Each week when compiling this
report, Seth takes into consideration not only the individual
players mentioned, but also the state of their teams and their
opponents, team schedules, historical player performance, inclement
weather (when applicable), and of course, injuries. I will attempt
to do the same as I fill in for Seth this week.
Quarterbacks
Bye Weeks: Eli Manning, Matt Schaub
Start 'Em:
Quarterbacks Who Will Outperform Relative
To Their Draft Position And Recent Hype
Joe Flacco @ CLE
Getting beat up twice in a season by the Bengals won’t help your
reputation, and the losses the Ravens have compiled have cooled
Flacco’s hot start. But don’t underrate him. Cincinnati has been
the only team he has had problems with in his sophomore year and,
despite a lack of receiving talent, Flacco has excelled otherwise.
Plus, he has all the talent he needs in Ray Rice, the low-riding
speedster who pads Flacco’s stats with screens and check-downs—a
total of 436 receiving yards and a score on the year. Flacco should
get back on track against the Browns this week, proving that his
343 yards and touchdown in Week 2 was no fluke.
Mark Sanchez is a good play this week against
Jacksonville.
Mark Sanchez vs. JAX
Jacksonville’s secondary is bad, allowing good quarterbacks like
Warner, Hasselbeck, and Schaub to rip them apart for a combined
784 yards, 9 TD, and only 1 INT. Even Marc Bulger and Vince Young
have not seemed their usual, embarrassing selves when going up against
the Jags. The Sanchez hype has fizzled after two awful games and
a few losses. He’s quickly been forgotten even though he’s been
putting up decent fantasy numbers—amongst the rare rookie blunder.
Take away his two bad games and he’s thrown 8 TDs with only 2 picks.
Following his best yardage output yet as a pro (265 yards), he is
likely to put up even better numbers this week. Given this week’s
matchups, you could do much worse than Sanchez.
Chad Henne vs. TB
This one may sound a little out there, but untrustworthy QBs are
hogging all the good matchups this week. Between Jake Delhomme,
Trent Edwards, Alex Smith, Josh Freeman, Matt Stafford, and Chad
Henne, my general preference may have been an empty QB slot…that
was until I noticed Henne’s recent experience. His past four games
have been against some crafty defenses (New England, New Orleans,
and the New York Jets twice), and he has handled them fairly well,
only really falterning against the Saints when he threw two picks.
I like Henne’s chances against a team who just happen to give up
the second-most passing TDs in the NFL. If you’re in a deeper league
and looking for a sleeper, Henne could be your answer this week.
At the very least, he’s proven his big arm can put up some big numbers.
Bench 'Em:
Quarterbacks Who Will Under Perform
Relative To Their Draft Position And Recent Hype
Carson Palmer @ PIT
Palmer hasn’t been this hot since 2007. However, Polamalu
is back to form and the entire Pittsburgh defense will be drooling
to keep the division lead from Cincy. Though there’s little
reason to doubt Palmer based on his last two games (457 yards,
6 TDs, 0 INTs), he hasn’t climbed back into the top 10 just
yet; and don’t forget that he committed nine turnovers through
the first six weeks. Furthermore, I don’t trust the Cincinnati
offense against a Pittsburgh team that just rediscovered a latent
running game. The shortened time that Carson may have on the field
could be better served on your fantasy bench. There’s no
doubt Palmer has exceptional talent, but don’t pick this
week to decide he’s finally made his comeback.
David Garrard @ NYJ
Garrard has thrown only one touchdown in the past four games,
but he can make up for some of that in yardage (averages of 231
passing yards, 20 rushing yards over that same period). If he
can score with his legs or set up some nice screens to MJD, he
may have a decent game. However, Darrelle Revis should be able
to cover Mike Sims-Walker well enough, and Torry Holt will not
burn anyone nor pick up much YAC. Garrard won’t look awful as
he manages this game in his usual gritty fashion; he likely won’t
get you much either. Sit him and wait for a better matchup.
Kyle Orton @ WAS
Though the sacks haven’t been out of control, the Denver
O-line has had trouble protecting Orton the past two weeks, which
has led to 4.9 yards per attempt, three picks, and numerous errant
throws. Washington’s pass rush has come on strong lately
with 6 sacks in their last 2 games, and their defense is allowing
only 160 yards per game through the air this season. Orton shouldn’t
throw multiple picks as he did against Pittsburgh, or struggle
to get clean throws off as he did against Baltimore, but he will
be constantly pressured. Expect him to be on the field more and
have a better outing than he did in his last two games, but this
week does not signal a comeback. He’s been run ragged lately
and the ‘Skins won’t make him any more comfortable
in the pocket.
Running Backs 
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