Week 1: Are You Ready? - 15 comments

Welcome back to the first full edition of the Cafe’s Start & Sit column in 2011! I’ve been joined by Calyxes, 204BC and murphysxm in ranking all fantasy relevant players this week. We posted the ratings for New Orleans and Green Bay players a day early to give you an idea of their fantasy worth, and in particular, the running backs were particularly hard to peg. In fact, we hesitated placing any of them as a start in this Week 1 matchup. Of course, that’s in the past now, and you’re only concerned with the future, so let’s get to the Starts and Sits for this week.

Rank	Quarterbacks	Tm	Opp	Avg
1	Michael Vick	PHI	at STL	90.00
2	Tom Brady	NE	at MIA	89.20
3	Philip Rivers	SD	vs. MIN	88.20
4	Matt Schaub	HOU	vs. IND	78.20
5	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	at BAL	73.40
6	Matthew Stafford	DET	at TB	71.90
7	Matt Ryan	ATL	at CHI	68.20
8	Tony Romo	DAL	at NYJ	67.20
9	Eli Manning	NYG	at WAS	63.20
10	Josh Freeman	TB	vs. DET	61.80
11	Kyle Orton	DEN	vs. OAK	59.80
12	Sam Bradford	STL	vs. PHI	59.00
13	Jay Cutler	CHI	vs. ATL	57.52
14	Matt Hasselbeck	TEN	at JAC	57.00
15	Mark Sanchez	NYJ	vs. DAL	56.40
16	Kevin Kolb	ARI	vs. CAR	56.20
17	Joe Flacco	BAL	vs. PIT	56.20
18	Ryan Fitzpatrick	BUF	at KC	55.80
19	Matt Cassel	KC	vs. BUF	54.90
20	Colt McCoy	CLE	vs. CIN	54.84
21	Donovan McNabb	MIN	at SD	51.20
22	Jason Campbell	OAK	at DEN	49.40
23	Alex Smith	SF	vs. SEA	48.20
24	Cam Newton	CAR	at ARI	48.00
25	Chad Henne	MIA	vs. NE	47.10
26	Rex Grossman	WAS	vs. NYG	44.60
27	Kerry Collins	IND	at HOU	40.60
28	Luke McCown	JAC	vs. TEN	40.20
29	Tarvaris Jackson	SEA	at SF	34.60
30	Andy Dalton	CIN	at CLE	30.00

Start: Matthew Stafford. Our raters are riding the Detroit bandwagon pretty hard right here, rating Stafford as a top-six guy this weekend over bigger names like Tony Romo and Matt Ryan. He’s coming off an outstanding preseason and looks ready to make the leap (as always, if healthy). With Aqib Talib at less than 100 percent, Stafford should have no problem getting the ball downfield to stud WR Calvin Johnson. Unless you have an elite QB, it’s hard to bench the Lion here. Looking for a Manning replacement? Try Matt Hasselbeck (see the WR section for comment).

Sit: Joe Flacco. The Baltimore QB obviously has a history of taking on the Steelers, and in six career games against Pittsburgh he has just six TDs while averaging 214 yards and completing 55 percent of his passes. Those aren’t numbers you want to see from your QB1, and while Baltimore made significant off-season moves to give Flacco weapons, this feels like a low-scoring contest, making Flacco an easy sit.

