Fantasy Football: Week Three Preview, Part One

It's that time of week again! Time to check in with some analysis of the early games and to see who should be started and who needs to take a seat. 

As always, you start your studs. We'll try to focus on the guys that may be fringe plays and only mention these stars if there is a good reason to bench them.  

Have questions about your lineup? Send an email to [e-mail]. Also, check out my colleagues on Bleacher Report for more analysis on the Week Three schedule. 

Let's get to it! 

Kansas City at Atlanta 

Who to Start: Jerious Norwood, Michael Jenkins, Roddy White 

Who to Sit: Damon Huard, Matt Ryan, Tyler Thigpen, Larry Johnson 

What to Expect: The Chiefs were run all over by the Raiders last week, so expect the Falcons to look to do the same. 

While McFadden and Bush are solid for the Raiders, Michael Turner and Norwood represent a more emphatic one-two punch, especially given that the two are always a threat to break a big play. Turner is the No. 1 guy, and will have 135 and two touchdowns, but Norwood will grab 75 yards of his own and another touchdown.  

Matt Ryan is never going to be one of my favorite plays, but he could throw for a touchdown here. You always start Roddy White, and he's still going to see the majority of the looks.

Michael Jenkins has been good, and will likely be able to beat the Chiefs' secondary over the top for a touchdown. It might just be two catches, but they could be two big ones. 

On the Kansas City side of the ball, I'm not sold on Larry Johnson at this point. He's complaining about his role in the offense and hasn't shown any real signs of life beyond one run against New England. Not enough to make me want to buy this one, even against the Falcons. 

The quarterback shuffle being played by the Chiefs isn't enough to make you want to play one guy or the other. Bowe and Gonzalez are still going to be in for good days, starting them should be a given. 

Sleeper Pickup: Falcons Defense. Does anyone on this Chiefs offense scare you? Could be a great grab. 

Oakland at Buffalo 

Who to Start: Darren McFadden, Robert Royal
 
Who to Sit: Michael Bush, Justin Fargas, JaMarcus Russell, Trent Edwards
 
What to Expect: The Raiders' run defense shut down the Chiefs last week, but as I stated up top, I think this has more to do with Larry Johnson than anything else. Add to that, the Chiefs got down early enough that they had to throw the ball. 

Marshawn Lynch is still going to be in for a big day, and he's getting enough carries to garner yardage and touchdowns. Fred Jackson had a great day last week, but you can't expect a repeat at this point. His value is as a handcuff only, not a spot to gamble based on one week. 

Trent Edwards has been fine this season. He doesn't make mistakes, but that's about all you can say for the guy. Lee Evans is the primary target, so he's still a start as even a WR1.

The problem with the rest of their receivers is that you don't know who is going to get the plays from week-to-week. Last week, James Hardy made a big play. Week One saw Josh Reed getting the touches. Robert Royal is the best bet as a secondary option. 

In Oakland, I don't like much outside of Darren McFadden. Michael Bush will be his backup, and will likely see touches, but the Bills' defense has been very good in their two games this season. They shut down two solid running games (granted the Jags offensive line helped with that). 

McFadden is still an RB2 type of guy right now, but not a bad one. Over 100 yards and a touchdown is in order. 

Throwing the ball, that's another story. Still don't like Javon Walker, for obvious reasons. I'm not confident in Ashley Lelie, and I'm a believer in the Bills defense. Add that up, bench your Oakland receivers. In 120 plays this season, the Raiders have run 77 times.
 
Sleeper Pickup: If you must, look for Zach Miller. He'll find the end zone for Russell's only TD pass. 

Tampa Bay at Chicago 

Who to Start: Matt Forte and Earnest Graham. That's it.
 
Who to Sit: Everyone else.
 
What to Expect: I'd expect that the kickers for these two teams will be very busy. Griese has very little chemistry with anyone on the offensive side to the football. The Bears are very good against the pass, and that will leave even less room for him to work with. I don't expect him to break 200 yards, and he spreads the ball around too much to make any receiver valuable. 

If you need to find someone or are stuck with using one as a flex play, I like Antonio Bryant better than Ike Hilliard, but it's a close one. 

The Bears are going to spend most of their time running the football to keep Kyle Orton out of trouble. Matt Forte is the most valuable asset they have, and he should have another big day ahead. Forte is proving that he was worth the RB2 projection many pegged him as.
 
Sleeper Pickup: Brandon Lloyd. He's been the best-looking Chicago receiver to this point. Look for 80 yards and a touchdown from him against the Bucs. 

Carolina at Minnesota 

Who to Start: Bernard Berrian, Steve Smith (He's baaaack), Muhsin Muhammad, Jonathan Stewart, Jake Delhomme
 
Who to Sit: Tarvaris Jackson, Gus Frerotte, Chester Taylor
 
What to Expect: The Vikings were better against the pass last week than in their game against the Packers, but a large portion of that was the banged up offensive line that Indy put out there. The Panthers aren't in that same position. 

With Steve Smith returning to the lineup, an emerging Jonathan Stewart, and a solid red-zone target in Dante Rosario, Jake Delhomme could be in for a big game. I like Delhomme for 265 and two touchdowns.

Expect one to go to Steve Smith, as he's going to be good for a big game in his return. Get him right in your lineup. Dante Rosario will be good for 45 yards and a score as well. 

Jonathan Stewart is not going to have as easy a day as he did last week. The Vikings were one of the best in the game against the run last year, and adding Jared Allen has only helped them out.

Stewart will be the main guy over Williams again, but don't expect the same type of yardage. Those goal-line carries may be play actions over the top against a tough defense. 75 yards and a score for Stewart. 

