Lineup questions? Wondering who to add/drop?
I’m here to help.
Post your questions here, and unless you say differently, I’m assuming your league has a standard (non-PPR) scoring system.
Category: External Sports (Page 545 of 821)
Week 1 is the week where every fan thinks their team shouldn’t be rated higher in the power rankings because they’ve been drunk on their team’s Kool-Aid for the past six months.
Week 2 is the week where half of those fans thinks their team is a pile of excrement.
Ah, fans.
Check out Week 1’s Power Rankings
1. Green Bay Packers
Previous Week: 2
It’s not easy to travel into Philadelphia in the opening week of the season and beat the Eagles on the road. Aaron Rodgers was far from perfect and Ryan Grant’s injury is a concern, but the Pack are off to a great start.
2. Indianapolis Colts
Previous Week: 1
I don’t want to drop the Colts too far down because they had that beating coming to them for a while now. The Texans were tired of being bullied and they finally did something about it. Now, if the Giants run all over the Colts this Sunday night in Indy, then we may have a problem.
3. Baltimore Ravens
Previous Week: 3
Anquan Boldin made Antonio Cromartie and rookie Kyle Wilson look like…well, he made them look like an average corner and a rookie. Still, Ozzie Newsome’s prized offseason acquisition came through in his first real test as a Raven and I think Joe Flacco is going to love targeting Boldin early and often from here on out.
4. New Orleans Saints
Previous Week: 5
The Saints’ performance last Thursday night left something to be desired, but the defense played well and you know the offense is going to produce more times than not. It’ll be interesting to see how NO fares in San Francisco next Monday night against what should be an embarrassed but motivated Mike Singletary team.
5. New England Patriots
Previous Week: 6
The Bengals’ defensive effort was pathetic last Sunday in Foxboro, but it was impressive to see the Pats’ offense rolling on all cylinders in the opening week of the season. I loved seeing Wes Welker catch the first touchdown of the year and it wasn’t only because he’s on my fantasy team…all right, all right – it was only because he’s on my fantasy team.
For a fantasy recap of Sunday’s action, click here.
Monday night’s tilt between the Ravens/Jets was like watching a monkey hump a football — there were things happening, but nothing much was getting done. Mark Sanchez (74 yards, 0 TD) didn’t turn the ball over, which was the biggest thing that Jon Gruden said he needed to work on this season, but he didn’t make many positive plays, either. This is obviously worrisome for anyone who drafted any of the Jet receivers (namely Santonio Holmes, since he was going the earliest in drafts despite missing the first four games of the season), but things should be easier next week against the Pats mediocre defense. For his part, Dustin Keller (2-13) was targeted five times and had a 33-yard catch called back on a penalty. Generally speaking, I still like him as a mid- to high-end TE2.
As for the running game, it didn’t look too bad considering Baltimore typically hangs its hat on stopping the run. Shonn Greene owners have to be worried since he was out-touched by LaDainian Tomlinson 13-to-6, and just looked out of it after fumbling a couple of times (losing one). It’s clear that the Jets are going to use LT2 a lot this season, and why not? The guy can still play.
On the other side of the ball, Joe Flacco owners have to be encouraged by his yardage (248 yards, INT), though he overthrew a wide-open receiver in the goal-line package in the first half. Still, he looked fairly sharp considering the competition and it’s clear that Anquan Boldin (7-110) and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (1-27) were upgrades in the passing game. And let’s not forget about Todd Heap (6-72) who continued his good preseason in Week 1. He almost caught a long TD in the first half and actually out-targeted Boldin 11-to-10. I know owners have fantasy fatigue with Heap (i.e. they’ve been burned before, and they’re not going back), but he’s still just 30 years old and seems healthy for the first time in a long, long time. He had an outstanding leaping catch in the fourth quarter that showed just how good his hands really are.
In the running game, I wouldn’t read too much into Ray Rice‘s struggles (23 touches, 62 yards), but it is disappointing that the Ravens were so intent on using Willis McGahee and Le’Ron McClain in short yardage. Rice should have a much better game against the Bengals next week.
In the late game, the Chiefs held on to beat the Chargers, despite the fact that Todd Haley still refuses to use Jamaal Charles in a feature-back role. Even if you remove his electric 56-yard TD run (and why would you, really?) Charles still averaged more yards per carry than Thomas Jones (11 carries, 39 yards). Unfortunately, coaches get more stubborn when they win, so don’t expect Haley’s attitude to change until he drops a game or two.
It’s tough to hold Matt Cassel‘s feet to the fire for his lackluster numbers in the passing game (68 yards, TD), but the weather wasn’t good and once the Chiefs got the lead, they didn’t need to throw a whole lot. The lone bright spot in the KC passing game was rookie TE Tony Moeaki (3-21-1), who showed nice hands and athleticism on his four targets. Dwayne Bowe (1-13) and Chris Chambers (1-14) were nearly no-shows.
