Quarterbacks
1. Peyton Manning
2. Matt Ryan
3. Michael Vick
4. Jon Kitna
5. Matt Schaub
6. Tom Brady
7. Ben Roethlisberger
8. Kerry Collins
9. Drew Brees
10. David Garrard
11. Joe Flacco
12. Ryan Fitzpatrick
13. Josh Freeman
14. Chad Henne
15. Shaun Hill (if he plays)
16. Jason Campbell
17. Jay Cutler
18. Carson Palmer
19. Colt McCoy
20. Eli Manning
21. Matt Flynn
22. Donovan McNabb
Comments:
* Peyton Manning and Garrard could both be busy in what should be a shootout.
* Seattle is a tough place to play and I can see the Seahawks focusing most of their defensive energy on stopping Michael Turner – leaving Ryan free to chuck it to Jenkins, White and Gonzalez all day.
* The Giants “contained” Vick somewhat in their last meeting but he still got stats.
* Jon Kitna could be huge Sunday. Wash is so bad anymore and even though they’ll be up for this rivalry game, Dallas should have their way with the Wash defense.
* Brady would be higher because he’s been on fire, but the Packers give up the fewest points per game in the NFL – and they have a defense that is just unpredictable enough to make this game more interesting that most would think.
* I took a flier on Kerry Collins a couple weeks ago and it backfired. I’ve got him back in there now because Kenny Britt is back and healthy and I can see Tenn playing tough out of respect for their coach, whom I don’t think will be around after the season ends.
* It’s interesting – for all the talk about Buffalo and their lousy QB situation earlier in the year, Ryan Fitzpatrick has done OK (21 TDs, 11 ints, 85 QB rating). Though his sub-60 completion percentage needs some help.
* If Shaun Hill does play, he could be a quiet sleeper this week in TB. Detroit has a tiny swagger suddenly after taking down the Packers and crushing their playoff hopes.
* I considered putting Matt Flynn higher. He looked a little overwhelmed last week because the situation may have surprised him some. But he’s a guy who in preseason, can usually step in and run the offense with surprising command.
Running Backs
1. Darren McFadden
2. Arian Foster
3. Maurice Jones-Drew
4. Peyton Hillis
5. Chris Johnson
6. Jamaal Charles
7. Michael Turner
8. Steven Jackson
9. LeGarrette Blount
10. Jonathan Stewart
11. Ray Rice
12. Adrian Peterson (if he plays)
13. Knowshon Moreno
14. Brandon Jacobs
15. Cedric Benson
16. BenJarvus Green-Ellis
17. Felix Jones
18. Rashard Mendenhall
19. LeSean McCoy
20. Ronnie Brown
21. Matt Forte
22. Ricky Williams
23. Marshawn Lynch
24. Tim Hightower
25. Ahmad Bradshaw
26. Ryan Torain
27. Tashard Choice
28. Javarris James
29. Fred Jackson
30. Pierre Thomas
Comments:
* Hard not to put McFadden first – though he hasn’t necessarily followed up massive weeks with…a massive week.
* Foster is really good. He is so consistent in fantasy it’s ridiculous. Hard to imagine him playing well against Tenn.
* MJD has been the hottest RB in the NFL the last 6 weeks or so. That should continue against a weak Indy D.
* I will say it’s a bit risky to put Hillis so high – he’s been letting folks down recently. But that’s actually why I put him high. I think he’s going to be running with an extra bit of nastiness this weekend – not good news for Cincy.
* I really like Jamaal Charles, LeGarrette Blount and Jonathan Stewart this weekend. For some reason I see a long TD for Charles. I see Blount running over an overly aggressive Detroit front 4. And I see Stewart continuing his quality run of form against a lame AZ team.
* Cedric Benson could show a bit of a spark this week. He’s been bad this year and Cincy of course has been bad too. But this may be one of those games where he does some damage.
* Two guys who could do better than their rankings suggest are Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. Buff’s run defense is horrible and both of these guys just haven’t produced like many thought they would this year. They’re overdue.
* I still like Marshawn Lynch even though Pete Carroll doesn’t seem to know how to use him well.
* Torain was a beast last week and there is a good argument out there that he should be ranked high because Wash really doesn’t have much else offensively. Decent argument, but the story this week might just be the Dallas D getting things back in order.
* Soon Indy will figure out that Javarris James’ talent for scoring TDs may actually carry over to a talent for just running the ball elsewhere on the field.
* I expect Pierre Thomas to get back into things this week with Chris Ivory dealing with a hamstring issue.
