UK American Sports Fantasy: Football Start or Sit Week 3

Things went a little more according to the form guide in week 2 and we saw some bounce backs from players who disappointed in week 1. However, there were the odd disappointing performance but in fantasy nothing is certain even for the best players. The biggest take away from week 2 is the injury situation and this means that come Sunday you will need to keep an eye on those guys who are on the injury list as they could be last minute decisions. The injuries also make the RB pool ridiculously shallow and that is something that you will notice in my tiers below.

QB

Studs: Rodgers, Brees, P.Manning, Stafford

Rodgers, Brees and Manning will likely be sure fire studs each week so not much to say there. As for Stafford, he is facing Washington who’s defence is awful and I expect him to put up huge numbers especially if RG3 gets going as it will become a shootout.

Safe: Newton, Romo, Brady, A.Smith, Dalton, RG3, Ryan, Luck, Kaepernick, Wilson

Smith has made the ascension to this tier due to a leaky Eagles defence that has given up good points to RG3 and Rivers and Andy Reid will want to make a point WARNING: Thursday night games tend to disappoint so do not start Smith over other guys in this tier. Dalton will need to throw to keep up with the Packers and the Pack D is not great. As for the other guys they all have good enough match ups to keep them in what should be their usual tier but not good enough to make them studs. RG3 may look awful at times but his statistics at the end of the game are still superb.

Deep: Vick, Palmer, Schaub, Flacco. E.Manning, Bradford, Rivers, Tannehill, Manuel, Cutler, Roethlisberger, Pryor

Vick will more than likely come back down to earth on a short week, having been banged up and facing a good D so unless you are in deep leagues you will likely have a better option. Carolina have been involved in a couple of tight games and Manning could continue to struggle this year especially with a dodgy run game. Of the other guys in this tier the one most likely to put up numbers of the tier above is Tannehill

Do Not Start: Weeden, Ponder, Freeman, Locker, Geno, Henne

Weeden will be boosted by Gordon return but I do not trust him, Ponder is so hit and miss I wouldn’t dream of starting him, I need to see more from Freeman, Locker and Geno and I am steering clear of Jacksonville QB’s at least until Blackmon returns.

RB

Stud: McCoy, T.Richardson, Lynch, Bush

The short week is a concern for McCoy against a good defence but I see a TD and at least 100 yards. Finally Trent gets a match up he should be able to prosper (Buy low on him if you can), Lynch will keep rolling against the dreadful Jags and if Starks can destroy the Redskins then Bush may well annihilate them. If Bush is injured then Bell could easily be a stud this week in his place.

Safe: Martin, Peterson, Charles, Foster, Ridley, Sproles, C.Johnson, Morris, Spiller, Gore, Forte, McFadden, J.Bell, Murray

The Patriots are good at taking away what teams are best at and for the Bucs that is the run game and therefore prevents Martin being a stud for me but I still see a solid day. Peterson could have a tough day against the Browns especially as it is unlikely their passing game will make a dent. Charles and Foster both have match ups that will make them solid if not spectacular. Ridley, McFadden, Morris, Johnson, Spiller, Gore, Forte and Murray all have decent match ups and will see the bulk of carries. Sproles is the safest RB in NO as he will see the passing downs in that offence. Against Washington Bell is a safe start as the backup and if Bush gets hurt then Bell could be a monster.

Flex: Williams, Bernard, D.Richardson, Mendenhall, Tate, Miller, Moreno, Starks, Pierce

Pierce has a tough match up against the Texans but with Rice out he will see all the carries. Williams has good match up but the old fears about Newton and Tolbert are still there. Richardson is the main back for the Rams but they have a bad match up and may get down early. Mendenhall, Miller, Moreno and Starks are the number ones in their respective offences but other than Moreno the match ups are not great especially if their teams get down or involved in a shootout. Tate will only see about a third of the Texans carries but he will likely do more with them than people seeing double or triple his numbers. Bernard broke out last week and against the high powered Packers the Bengals need some explosive playmakers.

