Aaron Hernandez, TE, NE – Inactive

Brett Favre, QB, MIN – Inactive

Calvin Johnson, WR, DET – Active

Darren McFadden, RB, OAK – Inactive

Deion Branch, WR, NE – Inactive

LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, NYJ – Inactive

Marques Colston, WR, NO – Inactive

Peyton Hillis, RB, CLE – Active

Pierre Thomas, RB, NO – Inactive

Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, BUF – Inactive

Shonn Greene, RB, NYJ – Inactive

Sidney Rice, WR, MIN – Inactive

Steve Smith, WR, CAR – Inactive

Todd Heap, TE, BAL – Active

Wes Welker, WR, NE – Inactive

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Vikings at Jets

The Headline trade made yesterday morning to send Randy Moss back to the Vikings as they make their last ditch effort to regain their offensive firepower they had last season.  With Favre only in town for one year and the passing offense being pretty bad, Randy Moss is sure to provide a spark.  Every time Moss has changed teams he has used the fresh start to its maximum potential.  Sidney Rice will be returning from injury and the Vikings will likely have the best receiving corp in the NFL.  For now, they have to face the best defense in the league and Moss has to lineup against his ex-division rival Darelle Revis.  Expect this to be a low scoring game given the caliber of defense on each team.  Players like Moss, Keller and Peterson have to be started anyways, but if you have viable options instead of LT, Favre, Holmes and Greene you should use them.  I like the home team to squeak out a win with a healthy Revis shutting down Moss and the Vikings looking like they did before the bye for just one more game.

Chiefs at Colts

The Colts are pissed, they must be sick of hearing them mentioned along with the phrase “Super Bowl Hangover” and after losing to the third longest field goal in NFL history you can expect them to try and put on a show.  The Chiefs are the last undefeated team left in the league after their early bye week.  Even with the extra time to prepare, the challenge is the Colts at home and I don’t see them managing an upset.  The abysmal Colts run defense will allow Jamaal Charles and, to a lesser extent, Thomas Jones to have plenty of value to their fantasy owners in a losing effort.  Despite the Chiefs success thus far, Matt Cassell is not a quality QB and they will not be able to hold the division lead for too long.  Pierre Garcon participated fully in practice on Wednesday and with him back in the lineup Austin Collie will need to have a big day in order to keep the attention of Peyton Manning and hopefully the number 2 spot on the depth chart.

Titans at Cowboys

Both of these teams are at the bottom of competitive divisions.  The Cowboys are part of a wide-opening competition where every win is crucial and the Titans have to compete with the Colts and the newly-dominant Texans. Whichever team loses this game will probably go into crisis-mode and do something in an effort to shake things up.  Last season a mid-season shake up at QB led to a huge win streak to come back from an 0-6 start to be a part of the playoff hunt at the end of the season for Vince Young and the Titans.  Both teams are playoff contenders and this just may be the best game of the week.  I like the Cowboys to win a high-scoring game given their home field advantage as well as the match up of Miles Austin against the Titans secondary.  The Titans have allowed two straight 300 yard passers and Romo will also have a great game.  Don’t take a chance on a Cowboys RB or Titans WR unless you have no other choice, but Chris Johnson and Vince Young should do just fine if you are counting on them.

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1. Drew Brees
2. Peyton Manning
3. Aaron Rodgers
4. Tony Romo
5. Philip Rivers
6. Matt Schaub
7. Matt Ryan
8. Eli Manning
9. Joe Flacco
10. Brett Favre
11. Kyle Orton
12. Jay Cutler
13. Sam Bradford
14. Kevin Kolb
15. Mark Sanchez
16. Shaun Hill
17. Donovan McNabb
18. Ryan Fitzpatrick
19. Carson Palmer
20. David Garrard
21. Josh Freeman
22. Vince Young
23. Bruce Gradkowski
24. Alex Smith
25. Matt Cassel

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1. Peyton Manning
2. Drew Brees
3. Aaron Rodgers
4. Philip Rivers
5. Matt Schaub
6. Tony Romo
7. Michael Vick
8. Joe Flacco
9. Jay Cutler
10. Brett Favre
11. Tom Brady
12. Eli Manning
13. Jason Campbell
14. Donovan McNabb
15. David Garrard
16. Matt Ryan
17. Kyle Orton
18. Vince Young
19. Chad Henne
20. Matt Cassel
21. Alex Smith
22. Carson Palmer
23. Matt Hasselbeck
24. Mark Sanchez
25. Derek Anderson

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Question 1: Asked by rico_4_life

Of these 4 WR which 2 should I start this week, PPR league

DeSean Jackson, Dwayne Bowe, Mike Sims-Walker, Austin Collie?

