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.
A sign that I'm thinking a little too much about things is that I'm agonizing over what kicker to use in a couple of leagues. I had Garrett Hartley, but he's been missing lately and the Saints are trying out other kickers, so I decided I'd go with productive Dan Carpenter of Buffalo. But now weather is a factor, as it is with the guy we have ranked the highest of my available options, Shaun Suisham. I could go with Jay Feely against the Jaguars, but I like home kickers, and won't the Cardinals be kicking more extra points than field goals?
Like I said, thinking a little bit too much about things. On to the questions people actually care about.
Jets at Bills: Weather a factor, plus it's Jets-Bills. Buffalo will be without its top two wideouts, and nobody runs on the Jets, so it's tough to know who to use out of the Bills besides their defense. For New York, I like Chris Ivory, and that's pretty much it. And their defense.
Ravens at Bears: Chicago pretty soft on defense, so Baltimore's offense should do well here, if ever. Make sure Marlon Brown is active, he's had a knee flare up and I personally am getting him out of my lineup. Last chance for Ray Rice this week, fantasy-wise anyway. Josh McCown at quarterback, receivers should be fine but a tough matchup. Martellus Bennett questionable with an ankle injury, so make sure he's active before considering him.
Browns at Bengals: Another situation where the defenses are pretty good. I'm using Giovani Bernard and obviously A.J. Green, but would avoid other Bengals. Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron are all the Browns bring to the table. I know the Browns are getting a lot of praise of late for dealing Trent Richardson away for a first-round pick, and fair enough, but is it also fair to point out that their running game is terrible and might be better if they'd kept Richardson? I mean, the primary goal is still this year's Super Bowl, right?
Raiders at Texans: Sounds like it will be Matt McGloin at quarterback for Oakland, which officially makes Rashad Jennings the only Raider to consider in fantasy leagues. I like Ben Tate and Andre Johnson for Houston, and would consider Case Keenum and DeAndre Hopkins, with Oakland not really doing anything special on defense. Two teams playing out the string already, not a lot of drama in this game.
Cardinals at Jaguars: So, Jay Feely anyone? Am using Andre Ellington in PPR, and this is the week to use Rashard Mendenhall if you've got him. I place no stock in the Jags containing Chris Johnson last week, just one of those crazy unpredictable Chris Johnson bust weeks. Probably the week to use Larry Fitzgerald, too. For Jacksonville you've got Cecil Shorts and that's pretty much everything there is to say. Tough matchup for Maurice Jones-Drew.
Washington at Eagles: Most will recall the Week 1 encounter where Philly bombarded Washington. They've got a different quarterback now, but their offense is playing well, and Washington can't stop anyone. Both offenses look pretty good here. No injuries of note, so go ahead and get everyone into lineups.
Lions at Steelers: If the Steelers can somehow pull the upset here, you can start thinking about them making a playoff run in the AFC. Tough matchup, but I do think they'll do a respectable job against Detroit's offense and would only be using the big guys (Stafford, Bush, Megatron). Am using my Steelers -- Roethlisberger (with Romo on bye), Bell, Brown. Should I pick up Shaun Suisham? I know you've been thinking a lot about this one.
Falcons at Bucs: Sounds a lot like Tony Gonzalez won't play. We've nominated Chase Coffman as the fill-in, but basically I'd avoid any Falcons besides White and Douglas, which is where the offense should go through. Although White will draw Darrelle Revis in coverage, so there's some concern there. For the Bucs, you've got VJax and that running back committee. We've got Brian Leonard higher than Bobby Rainey, but it should be a committee where the hot hand gets more work, so you're rolling the dice with either. Another meaningless game of also-rans. I like Tim Wright before his one-catch game last week. Could certainly bounce back, but I'd rather go with a more certain target.
Chargers at Dolphins: How the Dolphins beat the Bengals is beyond me, they have issues right now (on and off the field, obviously). San Diego's defense is pretty bad, though, especially against the pass, so you can consider Tannehill and his receivers, but there doesn't seem to be much reliability. I hesitate to chase Rishard Matthews' big game last week; could easily be Hartline or even Wallace against a secondary that can't cover anyone.
49ers at Saints: One of my teams has struggled and lost close games all season, and I don't think it's unreasonable to put most of the blame of Colin Kaepernick. Not having a good year, and I wouldn't be anxious to use him here; in fact, I'm not. Saints defend the pass pretty well. Also, Vernon Davis remains iffy for this game, so you've got to make sure he's active before starting him. Frank Gore looks great, and you don't sit down Drew Brees. I am mulling sitting Jimmy Graham for Julius Thomas but probably won't.
Packers at Giants: The Giants making a run from 0-6 to playoff contention would be one of the more remarkable stories, so watch them find a way to blow this game. Still, their defense is playing well, and Green Bay's isn't, so Eli, Andre, Cruz and even Hakeem are in the discussion of players to use. Nicks has a great history against this opponent, although in fairness, maybe he's not that player anymore. With Scott Tolzien at quarterback, I think you can use Jordy Nelson, but I'm not rushing to use James Jones or Jarrett Boykin, even though Boykin had the big game last week. Still the No. 3 catching passes from Scott Tolzien.
Vikings at Seahawks: Adrian Peterson starts every week, but it's certainly possible he struggles here, and I'm not going near Minnesota's passing offense, no way shape or how. Because football sometimes looks like a Hollywood script, I imagine Percy Harvin will either return a kickoff for a touchdown or catch a quick slant for one. I don't think he's a safe or reliable choice or anything, I just expect something kooky like that to happen. Heck, Seattle's mascot might score against this defense. I'm actually starting Jermaine Kearse in a couple of leagues where I've got wideouts either hurt or on byes.
Kansas City at Broncos: Offense meets defense, and I think we need to entertain the possibility that Kansas City is able to slow Denver's passing game down a bit. Not that I'm sitting down either Thomas, but I don't expect Denver to come out with another 35- to 40-point game. Could have to work harder this week. Knowshon looks pretty good. Jamaal Charles should be fine. Interesting game, which would be more so if these teams weren't playing again two weeks from now; this is just round 1.
Patriots at Panthers: Gotta respect Carolina's defense and downgrade the Patriots here. I also respect Bill Belichick putting something together to frustrate Cam Newton, so I'm not too high on Carolina. We know the Patriots are soft against the run, but can you really start a Panthers runner? Not me. An intriguing game, but for me the top fantasy options are just the sure things to handle the ball or be primary targets -- Gronk, Olsen, Newton and Brady, maybe Amendola. Probably a lower scoring type of game, and one I don't want to invest in too greatly.
Feel free to ask questions, I'll try my best to answer them, sometimes referencing the Index rankings, and elaborating on them if they're close. Enjoy the games.
