By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

September has concluded. The next four weeks of October are pivotal to either sustain your lead atop your fantasy league, or to start climbing back in the race. At the end of the month will you be haunted or the one causing the chaos?

Here’s a look at some athletes that should be automatics to start and others to sit.

Quarterbacks

Start: Matt Hasselbeck

Hasselbeck may be the only quarterback that can make ten completions fantasy worthy. Without Kenny Britt he has found a way. Utilizing veteran Nate Washington and tight end Jared Cook. As long as Chris Johnson continues to improve, Hasselbeck is a solid number two fantasy quarterback.

Start: Matt Cassel

Cassel should be playing basketball. When he is hot, he can be as consistent as they come at delivering your Chiefs fantasy receivers 100 yard games. When he is not, he’ll throw for under 100 yards with a pair of picks. Cassel looks to be charting back upward, so he could be a waiver wire addition consideration after this week.

Sit: Mark Sanchez

Sanchez was definitely rattled by harassed blitzes from the Ravens. Each of the past two years, Sanchez has struggled to respond when faced with adversity during the regular season. The Jets will look to control this game with the ground game. I don’t think Sanchez will have over twenty attempts in this one. Rex Ryan wants to keep his defense and the Tom Brady dink and dump offense off the field.

Sit: Ryan Fitzpatrick

Running Backs

Start: Marshawn Lynch

The New York Giants somehow win with a formula of Eli turning the ball over, and the defense giving up chunks of yards. Maybe they’re just fortunate. The opportunistic defense will force turnovers, but they offset that with allowing running backs to rush all over them.

Start: Jahvid Best

Though he has been quiet this year, Best thrives in divisional games. With teams needing to key in on the passing attack more, Best should start to see his production rise. He has it in him, and should be a top seven fantasy back heading into next year.

Sit. Joey Addai

I really like the way Addai has ran the football the past few games for the Colts. The team has fed off of its veterans but just can’t sustain the effort in the 4^th period. There comes a point when veterans use to winning hit that loser wall. This team is 0-4 and reality will set in. This team and front office will want to see where the youth lies with this team. Bring in Delone Carter, who will get more and more carries as the season goes on.

Sit: Mark Ingram

Wide Receivers

Start: AJ Green

Green gets an actual favorable match up this weekend. He has been quite a surprise on an offense not expected to do much. Rookie Andy Dalton has found a way to deliver the football, and the team remains balanced with Cedric Benson rushing the football. Green should have another solid game to pad to his stats.

Start: Mike Williams

Williams has had a tough time adjusting to defenses this season. Teams are not letting him beat them all day with intermediate routes. Josh Freeman is finding other targets such as Preston Parker and Arrelious Benn. Look for Williams to get back on track this week, with his best game of the year.

Start: Titus Young

Teams may find a way to gear up and stop Megatron. All that’s going to do is divide up more throws Young’s way. Even though Johnson typically posts great numbers against the Bears, I’m going with the Contrarian view that Young will be the Lions leading receiver.

Sit: Plaxico Burress

Sit: Marques Colston

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

September is just about in the books. Lets look at week four’s automatic starts and players to not even think of putting in your fantasy lineups.

Start: Donovan McNabb

Minnesota isn’t loaded at wide receiver, but the team is improving by the week. Their tough schedule early on will now become much easier. It isn’t like they haven’t been in their games. They’ve just not been able to play four complete quarters. The key to success is the way the Vikings have been the past few weeks. Armed and ready to hand the ball to AP. There are going to be some weeks that AP elevates McNabb’s passing stats, and this week will be one of them.

Sit: Matt Hasselbeck

The woes are well known for the Titans. Their offense was efficient by being heavily dependant on the pass over the run. Chris Johnson has not been able to get in gear, and sooner or later that’s going to cause Hassle beck a horrible game. That game may be this week. Without his Pro Bowl caliber receiver Kenny Britt, the Titans receivers now become one of the worst in the league. Nothing new to Hasselbeck as he comes from Seattle.

Start: Ryan Fitzpatrick

The quarterback that was recruited by just Eastern Washington and Harvard, and honorable mention for All-State his senior year in high school, is now becoming a big time NFL quarterback. He has turned around a franchise, and has this team believing. The Bills somehow keep getting down in games and fighting back relentlessly. However they get the wins, Fitzpatrick is piling up impressive fantasy stats.

Start: LT

It looks like an unfavorable match up, but the Ravens have not been as stellar at giving up yards. They step up defensively in spots, but they do not play an entire four quarters of great football. Shonne Greene should be held in check, but look for LT to get some big plays out of the backfield. A good flex option this week.

Sit: Joey Addai

Addai ran tough and had one of his better games in awhile against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The amount of carries was a season high, to go along with nearly ninety yards and a touchdown. I don’t look for that to become a trend. The Colts managed the game effectively and limited the Steelers opportunities offensively. With the status of their quarterback situation still woeful, maintaining an effective rushing attack with someone as inconsistent as Addai will be hard to do.

