Cowboys @ Vikings

This is going to be one hell of a football game.  Both the Vikes and the Cowboys were popular Super Bowl picks and are now 1-3 struggling to stay alive for playoff consideration.  Neither team has really been able to establish a balanced offensive attack before last week.  The Cowboys have been among the worst rushing teams in the NFL but were finally able to get Felix Jones up over 100 yards last week vs the Titans on just 15 carries.  The Vikings made a high-profile trade to acquire Randy Moss to help them stretch the field and open up the passing game. On his 5th day back with his old team he was able to find the end zone in a losing effort to the Jets.  With some more time to learn the offense and scheme for their new weapon the Vikings should be able to get a big home victory to put them selves right back into the race for the NFC North.  They will be effective with an aerial assault against a secondary that looked foolish last week against the Titans.  Look for the usual studs to live up to their expectations. (Moss, Peterson, Harvin, Austin and Romo)  Stay away from Jones and Barber vs the front seven of the Vikes.

Ravens @ Patriots

I love playoff re-matches that occur in the first half of the season!  The Ravens ended the Patriots season last year and they will want their revenge.  The problem they will have won’t be the lack of Moss, but the inability of their defense to cover anyone down the field. Ray Rice had his best game of the season last week and if they are able to maintain that balance in their offense then I would expect a big game from Rice, Flacco  and Boldin.  The Patriots offense replaced Randy Moss with Deion Branch and will need to re-invent themselves.  Brady and Welker are the only fantasy players I trust against this great Ravens defense.  Many people have speculated that Welker is likely to see a lot of double coverage and his production should decrease as a result, but I don’t see that happening.  Welker is a possession receiver that runs his routes flawlessly every time.  You cannot double someone that is running a slant route because typically the double team would come from a safety and not someone lined up on the line of scrimmage.  If you put two people on Welker at the line, then you have one person on someone else and Brady will abuse this and get the deep play without Randy.  I like the Ravens in a very tough road game.

Saints @ Buccaneers

I am a sucker for divisional match-ups but with the Buccs beating the Saints last year and currently being higher in the standings, this game will show us the future of this division.  If the Saints fall this week then everyone will become a Buccaneers fan and for good reason.  Josh Freeman has been playing with poise and maturity that players his age don’t typically have.  Mike Williams rose ahead of a fellow (higher drafted) rookie, Arrelious Benn, on the depth chart and has scored in three of his first four games.  Smart money is on the Saints in this game and you can feel confident about starting any Saints you may have on your fantasy team (Thomas, Colston and Brees).  As for Buccaneers, Williams is too consistent to ignore at this point and is on his way to being a top 20 WR and if you are in a 2QB format you should be fine using Freeman as well.

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1. Andre Johnson                 vs. KC
2. Miles Austin                       @ MIN
3. Reggie Wayne                   @ WAS
4. Roddy White                      @ PHI
5. Randy Moss                       vs. DAL
6. Hakeem Nicks                   vs. DET
7. Brandon Marshall            @ GB
8. Anquan Boldin                  @ NE
9. Wes Welker                       vs. BAL
10. Calvin Johnson                  vs. NYG
11. Malcom Floyd                    @ STL
12. DeSean Jackson                vs. ATL
13. Marques Colston             @ TB
14. Mike Wallace                     vs. CLE
15. Greg Jennings                   vs. MIA
16. Brandon Lloyd                   vs. NYJ
17. Steve Smith (NYG)          vs. DET
18. Santana Moss                    vs. IND
19. Percy Harvin                       vs. DAL
20. Hines Ward                         vs. CLE
21. Austin Collie                       @ WAS
22. Jeremy Maclin                   vs. ATL
23. Kenny Britt                         @ JAC
24. Santonio Holmes              @ DEN
25. Dwayne Bowe                   @ HOU
26. Donald Driver                    vs. MIA
27. Michael Crabtree             vs. OAK
28. Mike Williams (TB)           vs. NO
29. Johnny Knox                      vs. SEA
30. Braylon Edwards              @ DEN
31. Derrick Mason                   @ NE
32. Pierre Garcon                    @ WAS
33. Dez Bryant                          @ MIN
34. Eddie Royal                         vs. NYJ
35. Danny Amendola             vs. SD
36. Louis Murphy                    @ SF
37. Mike Sims-Walker           @ATL
38. Nate Washington             @ JAC
39. Roy Williams                       @ MIN
40. Jabar Gaffney                    vs. NYJ
41. Brandon Tate                     vs. BAL
42. Kevin Walter                      vs. KC
43. Davone Bess                      @ GB
44. Lance Moore                     @ TB
45. Deion Branch                     vs. BAL
46. Dexter McCluster            @ HOU
47. Mike Thomas                     vs. TEN
48. Robert Meachem            @ TB
49. Devin Hester                      vs. SEA
50. Nate Burleson                   @ NYG

