Twitter Questions @Cimini

Quarterbacks

Blaine Gabbert
After a preseason in which Gabbert showed promising signs he has had a mixed start in the first two games of the year. This year he will grow, but it’s going to take the course of the season for that to happen. That means his fantasy relevance likely will not occur until the last five to six games of the season.

Mike Vick
Those waiting for Vick to break out of his mini slump and explode on the Sunday fantasy stat tracker are going to have to wait another week. The Cardinals are right up there in the NFL for the way they like to attack defensively. They’re prepared every week, and they’ll cause havoc for Mike Vick.

Tony Romo
How do Tony Romo and the Cowboys usually follow up a disappointing loss? Based on the past seasons you could anticipate a home let down this week. Romo typically is one of those quarterbacks that stats are easy to fill. After Tampa Bay let the Giants pile up yardage, I expect them to have a tougher mentality defensively.

Mark Sanchez
It’ll be hard to find the handful of games that Sanchez will be a relevant fantasy contributor. Miami has some newfound confidence as a team after destroying the Oakland Raiders. The Jets and Dolphins have a history of playing tight close games. This one will be no different. Sanchez will have in the low 200 yard passing range with one touchdown

Running Backs

Chris Johnson
Johnson has been what you could label as “The fantasy bust of the year” thus far. It’s a long season but the Titans offensive line does not look as if they’re going to help him out too much. The good news is the Titans have abandoned the running game early in their first two games, so when Johnson’s big game comes he may get near 30 carries. Detroit’s stout defensive front will make that a tough option week three.

Jamaal Charles
Kansas City is doing the right thing with how they’re bringing along Charles after his serious injury a year ago. With that being said, the Chiefs offense has been woeful. They did not score a touchdown against the Bills until they were down 35-3. The offense is just not in sync. Maybe Todd Haley was right wanting to bench Cassel during his tenure as head coach.

Marshawn Lynch
The game is coming where Lynch is going to truly have to do it on his own to get any type of yards. Luckily for the Seahawks they jumped out to a 10-0 lead thanks to special teams against the Cowboys. Facing Green Bay is going to be a tougher challenge. The Packers are at home and have not had the fluid offense we have come to expect. They’ll have a full ten days in between their Thursday game against Chicago and Monday’s against Seattle. They’ll be ready to force Wilson into bad decisions and halt Lynch.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends

Donnie Avery-
Sometimes when an athlete sees a certain team on the schedule they just know they’re in for a great game. That is the case with Reggie Wayne. Last year was an off year as a whole for the Colts. Ignoring that year, Wayne has wreaked havoc on the Jagaurs secondary. In 2010, he had well over 200 yards receiving in the two combined games, and in 2009 over 300 yards, as well as in 2008 and 2007. The chances for Avery having a big game with Wayne may have happened with Peyton but not with Luck.

Danny Amendola-
Lovie Smith and the Bears do a solid job weekly at attempting to limit your strengths. They’re one of the few teams that limits the Packers offensively each outing. St. Louis has never been a monster offensive team but last week they racked up a great game led by Sam Bradford versus Washington. Amendola had a career day and caught the eyes of many. The law of averages and a great Bears game plan will limit him to under five catches.

Tony Gonzalez
Gonzalez’s stats have grown as Matt Ryan’s comfort and adaptation to NFL speed has adjusted as well. Gonzalez resurgence can be traced solely to his unwavering work ethic. The first two games of this year he has not disappointed either. Father time is ticking though for Gonzalez and you have to wonder if the rigorous nature of the football season will get to him this year. Gonzalez is on the tail end of age 36 and will be 37 in February. Travel usually hampers even young athletes. The shortened week and far trip to San Diego will lead to a down week for Gonzalez. Expect around forty yards receiving without a touchdown.

