panthers believe in their quarterback and the Falcons secondary is hardly stellar. I fully expect the Panthers to rally behind Delhomme and expect him to get into a rhythm early with Smith.
Sit: Nate Burleson, Seattle Seahawks – My distaste for the Seattle offense may be leading to a biased point of view but I’m not buying Burleson. In an offense that is going to produce a limited amount of passing production, he is fighting Houshmandzedah and TE Carlson for targets.
Squat and Pray: Bernard Berrian, Minnesota Vikings – As I noted above, I like Favre’s chances of posting some good numbers this week. Berrian has been practicing fully in practice and should be a nice WR3 or flex option this week.
TE, DEF, K
Start: Lawrence Tynes, New York Giants – It’s Sunday night primetime, it’s a divisional game and I doubt Tom Coughlin will be as confident in his club’s chances to go for it on fourth down.
Sit: Owen Daniels, Houston Texans – In six career games against Tennessee Daniels has only two touchdowns. Don’t fret, there should be several appealing tight tends to choose from on your league’s waiver wire.
Squat and Pray: Philadelphia Eagles DEF – The spotlight has been on Delhomme’s struggles but few people are shedding light on how good this unit looked last week. You can’t like your chances going up against Drew Brees and company, but you also have to like the potential for interceptions if he makes a bad read under pressure.
WEEK 2 – NFL GAMES – All Times Eastern
Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons -- 1 p.m.
Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions -- 1 p.m.
Cincinnati Bengals at Green Bay Packers -- 1 p.m.
Oakland Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs -- 1 p.m.
New Orleans Saints at Philadelphia Eagles -- 1 p.m.
St. Louis Rams at Washington Redskins -- 1 p.m.
Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans -- 1 p.m.
New England Patriots at New York Jets -- 1 p.m.
Arizona Cardinals at Jacksonville Jaguars -- 1 p.m.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Buffalo Bills -- 4:05 p.m.
Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers -- 4:05 p.m.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Chicago Bears -- 4:15 p.m.
Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos -- 4:15 p.m.
Baltimore Ravens at San Diego Chargers-- 4:15 p.m.
New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys -- 8:20 p.m.
Monday: Indianapolis Colts at Miami Dolphins -- 8:30 p.m.
Week 1 Recap
I made two bad calls in White and Cooley. I knew White was a gamble heading in but sometimes you have to take a chance. The Bengals weak showing was also a surprise to me.
QB
Start: Carson Palmer – 247 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT
Sit: Matt Schaub – 166 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT
SandP: Tony Romo – 353 yards, 3 TD, 0 INT
Palmer completed over 63% of his passes despite Coles’ four drops. A couple of costly interceptions prevented him from having a quality fantasy start. Schaub was under fire all day long and was fortunate to come away healthy. All three of Romo’s touchdown passes came on plays over 40 yards and he failed to complete 60% of his passes.
RB
Start: LenDale White – 28 yards rushing, 1 rec for 5 yards rec. 0 TD
Sit: Larry Johnson – 20 yards rushing, 1 rec for 6 yards rec., 0 TD
SandP: Darren McFadden – 93 total yards, 0 TD
The boldness of the White call came back to haunt me as he failed to deliver a touchdown plunge. LJ owners should be worried, but he’ll improve on his 1.8 ypc and 12 touches going forward. McFadden was named the starter with Fargas nicked up and his 19 touches against the Chargers made him a decent RB2 choice despite the vultured touchdown by Bush.
WR
Start: Vincent Jackson – 5 rec, 56 yards, 1 TD
Sit: Gaints WRs – Smith 6 rec, 80 yds, Manningham 3 rec, 58 yards, 1 TD
SandP: Greg Jennings – 6 rec, 106 yards, 1 TD
Jackson is one of the better touchdown threats at wideout. I was expecting more but this performance was nice WR2 output. Smith should lead this team in targets and receptions but Eli will spread the ball around-especially inside the red zone. The Bears held Jennings in check most of the night before the 50-yard touchdown gaffe.
DEF, K, TE
Start: Minnesota – 20 points allowed, 5 sacks, 1 INT
Sit: Cooley – 7 rec, 68 yards, 1 TD
SandP: Graham – 0 FG, 1 XP
Minnesota did not dominate the Browns but did post respectable numbers. Cooley proved me wrong and hauled in a nice touchdown. A botched snap and a couple of interceptions cost the Bengals some scoring chances.
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