Ride 'Em or Rest 'Em: Week 3

Cleveland at Baltimore
Ride 'Em:
Ravens Defense - Jamaal Lewis is doubtful, thus eliminating all Cleveland offensive threats.

Joe Flacco, QB, BAL - A good matchup, but they might just decide to run the ball all day...

Rest 'Em:
Braylon Edwards, WR, CLE - After two weeks he's pretty much shown that last year wasn't the fluke year we all thought it was.

Washington at Detroit
Ride 'Em:
Santana Moss, WR, WAS - If he can't do it here, he's not gonna do it anywhere (indoor, fast track, lousy secondary on bad defense)

Kevin Smith, RB, DET - Detroit wants to run the ball, and Steven Jackson put up 104 on them last week on 17 carries.

Calvin Johnson, WR, DET - I try not to be obvious with my picks because if you have him you, you start him. But this matchup should be great unless DT Haynesworth becomes dominant again.

Rest 'Em:
Clinton Portis, RB, WAS - Portis may be seriously showing his age. He's questionable and even if he plays, Detroit did an okay job of defending Adrian Peterson, so is Portis going to be better?

Jacksonville at Houston
Ride 'Em:
Torry Holt, WR, JAC - I've got a feeling that he scores here. Nate Washington did it last week against the Texans.

Matt Schaub, QB, HOU - Jacksonville has been fairly brutal against the pass, so far. No reason to expect that to change here.

Rest 'Em:
Steve Slaton, RB, HOU and Kevin Walter, WR, HOU - Slaton needs a week on your bench after catching fumble-itis... Just make sure it's not contagious. Walter is just coming back from injury and still hasn't made it through a full week of practice... Don't rush him back until he plays a full game.

San Francisco at Minnesota
Ride 'Em:
Brett Favre, QB, MIN - It's not going to be easy to run on the Niners. The short passing game will work okay, though, and that's Favre's specialty right now.

Shaun Hill, QB, SF - It's not going to be easy to run on the Vikes. The short to intermediate passing game will work okay, though. These teams really are mirrors of each other. This could be an NFC Title game preview.

Rest 'Em:
Frank Gore, RB, SF - I was up on him last week and he produced big time, but unfortunately, it's not quite as easy to run on Minnesota.

Percy Harvin, WR, MIN - Scores in two straight weeks. I don't really expect that to continue, as he's only getting a few looks per game.

Atlanta at New England
Ride 'Em:
Matt Ryan, QB, ATL - The Patriots pass defense has been very beatable. Actually, their defense as a whole has been very beatable. Ryan should exploit some holes in the secondary.

Michael Turner, RB, ATL - Turner could beat down this front seven for a while, then break some big runs as long as they stay with the run.

Rest 'Em:
Any Patriots you have - I'm so sick of the Patriots coaching staff announcing injuries that aren't there and not announcing injuries that ARE there. I can't deal with it. Randy Moss, Wes Welker are both listed as questionable, but I expect at least Moss will play. It could be worse, at least it's an early game...

Kansas City at Philadelphia
Ride 'Em:
Kevin Kolb, QB, PHI - Put up some decent numbers last week. Plus, the nonexistent KC pass rush shouldn't hurt his cause.

Dwayne Bowe, WR, KC - Well, someone needs to do well on the KC offense. Colston had two TDs last week, so he has a chance.

Rest 'Em:
Brian Westbrook, RB, PHI - Surprise! He's hurting and he's probably lacking explosiveness and won't actually be needed.

Green Bay at St. Louis
Ride 'Em:
Greg Jennings, WR, GB - St. Louis pass rush is weak and he had a poor game against Cincinnati last week, so I expect him to play with a vengeance in this game.

Steven Jackson, RB, STL - Cedric Benson put up 141 against the Packers last week, so the explosive Jackson could have a chance if they don't get behind too early.

Rest 'Em:
Donnie Avery, WR, STL - He hasn't done anything noticeable this season and GB secondary is good.

New York Giants at Tampa Bay
Ride 'Em:
Eli Manning, QB, NYG - He's on fire, and the Bucs don't have a good defense anymore. His emerging targets should continue to produce, too.

Derrick Ward, RB, TB - He's starting this game with Cadillac Williams and Earnest Graham hurting, so he's got a chance to produce if he gets 20 carries, even against stout defense.

Rest 'Em:
Byron Leftwich, QB, TB - Bad matchup against phenomenal pass rush. He's been doing well, but lack of mobility hurts against speedy rushers.

Tennessee at New York Jets
Ride 'Em:
Dustin Keller, TE, NYJ - Tennessee's vulnerable through the air and not much else... And QB Sanchez may use him a security blanket along with RB Washington.

Rest 'Em:
Chris Johnson, RB, TEN - After a historic game last week, the speedster might get held in check against a Jets defense that hasn't allowed a TD yet.

New Orleans at Buffalo
Ride 'Em:
Marques Colston, WR, NO - Drew Brees said he trusts him more than any of his other receivers, and I trust him more than Buffalo's secondary.

Fred Jackson, RB, BUF - Last chance to make an impact before Lynch returns, and Buffalo will need to play ball-control if they want to keep up with NO offense.

Rest 'Em:
Either team's defense - Both had decent games in recent weeks, but unusable here as this will likely be a shootout.

Chicago at Seattle
Ride 'Em:
John Carlson, TE, SEA - Seneca Wallace starting means a conservative offense, but Carlson should still be active and productive.

Rest 'Em:
Jay Cutler, QB, CHI - Seattle defense and homefield advantage will make it tougher on Cutler in this one.

Denver at Oakland
Ride 'Em:
Broncos Defense - Russell hasn't been playing well at all, they produced some sacks against Cleveland and Oakland is missing G Gallery.

Rest 'Em:
Any Raiders offensive player - RB Darren McFadden looked uninspired against the Chiefs, WR Louis Murphy is unreliable and TE Zach Miller didn't have a catch. I expect better this week, but not much.

Miami at San Diego
Ride 'Em:
Ronnie Brown, RB, MIA - SD Defense has some injuries and Brown has to be considered the straw that stirs Miami's drink.

Vincent Jackson, WR, SD - Really, I just like touting this guy. You probably got him in the 5th or 6th round, but are getting 2nd round production from him. Love it.

Rest 'Em:
Ted Ginn Jr., WR, MIA - Over 100 yards last week, but he wasn't as good as the box score. He dropped a lot of balls, and was unreliable in the red zone, too.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati
Ride 'Em:
Willie Parker, RB, PIT - Historically, if there's a game against the Bengals, Parker gets into gear against them.

Santonio Holmes, WR, PIT - He's could be a good play as he usually does really well in his home state of Ohio.

Rest 'Em:
Pittsburgh Defense - Holding the score down, but not causing a ton of sacks or turnovers, and less explosive without S Polamalu.

Indianapolis at Arizona
Ride 'Em:
Reggie Wayne, WR, IND - Had a poor outing last week, but should be more involved in offense this week. Only potential problem: He's had a hard time with CB McFadden in the past ('05 playoffs)

Tim Hightower, RB, ARI - Colts can be run on and Wells fumbled his way out of carries last week, so expect a decent game from Hightower.

Rest 'Em:
Joseph Addai and Donald Brown, RBs, IND - Arizona plays pretty good run defense at home, so tough to expect much from this duo.