By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

Your heavyweights do most of the damage in fantasy leagues. You expect that. Where wins of the blowout variety come from are the starters under the radar. The depth building guys you drafted in mid rounds with upside. Deciding your matchups on a week to week basis with your number two’s and three’s at running back and wide receiver is a tough struggle for fantasy owners. Here’s some guys we think should do well this weekend.

Quarterback

Kyle Orton- Were not sure how Orton’s settled himself down being a Bronco. Last year he managed drives which translated to a 6-0 start. When Marshall was traded he was discounted by everyone. After a strong preseason and a solid debut, Orton looks as if he is a true veteran quarterback. He is becoming a sneaky start based upon matchups and this week figures to be one. Alex Smith made Seattle’s pass defense look a lot better than it is.

Mike Vick-  He gets the start and with Vick it’ll be boom or bust. Detroit’s young defense is quick but not disciplined enough yet. Vick should continue to excel and add on to last weeks solid performance. Andy Reid hardly ran the football week one and is notoriously known for abandoning the run game. Rolling Vick out to the left or right and letting him high tail it is sort of a running game, right? Expect LeSean McCoy to have a breakout game, and Vick to get enough rushing yards to offset a mediocre passing day.

Josh Freeman- Carolina has a lot of holes on both sides of the football. One glaring is their secondary which gave up big play after big play last week. Part of that had to do with Matt Moore’s mistakes forcing them back onto the field. Well, whether it’s Moore or Clausen the defense will be getting use to that pattern. Freeman doesn’t have the running game you’d like to support a young quarterback. Yet he has some solid young receivers that he should find for a nice fantasy day this week.

Running Backs

Brandon Jacobs- If there’s a guy that needs that big game to work out of a rut, it’s Jacobs. Last years case of blaming injuries and play call selection won’t work two years in a row. Jacobs needs to realize he is a big back that can’t wait for where he is going to go with the football. Attack the line of scrimmage and pick your lane to plow through. That’s the old Jacobs. This week against the Colts he might get away with his subtle moves in the backfield, after the Colts just were torched last weekend.

Shonne Greene- It was not a debut a running back would of liked. Greene had two fumbles and lost his grasp of the split shared carries with LT. He’ll get his chance to shine again as Rex Ryan will do everything in his power to ensure his offense does better. Greene and LT should see heavier dosages of the football as more and more eyes are beginning to distrust Sanchez. New England looked great last week but were not buying into the defense turning it around suddenly with younger legs.

Tim Hightower- Derek Anderson’s still trying to get acclimated with the offense with a non healthy Larry Fitzgerald. Beanie Wells is iffy at being available for this game against Atlanta. Even if he plays it’ll likely be a minimum amount of touches. Hightower will be the main threat, and if he can control his fumbling issues he should have a breakout game. He gets into the end zone at a fairly high rate. Rushing the football he may not get near 100 yards, but yards combined out of the backfield should equate to a decent all around game.

Wide Receivers

Lee Evans- A blowout should occur as the Bills can’t keep up with the Packers. Evans should benefit from that by getting a lot of garbage yards. He is one of the top big play receivers in the league. Unfortunately being in Buffalo he has been hindered. Four or five games a year he is a good start and this week is one of them.

Eddie Royal- Will see how heavy the Broncos look to split carries with Moreno and Maroney. Orton is most comfortable with Eddie Royal and will look for him often. Expect six to eight catches from the Broncos number one receiver. Yardage shouldn’t be a problem. Dividends will be rewarded even more if Royal can make it into the end zone.

Mike Williams (Tampa Bay)- Williams had a phenomenal catch on a tipped ball in the end zone last week. One thing fantasy fans will begin to learn about Williams is he has a knack for catching touchdowns. While at Syracuse he broke the school record by scoring a touchdown in nine straight games. He’ll quickly become Freeman’s favorite option.

Louis Murphy- Campbell played with Santana Moss for years. An inconsistent pattern for Campbell was his erratic play behind center. Raiders fans already saw a glimpse of that last week. Campbell gets a nice matchup to settle himself back down, and restart forward. One thing Campbell is good at doing is mixing up with his tight ends over the middle. By doing that and continuing to pound the ball with McFadden, we think Murphy could slip free for an “I’m back in the NFL” throw from Campbell.

By Zack Cimini

notjustagame23@gmail.com

Week one could have been a bit better against the spread but we will take 9-6-1. After all the goal is to be around 55-60%. Lets see how we fare for week two.

