Pickups

Cam Newton, QB, CAR – The though of drafting Newton was absurd to me a week ago, but after a rookie debut record 422 yards and two TDs, he MUST be owned.  I won’t pretend like I thought there was a chance that Newton would blow up at any point this season, but regardless of who your starting QB is, your backup spot is about upside. Newton has the potential to be a HUGE surprise as a top10 QB on the season and with bye weeks a bit away, feel free to drop your backup on the off-chance you get to trade Newton away for a starting WR or RB.

Randall Cobb, WR, GB – This rookie receiver for the Packers tied an NFL record for longest play with is 108 yard kick return for a TD in the kickoff game on Thursday night. I didn’t think of him as much of a sleeper before he demonstrated how dynamic of a playmaker he is due to the resigning of James Jones and the lack of a retirement announcement from Donald Driver.  We can be sure that the Packers will be looking for ways to get the ball in Cobb’s hands now and he is worth a spot on your bench to see how he develops over the next few weeks.

Scott Chandler, TE, BUF – I’ve gotten a few questions about Chandler already as a Buffalonian.  People have expected me to have inside info about this guy but honestly, I don’t have much.  He had, I believe, just one career reception before this 5 catch 63 yard performance in which he also caught two TD passes. The TE position is pretty wide open and since there are only 4 or 5 of them who I am comfortable starting on a week-to-week basis, I think Chandler is a risky pickup and start this week.  The reason im willing to do it after just one good game is because of the match-up against Oakland being decent.

Jacoby Jones, WR, HOU – Kevin Walter hurt his collar bone in week 1 and I believe he will miss some extended time early in this season.  With Jones at number two on the Texan’s depth chart, I think he is going to see enough targets that he will be worth a shot in deeper leagues and as an injury/bye week fill-in.

Cadillac Williams, RB, STL – If your draft didn’t pan out at the RB position, Williams may make a good fill-in next week as Steven Jackson appears to be unlikely to play in week 2 against Carolina. He has no value when Jackson is active though in my opinion, so don’t think of it as an long-term solution.

Robert Meachem, WR, NO – I don’t like Saints receivers for fantasy purposes. A lot of people think the Colston injury is going to open up room for either Meachem or Henderson, but the absence of Lance Moore is the most intriguing absence to me. Colston was best utilized as a goal line target and none of these receivers can fill that void in my opinion, so that work will go to Jimmy Graham. Meachem will benefit from increased targets in the short to intermediate passing game where both Colston and Moore were used.   I think when Moore is back, Meachem and Henderson are very probably not going to be at all reliable enough to start again.  Until then, don’t leave them on free agency for an opponent to use.

Fred Davis, TE, WAS – Rex Grossman impressed a lot of people this weekend.  He looked like an effective leader of the offense and led his team to a win against their division rival New York Giants. I don’t think Davis is as good a pick up as Chandler, but if you had Cooley and there isn’t much talent on waivers, I would probably grab Davis.

Dump List

Peyton Manning, QB, IND – This one is fairly obvious but I don’t believe in over reacting to a poor week 1 and dropping someone because of one bad or mediocre performance so I have to have SOMETHING for this list. If you don’t have an IR spot and aren’t in a keeper league, there is no reason to hold Manning any longer. He will not likely see the field this season unless the Colts are somehow still in the playoff hunt late.

Thomas Jones, RB, KC – Dexter McCluster seemed to be the secondary back in week 1 for the Chiefs as Jones only saw two carries throughout the game.  His age made him a late round pick in drafts and I’m convinced that it is now the Jamaal Charles show in KC.

James Jones, WR, GB – Jones was, I thought, no lower than 4th on the depth chart at receiver for the Packers.  This made him an ownable player to sit on your bench but with the emergence of Randall Cobb in week 1, I see no reason to hold Jones any longer.

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Early Games

Arian Foster, RB, HOU - Inactive

Austin Collie, WR, IND - Active

Steve Smith, WR, PHI - Active

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Question 1. Asked by @Dantvman

@BigJim_SFL with no manning, should i play d branch or d amendola over austin collie?