Answer

Well Rico, I do not see Collie as a consistent threat in the Colts offense filled with very viable receiving weapons.  I am concerned that Mike Thomas might be the best receiving threat in Jacksonville since Sims-Walker was not able to catch a single ball against the Broncos.  Dwayne Bowe and DJax are not typical PPR studs, but none of your options are so they are who I would go with.  Both have a really nice match-up in their favor and I expect both to find the end-zone.

Question 2: Asked by @JoelrlHall

Can’t decide who I should start this week Eli or Favre? #fantasyfootball

Answer

The strength of the Dolphins defense is against the run, so the best way to exploit them is through the air.  Favre may not have many receivers he is comfortable with but he should come back with a big game this week.  Eli does have a shootout ahead of him with his big brother, but I think his production will be average and Bradshaw will steal the show.

Question 3: Asked by @PrideOCucamonga

Pick 2. C. Johnson vs Pit., A. Foster vs Was, B. Jackson vs Buf or J. Chaarles vs Cle #fantasyfootball. PPR league

Answer

Ridiculous group of RB’s you have, congratulations.  I know foster is the flavor of the week, but I would bench him.  I expect the Redskins to pay a lot of attention to him and this will leave opportunities for Andre Johnson to have a big week.  I don’t care who is is facing CJ is an auto start and Jamaal Charles has far too good of a match up for you to leave him on the bench.  If you have a flex spot available to you this week use it on Jackson because he should go wild vs Buffalo and he is the most likely to see a boost from the PPR format.

Question 4: Asked by Brad

I have a chance to sell high on Ochocinco and would be able to get Beanie Wells in exchange.  Is this a good deal for me?

Answer

You have a choice here, I think that Beanie’s upside was tied to Leinart’s potential success.  We all know the production we can expect from Derek Anderson and while it provides a consistency to the offense, he cannot lead a high-powered passing like the Cardinals have effectively.  Wells will see some additional work but because of Anderson, Larry Fitzgerald is the only receiver that will need to be double covered and opposing defenses can afford to focus on the running game.

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1. Peyton Manning
2. Drew Brees
3. Aaron Rodgers
4. Philip Rivers
5. Matt Schaub
6. Tony Romo
7. Joe Flacco
8. Michael Vick
9. Jay Cutler
10. Brett Favre
11. Tom Brady
12. Jason Campbell
13. Eli Manning
14. David Garrard
15. Donovan McNabb
16. Matt Ryan
17. Vince Young
18. Kyle Orton
19. Chad Henne
20. Alex Smith
21. Matt Cassel
22. Carson Palmer
23. Matt Hasselbeck
24. Kyle Orton
25. Mark Sanchez

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Love

Jamaal Charles, RB, KC – Charles is a dynamic game-changing back that has never been used to his maximum potential in Kansas City.  While it still remains true that the Chiefs did not go out and sign Thomas Jones to ride the bench, Todd Haley will soon be shamed into doing the right thing and stopping this 50/50 time share shenanigans. If that happens this week, Charles just may return the favor for what Harrison did to the Chiefs last year.

Michael Vick, QB, PHI - Typically a QB stepping into a starting job mid-season wouldn’t show up on a list like this… but this one has pro-bowl credentials and a very squishy match up.  While the Bears’ receivers were not able to make big plays vs the Lion’s secondary that was primarily the fault of two Cutler turnovers and Matt Forte having probably the best game of his season.

DeAngelo Williams, RB, CAR – Even though he is in a time share, Stewart did not look very productive last week  and the Panthers tend to ride the hot-handed back hardest.  Playing against among the worst teams in the league should allow Williams the opportunity to have a great week and we all know he has the ability.

Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, NYG – The Texans exposed the weakness of the Colts defense, the running game. Bradshaw is a VERY similar back to Arian Foster and the Giants have begun to embrace him as their lead guy.  Bradshaw will have a big game this week and while he wont be getting any goal line carries I still think he should be able to find the end zone at least once.

