Week 3 Start and Sit – QB

Eli Manning QB NYG

It's not rocket science to see that the Detroit Lions are the worst defense in the league. Who is the second worst defense though? The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now, I don't expect this trend to continue all year, the Bucs have a manageable defense. Right now though, teams are just torching the Tampa defense for 33.5 ppg (2nd worst) and 450 ypg (2nd worst). With a new-found swagger in Manning and a scary run attack, I foresee the Tampa defense having a very, very, very long Sunday afternoon. Start Manning with confidence and reap the rewards

Trent Edwards
QB BUF

I absolutely love the match up that Edwards has this week against New Orleans. The Saints have been the talk of the league so far but only because of their high powered offense. Expect a lot of big plays from New Orleans, which puts Edwards in a catch-up type of situation early on. Let me just put it this way: he will be passing a lot. The Saints defense is 4th worst in the league in passing defense so expect this to be a shootout of epic proportions. The Saints defense will be revealed to the league as true pretenders. If Matt Stafford and Kevin Kolb had success against the Saints, just imagine what Edwards, Owens, Evans and Jackson will do to them!

David Garrard
QB JAX

David Garrard might not find ways to win in the NFL but he finds ways to win in fantasy football. Garrard doesn't turn the ball over an incredible amount of times and he is one of the only dependable sources of rushing yards/TDs out of the QB position. These qualities vault him in the discussion as a top 10 QB in fantasy. Points are points, even if  the guy getting you points isn't a great passer. This week Garrard plays a suspect Houston defense that just put up a pitiful performance against Tennessee last week. Tennessee isn't a high scoring offense but all the miscues caused that game to be a shootout. I expect Garrard to have a touchdown or two passing but also about 50 yards on the ground rushing which is a nice little added bonus.

Football fans everywhere are talking about the inevitable victory for the Lions to finally come against the Washington Redskins this week. I feel very lonely on the other side of the fence here people! Do you really think that Campbell and company are stuck on an island with no ESPN? They've heard all the talk I'm sure and they have a lot to prove this week. Just because the 'Skins were terrible last week doesn't make the Lions defense any better! The Lions still look like the worst defense in the league and know that Campbell knows if he screws this one, there's a chance he'll lose his job. Campbell will try to prove to the league he can be a winner, and what better chance does he have against the worst passing defense in the league? Don't believe the hype of a Detroit victory this week, Washington will rebound in a big way against the Lions.

I probably don't need to get into a lot of details about why you should start Aaron Rodgers but I thought I'd include him here to make fantasy owners around the world who own Rodgers feel better. He's been pretty underwhelming so far with only two TD passes and 445 passing yards but expect Mr. Rodgers to break out this weekend @ STL. St. Louis might look like a decent defense on paper because they held Washington to only nine points last week but they are indeed posers. Washington just hit a bump in the road and St. Louis was lucky enough to captialize on it. Expect Green Bay to hang close to 35 points on St. Louis this week and about three TDs from Aaron.

This might be the only time I ever suggest to anyone to start Jake all season. The Dallas defense is very forgettable this season surprisingly, even with all the big-name stars that fill the roster. Did you know that Dallas has given up an average of 300 passing yards per game so far? That's the third worst in the league. Pair that up with their 26th ranked defense in total points per game, and you have a shootout brewing in Big D this Monday. I know you think I'm crazy for suggesting Delhomme because of his terrible stats so far but if you are desperate in a deep league, you could do a lot worse. I'm expecting a couple of touchdowns from Jake the Snake with no interceptions. The Dallas defense hasn't got an interception all year so far ya know...

Look, I know Kurt Warner is one of the best QBs in the league. I get it. But I am tempted to sit any QB going against the Indianapolis defense. Last year the Colts had the #1 passing defense in the league and this year they have the #1 passing defense after two games. The Indy defense has allowed an average of 139 yards per game to opposing QBs. The Colts defense possesses a few qualities that make them strong against the pass. First, their cornerbacks and safeties are fast. This causes lots of trouble for opposing wide receivers to get open. Secondly, they possess one of the top pass rushing tandems in the league with Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis. Quarterbacks don't have a lot of time to find the open receiver. Third of all, which is the most important fact, is that their defense stinks against the run. Why throw it against that secondary when you can run it all day with success and keep Manning off the field? The Dolphins did this last week with success, they only lost because of their defense's problem against preventing the big play. Sit Warner if you have another QB with great matchups.

Hopefully when you drafted Palmer you drafted a dependable backup, because this week is going to be a terrible week for Palmer. Heck, this will be a terrible week for the Cincinnati offense all-together. Pittsburgh is coming off a loss and their hard-hitting defense will be out for blood. Last year the Cincy offense only scored 10 points in each contest against Pittsburgh and I foresee that trend to continue this weekend. I'd be surprised if Palmer had as many TDs as INTs this weekend.

So we've seen the bad side of Cutler against GB and the good side against Pittsburgh. The one thing the Chicago offense has been missing is the rushing attack they had last year, and this week against Seattle I expect them to find it again. Surprisingly, the Seahawks have given up the second best amount of passing yards in the whole league. This is because teams can run all over them. The Bears want to revive their dead running game and believe me, they will rush the ball hard and often against Seattle. I expect Chicago to rush the ball about 35 times Sunday, which leaves Cutler to around 25 passing attempts and minimal fantasy points. If you have no better options out in free agency or on your bench you should start Cutler but don't be afraid to sit him for guys like Edwards or Eli Manning.

It has become apparent this year: The San Diego Chargers are Phillip River's team. The offense now revolves around the success of Rivers. Look at Darren Sproles, do you really see an every-down type of running back out of him? I don't see it. I see the Chargers passing a lot against Miami, but this time around having little success. Sure, Miami just came off one of the worst defeats they've had in a while because of Peyton Manning...but let's get this straight: Phillip Rivers is not Peyton Manning. Miami will continue to have success on the ground against the Chargers which will keep San Diego off the field a lot. If you give Manning 20 pass attemps in a game, he will still get his touchdowns. If you give 20 pass attemps to Rivers, he may not produce. Expect about 200 yards and a TD from Rivers so if you have better options, this is the week to sit the 2008 breakout.