Rank	Running Backs	Tm	Opp	Avg
1	Jamaal Charles	KC	vs. BUF	97.04
2	Chris Johnson	TEN	at JAC	94.40
3	Adrian Peterson	MIN	at SD	89.72
4	Darren McFadden	OAK	at DEN	89.70
5	LeSean McCoy	PHI	at STL	86.70
6	Frank Gore	SF	vs. SEA	85.18
7	Peyton Hillis	CLE	vs. CIN	84.16
8	Maurice Jones-Drew	JAC	vs. TEN	79.66
9	Matt Forte	CHI	vs. ATL	79.64
10	Ray Rice	BAL	vs. PIT	77.88
11	Steven Jackson	STL	vs. PHI	77.80
12	Jahvid Best	DET	at TB	77.40
13	Arian Foster	HOU	vs. IND	77.28
14	DeAngelo Williams	CAR	at ARI	76.68
15	LeGarrette Blount	TB	vs. DET	76.42
16	Michael Turner	ATL	at CHI	75.40
17	Rashard Mendenhall	PIT	at BAL	73.24
18	Beanie Wells	ARI	vs. CAR	73.04
19	Ahmad Bradshaw	NYG	at WAS	72.00
20	Shonn Greene	NYJ	vs. DAL	70.00
21	Cedric Benson	CIN	at CLE	68.40
22	Tim Hightower	WAS	vs. NYG	67.88
23	Fred Jackson	BUF	at KC	67.20
24	Felix Jones	DAL	at NYJ	67.16
25	Knowshon Moreno	DEN	vs. OAK	65.88
26	Joseph Addai	IND	at HOU	65.16
27	Michael Bush	OAK	at DEN	64.74
28	Reggie Bush	MIA	vs. NE	64.04
29	Ryan Mathews	SD	vs. MIN	62.80
30	Jonathan Stewart	CAR	at ARI	62.76
31	Thomas Jones	KC	vs. BUF	60.60
32	Brandon Jacobs	NYG	at WAS	60.08
33	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	NE	at MIA	58.52
34	Mike Tolbert	SD	vs. MIN	58.24
35	Ben Tate	HOU	vs. IND	55.64
36	Marshawn Lynch	SEA	at SF	55.62
37	Derrick Ward	HOU	vs. IND	53.68
38	Willis McGahee	DEN	vs. OAK	53.08
39	Danny Woodhead	NE	at MIA	51.32
40	Montario Hardesty	CLE	vs. CIN	50.24
41	LaDainian Tomlinson	NYJ	vs. DAL	50.16
42	Ronnie Brown	PHI	at STL	50.14
43	Jerome Harrison	DET	at TB	48.92
44	C.J. Spiller	BUF	at KC	46.40
45	Cadillac Williams	STL	vs. PHI	46.00
46	Delone Carter	IND	at HOU	45.32
47	Toby Gerhart	MIN	at SD	42.60
48	Earnest Graham	TB	vs. DET	42.34
49	Roy Helu	WAS	vs. NYG	41.68
50	Kendall Hunter	SF	vs. SEA	40.76
51	Leon Washington	SEA	at SF	38.36
52	Justin Forsett	SEA	at SF	37.40
53	Marion Barber	CHI	vs. ATL	36.96
54	Maurice Morris	DET	at TB	36.92
55	Daniel Thomas	MIA	vs. NE	35.81
56	Deji Karim	JAC	vs. TEN	34.46
57	Jason Snelling	ATL	at CHI	33.60
58	Bernard Scott	CIN	at CLE	33.60
59	LaRod Stephens-Howling	ARI	vs. CAR	33.20
60	Jamie Harper	TEN	at JAC	32.00
61	Joe McKnight	NYJ	vs. DAL	31.60
62	Isaac Redman	PIT	at BAL	31.36
63	Tashard Choice	DAL	at NYJ	31.12
64	Ryan Torain	WAS	vs. NYG	26.52
65	Javon Ringer	TEN	at JAC	24.60
66	DeMarco Murray	DAL	at NYJ	24.36
67	Anthony Dixon	SF	vs. SEA	18.00

Start: Beanie Wells. While the Cardinals picked up Chester Taylor after the final preseason cuts, he’s no threat to make an impact in this game. Unless you think Arizona is ready to give significant carries to LaRod Stephens-Howling, that puts Wells in line for 25-plus touches in a game Arizona is expected to win. He has the potential to lead the league in rushing in Week 1 because of the expected heavy workload, which means you want him in your lineup.

Sit: Knowshon Moreno. The presence of John Fox should in theory help Moreno’s fantasy value, but there’s nothing stopping the new coach from leaning on the bigger Willis McGahee in this game. Moreno doesn’t have a history of success against the Raiders, averaging 3.3 yards/carry and 47.5 yards/game in four career matchups, adding just 19.3 yards/game through the air on a total of seven catches. It’s enough to make you take a wait-and-see approach with Moreno.