Brett Favre, QB, MIN - It will take him some time to find a receiver that he is comfortable with other than Harvin and last week he was unable to get the ball rolling.  I will never ask Favre to play like he did last season but he will have a good game so if you have one of the questionable QBs this week don’t hesitate to start Brett.

Brandon Jackson, RB, GB – He had a lot of chances last week to get him used to his new role as feature back in this high-powered Packers offense.  He has among the best match-ups possible against a weak Bills run D. If you are strong at the RB position I would not blame you for not wanting to put an unknown in over a proven RB2, but you should definitely use him for your flex spot if you have one.

Jason Campbell, QB, OAK – Campbell has been very consistent for faithful fantasy owners that have been willing to ignore bad match-ups and mediocre offensive talent to give this guy a start.  Now he gets the chance to have a good match-up so if you are in a 2 Quarterback league then this is an easy choice.

Roddy White, WR, ATL - This guy is the entire Falcons passing game this season.  White got targeted TWENTY THREE TIMES last week against the Steelers and was able to total 111 receiving yards in a very defensive game in which his team did not score a TD.  Now they play a poor Cardinals team that lost a lot of talent on the defensive side of the ball.

DeSean Jackson, WR, PHI – He may only get two catches this week, but if that is the case I’d say he has over a hundred yards and a score.  Vick is not a QB that DJax can excel with, but regardless of his QB i’d rank him top 10 against the Lions.

Wes Welker, WR, NE – Welker’s confidence in his knee was my issue last week and that cannot be an area of concern any more.  This week I worry about the match up, but with Revis nose-to-nose with Randy Moss all day and how effective the Ravens were moving the ball while attacking the other CBs I think Welker could end up in the top 5 points-wise this week.

Jason Witten, TE, DAL – When the line plays poorly the QB has to use his check downs and quick routes to pick up first downs.  Enter the tight end.  The Cowboys have one of the best in the league and if they want to win they need to get him more involved.  They play the Bears this week and the passing attack will be crucial to their success.

Chris Cooley, TE, WAS – It sure was nice to see McNabb rely on Cooley for the exact sort of plays I love Witten for this week.  Against a high-powered Texans offense the Skins will need to use an areal attack to keep up and Cooley could end up the leading receiver if the Texans decide to double cover Santana Moss.

Hate

Tom Brady, QB, NE – Last season the Bills were able to seriously impact the fantasy point totals of Brady twice, the Jets defense is much better than Buffalo’s so I think it is unreasonable to expect a 300 yard performance from Brady.  Also, it would shock no one if he was only able to get one TD.  I do expect him to be able to use Welker effectively as their only real weapon so as if you don’t have another top 10 QB this week then your gonna have to start him anyways.

Frank Gore, RB, SF - What a disappointment last week!  I am still speechless that the 9ers blew it last week against a mediocre Seahawks team.  With the Saints this week the 9ers will need to attempt to stretch the field.  If Gore has a slow start he is not going to do very well at all.  He is outside my top10 this week but not by much, so your still likely going to have to start him.

Justin Forsett, RB, SEA – Silly me, I thought when the Seahawks cut Julius Jones he would NOT LEAD THE TEAM IN CARRIES ANYMORE.  Seriously Pete Carrol he had 8 carries for 18 yards… what is it about this guy that mesmerizes coaches so much?  It is in my mind the main thing that cost Jim Mora Jr. his job.

Jerome Harrison, RB, CLE – If you owned Harrison at all last year you very possibly benched him for his crazy ridiculous game vs the Chiefs due to the week to week guessing game at who in Cleveland would get the most carries.  Peyton Hillis tied Harrison for 9 carries and one-upped him with a TD.  Don’t start either one till something gets sorted out.

Randy Moss, WR, NE – Have you met Darrelle Revis? He is about to hurt your argument for a new contract mid-season.

Mike Sims-Walker, WR, JAC - Try and not use this guy this week.  He got blanked by the Broncos secondary which is good… but not great.  The quiet reports from local sources in Jacksonville during training camp that Mike Thomas was going to win the starting job were right and he just might pass MSW for the top spot on the depth chart.

