Ministry of Pain
Footballguy
You guys got to me a little today. I gotta be honest though, when I look at what I likely am going to be working during the week, it really is not going to leave much time. But let's enjoy week 1 and maybe I can figure something out as I go. I always try to slim it down but then it expands. I have the first 9 games done for 1:00 tomorrow. The rest I will work on tonight and in the morning.
I think most of you understand the rules by now, no reason to go over them for now, but I am going to introduce a few abbreviations that you will need to know.
QBR(QB Rating) and that is going to be in relation to possible DB match ups. I am not going to go over each and every one as you can do that yourself but certain players I will highlight what a QB racks up. For example a QBR of say 100 vs another DB with a QBR of 60...the lower the number the better. That's really the big one so you got that down, we're good.
Green can be a must start, can also be a signal I think a guy could be a sleeper. Red means I don't see a strong performance. Bolded black is somewhere in the middle or it can be a stud that I just think doesn't need much love because everyone is going to start him anyways. Alright let's get it started.
Indy at Chicago
The first test for Andrew Luck and he has to march in Soldier Field in Chicago, fun funfun. I’ll be forward about the running game for Indy...skip it. I know everyone is DonaldBrown crazy and his stock made him rise into the 4th and 5th rounds of many drafts. I am not optimistic about what he will do on the ground behind this OLine right now.Can brown still rack up 10-12 in PPR leagues? He might but I think folks are way toohigh on a guy that could be out of a job by the end of the year if things don’t go right.The Bears are not bulletproof against the run by any stretch but they have really solidcorners as I am going to show you and that means the Safeties can pinch up on the runespecially with a rookie at QB even if his name is Andrew Luck.
For the Bears I would start Matt Forte all day long. Of course you will but there aresome other factors here that are going to push him into a big day for owners thisweekend. Let’s discuss the passing game for Chicago and how this will all tie together.The Bears have Brandon Marshall, drafted Jeffries, obviously they want to get moreweapons around Cutler. Unfortunately Week 1 for Brandon Marshall he will likely see alot of Vontae Davis. You might remember that Miami traded him to Indy and Dolphinsfans everywhere said good riddance...REALLY?! Vontae Davis had a QBR under 70 last year and was intercepting balls, battled thru injuries, allowed a few big oneshere and there but Davis can definitely cause some problems for Marshall. If Cutlerwere to lock in on his former buddy there could be problems. On the other side will beJerraud Powers who has been battling a few nicks and bruises but he gave up a ratingof around 98 last season, almost 30 points higher than Davis. Whoever lines up acrossfrom him is going to see some targets. Don’t forget that Dwight Freeney and RobertMathis will be crashing the boards on a somewhat suspect Bears OLine and that isgoing to put a lot of pressure on Cutler so I expect FORTE to get a lot of runs once theBears figure out they can just run right over the Colts if they try hard enough. MichaelBush could see some action here as well, I expect both of these backs to look goodwhen they are on the field.
Last on the list here is the passing match up for Indy and I gotta tell you that Tillman andJennings gave up a total of 5 TDs last year, not a piece but combined. They only allowa QBR of about 70 between the 2 of them. Luck is not going to be able to get it into thereceivers every time he would like. The Chicago Safeties are another matter and theydon’t rate anywhere close to the other DBs for the Bears so perhaps Luck could workon the TE spot, I just don’t have a lot of faith in rookie TEs. Also, the speedy TY Hilton isnursing some injuries and the Colts don’t have a lot of other speed at the position. Lookfor Reggie Wayne to haul in 5-6 balls though as Luck quickly figures out who has thebest hands. I don’t see him ripping off a real deep one but with Hilton out perhaps theyat least try once.
Final Score: Chicago 27...Indy 13
Philly at Cleveland
Honestly there is not a lot to talk about here and I will go thru this game somewhatquickly. The big talk is about Trent Richardson but honestly he has been banged upalready, I’m not expecting a lot this week. Maybe 12-15 touches and should the gameget out of hand perhaps even less. Montario Hardesty, don’t bother. I am not optimisticabout Weeden under center either. Little, Massaquoi, Gordon, most of it seems like a waste right now.