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1. Roddy White
2. Reggie Wayne
3. Miles Austin
4. Calvin Johnson
5. Andre Johnson
6. Greg Jennings
7. Randy Moss
8. Hakeem Nicks
9. Anquan Boldin
10. Larry Fitzgerald
11. DeSean Jackson
12. Marques Colston
13. Donald Driver
14. Malcom Floyd
15. Chad Ochocinco
16. Santana Moss
17. Mark Clayton
18. Austin Collie
19. Steve Smith (NYG)
20. Jeremy Maclin
21. Eddie Royal
22. Dez Bryant
23. Percy Harvin
24. Dwayne Bowe
25. Pierre Garcon
26. Braylon Edwards
27. Johnny Knox
28. Santonio Holmes
29. Brandon Lloyd
30. Kevin Walter
31. Terrell Owens
32. Derrick Mason
33. Louis Murphy
34. Michael Crabtree
35. Lance Moore
36. Mike Williams (TB)
37. Kenny Britt
38. Mike Thomas
39. Legedu Naanee
40. Demaryius Thomas
41. Jacoby Jones
42. Jabar Gaffney
43. Roy Williams
44. Jason Avant
45. Lee Evans
46. Mario Manningham
47. Mike Sims-Walker
48. Nate Washington
49. Devin Hester
50. Steve Johnson

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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. Roddy White
2. Reggie Wayne
3. Miles Austin
4. Andre Johnson
5. Calvin Johnson
6. Hakeem Nicks
7. Greg Jennings
8. Randy Moss
9. Anquan Boldin
10. Larry Fitzgerald
11. DeSean Jackson
12. Marques Colston
13. Austin Collie
14. Donald Driver
15. Mark Clayton
16. Malcom Floyd
17. Chad Ochocinco
18. Santana Moss
19. Steve Smith (NYG)
20. Jeremy Maclin
21. Eddie Royal
22. Dez Bryant
23. Dwayne Bowe
24. Braylon Edwards
25. Johnny Knox
26. Percy Harvin
27. Santonio Holmes
28. Brandon Lloyd
29. Terrell Owens
30. Derrick Mason
31. Kevin Walter
32. Louis Murphy
33. Michael Crabtree
34. Lance Moore
35. Pierre Garcon
36. Mike Williams (TB)
37. Mike Thomas
38. Legedu Naanee
39. Mike Sims-Walker
40. Kenny Britt
41. Demaryius Thomas
42. Jacoby Jones
43. Jabar Gaffney
44. Roy Williams
45. Lee Evans
46. Nate Washington
47. Mario Manningham
48. Devin Hester
49. Robert Meachem
50. Steve Johnson

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Love

Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, JAC – Despite his slow start, MJD is making his 2nd straight appearance on my love list this week.  He had a huge day last week against a struggling Colts defense and this week goes against the Bills who are allowing an average of 174 yards per game.

Peyton Manning, QB, IND – The Chiefs defense has been playing well lately, but primarily against the run.  The league’s last undefeated team is likely to fall this week against a pissed off Colts team led by their passing game.  The Chiefs corner backs have struggled some this season.  With Garcon likely to be returning this week and Collie proving to be a reliable threat, Manning should have a big day.

