Mulligan’s Fantasy Forecast, Week 1
You’ve done all of your research. You’ve watched meaningless preseason games to scout players. You’ve scoured over injury reports and depth charts and you’ve drafted your teams. Now it’s time to see all of your hard work pay offhopefully.
The NFL regular season is upon us and with it, fantasy football season. Sure your hopes of a fantasy football championship could be flushed down the toilet with a devastating injury in your first game this week (just ask anyone who wasted a first round pick on Tom Brady last season). But nobody can predict that kind of thing, which is half the fun of fantasy football. It’s a ton of luck, mixed with a lot of time researching matchups, injury reports and watching games, sprinkled with a bit more luck. The bottom line is that it’s fun, and that’s why we do it. So here’s hoping that you didn’t waste all of your time preparing for this season just to see your star player suffer a major injury!
GOOD MATCH UPS
Brett Favre vs. Browns defense: It’s Brett Favreand it’s the Browns. It only takes a small amount of common sense to realize this is a good matchup for Favre and the Vikings this week. The Browns defense won’t be mistaken for the Steelers defense anytime soon and Favre has a lot of weapons. Those two factors mean Favre won’t have any trouble finding an open man. Don’t be surprised if Favre takes a few ridiculous chances deep downfield to Bernard Berrian or Percy Harvin once the Vikings get a lead.
Maurice Jones-Drew vs. Colts defense: MoJo owns Indy. Last season he carved up the Colts defense in both meetings between the two teams, doing damage both on the ground and through the air. The Colts run defense will likely be just as shaky in 2009 as it’s been for the last couple of seasons, which is good news for MoJo owners since he’ll get two cracks at them this season. Sit back, relax, and watch MoJo pile on the points for your fantasy team in Week 1.
NOT SO GOOD MATCH UPS
Chris Johnson vs. Steelers defense: I’m sure I don’t have to remind anyone just how good the Steelers defense is they’re Super Bowl ring will do that for me. Pittsburgh was ranked second in the league last year, allowing just 80 yards per game on the ground and you know they’ll be amped up for their home opener as defending champions, which is bad news for Johnson owners.
Andre Johnson vs. Jets defense: If you’re not familiar with Darrelle Revis’ work yet, you will be very soon. Revis is the Jets lockdown cornerback who will be attached to Johnson at the hip this coming Sunday, making life every difficult for the Texans elite wide receiver. The Jets defense as a whole isn’t that great, but Revis is the exception to that. Big-time wide outs like Brandon Marshall and Randy Moss had subpar games against Revis and the Jets last season and I would expect Johnson to have one of his poorer games of 2009 this week.
That said, you can’t bench Johnson because he’s just too good and you never know in the NFL. I think 60-70 yards receiving is a reasonable expectation from Johnson this week and if he can get a touchdown for your team, then that makes him an OK play.
WAIVER WIRE WATCH
Joe Flacco, QB, Ravens: You shouldn’t need to pickup a quarterback before the Week 1 games are played but, just in case you do, Flacco is a nice option for Week 1. The Ravens sophomore QB opens the 2009 season with a good matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs’ shaky defense.
Matthew Stafford, QB, Lions: Most of you probably stayed away from the quarterback situation in Detroit during your drafts, which was a smart idea since it was unsettled and neither QB is a great option for the season. But Stafford has now officially been named the starter for the Lions and he gets a nice matchup against the Saints for his first game as a pro. Again, you shouldn’t need to pickup a QB already but, if for some reason you do, Stafford’s worth a pickup this week.
Julius Jones, RB, Seahawks: With the addition of Edgerrin James, Jones could lose some carries to James throughout this season. But, because James is not yet familiar with the Seattle offense, Jones will be asked to carry the load early in the season. That means you can look for Jones to have one of his better games of this season right out of the gate as the Seahawks take on the dismal Rams this Sunday.
Nate Washington, WR, Titans: It’s unlikely that Nate Washington is going to play this week against his old team, the Steelers, and even if he were playing Pittsburgh isn’t exactly a good matchup for him. But many fantasy owners let Washington go undrafted because he’s been injured for much of the preseason. Now, the news out of Tennessee is that Washington is improving and looks like he’ll be ready to play in Week 2, when the Titans host the Texans. If you’re WR corps is thin, pickup Washington now and hope he’s ready sooner than later.
Percy Harvin, WR, Vikings: I’m one who thinks Harvin could have the best season of any rookie wide receivers this year. He’s got plenty of teammates around him to take defensive eyes off of him and he’s explosive enough to make all the big plays. Let’s not forget he’ll also play two games against those poor Lions this season. Harvin gets a nice Week 1 matchup against the Browns this week to make an impression.
Kyle Mulligan is a contributing sports writer for the Observer. He welcomes your feedback and can be reached at kjmulli@gmail.com.