For the Eagles...do you have to roll with Vick week 1? I think this game is actuallygoing to be messy and again I think the running game and Shady will be what saves
the Eagles. not that they can’t throw or Vick dominate but he has been injured and Ithink they can play it pretty safe. I am not expecting a gigantic day out of Vick, Jackson,or Maclin. That’s not to say one of them can’t go for 80-100 yards but I just think theluxury of a top running game will make a big difference for them. I am interested inJason Avant and Brent Celek as the Safeties seem a little weak here although thenumbers last year were not all that bad. Not sure who the DB3 is exactly for Clevelandbut he is going to have his hands full.
Final Score: Philadelphia 23...Cleveland 9
St Louis at Detroit
Did I read that Brandon Gibson is still the WR2 in St Louis? OOF!!! Amendola/Gibson/St.Smith is what Bradford has to look forward to and also doesn’t really have a TE. Iguess this is what happens when you spend all your money on a QB. I’m joking but theyhave done a terrible job surrounding him with good talent including a very shaky OL.Until Quick and Givens can get up to speed the Rams are going to be challenged to findsuccess. Jackson should see a lot of touches but until they can stretch the field there isno reason for the Lions to respect the pass...
That said the Lions are prime to be taken advantage of. Chris Houston who was prettysolid last season looks doubtful for the Lions. Jonte Green may start in his place. BillBentley is the other CB, a rookie starting his first NFL game...if only Bradford had someweapons to work it down the field. Louis Delman and Erik Coleman round out a verysuspect secondary that has one saving grace...a mauling pass rushing DL that canmake a pop warner team look credible when they have their way. And the Rams willhave plenty of problems trying to keep them away from Bradford.
The Lions are going to have a field day as the Rams are rolling Janoris Jenkins, anotherrookie getting his 1st start in all likelihood. I expect Finnegan and one of the Safeties tobe all over Calvin who will still find his catches but the reality is Matt Stafford will go rightinto the candy jar on the other side. I’m calling for a good game week 1 for Burleson.Nate has been working hard all summer, dropped about 12 pounds, lifted more weights,increased his quickness, he is not handing this over to Titus Young without a fight. I
actually think Young will have a nice day as the 3rd target, Pettigrew will get in on theaction. Stafford will have 350/3TD+ you can bank on it. They have the weapons andmore weapons to run the Rams right out of the gym. Kevin Smith should have a goodday but I expect the Lions to be winning most of the way, no reason to burn that guy upwith so much mystery surrounding the RB position. Final Score: Detroit 38...St Louis 16
Miami at Houston
I think this could be a surprise game if folks aren’t careful. Let’s talk about whatHouston is going to do. Foster is hurt, Tate is not the same back that Foster is andMiami has a decent front seven although they were in a 3-4 last year and I am not a fanof taking mostly the same personnel and just flipping it into a new defense. Still though,Miami has Sean Smith and Richard Marshall in the secondary, Nolan Carroll at the DB3spot, Houston doesn’t have a ton of firepower after Andre Johnson. I think Miami DBsclearly have the edge over the second line of rookie WRs in Houston so they can focuson Johnson and then Owen Daniels. If Miami were better on offense I might call for anupset but the fact is Miami has lost to Houston almost every time the two teams meet.
Reggie Bush is going to see the ball a lot tomorrow but he is going up against a verytough defense and I don’t expect him to run for days. I do expect him to see a lot ofcheck downs as Tannehill realizes that Bess and Hartline are not frontline WRs. I alsoexpect Tannehill to help the Texans at some point or points throughout the game, he isa rookie and has almost no help at WR...sorry. Miami down by 4 in the 4th and we’ll geta pick 6 going the other way to ice it for the Texans.
Tannehill on the phone from the sidelines “Mr Ireland, where is our Andre Johnson?”
Ireland “We traded him to the Bears.”
Final Score: Houston 21...Miami 10
Jacksonville at Minnesota
A lot of bad football is going to be played on Sunday it seems, this is another one ofthose could get ugly type games and not because one team is necessarily blowing outthe other one. And here we will see that a team has a weakness but again it might behard for the other to actually exploit it.
MJD is not likely to see a ton of action as he held out and was not around to learn thenew offense. I am sure he will adapt and they will get him some touches but I would notexpect him to approach anything close to 20. I still expect Jennings to have a role thisyear, not as much as we expected earlier but I still feel he will carve out a niche on ateam that is thirsting for more playmakers. This week Jennings seems to be the safer
pick and hopefully none of us have egg on our face this Sunday.
