**Unofficial Start'em Sit'em**

[esoitl 0]

It's that time of the week again!

This feature seems to have vanished after the hiatus but I will attempt to breath some life into it for the year.

There was a small post last week so I chimed in and offered to take it up every week. Some people were interested so here goes it.

 

I won't be putting the studs on here, I think we should all by now know that anyone picked in the first round likely forms the core of your team and should be in every week. I will label any of these guys I feel should be sat though.

 

First off, a look at last weeks Start'em, Sit'em

 

Starts:

Thomas Jones : 21-63-0, 1 target, 1-0-0

Rudi Johnson: 28-96-1, 1 target, 1-7-0

Reuben Droughns: 11-27-0, 0 targets

Philadelphia DST: 10 pts, 5 sacks

Frank Gore: 16-87-2, 8 targets, 6-83-0

Lavernues Coles: 10 targets, 8-153-0

Terry Glenn: 7 targets, 4-81-0

Mike Bell: 10-58-1, 4 targets, 4-30-0

 

OK, so Droughns sucked and Jones missed the end zone but thats a pretty decent start to things. Gore blew up in an unbelievable way and I'm sure a few were impressed with Pennington and Coles. I thought the Eagles would have been good for a turnover or two but Houston looks to be improving all around even if they are still not top of the ladder yet.

 

Sits:

Ahman Green: 20-110-0, 4 targets, 3-22-0

Rex Grossman: 18/26-262-1-1, 1 rush, 1-2-0

Deion Branch: DNP

Randy Moss: 6 targets, 4-47-0

Trent Green: 11/15-90-0-1, 4 rush, 4-21-0

Julius Jones: 17-72-1, 2 targets, 1-39-0

Wali Lundy: 11-32-0, 3 targets, 2--1-0

Donte' Stallworth: 9 targets, 6-141-1

Joseph Addai: 7-26-0 3 targets, 3-22-0

 

Well, Stallworth I was way off with and Green should be exempt due to the injury but overall not too bad. I was shocked by Green's yardage, obviously the quad is feeling good, we just have to worry about the degenerative knee now. Grossman played above expectations but not really starter worthy in the conservative offense and the situation in Dallas could be examined more closely, Barber saw only 3 carries and 4 targets. A few misses but overall a sit worthy squad.

 

Start'em: Week 2

The Obvious:

Jamal Lewis BAL - vs. OAK After a shutout win on the road the Baltimore defense looks like they will have similar success against Oakland as the Chargers did. With defeensive success comes running hard at a poor defense, one that got gorged for close to 200 yards by Tomlinson and Turner. Lewis will see the Lions share of carries and will have a big week after looking back to form against Tampa Bay.

 

Baltimore DST - vs. OAK Another shutout? Maybe but I will wager that Oakland doesn't come out so flat this week and gets something, albeit not a lot. They should be good for sacks, turn-overs, and not many points. A no-brainer really.

 

Willie Parker PIT - vs. JAC Although this is a tough match-up Stroud(Q) is still playing dinged and Dallas found room against their front. Throughout the pre-season I saw little out of the Dallas OL, heres to thinking that Pittsburgh will find even more with a more polished OL for Parker to run behind. He looks to be getting a lot of action near the stripe too with Haynes only getting a single carry.

 

Keenan McCardell SD - vs. TEN The Jets exploited the Tennessee secondary for 319 yards last week so this will likely be a focus of attack for the Bolts. Even though Rivers only threw 11 times(once to KM) this is more of getting him accustomed in his first start and the success of the run game. The Titans allowed 33 TDs by the air last year(12 on the ground) and I feel this will be a great time for Marty to loosen things up and boost confidence in the passing attack.

 

Marc Bulger St.L - vs. SF Here I am spouting about Warner being done and the Cardinals offense is all hype for another year... Well week one went against that grain but I still feel that was more of the 49er's defense than the Arizona offense. I highly doubt that the Rams will be kept out of the end zone for two consecutive weeks and even though the offense is balanced the Rams still like to air it out(34 passes to 25 runs). At least 2 TDs for Bulger and 300+ yardage, maybe even more.