Rank	Wide Receivers	Tm	Opp	Avg
1	Andre Johnson	HOU	vs. IND	95.96
2	Larry Fitzgerald	ARI	vs. CAR	92.40
3	Calvin Johnson	DET	at TB	92.20
4	Roddy White	ATL	at CHI	88.84
5	Hakeem Nicks	NYG	at WAS	85.36
6	Dwayne Bowe	KC	vs. BUF	82.88
7	DeSean Jackson	PHI	at STL	81.58
8	Vincent Jackson	SD	vs. MIN	80.80
9	Mike Wallace	PIT	at BAL	80.80
10	Mike Williams	TB	vs. DET	78.24
11	Brandon Lloyd	DEN	vs. OAK	77.74
12	Santonio Holmes	NYJ	vs. DAL	77.02
13	Reggie Wayne	IND	at HOU	75.80
14	Kenny Britt	TEN	at JAC	75.68
15	Wes Welker	NE	at MIA	75.52
16	Steve Johnson	BUF	at KC	74.96
17	Brandon Marshall	MIA	vs. NE	74.24
18	Mario Manningham	NYG	at WAS	74.24
19	Santana Moss	WAS	vs. NYG	74.16
20	Jeremy Maclin	PHI	at STL	73.02
21	Percy Harvin	MIN	at SD	73.00
22	Dez Bryant	DAL	at NYJ	69.68
23	A.J. Green	CIN	at CLE	67.28
24	Anquan Boldin	BAL	vs. PIT	66.20
25	Steve Smith	CAR	at ARI	65.56
26	Miles Austin	DAL	at NYJ	64.08
27	Chad Ochocinco	NE	at MIA	62.80
28	Jacoby Ford	OAK	at DEN	62.68
29	Michael Crabtree	SF	vs. SEA	62.44
30	Braylon Edwards	SF	vs. SEA	61.96
31	Nate Burleson	DET	at TB	61.80
32	Austin Collie	IND	at HOU	61.80
33	Mike Thomas	JAC	vs. TEN	60.72
34	Kevin Walter	HOU	vs. IND	58.44
35	Danny Amendola	STL	vs. PHI	58.16
36	Malcom Floyd	SD	vs. MIN	57.68
37	Julio Jones	ATL	at CHI	57.64
38	Deion Branch	NE	at MIA	55.92
39	Nate Washington	TEN	at JAC	54.80
40	Pierre Garcon	IND	at HOU	54.60
41	Mohamed Massaquoi	CLE	vs. CIN	54.16
42	Mike Sims-Walker	STL	vs. PHI	53.20
43	Jason Avant	PHI	at STL	53.02
44	Plaxico Burress	NYJ	vs. DAL	52.62
45	Hines Ward	PIT	at BAL	52.56
46	Greg Little	CLE	vs. CIN	52.40
47	Johnny Knox	CHI	vs. ATL	52.28
48	Derrick Mason	NYJ	vs. DAL	52.28
49	Davone Bess	MIA	vs. NE	52.24
50	Arrelious Benn	TB	vs. DET	52.24
51	Mike Williams	SEA	at SF	51.90
52	Eddie Royal	DEN	vs. OAK	51.34
53	Jabar Gaffney	WAS	vs. NYG	50.96
54	Lee Evans	BAL	vs. PIT	47.64
55	Emmanuel Sanders	PIT	at BAL	47.48
56	Darrius Heyward-Bay	OAK	at DEN	47.16
57	Roy Williams	CHI	vs. ATL	44.44
58	Anthony Armstrong	WAS	vs. NYG	44.44
59	Steve Breaston	KC	vs. BUF	44.16
60	Dezmon Briscoe	TB	vs. DET	43.64
61	Jerome Simpson	CIN	at CLE	43.04
62	Brandon Gibson	STL	vs. PHI	42.80
63	Jacoby Jones	HOU	vs. IND	42.60
64	Denarius Moore	OAK	at DEN	42.16
65	Jordan Shipley	CIN	at CLE	41.04
66	Sidney Rice	SEA	at SF	40.64
67	Earl Bennett	CHI	vs. ATL	38.52
68	Devin Hester	CHI	vs. ATL	38.44
69	Josh Morgan	SF	vs. SEA	38.16
70	Bernard Berrian	MIN	at SD	36.68
71	Harry Douglas	ATL	at CHI	35.88
72	Legedu Naanee	CAR	at ARI	32.00
73	Andre Roberts	ARI	vs. CAR	31.64
74	Early Doucet	ARI	vs. CAR	31.48
75	Ben Obomanu	SEA	at SF	30.24
76	Victor Cruz	NYG	at WAS	30.16
77	Jerheme Urban	KC	vs. BUF	24.32
78	Donald Jones	BUF	at KC	23.20
79	Brian Hartline	MIA	vs. NE	23.04
80	Damian Williams	TEN	at JAC	22.96
81	Roscoe Parrish	BUF	at KC	21.20
82	Eric Decker	DEN	vs. OAK	20.66