Let’s discuss Justin Blackmon who is pretty high on the totem poll this week. He is arookie and he likely will see a lot of 14 year veteran Antoine Winfield who was still atop20 Corner last season. This will be a good test for Blackmon as Winfield knowsevery trick in the book but he is aging so again I like the matchup for Blackmon’s growthand I think he can haul in 4-6 catches but what that means in yards and TDs is anyone’sguess. I own him in FFPC and I think I am gonna roll the dice here It’s risky but theJags don’t have a ton of options.
The Vikings will be trying to gain an identity because they cannot run ADP 15-20 times,in fact I expect a handful of touches and they ease him back. They are not playing forthe playoffs this season I can assure you so why rush him? I do expect Percy Harvinto see a lot of touches and a lot of targets this week. Rashean Mathis has somethinglike a 106 QBR going last season, he certainly has had better years in the past. Harvinlines up everywhere so it would be hard to say exactly who is going to cover him all thetime. Dawan Landry will try and make his presence felt while keeping an eye on KyleRudolph who likely is the second receiving option on Sunday.
Final Score: Jacksonville 17...Minnesota 14
Atlanta at Kansas City
The Falcons last season closed with 4 terrible rush defense performances in their last 6 games including totals of 162, 157, 164 and 172 by the NYG in a 24-2 beat down.Atlanta fans and supporters are fired up. Now I think Kansas City is a good bet to tryand get 15-20 touches to one RB, and then another 12-15 to the other. It will be groundand pound as they try and limit the amount of drives for Atlanta. It sounds really goodon paper. And the Chiefs have rebuilt the right side of that OL with additions like EricWinston who comes over from the vaunted Texans OL of a year ago. Atlanta wasoutscored in those 4 games 109-58...but things are also not what they appear.
Despite Arrowhead and it being one of the toughest places to play opening week in theNFL, and despite the Falcons not being that great outside the dome, there still is a lotof questions the Chiefs are going to have answer. Who exactly is going to cover JulioJones and Roddy White?
The Chiefs have a bunch of injuries in their secondary, LCB Brandon Flowers, JalilBrown, both are questionable, FS Kendrich Lewis is doubtful, the MLBs Johnson andBelcher are both questionable, the Chiefs do not have a great pass rush although theycan stop the run. Jackson and Dorsey are pillars in the run game but they offer verylittle pass rush and the Chiefs don’t have outstanding OLBs either. So despite mewanting to paint this picture of the Chiefs pounding the ball all day, my brain says theFalcons will make enough big plays to win this game.
Turner and Rodgers won’t be settled this weekend. I don’t expect Atlanta to run the ballvery well so they will take to the air. That favors Rodgers maybe but it does nothing
to change the status of Michael Turner in the running game. I see Turner havingsomething like 16/60 on the ground, maybe a late TD and I see Rodgers with probablya couple of receptions but many less carries. Could be frustrating for owners this firstweek.
Final Score: Atlanta 24...Kansas City 17
Washington at New Orleans
Evan Royster..I mean Alfred Morris...err Roy Helu. Royster could easily be named thestarter and Helu come out and break the huddle on the 1st play. Shanny has done itbefore, would not surprise me. I can’t think of a good reason to really start any of themas they all will see action but if I had to bet on one guy it would probably be Helu justbased on talent.
The Redskins should try and take to the air although they will have some challengesthere as well. I know RG III has played big games before but in the Superdome againstthe Saints, one of the biggest high powered offenses in the league, just can’t see himfeeling totally comfortable right away. Patrick Robinson presents a lot of challenges. Iam looking forward to 3 WR sets with Moss, Garcon, and Hankerson. I think LeonardHankerson could be a big sleeper this week. Robinson and Jabari Greer batted down24 passes between the 2 of them, Harper and Jenkins however at Safety did not pick off1 single pass all season. They were busy earning their money in other ways and theylove to play run support but I feel they both can be had over the top. Is that Garcon?Perhaps but I see Hankerson getting deep on them and perhaps even a bustedcoverage to make it even easier for him.
