QBS:
1. Aaron Rodgers - - Finally a break out game from Aaron! Six Touchdowns was a masterful performance against one of the top defenses coming in as well. He needs to avoid the look ahead bug and concentrate on a Saint Louis team that bodes a good pass rush and great man cover corners. But Houston's defense was nothing to scoff at either. Let's see if he can match half of last Sunday, you wouldn't complain about 3 Tds would you?
2. Drew Brees - - Tampa has had some health problems with cornerbacks and Aquib Talib's suspension should help out Drew who may be missing Jimmy Graham. But even if his star tight end misses the game start him confidently as he's so solid he can make Daniel Thomas look like an All-Pro. Marques Colston appears 100% healthy and they'll take their shots here. Drew usualyl isn't as amazing on grass as he is in the dome, but look for a strong effort nontheless.
3. Tom Brady - - Tom Brady looked good throwing to Aaron Hernandez last week and barring defensive breakdowns in the passing game the Patriots should have won. Look for them to throttle New York who is banged up. No Darrelle Revis means no problems for a team featuring a hungry Wes Welker.
4. Eli Manning - - Last week's Washington game got out of hand a little bit for the Vikes as they were trying to fight back. But one thing was for sure - Christian Ponder had no problem picking apart DeAngelo Hall and company. Eli gets Hakeem Nicks one week fresher, a returning Andre Brown and perhaps a numbler Martellus Bennett. He's a strong play here to go over 300 yards in a game that could dissolve into a shootout.
5. Matthew Stafford - - Matthew Stafford has not looked like himself this year at all. It troubles me and anyone else that figured he was a no brainer top 5 QB draft pick. But if you sacrificed that high of selection on him you must roll with him and hope he eventually gets out of his funk. Chicago has preyed on the last handful of quarterbacks they've faced making even Aaron Rodgers look mortal but you have to roll with your guy. They may have to throw a lot in this one.
6. Cam Newton - - Cam needs to be renamed Towel Pout. At least for the last handful of late lost games that has been his M.O. Still he's a dynamic beast of a singal caller good for at least a rushing touchdown and 200 yards rushing every game. I would start that wouldn't you?
7. Tony Romo 13. Joe Flacco
8. Robert Griffin 14. Christian Ponder
9. Matt Schaub 15. Andy Dalton
10. Jay Cutler 16. Ryan Fitzpatrick
11. Ben Roethlisberger 17. Alex Smith
12. Andrew Luck 18. Josh Freeman
RBS:
1. Arian Foster - - Arian has removed any questions about his health, maturity or consistency this year as he has been as reliable as they come. Even in the blowout loss he was still able to score and bail out his fantasy owners. Baltimore has been gouged on defense losing it's age old stars Ed Reed and Ray Lewis. it's so bad they're strying to get Suggs to come back soon. Arian has a good shot to hit 200 yards in this one
2. Ray Rice - - Through six weeks Ray Rice has clearly been the most impressive fantasy back, catching the ball and breaking long runs. IF you drafted him this year you have to be feeling pretty good about that.
3. Darren McFadden - - It was dissapointing to see McFadden not have a better matchup last week but a number of broken runs were called back on holding penalties. He should have great success at home where he is a tour de force against a Jaguars defense that is anything but. He'll hit it big this week
4. Adrian Peterson - Adrian Peterson has not been practising much this week leading up to his matchup against the Cardinals. Still he is the focal point of a surprisingly resurgent Minnesota offense that is remarkenly efficient. He's the best goalline runner in fantasy too so I'd roll the dice with A.P., he's said 'no doubt' he plays but don't all injured players?
5. Marshawn Lynch - - Ahmad Bradshaw showed us last week that San Francisco's defense isn't the 85 Bears. He hit the tune of over 150 yards and punched in a score as well. Russell Wilson plays smart and safe football which is exactly what a team with such offense lack of talent needs to do. Marshawn is their lone star and will be featured often. He may not crack a 100 yards but I think a score is likely seeing how Alex Smith turnovers should give Seattle a short field
6. Maurice Jones Drew - - It felt like being in another dimension watching Michael Turner get shut down against the Raiders last week. I think MoJo has no problem in a homecoming for the California child. Oakland will overlook a puny opponent that has had a whole bye week to gameplan and give their best shot to. Sneaky play here
7. Frank Gore - - Frank Gore didn'y have one carry in the second half. Maybe Harbaugh knew his offense didn't have a chance to pass to get them back into the game and he didn't want to risk injury. Still I'm bothered by this. If Seattle jumps out to a big lead does he do the same? I don't see that happening though. I bet the 49ers win big in a blowout and Gore scores once or twice.