Answer

Without Peyton, I don’t trust Collie very much.  Manning made a lot of the Colts better players than they can be without him.  I’m not saying that Collie wont be a factor anymore, rather than I want to see him play some in this new offense before I risk starting him.  Amendola is third on the depth chart at receiver so this week he’ll be covered by either Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie or Asante Samuel… I’d just sit him down as I think the Rams are going to get crushed.  That leaves you with Branch, who is a fine play considering Tom Brady is still the QB in New England.

Question 2. Asked by @KifuTheGREAT

@BigJim_SFL I must decide to play Braylon Edwards or Mike Sims-Walker. Any suggestions. Thanks.

Answer

Sims-Walker is too risky against the stacked Eagles secondary and with Crabtree injured I think Edwards has a decent chance for a big game.  To me, the choice is pretty easy as Edwards is both the safer pick and he has higher upside.

Question 3. Asked by @MFarrell21

Who to start as my 3rd WR in a PPR league? Amendola or Harvin and why?

Answer

Amendola is third on the depth chart and likely to face off against Rodgers-Cromartie. I don’t like this match up.  Harvin does also have an unfavorable match up, but he has a more reliable QB and running game to take the pressure off the passing game.  Also, he is the only viable receiver for McNabb to throw to and I expect them to use him.

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Lions at Buccaneers

This game has me far more excited than any other in week 1. Last season in week 15 the Lions beat the Buccaneers 23-20 in Tampa Bay and this game is essentially the reason that the Green Bay Packers won the Super Bowl.  This loss for Tampa cost them the Wild Card spot that ended up going to Green Bay instead.  Both of these teams are young and quickly rebounding into legitimate playoff contenders.  In this game last season Calvin Johnson racked up 152 yards receiving and did so with Shaun Hill at QB.  LeGarrette Blount also had a big game with 110 yards on the ground but the Lions are a much more complete defensive front 7 now and Blount will have difficulty unless Josh Freeman is able to move the ball through the air effectively. This shouldn’t be that tough considering the Lions did not address their secondary and have been susceptible to the big play.  Their hope is that the pass rush will be considerably better and will make their defensive backs not need to maintain the coverage very long.  I think the Lions are going to win this one, with big performances from all the major fantasy players in what I see as a high scoring game. I have Freeman, Mike Williams, Blount, Stafford and Calvin Johnson all ranked very high at their positions and think they are all worth a start in week 1.

Saints at Packers

The past two Super Bowl champions meet tonight to Kickoff the season and it’s hard not to be excited about these two high-powered offenses meeting up to get us all excited for the rest of the 2011 season.  What interests me most however is the defenses.  Each team is known for their ability to use disguised blitzing schemes to disrupt the rhythm of opposing quarterbacks.  This is shaping up to be another high scoring affair that is likely to be decided by a big turnover.  Both Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers are automatic starters, but Marques Colston has been inconsistent at best over the past couple of years and is a mediocre WR2 at best in my rankings this week.  The Packers have said that they plan to split carries between Ryan Grant and James Starks, but Grant is who they would likely turn to on the goal line and makes a much better RB2 or flex play.  My money is on the Packers to win this one, because of their play makers on the defensive side of the ball, but there should be plenty of fantasy points to go around for all the usual suspects.

Steelers at Ravens

This rivalry ALWAYS provides us with hard-hitting and entertaining football.  It does not typically lead to an abundance of fantasy points.  Anquan Boldin is the one guy that might be a surprise with a big week 1 performance now that Lee Evans is there to stretch the field vertically and open up passing lanes across the middle for Boldin who has always been more productive with a deep threat on the other side of the field.  Ray Rice and Rashard Mendenhall both need to be started regardless of the very difficult match up and Big Ben is still 8th in my rankings.  Flacco on the other hand has never beaten the Steelers with Roethlisberger running the show for Pittsburgh and is not a viable week 1 starter unless its a 2 QB format. Mike Wallace is also still worth a start given his speed and big-play ability will still force Ben to look his way deep a few times throughout the course of the game.  I like the Steelers to win this one, but it will be pretty close and very entertaining.

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