You know to start most of your Saints. I would not wheel out a WR2/3 for this team until we see a game or two but Lance Moore will be an interesting watch and how muchaction he gets. Sproles IMO will not be used as much this season, call it a career yearlast year. He’ll be solid but not like it was last season. I do think Pierre Thomas willsurprise some folks this week. Game should be in hand, maybe Ingram some too but Ithink he is behind Thomas on the depth charts. It really doesn’t matter but I see runningthe clock out at some point.
Final Score: New Orleans 42...Washington 23
Buffalo at NY Jets
You can just bench Steve Johnson who is questionable and likely going against Revis,just sit him. Donald Jones/David Nelson/Scott Chandler will have to pick up the slackand the Bills are going to need to work the middle of the field and the slot. Expect a big
dose of Fred Jackson. I did not see from Spiller in the preseason what we saw in thelast couple weeks of 2011. I would not be flexing him right away, could be a big hole onyour roster.
The Jets have looked terrible on offense, much of it IMO is with the running game. Whydid they not go out and get a big time superback for this offense. Either draft, trade, dosomething but this is terrible. I also think Santonio Holmes will finally once and for allimplode at some point. I am with Jeff Tefertiller on the Stephen Hill hype train. Expecta pretty strong defensive struggle in this one.
Final Score: New York Jets 17...Buffalo 16
New England at Tennessee
Last time we had this game I believe the Pats won 59-0 and while I certainly don’texpect anything close to that, I also don’t anticipate the Titans coming close to winningthis game either. Shane Vereen is Out for this game which makes Ridley an absolute must start thisweek. You already were starting everyone else on the Patriots including the waterboyso just add Ridley on to that last.
The Titans are getting a lot of love, especially Nate Washington this week. I do notexpect any of the Titans WRs to vault over 60-75 yards. I know folks are runningWashington out there but I don’t think Locker is going to have a field day against thePatriots. I do expect Chris Johnson to see the ball a lot. The Titans must shorten thegame to have any chance but again I would expect the Patriots to win this game fairlyeasily.
Final Score: New England 34...Tennessee 17
I'll work on the rest for the morning and feel free to not only ask questions but please if you have information that is different from what I am posting, don't be shy. Also feel free to answer others questions, don't wait for me.
I think most of you understand the rules by now, no reason to go over them for now, but I am going to introduce a few abbreviations that you will need to know.
QBR(QB Rating) and that is going to be in relation to possible DB match ups. I am not going to go over each and every one as you can do that yourself but certain players I will highlight what a QB racks up. For example a QBR of say 100 vs another DB with a QBR of 60...the lower the number the better. That's really the big one so you got that down, we're good.
Green can be a must start, can also be a signal I think a guy could be a sleeper. Red means I don't see a strong performance. Bolded black is somewhere in the middle or it can be a stud that I just think doesn't need much love because everyone is going to start him anyways. Alright let's get it started.
Indy at Chicago
The first test for Andrew Luck and he has to march in Soldier Field in Chicago, fun funfun. I’ll be forward about the running game for Indy...skip it. I know everyone is DonaldBrown crazy and his stock made him rise into the 4th and 5th rounds of many drafts. I am not optimistic about what he will do on the ground behind this OLine right now.Can brown still rack up 10-12 in PPR leagues? He might but I think folks are way toohigh on a guy that could be out of a job by the end of the year if things don’t go right.The Bears are not bulletproof against the run by any stretch but they have really solidcorners as I am going to show you and that means the Safeties can pinch up on the runespecially with a rookie at QB even if his name is Andrew Luck.
For the Bears I would start Matt Forte all day long. Of course you will but there aresome other factors here that are going to push him into a big day for owners thisweekend. Let’s discuss the passing game for Chicago and how this will all tie together.The Bears have Brandon Marshall, drafted Jeffries, obviously they want to get moreweapons around Cutler. Unfortunately Week 1 for Brandon Marshall he will likely see alot of Vontae Davis. You might remember that Miami traded him to Indy and Dolphinsfans everywhere said good riddance...REALLY?! Vontae Davis had a QBR under 70 last year and was intercepting balls, battled thru injuries, allowed a few big oneshere and there but Davis can definitely cause some problems for Marshall. If Cutlerwere to lock in on his former buddy there could be problems. On the other side will beJerraud Powers who has been battling a few nicks and bruises but he gave up a ratingof around 98 last season, almost 30 points higher than Davis. Whoever lines up acrossfrom him is going to see some targets. Don’t forget that Dwight Freeney and RobertMathis will be crashing the boards on a somewhat suspect Bears OLine and that isgoing to put a lot of pressure on Cutler so I expect FORTE to get a lot of runs once theBears figure out they can just run right over the Colts if they try hard enough. MichaelBush could see some action here as well, I expect both of these backs to look goodwhen they are on the field.
