1. Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings) vs. San Francisco – Peterson didn’t disappoint in week 2 after running circles around Detroit in week 1. He racked up 119 total yards and a TD in week 2. This weeks match up might be a little tougher with the 49ers defense getting better, but he is still AD. another 125 + yard day with at least a TD
2. Maurice Jones Drew (Jacksonville Jaguars) @ Houston – Last week against the Cardinals, MJD fell victim to a big defecit forcing Jacksonville to throw the ball. Houston has the weapons to run up the score, but the Jags will force feed the ball to Jones Drew. This should be a real good game for MJD. 120/1
3. Fred Jackson (Buffalo Bills) vs. New Orleans – Last game for Freddy as Marshawn Lynch returns from suspension next week. Jackson certainly earned to chance to continue starting. The Bills will do everything possible to keep Drew Brees off the field, this means mondo carries for Jackson. 120/1
4. Matt Forte (Chicago Bears) @ Seattle – Forte might be the early lead for bust of the year after an awesome rookie season. Yet to score a TD or break 100 yards or 75 yards, or 60 yards. You get the picture. But this week against Seattle he will regain his game and give fantasy owners is first double digit performance.
5. Clinton Portis (Washington Redskins) @ Detroit – Portis is off to a decent year with about 70 yards rushing a game. Still no TD. The perfect tonic for a good game with a TD…The Lions rush defense.
1. Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings) @ Detroit – The only rush defense worse than the Browns, is Detroits. The Lions just got lit up by Mike Bell. In other words expect Adrian to run all over Detroit almost the same as he ran over the Browns. It would be shocking if AD didn’t eclipse 125 yards and have at least 2 TDs.
2. Brian Westbrook (Philadelphia Eagles) vs. New Orleans – McNabb is out for week 2, most likely. If that is the case the entire offense will go through Westy. Beautiful. The only way to stop Drew Brees from throwing touchdowns is keeping him on the sideline. I don’t think the Saints defense is good enough to stop BW. So look for Westy to rack up around 120 yards and a TD.
3. Michael Turner (Atlanta Falcons) vs. Carolina – Remember the last time Turner played Carolina. 117 yards and 4 TDs. Turner and the Falcons rushing attack will get back on track this week. 4 TDs? No. 2? Yes.
4. Maurice Jones-Drew (Jacksonville Jaguars) vs. Arizona – The Cardinals offense struggled last week. But they won’t play like that every week. The only way to stop them is keep them off the field. MJD is set up to have a nice day this week. Even though Arizona held Gore and company in check. 115 and at least 1 TD
5. Clinton Portis (Washington Redskins) vs. St. Louis – In week 1 Seattle ran all over the Rams. Portis had a decent game against a tough Giants defense with 70 yards. Clinton will be allover St. Louis this week. Look for 115 yrds and a TD.
6. Chris Johnson (Tennessee Titans) vs. Houston – After a rough start to 2009 against Pittsburgh, Johnson gets to run against an entirely new and softer defense. Houston was abused by Thomas Jones and Leon Washington last week, as Jones had 2 long runs. CJ is faster and may have a couple 40 yarders waiting for him. 115/1 [click to continue…]
1-1(1). Adrian Peterson – Peterson led the NFL in yards from scrimmage with 1,885, 100 yard games with 10, and is coming off of his first rushing title in 2008. He’s big, he’s fast, he’s bad to the bone. The league’s all round best back and the safest pick you will get. He played in all 17 games (including playoffs), and had 11 games with 20 or more carries. Pick him at 1 and enjoy!
1-2(2). Michael Turner – It’s hard to ignore Turner’s league high 376 carries last season, along with his 17 TDs. The Burner led the league in red-zone carries in 2008 and was near the top of the league in goal-line touches. This is only good news for fantasy owners. Some might say with the emergence of Matt Ryan he will get less carries, which in theory is true. But, defenses will have to focus on Ryan and his new toy Tony Gonzalez, which will open the field for Turner. He may not be able to catch the ball, or he just doesn’t. So don’t expect much in the reception department, but be happy with his 1600 yards and 13-15 TDs this season.
1-3(3). Maurice Jones-Drew – Little Hercules is about to blow up the game in a big way. With Fred Taylor out of Jacksonville, it is now Drew’s chance to show what he’s got. He only had 197 carries in 2008, but had 12 TDs on the ground. Add to that his 62 catches for another 2 scores, and this guy cranks out a TD every 18 touches! Being the clear number one option for the Jags you can expect more than 12 carries a game which he averaged in 2008. Give em 18 carries and that should equal about 16 TDs.