Start: Kenny Britt. Britt managed to avoid suspension after an eventful lockout, and he should start the season with a bang in this juicy matchup. The Jaguars gave up 250 passing yards/game and 28 TDs last season, and with Chris Johnson in the fold for Week 1 and the Jaguars’ likely commitment to stopping him, Britt and Jared Cook could have a huge game. One final note: Matt Hasselbeck’s best regular-season performance in the last three years came against Jacksonville, and oh by the way, he’s coming off a huge postseason. I love both these guys this weekend.

Sit: Miles Austin. Austin is easily the big-name WR with the worst shot at fantasy nirvana this week. For starters, he’s been limited this week with a hamstring injury and figures to be nowhere near 100 percent on Sunday. Then you factor in Darrelle Revis, the league’s best cornerback, squaring off opposite him on most snaps. Third, Austin hasn’t played up to his ability in night games. Over the last three years, he’s averaged 80 yards/game with 15 TDs in 23 day games and just 58 yards/game with three TDs in nine night games. The warning signs abound: stay away.

Rank	Tight Ends	Tm	Opp	Avg
1	Antonio Gates	SD	vs. MIN	91.92
2	Vernon Davis	SF	vs. SEA	87.60
3	Owen Daniels	HOU	vs. IND	82.60
4	Dallas Clark	IND	at HOU	82.20
5	Jason Witten	DAL	at NYJ	80.40
6	Rob Gronkowski	NE	at MIA	72.70
7	Kellen Winslow	TB	vs. DET	70.00
8	Aaron Hernandez	NE	at MIA	66.30
9	Chris Cooley	WAS	vs. NYG	64.40
10	Zach Miller	SEA	at SF	62.00
11	Brandon Pettigrew	DET	at TB	61.20
12	Brent Celek	PHI	at STL	60.80
13	Todd Heap	ARI	vs. CAR	60.60
14	Dustin Keller	NYJ	vs. DAL	58.80
15	Marcedes Lewis	JAC	vs. TEN	57.80
16	Jared Cook	TEN	at JAC	57.20
17	Jermaine Gresham	CIN	at CLE	57.00
18	Greg Olsen	CAR	at ARI	56.00
19	Tony Gonzalez	ATL	at CHI	55.80
20	Lance Kendricks	STL	vs. PHI	54.40
21	Kevin Boss	OAK	at DEN	53.80
22	Visanthe Shiancoe	MIN	at SD	51.60
23	Ben Watson	CLE	vs. CIN	48.60
24	Fred Davis	WAS	vs. NYG	47.00
25	Heath Miller	PIT	at BAL	43.20
26	Evan Moore	CLE	vs. CIN	43.00
27	Jeremy Shockey	CAR	at ARI	41.20
28	Anthony Fasano	MIA	vs. NE	39.80
29	Leonard Pope	KC	vs. BUF	38.60
30	Tony Scheffler	DET	at TB	35.44

Start: Todd Heap. Since most teams don’t carry a backup TE/K/DF in fantasy, we’ll focus on starts from here on out. Heap has a dream matchup, facing a Panthers team that returned all their key pieces from last year. Why is that important? They finished last in the league in DVOA against tight ends last season. Kevin Kolb needs a reliable No. 2 receiver in this offense, and that’s poised to be Heap this week.