Deep: Wilson, Green-Ellis, Ingram, P.Thomas, Mathews, F.Jackson, Ivory, Powell, Jones-Drew, Ball, Brown, Ellington

I cannot trust Wilson because if he runs flat out there are security issues and if he protects the ball then I have doubts about his effectiveness. Green-Ellis will see his team’s goal line carries and the majority of touches if they get up and need to run the clock out. Ingram and Thomas will split the running down backs and it’s a roll of the dice whom does what each week. Matthews and Jones-Drew are the number one options but San Diego will likely pass first and an injured MJD against a good ‘Hawks defence is not a match up I like. Jackson, Ivory, Powell, Ball, Brown and Ellington are all time sharers in their offences and it’s tough to predict to who will have a big week. With so many RB’s out this week the ones I’d be most keen to take a shot on are Powell, Jackson and Ellington as they figure to see the most work.

20+: Blount, Jacobs, Helu, D.Thomas, Pitt RB’s, M.Bush, Hunter

If Ridley coughs up the ball anymore then Blount could get the chance, Jacobs is the pass blocker in this offence, Helu just isn’t what I thought he would be in this offence, Thomas has no guarantee of seeing goal line work and he isn’t getting enough snaps in other places, Until Bell comes back I don’t care which Pitt RB has the ball, Forte is a beast and Chicago don’t seem keen to stop him rolling, Hunter ran for -7 yards last week so just avoid him until we see what he does in this offence going forward.

WR

Studs: Green, Bryant, Fitzgerald, C.Johnson, Ju.Jones, Marshall, Thomas

Green should bounce back nicely from a quiet week, Bryant will be a beast and Calvin could be even better against the ‘Skins, Fitzgerald will need to see the ball lots if Arizona have even the slightest chance in this one, a not healthy White makes Julio a complete must start, Marshall sees nearly double the targets of anyone else in that offence and Thomas will get plenty of looks against a weak D.

Safe: D.Jackson, Nicks, Cruz, S.Smith, Cobb, Nelson, A.Johnson, V.Jackson, Amendola, Colston, Garcon, Wayne, Welker, Decker

D.Jackson is a stud even in a worrying situation as he will see majority of targets and will likely score, there’s enough balls in this offence for Cruz and Nicks to prosper as solid #2s at least, that statement is ditto for Decker and Welker, Giants D is nothing for the Panthers to fear and Smith is so good and Newton loves him, Cobb will see majority of team targets on a regular basis and Nelson will see majority of red zone targets, Andre will always see the majority of targets in this offence but BEWARE he may not be healthy this week, V.Jax is the number one in this offence but he will likely see blanket coverage from Talib but he has dealt with that before, Colston, Garcon and Wayne are the teams number 1 WR’s and will see double figure targets at least, Amendola (if healthy) will see at least 15 targets and likely catch most of them for a decent number of yards.

Flex: Bowe, T.Austin, M.Austin, Royal, Wallace, S.Johnson, Boldin, A.Brown, Hopkins, Gordon

Bowe is the #1 in KC but Smith is a game manager and that restricts him, the Rams are desperate to get the ball to Tavon but I am not sure how much he can do with it, Miles is going to be a bit hit and miss but against this D there will be plenty of balls to go around for him to have a good week, Royal is seeing the majority of red zone targets for SD and I love that especially with Floyd out, The ‘Phins really want to get Wallace involved in the offence, Johnson could be matched up on Cromartie and it wouldn’t surprise me if he (and Manuel) have a tough week, Boldin will bounce back from last week’s awful week against the Colts and if Davis is out that makes him an even better play, Brown will succeed through volume, Hopkins will see plenty of the ball if Johnson is out or if the Ravens get up big – if Johnson is healthy then I would be tempted to slip Hopkins down a tier, Gordon is primed to be a beast but Hoyer is a real draw back and stops him being a start.

Deep: M.Brown, Randle, Givens, Jennings, Williams, Thompkins, Edelman, Stills, Moore, Wright, Burleson, White, Hartline, Gibson, Hilton, Shorts, G.Tate, Jeffery, E.Sanders, Streeter, V.Brown, S,Moss, Douglas

The guys in this group all have the chance to see 5+ targets and score but they have been inconsistent so far. White is the exception because until he has a big game or two I am benching him unless I am really desperate. My favourite take a punt guys in this group are Edelman, M.Brown, Shorts and Burleson.

