Let there be football. No, for real y’all. There are a whole slew of games tomorrow/today. Can you believe it? And now we just wait for the inevitable end of the season! Why God why!!? Oh, live in the now. Carpe diem and all that. I hear ya. We have football and there was a slight chance we wouldn’t not too long ago. Let’s savor this m effer. I’m calling U-verse right now to re-up my RedZone package (yeah, yeah, that’s what she said). My ass groove is already firmly formed in the sofa so no extra work there. And I’m diligently (read: drunkenly) going through my teams and looking for players who currently aren’t signed or living to replace with others who are less near death.
I’ll be here for your questions in the comments so feel free to ask. And remember, no question is a dumb one. Evaluating matchups and talent is tough and getting a second opinion is always nice, even if you don’t go with it. Good luck everyone! Fake Football is back!
Below you will find some player updates and links, odd ends and odd beginnings, but before we get to the oddities make sure you sign up for our $250 FanDuel Freeroll. If you beat my team you get 5 bucks and if you are in the top 10 you get cash monies as well. And that is all for the low low price of free!
Marques Colston: He broke his collarbone instead of his knee, so that is a step in the right direction. It looks like he’ll be out 4-6 weeks which gives plenty of time for another Saints receiver to step up, but we all know how difficult that is to predict. The primary ball catchers are Robert Meachem, Devery Henderson, Jimbo “faux belt” Graham, Lance “holdin’ my groin” Moore, and Adrian Arrington. My take is predicated on Moore’s crotchal region.  If Moore heals up quickly he is the #1 receiver is New Orleans, which, with the way they spread the ball around doesn’t always mean that much, but it means a little something. And if Moore is out Meachem is the guy I want on my team. And that would give Henderson some value and maybe even Arrington. Henderson had a good week 1, but the Saints aren’t going to be playing from behind enough for him to get that many looks regularly. Jimmy Graham will continue to be a top 10 tight end, but like most tight ends his looks will be sporadic from week to week.
UPDATE: Randall Moss has been spied at Cafe Du Monde being interviewed by Anne Rice for her new novel, Interview with a Super Freak. Right now the rumor mill is in full churn that Moss may be headed to the Saints, but there has been no confirmation yet. If he does end up there it’s about the best place for him fantasy wise. He probably wouldn’t be a WR1 or WR2, but would be a must pick up on the off chance that he actually tries.
UPDATE: Adam Schefter tweets: New Orleans GM Mickey Loomis on rumors of Randy Moss visiting Saints today: “Absolutely no truth to it. It’s a made-up story. Zero to it.”
Arian Foster: He is officially a game time decision, but he didn’t practice and all signs point to him sitting this one out. That is the scenario I would prepare for. Kubiak will want Derrick Ward in there for pass protection, but Ben Tate has shown he is the more explosive back. I think both can be useful for fantasy as a flex starter. Ward is the safer play, but Tate has more upside.
Miles Austin: He isn’t 100% and is slated to be covered by Darelle Revis, which does not bode well for him. Of course if Dez Bryant is abusing Cromartie we could easily see Revis switch off. I think Antonio Romo will have to throw a ton and will throw to whoever isn’t being covered by Revis. At this point your guess is as good as mine as to what will happen. This murky situation would be one to stay away from if you were smart, but I still like Dez cuz I’m dumb.
Matt Forte: With no Barbarian to bonk him over the head with his club at the goal line we should see Forte get goal line carries and pretty much get 20-30 looks in a decent matchup against a pass rushing front 7 in the Falcons. I like him a whole lot.
Knowshon Moreno: Coach Fox says it will be a “hot hand” situation between Moreno and Willis McGahee. So that isn’t very good news. It’s hard for me to believe that Moreno, even if his hands are literally on fire, will get goal line carries. This situation is one to stay away from if you can, but there is upside for the guy that gets the touches, whoever that is.
Steve Smith (PHI): Smith is going to be active for week 1 which sure isn’t what we all expected. He of course isn’t startable in any format this week, but I could see grabbing him in deeper leagues as a flier for the season. For the most part it’s going to be really tough to know how he’ll fit into the offense until we see him out there. Jackson, Maclin, Celek, Avant and McCoy all will be in the way of his looks to an extent.
Jamaal Charles: How can I have a week 1 preview without JC Superstar? Well, I guess I can’t because here he is. He is my #1 running back this week going against the horrible Bison rush defense. He has risen!
Braylon Edwards: I really can’t stand the guy, but with Michael Crabtree just getting back to practice he is the de facto #1 wide receiver. Vernon Davis is probably the true #1, but both get a horrid Seattle pass defense to go up against. Yes, Alex Smith is not that good, but he still will try to throw it to people.
Julius Thomas: The basketball player turned tight end could be a monster red zone target this season in Denver. Right now it’s hard to know just how much he’ll be used, but I bet we at least see him when they get inside the 20. Keep an eye on him.
Keiland Williams: There is no true goal line back in Detroit so we need to keep an eye on this Williams feller. He isn’t all that good, but if the Lions move the ball as well as they should and Williams gets goal line carries he has to be on the fantasy radar.
Kendall Hunter: Even though Hunter is Gore’s backup there is a good chance he’ll be the change of pace back and watching him in preseason run over and around and past defenders I could see him being very productive in whatever role he rolls with.
NFL Hot Links:
Evan Silva over at Rotoworld breaks down every game in his weekly mathup column. It’s always a good read.
Fantasy Pros is getting tons of sites to contribute their weekly rankings (ours as well) and has a ton of helpful info on their site. You can customize your week 1 cheat sheet here.
Here are a few things I wrote for FanDuel and Rotoworld: Passing Forecast, Rushing Forecast, and Targets and Touches.
Awful Announcing tells us what broadcasters we get to endure this week.
Mike Clay of Pro Football Focus takes a look at some offensive matchups for week 1.
Grantland goes a little NFL nuts with their NFL Preview.
The Fifth Down Blog takes a gander at this weeks NFL matchups.
My twitter friend Matt Waldman has a great blog called The Rookie Scouting Portfolio. He’s a student of the game and a great evaluator of talent. I really enjoy his interview series and his most recent one with Greg Cosell is great. While you’re there explore; there’s gold in them thar blog hills.
Ex-NFL scout Matt Williamson takes another look at Cam Newton and some other rookies.
GoAheadScore gives us their Start/Sits for the week.
Carl and Chuck Klosterman do something below here:
