Every Saturday morning, Andy Richardson offers brief overviews of the upcoming Sunday games, including significant developments involving injuries. He'll also offer opinions on lineup questions over the course of the day.
How about that Broncos-Ravens opener? If you read Index, it's possible you had picked up Julius Thomas at some point in the last couple of weeks. I have him everywhere, albeit on my bench. If you also benched him, don't feel bad -- you've got a starting TE going forward that you acquired cheaply, so go ahead and shop the guy you drafted as your starter. Thomas is for real; full-time TE in a Peyton Manning offense, what's not to like?
I was lucky, I guess, to "only" be facing Peyton in one of my six leagues. Only one player, but I'm pretty much writing that one off this week. Still, we've got a full weekend of games left, so (especially if you have Brady or Brees, or had one of the Thomas' in your lineup Thursday night) you never know.
As in the past, I will check in some on Saturday -- although with a family birthday party today, it probably won't be until later tonight -- to answer lineup questions as best I can. Sometimes I will stray from the Index rankings, but usually only if I've got a strong feeling on players that are close. When in doubt, I'll defer to the Index rankings; we do a lot of research for those things. OK, on to the games.
Patriots at Bills: Can anyone really be certain that Rob Gronkowski isn't going to suit up? He's been practicing, and this is the Patriots. Officially he is doubtful; probably he won't play. E.J. Manuel starts for the Bills. I'd really only want to use Spiller, maybe Stevie Johnson in a lost cause, and then pretty much every starting Patriot, as they should score a ton. Yes on Sudfeld and Kenbrell, even if Gronk is active.
Seahawks at Panthers: These teams played a 16-12 game last year, something to keep in mind if you're considering going crazy starting players in this one. No injuries of note. I like Lynch we and to a lesser extent Russell Wilson, and would probably use Newton and Steve Smith if I had 'em, although not happily.
Bengals at Bears: No injuries of note. I like both these defenses quite a bit, so I'm expecting a tough, possibly turnover-filled game. Am starting Bernard in a PPR league, I like what I saw out of him in the preseason. Would not use Law Firm. Forte, Marshall and Green are easy starts. Avoiding other options, except the Ds.
Dolphins at Browns: Got a good feeling about Trent Richardson this year; don't feel the same about Lamar Miller. This game should go a long way to answering which one will be good this year. Cool on the various receivers, though I'd consider Cameron if I had him. No Josh Gordon, suspension, you probably know this, but just trying to help out. Davone Bess, former Dolphin, fills in. Still bummed about the new Dolphin helmets.
Vikings at Lions: Adrian Peterson and Calvin Johnson have relatively quiet histories when these teams play in Detroit. I would not bench either, but just passing it along. I like Stafford, Pettigrew (good history in series) and Rudolph. Jennings somewhat. No to Patrick Edwards and whoever the Vikings put out there as their No. 2. Should be a good game. I like both pass rushes.
Raiders at Colts: Books could be written (and will be) ridiculing the Raiders and Jets this season. I could throw out a whole bunch of jokes (and the Raiders with them, ba dum Bump!), but let's not bother. If you have McFadden, may as well start him while he's healthy. Not keen to use Terrelle Pryor, but he should run plenty. For the Colts, I would be using pretty much everyone, except Ahmad Bradshaw -- not confident he'll play a lot. Would rather use Ballard and the passing game. Maybe even Fleener and Allen.
Kansas City at Jaguars: Both running backs good, Shorts and Bowe, sure. Gabbert is not healthy, but I'm pretty sure he's not an option anywhere, right? Marcedes Lewis won't play, Allen Reisner is the fill-in. You must have a better option. Would actually use Anthony Fasano. Not expecting a shootout, although K.C. offense should be pretty good.
Falcons at Saints: Anything need to be said here? No member of either passing game should really be benched unless your other options are fantastic. I would use SJax. We are not Ingram fans, so I personally would use Sproles and no other Saints running back.
Bucs at Jets: When I was a kid, this would be the game I'd be getting on CBS (I think they had the NFC package at the time). Neither the Jets nor Patriots (the NBC game I always got) were any good for most of the 80s, so my view of football was colored by typically seeing the worst teams. And they were always playing the Bills, who weren't great either. I was a kid so I didn't care that much, but I feel bad for younger me now. Uh, use Doug Martin, and the Bucs wideouts should be OK. Santonio Holmes may or may not play and he shouldn't be in your lineup regardless. No Jets offensive players. At all.
Titans at Steelers: Occasionally I'll talk about a suicide pool I'm in in this column. I took the Colts, as did most of the pool, my wife took Pittsburgh. I am wary of that choice, but she tends to do better in these things than I do. As for the game, well, Isaac Redman is Pittsburgh's main back, while Chris Johnson faces a defense he's long struggled against. I wouldn't look to use any Titans at all, and would limit my Steeler options to Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown, with Emmanuel Sanders a distant third.
Cardinals at Rams: I have a healthy respect for the Rams defense, maybe too healthy. In any case, Larry Fitzgerald is about the only Cardinal I'd consider. For the Rams, Daryl Richardson should be pretty good. I've got Jared Cook in a couple of leagues and started him over Julius Thomas, so it would be nice if he did something. Wouldn't go with any other Rams receiver, though I guess Chris Givens is reasonable. Am curious whether Tavon Austin gets unveiled, but would not start him.
Packers at 49ers: The Packers gameplan to stop the read option, apparently, is to hit the quarterback. I don't know how this differs from stopping any other NFL offense, but OK. This should be a fun game to watch, it's been fun for most of the last 25 years, really (even in 1989 and 1990 they played really good games, I know my Packers history), and there's some additional bad blood now. I won't be surprised if one of these teams represents the NFC in the Super Bowl, which of course means they'll be last-place teams. Uh, nobody is hurt here I don't think. If you drafted Eddie Lacy, it's a tough matchup, but what the hey. I'm starting him.
Giants at Cowboys: As we noted in the Weekly, these games tend to be high-scoring. Start 'em if you got 'em, and yes I include the QBs, RBs, and banged-up guys like Cruz and Nicks (because they're playing). Now that everybody else loves Dez Bryant as much as I do, I'm worried about the guy.
Eagles at Washington: This one should be a crazy affair. Both teams should have better offensive than defensive teams. Lots of good fantasy options, especially Washington. I'm debating Vick or Romo in a league I have both and think I'm going with Romo, but could still change my mind. Index ranks Vick 5 and Romo 6. Feel free to weigh in.
Texans at Chargers: Ah, it's the annual game that those of us on the East Coast see very, very little of. Monday is a work night for me so I'll be up, but probably won't get to sit around watching TV. Uh, Houston's pass rush should be a real issue for San Diego's offensive line. I have almost nothing connected with either of these teams in fantasy; Rivers is my backup QB in a league or two I suppose. I like Ryan Mathews OK. Foster and Tate could split work, but at least it should be a fairly big pie. Again, this thing starts at 10:20 for me. It may as well not even happen.
Enjoy the games.