20+: Cooper, Avant, LaFell, Pettis, Little, Avery, Washington, Britt, Woods, Hill, Heyward-Bey, Moore, Caldwell, Sanu, Jones, Roberts, Hankerson, Taylor, K.Williams, Dobson, A.Sanders,

Will all see targets but I cannot see more than 50 yards and TD’s are too hard to predict to trust them in anything more than 20 team leagues. Hill will likely get more yards but I am not counting on it as Geno is out there to try and not give the game away.

DNS: Other Jets WR’s

Just hate this offence so no one but Hill has any value for me.

TE

Studs: Witten, Gronkowski, Graham, Gonzalez

Witten has a nice defence to make a comeback against after a tough matchup last week, IF Gronk plays then Brady really has no one else to go to especially if Amendola is out WARNING: Could be out there as a decoy but I severely doubt it. Graham will be a stud every week he isn’t on a bye, Cameron and Fleener had good days against Miami and Gonzalez is definitely better than both of them.

Safe: Daniels, Olsen, Finley, Cook, Cameron, Rudolph, Gates, Bennett, J.Thomas, V.Davis

Daniels will see redzone targets every week and is a favourite of Schaub, Olsen has a solid match up in the Giants who have allowed 3 TD’s against TE’s the last two weeks, Finley seems to be a big part of this offence again and will always be one of the teams fail safes, Cook was a top option in week 1 and I feel like the Rams want to get back to him as a deep option, Cameron is a weekly top 10 option and with Gordon back that just helps take the attention off him, Rudolph is also a top option for Ponder and the Viking’s need to find him if they are to get towards winning, Gates is Rivers most trusted ally without Floyd so expect Rivers to look to him regularly, Bennett has a match up against the Steelers who struggled vs the TE’s last week, Thomas has gained Peyton’s trust and has a soft soft match up, If Davis is fully healthy then he has a real chance to be a stud but he may well be limited.

Deep: Myers, Celek, Gresham, Clark, Eifert, Walker, Pettigrew, Fleener, Clay

Myers is the fourth option at least in the offence, Celek is the Thursday night game with an injured QB against a weak defence, Gresham and Eifert will continue to split looks with Gresham getting more targets but Eifert getting the longer shots, Clark is going to be very hit and miss but Flacco needs him and that keeps him deep league relevant, Walker has the chance to be Locker’s best friend in a struggling offence but until he sees consistent targets I am a little concerned about starting him in shallow leagues, I am on the verge of giving up on Pettigrew it is the match up that keeps him this high, Fleener will see a good number of targets especially with Allen crocked, Clay is a big part of this offence and may see goal line rushing attempts – he has the best chance to equal the tier above.

20+: Winslow, Fasano, Kendricks, Heap, F.Davis, Reed, G.Graham, Z.Miller, McDonald, Byham, Rivera

Winslow will appear and disappear on a week by week basis, Fasano is the #1 TE in the offence but they don’t look there often, Kendricks is the Rams #2 but does see targets, Palmer hasn’t really looked at Heap much, Davis and Reed are not really part of this offence, Davis has the experience but they seem to like Reed’s ability, Graham will see redzone looks and if your desperate for a TE or just looking towards byes he may be worth an add incase Daniels actually has a real injury issue, McDonald is a deep option if Davis is out, Miller, Byham and Rivera are the respective #1’s in their offences but they don’t see enough targets to be anything more than deep desperation.

DNS: Moeaki, Kelce, Sudfeld, Paulsen, Chandler, M.Lewis

Moeaki and Kelce are not seeing the ball at all, Sudfeld is struggling with health and a loss of faith, Paulsen is solely there to block, Chandler is the fourth option at least, Lewis should be healthy this week but until we see his part in the offence I wouldn’t even look at him this week.

As always thank you for taking the time to read the article and if you have any questions feel free to get in touch in the comments section or on twitter! Oh and of course good luck to everyone in week 3 but no matter what happens in fantasy enjoy the spectacle that is the NFL!