By Zack Cimini
notjustagame23@gmail.com

Hut, hut,…..errrrr, penalties on the field typically result in a do over from a further distance. For fantasy owners there are no retries from deciding on that wrong player. A false start in fantasy means a poor outing and lots of pouting and jabbing. “Man I would of destroyed you look at my bench”. While you’re crying a river over the fantasy points buried on your bench, the opposing team has a breakout performance from their third receiver that you never would have started.

It’s not always how your team looks on paper. Drafting a perfect team is just not feasible. Often it’s the owners that reassess their weaknesses and upgrade via trades, waiver wire, and contrarian starts. It’s the law of averages with even the best athletes. It’s a sixteen game season and their just isn’t any position player that’s going to be lights out every week.

Here are some players that are either undervalued or I believe are due for a let down.

Rob Gronkowski- Contrarian View- Sit
The meter of discussion on Gronkowski has hit an all time high. Brady has hit his tight ends with such frequency, that owners are salivating at what Gronkowski will do without Hernandez. The two on the field together were able to attack defenses similar to a basketball team with a dynamic backcourt. Without the other things might not go as smooth.

Antonio Gates- Contrarian View-Start (Ignore last week and injury report)
I’ve got a reverse feeling for Gates. Rumors are circulating that Gates is hampered again by the same foot that kept him out a few years ago. Gates is a tough son of a gun, that finds a way to break out when least expected. After being shut down last week, you can better believe Gates will be factored in frequently this week.

Tony Gonzalez- Contrarian View- Sit
Sometimes old veterans will come out the gate with a flurry of solid games. LT did so last year, and faded quicker than Luke McCown’s starting job in Jacksonville. Last season he had seven games below thirty yards receiving. His success this year has largely been for the fact that Roddy White has been doubled, and Matt Ryan hasn’t developed with first year starter Julio Jones. Calm down on believing that Gonzalez is going to reemerge suddenly. He is a touchdown tight end, that’s it.

Brandon Pettigrew- Contrarian View- Start
Points, points, and more points have the Detroit scoreboard operator asking for a raise. After years of hardly working, he/she is probably having malfunctioning issues on getting the board to update so quickly. Owners have been disappointed in Pettigrew for his lackluster results, but it is way too early to think about removing him from starting consideration. Though Tony Scheffler has caught a few touchdowns with downfield routes, Pettigrew will get his shine sooner or later. With the rate that the Lions are scoring, Pettigrew will be a red zone factor anytime. Look for a decent game this weekend.

Shonn Greene- Contrarian View- Start
His first two games make you shake your head. He is the feature back for a team that is geared to make another deep postseason run. He has shown the skills every post season that he can be a dominant fantasy back. Yet the regular season has started off similar to the results of the past two. Unlike last year the Jets do not have fresh LT legs to rely on. Greene is their guy, and will have to bust out sooner or later. Fred Jackson had a field day last week vs. the Raiders, and is a similar back to Greene. Look for Greene to be a top five fantasy back this weekend.

Tony Romo- Contrarian View-Sit
The Redskins are Romo’s weakness over his career against them. With the infatuation over his outing last week, you have to ignore that and look at the present details. Romo will likely start, but is obviously still not 100 percent. The Cowboys receivers are dinged up as well, and will have to rely heavily on non starting receivers. Pressure on Romo and improper timing with receivers he isn’t use to, could be the cause and effect of a bad outing. Over his last four starts vs. the Redskins, Romo has averaged just 230 yards passing with a total of four touchdowns and four interceptions.

Cam Newton- Contrarian View-Sit
If you think of the pace of the first two games Newton played in, they were hectic freelance style games. Newton had the opportunities to throw for the yards he did, because both teams were dictating a pass over run game. Green Bay ran the football basically fifteen times, discounting Rodgers five scrambles. Arizona ran the ball about twenty times week one. That’s just the opposing teams. Carolina has abandoned the run all together the first two games. Jacksonville is one of the top teams in the league at attempts rushing per game. I could envision a heavy dosage of carries for both Jones-Drew and Karim to try and protect first day starter Blaine Gabbert.