Roddy White, WR, ATL – Roddy White has been an incredibly consistent threat for the Falcons.  He leads the league with 50 targets and has yet to have a week with single digit fantasy points.

Jamaal Charles, RB, KC - That Colts run defense who has allowed big games to opposing RBs so far this year faces a dynamic two headed attack lead by Charles.  I like Thomas Jones this week as well, but Charles is the guy who breaks the long TD runs and he has twice the talent that Jones does.

Ryan Mathews, RB, SD – The Raiders have the 2nd worst run defense in the NFL and now that Mathews has been rested and eased back from injury, it is time for him to take the reigns back and he should have a  big game this week.

Jahvid Best, RB, DET – Best saw more work last week than I thought he would.  He has to go against a surprisingly good Rams team this week, but Shaun Hill has done more than enough to keep the Lions players alive in fantasy football.

Tony Romo, QB, DAL – The Titans have allowed two straight 300 yard passers and with the extra week to prepare I expect Romo and the Cowboys to have a big day and continue their rebound from their 0-2 start.

Hakeem Nicks, WR, NYG - Steve Smith is no longer Eli Manning’s go-to-guy, that is now Nicks.  He has great hands and is very effective over the middle and in the red zone which will lead to him leading the team in both receptions and receiving touchdowns on the season.

Greg Jennings, WR, GB - He didn’t have the type of game I thought he would last week, but the Packers got ahead big very early and since Head Coach Mike McCarthy is not one to run up the score… Jennings was not able to get a big day yardage wise.  Finding the end zone salvaged the day for fantasy owners, but the Redskins have been playing worse against the pass and better on offense than the Lions.

Reggie Wayne, WR, IND - Regardless of who the number two WR will be when Garcon comes back Wayne will be the number one.  After 15 catches and just shy of 200 yards you can’t afford to sit Manning’s most reliable target.

Miles Austin, WR, DAL - See Tony Romo.

Hate

Mike Sims-Walker, WR, JAC – Even when the Jags find a way to beat one of the best teams in the NFL, Sims-Walker was a ghost.  Drop him if you want, no one could blame you.  You definitely can’t start him.

Santonio Holmes, WR, NYJ - As good as I think he will be this season, he has been locked out of the facility of his new team.  Given that he has never played a regular season game in that offense I would expect to see a slow start from Holmes.  He should be considered a flex play this week.

Percy Harvin, WR, MIN - Even though newly acquired Randy Moss will draw the coverage of Darrelle Revis, he still does great with a new start.  The move makes perfect sense as Randy is declining in his career and has not been private about his desire to play with Favre.  The Vikings are all-in on the season and with a terribly tough defense as their first opponent off the Bye, leave Harvin for your flex spot or bench him if you have other solid options.

Justin Forsett, RB, SEA -Pete Carroll already said that he plans to use Lynch early and often now that they have him.  They had done a poor job at converting in short yardage situations and Lynch should take the starting job from Forsett easily. Clearly there is not much trust in this guy in the Seahawks front office so I could easily see him falling off our radar soon.

Shonn Greene, RB, NYJ – The Vikings defense has been doing very well this season, only allowing an average of 87 yards per game.  The work has been split between LT and Greene and since LT is the guy they use in the passing game it is hard to see how Greene can be effective this week.

Jonathan Stewart, RB, CAR – Still sitting this guy until further notice.  Especially against a Bears D only allowing 77 yards per game on the ground and DeAngelo Williams playing much, much better.

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Studs

Michael Vick, QB, PHI – Vick is proving to be a very serious threat for fantasy owners after another huge game on Sunday.  In Philadelphia, Vick has more weapons than he has ever had before in his career and appears to have matured as a pocket passer.  This makes Vick even more frustrating for opposing defenses because he still has the speed to extend plays and make runs that no one else in football can.  I think it is reasonable to expect Vick to be a top 10 fantasy QB unless things take a dramatic downward spiral.

