Everyone knows to start Peyton
Manning every week, regardless of the match-up. But not all decisions
are as easy at that one. So to help you decide who you should
start and who you should bench I have identified the players at
the QB, RB and WR positions that should excel this week and should
be started, as well as the players who will struggle this week
and should be benched.
Let's start with the QB position. You shouldn't have to be told,
but just in case... always, always start the following players:
Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Schaub,
Tony Romo and Philip Rivers. Now onto the question marks…
Quarterbacks
Start 'Em:
Quarterbacks Worthy of Starting Week
1
I don't care how many defensive changes the Giants made this past
off-season, until I see them perform above the level of worst
secondary in the NFL I'm going to play their opposing QB. Moore
is desperate to show he deservers being the Carolina starter and
that the Jake Delhomme era is gone for good; what better way to
do that than by facing a defense tied for second in passing TDs
allowed and third in points allowed.
Kurt Warner is retired and Matt Leinart is now backing up Matt
Schaub in Houston, leaving Anderson by his lonesome to pick apart
a defense that last year gave up the second most yards per game
and gave up the eight most total points per game. Bradford may
be the second coming, but he’s still a rookie, meaning there should
be a few turnovers for Anderson to get extra reps from.
Palmer's got weapons.
Nobody gave up more passing TDs, passing yards or total points
than the Lions did last year. The Lions were also the only team
to allow opposing QBs to have a QB rating of over 100 (107)! Even
though Cutler may still have INT problems to iron out he should
be able to lead some nice drives and produce some decent FPts
for you this week.
The Patriots have a solid defense so this is no knock against
them but I expect Palmer to have a big year this year. With T.O.
and Ochocinco available for him downfield there should be a number
of opportunities for Palmer to connect deep and put up some impressive
stats to open the season.
Bench 'Em:
Quarterbacks Who Will Under Perform
Relative To Their Draft Position And Recent Hype
Last year was a great year for Favre and the Vikings but this
year is a different story. Look for the Saints to attack Favre
on every play and cause havoc all day long. Favre is missing his
favorite weapon (Sidney Rice) and is still bothered by his ankle
injury. Don't be surprised to see a couple of turnovers, a bunch
of sacks, and an overall poor performance from the future Hall-of-Famer.
Dixon gets the start over veteran Charlie Batch for the Steelers
in week 1, but despite it being a home game, and despite the Falcons
giving up the fifth most passing yards per game in the league
last year, Dixon is not an option worth considering. This could
be ugly.
With the recent signing of all-world DB Darrelle Revis, the Jets
potent defense keeps its core intact. Flacco has new weapons to
throw to this year with Anquan Boldin and the recently signed
T.J. Houshmandzadeh, but he is likely to struggle against last
year’s top-rated defense. In 2010 the Jets gave up the least passing
yards, TDs, points per game, average yds per pass play, and had
the best opponent QB rating in the league. This is not the time
to have faith in Flacco.
Clearly this will be a defensive battle for both the Ravens and
the Jets. The second-year QB will undoubtedly improve over last
year but it won't be evident in the first game of 2010. The Ravens
defense, even without Ed Reed, is very impressive and should cause
misery for Sanchez all night long.
Running Backs 
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