Last weeks Record: 9-6-1

KC +1.5- Time to find out if week one was a mirage or sign for a team turning the corner

Green Bay -13- No way Buffalo can come remotely close to matching the Packers offense

Baltimore -2- Ravens struggled last year versus Cincy. It’s a new year though.

Tennessee -5 – Dennis Dixon will have to show an exponential improvement in his ability to throw the ball for Pittsburgh to cover this.

Philadelphia -6 – Will see if the team is behind Vick by the way the defense, special teams, and offense supports him on the field.

Dallas -7.5- McNabb did one thing Jay Cutler can never do last week and that’s protect the football

Tampa Bay +3.5- We’ll take the half point on this one, which should be a tight field goal winning game.

Atlanta -6.5- It’s a tough road for teams that lose a Hall of Fame quarterback. Arizona is learning that in one off-season and one regular season game thus far.

Miami +5.5- Miami’s defense should keep them hanging around in this one. Chad Henne will have to show his growth in a tough road environment.

Oakland -3.5- Campbell’s bounce back game

Denver -3.5- The true Seattle team will be awoken this weekend.

Houston -3- Houston is for real. McNabb and the Washington offense will not be able to score six points and walk away with a win.

San Diego -7- A bad performance here and the Norv Turner not lasting through midseason begins

New England -3- Will take the matchup of the quarterbacks and give the obvious edge to Brady.

NY Giants +5.5- A little too much points on the Colts side for our liking.

New Orleans -5- Mike Singletary tried to deliver a resounding message by calling a mandatory meeting. When the product on the field doesn’t meet expectations there’s nothing you can do about it. Alex Smith is not going to be a division winning quarterback…period.

The talk of the NFL recently has been about the Baltimore Ravens picking up wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and their potentially high-scoring offense that will take the field this season.

What people aren’t really talking about is the flipside of that acquisition. In order to sign Houshmandzadeh, the Ravens traded wide receiver Mark Clayton to the St. Louis Rams along with a seventh-round draft pick, and got a sixth-round draft pick from the Rams. Though Clayton may not have had all-pro numbers in his time in Baltimore, he was a dependable receiver who consistently put up solid numbers. While Houshmandzadeh can make an impact in Baltimore, Clayton can do the same in St. Louis.

In his five seasons as a Raven, Clayton recorded over 3,100 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. Those aren’t impressive numbers, but they show that he’s been a good number two or three receiver for a long time. His best statistical season was in 2006, his second season, when he put up 939 yards and five touchdowns. Those numbers could be considered on the verge of number one receiver status, so he’s shown in the past that he can play a big role in an offense.

Going to St. Louis can be a great opportunity for Clayton to establish himself as a crucial part of the offense, and a good target for rookie quarterback Sam Bradford. With last year’s number one receiver Donnie Avery out for the season after suffering a torn ACL in the preseason, Clayton has a chance to become the main guy in St. Louis. The other Rams wide receivers are an up and coming group, but they’re young, and lack Clayton’s experience. Laurent Robinson is entering his fourth season, and his second as a Ram, and is coming back from a broken leg in 2009. He should be able to compete for a starting spot this year. Danny Amendola had 43 catches for 326 yards in his rookie year last year after bouncing around practice squads, and should also be involved in the competition at wide receiver. Rookie Mardy Gilyard played well during training camp according to reports, and should be in the mix for playing time as well.

Clayton figures to be the early number one among the receivers because of his experience. If he can build chemistry with Bradford, who has impressed in the preseason, Clayton can become the unquestioned number one receiver in St. Louis, and can up his numbers to the 1,000 yard level. Bradford has the intelligence and ability to be a smart quarterback, and having Clayton to throw to should make things easier for him. Elite running back Steven Jackson is in the backfield, and having a great back can be extremely helpful to young quarterbacks by taking the pressure off of them to win games.

Though the Rams are in a rebuilding phase, Clayton seems to be in a great situation. Don’t be surprised if he records big numbers this season.

By Zack Cimini
Notjustagame23@gmail.com

Carolina +6
Miami -3
Atlanta -1.5
Detroit +6.5
Cincinnati +5
Cleveland +3
Jacksonville -3
Indianapolis -1.5
Tennessee -6.5
Green Bay -3
San Fran -3
St. Louis +4
Washington +3.5
Baltimore +2
KC +4.5

By Zack Cimini
Notjustagame23@gmail.com

Two Steve Smith’s at the same position and not much separating them to rate one higher than the other. Rankings happen for a reason and one of the Smith’s has to be the top dog. A year ago this was not even a question. Carolina’s Smith had been a top ten receiver for several years. While the Giants, Smith, had struggled to find his niche ever since the Giants drafted him. Playing behind long time Giants veteran Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress must have paid off in some fashion. Smith is the Giants clear cut receiver leader and he has fought off young talented receivers Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham in the process.

