Fantasy Football Week 1: Monday Night Football Preview
While the other game tonight has more national significance, this game has a number of significant fantasy questions waiting to be answered. For the Chargers, Ryan Matthews has to fill Ladainian Tomlinson's Hall of Fame sized shoes. He looked good during the pre-season (but so did fellow rookie CJ Spiller and he laid an egg) and Norv Turner has promised plenty of work for the Fresno State Bulldog.
There are huge questions surrounding the Chargers passing game. Antonio Gates looks like a sure thing, but from there…? Philip Rivers is playing without his left tackle and best wide receiver. Malcolm Floyd and Legedu Naanee have shown flashes in the past, but that was with Vincent Jackson drawing all the attention. That being said, Vincent Jackson was no sure thing when he burst on the scene. Philip Rivers might be that special type of QB to make all his receivers better… unless that receiver is Craig “Buster” Davis.
I like the prospects for Jamaal Charles – that Chargers defense seems to leak talent every offseason without any significant additions.
The big question is this, how does Charlie Weis handle the Chiefs offense? Without a doubt Charles is their best player, but remember Charlie’s Patriots’ teams? Those running backs weren’t exactly fantasy gold. Throw in Thomas Jones and his 14 touchdowns lurking in the shadows and Charles is no sure thing.
The only other fantasy relevant Chief is the enigmatic Dwayne Bowe. He’ll get you 150 yards and two touchdowns in one game this season, but the difficulty is picking the right game.
On that passing game, Charlie Weis was a genius with Tom Brady, but Brady can read a defense like he can woo supermodels. Let’s see what Charlie can do with Matt Cassel.
Final Analysis: These aren’t great defenses, so expect solid fantasy numbers from your stars Charles, Gates and Rivers. The others could turn out to be fantasy monsters, but there are too many unknowns to count on them at this point.
If your fantasy hopes rest on a big game from someone in this showdown…start planning for next week. These defenses are both stout.
The Jets broke a record for offseason hype, but I’d urge caution, the man running the show, Mark “Dirty” Shanchez had a 63 passer rating last year. His most talented receiver, Santonio Holmes will be serving a suspension for a few weeks, so he’s relying upon Braylon Edwards (who has everything you could want in a receiver, except for an ability to catch) and Jerricho Cotchery (younger version of Derrick Mason). Those receivers won’t scare the Ravens which could pressure the Jets running game.
Shonn Greene has his shot to be the man behind the best offensive line in football, but you probably won’t get a great game out of him running into the wall that is Haloti Ngata.
I’m also not buying LaDanian Tomlinson mostly because he ran like Betty White the last couple years and killed countless fantasy leagues (including mine). If he bounces back my remote will be hurled through the TV.
Joe Flacco is the trendy pick to take the leap this year. However, there are a few problems:
1) They play the Jets and he’ll have to take a boat to Revis Island (although, if you are playing Revis, this is the week you would want as he’s still playing into football shape)
2) He’s got a lot of receivers (Anquan Boldin, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Derrick Mason and Donte’ Stallworth) but who is the deep threat? If I’m the Ravens, I stack the box, which will put a damper on Ray Rice and also clog the middle for all those possession receivers.
Final Analysis: I don’t see big games from anyone in this game, these defenses are just too good and there are too many questions that need to be answered before you can trust anyone. Regardless, you are probably starting Shonn Greene, Ray Rice, and the defenses, but aside from that watch the game for next week.
Written exclusively by Chris Summers for www.thefantasyfix.com. Chris is an attorney, who lives and breathes sports in sunny California. Look for more of his great insight weekly.
Who are you picking as the big studs tonight?
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