Wide Receivers
1. Reggie Wayne
2. Andre Johnson
3. Roddy White
4. Hakeem Nicks
5. DeSean Jackson
6. Calvin Johnson
7. Kenny Britt
8. Mike Wallace
9. Miles Austin
10. Marques Colston
11. Dwayne Bowe
12. Greg Jennings
13. Hines Ward
14. Wes Welker
15. Santana Moss
16. Chad Ochocinco
17. Brandon Marshall
18. Terrell Owens
19. Santonio Holmes
20. Larry Fitzgerald
21. Deion Branch
22. Pierre Garcon
23. Derrick Mason (if he plays)
24. Mike Williams (TB)
25. Jeremy Maclin
26. Anquan Boldin
27. Louis Murphy
28. Mario Manningham
29. Jacoby Ford
30. Jacoby Jones
Comments:
* Hard not to put Andre Johnson first. I put him second only because I play a guy this week with Andre Johnson – trying to disrupt his rhythm here a bit.
* Wayne should be good too even though Manning will likely have Collie back.
* I expect Hakeem Nicks to get back into it a bit this week, especially with Asante Samuel’s ongoing injury issues.
* Kenny Britt should regain his strong form.
* I know Wallace faces a tough Jets’ secondary, but I really do believe the Jets’ grand plans for this year were flushed down with unheralded Jim Leonhard’s injury. He held that defense together – I wouldn’t be surprised to see Pitt’s offense pick them apart despite a poor showing last week.
* Miles Austin is just plain overdue. I realize it’s risky to start a guy who has been pretty consistently mediocre, but he’s one guy Jason Garrett has to be talking about getting the ball to – he’s too good to be so uninvolved.
* I ranked NE’s WRs Welker and Branch 14 and 21. Risky rankings. Both could go off – but for some reason I don’t think so. The Packers’ D is very underrated and while both Branch and Welker are quick as lightening, one of them will likely draw a CB who is super quick himself and having one of the best seasons of any cb in the NFL – Tramon Williams. The other guy gets Charles Woodson who’s not bad. Still, the way the Pats are playing, you’d have to think one of these guys will score.
* Some tough calls out there this week – guys like Santana Moss and Brandon Marshall could be good, but could also flop.
* One sleeper might be Jacoby Ford from Oakland. He’s a dynamic player with the ball in his hands and can score from anywhere on the field at anytime.
Tight Ends
1. Jason Witten
2. Zach Miller
3. Jacob Tamme
4. Marcedes Lewis
5. Owen Daniels
6. Chris Cooley
7. Brandon Pettigrew
8. Kellen Winslow
9. Benjamin Watson
10. Anthony Fasano
11. Andrew Quarless
12. Kevin Boss
13. Tony Gonzalez
14. Jermaine Gresham
15. Bo Scaife
Comments:
* Wow was Vernon Davis bad fantasy-wise last night – Alex Smith wasn’t even looking for his best player.
* Witten should continue to roll as Kitna seems to look first for Witten on most pass plays.
* Zach Miller got into the action last week and I see this continuing. Campbell likes throwing to him and TEs in general.
* Tamme and Lewis will benefit from being a part of a high scoring contest.
* Kellen Winslow could be active again for TB. Freeman is just starting to realize that it’s smart to look for a talented guy who is often drifting wide open up the seam.
* I like Anthony Fasano this week as Miami tries to overcome the embarrassment from last week (55 yards passing).
* Andrew Quarless finally got involved in the Packers’ offense last week – too bad he was the only one involved.
Kickers
1. David Akers
2. Josh Brown
3. Dan Carpenter
4. Neil Rackers
5. Matt Bryant
6. Olindo Mare
7. Adam Vinatieri
8. Connor Barth
9. Shayne Graham
10. David Buehler
Comments:
* I see Josh Brown and the Rams locked in a FG type game with KC.
* Neil Rackers might be busy as I expect Hou and Tenn to score a fair amount.
* I think the Atlanta/Seattle game could end up being a big game for kickers.
* Vinatieri (and possibly Josh Scobee too) could end up being quite busy.
* Buehler feels like a very safe play this week, but he could even be extra huge if Wash can keep Dallas out of the end zone.
Defense/Special Teams
1. Steelers
2. Dolphins
3. Bears
4. Falcons
5. Oakland
6. Giants
7. Bengals
8. Browns
9. Ravens
10. Chiefs
Comments:
* This was difficult. I think the Steelers are a fairly safe choice though I will say, the Jets’ offense, as bad as it is, is long overdue for a bust-out game. Just can’t see it happening against a hungry Pitt defense that destroyed Cincy last week.
* The Dolphins DST is underrated…on the road. At home they haven’t been too good. While Ryan Fitzpatrick may get some yards and a score or two, I don’t see Buff doing much on offense in this one.
* The Bears DST will benefit from playing on a frozen field at the U of Minnesota – can’t imagine either offense will be good in this one.
* The Giants could get burned and putting them #6 could be a mistake. But they can be a really tough D and I can see some sacks and turnovers in this one.
* While I initially thought the Cleve/Cincy game would be a high scoring one, I’m now thinking it will be a low-scoring brawler type game.