The first quarter of the season is in the books…and how do you feel?
Andrew Luck, DeMarco Murray, and Antonio Brown owners are loving themselves a little right now.
Cam Newton, Eddie Lacy, and Demaryius Thomas owners?…Not so much.
However, it’s still early enough to turn things around. A waiver wire pickup here, a sell high trade there…your 0-4 team can reel off a nice streak to put you back into playoff contention. Hey! Somebody’s gotta give you some optimism, right?
Paul Chivari on Facebook: “Sammy Watkins or Andrew Hawkins?”
The Kyle Orton era has begun in Buffalo and Sammy Watkins seems to be excited about it. Watkins told reporters “He reads [defenses] quicker, the ball is coming out faster.” Orton isn’t going to set the world on fire for Buffalo, but his style is going to benefit Watkins in the box score greatly. Quick release passes on slant routes could be their bread and butter, but that’s a tall order against the league’s #2 pass defense. The Lions are tied for 4th in passing touchdowns allowed with just 4, and haven’t slowed down getting after the quarterback…In his first 3 weeks, Andrew Hawkins has consistently gotten the 10+ targets from Brian Hoyer. Hawkins is catching 7 passes per game and putting up decent yardage, but he isn’t getting into the end zone. There’s a chance that can change against a fairly pedestrian Titans pass defense…Considering what the Lions pass defense was able to do against Aaron Rodgers and Orton is getting his first licks since Dec. 29th, 2013, I feel better about Hawkins this week.
Craig Bucy on Facebook: “Golden Tate or West Welker?”
Golden Tate finally reaped the rewards of lining up on the other side from Calvin Johnson, but it was a decoy Megatron against the Jets. Johnson missed practice yesterday and his status is unsure for Sunday, but I like Tate against a Bills defense giving up the 8th most against the pass…The Broncos don’t have that luxury facing the Cardinals, but Wes Welker does have an opportunity to attack vulnerable coverage over the middle. Funny how Welker had a couple weeks off for suspension, returned to catch 6 passes, and got another break with the bye. I do think Welker will get his looks against Arizona, but the potential for a majority of the Lions offense to go through Tate is greater.
Kirk Clark on Facebook: “Desean Jackson vs Seattle, Anquan Boldin vs KC or Terrance Williams vs Houston.”
I’m going to start out by just simply saying no to Desean vs. Seattle. Seeing what the Giants were able to to Cousins makes me terrified for him against the Seahawks…Boldin was making plays in clutch situations against the Eagles, but it was still disappointing that he couldn’t light it up against an atrocious pass defense…I like Terrance Williams the most in this group. He’s being single-covered a lot, and why not when Dez Bryant is on the opposite end. Assuming Bryant draws Jonathan Joseph in coverage, Williams will get big point targets again.
Ryan Suarez on Facebook: “Doug Martin, Vincent Jackson or Knile Davis in the Flex”
I’ve made this known before, but I don’t like Doug Martin. At all. He did score last week but still seemed to struggle. He has an opportunity to produce against a Saints defense that he ran 144 yards on last season, but I like his teammate from this group better…Mike Glennon is a big boost for Vincent Jackson over Josh McCown and the Saints secondary is one to be had. Jackson will also be getting a majority of the targets with Mike Evans dealing with a groin injury…Lastly, Knile Davis didn’t seem to slow down in production the other night against the Patriots, even with Jamaal Charles starting as well. He still deserves flex consideration, but I don’t like his matchup against the 49ers who shut down the combo of LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles last week on the ground. Go with V-Jax in the flex.
Zach Munoz on Facebook: “Jeremy Maclin or Brian Quick?”
Go with Brian Quick. Brian Quick has proven to be the best receiving option in St. Louis, and #1 receivers get to eat when it comes to playing against the Philadelphia pass defense.
Scott Marlega on Facebook: “Pick two 1 WR/1 Flex (non PPR) Brandin Cooks, Michael Crabtree, Reggie Wayne, Fred Jackson.”
I’ll make the first part easy. Start Brandin Cooks at WR. The Saints are a very different team at home and Drew Brees LOVES to play against the Bucanneers. In his last 4 starts against Tampa Bay, Brees has thrown for totals of 381, 322, 307, and 377 yards. He’s thrown four touchdowns in three of those four games. Cooks is going to get some love this weekend.
Now for your Flex spot: Michael Crabtree is a decent start at home. Going into the Monday Nighter, I expected Tom Brady to be able to take advantage against Kansas City’s beat up secondary but that wasn’t the case at Arrowhead Stadium. Crabtree may have a better chance as Colin Kaepernick can elude the Chiefs’ pass rush better than Brady could…The Ravens are great against the run but the Colts have the Fantasy quarterback in the league right now, and he doesn’t care. I’m expecting Andrew Luck to air it out against Baltimore at home, and Reggie Wayne is back to being the hot hand receiving…Fred Jackson is 3rd in the league among running backs receiving with 19 catches for 170 yards. Jackson faces a Lions defense that can shut down the run, but don’t be surprised to see Orton check down to Jackson a lot. The most dependable in this group though is Reggie Wayne.
As always, keep the questions coming through the weekend on Facebook and Twitter and I’ll do my best to respond.