Kyle Orton, QB, DEN – Going up against the high-powered Colts offense Orton and the Broncos were forced to try and keep up with their aerial attack.  Even though they lost I was really impressed with the Broncos’ ability to stretch the field as Orton totaled a career-best 476 yards.  He only got one TD though and the team was terrible at running without Knowshon Moreno in the lineup.  Orton will be an efficient QB throughout the season if you have a bye-week need or injury.

Peyton Hillis, RB, CLE – Hillis has done what almost no running back in football has been able to do in a few years, run for over 100 yards against the Ravens.  This is quite an astonishing feat to be honest, but Jerome Harrison is likely to see a lot of carries when he is healthy.  Hillis should be considered a flex play from here on out, but he is the RB I would rather own from Cleveland after that game.

Anquan Boldin, WR, BAL - I was big on a lot of the Ravens but with Ray Rice getting hurt and Boldin shredding the Browns secondary, there was not much room for anyone else on the Ravens offense to be productive.  Anquan pulled in 142 yards and THREE TDs in an a surprisingly close win for the Ravens.

Rashard Mendenhall, RB, PIT – I had him on my love list this week and even with passing TDs Mendenhall was still able to find the end zone himself as well as get up over 100 yards.

Austin Collie, WR, IND – With Anthony Gonzalez and Pierre Garcon gone and Champ Bailey shadowing Reggie Wayne, Austin Collie is a beast.  It is going to be very interesting to see how the depth chart ends up once Gonzalez and Garcon come back.  If Collie can win the number 2 job, he will be what I thought Garcon was going to be… a top 15 receiver.

DeSean Jackson, WR, PHI – A lot of people doubted DJax’s ability to make big plays without Donovan McNabb at QB.  Initially I thought Vick at QB was going to be worse for Jackson than Kolb would have been, but with Vick’s new-found poise in the pocket Jackson should be able to make these big plays almost as consistently as last season.

Louis Murphy, WR, OAK – We have been waiting quite a while for one receiver in Oakland to step up and earn the top spot and it appears that it will be Murphy.  After back to back good games Murphy should be able to fill the role of WR3 or flex play.

Dustin Keller, TE, NYJ – Sanchez has no other options for mid range passing plays and it appears that Keller is more than up to the task.  Keller has been a real surprise for anyone brave enough to take a chance on him and with Santonio Holmes being a deep threat, I don’t see his return as much of threat to Keller’s number of targets.

Duds

Matt Forte, RB, CHI – The Bears are the real deal and I am not concerned about Forte down the stretch, but this week he was only able to get fantasy owners 3 points.

Marques Colston, WR, NO – Lance Moore stole the show in a shocking Saints home loss to the Falcons.  I still view Colston as the best WR2 in fantasy football despite only getting 4 catches for 25 yards.

Miles Austin, WR, DAL – The Cowboys offense finally looked like we thought they would and Austin has his first bad game of the season.  Roy Williams did not likely transform into a reliable receiver overnight so I cannot see him cutting into the work that Austin would normally get.  Houston consistently double teamed Austin and considering it was not an effective strategy I would not expect too many teams to focus on him that much.

Shonn Greene, RB, NYJ – I am still shocked that LT is the best RB in New York, but I do expect that to change as the end of the season approaches and LT wears down due to age.  Don’t start him unless you have to, but definitely don’t get rid of him.

Carson Palmer, QB, CIN – I know Ochocino is the more-often-started fantasy player, but his lack of production is the fault of Palmer and the reason I think Chad’s owners should try and trade him.

Steve Smith, WR, CAR – Matt Moore was at least able to use his best weapon effectively once per game, but Clausen will have brighter days ahead and I am not panicking on Smith yet.

Michael Crabtree, WR, SF – I don’t know what else to say, other than the 49ers suck.  I was confident they would win their division and it is bad enough that it is still a possibility.  I don’t agree with firing their Offensive Coordinator, but don’t drop Crabtree yet unless you can work him into a good trade.