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Vikings at Saints

There are no shortage of big games to kick off the 2010 NFL season and none are bigger than the Thursday night kickoff game.  The much-anticipated rematch of the NFC Championship game is sure to be one hell of a show with two high-powered offenses squaring off against opportunistic defenses.  To me this match up boils down to how much pressure the Vikings can get on Drew Brees with just the front four.  Last season the Vikings led the NFL with 48 sacks and they are facing the offensive line that had the fewest sacks allowed.  If the Vikings can get Brees uncomfortable in the pocket and leave seven people in coverage they should be able to control the ball with AP and get a few big plays on the Saints suspect secondary.  Brett Favre has significantly fewer weapons at his disposal this year, however if the Saints can limit the effectiveness of the ground game or force a few turnovers they should win this prime time slug-fest.  Pierre Thomas owners should look to their bench for an adequate replacement, but don’t look too far because with the release of Ladell Betts and only Reggie Bush to contend with Thomas should have a decent game… nothing too big is really possible facing last years best run defense and Bush getting the majority of the passes.  Look for big games from Marques Colston and Percy Harvin as each secondary has its issues defending against the deep ball.

Ravens at Jets

There is no denying how much Darelle Revis means to the Jets as they try to improve upon last year’s loss to the Colts in the AFC Championship game.  New York is missing its best vertical threat in Santonio Holmes and will need to rely on its ground game to win what is bound to be a fierce, defensive,  field position battle.  If Sanchez can keep from throwing interceptions to the Ravens defensive backfield that will be lacking ball-hawk Ed Reed, then the Jets should be able to win this in a close battle.  Anquan Boldin makes his debut in a Ravens uniform this week, but he is stuck on Revis Island and should not have a productive week compared to how he will do down the stretch.  I think Shonn Greene and Ray Rice owners should lower expectations for this week given the caliber of defense on the other side of the ball, but you are likely still going to be starting them anyways so no real change made there.

Bengals at Patriots

This match-up does not have quite the same appeal as the Vikings Saints offensive showdown, but for old school hard nosed football fans this could be the most exciting game of the week.  The Bengals swept their division by having a punishing run game and a stout, opportunistic defense.  The Patriots are a nightmare on third down and are never out of a game.  I think we will see a heavy dose of Cedric Benson on Sunday in an effort to keep Brady and the Pats offense off the field.  I have concerns about Wes Welker mentally having enough confidence in his knee to make the kinds of cuts that he used to.  He will be fine overall on the season  but is not likely to be quite as effective as he has been in recent years.  Still feel free to use him in your flex and WR2 in PPR leagues.  Ochocinco is still the only receiver on the Bengals worth starting this week, but big plays are certainly a possibility from TO, though they will be unpredictable and inconsistent.

Colts at Texans

The Texans are a better team than most people realize and starting the season at home against the Colts is their best chance at beating them in the regular season.  The Texans are 1-15 in franchise history against this team and the best way to convince these guys they can win the division is to beat the annual champions of it.  The Texans will be hoping to get Arian Foster the ball upwards of 20 times and Steve Slaton around 10 times by the end of the game.  If they can use their run game to supplement their explosive passing offense they should be able to remain competitive.  The Colts can’t reliably cover all the receiving threats that Matt Schaub has at his disposal this year and Andre Johnson and Jacoby Jones are exceedingly difficult to cover inside the red zone.  In order to win the Texans will need to force turnovers and find a way to pressure Manning without Brian Cushing, who is serving a suspension for violating the substance abuse policy.  The Colts are not a strong preseason team, and if they can’t get off to a fast start could find themselves on the ropes.  I think the Texans and Matt Schaub will play a solid game, but I never bet against Peyton Manning.  Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon are both favorites of mine this week.

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1. Drew Brees
2. Matt Schaub
3. Philip Rivers
4. Aaron Rodgers
5. Peyton Manning
6. Tony Romo
7. Jay Cutler
8. Tom Brady
9. Brett Favre
10. Kevin Kolb
11. Vince Young
12. Eli Manning
13. Alex Smith
14. Donovan McNabb
15. Joe Flacco
16. Kyle Orton
17. Chad Henne
18. Matt Ryan
19. Derek Anderson
20. Carson Palmer
21. David Garrard
22. Jason Campbell
23. Matt Cassel
24. Mark Sanchez
25. Matthew Stafford

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Every few days I will be breaking down each position in fantasy football to help you get ready for draft day.  Since they get all the glory let’s get it started with the Quarterbacks.  I am also updating the rankings for each position the day that the I do the breakdown.  You can catch the QB ranks here.

