Here are my picks to roll, and
get rolled, in Week 3 of the 2012 season.
Watch ‘em roll
Andy Dalton, QB,
Bengals at Redskins. Washington’s pass
rush took a major hit last week with the loss of Brian Orakpo and Adam
Carriker. That should leave Dalton
plenty of time to pick apart the same secondary that Sam Bradford torched in
Week 2. Dalton is also blessed with
better receivers than his Rams counterpart.
Michael Bush, RB,
Bears vs. Rams. Assuming Matt Forte
takes another week off, Bush is a triple play against a struggling Rams run defense
that has surrendered four rushing scores already. Always a goal-line hawk, Bush should add some
nice yardage to his totals this week as well.
Ryan Mathews, RB,
Chargers at Falcons. Sometimes it pays
to bench a player in his first game back from injury; but this is not one of
those times. For starters, Mathews
owners need to get the injury-prone tailback in their lineup whenever they
can. On top of that, Mathews is a
reliable red-zone threat, and Atlanta is doing a terrible job of keeping
opposing backs out of their end zone.
Stevie Johnson,
WR, Bills at Browns. Despite scoring in each of the first two games, Johnson is
flying a bit under the fantasy radar so far.
That won’t be the case after he torches the Cleveland secondary, which
will go into battle for the second consecutive week without Joe Haden, their
best cover corner. It would be no
surprise to see Johnson doing multiple (albeit ridiculous) end-zone
celebrations in this matchup.
Dez Bryant, WR,
Cowboys vs. Buccaneers. He’s been a big
disappointment thus far, but Bryant and the Dallas aerial attack should
rediscover their mojo against a Tampa Bay secondary that just coughed up 510
net passing yards to the Giants. Bryant
should be a very busy, and productive, man in the Cowboys’ home opener.
More thumbs up
(excluding the no-brainers): QBs
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Ben Roethlisberger, Joe Flacco, Matt Schaub; RBs Reggie Bush,
Alfred Morris, Trent Richardson, Willis McGahee; WRs DeSean Jackson, Antonio
Brown, Marques Colston, Reggie Wayne, Dwayne Bowe, Danny Amendola.
Roll ‘em back
Philip Rivers, QB,
Chargers vs. Falcons. I’m nervous about
Rivers this week, with the expected return of Mathews and with the ball-hawking
Atlanta secondary coming to town. Though
Antonio Gates is expected to suit up, the Chargers will be better-served
slowing down the tempo and feeding the ball to Mathews.
Michael Turner,
RB, Falcons at Chargers. Aside from a
1-yard scoring plunge in Week 2, Turner has been horrible. Mix in his early morning DUI arrest after the
Monday nighter, the creeping emergence of Jacquizz Rogers and the Chargers’
league-best run defense, and Turner should be sentenced to your bench.
Shonn Greene, RB,
Jets at Dolphins. Miami clamped down
hard on Darren McFadden last week, and Greene is no Run-DMC. He essentially split carries with Bilal
Powell in Week 2 after missing some time with a head injury, and his career-best
performance in six games against the Dolphins is 74 rushing yards. Greene has also never found the end zone
against his division rivals.
Brandon Lloyd, WR,
Patriots at Ravens. Tom Brady has been
struggling behind his porous offensive line, and he hasn’t yet developed a
strong rapport with his new wideout. Even with Aaron Hernandez sidelined, Lloyd
is unlikely to find much success this week against the relentless Ravens
defense.
Larry Fitzgerald,
WR, Cardinals vs. Eagles. Like what he
did last week? Get ready for another disappointing
day, thanks both to the Kevin Kolb effect and Philly’s stout secondary. I’m sure Fitz will manage more than four
yards this Sunday, and I realize he’s extremely difficult to bench; but he
can’t throw the ball to himself. Until
John Skelton gets back under center, Fitzgerald is a potential liability.
More thumbs down: QBs Michael Vick,
Sam Bradford, Carson Palmer; RBs Jonathan Dwyer, Cedric Benson, Donald Brown;
WRs Jeremy Maclin, Justin Blackmon, Brian Hartline, Eric Decker, Kenny Britt,
Sidney Rice, Randy Moss.
TAKING A FLIER
Mikel Leshoure,
RB, Lions at Titans. Having completed
his two-game suspension, Leshoure heads into a tasty matchup in Tennessee with
high expectations. He is clearly the
most talented member of the Detroit backfield, when healthy, and the coaches
have already said he will be involved heavily in Sunday’s game plan. If you’re hurting at RB or the flex position,
give Leshoure a shot.
DON’T BE THE BONEHEAD
WHO…trades Chris Johnson now. That
doesn’t mean you should start him, either (you shouldn’t). But you’ll be much better served waiting for
him to post a solid outing, rather than selling at rock bottom. CJ1K’s trade value can’t go much lower, so
hold on a bit longer until you can sell a little (false) hope along with your
first-round bust.
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