Start: Daniel Thomas

The Dolphins are 0-3 with a couple of winnable games left on the playing field. One bright spot has been rookie Daniel Thomas. Thomas is excelling on a weekly basis, and granting the heavier work amount over newcomer Reggie Bush. Thomas should garner another effective fantasy outing with points in the range of ten to fourteen. For the ADP of Thomas, you’re getting way more value than you bargained for.

Sit: Frank Gore

We’ve seen the pattern far too often. A reliant running back, you expect to continually produce year after year. Age use to be the determining factor, but nowadays talent level declines out of nowhere. Gore’s time may be now. He has staved off injuries throughout his career to remain effective, but this year he just hasn’t had it. He looks slower, and just not himself. The heavy workloads of the prior years seem to have slowed him down a tad.

Start: Santana Moss

Moss seems to be Grossman’s main go to guy, as has been the case throughout Moss’s career with several different quarterbacks. He still has the speed to beat defenders deep, but has become more effective with simple crossing patterns the last few years. St. Louis has been ripped apart by the Giants, Ravens, and Eagles on big pass plays. Look for Moss to have one of his patented stat filler games.

Sit: Mike Thomas

Thomas finally had some fantasy relevancy in week three. Catching a touchdown to go with over fifty yards receiving. The touchdown came on an unorthodox type of play. Yet even though Thomas is the Jaguars main target at receiver, his stats at the end of the year will likely look like a third receivers. Give Gabbert a few months to develop and take his lumps. In the mean time do not even think of putting Thomas in your lineup. At the end of the year he should have stronger value.

By Zack Cimini
notjustagame23@gmail.com

If you’re in an 0-2 hole, it’s crunch time for you this week. Some are hoping too stick with their guns and weigh out the losses with your point total. Others might be buried in that stat too, might of got suckered into a trade. Too avoid that 0-3 start, here are some players to start and sit for week three.

Quarterback

Start: Cam Newton
Two impressive outings give Newton the nod to plug in this week. He has his best match up so far. With the Jaguars putting rookie Blaine Gabbert out, mistakes are bound to happen. Newton’s been a statistic machine, and won’t stop vs. the Jaguars.

Start: Sam Bradford
Apparently the secondary weaknesses of a year ago for the Ravens have not been resolved yet. Chunks of yardage through the air were given up to low rated fantasy quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. Bradford excels with great accuracy, and is developing more confidence in the Rams new offensive system.

http://www.docsports.com/week-3-nfl-odds.html 

Start: Colt McCoy
Miami’s defense has been torn apart by tight ends. Cleveland boasts an under rated tandem in Evan Moore and Ben Watson. McCoy is the a rhythm type quarterback that can get hot quick. As he starts to hit his targets early, he’ll be en route for a big day.

Start: Kyle Orton
Denver’s backfield is still a bit dinged up. With Willis McGahee likely receiving all carries, Denver will need to offset his poor yards per carry average. Expect Orton to be gunning a way and get fantasy owners plenty of points for yardage. Last year against the Titans, Orton threw the ball 50 times.

Sit: Ryan Fitzpatrick- Yes the match up looks intriguing. In order for the Bills to stay in this game they’re going to need to utilize their solid run game over relying on Fitzpatrick. He was able to get away with picking apart the Raiders secondary in the second half, as they melted down completely. Bill Belichick realizes the Bills are under manned at receiver. David Nelson has been Fitzpatrick’s favorite target, and Belichick will look at taking him out as a factor completely.

Sit: Josh Freeman- During his breakout campaign of 2010, Freeman didn’t exactly have solid outings versus the divisional rival Falcons. Both games he threw for under 200 yards, and had a grand total of three touchdowns to three interceptions. Their offense was out of sync week one, but got back on track week two by refocusing on rushing the football.

Running Backs

Start: Chris Johnson- Don’t be a fool and decide to sit Johnson. You drafted him highly and dealt with his first two weeks of poor games. He’ll come along starting this week. Never sit someone you drafted in round one unless he is injured.

Start: James Starks- For some reason the Bears know how to contain Aaron Rodgers. That trend may halt this week, but Starks limited carries the first few weeks should change as well. Averaging almost seven yards a carry, the Packers need to involve his workload more in the range of fifteen to eighteen a game.

Start: Brandon Jacobs- This is one of the weeks where a back like Jacobs will be a main factor. The Eagles struggle at stopping the run up the gut. Corners and linebackers already have a hard enough time tackling Jacobs. In goal line situations there won’t be an Eagle tripping up Jacobs for a loss. He should get a touchdown and a decent amount of yards to pair with it.

