Fantasy Football Week 1-Start Em; Sit Em
Posted: Saturday, September 06, 2008
by Danny Rocco
NovaSportsPicks
Fantasy Sports guru and expert Mike Illebag has joined the ranks of NovaFantasySports and will be providing a weekly update on which fantasy football players you should be starting, and which you should be sitting. Below is Mike’s week 1 list of fantsy football players who are must starts this week, and those whom you should sit.
Week 1
QB Brett Favre NYJ @ MIA – 19 pts 275yds/2TD: Favre will be playing with something to prove to the people in GB, he will enjoy his new WR core and the heat in Miami, and I expect a hot start and a comfortable win.
QB Kurt Warner ARI @ SF – 20 pts Warner 300yds/2TD: goes on the road to protect his job, the passing is never a question mark for Ari balance and quick start is key, SF doesn’t have enough to keep Kurt from padding his pt total.
RB Ernest Graham TB @ NO – 15 pts 90yds/1TD: Gruden will stick to the running game and Graham will benefit on the turf getting close to 25 carries and pounding NO def for field position.
RB Marshawn Lynch BUF vs. SEA – 17pts 110yds/1TD: Buffalo will pound Lynch early and often against an aging SEA defense.
WR Anquan Boldin ARI @ SF – 17pts 10Rec/90yds/1TD: Boldin had an unhappy pre-season, but will be playing with a chip on his shoulder amidst trade demands, Warner’s favorite target will be his consistent self in week 1.
WR Jerricho Cotchery NYJ @ MIA – 18pts 120/1TD: Favre and Cotchery built some great cohesion in pre-season, Jerricho is a deep threat similar to Jennings in GB, he’s also coming off a career year and will only be better with Bret slinging the ball his way.
WR Calvin Johnson DET @ ATL – 15pts 90yds/1TD: CJ will be filling it up against the new corners in ATL his game is over the top and he will use his speed and size to get good separation.
WR Jordan Kent SEA @ BUF – 13pts 70yds/1TD: This is my sleeper pick for those of you who drafted all RB’s or need someone to fill in for a few weeks while the likes of Marshall and Smith serve suspension and get over injuries respectively. Kent is a relative unknown multi-sport star. This coach’s son has moved up on the depth charts and will get a good amount of looks this week at BUF. He combines good speed and size and will only benefit from the lack of depth SEA has to start the season
TE Todd Heap BAL vs. CIN – 12pts 60yds/1TD: Heap is finally healthy again and rookie Flacco will look to him often in check down situations, he’s a big target and it’s safe to assume Bal will be using a simplified offense.
D New Orleans vs. TB – 11pts: This is a good play at home for an amped up NO defense. This D has some new faces and will rely on the big play and their speed to keeps teams out of the end zone.
Other players who may go off: Bowe KC, K. Smith DET, A. Johnson HOU, Williams CAR, Royal DEN
Sit ‘Em
QB Matt Hasselbeck SEA @ BUF – 14pts: This will be a tough opponent for SEA on the road, traveling cross country. Matt has too many question marks at WR and a new running game behind him. His lack of play in the pre-season has mad want to watch and see in week 1. This could a difficult game for SEA to score points.
QB Philip Rivers SD vs. CAR – 11pts: Rivers will be handing the ball of a whole lot in week 1 and SD will struggle a little to get going early. Overall he will have a solid game, but will likely stick to short passes, controlling the tempo.
RB Ryan Grant GB vs. MIN – 8pts: Grant is struggling with his hammy and will have a difficult time again a stout MIN D. Week 1 will be rough on GB post Favre, I believe the offense will struggle a bit to its rhythm.
RB Darren McFadden OAK vs. DEN – 8pts: Though DEN has not looked great; the presence of Fargas will limit Run-DMC early on. The rookie will get his touches but may find it hard to get the ball in goal line situations early on.
RB Willis McGahee BAL vs. CIN – 7pts: Too many questions about his knee and with the performance of Rice in the pre-season he may lose some carries to be safe in week 1, not to mention the fact CIN will likely be stacking the line trying to see if Flacco can beat them.
RB LenDale White TEN vs. Jac – 7pts: With Young hurting and Johnson looming for touches White may struggle in week 1 against a tough Jags D. Though seems to be in good shape coming he may struggle to get going depending on how JAC controls the tempo of the game with their own running attack.
WR Marvin Harrison IND vs. CHI – 10pts: He is supposed to be healthy, so is Peyton, but I’m not convinced. I think week 1 will be a lot of Addai and a little more Wayne, Clark and Gonzo. I’m not going to doubt Marvin, but this week I would watch and see.
WR Chris Chambers SD vs. CAR - 6pts: Chambers is the 3rd option at best in SD, be it may be the best deep threat, again I think this will be slow week in the passing game, with LT seeing a lot of the ball.
TE Alge Crumpler TEN vs. JAC – 4pts: Crump will struggle especially in a new offense, against a tough D, and with his scrambling QB hurting; I’d sit him early on.
D Denver @ Oak – 3pts: I think this will be a sloppy game with neither D producing much in the pts department.
Others to consider sitting: L. Johnson KC, D. Anderson CLE, Rodgers GB, Holt STL
Mike Illebag is a proven fantasy sports guru and expert with in-depth business and analytical knowledge of the NFL, NBA, MLB, and other mainstream sports. Mike has dominated ESPN fantasy leagues since 1997 winning the top prize in the 3 major sports almost every year. In this past year he claimed victory in his first stints in Fantasy Football money leagues on Yahoo.com and CBS Sportsline. Mike is a Boston College grad, with a Masters in Sports Business from NYU, and an MBA from Columbia University, and as he would say, he is a “student" of the game, a players type player. His “real" job is finance based, with a focus on asset management. If you would like to bounce fantasy football roster moves or fantasy football strategy based questions off Mike please feel free to drop him a line
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