Fantasy Football: Week One Preview, Part Two

Yesterday, we covered the first eight games on the schedule. Today, we’ll tackle the last half of the slate, including the two Monday night tilts.

Again, you always start your studs. Those should be the guys drafted in the first four rounds of your draft. They’re the sure things and your best bet to take the win.

Let’s get to it!

Jacksonville vs. Tennessee

Who to Start: Maurice Jones-Drew, Reggie Williams, Justin McCareins

Who to Sit: Vince Young, David Garrard, Fred Taylor, LenDale White, Alge Crumpler

What to Expect: David Garrard is going to give you consistency every week. You’ll never see more than 250 yards, but you’ll rarely see multiple interceptions from him. This week, expect 235 yards with a touchdown pass. Fred Taylor might be the every-down back, but he won’t find the end zone. If you can handle 75 yards, go for the start.

Vince Young did not impress during the preseason and has virtually nothing to help him on the outside. His greatest value right now will be the rushing yards he can provide. White is supposed to be the every-down back, but Chris Johnson is likely to steal carries around every corner.

Alge Crumpler gives Young a solid weapon, but he hasn’t yet figured out how to use him yet.

Sleeper Pickup: Jerry Porter has the potential to jump back into fantasy relevance after dropping off the face of the earth in Oakland. Porter may only register 65 yards or so this week, but it is likely the beginning of good things. The guess here is he will be healthy enough to play.

Cincinnati vs. Baltimore

Who to Start: T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Derrick Mason

Who to Sit: Chris Perry, Kenny Watson, Joe Flacco, Mark Clayton

What to Expect: Carson Palmer is certainly a top-eight fantasy quarterback, and he’ll play like such. The problem is that his receivers need to be able to keep up with him. Chad Johnson’s injury is a concern, and it’s a situation that should be monitored.

In my mind, he’s a borderline sit, strictly because we don’t know the full extent of his injury and health. Housh ends up with more yards and grabs a touchdown, but, if healthy, Johnson is good for 70 yards and a touchdown as well.

Don’t trust the Cincinnati running game yet. Chris Perry was hurt in the middle of last season and will be in his first legit game action. Kenny Watson will be going up against a stronger front seven than you might expect. He grabs a rushing touchdown and likely keeps the yardage total around 70.

Joe Flacco may have won the job out of camp, but it is his first NFL start, and that is not the time to take the chance. Derrick Mason is his best weapon, so expect 80 yards and a touchdown from Mason.

Sleeper Pickup: None, outside of the stars, this is not the place to look for sleepers.

Carolina at San Diego

Who to Start: Jonathan Stewart, Muhsin Muhammad, Philip Rivers, Chris Chambers

Who to Sit: Jake Delhomme, Vincent Jackson, DeAngelo Williams

What to Expect: More a friendly reminder, Steve Smith is not going to be available for this one. Muhsin Muhammad will be Jake Delhomme's primary target. Delhomme is facing one of the best defenses in football. Let’s go with 220 yards and a touchdown for him, with Muhammad grabbing the score and 90 of the yards.

Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams will share the running duties. Stewart is the better play, in the humble opinion of those at the ‘Table. Neither took control of the job this preseason. Each likely is good for 60 yards, but Stewart gets the touchdown.

Philip Rivers should be solid against the Carolina defense and would have better numbers if he didn’t have Tomlinson in the backfield. Rivers won’t throw a pick and likely has two touchdown passes in him to go with 260 yards.

Sleeper Pickup: Chris Chambers is likely available in most formats. Chambers should be good for 75 yards and a touchdown against the Panthers' weak defense.

Arizona vs. San Francisco

Who to Start: Edgerrin James, Anquan Boldin, Kurt Warner

Who to Sit: J.T. O’Sullivan, Isaac Bruce, DeShaun Foster, Vernon Davis

What to Expect: The only weapon in San Francisco right now is Frank Gore. Gore will be good for both 49ers touchdowns, close to 100 yards in total, and he might even kick the extra points.

Unfortunately for Mike Nolan, that’s all he can hope for. O’Sullivan has the job, but don’t expect him to light the world on fire. 200 yards is probably all you can ask for. The Mike Martz offense uses running backs like crazy. Gore is the beneficiary.

On the Arizona side, this should be fun. Warner can certainly throw the ball, and both the top wide receivers on the Cardinals should come away with a touchdown reception. While Larry Fitzgerald gets more yards (over 100), Boldin won’t be a slouch here either. 70 yards and a touchdown sounds good here.

Sleeper Pickup: Joe Nedney. The 49ers are going to need him to do something just so they can put points on the board.

Dallas vs. Cleveland

Who to Start: No surprises here, stick with the regulars.

Who to Sit: Donte’ Stallworth

What to Expect: This game will provide offense and plenty of it. Derek Anderson is expected to play and, if he does, is going to put up some points. Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow will be the primary beneficiaries through the air.

Anderson should be good for 275 with three touchdowns and a pick. Edwards will grab two touchdown passes and be good for 100-plus yards. Winslow should be good for 75 yards and another touchdown.

Jamal Lewis will not be taken out of this game. 90 yards from him should do the trick.

