Welcome to the Start/Bench list for 2009! I utilize statistical analysis combined with over 15 years of fantasy football experience to give you an inside look of how players will perform on a week-to-week basis. The Studs list will be updated on a regular basis as players emerge and injuries occur, but be patient with those players listed early in the season. They were ranked and selected high in your draft for a reason.
When using this list, try and remember a couple basic rules:
1) Studs – Always play your studs. Each position will include a list of players that are considered studs and should not be benched. If you have the luxury of needing to decide between studs, check out the matchups or feel free to let the shark tank assist you in your decisions.
2) Depth – Every fantasy team is different and some have more depth than others. Only follow the recommended moves if your team depth allows you to make such a move.
Quarterbacks
Studs
Tom Brady, New England vs. Buffalo
Drew Brees, New Orleans vs. Detroit
Peyton Manning, Indianapolis vs. Jacksonville
Tony Romo, Dallas at Tampa Bay
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay vs. Chicago
Philip Rivers, San Diego at Oakland
Start
Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia at Carolina: Forget about the
Michael Vick distraction. When all is said and done, McNabb will perform well enough to keep Vick on the sidelines. The Panthers have suffered a ton of injuries in the preseason and McNabb will take full advantage in Week 1 with a solid performance.
Kurt Warner, Arizona vs. San Francisco: Warner will find
Anquan Boldin early and often as
Tim Hightower will not be effective against
Patrick Willis and the 49ers run defense. Look for Warner to accumulate stats quickly and kick back in the second half with a bunch of points already under his belt.
Bench
Carson Palmer,
Jay Cutler, Chicago at
Running Backs
Studs
Adrian Peterson, Minnesota at Cleveland
Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville at Indianapolis
Matt Forte, Chicago at Green Bay
Steven Jackson, St. Louis at Seattle
Frank Gore, San Francisco at Arizona
Steve Slaton, Houston vs. N.Y. Jets
Chris Johnson, Tennessee at Pittsburgh
Michael Turner, Atlanta vs. Miami
Marion Barber, Dallas at Tampa Bay
DeAngelo Williams, Carolina vs. Philadelphia
Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia at Carolina
LaDanian Tomlinson, San Diego at Oakland
Start
Ray Rice, Baltimore vs. Kansas City:
Willis McGahee may steal a few goal-line TDs this year, but Rice is the top dog in Baltimore.
Ronnie Brown, Miami at Atlanta: Miami will do their best to keep
Matt Ryan and the Falcons offense off the field in the Georgia Dome and
Brown will be a big role in that effort. No,
Ricky Williams hasn’t retired to
Brandon Jacobs, N.Y. Giants vs.
Bench
Joseph Addai,
Donald Brown now in the equation, the dreaded RBBC seems to have reared its ugly head in
Marvin Harrison is gone, Indy still has
Peyton Manning‘s many passes. The Colts passing game will overshadow the running game this week as Addai continues his downward spiral to obscurity.
Jamal Lewis,
Jamal Lewis will be starting at RB. Not that it will matter much against a Vikings run defense that allowed the fewest rushing yards all season in 2008, but at least we know who will be stopped for no gain on the majority of the running plays. Thanks coach Mangini!
Larry Johnson,
Wide Receivers
Studs
Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona vs. San Francisco
Andre Johnson, Houston vs. N.Y. Jets
Randy Moss, New England vs. Buffalo
Calvin Johnson, Detroit at New Orleans
Roddy White, Atlanta vs. Miami
Steve Smith, Carolina vs. Philadelphia
Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis vs. Jacksonville
Marques Colston, New Orleans vs. Detroit
Greg Jennings, Green Bay vs. Chicago
Start
DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia at Carolina:
Jackson had a solid rookie season and is looking to take his game to the next level this year. He’ll start off on the right foot as
Donovan McNabb will find success in the passing game against
Vincent Jackson, San Diego at Oakland:
Jackson had a breakout season last year catching 59 passes for 1,098 yards averaging an incredible 18.6 yards per catch including two games against the Raiders where he caught a total of eight passes for 200 yards and a TD. With more question marks surrounding LT2 than the Riddler, look for
Philip Rivers to keep airing it out to Gates short and V-Jax long. Enjoy.
Larry Fitzgerald and Boldin to post solid numbers this week.
Santonio Holmes,
Hines Ward is still here, but Holmes is the one you want on your fantasy team. Back in Week 16, Holmes caught five passes for 93 yards and a score against these same Titans. Look for more of the same as Holmes kicks off the NFL season with a bang.
Bench
Lee Evans,
Marshawn Lynch is suspended and
Terrell Owens is in town. I’ll pass on Mr. Evans, thank you very much.
Laveranues Coles,
T.J. Houshmandzadeh? Bengals Nation turns its lonely eyes to you … boo-hoo-hoo. Coles will have a decent season in Cincy assuming
Carson Palmer can stay healthy, but don’t expect big things early on as the Bengals will struggle offensively.
Percy Harvin, Minnesota at Cleveland: I think Harvin will have a solid rookie campaign, but I don’t like him this week as Minnesota will run, run, then run some more against a porous Browns defense.
Justin Gage,
Tight Ends
Studs
Jason Witten, Dallas at Tampa Bay
Antonio Gates, San Diego at Oakland
Dallas Clark, Indianapolis vs. Jacksonville
Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City at Baltimore
Greg Olsen, Chicago at Green Bay
Chris Cooley, Washington at N.Y. Giants
Start
Vernon Davis, San Francisco at Arizona: If Davis ever “gets it”, he’ll be on the Studs list with the rest of the dominant TEs. Look for
Jeremy Shockey,
Billy Miller tore his Achilles tendon and is done for the season. Considering
Drew Brees will pass the ball about 800 times this season, I’d say the chances are pretty high that some of those passes go Shockey’s way, especially against the Lions who couldn’t stop anybody last season.
Bench
Kellen Winslow,
Byron Leftwich doesn’t exactly strike fear in the hearts of defenders. Winslow can help your fantasy team this season, just not this week.
Dustin Keller, N.Y. Jets at
Brett Favre last season, but I’m not convinced that it will carry over with
Mark Sanchez, at least at the beginning of the season. Look for the Jets to run as much as possible this week as