Sit: Tim Hightower- It never takes long for Mike Shanahan to pull a switch at running back. Roy Helu was a factor last week, enough to garner more carries as the season goes on. Hightower has been effective as well, but there is a reason why Arizona did not retain him or give him a main shot. He isn’t consistent enough to be a feature back on a weekly basis.

Sit: Thomas Jones/Dexter McCluster- Acquiring a running back that now has a shot at being a fantasy factor, brightens the hopes of many fantasy owners. With the case of the Chiefs backfield, it’s all dependant on when this offense shows some life.

Sit: Mark Ingram- The Saints look as if by mid year they’ll try and force feed Ingram more carries. In the mean time, Pierre Thomas is still in the fold, and the offense is at another level the more plays Darren Sproles is involved in.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Start: Vernon Davis- San Francisco has been hit with the injury bug at receiver. With Ted Ginn having to get reps as starter, you know the 49ers are in trouble. Expect Davis’s targets to be around eight to ten in this game, and one big pass play out of it.

Start: Johnny Knox- The Packers aren’t going to let Chicago roast them all day with Matt Forte screens and catches. Someone else on the Bears is going to have to contribute. Knox has been Cutler’s bail out receiver in the past when the dink and dump option is taking away. It’s not often you can start a Bears receiver, but I say this is the week to do with Knox.

Start: Mike Sims-Walker- It was DaNario Alexander that made the highlight catch on Monday Night Football, but Mike Sims-Walker was quietly just as dependable. He made plenty of crossing pattern catches, in which he picked up additional YAC. Bradford just threw for a career high in yards. He might top it this weekend.

Sit: AJ Green- The law of averages are against Green to continue his solid season. Not that the 49ers have a great secondary. Green’s weekly performances should be somewhere in between last week’s monster game, and his week one. Week one he had one catch for a forty yard touchdown.

Sit: Rob Gronkowski- Many are ready to automatically move Gronkowski into the top three tight ends with Hernandez out. Not so fast. With both on the field teams have to pick their poison. Now that it is just Gronkowski, teams will be able to gear to shut him down. He still has great value in the red zone, but I don’t expect for him to be as high of a factor outside of it, as fantasy football analysts are predicting.

Sit: Antonio Brown- He was targeted nine times last week, catching just four balls. This game has blowout written all over it, but I think it’ll end up being closer than people think. The Steelers will get this win with monster yards on the ground by utilizing Rashard Mendenhall and Isaac Redman.

By Zack Cimini
notjustagame23@gmail.com

Fist pump and a loud boooya to your fantasy buddies at halftime and halfway through the third. Celebratory because you’re up forty to fifty points. At ease because you’ve dominated your match up and you look like you’ve wrapped up a W. Only to see that lead trickle and trickle away. Like a college basketball team up twenty and poof it’s gone in the final seconds. It happens weekly too drive fantasy owners nuts.

One of the areas teams can pick up tallying points is in the fourth quarter of sloppy blown out games. Just because a team doesn’t look good for Vegas lines, doesn’t mean individual athletes don’t have upside in fantasy value. Especially at receiver, where defenses will give up chunks of yards in quick fashion down the field with a big lead. Here are some highlighted quarterback to receiver athletes this week that have a solid chance at piling up numbers late in the third and fourth quarters.

Of course this hurts the value of a fantasy running back on these teams, as teams will not be running the football trying to play catch up.

Duos:

Kevin Kolb-Earl Doucet
I expect the Cardinals to struggle vs. the Redskins. They may hang around for a few quarters but it’ll be a tough outing for the defense. Things just do not get corrected in a span of a week with how woeful they were against Cam Newton. Tim Hightower will establish the ground game, and take the Cardinals game plan away from them. That means airing it out like they typically do. Look for Kolb to have a big day through the air and Doucet to have a second straight solid week.

Philip Rivers-Malcolm Floyd
San Diego’s rush offense may not break the top twenty this year. That means Philip Rivers should easily stay afloat as a top five fantasy quarterback. Average receivers such as Malcolm Floyd then balloon to legitimate second options at fantasy receiver. This will be a shootout. Floyd received plenty of balls his way week one, and should see that surpassed week two. With the way the Patriots are piling up points, a big hole could be foreseeable. Floyd could have a multiple touchdown game.

Chad Henne-Davone Bess
Even when the Dolphins are blown out, their offense moves at a snails pace. There is no hurry up to the Dolphins attack. They’re fine with having Henne check the ball down to his favorite safe target in Davone Bess. Bess is becoming a PPR dynamite player, and with Brandon Marshall looking sharper, Bess could be a weekly double digit average fantasy point receiver.

Cam Newton-Brandon LaFell
The Saints were able to pick on right corner Tramon Williams quite a bit week one. After the blitzing and turnovers turn this game into a rookie lesson for Newton, the fourth quarter should offer at least two to three drives of garbage fantasy numbers. Steve Smith got the big plays week one, but Brandon LaFell quietly had a decent game with seventy yards receiving.