8. Doug Martin - Most years the starting tailback for Tampa against he mighty Saints would be a sit scenario as the team would play from behind almost certainly. But these ain't those Saints. These Saints give near any offense a chance and I think this game will be a lot closer than many people predict. Schiano has his big uglies on the line opening up nice holes.
9. Trent Richardson - - I would have Trent even higher on this week's ranking if Shurmur didn't say a scary statement earlier this week, hinting that a carry share could exist to preserve his rib injury. Hardesty was used a lot in the second half and you could see more of that. Or worse if they fall behind Chris Ogbonnaya will be the pass back to own. But still the Colts are not stopping the run at all this year so on paper a healthy Richardson is a strong play
10. Alfred Morris - - We saw this Vince Young in his time with Seattle when CJ2k looked his best - scrambling quarterbacks open up big chances for their tailbacks because you hesitate and have to cover the whole field. This tough rookie surprise is always hard to bring down to. New York's defense has been on fire recently but I wouldn't be surprised to see Morris hit a hundred.
11. Reshard Mendenhall - - Ole' Reshard cost me a game last week but I'm not giving up on him. He is far and away the best runningback on the Steelers roster and the Bengals have struggled stopping the run thus far this year. If his Achilles injury isn't as bad as thought I roll here confidently but be sure to check out my injury list before kickoff.
12. Stevan Ridley - - So wow NewYork. The Jets sullied Vick Ballard's rookie start for Indy. A big lead will do that. Take out the big lead and the Jets are still struggling to stop anything between the tackles as their nose tackles have been nicked up. It was strange to see Bellichick completely abandon the run game last week. Seattle is good but still give your guys a chance. Ridley is the best back New England has had for a long time and he should have a good bounce back game here.
13. Matt Forte- If you're looking for one of the biggest differences between this and last year's Detroit team start pointing fingers at the defense which has been remarkably porous against the run. That undersized defensive line especially is getting pushed around. The Bye week came just in time for Forte whou should return renewed and revigorated. He'll score in the air and on the ground - mark it down.
14. Ahmad Bradshaw 26. Pierre Thomas
15. Mikell Leshoure 27. Mark Ingram
16. BenJarvis Green Ellis 28. Ben Tate
17. Chris Johnson 29. Alex Green
18. Fred Jackson 30. William Powell
19. Felix Jones 31. Kendall Hunter
20. Steven Jackson 32. Daryl Richardson
21. Michael Bush 33. Jonathan Stewart
22. C.J. Spiller 34. Vick Ballard
23. Shonn Greene 35. Andre Brown
24. Darren Sproles 36. Montario Hardesty
25. DeAngelo Williams 37. Danny Woodhead
WRS:
1. Calvin Johnson - Megatron has underperformed to his own superstandards that he set last year. But you have to continue to roll with him, trust me, the week you consider benching him is the week he'll catch 3 touchdowns and 200 yards recieving.
2. Larry Fitzgerald - - With no viable starting runningback for the Cardinals, John Skelton will have to pass a ton. Remember he won the job in training camp and has a better deep ball than Kolb, figure that Fitz is bound to see 12-15 targets a game and with his great hands he can make fantasy numbers out of that even if he is doubled every play.
3. A.J. Green - - A.J. showed us that deep ball craving from 2011 last week and this figures to be a good matchup for Dalton and crew. Look for at least one 40+ yard touchdown as long as he's not hobbled by a new knee injury that crept up recently. Many are calling this guy the top wide receiver to draft next year. Let's just see if he can keep it up - Cincy's schedule is going to get real tough here soon.
4. Victor Cruz - - Victor Cruz answered the call as the unquestioned No.1 last Sunday on a national stage. Plus he seems to have moved on from the dropsies that plagued him in week one. He salsa danced up and down against the 49ers and his sure hands are proving to be a fantasy owners favorite pair of mittens. In the shootout roll with Cruz.
5. Percy Harvin - Percy Harvin this summer requested a trade for not getting resigned. Minnesota has got to pay da man for helping Ponder look so great and scoring touchdowns as a goal line rushing tailback. He's at the top of his game this year.
6. Brandon Marshall - - Let's hope the bye week hasn't slowed down how amazing the NFL's best QB to WR connection had gotten. He slaughtered Dallas on a national stage and now gets a team with practice squad players at cornerbacks. This one could be tasty Monday night
7. Andre Johnson - - That makes two very quiet games in a row for Andre Johnson. Losing Ladarius Webb certainly hurts the Ravens so let's hope he can surpass 10 fantasy points because he has all the talent in the world and is healthy right? Right? C'mon Man!