In Dallas, Marion Barber will rule the day after being given the solo gig. Look for over 100 yards and a couple touchdowns, either through the air or on the ground. Tony Romo and Terrell Owens will connect for a touchdown as well, and Jason Witten should grab another. He’s the best tight end in the game. Keep all these stars active.

Sleeper Pickup: Tough to call anyone in this game a sleeper. Patrick Crayton is the closest thing, but given there are no bye weeks, Crayton likely isn’t needed.

Chicago vs. Indianapolis

Who to Start: Matt Forte, Jim Sorgi (if Manning is out), Marvin Harrison

Who to Sit: Kyle Orton, Chicago’s Receivers

What to Expect: From the Bears, don’t expect much. This is just a rough situation. Kyle Orton won’t be throwing for a touchdown against the Indy defense, and the Colts will likely look to make them throw the ball.

They’ll key on Chicago’s running backs, but Forte will still get enough carries to be a decent RB3/flex type play, if needed, in deeper leagues.

Look for Indy to take advantage of the situation against the Bears and get their offense in tune. Peyton Manning is assumed to be playing unless we hear otherwise. Even with Jim Sorgi at quarterback, Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison, Joseph Addai, and Dallas Clark will all have good days.

Harrison should be good for 75 yards, but Wayne and Clark will register the touchdowns in any scenario. Wayne should top 100 yards and Clark will be around the 80-yard mark. Manning would be good for around 300 yards with two TD passes.

Joseph Addai will break the 100-yard mark and run for one as well. If Sorgi is under center, the touchdown breakout remains the same, but downgrade Harrison and bring down Clark’s yardage totals. Joseph Addai would fill the stat sheet with a few more yards.

Sleeper Pickup: Kevin Jones. There isn’t much to look for in this matchup except how the carries are going to be split. Jones still needs to learn the offense, but he ran well to start last season and only needs to keep himself healthy in order to grab the full-time gig. Look for him to score the Bears' only touchdown on offense.

Green Bay vs. Minnesota

Who to Start: Bernard Berrian, Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, Aaron Rodgers (2QB leagues only)

Who to Sit: Chester Taylor, Tavaris Jackson, Sidney Rice

What to Expect: The fact is, this could be a long year under center for Jackson. Defenses are going to know that they need to make Jackson beat them with his arm, which likely means a rough going for Adrian Peterson.

He struggled when he had to face the Packers for a second time last season, posting just 45 yards. Until Jackson proves he can throw, don’t expect Peterson to go off. He’ll still end up with around 80 yards and a touchdown; it just may take him 25 to 30 carries to do it.

For his part, Jackson isn’t going to put up more than 200 yards and a touchdown. He’ll also add a pick for good measure. Bernard Berrian will be the lucky recipient of the majority of the yards; pencil him in for 85 and a touchdown.

Bobby Wade and Sidney Rice just aren’t there to help yet.

On the Green Bay side, Rodgers has options to throw the ball, but the Vikings will rely on their defense to keep them in games. It’s good enough to do that. Rodgers should be good for just south of 250 yards, with a touchdown pass and an INT.

Donald Driver gets the TD reception to go with 80 yards. Greg Jennings should check in with right around the 100-yard mark as well. Ryan Grant is an easy play as a RB1 this time around. He didn’t play much this preseason, but I expect 90 yards and a touchdown.

Sleeper Pickup: Donald Lee. There are very few leagues where a receiving tight end isn’t valuable. Given the youth under center, Lee will be a solid dump-down receiver for Green Bay and could see 50 yards on six catches against Minnesota.

Oakland vs. Denver

Who to Start: Selvin Young (::gulp::), Darrell Jackson, Sebastian Janikowski

Who to Sit: Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall (suspended), JaMarcus Russell, Darren McFadden, Javon Walker

What to Expect: Oakland will have to rely on defense, and they have the corners to be able to stop the passing attack of the Broncos. With Marshall out of the lineup, the road is much harder and will give Cutler a few more headaches. Look for him to top 230 yards, and still throw for two touchdowns with a pick.

Darrell Jackson gets the start and should catch one of the touchdowns, simply because he’s the primary target. Give him 70 yards as well. The other will go to Tony Scheffler. Scheffler has a lot of people high on him to start the season, and 65 yards with a touchdown from him will keep the train rolling.

You have to start Selvin Young, but he should make you nervous. Watch how carries are handed out to the nine-thousand other Denver  running backs as well. Young will get the majority of the workload, and the Raiders have a weaker front seven. Give him 85 yards with a score.

I don’t like anything having to do with Oakland this first time out. Their running attack is suspect until one of the two backs emerges. McFadden could make a strong case and score a touchdown, but don’t use him as more than a flex option in deeper leagues. He likely struggles to crack 50 yards because of the time-share.

JaMarcus Russell is in his first real starting-type situation here. I don’t expect more than 150 passing yards, maybe another 30 on the ground for the quarterback. A passing touchdown might happen, and if it does, look for Ronald Curry to grab it. Just too many questions though.

Sleeper Pickup: Eddie Royal. He gets a start with Marshall out and could be strong enough in his debut to earn more playing time. 70 yards on five catches sounds right.