Fantasy Football Week 1: 3 Top Quarterbacks Who Will Fall Flat

If you have Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees on your fantasy team, my hat is off to you. Thursday night must have been a fun time.

Now it's time for the rest of us to hope that our quarterbacks can also deliver fun times in Week 1 of the NFL season. That will rely entirely on their ability to rack up yards and touchdowns, which cyberspace will translate into scrumdiddlyumptious fantasy points.

Some of us are going to get lucky in this regard. Others? Not so much. Let's face it, not every quarterback in the league is going to produce this weekend.

I'll wager that the three quarterbacks listed below are going to be the most egregious offenders.

Josh Freeman, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Because Josh Freeman and the Buccaneers get to face the Detroit Lions, who were among the league leaders in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks in 2010, at home on Sunday, you would think that he'd be a safe play in Week 1.

I'm not so sure.

I'm as big a Freeman fan as anyone else, but it scares me that he is going to be in the same vicinity as Ndamukong Suh. That's not a good place to be if you're a quarterback.

Besides, Freeman was just okay the last time he faced the Lions. He passed for 251 yards and a touchdown, but was sacked three times. He could do better than that, but I'm thinking he'll do worse.

After all, it's hard to complete passes when you're getting Suh'd.

Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys

A lot of people are high on Tony Romo this year. My guess is that most of them are located in the state of Texas in the greater Dallas area.

Don't get me wrong, I do think Romo is going to have a good comeback year. It's just going to get off to a bumpy start.

This is because the Cowboys have to hit the road to take on the New York Jets this weekend. The Jets have one of the best pass defenses in the NFL, and Rex Ryan knows how to use it. They're not going to make it easy for Romo, and the fact that he doesn't have a running game to lean on is not going to help, either.

So yeah, don't expect big things out of Romo in New York. Especially since he’ll actually be playing in New Jersey.

Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears

I hesitate every time I'm about to call Jay Cutler a "top" quarterback.

Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever had to worry about that. Cutler is not a top quarterback.

But he's actually not a bad fantasy quarterback. Sure, he throws an odd pick here and there, but Cutler does rack up yards and touchdowns. They lead to more wins in fantasy than they do in real life.

But this is not going to be the case this weekend against the Atlanta Falcons. They're a solid defensive team with a good secondary, but the major advantage they have on the Bears is that their revamped pass rush is going to be up against one of the worst offensive lines in football.

Cutler could be in for some punishment.

In addition, Marion Barber probably isn't going to be able to play. That means Cutler, too, will not have a running game to lean on.

So if you want Cutler to produce fantasy points, give it up.

If you're a Bears fan who wants Cutler to produce wins, give that up, too.