 

The Not-so-Obvious:

Brett Favre GB - vs. NO It's hard to say why the Saints fell so hard last year whether it was the hurricane or just the last leg snapping but a good defensive performance in week one hasn't gotten me excited yet. For one, Frye isn't Favre, two, the game is in Lambeau. After a bad performance Favre knows he has to step things up and likely will do so this week as he always seems to after a tough week. I like him to bouce back in a big way, especially now that Green has proven he can be a factor running the ball.

 

Philip Rivers SD - vs. TEN He will attempt more than 11 throws, he plays a horrid pass defence, he has Gates and Tomlinson to throw to. A lot to like in this match up. He looked fairly solid throwing the ball in his few attempts and had a nice throw on the road. McCardell will be a nightmare on the outside and Gates a nightmare on the inside. Tomlinson will be a nightmare all over against this bad coverage unit.

 

Michael Clayton TB - vs. ATL Even though he had only 3 catches, Simms looked his wy 7 times against Baltimore. Abraham fixed some of the defensive woes of the Falcons but the secondary, even after an overhaul, is still the weak spot in this defense. Calyton likely will draw second coverage as Galloway matches his speed with DeAngelo Hall so should receive the greater share of passes again this week.

 

Dominic Rhodes IND - vs. HOU Rhodes got double the action over Addai and officially got the start. Even in a RBBC situation, and even though he likely will lose the starting job before the end of the year, Rhodes and the Colts offense will be looking to establish the run and should be ahead in the game to do so. If the same ratio holds I'd give Rhodes 20 carries to Addai's 10 which will be enough against Houston to put up starting numbers in a FLEX or possible #2 slot in deep leagues.

 

The Hype Guys:

Frank Gore SF - vs. St.L Gore was huge in both the run and passing games last week and faces another poor 2005 defense. Even though the 49er's were behind early last week Nolan was committed to running with Gore and Smith looked to him as a dump off option. I like his chances to repeat, although not be the top back, in week two.

 

Jericho Cotchery NYJ - vs. NE As a Jets homer I knew he was in at the #2 slot over McCareins which most people did not although I never expected him to succeed like he did. He saw the same ammount of targets as did Coles(10) and caught 6 of them. Not only that but Pennington looked pretty good in his opener. Until the running game gets settled they will have to lean on the passing game a little bit more and could be playing catch up near the end further increasing the passes and looks to Cotchery and Coles. I like him this week against the cohesive yet starless Patriot defense.

 

Marques Colston NO - vs. GB For those that can use him as a TE, this guy is money. If not, well this only applies in large leagues or one where you lack WRs. I would not want him as my #2 and he's a strecth for the #3 WR slot yet but at TE he is a lock to be productive with the best of them. He saw 8 looks(over Horn's 7) with 2 of those in the red-zone. He is a big target and seems to be getting a rapport with Brees. I'd wait a bit before inserting him in a skill slot but at TE he is near the top.

 

 

Sit'em: Week 2

The Obvious:

Kevin Jones DET - vs. CHI I will again pick on the RB against the Bears defense this week. Mostly because of the match-up but also due to the fact that Kevin wasn't featured in a close game that likely could have been a win for the Lions. Even with his improved catching this year he will need more than 19 touches to be effective.

 

Aaron Brooks OAK - vs. BAL Lucky for all us fans that got to see such a display on prime time, what a way to start the season! Having more sacks than completions is never good and the light at the end of the tunnel isn't here yet. A TD could be in the books but I don't expect many completions, nor do I expect him to play mistake free football this week.

 

JP Losman BUF - vs. MIA OK, so he won the job but he isn't doing a lot with it so far. I still feel the New England secondary can be had but the Bills just don't have it in them. Miami's defense will likely make them one dimensional and Losman will struggle again.

 

Chris Brown TEN - vs. SD Jordan found no room against the pressure scheme and it is likely that Collins and Brown will face the same sort of troubles this week. The front three of San Diego is great at getting into the back field and Merriman and Philips rush the outside with force. I don't see a lot of room for Brown to get loose for yardage and the Titans should struggle getting into scoring range for Brown.

