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The NFL thinks they have a proper showcase match up to kickoff the NFL season. There have been some ugly starts in years past. On paper though this game looks very intriguing. Two teams that have stormed to the top of the NFC over the last few years. Both winning Super Bowls by coming out of nowhere to do it. Will these two teams keep going in the right direction or will they fade down to the talent of the rest of the NFC?

Early in the season it’ll be too hard to tell. As Green Bay showed the world last year, it’s all about getting hot at the right time. The offensive fire power of both of these teams, should bode very well for fantasy owners most weeks. Rustiness could be there too start the game, but don’t expect it to linger over more than a few series.

Quarterbacks

There is not much analysis to give here, as both Rodgers and Brees rank atop just about every fantasy football prognosticators draft boards. The only stat that can drive you crazy with either is interceptions. Rodgers displayed great control last year and the ability to scramble for yards when needed. Brees on the other hand seemed to be overwhelmed at times. Too many pass attempts caused him to have an inordinate amount of interceptions. The Saints drafted Mark Ingram and upgraded over Reggie Bush with Darren Sproles. Look for Brees pass attempts to scale back, but for his consistency and big plays too rise off the balance of having a solid running game.

Running Backs

Here lies the uncertainty with both teams. With Green Bay, Ryan Grant is back from injury but his role with Green Bay remains unclear. They’ll likely ease him back depending on how well James Starks handles an increased role. Remember, Starks too was coming off an injury from college that kept him out for a good length of 2010. So there will be a need to have a time share of some sorts. A 60/40 split could be likely. Who the Packers will go too in the red zone is what fantasy owners want to know. At this point, neither should be considered a starter for fantasy purposes. They should be no higher than the third running back option on your team, and fourth in valued depth running back circumstances.

For New Orleans, they’re going to want to showcase their new running backs. As stated earlier they’re going to be more of a run oriented team this season. Mark Ingram has shown he is going to be able to make the transition from college back to NFL with ease. This will not be a year one breakdown like CJ Spiller and Ryan Matthews last year. We would start Ingram this week as your second option in twelve or fourteen team leagues, and in well managed ten team drafts. Sproles has always been a home run guy, but has heightened value in high scoring games. He could be a flex starter in deep leagues this week. As a short dump off, could turn into a long gainer.

Wide Receivers

Greg Jennings, check. He is an automatic top weapon to start each and every week. That is why you drafted him as an owner. Zero uncertainty on a weekly basis. Do not get to over analytical when it comes to starting your studs. A down week will average out over the long haul. Those extra yards and touchdowns will be crucial too you. The rest of the Packers depth at receiver seems to be up for grabs. Donald Driver is only aging. He had a sharpe decline in production a year ago, and it’ll likely continue to sputter. Meaning Jordy Nelson and James Jones are guys to keep an eye on. We like Nelson better for the simple fact that Rodgers leaned on him more down the stretch and increasingly as the team got hot. In three playoff games, Nelson had nearly three hundred yards receiving and two touchdowns. Expect that too carry over in 2011.

Week one for the Saints will exclude Lance Moore who is out due to injury. That means everyone’s favorite sleeper wide receiver, Robert Meachem will get a chance to show his value in a starting role. It’s not like he is new to the Saints so he should be boosted up your fantasy starter charts for week one. In fact you have to like Meachem’s value more, because he is more capable of big plays than Marques Colston. Colston reached his peak and has seemed to of lost a step. His size is similar to a tight end, so he uses his position and body more versus corners than anything else. A solid red zone target but never prolific in the yardage category anymore. Going against Green Bay’s tough corners will not bode well for Colston, so are advice is too sit him, and start Meachem.

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Maybe Tiki Barber can stop waiting by his cell phone for renewed found work in football. Dancing with the stars or a behind the scenes gig looks like his only chance for a job this year. Arizona you would of thought would have been a possibility after Ryan Williams went down for the season. The Cardinals though opted to go the typical way. Wait for a team to cut an athlete that fits their needs.