Matt Hasselbeck-Nate Washington
Statement games usually last one game, not in the Ravens case. They’re going to come out and look to stomp over the Titans just like they did week one against the Steelers. The Ravens a year ago had countless let down games against weaker opponents, such as the Browns and Buffalo Bills. They’ll halt Chris Johnson and keep the Titans scoring to a minimum in their second straight blowout victory. On the bright side of week one, Hasselbeck connected with his top two receivers at a good rate. Washington was a main target and had six catches week one.

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.

By Zack Cimini
notjustagame23@gmail.com

Thursday’s NFL kickoff has fantasy owners drooling. Not because your going to see the same flash this weekend, but because you’re already buried in points behind. As your squad steps out onto the field Sunday, you have to think of it like a team being blown out. A gradual climb to chip away at that amount of points your behind. Here is a look at some players to start and sit week one.

Start- Matt Cassel QB
Cassel really started to emerge towards the latter part of the season. He is finally getting settled in as a Kansas City Chief, and will be ready to be a leader with his play this season. He isn’t a top ten or fifteen fantasy quarterback, but his matchup this week should get him to crack the top twelve or fourteen quarterbacks for week one.

Sit- Matt Hasselbeck QB
Hasselbeck should of went undrafted in the majority of leagues. Don’t be confused about the money spent on Hasselbeck. The Titans just needed a game manager, and that’s what Hasselbeck is.

Start- Sam Bradford QB
Bradford had one of the better rookie campaigns of a quarterback in a long time. Almost leading the Rams to a playoff berth. The Rams are young all around, but look for Bradford to stretch the field a bit more. They have an intermediate weapon with Lance Kendricks, their Wes Welker in Danny Amendola, and their over the top big play guy in wideout DeNario Alexander. Free agent pickup Mike Sims-Walker should be an added boost as well. Look for Bradford to put up better than expected numbers against the revamped Eagles.

Sit- Mark Sanchez QB
One statistic that I don’t think ever will erase in Sanchez’s game is turnovers. The Cowboys are going to take the ground game away from Sanchez and force him to throw more. Expect a couple turnovers from Sanchez to offset a decent amount of yards.

Start- Ben Tate RB
It’s not a good sign when a team is mum on their starting running back’s playing time this late in the week. Tate electrified the field in preseason and will bring that on the field starting Sunday. In a game that should be a blowout, Tate could get extra carries based on the scoreboard. Garbage fantasy points are delightful to all fantasy owners.

Sit- Michael Turner
All the carries over the years will begin to take it’s toll for Turner. The injury issues have nagged him a bit over the last few years, but now will see it in his on the field play. Facing Chicago’s defense week one isn’t a pleasant matchup either.

Start- Tim Hightower RB
The Giants are decimated in the secondary, meaning their linebackers will be exposed even more. Hightower is going to have a field day rushing with the Redskins zone blocking scheme. Don’t be surprised to see Hightower in the top five to seven fantasy backs for week one.

Sit- Joey Addai
Addai has been fairly consistent his career but the Colts have been ready to find that new replacement. They thought it was first round pick Donald Brown, but he has proven to be a disappointment. Now the Colts have Syracuse rookie Delone Carter and believe in him. Even though the Colts will likely run the ball more with Collins, Addai’s value still stays as a borderline third running back in leagues. He just doesn’t have the burst to pose a threat outside the ten yard line, where the Colts will have a hard time getting this season.

Start- Brandon Jacobs RB
Jacobs is extremely under rated backs for this season. He has the nimbleness back in his feet and will take more and more carries away from Bradshaw. This matchup of the Redskins/Giants should produce monster rushing games from both sides.

Sit- Plaxico Burress- WR
The Jets aren’t going to give Burress a ton of plays to start the season. He’ll likely be in for situations that look good, like third downs and red zone opportunities. Expect the Cowboys to be ready and shut him down to start the season.

Start- Lance Kendricks- TE
Rookie tight ends have made the transition extremely well the last few seasons. Kendricks may be the best of all the last few years. He’ll be the over the middle threat Bradford leans on week one.

Sit- Austin Collie- WR
The spread attack takes a huge hit without Manning, which drops Collie like a plunging stock. Owners that drafted Collie high to use as their third wide receiver have to be sick to their stomachs.

Start- Malcolm Floyd- WR
Philip Rivers is going to have a field day week one against the Vikings. Start all possible Chargers weapons including Floyd.

Sit- AJ Green- WR
Green is on a team that you’ll never be able to anticipate a good game from him. Do yourself a favor and release him or let him stay on the waiver wire. It’s not worth driving yourself crazy all season when he catches a touchdown in a certain game, or has one of his four one hundred yard receiving games.