Week one is in the books, and chances are your squad surprised you one way or another. Either one of your picks from the first two rounds laid an egg or some late-round risk saved your tail from going 0-1. We had a nice first week of predictions—almost scarily so. With a couple exceptions, our powers of prognostication bordered on the psychic. But instead of putting Miss Cleo out of business, we’re back for week two.
Sunday, September 14
Chicago at Carolina 
Start - Here we have a clash of two surprise teams. Last week the Bears handed the Colts an embarrassing loss to open their new stadium, and the Panthers went into San Diego and pulled out a last-second thriller. The breakout player from last week was TE Dante Rosario for Carolina. The Bears were abysmal against the pass last week, and with Steve Smith out again, Dante should be good for another nice game. The same goes for Jake Delhomme, who looked like the Jake of old against a stifling Chargers secondary. We like the Bears defense in this game as well. Believe it or not, the Panthers play better on the road than they do at home. This should be a fairly low scoring game, so the Panthers D is looking like a decent start as well. We also expect Robbie Gould to have a strong game as it’s going to be tough for the Bears to punch it in.
Sit - Matt Forte made quite a splash in his rookie debut for the Bears, but don’t expect a repeat performance as the Panthers shut down LaDanian Tomlinson last week. He appears to be the only offensive weapon the Bears have, though, so starting him is a marginal decision. As good as Carolina was against the rush last week, the Bears were even better—giving up just 53 yards to Joseph Addai and Co.. It looks like it’s going to be another down week for DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. These two still have a lot of upside, so don’t even think about giving up on them.
Tennessee at Cincinnati 
Start - Both of these teams limped out of the gate last week, but Tennessee pulled its game out thanks to its defense. The same can’t be said for the Bengals, who looked absolutely terrible against the Ravens. With Vince Young out for a few weeks, the Titans actually have a chance to put up some points. LenDale White should have a nice game, and if you haven’t noticed, pip squeak Chris Johnson is the real deal—providing a nice change of pace. Both are worth starting. Until further notice, start any defense that plays against Cincy. This week that’s Tennessee.
Sit - Bo Scaife had an incredible game last week, and you’d think that the train would keep on rolling against the Bungles. But it’s so easy to run the ball on Cincinnati that teams have little reason to pass. Until the Bengals can get their offense straightened out it’s hard to recommend any of their “studs” as starters. Yeah, that’s hard to swallow considering how high a lot of them were drafted. This includes Carson Palmer, Chad Ocho Cinco, and TJ My Name is Impossible to Spell. Carson will likely spend a lot of time picking chunks of turf out of his facemask this weekend, and will have little time to survey the field. Chris Perry blamed himself for his horrible game last week, but Superman couldn’t have gained yardage with that Swiss cheese offensive line. It won’t be any better this week. Even Shayne Graham is a tough play, though he’s probably the only viable starter on the Bengals roster.
New Orleans at Washington 
Start - New Orleans came out and played like a well-oiled machine against the Buccaneers, but this time they’re on the road and outdoors. That’s traditionally presented problems for the Saints, but Washington looked so average that we don’t see a drop-off coming. Remember that Marques Colston is out for around six weeks, which is a huge blow to a lot of owners. The upside is that the value of Devery Henderson, David Patten, and Jeremy Shockey just got a huge bump. After his massive game last week, you’d be a fool to not start Reggie Bush—especially after how the Giants ran all over the Skins last Thursday. New Orleans wasn’t much better against the run, so Clinton Portis makes a solid play.
Sit - What happened to Chris Cooley in the new Redskins offense? He was seemingly eliminated from the gameplan. The Redskins need to get him involved, but with Jason Campbell throwing the ball nothing is easy—even a check down to the tight end. Sit them both. We also recommend sitting all the Redskins receivers. Santana Moss because he has hands of stone and Antwan Randle-El because, well, Jason Campbell sucks. We don’t recommend starting either defense in this one. Both teams should score just enough to make starting either worthless.
NY Giants at St. Louis 
Start - The Giants played a solid game last week to kick off the season, even if they’re about as exciting to watch as grazing cows. The Rams defense looked like a Division II college squad against the Eagles, and things won’t get much better in the dome. Start just about everyone you’ve got on the Giants. This includes Eli Manning, Plaxico Burress, Kevin Boss, and Brandon Jacobs. While you’re at it, plug in the Giants defense as well. The Rams couldn’t get anything going last week. Steven Jackson.ran hard, but had an awful game. He plays much better in the dome, but don’t expect a monster game with his best blocker, Orlando Pace, injured once again. Coach Linehan did say that S Jack will get a lot more carries this week, so we’ll give him another start to prove himself. One pleasant surprise was Randy McMichael. With Bulger only having milliseconds to get rid of the ball, it makes sense that the tight end will catch a few.
Sit - If we were Marc Bulger we’d try to come down with a serious case of anything to avoid playing this game. Even with the injuries on the defensive line, the Giants still brought all kinds of pressure last week, and Mr. Bulger is going to end up covered in rug burns by the time this one’s over. Likewise, Torry Holt needs to take a seat on your bench. The Rams look like the worst team in the NFL in a landslide, and when a team is that bad with just a few stars, it’s easy to shut those players down.