The first area we are going to analyze is both teams offensive balance. It’s no secret that Carolina has the best tandem of backs in the NFL. Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams have proven and shown that they can and will carry the Panthers with a minimum thirty combined carries a game. Even though Matt Moore is taking over that will not halt Carolina’s plans. It wouldn’t be shocking to see the carries per game claw up an extra six to eight a game.

Another glaring area with Carolina is they’ve lacked a legitamate second receiver behind Steve Smith for years. Take a second and think of who has played behind Smith……the Jeopardy five second buzzer has just sounded. Mushin Muhammed was a suitable possession receiver for a long time but not fantasy reliable. Carolina has never truly had a receiver you could draft besides Smith. Were sad to say but Dwayne Jarrett’s an absolute bust. Going into 2010 with Jarrett opposite Smith is only going to make things harder for Smith.

Age and Smith’s injuries the past few seasons have to raise some concerns. He is still a strong top fifteen receiver but we have him behind the Giants Smith.

The Giants style of offense has went more to the air. Partly because the running game has struggled since Tiki Barber departed. Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward had a decent year together but 09’ saw that Jacobs will always need help. Another down year from him and he’ll likely be replaced via the draft or free agency.

A quarterback just doesn’t go from averaging between 3,200 and 3,300 yards three straight years and jump to over 4,000 yards. New York is officially an air attack team and Manning’s favorite target is Steve Smith. The cast of the Giants receivers does overshadow Carolina’s making it difficult to spread the ball to all, but were going to say take the Giants Smith over Carolina’s.

By Zack Cimini

Notjustagame23@gmail.com

Thoughts of fantasy football relevance when you look at Cleveland is minimal at best. Since 2008 the Browns as a whole have probably been near dead last for fantasy players. In terms of all around talent one player on their team has caught the eye of many in Joshua Cribbs. Cribbs began with Cleveland as a special teams threat running back several punts and kickoff returns.

Last year Cleveland decided to tinker with Cribbs a bit and utilize him more as a receiver. While his play as a returnee spiked up with three kickoff returns for touchdowns and one on a punt, as a receiver Cribbs never was a factor. There was a lot of room for Cribbs to backpedal a bit, and learn. Once the Browns saw that Cribbs really wouldn’t provide much as a receiver in 2009, they shifted him to their lead wildcat role.

While running the wildcat Cribbs caused havoc and seemingly defeated Pittsburgh with it. He Ronnie Browned the Steelers like Brown did to the Patriots. Rushing eight times for nearly ninety yards dealing a costly blow to the Steelers playoff hopes. Expect Cleveland to continue to cut a few plays here and there for Cribbs utilizing the wildcat.

2010 is a new year for Cleveland and they’ve got a new face at quarterback. Many doubt Jake Delhomme and think he is at the end of the road, after his inability to recover in Carolina. Thus far in preseason Delhomme looks steady and that’s all Cleveland wants to get out of him. A veteran that can lead a team and not lose the game solely with his arm. Which are the exact intangibles Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn lacked.

Already by watching the Browns first couple preseason games you can tell that someone has devoted serious time with Joshua Cribbs. His route running is much better which transcends and complements his natural speed. In the past preseason game against the Rams, Delhomme found Cribbs five times for thirty yards and a touchdown. Minimal action at that, Cribbs caught twenty five percent of the balls he had total in 2009. What jumps out are the type of routes he was running. Not deep burners that catch nobody off guard, but precision timing routes that no one can disrupt if the quarterback and receiver are on the same page.

Nobody has really talked about the Browns receivers as fantasy threats. Though Delhomme has had his rough days, he has put up solid numbers in years past. Someone in Cleveland will rise up to the occasion and why not Cribbs? His proved everyone wrong since his days at Kent State. In fact, he is actually listed as the Browns number one wide receiver ahead of last years rookie surprise Mohammed Massaquoi.

Chansi Stuckey could press both guys but Cleveland is going to give Cribbs every chance to be a thorn in opposing secondarys. We actually think he’ll have a more favorable shot than Devin Hester from a fantasy standpoint. Hester has dotted the radar the past few seasons but has yet to develop into a solid starting receiver. Just keep your eye on Cribbs. Would you rather draft a fifth receiver that has tremendous upside or one that is just there to fill in for a bye occasionally? Cribbs is that late round pick you need.