Rank	Kickers	Tm	Opp	Avg
1	Neil Rackers	HOU	vs. IND	79.27
2	Nate Kaeding	SD	vs. MIN	78.00
3	Sebastian Janikowski	OAK	at DEN	75.07
4	Adam Vinatieri	IND	at HOU	70.73
5	Jay Feely	ARI	vs. CAR	70.67
6	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	at MIA	70.40
7	Lawrence Tynes	NYG	at WAS	69.30
8	Rob Bironas	TEN	at JAC	66.60
9	Josh Brown	STL	vs. PHI	66.20
10	David Akers	SF	vs. SEA	66.00
11	Jason Hanson	DET	at TB	65.33
12	Nick Folk	NYJ	vs. DAL	64.27
13	Matt Bryant	ATL	at CHI	64.00
14	Matt Prater	DEN	vs. OAK	62.87
15	Alex Henery	PHI	at STL	61.87
16	Ryan Succop	KC	vs. BUF	61.73
17	Phil Dawson	CLE	vs. CIN	60.00
18	Josh Scobee	JAC	vs. TEN	58.47
19	Rian Lindell	BUF	at KC	58.00
20	Billy Cundiff	BAL	vs. PIT	57.53
21	Olindo Mare	CAR	at ARI	57.47
22	Robbie Gould	CHI	vs. ATL	57.13
23	Connor Barth	TB	vs. DET	56.73
24	Ryan Longwell	MIN	at SD	56.33
25	Dan Carpenter	MIA	vs. NE	54.87
26	Mike Nugent	CIN	at CLE	54.33
27	Shaun Suisham	PIT	at BAL	52.13
28	Graham Gano	WAS	vs. NYG	51.00
29	Steven Hauschka	SEA	at SF	50.30
30	Dan Bailey	DAL	at NYJ	49.27

Start: Jay Feely. Of course, there’s no guarantee the Cardinals and Kevin Kolb can get the ball in the end zone yet, which could mean a big point total for their kicker.

Rank	Team Defense	Tm	Opp	Avg
1	Philadelphia Eagles	PHI	at STL	72.94
2	Arizona Cardinals	ARI	vs. CAR	68.26
3	Pittsburgh Steelers	PIT	at BAL	67.40
4	New York Jets	NYJ	vs. DAL	66.92
5	Atlanta Falcons	ATL	at CHI	64.36
6	New England Patriots	NE	at MIA	64.10
7	San Francisco 49ers	SF	vs. SEA	63.90
8	Tennessee Titans	TEN	at JAC	62.34
9	New York Giants	NYG	at WAS	61.60
10	Detroit Lions	DET	at TB	61.30
11	Oakland Raiders	OAK	at DEN	60.38
12	Cleveland Browns	CLE	vs. CIN	59.80
13	Baltimore Ravens	BAL	vs. PIT	58.80
14	Houston Texans	HOU	vs. IND	57.04
15	Kansas City Chiefs	KC	vs. BUF	56.42
16	Dallas Cowboys	DAL	at NYJ	55.20
17	San Diego Chargers	SD	vs. MIN	54.70
18	Seattle Seahawks	SEA	at SF	54.02
19	Denver Broncos	DEN	vs. OAK	54.00
20	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TB	vs. DET	53.62
21	Carolina Panthers	CAR	at ARI	50.38
22	Jacksonville Jaguars	JAC	vs. TEN	48.90
23	Chicago Bears	CHI	vs. ATL	48.72
24	Cincinnati Bengals	CIN	at CLE	46.66
25	Buffalo Bills	BUF	at KC	45.10
26	Washington Redskins	WAS	vs. NYG	44.36
27	Minnesota Vikings	MIN	at SD	42.08
28	St. Louis Rams	STL	vs. PHI	40.24
29	Miami Dolphins	MIA	vs. NE	36.96
30	Indianapolis Colts	IND	at HOU	36.08

Start: Arizona Cardinals. Let’s make it a clean sweep for the Cardinals in the bottom half of the article. How can you not love defenses facing rookie QBs in their first road starts? I personally have the Cleveland defense in several leagues, but the Cardinals look like a sweet pick as well.