Last on the list here is the passing match up for Indy and I gotta tell you that Tillman andJennings gave up a total of 5 TDs last year, not a piece but combined. They only allowa QBR of about 70 between the 2 of them. Luck is not going to be able to get it into thereceivers every time he would like. The Chicago Safeties are another matter and theydon’t rate anywhere close to the other DBs for the Bears so perhaps Luck could workon the TE spot, I just don’t have a lot of faith in rookie TEs. Also, the speedy TY Hilton isnursing some injuries and the Colts don’t have a lot of other speed at the position. Lookfor Reggie Wayne to haul in 5-6 balls though as Luck quickly figures out who has thebest hands. I don’t see him ripping off a real deep one but with Hilton out perhaps theyat least try once.
Final Score: Chicago 27...Indy 13
Philly at Cleveland
Honestly there is not a lot to talk about here and I will go thru this game somewhatquickly. The big talk is about Trent Richardson but honestly he has been banged upalready, I’m not expecting a lot this week. Maybe 12-15 touches and should the gameget out of hand perhaps even less. Montario Hardesty, don’t bother. I am not optimisticabout Weeden under center either. Little, Massaquoi, Gordon, most of it seems like a waste right now.
For the Eagles...do you have to roll with Vick week 1? I think this game is actuallygoing to be messy and again I think the running game and Shady will be what saves
the Eagles. not that they can’t throw or Vick dominate but he has been injured and Ithink they can play it pretty safe. I am not expecting a gigantic day out of Vick, Jackson,or Maclin. That’s not to say one of them can’t go for 80-100 yards but I just think theluxury of a top running game will make a big difference for them. I am interested inJason Avant and Brent Celek as the Safeties seem a little weak here although thenumbers last year were not all that bad. Not sure who the DB3 is exactly for Clevelandbut he is going to have his hands full.
Final Score: Philadelphia 23...Cleveland 9
St Louis at Detroit
Did I read that Brandon Gibson is still the WR2 in St Louis? OOF!!! Amendola/Gibson/St.Smith is what Bradford has to look forward to and also doesn’t really have a TE. Iguess this is what happens when you spend all your money on a QB. I’m joking but theyhave done a terrible job surrounding him with good talent including a very shaky OL.Until Quick and Givens can get up to speed the Rams are going to be challenged to findsuccess. Jackson should see a lot of touches but until they can stretch the field there isno reason for the Lions to respect the pass...
That said the Lions are prime to be taken advantage of. Chris Houston who was prettysolid last season looks doubtful for the Lions. Jonte Green may start in his place. BillBentley is the other CB, a rookie starting his first NFL game...if only Bradford had someweapons to work it down the field. Louis Delman and Erik Coleman round out a verysuspect secondary that has one saving grace...a mauling pass rushing DL that canmake a pop warner team look credible when they have their way. And the Rams willhave plenty of problems trying to keep them away from Bradford.
The Lions are going to have a field day as the Rams are rolling Janoris Jenkins, anotherrookie getting his 1st start in all likelihood. I expect Finnegan and one of the Safeties tobe all over Calvin who will still find his catches but the reality is Matt Stafford will go rightinto the candy jar on the other side. I’m calling for a good game week 1 for Burleson.Nate has been working hard all summer, dropped about 12 pounds, lifted more weights,increased his quickness, he is not handing this over to Titus Young without a fight. I
actually think Young will have a nice day as the 3rd target, Pettigrew will get in on theaction. Stafford will have 350/3TD+ you can bank on it. They have the weapons andmore weapons to run the Rams right out of the gym. Kevin Smith should have a goodday but I expect the Lions to be winning most of the way, no reason to burn that guy upwith so much mystery surrounding the RB position. Final Score: Detroit 38...St Louis 16
Miami at Houston
I think this could be a surprise game if folks aren’t careful. Let’s talk about whatHouston is going to do. Foster is hurt, Tate is not the same back that Foster is andMiami has a decent front seven although they were in a 3-4 last year and I am not a fanof taking mostly the same personnel and just flipping it into a new defense. Still though,Miami has Sean Smith and Richard Marshall in the secondary, Nolan Carroll at the DB3spot, Houston doesn’t have a ton of firepower after Andre Johnson. I think Miami DBsclearly have the edge over the second line of rookie WRs in Houston so they can focuson Johnson and then Owen Daniels. If Miami were better on offense I might call for anupset but the fact is Miami has lost to Houston almost every time the two teams meet.