The Top Two

When ranking QB’s for fantasy drafts there are really only two options for the number one spot, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees.  Both of these guys are precision passers with a big arm and touch when it is needed.  Not much room for criticism when talking about either guy.  Personally, I think there will be almost no difference in production from these guys in the passing game.  I rank Aaron Rodgers at number one solely because of his rushing ability.  It is never much, but around the goal line Rodgers is very good about getting the TD one way or the other.  In standard scoring the rushing TD is worth more than the passing one.  I expect around 300 yards rushing on the year and 3-5 TD’s.

The Rest of the Elite

Ranks 3 – 7 on my rankings are as follows: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Matt Schaub, Philip Rivers, Tony Romo.  My best recommendation is that you wait for one of these guys on draft day.  Last year Aaron Rodgers had a huge lead in total fantasy points among QB’s, but that won’t be likely to happen twice.  Typically, the difference between the number 1 QB and number 10 QB is not quite as big of a difference as you would think. For example, I just talked about the huge lead Rodgers had on the number 2 guy last year (who was Drew Brees).  That lead was 47 points.  The difference between Brees (2nd highest scorer) and McNabb (10th highest scorer) was only 23 points!  After these five guys you should not be confident with starting anyone regardless of their match up.  If you do land one of these guys then I believe there will be no need to draft a backup QB, just pick someone up off of waivers for their bye week.  Using this strategy will allow you to pick an additional high-upside guy at RB or WR in the late rounds.

The Best of the Rest

Rounding out the rest of the “starting” fantasy QB’s are Kevin Kolb, Joe Flacco and Jay Cutler.  This is where I would most like to make my QB selection for a standard scoring league.  My favorite QB to target in my drafts is Joe Flacco.  This guy is coming into his third year in the league.  It is time to put up or shut up for Joe, because he has the best set of offensive weapons any Baltimore Ravens QB has had at his disposal in a long time.  Flacco is a big sleeper for me this year because he has tools for every aspect of the passing game with Anquan Boldin and Dante Stallworth able to go over the middle and stretch the feild, Todd Heap and Derrick Mason for possession routes and short gains and we can’t forget about the element that Ray Rice brings to the passing attack out of the backfield.  Kevin Kolb has looked great in the first 2 preseason games and has even been able to involve DeSean Jackson in the intermediate routes which has me upgrading my expectations for both of them.  Jay Cutler is finally going to be playing in an offense that will use his strengths.  Mike Martz loves to stretch the field and pass it deep, I expect to see 30 – 40 passes per game.  I still foresee a lot of him getting hit and a throwing a similar number of interceptions… But he should have more yards and TD’s to make him a better QB in fantasy than he was last year.

The Rest

If you missed out on the top 10 QB’s that is unfortunate, but not the end of the world.  You will just now be left with the task of hunting the waiver wire for the guy playing against a terrible defense.  Among the best options in this group for you to scoop up on draft day are Brett Favre, Eli Manning, Matt Ryan, Chad Henne, Donovan McNabb and Ben Roethlisberger.  There are serious reasons to be concerned with all of these guys.  Most people wouldn’t even put Chad Henne in this group, but with Brandon Marshall able to help him stretch the field everyone on offense will improve this year.  McNabb will be able to keep the Redskins offense on the field for longer drives.  He has an uncanny ability to buy time in the pocket to pick up crucial 3rd down conversions.  This means more plays, more fantasy points from any Redskins you may own.  I don’t think Eli will get his second 4,000 yard season this year, but he should go over 30 TD’s and have a similar total number of fantasy points.  I am afraid of Favre this year now that Sidney Rice is down for an extended block of time.

Sleepers

Joe Flacco, Chad Henne, Alex Smith and Jason Campbell.

Busts

Brett Favre, Matt Ryan, Mark Sanchez and Carson Palmer.

Recap

The QB pool is very deep this year, but there is a steep drop off outside the top 10.  If you are in a 12 or 14 team league do not be one of the teams left out of the elite QB’s.  There are about 8 of them so wait as long as you can without missing the boat.  There is no need to reach for Rodgers or Brees but if you pick really late in the first round snatch one up, the next pick is coming soon.

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