As for the Chargers, Phillip Rivers (298 yards, 2 TD) was his normally fiery self and posted surprisingly nice numbers in a tough situation. Maclom Floyd (3-48) was a disappointment given his 12 targets, but Legedu Naanee (5-110-1) capitalized on a blown coverage to break free for a 59-yard TD in the first half. I like Naanee, but I wonder how many games he’s going to have like this as the Chargers’ third option in the passing game. Antonio Gates (5-76-1) was his normally dominant self, but KC was focusing on him so much, he only ended up seeing six targets from Rivers.
In the running game, Ryan Mathews (19 carries, 75 yards) owners might be a little concerned, but he did get the lion’s share of the carries. He lost a fumble and only caught one ball, so it doesn’t look like he’s going to be very involved in the passing game. This is going to limit his upside this season.
That about does it for Week 1. Be sure to check out our Waiver Wire Watch and post your roster questions on our Week 2 Q&A, which will be up shortly.
E. Spencer Kyte interviews Jim Miller and talks UFC Fight Night 22:
Jim Miller, UFC Lightweight: He’s Not Flying Under the Radar for Long
A changing of the guard in the UFC Lightweight Division has pushed the previously obscure 155-pound weight class front and center in a number of discussions throughout the mixed martial arts world right now.
When discussing the athletes that make up this dynamic class at the bottom of the UFC scale, the roll call usually includes the same big names:· current champion Frankie Edgar
· former champion B.J. Penn
· contender Gray Maynard
· contender Kenny Florian
· contender Clay Guida
· emerging challenger Evan Dunham
· emerging challenger Ross Pearson
Read the entire interview here.
Every week, I highlight a few players that you should target in waivers. I use the ESPN league data when filtering players, so the only guys eligible for discussion here are those that are available on the waiver wire in at least 50% of ESPN’s leagues. I’ll list each player’s percentage-owned after their name so you have an idea of how available they are in leagues around the country. I’ll always try to mention a few players that are available in 90% of leagues for those of you in 12-team leagues or leagues with big rosters. I’ll rank them in the order I’d pick them up in a league with a high-performance, PPR scoring system.
Please note that these rankings are for total value through the end of the year. Players with particularly good matchups this week are in bold.
David Garrard (20.4)
Always underrated, Garrard performs much better at home (195 y-40 TD-17 INT in 39 games) than he does on the road (172-26-22 in 33 games). (Nice split find by ESPN, BTW.) With Mike Thomas and Marcedes Lewis emerging, he now has a few weapons in the passing game.
Alex Smith (23.1)
I still like Smith, though I can understand the trepidation after Week 1. If he can’t produce against the Saints, Chiefs and Falcons over the next three weeks, then he probably shouldn’t be on fantasy rosters. He did play well last season, right?
Kyle Orton (35.0)
He has what looks to be a nice matchup this week against SEA (though Alex Smith might argue with that) but then he has a fairly brutal schedule over the next several weeks.
Michael Vick (3.6)
Vick is probably the best option for Kolb owners looking for answers. He was always a pretty good fantasy QB and he proved against the Packers that he still has the wheels to be a major threat in the running game.
Derek Anderson (12.3)
Anderson’s completion percentage in W1 leaves something to be desired, but once he and Fitzy get on the same page, he could be a solid fantasy QB.
Jason Campbell (12.2)
With STL, ARI and HOU up next there’s no reason that Campbell can’t post respectable fantasy numbers.
Matt Hasselbeck (6.7)
Hass was sharp against the 49ers in W1 and has a pretty nice upcoming schedule. Hopefully his back will hold up.
Matt Cassel (12.2)
He only threw for 68 yards, but the Chiefs had the lead for most of the game and conditions were horrible. (However, that didn’t stop Phillip Rivers from throwing for 298-2.)
Shaun Hill (0.0)
Hill proved in San Francisco that he was a capable backup and with all the weapons in Detroit, he should put up decent numbers.
Sam Bradford (14.3)
Bradford has a nice second half schedule, but all rookies have their ups and downs.
Josh Freeman (3.4)
It could be an ugly couple of weeks with Carolina and Pittsburgh coming up.
Matt Moore (3.5)
Jake Delhomme (2.3)
Mark Sanchez (29.2)
Like a lot of people, I’m just not sold on the Sanchize, and he didn’t do anything on Monday night to make us feel any better about him.
Dennis Dixon (2.4)
Trent Edwards (0.8)
FOLLOW US!
CATEGORIES
© 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