Chester Taylor has been a solid veteran running back in the NFL. He gave an extra edge as a backup to Adrian Peterson as a Viking, and did his role as a Bear. For those teams there were already formidable backs ahead of Taylor on the depth chart. Dividing up any fantasy relevant carries was not going to happen there.

Sometimes an abrupt change right before the season starts is a good thing. If he wasn’t cut, Taylor just would of rode the bench in Chicago. Now he goes to Arizona where they’ll actually depend upon Taylor right away. The Cardinals starting running back in Beanie Wells has not gained the full support and trust of head coach Ken Whisenhunt.

He has been highly injury prone, and Whisenhunt never could pick his decisive number one back between Hightower and Wells. The Cardinals obviously sent more mixed messages than anything to Wells by drafting Ryan Williams in the second round.

Due to Taylor not registering fantasy relevant numbers for the last three years, we wouldn’t recommend drafting or over reacting to this signing. Especially considering he only gained an average of 2.4 yards per carry last season. Pay attention to how the Cardinals use him the first few games of the season. He should get around the same amount of carries per game as he did as a Bear last year. Lets just hope that he does more with the pigskin to garner a waiver wire acquisition.

With Beanie’s track record with being in and out of the lineup, there’s a good chance Taylor could start around three games this year. Unlike other teams stock piled at running back, the Cardinals aren’t. That would mean Taylor would get the majority if not all carries, besides for certain third down packages for LaRod Stephens-Howling.

All around the locker room typically when a team has a poor season the fingers start pointing at the foundation at quarterback. For the Buffalo Bills last season it was the opposite. They were in the majority of their games because of surprising quarterback play from Ryan Fitzpatrick. He came into the season ranked near the bottom of fantasy quarterback rankings, only too become a fantastic waiver wire pickup and viable fill in starter for teams that were suffering at quarterback.

Gaining confidence from your organization is an ultimate psyche booster. The Alex Smtih treatment the Bills were giving to Trent Edwards finally came to a halt. When the Bills said they have their guy at quarterback as the season unfolded, and in the early off-season, it had to of given Ryan a tremendous boost. Especially this past draft, in which quarterbacks were selected like it was a quarterback sweepstakes in 1999.

Can Fitzpatrick lift his accuracy woes he displayed last year? He only completed 57% of his passes even though he was able to keep defenses off guard?

His rise did come out of no where, since he had opportunities with the Rams and Bengals and didn’t necessarily look like more than a career backup to say the least . The stint with the Rams included an impressive outing against the Houston Texans, but his outings as a Bengal in place of an injured Carson Palmer were awful.

No one could have anticipated Fitzpatrick throwing for eleven touchdowns in his first four starts of the season in 2010.

The I don’t believe it until I see it carried over until that fourth game last year against the Ravens. Fitzpatrick absolutely picked apart the Ravens secondary, with precision and daring throws. His rise led to the catapult of Stevie Johnson, who also shot up the waiver wire to become a more than viable starter. It was apparent that Johnson had become the go to guy, and by dealing Lee Evans, Bills management had must feel secure with Johnson as the number one wide receiver.

Subtract those four games from Fitzpatrick’s year and the year looks blindingly bad. He did not start the first two games, but from week eight on he only threw for multiple touchdown throws twice. There are certain variables that would lead you to believe the reasoning to that. Buffalo never had a consistent running game with CJ Spiller not showing first round pick value as a rookie. Also his decline coincided with the Buffalo winter.

At 28 though, Fitzpatrick is now a capable veteran. Look for him to be the same hot potato type fantasy quarterback as last year. You’ll likely miss out on the four touchdown games, but he will serve his purpose as being a solid fantasy backup quarterback. A bye week filler and worst case injury fill in. Do we see Fitzpatrick throwing for 23 touchdowns in 2011? Maybe not that high. The Bills should get some sort of running game going, that should cut Fitzpatrick’s red zone touchdowns a tad.

