Fantasy Options for Week 3

First of all, I just want to let you know that if you had listened to me last week you would have done fairly well as the 3 receivers I said to pick up all scored a touchdown.  Those were free agent pick up type of guys as well.  My must starts were a little bit more impressive as Romo and Stafford combined for 600 passing yards and 6 touchdowns.  Hillis added 90 yards and 2 touchdowns and Pittsburgh's defense after being obliterated in the media as being too old, posted a shut out.  This is the NFL and a shut out is a shut out no matter who it is against.

I was very prophetic in my call that Baltimore's defense is a run stopping defense as it held CJ2K to 50 yards last week, but also as I stated their pass defense is still young and are hoping for Ed Reed to stop 4 receivers at a time.  This didn't work as Matt Hasselback threw for over 350 yards against them.

My first can't miss guy who needs it more than his fantasy owners is Chris Johnson.  This guy should have a big game against the Denver Broncos, who have not shown that they can stop the run.  This will be a get back game for this guy.

My favorite can't miss guy is Rashard Mendenhall as whenever you go against the Colts and you have an above average back, he turns into a superstar for a day.  The Colts have to worry about the pass game as well, so there will be a lot more room than there was for Peyton Hillis last week, who still had a good game.  Expect a lot of yards from Mendenhall.

This next one is obvious as Phillip Rivers is going against KC.  I like the Chiefs' corners and they know Rivers well, but there are too many options for him.  I don't expect Jackson to do what he did last week, but if Malcolm Floyd is out, he just might as he will get a lot more targets.  So depending upon who you have Jackson is a should start unless you have 2 other superstars.  Watch for Floyd's injury report, if he does not play, Patrick Crayton could be a guy in the pinch for really deep leagues.

I would say Michael Vick as the Giants are decimated on defense and frankly, they are not that good.  That being said, they have a good pass rush and can get to the quarterback.  One good hit and Vick is out for the game and there is too much history of that, so I would stay away if you have another good option.

I don't like Adrian Peterson this week as I expect the Lions to put all of their force in stopping him and letting McNabb try to put up some numbers.  That being said, he is AP and most people will start him, but I don't expect big yardage out of him.  He could find the end zone though.

Longshot who has plenty of upside and could begin to pick things up this week is Danario Alexander from the St. Louis Rams.  He is turning into a big play guy and I just don't like this offense around the goal line, especially without Danny Amendola around, which takes away from some easy scores down there.  This guy will be good for yards but not touchdowns, not until they get this offense in the end zone instead of kicking field goals.

Come back to Earth Candidates

The first guy I am going to talk about is Cam Newton.  After his walking on water performance, he should be a guy that if  you can get a superstar at a position of need, should be traded.  I still think he will have a pretty good year but nowhere near what he did to that Arizona defense that looked more like a scout team defense.  Going against a Green Bay defense that will be in his face a lot will force a lot of rookie mistakes.      

Ray Lewis

I still think he will have a good year, but I think you could take advantage of some people in your league that might have fell in love with him.  Do not start this week, which should automatically mean don't start Steve Smith as well or any Panther for that matter.

Chris Johnson will be fine as he has a coach that wants to run, a quarterback that really isn't able to throw that well anymore and he wants to shut up his critics.  Unfortunately, he is going against a Ravens defense, whose strength is the run.  I think the Baltimore defense is getting a lot of credit for last week and will come back to earth, just not this week as they can concentrate on stopping the run against the Titans.  The Ravens defense have a lot of new defensive backs and Zbikowski as the strong safety.  Lucky for them, Ed Reed is back there.  They played out of their mind last week and don't be surprised if there is a let down, not that it will matter against these guys as they should win handily and are a prime suicide pick.