Reggie Bush is going to see the ball a lot tomorrow but he is going up against a verytough defense and I don’t expect him to run for days. I do expect him to see a lot ofcheck downs as Tannehill realizes that Bess and Hartline are not frontline WRs. I alsoexpect Tannehill to help the Texans at some point or points throughout the game, he isa rookie and has almost no help at WR...sorry. Miami down by 4 in the 4th and we’ll geta pick 6 going the other way to ice it for the Texans.
Tannehill on the phone from the sidelines “Mr Ireland, where is our Andre Johnson?”
Ireland “We traded him to the Bears.”
Final Score: Houston 21...Miami 10
Jacksonville at Minnesota
A lot of bad football is going to be played on Sunday it seems, this is another one ofthose could get ugly type games and not because one team is necessarily blowing outthe other one. And here we will see that a team has a weakness but again it might behard for the other to actually exploit it.
MJD is not likely to see a ton of action as he held out and was not around to learn thenew offense. I am sure he will adapt and they will get him some touches but I would notexpect him to approach anything close to 20. I still expect Jennings to have a role thisyear, not as much as we expected earlier but I still feel he will carve out a niche on ateam that is thirsting for more playmakers. This week Jennings seems to be the safer
pick and hopefully none of us have egg on our face this Sunday.
Let’s discuss Justin Blackmon who is pretty high on the totem poll this week. He is arookie and he likely will see a lot of 14 year veteran Antoine Winfield who was still atop20 Corner last season. This will be a good test for Blackmon as Winfield knowsevery trick in the book but he is aging so again I like the matchup for Blackmon’s growthand I think he can haul in 4-6 catches but what that means in yards and TDs is anyone’sguess. I own him in FFPC and I think I am gonna roll the dice here It’s risky but theJags don’t have a ton of options.
The Vikings will be trying to gain an identity because they cannot run ADP 15-20 times,in fact I expect a handful of touches and they ease him back. They are not playing forthe playoffs this season I can assure you so why rush him? I do expect Percy Harvinto see a lot of touches and a lot of targets this week. Rashean Mathis has somethinglike a 106 QBR going last season, he certainly has had better years in the past. Harvinlines up everywhere so it would be hard to say exactly who is going to cover him all thetime. Dawan Landry will try and make his presence felt while keeping an eye on KyleRudolph who likely is the second receiving option on Sunday.
Final Score: Jacksonville 17...Minnesota 14
Atlanta at Kansas City
The Falcons last season closed with 4 terrible rush defense performances in their last 6 games including totals of 162, 157, 164 and 172 by the NYG in a 24-2 beat down.Atlanta fans and supporters are fired up. Now I think Kansas City is a good bet to tryand get 15-20 touches to one RB, and then another 12-15 to the other. It will be groundand pound as they try and limit the amount of drives for Atlanta. It sounds really goodon paper. And the Chiefs have rebuilt the right side of that OL with additions like EricWinston who comes over from the vaunted Texans OL of a year ago. Atlanta wasoutscored in those 4 games 109-58...but things are also not what they appear.
Despite Arrowhead and it being one of the toughest places to play opening week in theNFL, and despite the Falcons not being that great outside the dome, there still is a lotof questions the Chiefs are going to have answer. Who exactly is going to cover JulioJones and Roddy White?
The Chiefs have a bunch of injuries in their secondary, LCB Brandon Flowers, JalilBrown, both are questionable, FS Kendrich Lewis is doubtful, the MLBs Johnson andBelcher are both questionable, the Chiefs do not have a great pass rush although theycan stop the run. Jackson and Dorsey are pillars in the run game but they offer verylittle pass rush and the Chiefs don’t have outstanding OLBs either. So despite mewanting to paint this picture of the Chiefs pounding the ball all day, my brain says theFalcons will make enough big plays to win this game.
