Week 2 Fantasy and Game Predictions

Time for my first set of fantasy and game predictions. Every week, either on Friday or Saturday I'll pick five players who I think will perform well, five who won't do so well, and pick five of the toughest and most important games. So lets get things started.

Start these guys at your own risk
1. Steelers RBs:
It's extremely rare to find a team built on smash mouth football to be so ineffective in the running game. Since Alan Faneca left the Steelers, their offensive line has never been the same and the Steelers have had to rely more and more on the arm of Big Ben. Willie Parker has struggled to stay healthy and seems to have lost some of his explosiveness. I still think Rashard Mendenhall can be a good running back in this league but it's tough when you can't there's no holes to run through. Neither could do anything against the Titans...don't expect that to change when they face the Bears this week.


2. Kevin Smith:
Tough matchup for Smith going against the Vikings...maybe the best defensive front in football. Expect the Lions to be down early as usual and resort to the passing game. Only way I'd start Smith is if you're in a PPR league (points per reception) because he is one of Matthew Stafford's go-tos. In my PPR league I still benched him for Cadillac Williams.

3. Domenik Hixon:
If you thought Hixon would be Eli Manning's #1 target you were extremely disappointed to see Eli go everywhere else in Week 1. Steve Smith, Mario Manningham and even the rookie Hakeem Nicks came before Hixon. I don't expect any one wide receiver to put up big fantasy numbers this season for the Giants until Nicks comes into his own. Look out, this kid is going to be a great receiver. On the other hand I'd probably drop Hixon to the bench or even the free agent list.

4. Steve Slaton
It's hard to bench a guy like Slaton who gets the majority of the carries in Houston but if you have a decent running back to replace Slaton you might want to make a switch this week. The Titans run defense looks like it hasn't missed a beat even with the loss of Albert Haynesworth. I think you're going to see a lot of Matt Schaub on Sunday. Don't give up on Slaton this season he'll get his eventually, but it just might come later than you'd expect.

5. Antonio Bryant
I think last year was a fluke for a guy who always seems to find himself in trouble off the field. The Bucs will rely on their depth at running back to pound teams in between the tackles. Bryant missed most of the preseason and I don't think him and Byron Leftwich are on the same page yet. The Bills defense is better than the numbers show against the pass. Anyone can get burned for 350 in the air against the Pats.

Play these guys
1. Brian Westbrook
Westbrook has always been a feast or famine guy in fantasy. Thanksgiving might come early for him tomorrow. I really like Westbrook to step up big this week for a multitude of reasons. One, he's facing a Saints defense that still isn't there yet (although they are improved). Two, with Kevin Kolb taking the snaps you can't expect the Eagles to air out as often. Three, the passes Kolb does throw will be dinks and dunks. So expect a lot of screens to Westbrook...I'm thinking 5 or 6 catches tomorrow. Finally, Westbrook is fresh for the time being...you can bet on the injuries to pile up by Week 6 or 7 though.

2. T.O.
Unlike Skip Bayless, I don't think Owens' comments this week are going to affect the team at all. Owens watched his former mates score three TDs of over 60 yards against the Bucs depleted secondary last week. Owens hopes to do the same this week. By the way, when is Ronde Barber going to retire? He's almost old enough to be head coach Raheem Morris' dad! I think Owens is good for at least 80 yards and a score this week. Get your popcorn ready!

3. Percy Harvin
Brett Favre seems to have a real connection with this kid already. Bernard Berrian hasn't been around for most of the preseason so I wouldn't expect him to get targeted too much just yet. It really doesn't matter who lines up at wide receiver against the Lions does it? If I were Brad Childress I'd just tell Harvin to run as far and fast as he can every play. I'd expect numbers similar to what Devery Henderson had last week.

4. Matt Schaub
You might be wondering why I like Schaub this week against Tennessee. Well like I said earlier I don't think Steve Slaton is going to be very effective on the ground. That means Schaub will be throwing a lot...let's say around 40 times or so. The Titans defense struggled to stop the Steelers passing game last week, although it's pretty hard for cornerbacks to cover receivers for 12 seconds while Roethlisberger is scrambling in the pocket all night. You can't expect this powerful Texans offense to be held in check for long...there's just too many weapons. Schaub will get back on track and find Andre Johnson and Owen Daniels often.


5. Santana Moss
I don't like relying on a guy like Moss, who's similar to Westbrook in that he can go big or not show up at all. One day he'll go for 150 and 3 TDs, the next he'll do absolutely nothing. Kinda like last week's 2 catches-6 yds performance. But against the worst team in the league I think Moss is going to step up. It's important that he does so Campbell and this offense can get into some sort of rhythm. I like Jim Zorn to open up the playbook and let Campbell cut it loose and Moss is their biggest (not in size) deep threat. I'm actually starting Moss over Houshmandzadeh this week. I like Campbell for 250+ yds and Moss to have 100+ yds and a TD.

I'm not going to do spreads on my picks, rather I'll just give you five winners. Don't worry, I won't pick the easy games every week. Here are my picks for Week 2:

Baltimore over San Diego- Don't expect the Chargers to have anything going on the ground with LT out. Sproles is too tiny to be successful between the tackles against this defense. I like Flacco to have another strong game against a San Diego secondary that gave up big plays to Jamarcus Russell and wideout Louis Murphy...Who? Yea, Louis Murphy.

New Orleans over Philadelphia- I've been back and forth with this one but I'm going with the Saints to squeak it out in a shootout. The Saints defense will give up a lot of yards but I think they'll get a couple of big turnovers against the inexperienced Kevin Kolb.

Patriots over the Jets- What are the Jets thinking? Fueling the Patriots fire even more. Can you imagine how bad it would be if Ryan said he was a better coach than Belichick. Mark Sanchez will be introduced to the NFL this week. At least he'll find out what the turf and an ice bath feels like.

Giants over the Cowboys- I love how everyone wants to ride the Romo train after one week against a putrid defense. The Giants will pressure the Cowboys early and often, forcing Romo to make some mistakes. I like the Giants to disappoint the Cowboy faithful in a close one at the first game at the new Cowboy Stadium.

Niners over Seahawks- I know, I know I'm really biased. But the Niners are at home, the defense is revamped and the Seahawks weren't tested last week. Don't expect San Francisco to keep running it with eight men in the box. Shaun Hill has shown that he can make some plays and does a good job avoiding mistakes. I like the 49ers to open things up and let him throw it more. Should be a close one but I'm taking my boys.

That's all for now boys and girls. I can't wait for tomorrow!