Mario Manningham goes from waiver wire fodder to your starting lineup in a blink of an eye. The Patriots can’t find the end zone. Neither can the Redskins! What does the NFL’s third week of action have in store for fantasy owners? Read MoreWeek 2 had its share of duds and studs. I did fairly well but am 0-2 on my RB Start. I’m optimistic I can turn it around this week. But if there is a weakness in my picks, don’t say I didn’t warn ya.
Start Sit or Squat and Pray!
QB
Start: Trent Edwards, Buffalo Bills – The Bills face Drew Brees’ aerial assault at home and that means it’s time to flex the muscles of the passing game in an effort to keep pace.
Sit: Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears – Are there really any horrible plays this week? Seattle is never an easy place to play, the Bears should be able to run the ball and Cutler shouldn’t have to throw the ball too much to win.
Squat and Pray: Carson Palmer, Cincinnati Bengals – If the Bengals watched the Bears last week they will take to the air against their division rivals.
RB
Start: Clinton Portis, Washington Redskins – Portis owners didn’t get the nice fantasy day they were hoping last week, but I have a feeling that package will be FedEx’ed to Detroit this week. Better late than never, right!
Sit: Darren McFadden, Oakland Raiders – As I stated in my BOXCAR Blitz post this week, the Raiders have issues and Denver’s defense is playing well.
Squat and Pray: Steven Jackson, St. Louis Rams – I’d try to find another option if possible but it’s hard to sit Jackson at home. Plug him in there and hope for the best.
WR
Start: Mario Manningham, New York Giants – The Bucs are without their two starting safeties and are yielding big plays and touchdowns through the air.
Sit: Brandon Marshall, Denver Broncos – Kyle Orton and Nnamdi Asomugha. Need I say more?
Squat and Pray: Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City – the guy throwing him the ball might change at halftime, but Bowe should get plenty of looks if you have to start him
TE, DEF, K
Start: Bengals Defense – It’s a thin limb but the conditions seem right. Playing at home against a team with limited offensive weapons and a quarterback who likes to take sacks. Don’t start them over superior units, but the opportunity for fantasy production is present.
Sit: Rian Lindell, Buffalo Bills – The Bills will need touchdowns not FGs to win this game. Additionally, the Saints offense could be up by two touchdowns in the first quarter leaving Dick Jauron little reason to settle for field goals.
Squat and Pray: Heath Miller, Pittsburgh Steelers – Just when you think this guy is going to crack the top five at his position you see a TD go to some guy named Spaeth. Cross your fingers and hope Miller gets the call this week.
----------------------------------
Week 2 Recap:
QB
Start: Kurt Warner – 243 pass yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
Sit: Jason Campbell – 242 pass yards, 0 TD, 0 INT
S&P: Brett Favre – 155 pass yards, 2 TD, 0 INT
Warner was accurate all day, completing 24 of 26 passes in route to nice fantasy numbers. Campbell with a favorable matchup put up below average fantasy totals. If you rolled the dice with Favre you came out okay. Playing for the Vikings, Favre will not be asked to throw the ball around unless needed, but he still managed to put adequate points last week.
RB
Start: Jamal Lewis – 38 rush yards, 1 rec, 8 rec yards
Sit: Julius Jones – 11 rush yards, 3 rec, -2 rec yards
S&P: Matt Forte – 29 rush yards. 5 rec, 33 rec yards
The touches were there for Lewis, but so was the Broncos defense. Not only did Jones bust in Week 2, he left the door open for Justin Forsett to earn more carries. Nobody runs on the Steelers but Forte ran hard and got more involved in the passing game.
WR
Start: Steve Smith 8 rec, 131 rec yards, 0 TD
Sit: Nate Burleson – 4 rec, 46 rec yards, 0 TD
S&P: Bernard Berrian – 6 rec, 46 rec yards, 0 TD
Smith was targeted 15 times but didn’t find the end zone. Nate Burleson turned out to be a bad play, especially with Hasselbeck leaving with a rib injury. Berrian’s six targets are about what he will average this season but I thought he would connect on at least one touchdown pass.
DEF, K, TE
Start: Lawrence Tynes – 4 FGM, 3 XP
Sit: Owen Daniels – 6 rec, 72 rec yards, 1 TD
S&P: Philadelphia Eagles – 48 Points Allowed, 2 Sacks, 1 INT, 1 Safety
Tynes was the best call of the week. Cashing in on NYG’s inability to score in the red zone, Tynes should continue to have plenty of field goal opportunities. Daniels was part of the unforeseen performance through the air from Schaub and the Texans. Meanwhile the Eagles defense did all it could against Mr. Brees.
WEEK 3 – NFL GAMES – All Times Eastern
Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens -- 1 p.m.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals -- 1 p.m.
Washington Redskins at Detroit Lions -- 1 p.m.
San Francisco 49ers at Minnesota Vikings -- 1 p.m.
Kansas City Chiefs at Philadelphia Eagles -- 1 p.m.
New York Giants at Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- 1 p.m.
Green Bay Packers at St. Louis Rams -- 1 p.m.
Atlanta Falcons at New England Patriots -- 1 p.m.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans -- 1 p.m.
New Orleans Saints at Buffalo Bills -- 4:05 p.m.
Chicago Bears at Seattle Seahawks -- 4:05 p.m.
Tennessee Titans at New York Jets -- 4:15 p.m.
Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders -- 4:15 p.m.
Miami Dolphins at San Diego Chargers -- 4:15 p.m.
Indianapolis Colts at Arizona Cardinals – 8:20 p.m.
Monday: Carolina Panthers at Dallas Cowboys -- 8:30 p.m
BOXCAR Football updates are also available on RSS and Twitter!