8. Marques Colston - - Marques Colston started the year injured that was certainyl apparent and perhaps lead to the losing start for the proud Saints. However he was on fire like a player from NFL 2K the two weeks before the bye. He should resume the heavy lifting here against a Tampa squad that has struggled to stop the pass. Look for 12 catches and a score here.
9. Wes Welker - Wes Welker has returned to prominence with Aaron Hernandez missing time. Unfortunately for Wes owners the Patriots get back their top target so it's possible his 15 catch days may be scaled back a bit. Brandon Lloyd keeps dropping touchdown passes so Welker is the wideout to own in Boston.
10. Steve Smith - - Steve Smith has never scored at home so far this year? Huh? I will say it's strange to see him get caught from behind which 5 years ago never would have happened. He's the clear No.1 receiver and still has the game knowledge to get the yards. Unfortuantley the scores for him this year will be low. Look for a hungry Carolina squad to be well prepared for Dallas.
11. Jordy Nelson - - a whopping 30 point fantasy day for a receiver is devastating and if you played against a guy that owned him you certainly lost. So why only 11th? That was Jordy's breakout game but it was his only plausibly good fantasy week. He's been too inconsistent for me to rave too much about the guy
12. Dez Bryant - - I maybe had Dez way too high on my draftboard and thus own him in a good number of leagues but he made me look smart last week at least. 13 catches and two touchdowns! Sadly it was his 2 pt conversion drop that may be remembered the most from that matchup but it's a promising sign for a stud young receiver maybe wiping out the cobwebs from a tough offseason to hit paydirt.
13. Mike Wallace - You have to be prepared for Reshard Mendenhall to perhaps miss this game. Even if it is like a 20% chance we've seen how huge of a dropoff it is and how one dimensional this Steeler O can be with Isaac Redmon or worse Baron Batch carrying the rock. With that risk alone I'm ranking Mike Wallace high for this one.
14. Vincent Jackson 28. Mike Williams
15. Stevie Johnson 29. Anquan Boldin
16. Miles Austin 30. Sidney Rice
17. Antonio Brown 31. Andre Roberts
18. Kenny Britt 32. Jerome Simpson
19. Brandon Lloyd 33. Kendall Wright
20. Reggie Wayne 34. Deverey Henderson
21. Denarius Moore 35. Donnie Avery
22. Torrey Smith 36. Darryius Heyward Bey
23. James Jones 37. Brandon Gibson
24. Hakeem Nicks 38. Justin Blackmon
25. Lance Moore 39. Josh Gordon
26. Randall Cobb 40. Domenik Hixon
27. Michael Crabtree
TES
1. Rob Gronkowski - - The Patriots have their best group of receivers since Randy Moss rode off into the sunset. Should open things in the middle quite nicely
2. Vernon Davis - Vernon Davis is the best wide receiver, er, tight end for the 49ers. If theres a red zone touchdown put up in the air he's the San Fran player you want to own in fantasy.
3. Brandon Pettigrew - - It surprised a lot of people when I picked Detroit to liss the playoffs but that out on a limb prediction is looking truer by the second. Stafford may not finish the season but Pettigrew will continue to produce like a monster
4. Jason Witten 8. Owen Daniels
5. Kyle Rudolph 9. Aaron Hernandez
6. Martellus Bennett 10. Heath Miller
7. Jimmy Graham (injured?)
DEF
1. San Francisco 49ers - - The poor 49ers defense was on the limelight this past weekend but let's be clear - San Francisco turnovers killed this team and gave the defense little chance to keep the score low and competitve. They should bounce back fine even against Russell Wilson who's had two come from behind victories in as many weeks. He'll struggle to achieve that here.
2. Arizona Cardinals - Lost admist all the headlines of losing 2 runningback starters and Kevin Kolb to injury this year has been how good the defense has played. Add in Patrick Peterson's ability to take a punt back at any point and I think they can harass Christian Ponder and keep this game close.
3. Minnesota Vikings -- This game may be a very low scoring affair. Cuz while I said what I did above, John Skelton did not look good in Week 1 against Seattle. Somehow he won the job but has the time off helped? Meanwhile Antoine Winfield and the Minnesota crew and playing well for the defensive minded Leslie Frazier.
4. Houston Texans 8. Chicago Bears
5. Seattle Seahawks 9. New England Patriots
6. Buffalo Bills 10. Green Bay Packers
7. Cincinnati Bengals