1-4(4). Matt Forte – Forte had a very impressive rookie year in 2008. He led all RBs with 63 receptions, and had 1,715 total yards with 12 TDs. The addition of Jay Cutler sprung Forte up the ranks since defenses will have to pay much more attention to the passing game. Matt is the essential every down back, he can run, catch, and block, which means he will barely leave the field.
Tier Two
2-1(5). Steven Jackson – OK fine. So the guy gets hurt every year. He only played all the way through in like 10 games last year. In 2007, he missed 4 games. Whatever. He’s back. In the last 5 games of ‘08 S-Jax had 641 yard and 4 scores. He will also enjoy a whole new blocking experience with a new center in Jason Brown, number 2 pick Jason Smith, and FB Mike Karney. If it wasn’t for the misery that is the rest of the Rams, and his injury tendencies (knock on wood), he would be in the top tier. If Jackson stays healthy, he cold be the number 1 fantasy option come season end. WARNING: Not for the faint of heart! [click to continue…]
It was a tough decision to pick the Rams at # 32. But the turnover in the teams roster can make things difficult for first year head coach Steve Spagnuolo. They are heading in the right direction though. Bringing in C Jason Brown from the Ravens, drafting T Jason Smith out of Baylor, and signing FB Mike Karney after the Saints released him, shows they want to bulk up that line to keep Marc Bulger from getting pummeled. And of course this all helps out # 39 Steven Jackson. If only the guy can stay healthy for 16 games. SJ hasn’t played 16 games since 2006, which by no coincidence, is the last time the Rams were at .500 or better. (8-8)
On Defense, signing free agent S James Butler from the Giants, will help ease the transition into Spagnuolo’s new defense. 2nd round pick James Laurinaitis, will take over the middle and Will Witherspoon will move to the weak side. FS Oshiomogho Atogwe is a stud, and DE Chris Long should get better in season 2.
Offense
Marc Bulger returns as the starter after a rough 2008, part because of Jackson’s health, and part O-Line problems. Bulger has been sacked 124 times in 43 games over the last three seasons. T Alex Barron was moved to the left side when Orlando Pace was let go. And it may be too early to tell if the rookie will start at LT right away. With a healthy SJ and an improved line, that should ease the pressure on Marc. The problem is who will he be throwing the rock to. Torry Holt was released, so that leaves St. Louis with a young group of WRs. This position is a question mark. Will Donnie Avery improve enough to be a viable number 1 option for Bulger? He finished with a modest 674 yards receiving in ‘08 and only 3 TDs. Keenan Burton only had 13 grabs last season, Derek Stanley is coming off surgery, and newcomers Laurent Robinson and Tim Carter won’t exactly have you doing backflips of joy down your driveway. But that may be alright considering new OC Pat Shurmur came from a team (Eagles), that never had good WRs. Ever. Except for that short stint with Owens. Remember this guy…
A healthy Randy McMichael figures to be a key component in the West Coast-style offense that offensive coordinator Shurmur is installing. If he recovers well, he can be the veteran receiving presence the team needs.
Defense
New DC Ken Flajole has his hands full this year. Although everything we spoke about in the second paragraph may seem like good things, let’s not get too excited. The Rams have no real speed rusher to go get the opposing teams QB, and Leonard Little will be 35 in October. Aside from the safeties, Otogwe and Butler, the secondary is relatively young, inexperienced, and overall a liability. Alright, Jonathan Wade, and Ron Bartell are good, but after that…question marks. Unfortunately those guys are both under 6 feet. And we all know how tall Larry Fitzgerald and rooke Michael Crabtree are. Here’s a hint: Taller than 6 feet. Remember they have to deal with TJ Houshmandzadeh this year in Seattle as well. Who is by the way over 6 foot tall.
OK, so what does this all mean. To put it lightly. Nightmare, maybe not 2-14 nightmare, but perhaps 5 wins would be a miracle. They have a tough schedule. Right off the bat they play 2 road games. The very hostile 12th man in Seattle, then a trip to Washington, back home for Green Bay, and then back on the road to San Francisco. They do get to play 5 of their last 8 games at home.
Thanks for stopping by, come back tomorrow for team # 31…