By Zack Cimini

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It’s a pattern that’s become too familiar in the NFL. Teams think they have their quarterback of the future, and drag on with that player for a year or two too long. Some guys just do not have starting quarterback ability. Whatever the showcase is in practice, it doesn’t translate on the field. Yet coaches risk their futures by giving in to continuing to throw out the same quarterback. Lessons expected to be growing pains learned on the field, turn into habitual mistakes.

Miami seems to be in that tough spot. If Miami did try to pursue a veteran quarterback, they failed miserably. Many thought they would at least make a strong effort to pursue Kyle Orton. Striking a glance at the Dolphins quarterback situation present, is a laughable joke. There is no true competition for Henne, a quarterback that needs it. Matt Moore was recently brought in, and was horrendous in spot duties last season for the Carolina Panthers.

You have to feel bad for Dolphins teammates, because the season is shaping up to be dreadful. The mistake prone issues that ended last year, were hoping to be reduced as a bright spot for Henne. Instead he opened up the preseason with two woeful interceptions. An outing that poured out the boos from the Dolphins home crowd. This is a franchise that not too many years ago went 1-15.

They’re trying to build a season around a running back that has failed to be anything but a decoy, and occasional flash player in Reggie Bush. At receiver they are dealing with a receiver that when the good is going well is one of the best in the league. Losing takes his skills down to Randy Moss-Oakland levels, in Brandon Marshall. And we’re sorry, the short crossing patterns of Davone Bess and Brian Hartline aren’t going to get it done.

It’s amazing to see that the Dolphins were not more active in pursuing better talent offensively in a vast amount of positions. At this point it looks as if this team wants to land Andrew Luck and build from there. It could be a huge payoff, but it’s a tough sacrifice for the fans and players this season.

Time and time again last year, Miami could not win at home. It got so bad that even a fourth quarter ten point lead in the fourth quarter, vanished vs. the Shaun Hill led Detroit Lions. Detroit came from behind with seventeen points in the last five minutes. Two crucial horrid throws by Chad Henne were intercepted, including a pick six. That summed up a year in which Miami was in most games and near .500. But a 2-6 home record is what will carry over into 2011, and the road success won’t.

Miami’s front office and coaching staff has seen enough to know that Henne isn’t the real deal. It’s going to be sad to see this team be in the same boat the Arizona Cardinals were a year ago. Tossing in a different quarterback each week, with a roster of quarterbacks that’s Madden rating would get them instantly hurt in on the field action.

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Little noise has been created for the other New York team. The New York Giants swayed from resigning Plaxico Burress, and stuck to their core structure as a team overall. Tom Coughlin’s always been an in-house kind of guy. Teaching and training through his proper system and instilling his overall team concept. It’s worked in the past for Jacksonville’s success, and obviously in New York where they have won a Super Bowl.

No big signings have come from the New York Giants. Just a solid draft and retaining some key free agents. Their bright nucleus of wide receivers remain intact, and will likely blossom even further this season. The area in which many are surprised a move wasn’t made would have to be at running back.

Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw have had their fair share of ups and downs as Giants. Jacobs went from a breakout back to bust in a quick time span. Last year though, with the Giants relegating his carries he showed proper production as the second option back. Bursting through tacklers late in games and tacking on touchdowns gave Jacobs fantasy value once again. We all knew Jacobs would be back in 2011, it was who he would be paired with that was the question.

Ahmad Bradshaw had an out the gate type of 2010 season. Starting off so well that he supplanted Jacobs as feature back with ease. The grind of carries can typically catch up to a back in the latter parts of the year. For Bradshaw he hit a wall basically at the midpoint of the year. His value and stock dropped dramatically as he only produced one game over a hundred yards. What made matters worse was the fact that he fumbled the ball at a high rate.

As Bradshaw became less dependable that was when Brandon Jacobs seemed to resurrect. He had a three game tear weeks twelve through fourteen in which he averaged nearly one hundred yards a game. Even when he wasn’t having monster games from a yardage standpoint, he was the second half factor back for the Giants. Garnering the key carries, mostly because Tom Coughlin was likely afraid of Bradshaw coughing up the football.