On the Vikings' side, Frerotte may be more accurate than Jackson, but this hasn't been the Vikings problem. This just means a bigger day for Peterson. He'll hit 140 yards and two touchdowns for them. 

Frerotte will throw for one to Berrian, but don't look for more than about 150 through the air, and he'll add a pick or two for good measure.
 
Sleeper Pickup: Rosario. He's going to be a factor in close this week because of the Vikings run defense. 

Miami at New England 

Who to Start: Matt Cassel
 
Who to Sit: New England Running Backs, Anyone on Miami
 
What to Expect: Joey Porter went and ran his mouth about how facing Cassel is going to be a cakewalk compared to facing Brady. He also said how good it will be to get their first win against the Patriots. Big ***** mistake. 

As a Dolphins fan, I think he should be muzzled during the week, because I then have to make predictions like this. The Dolphins couldn't stop Arizona through the air and looked utterly confused against the Jets and a QB who didn't know most of the plays. How is this going to get better against Welker and Moss? Answer: It's not. 

Cassel will go off at home for 275 yards and three touchdowns. He'll spread the love too. Welker and Moss should each come up with one and both will be at or above 100 yards. It's that simple. The one problem in New England is the running game, and only because there are four guys prominently involved. Avoid this situation for the week. 

Miami will have to throw to catch up, but there isn't any indication they have the horses to catch the ball. Ted Ginn hasn't been used effectively, so he's irrelevant. Their running game has been non-existant, so that's irrelevant. Anthony Fasano disappeared against Arizona, because Arizona knew he was the only guy Pennington looked to.  

Just a bad situation.
 
Sleeper Pickup: Pats Defense. Miami is that bad right now, and they gave New England that much more motivation. 

Cincinnati at New York Giants 

Who to Start: Eli Manning, Amani Toomer
 
Who to Sit: Derrick Ward, Ahmad Bradshaw, Carson Palmer, Chad Ocho Cinco/Johnson
 
What to Expect: I know, I know. I must be losing my mind to say that you should bench Carson Palmer. Problem is, Tennessee and Baltimore don't hold a candle to the type of pass rush that the Giants have been able to put on teams so far. You thought last week was bad, this one could be worse. 

Benching him is the reason that Chad Johnson is on here as well. He might rack up 50 yards or so, but I don't see a touchdown in his future. That will go to Houshmandzadeh. The Giants have stuffed the run pretty well, so don't look for a big game out of Chris Perry.

With the Giants, they've been clicking. Eli Manning isn't consistent, but I'm pretty sure he'll be able to hang 250 yards and a couple touchdowns on this Cincinnati team. Brandon Jacobs will be good for 125 yards and a score as well. Burress is one of the best receiver plays out there this week.
 
Sleeper Pickup: For a third week, I'm recommending Steve Smith. I just tend to like the matchups that this guy gets. As a flex play or third receiver option, Smith could have a solid game and grab a touchdown. 

Houston at Tennessee 

Who to Start: Tennessee Def, Chris Johnson, LenDale White, Justin Gage
 
Who to Sit: Steve Slaton, Kerry Collins, Other Titans receivers, Matt Schaub
 
What to Expect: The Titans have had one of the best defenses in the first two weeks of the season, and playing against Houston shouldn't change that.  

The Texans have had a rough go of it, which will either motivate them or make them rusty. This early, my bet is rust. That could mean a long day for Steve Slaton, who will get his first start against a defense that is very tough against the run and gets good pressure up front.

Andre Johnson is always a good play, and he'll bring in the only receiving touchdown of the day for the Texans. Schaub, against this type of defense, just isn't going to be good for more than 175 yards and that one toss.

On the Tennessee side, the emergence of Johnson has allowed them to be a very effective ball-control team. Johnson will be the workhorse, and look for about 120 yards and a touchdown from him. LenDale White should be good for 50 yards and a score from in close as well.

Justin Gage was Collins' primary target last week. Don't look for that to change. Collins will struggle to get to 150 yards because of the team's ability to run the football, but Gage should be good for 65 of those yards and a score.

Sleeper Pickup: Rob Bironas. I know, a kicker. He could be pretty busy though, so I like him.

Arizona at Washington

Who to Start: Kurt Warner, Anquan Boldin, Santana Moss, Edge James
 
Who to Sit: Jason Campbell, Antwaan Randle-El
 
What to Expect: Warner torched the Miami defense, which isn't exactly saying a whole lot, but he also lit up San Francisco....which isn't saying much more.

Anyway, point is, Warner is using the weapons that he has very effectively. Boldin and Fitzgerald are in line for good days as long as Warner is throwing the ball the way he is. Given the day Eli Manning had against the Redskins, I'd expect Warner to do well. I'll even go out and call 300 yards and two touchdowns.

The Redskins let Brandon Jacobs run all over them, but then held the Saints to 55 yards on the ground. The difference here is the style of running. Jacobs runs over guys between the tackles, but Bush likes to move around the outside.

James isn't going to run guys over, but he is going to attack the teeth of the defense. I like him for 90 yards and a score. Tim Hightower could steal it, though, if they get in close to the goal line.

Portis and Moss will combine to be the bulk of the offense in Washington, with Chris Cooley being a minor factor. Campbell was solid against the Saints, and the Cardinals haven't played anyone that would pose a threat in the secondary. They held down Anthony Fasano, so a tougher day for Cooley could be in order. 

Portis should have 100 yards and a touchdown, while Moss will grab 110 and a score. I like Campbell to throw for around 235, but just the one touchdown pass. The Cardinals secondary isn't stellar, but they aren't a pushover, either.

Sleeper Pickup: Devin Thomas. Call it a feeling. If a second touchdown pass happens, it's going to him. 

Back tomorrow to talk late games!