 

The Not-so-Obvious:

Matt Jones JAC - vs. PIT Even though this kid looks great he is still learning. Chambers couldn't find room against Ike Taylor and it shouldn't get better for Jones this week. Leftwich will feel the heat and struggle passing, as well as the run game struggling against the Steeler front seven. Yardage and points will be tough for the Jags this week.

 

Tony Gonzalez KC - vs. DEN With the loss of Green the passing game takes a nose-dive here. Darrent Williams can match up with Kennison leaving Champ Bailey to roll over covering Gonzalez when he isn't in blocking. Even with Green in the line up the Broncos used this strategy last season and it worked to perfection stumping Gonzalez.

 

Michael Vick ATL - vs. TB Historically Vick has never had success against the Bucs cover 2. He made improvements last year but still came up short in both games. I expect the trend to continue as Tampa Bay rebounds from a dissapointing loss last week. Vick will not likely have the game he did last week and come back to form here.

 

Brian Westbrook PHI - vs. NYG Apparantly Reid was just throwing people off with his proclaiming the Eagles will run more this year. Only 26 attempts against Houston is pretty low and now that Buckhalter figures back into the mix with 8 of those I don't like Westbrooks odds. A very low yardage output and yards-per-carry by Indianapolis against the Giants front doesn't bode any better here. I'd give him less than 100 total yards and in tough for a score this week.

 

The Hype Guys:

Donte' Stallworth PHI - vs. NYG Once again I'll put Donte' in here. An amazing performance week one but I figure he comes back down to Earth and his Saints form this week, after all this is the Giants and not the Texans.

 

Kurt Warner ARI - vs. SEA OK, the hype is just that! Warner had it easy last week against the 49er's and their lack of pressure. Seattle has a better front seven and has better pass rushers to work against the less than spectacular OL of the Cardinals. Only a 2.8 ypc by James isn't enough to scare the Seahawks into putting 8 against the run and Warner will have a harder time against Trufant and company.

 

 

 

Criticism and commentary are always accepted and as always, I will eat my words if I am wrong but will gloat to the nines when I am right

Please no questions here but I will start a S&S topic in the help board where you can put any questions down on players that you are unsure of. No match-up questions though, just my opinion on whether they should be on the bench or in the line-up.

 

 

Cheers for now, enjoy!

[kutulu 1,552]

Kurt Warner ARI - vs. SEA OK, the hype is just that! Warner had it

 

2 and 250 easy

[desertfire 4]

I'm a Westbrook owner and I'm debating whether or not to start him. I'm a bit concerned. Trying to decide between Westbrook and Ahman Green or D. Rhodes.

[esoitl 0]

2 and 250 easy

we'll see

[brentleim 0]

I disagree on the Rhodes/Addai angle... I think the Colts will jump to an early lead and then put Addai in the game in the second quarter just to see how he can do with more time...

 

This week

 

Rhodes 10 carries, 35 yards, 2 rec, 15 yards, 1 td

Addai 25 carries, 110 yards, 6 rec, 55 yards, 2 td

 

At least I hope because I am starting him on that premise...

[new-guru 0]

very well done !

 

love what you had to say about Matt Jones!

[-jb- 0]

first off, thanks for this esoitl. quality post...i agree with quite a few of these. i would, however, like to spark a conversation around vick's match-up. i'm one of the few that think vick will put it together this year (accuracy aside - his comp % will only get slightly better), so i'll throw that out there...but looking at his LY stats vs. TB, I don't think he struggled as much as folks think:

 

Week 11, 2005 - 21/38 for 306, 2 TDs/0 ints passing with 4/17 rushing

Week 16, 2005 - 16/26 for 161, 2 TDs/0 ints passing with 11/63 rushing

 

going back to 2004, he had one nice game and one poor game. in 2003, he was owned, but the bucs were superbowl champs that year (and much younger). I actually believe vick will have a nice stat line this sunday. the speed that tb used to have just isn't there any more...and that's what contains vick.

 

i'll take your comments off the air.

[L_O_D 1]

This is why you sometimes have to let a guy like Westy go by you in the draft.

 

Week #2 and you have to tap your RB depth already for a fringe RB1/Top RB2.

 

Former owner who continues to wonder how Westbrook could change the fantasy landscape if he just played 16.

[Snotpipes 0]

Quality post!