R.J. White is the head editor at the Cafe, writes for FanDuel and Razzball and has previously written for FanHouse. Catch up with him in the forums under the name daullaz. Follow him on Twitter; don't follow him in real life.

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15 Responses to “Week 1: Are You Ready?”

smokerfolife says:

September 9, 2011 at 11:09 am

So your Sayin to play Fred jackson or Michael bush over miles Austin? Only because of the so called “revis island” Hmmmm. Now I’m undecided
Reply
DraftDodger says:

September 9, 2011 at 11:52 am

Thanks for the rankings! Friday seems like “last minute” for someone hungry for the info, but the Cafe rankings are always worth the wait.

I think Houston’s defense will do better than ranked, but I understand you guys putting it where you did. Given the situation, they could be a top 5 defense this week.
Reply
Hippo45 says:

September 9, 2011 at 3:03 pm

I can’t believe Seahawks defense is ranked so low. They are my plug’n'play defense of the week. The 49ers offensive line is looked terrible in preseason and I think the Seahawks will wreak some havoc.

Also, I think Lance Kendricks is rated way to low this week. Eagles defense allowed the most points to the tight end position last year.

Everything else looks pretty good.
Reply
Noah Bomersbach says:

September 9, 2011 at 3:42 pm

I find it unusual that Jimmy Graham wasn’t even mentioned in the list of TE’s. He’s not truly tested, but he does have the Brees cannon feeding him. I started him last night and he outscored Jermichael Finley.
Reply
msipos says:

September 9, 2011 at 4:56 pm

No Saints or Packers rated since game was last night Noah….I wonder if you have Collins too low….Indy will be throwing all day to catch up to Houston…..Eli may be too high as Giants will run the ball and Wash wont score
Reply
ceobones playmakers says:

September 10, 2011 at 9:27 am

Hello, I need help. I have Percy Harvin and Mike Williams SEA. I am debating on starting M. Williams based on S. Rice injury and San Fran Def. and sitting P. Harvin based on San Diego Def. Please help me decide the best option.
Reply
daullaz says:

September 10, 2011 at 11:55 am

I would prefer Harvin if it were my team. I understand your reasoning, but I don’t have a lot of confidence in Tarvaris Jackson to get Williams many catchable targets. Harvin should wind up with more touches, and as a better playmaker, he has the better shot at a big performance anyway.
Reply
jzayas22 says:

September 10, 2011 at 2:17 pm

Who should I start at my flex postion having trouble picking between Stevie Johnson, Aaron Hernandez, or Brandon Jacobs.
Reply
jzayas22 says:

September 10, 2011 at 2:44 pm

And its a PPR League
Reply
ceobones playmakers says:

September 11, 2011 at 7:26 am

@daullaz: Thanks for the input. I really appreciate it.
Reply
daullaz says:

September 11, 2011 at 9:39 am

@jzayas22: In a PPR, I think you gotta go Johnson.
Reply
daullaz says:

September 11, 2011 at 9:39 am

Anyone that posts questions for the rest of the morning, it’s better to find me here: http://www.fanduel.com/insider/2011/09/11/fantasy-football-chat-week-1/
Reply
dallass55 says:

September 11, 2011 at 9:40 am

Miles austin or Julio Jones? Jahvid Best or Felix Jones?
Reply
menyak says:

September 14, 2011 at 6:13 am

Congratulations for posting the best WR rankings on the Net – well done!

http://fantasyfootballcrystalball.com/twiff/216/week1-2011/accuracy-challenge-week-1-fantasy-footall-cafe-catches-wr-category-win/
Reply
daullaz says:

September 15, 2011 at 9:16 am

Hooray!
Reply