Fantasy Friday: Week 3
PITTSBURGH (93-7 THE FAN) -- Two weeks in the books in your fantasy league and nothing is going as planned. Some guy named Danny Amendola tied an NFL record for receptions in a half. Aaron Hernandez is out long-term hurting the vaunted double tight end offense of the Pats. The top quarterback so far have been guys names Robert, Sam and Matt, not exactly the Brees, Brady and Rodgers trio that was expected.
So now let me guide you through the clutter and put your best possible line up on the field on Sunday.
Here are my stars and duds for week 3.
Quarterbacks To Play:
Robert Griffin III - Might as well keep him on the list for another week. So far he has been the best fantasy player in the NFL and he is going up against the Cincinnati Bengals this week. The same Bengals that allowed follow rookie Brandon Weeden to throw for 322 yards and 2 scores last week.
Ryan Fitzpatrick - Sticking with the idea of good quarterbacks playing awful pass defenses, the Bills have the Browns this week. Fitzpatrick hasn't put up huge numbers yet this season, but he has been able to find the end zone 5 times in the first two games. I expect him to find it multiple times again on Sunday.
Ben Roethlisberger - Ben looked fantastic last week against a tough secondary. This week he will be going up against a banged up unit that has just signed 1 corner back and is converting a safety to play the other corner spot. I would not be surprised to see Ben put the ball in the air 35+ times this Sunday afternoon.
Quarterbacks to Bench:
Joe Flacco - The Ravens threw the ball 42 times and ran it only 22 in a loss last week to the Eagles. That is not the formula to win when you have a back like Ray Rice. The Ravens will be running the ball much more this week and that takes away opportunities from Flacco.
Tom Brady - It is not often that you will find Tom Brady on the BENCH list, but with the loss of Aaron Hernandez and a the Ravens defense on the opposite side of the line of scrimmage it is not a good match-up for Brady and the Pats.
Running Backs to Play:
Frank Gore - With a head coach that loves to pound the ball early on to build a lead and continue to do it to protect the lead Gore seems like a no-brainer against the Vikings. He has found the end zone in each of the first two games and should visit it a time or two again on Sunday.
C.J Spiller - Spiller has been fantastic the first two weeks of the season and is going against the Cleveland Browns defense that hasn't stopped anyone so far this season.
Running Back to Bench:
Adrian Peterson - Anytime you play the 49ers defense you are in for a long night, and with Christian Ponder under center for Minnesota expect for the Niners defense to sell out to stop AP. Ponder doesn't present much of a big play threat.
Arian Foster - Foster has looked good so far this season but traveling into the thin air in the mile high city of Denver is never easy and the speedy, aggressive defense that the Broncos will have waiting for him won't make it any easier.
Wide Receivers to Play:
Mike Wallace - I love Wallace this week in the match up against a beat up Raiders secondary. With the Steelers running game struggling so much I would expect to all of the Steelers receivers to have big days, but none bigger than Wallace.
Danny Amendola - He has quickly become Sam Bradford's favorite target and after catching 15 passing last week, how can you not love him this week, especially in if you are in a PPR league?
Wide Receivers to Bench:
Wes Welker - See Tom Brady comments. I don't like the look of the Pats offense without Aaron Hernandez. Double teams to Gronk and Welker will be much easier for defenses to disguise without the second tight end. Add the fact that the defense is that of the Baltimore Ravens and it makes Welker and Brady a terrible play this week.
Larry Fitzgerald - I love Larry Fitzgerald, but I don't love the guys that the Cardinals have that are responsible for trying to get him the ball. Despite catching nearly everything thrown his way, he can only do so much when he is the only weapon of that brutally bad offense.
That is your Fantasy Friday update for Week 3, as always good luck and don't forget to update your rosters.
