Fantasy Football Week 3 Insider

The first two weeks of the NFL season have been captivating to say the least. With injuries to several star players, including last year’s MVP Tom Brady (QB, New England Patriots), many fantasy owners are scrambling to fill positions. But worry not, there are probably plenty of low cost guys available in Free Agency or riding the bench on another team that you can probably trade for. Some fantasy owners are getting worried at the lack of production from some top players like Carson Palmer (QB, Cincinnati Bengals) who has netted an ugly six fantasy points in two weeks, or Braylon Edwards (WR, Cleveland Browns), whose first two weeks have been filled with drops and underachievement. However, that’s no reason to abandon ship or give up on a guy you thought should have been a staple in your weekly roster. Quite the contrary, this is an opportunity for fantasy football sharks to attack those insecure owners and get name-brand production at generic prices.

Start ‘Em

– J.T. O’Sullivan (QB, San Francisco 49ers) surprisingly came out of nowhere and won the starting quarterback role in training camp. In the first two weeks, he has led the 49ers to a 1-1 record in which he’s thrown for over 500 yards and a touchdown, including his 321 yard, 1 TD, 0 INT game last week against the Seahawks. This week he faces a terrible defense in the Detroit Lions, who are 25th in the league in pass defense and have given up four touchdowns (three of which were by Aaron Rodgers who torched the Lions last week for 328 yards, 3 TDs).

– Julius Jones (RB, Seattle Seahawks) exploded last week for over 140 total yards and a TD. Look for that to continue in Week 3. The Seahawk passing game is still missing key receivers and thus they are relying moreso on the running game. Not to mention, the team they are playing, the St. Louis Rams, allowed 200 rushing yards last week.

– Tony Scheffler (TE, Denver Broncos) might not be a true sleeper anymore with his enormous performances in the first two weeks. He’s a big play tight end in a big time passing attack led by the steadily rising Jay Cutler. It doesn’t hurt to play against a New Orleans Saints defense, which is year-in and year-out one of the least cohesive units in football.

– Other notable players you should expect huge things from this week include Michael Turner (RB, Atlanta Falcons), Maurice Jones-Drew (RB, Jacksonville Jaguars), Frank Gore (RB, San Francisco 49ers), Randy Moss (WR, New England Patriots) and all of the New York Giants running backs. (Yes, all three of them.)

Sit ‘Em

– Carson Palmer (QB, Cincinnati Bengals), who plays on the NFL equivalent to the old Portland Jailblazers (err … I meant Trailblazers), has gotten off to an awful start. Things do not look to get any better in the short term as he faces the defending Super Bowl champions New York Giants and their vaunted pass rush; just ask Marc Bulger. I can honestly see Palmer exploding very soon, but that will be stalled until next week against the Cleveland Browns.

– Hines Ward (WR, Pittsburgh Steelers) has gotten off to a terrific start, but he and the Steelers will run into a very tough Philadelphia Eagles defense. With the line being average at best, look for the Eagles to maintain constant pressure on Ben Roethlisberger, who, as if he didn’t have enough to worry about facing the Eagles, has a shoulder sprain. Shoulder sprain plus Eagles defense is a recipe for disaster, and Hines Ward is going to go quietly into the night.

– Ryan Grant (RB, Green Bay Packers) is no Brian Westbrook; in fact, he was once the fourth-string running back for the New York Giants. While he enjoyed great success last season, he no longer has Brett Favre to prevent defenses from putting eight in the box. Look for the Cowboys to zero in on Ryan Grant, especially DeMarcus Ware and their linebackers. I’d sit him this week. Besides, if the Packers are going to have a good game, it will be all on Aaron Rodgers’ shoulders again anyway.