SNF: Rainy Day Edition

I’m back from my mini vacation to the UMass Homecoming and back with some fantasy picks. Canobie Lake was closed today so this can run at a more reasonable hour. Now on to the picks:

QBs

Start:

Aaron Rodgers (@CLE): Rodgers’ owners should be happy this week. He blew out the Lions last week and will definitely blow out the Browns this week
Peyton Manning (@STL): I know it’s a no-brainer to start him against the winless Rams. He’ll get huge numbers and carry his owners’ teams this week.
Drew Brees (@MIA): Again, a no-brainer because Brees is great at spreading the ball to everyone on his team and Miami has a rookie starting in their secondary. Both great things for Brees and the Saints
Philip Rivers (@KC): The Chefs got their first win against the train wreck that is the Washington Redskins. Rivers will figure out how to throw the ball before the fourth quarter.

Sit:

Brett Favre (@PIT): Polamalu’s back and already has an INT. If Favre panics and goes gunslinger then it’ll be a long day
Shaun Hill (@HOU): The Texans are on a roll and Mario Williams and DeMeco Ryans have that D playing tough
Tony Romo (@ATL): Romo hasn’t done well against good teams so far this season. See week 1’s INT-fest against the Giants
Kurt Warner (@NYG): After getting embarrassed by the Saints last week, Justin Tuck, Osi and the rest of the defense won’t let Warner put up those kind of numbers

RBs

Start:

Cedric Benson (@CHI): Benson is rejuvenated and no Urlacher for the Bears equals a big day for Ceddy and the Bengals
Laurence Maroney (@TB): Tampa’s a joke this year. Maroney finally did something useful last week and Fred Taylor’s out. That means Maroney will get the bulk of the touches and get some rhythm finally
Ryan Grant (@CLE): Grant hasn’t broken 100 yards in 3 weeks against some shitty teams but he’ll break out this week for owners who aren’t pleased with him
Thomas Jones (@OAK): Though the Raiders pulled off a shocker last week, it won’t happen again. Jones it top 5 in rushing yards and top 5 in TDs

Sit:

Matt Forte (@CIN): I know The Bengals lost the league leader in sacks last week but rookie Rey Maualuga is figuring out the defense and getting scarier and scarier by the week
Ronnie Brown (@NO): I’m not saying to sit him because I don’t believe in the Wildcat (I think it’s great for the NFL) but the Saints defense is just too good to fall victim to the Wildcat
Rashad Mendenhall (@MIN): The Williams wall and my favorite hick a.k.a. Jared Allen are playing out of their minds so far this season. Mendenhall won’t do well against them
Steven Jackson (@IND): Bob Sanders is making his debut this week and the Colts don’t seem to have missed a beat after losing Dwight Freeney

WRs

Start:

Vincent Jackson (@KC): I can’t name anyone in Kansas City’s secondary and Jackson seems to find a way to score touchdowns
Wes Welker (@TB): Last week’s 59er against the Titans might be an anomaly but Brady seems in rhythm with Welker so he’ll definitely be the guy catching all those screens and slants against a soft Bucs defense
Steve Smith (CAR) (@BUF): I know everyone’s saying that the Panthers will run because of Buffalo’s horrendous run defense. When the Bills are playing run, Delhomme will go over the top and Smith WILL find the end zone for the first time this season
Braylan Edwards (@OAK): Normally, I’d sit him because he’s probably going against Nnamdi Asomugah but Edwards is on a mission to stick it to Cleveland for dumping him after LeBron-Gate.

Sit:

Sidney Rice (@PIT): Again, Polamlu’s back. Anything else?
Larry Fitzgerald (@NYG): Anquan Boldin is out and even though Steve Breaston is a good second option, the Giants will pay more attention to Fitty
Miles Austin (@ATL): He’s not putting up 10 for 250 and 2 TDs again. No Roy Williams means he’ll get doubled and open the passing game up for someone else
Santonio Holmes (@MIN): The Vikings secondary isn’t as tough as it was last year but Big Ben seems to be gelling with Hines Ward which means less targets for Holmes

D/ST

Start:

Indianapolis Colts (@STL): Marc Bulger is back for the Rams which they think is an upgrade for some reason. The Colts will shut them down and have at least two takeaways
New York Jets (@OAK): The only scoring threat the Raiders have is TE Zach Miller. Rex Ryan will shake off the cobwebs and get back to what the Jets were doing the first three weeks of the year
New England Patriots (@TB): The Patriots have been quietly creeping up the defensive rankings after a rough couple of first weeks. They’re at 6 in overall defense and the Bucs are going nowhere fast
New Orleans Saints (@MIA): Chad Henne stole all the poise from Mark Sanchez last week but he won’t have enough poise against a tough Saints defense

Sit:

Chicago Bears (@CIN): Carson Palmer’s got his groove back and Chad Ochocinco is finally producing. The Bears are missing their captain and I don’t think the Gaines Adams trade will have an immediate impact
Pittsburgh Steelers (@MIN): Adrian. Peterson. Anything else?
San Francisco 49ers (@HOU): Matt Schaub is your number one fantasy quarterback after 6 weeks. Having Andre Johnson doesn’t hurt either
Dallas Cowboys (@ATL): As Matt Ryan has proved so far, the red zone= Tony Gonzalez time. They’ll open up the passing game by having Turner just pound the front line of the Cowboys

Waiver Wire:

I was on a mini-vacation last weekend and I just finished a two week bartending class so I’ve been off the grid for a while. These two weeks are sort of the gray area for fantasy because the early guys are already scooped up and it’s too early to tell who’s gonna blow up late in the year. I’ll dig out some diamonds for next week’s column.

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