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1. Andre Johnson
2. Miles Austin
3. Reggie Wayne
4. Roddy White
5. Randy Moss
6. DeSean Jackson
7. Larry Fitzgerald
8. Calvin Johnson
9. Anquan Boldin
10. Greg Jennings
11. Marques Colston
12. Steve Smith (CAR)
13. Chad Ochocinco
14. Brandon Marshall
15. Wes Welker
16. Steve Smith (NYG)
17. Jeremy Maclin
18. Donald Driver
19. Hakeem Nicks
20. Derrick Mason
21. Santana Moss
22. Dez Bryant
23. Michael Crabtree
24. Mike Sims-Walker
25. Pierre Garcon
26. Steve Breaston
27. Malcom Floyd
28. Mike Wallace
29. Dwayne Bowe
30. Percy Harvin
31. Hines Ward
32. Austin Collie
33. Johnny Knox
34. Eddie Royal
35. Legedu Naanee
36. Demaryius Thomas
37. Mark Clayton
38. Terrell Owens
39. Kevin Walter
40. Louis Murphy
41. TJ Houshmandzadeh
42. Jacoby Jones
43. Bernard Berrian
44. Mike Williams (TB)
45. Nate Washington
46. Mike Thomas
47. Lee Evans
48. Kenny Britt
49. Josh Morgan
50. James Jones

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1. Andre Johnson
2. Miles Austin
3. Reggie Wayne
4. Roddy White
5. Randy Moss
6. DeSean Jackson
7. Larry Fitzgerald
8. Calvin Johnson
9. Greg Jennings
10. Marques Colston
11. Anquan Boldin
12. Steve Smith (CAR)
13. Chad Ochocinco
14. Percy Harvin
15. Brandon Marshall
16. Wes Welker
17. Steve Smith (NYG)
18. Jeremy Maclin
19. Michael Crabtree
20. Hakeem Nicks
21. Donald Driver
22. Santana Moss
23. Derrick Mason
24. Dez Bryant
25. Pierre Garcon
26. Dwayne Bowe
27. Malcom Floyd
28. Steve Breaston
29. Mike Wallace
30. Mike Sims-Walker
31. Johnny Knox
32. Hines Ward
33. Eddie Royal
34. Legedu Naanee
35. Austin Collie
36. Terrell Owens
37. Kevin Walter
38. Louis Murphy
39. Mark Clayton
40. Mike Williams (TB)
41. Bernard Berrian
42. Nate Washington
43. Demaryius Thomas
44. Jacoby Jones
45. TJ Houshmandzadeh
46. Mike Thomas
47. Lee Evans
48. Kenny Britt
49. Devin Aromashodu
50. Josh Morgan

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1. Andre Johnson
2. Miles Austin
3. Roddy White
4. Reggie Wayne
5. Marques Colston
6. Larry Fitzgerald
7. Steve Smith (CAR)
8. DeSean Jackson
9. Calvin Johnson
10. Brandon Marshall
11. Anquan Boldin
12. Greg Jennings
13. Randy Moss
14. Chad Ochocinco
15. Wes Welker
16. Dwayne Bowe
17. Steve Smith (NYG)
18. Pierre Garcon
19. Percy Harvin
20. Jeremy Maclin
21. Michael Crabtree
22. Hines Ward
23. Hakeem Nicks
24. Santana Moss
25. Donald Driver
26. Mike Wallace
27. Malcolm Floyd
28. Derrick Mason
29. Mike Sims-Walker
30. Devin Aromashodu
31. Dez Bryant
32. Louis Murphy
33. Johnny Knox
34. Terrell Owens
35. Bernard Berrian
36. Steve Breaston
37. Lee Evans
38. Robert Meachem
39. Mohamed Massaquoi
40. Legedu Naanee
41. Eddie Royal
42. Austin Collie
43. Kenny Britt
44. Jacoby Jones
45. TJ Houshmandzadeh
46. Mike Williams (SEA)
47. Mike Thomas
48. Mike Williams (TB)
49. James Jones
50. Braylon Edwards

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