Sunday morning observations -- Week 3

Good morning, Fools. I must admit ... I'm heading into today's action with some trepidation, as my opponent in one league has already banked 37 points thanks to Todd Gurley's stellar performance on Thursday night. It's a big mountain to climb, but I'm going to take it one player at a time.

Let's take our spin around the NFL for the news we can use to make our best starting lineup decisions today.

The Jags and Ravens are already at it in London, and Jacksonville has the upper hand through the first half. Baltimore looks listless -- so far, Buck Allen hasn't done squat and neither starting wideout has a catch -- while Bortles and Fournette are going strong. Jeremy Maclin left the game with a possible concussion.

I will be starting Cam Newton today in one league. How can I not when he's facing the Saints? I mean, they made Sam Bradford look like a Hall of Famer in Week 1 and Tom Brady, well, him too!

Speaking of Bradford, he's out. Which means Case Keenum is in, and Diggs and Thielen should be on your bench.

Melvin Gordon is expected to play, despite going on the injury report late this week with a knee issue. That's obviously worrisome to those of us counting on him, but he's a must-start today, even against a solid Chiefs defense.

Ditto for Jay Ajayi. He's dealing with a sore knee too, but he's a must-start against the sad-sack Jets.

Those of us who used a mid-round pick on Joe Mixon have some reason for encouragement, now that Cincinnati has replaced its OC. New coordinator Bill Lazor is expected to add some oomph to this listless offense, and the electric Mixon should be a big part of that. We'll see what that looks like today.

DeMarco Murray is expected to play, but I sure wouldn't bank on him getting a lot of carries. The Titans have a more-than-capable backup in Derrick Henry, so there's no reason to risk aggravating Murray's tender hammy.

Both Rob Kelley and Jordan Reed are leaning toward sitting out tonight for the Redskins. I like Samaje Perine's long-term prognosis, but perhaps not against the Raiders. Those who drafted Reed knew what they were getting when they pulled that trigger.

Get Jordy Nelson (quad) back in your lineup. He's suiting up against the Bengals. Randall Cobb probably won't, however. Should be a big game for Davante Adams.

You (should) know I'm a fan of J.J. Nelson this week -- and maybe every week going forward. But he's got a questionable tag on him heading into the Monday nighter vs. the Cowboys. It's a bum hammy that's been limiting him this week, and those things are notoriously difficult to predict. So you'll need a Plan B just in case he can't go. (Consider fellow wideout Jaron Brown, since John Brown is already out.)

Odell Beckham, Jr., will be full-go today, apparently. Not that his owners were thinking of benching him, but it's encouraging to know he's not going to be on a snap count in his second game back this season.

Both Jarvis Landry (knee) and DeVante Parker (ankle) are going to play today, and as you saw in Friday's column, I expected them -- and Jay Cutler -- to come up big in New York.

Gronk is good to go, and both Danny Amendola and Philip Dorsett are also expected to return today. Their involvement will ding Chris Hogan's upside. There's not much dinging to be done to Brandin Cooks' value. It's already scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Finally, the National Anthems across the NFL should be interesting this weekend, as several players, teams, coaches and even some owners plan to protest the President's criticism of the anthem-kneelers today. The Steelers aren't even coming out of the locker room for the ceremony. Wow. Ah yes ... politics and sports. Always a wonderful combo.

Enjoy the games and good luck to all Fools! I'll be tweeting inactives and other late-breaking news shortly.