By Zack Cimini
notjustagame23@gmail.com

It’s time to ponder your fantasy lineups. There is always a position or two that drives you crazy on who to insert and who to sit. Don’t over analyze week ones statistics and make an improper bench move. Here are some borderline depth athletes, that you may want to insert for this week and also sit.

Quarterbacks

Rex Grossman- The veteran may have finally found his home in Washington. He ended last season impressively with a couple of 300 yard outings. Those were thought to be over rated due to it was toward the end of the season, in non-meaningful games. In week one though he produced yet another 300 yard outing. You can state that Grossman continues to get fortunate situations as he faced a decimated Giants secondary. Well he gets another favorable match up facing a Cardinals secondary that allowed a rookie to throw for 400 yards.

Chad Henne- Miami has something going with their offense. With Brandon Marshall in shape and looking like his 2009 form, things are going to be much better for Henne. The continued flash route chunk yardage pickups have continued with Davone Bess. The out of the backfield yardage Henne will get on a weekly basis with Bush, shoots Henne up to a legitimate number two fantasy quarterback.

Running Backs

Peyton Hillis- Hillis came out of nowhere last year. Is the Madden hex abound to hit him in 2011? Maybe so. Week two will be a high indicator of that, as he gets to face a Colts defense that notoriously gives up plenty of rushing yards.

Cedric Benson- Benson continues to do the most with his carries. Cincinnati never cuts back his work load. With a downgrade at quarterback, they’ll look to increase Benson’s work load. When the Bengals do score this season, there is a good chance it’s going to be Benson barreling in the end zone. Facing Denver makes Benson a sure number two fantasy running back starter.

James Starks- In deep leagues, Starks can be considered as a flex starter and possibly number two running back. He outdid Ryan Grant convincingly, stealing more and more carries from him as the game went on. Look for the Packers to feed Starks earlier in this game, and keep the rate higher in his hands.

Willis McGahee- With Knowshown Moreno status in jeopardy, the veteran may get all carries and at the very least the upper hand in a split status. Not bad for a game going up against the Bengals. If Moreno is out, McGahee can be considered as a strong flex option.

Wide Receivers

Malcolm Floyd- When Vincent Jackson held out last season, Floyd stepped up. Rivers is comfortable with Floyd now and is being targeted aplenty by Rivers. In an aerial assault projected game, Floyd will be a strong fantasy starting receiver this weekend.

Jeremy Maclin- It’s been a slow process for Maclin to get back into the offense. This should be the week that he finally gets back to adding that element to the Eagles prolific offense. The Falcons are not going to let DeSean Jackson beat them solely. Look for Maclin to stretch the field and come up with a few big plays.

Jacoby Jones- Miami’s secondary tends to be ripped apart by Tom Brady and the Patriots. That tune has been sung many a times over the last five years. Now they get to face the Texans who could give the Patriots a run for their money on who has the best offense. Jones finally supplanted Kevin Walter and is the number two receiver for Houston. Look for him to shine this week, and be one of the top receivers looked at off the waiver wire come Tuesday and Wednesday.

Santonio Holmes- Look for Holmes to be a true number one fantasy wide out this week. Explosive numbers and top five results. He faces a Jaguars team that loves to get burnt for big plays. Rex Ryan will attack that early with speedster Holmes, and throughout the game.

Johnny Knox
With Roy Williams groin injury, Knox will be able to retain his old starting spot. He’ll be out to prove he is a better asset than Williams, to battle for more reps even when Williams reenters the lineup.

Sit

Quarterbacks

Eli Manning- Manning is struggling with turnovers yet again. He is also trying to adjust to new positional starters on offense. Replacing Kevin Boss and Steve Smith is easier said then done. To add to that, Hakeem Nicks status is in question.

Cam Newton- There will be some owners out there that believe Newton is the real deal already. Don’t be, he’ll take his bumps just like any rookie. I also advise against those of you anticipating a blowout, and then huge padded stats from Newton. You can get away with that with receivers, but quarterbacks are going to hurt you more with their high amount of interceptions.

Running Backs

Beanie Wells- Washington did a heck of a job shutting down one of the better running back duos in the NFL week one. Wells had a great week one but has never been able to pair consecutive outings together in his young career. Look for that pattern to continue against the Redskins.

Marshawn Lynch- As a starting running back Lynch may not even be worthy of a fourth running back spot in fantasy leagues. The Seahawks just do not have anything sustainable on offense to consider ever thinking about inserting Lynch. Cut your ties now and see if there is a better option out there.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis- Green-Ellis’s value each week is always shaky. At the end of the day though, he produces fantasy starter numbers about sixty percent of his starts. This won’t be one of those weeks, as the Patriots will utilize their short passing game to generate yards vs. a tough Chargers defense.

Wide Receivers

Pierre Garcon- The offense is of a different element without their starter since 1997. That was expected. Based upon where the yards went week one, it doesn’t look like Collins has developed yet with Garcon. Garcon never was a consistent target even with Manning. He is a big play threat that needs a ground game, to benefit from play action.

Antonio Brown- Falling in love with targets is good in some ways. Brown was a hot option week one for Roethlisberger just like in the preseason. The connection for completion though didn’t happen like you would want to see. Brown deserves a bench spot on fantasy rosters, and by mid-season could be a fantasy worthy number three or flex option.

Aaron Hernandez- There won’t be many weeks where a teams tight ends total almost 200 yards receiving. It was a career day for Brady and the tight ends of the Patriots were main contributors of that. Hernandez will be high on the Chargers game plans, as he is one of the few players that can stretch the field for the Patriots. Look for Rob Gronkowski to have the better game.