So with this duo back together in 2011, fantasy owners have to be juggling to decide who will do what. One thing that can’t be taken away from either is they will produce touchdowns. The Giants run the football with the best of any NFL team. Another great plus is how the Giants spread the football around through the air. With all of their great targets it opens up the running lanes and keeps defenses on their heels. While Jacobs will burst through tacklers, Bradshaw has the long gainer ability that he is well known for.

We are worried that Ahmad Bradshaw may have had an above average season last year. He just didn’t have the feature back skills of a top tier back the second half of last season. He’ll likely slip in drafts a tad, but is a viable bottom tier number two fantasy starter, and great third option. Jacobs on the other hand will offset his five to seven points average of rushing yards, with a solid scatter of single or two touchdown games. His a quiet fantasy force that will give you close to ten points a game.

Jacobs isn’t a back that you would want to count on, but he’ll end up being one of those backs you drafted late that sneaks up your roster depth chart as a starter.

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Attacking the free agency market for suitable quarterbacks was a hot pursuit by many teams. As soon as the lockout was declared over, it seemed as if teams knew what they were going to do. Front offices began strategizing long before, and teams on the other side of the fence seemed to be prepared to wheel and deal.

Adam Schefter was live on ESPN as frequent as the tv guide channel scrolling back around a minute later. Reporting on rumors is what he has been use to in the past. That wasn’t the case when the lockout was lifted. Deals were getting done immediately. We will discount Matt Hasselbeck. He was never that impressive in Seattle. Even though he got ahold of a decent contract, it won’t be too long before Jake Locker is handed the keys.

The same could be said for Donovan McNabb, but it’s all in his hands. McNabb could have a solid two to three years left to truly end his career on a good note. Will the clowning antics that were seen in the playoffs with the Eagles in 2009 pop up, or the carefree lackadaisical routine snaps in Washington? For watchers of McNabb, you’ve seen it his whole career. His demeanor is never too serious, but he gets the job done.

Being on his third team in three seasons, he knows that opportunities are closing for himself. Starting in the NFL takes a week to week approach. For some reason or other, Mike Shanahan did not see that in many Redskins, including McNabb. It was better to see them part ways, then for McNabb to waste another year in Washington.

Talent wise, McNabb will have much better tools on his side. Adrian Peterson in the backfield automatically bumps up McNabb’s fantasy stock and likelihood of staying healthy a full season. We hate to do comparisons, but we will in this case with McNabb and Brett Favre. Similar to McNabb, Favre’s hands were tied on a team he had been with his whole career. They didn’t want him to start for the Packers anymore, but the team still owned his rights.

The Packers shipped Favre to the New York Jets, where he had a few solid games but it ended poorly. A deep end of the season slide, that made many believe he was done. Free agency changed all of that, and he landed on the Vikings. A team he would likely have went to had he been a free agent a year earlier. McNabb got dealt last season to a Washington franchise that has been the model of incorrect front office management. The same tailspin to end the season happened for McNabb.

This is the same quarterback that just a few years ago, led a Philadelphia Eagles team with his arm alone, a drive away from the Super Bowl. Down three scores, he threw rocket bombs to DeSean Jackson. The deep ball is still there for McNabb, as was apparent last year when he was able to hit Anthony Armstrong frequently. Armstong had a whopping 19.8 yards per catch a year ago.

You’d think the Vikings will make one more move at wide receiver. If not, at least McNabb has one great threat in Percy Harvin and a cross target in tight end Visanthe Shiancoe.

With Moss announcing his retirement, it brings a perplexed icky feel to Vikings and NFL fans. Moss was back home halfway through last years season as a Viking. A coach that was on his way out, bumped Moss off the team without front office approval. If Moss would of finished the season as a Viking, you’d assume a deal would have been worked out with Moss after McNabb signed.

Doubting McNabb for one more push, don’t. He did it at Syracuse, and he did it numerous times as an Eagle for eleven seasons. We’d rank McNabb as a tier two quarterback at this point of his career. A tier two quarterback that could start six to seven fantasy games for you and put up top ten fantasy production for those weeks.