Turner and Rodgers won’t be settled this weekend. I don’t expect Atlanta to run the ballvery well so they will take to the air. That favors Rodgers maybe but it does nothing
to change the status of Michael Turner in the running game. I see Turner havingsomething like 16/60 on the ground, maybe a late TD and I see Rodgers with probablya couple of receptions but many less carries. Could be frustrating for owners this firstweek.
Final Score: Atlanta 24...Kansas City 17
Washington at New Orleans
Evan Royster..I mean Alfred Morris...err Roy Helu. Royster could easily be named thestarter and Helu come out and break the huddle on the 1st play. Shanny has done itbefore, would not surprise me. I can’t think of a good reason to really start any of themas they all will see action but if I had to bet on one guy it would probably be Helu justbased on talent.
The Redskins should try and take to the air although they will have some challengesthere as well. I know RG III has played big games before but in the Superdome againstthe Saints, one of the biggest high powered offenses in the league, just can’t see himfeeling totally comfortable right away. Patrick Robinson presents a lot of challenges. Iam looking forward to 3 WR sets with Moss, Garcon, and Hankerson. I think LeonardHankerson could be a big sleeper this week. Robinson and Jabari Greer batted down24 passes between the 2 of them, Harper and Jenkins however at Safety did not pick off1 single pass all season. They were busy earning their money in other ways and theylove to play run support but I feel they both can be had over the top. Is that Garcon?Perhaps but I see Hankerson getting deep on them and perhaps even a bustedcoverage to make it even easier for him.
You know to start most of your Saints. I would not wheel out a WR2/3 for this team until we see a game or two but Lance Moore will be an interesting watch and how muchaction he gets. Sproles IMO will not be used as much this season, call it a career yearlast year. He’ll be solid but not like it was last season. I do think Pierre Thomas willsurprise some folks this week. Game should be in hand, maybe Ingram some too but Ithink he is behind Thomas on the depth charts. It really doesn’t matter but I see runningthe clock out at some point.
Final Score: New Orleans 42...Washington 23
Buffalo at NY Jets
You can just bench Steve Johnson who is questionable and likely going against Revis,just sit him. Donald Jones/David Nelson/Scott Chandler will have to pick up the slackand the Bills are going to need to work the middle of the field and the slot. Expect a big
dose of Fred Jackson. I did not see from Spiller in the preseason what we saw in thelast couple weeks of 2011. I would not be flexing him right away, could be a big hole onyour roster.
The Jets have looked terrible on offense, much of it IMO is with the running game. Whydid they not go out and get a big time superback for this offense. Either draft, trade, dosomething but this is terrible. I also think Santonio Holmes will finally once and for allimplode at some point. I am with Jeff Tefertiller on the Stephen Hill hype train. Expecta pretty strong defensive struggle in this one.
Final Score: New York Jets 17...Buffalo 16
New England at Tennessee
Last time we had this game I believe the Pats won 59-0 and while I certainly don’texpect anything close to that, I also don’t anticipate the Titans coming close to winningthis game either. Shane Vereen is Out for this game which makes Ridley an absolute must start thisweek. You already were starting everyone else on the Patriots including the waterboyso just add Ridley on to that last.
The Titans are getting a lot of love, especially Nate Washington this week. I do notexpect any of the Titans WRs to vault over 60-75 yards. I know folks are runningWashington out there but I don’t think Locker is going to have a field day against thePatriots. I do expect Chris Johnson to see the ball a lot. The Titans must shorten thegame to have any chance but again I would expect the Patriots to win this game fairlyeasily.
Final Score: New England 34...Tennessee 17
I'll work on the rest for the morning and feel free to not only ask questions but please if you have information that is different from what I am posting, don't be shy. Also feel free to answer others questions, don't wait for me.
This must take a lot of time to do.
Glad you like it, I gotta work on the formatting.
pretty good stuff. I agree with Skilo though on Stevie in terms of him surprisingly doing ok vs. Revis Island but like its mentioned, Johnson isnt healthy.
I definitely said start your Pats, I would not hesitate on any of them. Every week at least 2 of them are going to hit the century mark IMO. Gronk/Lloyd, Hernandez/Welker, Gronk/Hernandez, Lloyd/Welker...and I think the other 2 will still be serviceable.
