NFL Week 3 Fantasy Start ‘Em Or Sit ‘Em

Reminder: If you haven’t checked out my Week 3 NFL Predictions and Picks Against the Spread, check those out in the article below or follow the link.

START ‘EM:

1.) Michael Turner — Michael Turner followed up his 220 yard, 2 TD week 1 performance with only 42 rushing yards last week, but that was against a tough Tampa Bay defense. This week, he’ll be against the Chiefs, who are ranked 31st against the run, allowing 213 YPG on the ground. I can see Turner running wild just like McFadden last week.

2.) Jay Cutler/Brandon Marshall/Eddie Royal — The Broncos have the Saints this week and the Saints defense has been decimated by injuries. They have 3 DBs banged up, 1 starting LB out for the season, another starting LB listed day-to-day. The Broncos have the first ranked offense and they should be able to score in the 30’s once again.

3.) Reggie Bush — After a poor performance in week 2 against the Redskins, he should be able to bounce back this game against a Broncos defense that is ranks 21st against the run this year and was 30th against the run last year.

4.) David Patten — If you have issues at WR on your fantasy team, David Patten might be a solid waiver wire pickup until Marques Colston returns. This week, the Saints have a defense that is 29th against the pass. Patten had 5 receptions and 55 yards last week and his numbers should be even bigger this week against a much poorer defense. He also had a 39 yard TD reception in week 1 against the Bucs. Patten is a much more consistent option than Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem may take Devery Henderson’s job away.

My quetion to you: My fantasy WR starters are Randy Moss, T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and Donald Driver. So far T.J. hasn’t produced for me. He’s been held to under 50 yards and 0 TDs each game and Carson Palmer is looking terrible. This week the Begnals have a very tough Giants defense. Do you bench T.J. this week and opt for David Patten in a more favorable matchup? Leave me a comment by clicking the comment link at the bottom of the article.

5.) Chris Johnson — The Texans gave up 183 yards on the ground to the Steelers in week 1. Last week, Chris Johnson put up 109 yards on 19 carries. He’s getting more and more carries each week due to LenDale White’s poor rushing average. Chris Johnson averages 5.9 YPC compared to LenDale White’s 3.0 YPC. I can see CJ putting up another 100 yards off 20 carries this game. CJ also put up 93 rushing yards in week 1. He also has 46 receiving yards in those two games. I’m pretty pissed I slept on him. He went in the 10th round #98 in my league, but I guess I can boast about taking Jay Cutler in round 13. I took Joey Galloway at #94 — I wanted to go with a proven vet as a backup WR (3 straight 1,000 yard seasons). Oh well.

6.) Frank Gore — The Lions are giving up 220 YPG on the ground. Frank Gore should have a field day against the league’s worst defense.

7.) Maurice Jones-Drew — So far MJD’s numbers haven been solid, but not outstanding. With the Colts giving up 181.5 YPG on the ground and Colts S Bob Sanders out, I could see a huge day from MJD.

8.) Steve Smith — Steve Smith is back from his suspension and Jake Delhomme is on fire. This week they’ll have the 24th ranked passing defense this year and the 32nd ranked passing defense from last year. With the Vikings shutting down the Panthers running game, Delhomme will have to air it out. I expect a huge day from Steve Smith.

9.) Randy Moss — After Moss’s 22 yards last week, I was almost convinced that he would be putting up similar numbers with Matt Cassell all season long, but fortunately, the Pats have the Dolphins this week, and they gave up 361 yards and 3 TDs in the air to the Cardinals last week. I’m hoping that means a rebound performance from Moss this week and hopefully, he can develop some chemistry with Casselll.

SIT ‘EM:

1.) DeAngelo Williams/Jonathan Stewart — The Vikings have averaged only 82 rushing yards allowed this season. Last week Joseph Addai was held to 20 yards on 15 carries. However, in week 1, the Vikings did give up 92 yards to Ryan Grant off 12 attempts. They were ranked 1st against the run in 2007, so I would opt for another back in a more favorable matchup.

2.) Willie Parker — With Big Ben’s sore shoulder, expect Parker to get a lot of carries, so you may not want to bench him. What I did want to point out is that Eagles have the 1st rank rushing defense and are allowing only 52 YPG. Just be advised that FWP may be shut down.

3.) Jamal Lewis — The Ravens gave up only 70 rushing yards in week 1 and their defense looks like it’s back to what the Ravens defense is known for. Jamal Lewis struggled against the Steelers last week (in was in the rain in his defense). 19 carries for 38 yards (2.0 YPC). He did add 3 receptions for 38 yards that game though. I don’t see him putting up monster numbers this game, so opt for another back.

4.) Chris Perry — Perry has an awful 2.7 YPC average and he’ll be against the 4th ranked rushing defense.

5.) LaDanian Tomlinson — Bench L.T.? Are you crazy? No, not really. There’s a method to my madness. L.T. has a banged up toe injury and is listed as probable. He struggled last week and this week, his carries will be limited. L.T. only had 10 carries for 26 yards against a very poor run defense last week (14 receiving yards though). Sproles got 7 attempts and put up 53 yards. Expect Sproles to get more carries until L.T.’s toe is fully healed. The Chargers are also up against the 6th ranked rushing defense this week. The Jets were ranked 29th against the run last year though, but they did a solid job containing the Patriots rushers last week.

6.) Carson Palmer/T.J. Houshmandzadeh/Chad Johnson — So far the Bengal’s offense has been terrible. 9 PPG. Carson Palmer has had games with 94 yards and 134 yards with 0 TDs and 3 INTs. This week things don’t get any easier for them against the 5th ranked passing defense that ranks 3rd in sacks.

7.) Ryan Grant — After 15 carries for 20 yards last week, Grant had to be pulled because his hamstring was giving him some problems. I would wait until he’s fully healthy until you play him. He’s not officially on the injury list, but he’s still feeling the effects of lingering hamstring injury.