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Must Start: The Top 10
1. Peyton
Manning v. NO – The NFL couldn’t have wished for a better
opening night game in their messiest wet dream. Expect scoring,
and lots of it, and then some more. There is a reason Manning
was drafted in the first round all summer and it wasn’t to sit
on your bench.
2. Donovan McNabb @ GB – The Packers have a decent defense
but McNabb has a chip on his shoulder. After lighting up opposing
defenses at the start of last season, a torn ACL made everyone
forget what an unbelievable beginning to 2006 he had. Expect a
return to top five status this year, starting in this game.
3. Tom Brady
@ NYJ – It’s Christmas in New England. He was a great quarterback
last year, with some pretty nondescript receivers. So the team
went out and bought him Moss, Stallworth, and Welker. Brady has
been waiting all summer to play with these shiny new toys and
the Jets are victim number one.
4. Drew Brees @ IND – With Manning throwing all over the Saints’
defense, Brees will be opening it up too. The Colts haven’t
really tried to play defense anytime in recent memory. That’s
easy to do when you know your offense will just outscore the other
guys anyway. Luckily for Brees and his owners, NFL wins don’t
count in fantasy and junk time does.
5. Matt Leinart @ SF – Now that Dennis Green has been shown
the door, maybe the offensive line will learn how to block for
both Leinart and Edge. Having two amazing receivers always helps
a quarterback too. Leinart started last season looking strong
and I’m saying he’ll do so again.
6. Marc Bulger v. CAR – I was going to write about how undervalued
and unappreciated Bulger is. Then an owner in an AOL “Experts”
Draft I was part of took him in the first round. Guess he is either
getting some fantasy love or that owner was an idiot. It could
be both too….
7. Carson Palmer v BAL – Gotta hate the match up but love
the playa’. We never want to see our fantasy studs face
the Ravens or Bears. But, if you have him on your team you have
to play him. Don’t worry – he’ll do fine.
8. Matt Hasselbeck v TB – Don’t be fooled by the memories
of Buccaneer defensive domination. That was years ago. Instead,
an aging husk of a defense is all that stands between Hasselbeck
and the end zone. With the talent around him, he’s good
for a couple scores.
9. Ben Roethlisberger @ CLE – He’s playing Cleveland,
of course you start him! The Pittsburgh playbook is supposed to
be a little more wide open this year and that can only benefit
Big Ben.
10. Alex Smith
v. ARI – I’m going out on a limb here, but that’s what I get paid
very little to do. The Arizona defense is really not very good
and Smith and Leinart may do a decent job of impersonating Manning
and Brees.
Grab A Clipboard:
David Garrard
v. TEN – Garrard has all the accuracy of Michael Vick with none
of the highlight reel moves. While he moves faster than Byron
“tree stump in quicksand” Leftwich, at least Lord Byron could
hit a wide open receiver occasionally.
Matt Schaub v. KC – For a guy who has accomplished nothing
in the NFL, Schaub gets more than his share of hype. His arrival
will not make the Texans a playoff team and, more importantly
for the week, will not somehow inspire his offensive line toward
competency.
Jeff Garcia @ SEA – Seattle has a good defense and Garcia
isn’t as skilled as some think he is. He is better than
Simms or Gradowski, but most nursing home residents hit that wicket.
Rex Grossman
@ SD – Rex reminds me of Brett Favre minus any charisma. We all
love watching Favre throw INT after INT because he is such a good
guy and fierce competitor. When Grossman does the same, it just
looks like he sucks.
Jason Campbell v. MIA – The aging Miami defense gets to
feast on a young quarterback this weekend. The Redskins have a
lot more problems than the play of their QB and Campbell can’t
fix them all.
Running Backs
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