Jay Cutler should be able to shred the Saints defense this Sunday and find his chick-beating WR all dayI figured while I'm surfing the net for this stuff, I'd link some things I found interesting for the readers of the Thigh too. It'll also be handy for me so I have the sites in front of me on here. Whether or not this will be a weekly thing, I don't know...
- I always check out Rotoworld's rankings with Gregg Rosenthal, ESPN's rankings from four people(Matthew Berry, Eric Karabell, Eric Kuselias, and Christopher Harris), and Yahoo's rankings(former ESPN geek Brandon Funston, Andy Behrens, Brad Evans, and Scott Pianowski). By the way, where the fuck did Hector and Vic from ESPN go? Fella and I were wondering that the other day. If anybody knows where their projections could be found, let me know.
- Matthew Dumbo Ears Berry's "Love/Hate" on ESPN. I find myself disagreeing with this guy more than any of the "experts" out there by the way.
- Aaron Gleeman of Rotoworld wonders if the days of the Jaguars having a tremendous running attack with Maurice Jones Drew and Fred Taylor are gone.
- Jamey Eisenberg of CBS Sports offers his start em/sit em. I disagree on his advice to sit Roddy White though as I explain below in my own picks.
- Fox Sports' Roger Rotter has a kickass name, and offers some very detailed projections.
- Pro Football Weekly has some good advice about week 3 running backs.
- Fantasy Football Goat's always got some terrific fantasy material. For those of you that don't like reading much, they do podcasts, such as one this week for injuries and start em/sit em's. Football Jabber has podcasts for such topics as well.
- The Bruno Boys have their "2 minute warning" offering some great advice geared towards deeper leagues.
- Injuries leave your team in awful shape already? The Fantasy Football Geek Blog offers some advice if you're desperate.
- Pyle Of List makes your fantasies come true!
- Fantasy Football Fools' Week 3 Hot Hands and Cold Shoulders.
And for some picks of my own that are sure to look awful come Tuesday:
Week 3's Best...
QB: Jay Cutler. After lighting up the Raiders and Chargers with 6 touchdowns and 1 interception, Cutler should light up a banged up Saints defense at home. 300+ yards and 3 td's seems about right. Most of the experts are saying Romo, but I could see the Packers defense at home giving him some trouble.
RB: Frank Gore. With a below average passing game, the 49ers should feed Gore the ball like crazy against a defense allowing 240 yds/game on the ground thus far.
WR: Brandon Marshall. Don't really agree with him slapping women around... but do agree he can catch 140 passes this season. Shit, he's played only one game and had 18.
TE: John Carlson. "Who the fuck Clapp?" I know, it seems like a reach, but I really expect him to have a huge week. The Seahawks wide receivers are dropping like flies. Apparently Courtney Taylor and Koren Robinson who they just signed this week will be the starting wide receiver. No Deion Branch, no Bobby Engram, no Nate Burleson... you get the point. Carlson might be Hasselbeck's best target, and already has 10 catches for 130 yards. I'm predicting 5+ catches with a touchdown.
K: Mason Crosby. A toss up between him and Nick Folk... and they'll be playing each other. I'll go with the kicker from the team I think is going to score the most points.
D: Bears. They look incredibly fast to the ball and appear to have that swagger back after taking '07 off(although injuries certainly played a part in it). Home opener against a weak offense should= huge day.
Sleeper Picks...
QB: Eli Manning. The Bengals defense has less talent than the basketball teams in Teen Wolf.
RB: Michael Bush. If you're looking for a running back, pick him up. Even with Darren McFadden likely to start, he should get plenty of carries with Justin Fargas out. Bush was expected to be a top-10 pick in the NFL Draft before injuring his knee at Louisville. It appears he's fully recovered, as displayed by his 32-yard touchdown run last week at Kansas City.
WR: Roddy White. Matt Ryan played well against the Lions defense, and expect him to do the same against the abysmal Kansas City defense that will be starting two rookie cornerbacks. Roddy White should have a huge day.
TE: Dallas Clark. It appears he's finally back. Peyton's yet to get his game where he wants it to be, and he hasn't been helped by his usually reliable receiving corps that's dropped at least a few potential touchdowns. Dallas Clark caught 11 of those for Peyton last year. Expect him to look for his security blanket this week.
K: Rian Lindell. Rotoworld ranks him 25th and ESPn 24th. One of the better kickers in the league, I think he's also one of the top fantas kickers this week against a Raiders defense that allowed 41 points to the Broncos at home. The Bills offense is looking pretty good, and he should get at least plenty of extra point chances, if not field goal chances.
D: Bills. At home against a Raiders offense that was almost shutout against the Broncos at home, and scored 23 last week... but against Kansas City. Add in that running back Justin Fargas and wide receiver Javon Walker are likely out, and this could be quite an ugly day for the Raiders offense.
Shit Picks...
QB: Brian Griese. Joey Galloway is out, leaving him with Antonio Bryant, Michael Clayton, and Ike Hilliard as the best receiving options. Oh, and he'll be facing a Bears defense that looks every bit as good as the one that went to the Super Bowl in 2006. The Bucs might give Earnest Graham and Warrick Dunn the ball 40 times.
RB:Jamal Lewis. Unless it's a top-10 back, you don't want to start them against the Ravens. Not a bad flex option, but you could do better with your 2 starting RB spots.
WR: Chad Ocho Cinco. He'll blow up at some point soon, but this is not a good match-up for him and his struggling quarterback Carson Palmer(49.0 completion percentage, 0 td, 3 int). The Giants defense, and specifically pass rush is looking better than most expected with the loss of Michael Strahan to retirement and Osi Umenyiora to injury.
TE: Greg Olsen. 2 catches last week... 2 fumbles. It might take him a few games to get his confidence back.
K: Shayne Graham. Had him until this week, but finally dropped him. Until the Bengals offense plays like they're capable of, sit him.
D: Broncos. Great performance against the Raiders, but could not stop a Chargers offense that looked average in week one against the Panthers. They should win this game... but a high-powered Saints offense(even without Marques Colston) should still be able to put up 28+.
Also, if you have a website or come across one that has some good fantasy football material and would like me to link it on here, shoot me an e-mail at sharapovasthigh@gmail.com.
