Ride 'Em or Rest 'Em: Week One

I'll pick a player or two from each team that you should ride to fantasy glory, or rest and send out someone else in their place.

Philadelphia at Carolina
Ride 'Em:

Donovan McNabb, QB, PHI - Carolina might have just enough offense to make this game into a shootout.

Mushin Muhammad, WR, CAR - No other receiver has stepped up to become a reliable #2 to Steve Smith, plus Muhammad's size makes him a decent bet to score against smaller Eagles corners.

Rest 'Em:

Jonathan Stewart, RB, CAR - Injury issues in the preseason make this a risky week to start him, unless you've got no other option.


Minnesota at Cleveland
Ride 'Em:

Braylon Edwards, WR, CLE - Motivated to make up for last year's shortcomings (read: drops) and Cleveland will need to throw often.

Minnesota Defense - Young QB and old RB starting for Cleveland, very few threats. Only thing that could derail them is an untimely Brett Favre interception.

Rest 'Em:

Brett Favre, QB, MIN - Brett likes to wait til week 2 to make an impact and although Cleveland's corners are weak, this feels like an AP All-Day kind of game.

Jamaal Lewis, RB, CLE - Old. Slow. Against the Williams brothers, and Vike's defensive front? No thank you.

Kansas City at Baltimore
Ride 'Em:

Joe Flacco, QB, BAL - No one noteworthy rushing the passer on the Chief's D, nor anyone decent in secondary. Mason will play well, too.

Dwayne Bowe, WR, KC - He's probably the only consistent player on KC, and the only one that warrants a start this week, but QB instability means you should temper your expectations.

Rest 'Em:

Matt Cassel, QB, KC - Injured and even if he DOES play, the Ravens D will likely feast on him.

Denver at Cincinnati
Ride 'Em:

Cedric Benson, RB, CIN - Yuck, but Denver's defense is weak, Cincy is committed to running and no one is taking carries from him. Worth a RB2.

Brandon Marshall, WR, DEN - Most in your league probably stayed away from Marshall, but coming off suspension last year he had 18 catches. Encore anyone?

Rest 'Em:

Chad Ochocinco, WR, CIN - Palmer uncertain and will draw coverage from Champ Bailey (overrated but still good) all day.

Jacksonville at Indianapolis
Ride 'Em:

David Garrard, QB, JAC - Especially if Bob Sanders is out. This goes for Marcedes Lewis, too. Short passes, no INTs for Garrard.

Joseph Addai, RB, IND - Just have a feeling he's not going to be nearly as bad as everyone thought he would be. Not bad as an RB2 against an older D-line.

Rest 'Em:

Torry Holt, WR, JAC - Don't love him as he's aged poorly and probably not going to go for big gains as Garrard dinks and dunks around Indy.

Detroit at New Orleans
Ride 'Em:

Anyone New Orleans Player not Named Pierre - Detroit had the worst defense in the league last year. Ride 'em all.

Kevin Smith, RB, DET - With a rookie QB, it's tough to think they won't at least TRY to run.

Rest 'Em:

Pierre Thomas, RB, NO - Out with an injury.

New York Jets at Houston
Ride 'Em:

Most Texans players - Houston has a loaded offense, in theory, anyway. Andre Johnson, Matt Schaub and Steve Slaton should have decent to good games each week.

Thomas Jones, RB, NYJ - Houston also has a fairly weak defense (except for LB Ryans), and Jones (early in the season, anyway) shouldn't have a difficult time.

Rest 'Em:

Mark Sanchez, QB, NYJ - You weren't REALLY going to start him anyway, right?

Miami at Atlanta
Ride 'Em:

Ronnie Brown, RB, MIA - I like him more than most, and I don't expect Williams to take away carries.

Tony Gonzalez, TE, ATL - The new toy in Atlanta should be looked for frequently as they test out the new weapon.

Rest 'Em:

Ted Ginn Jr, WR, MIA - Nothing significant to show in 2 years, wait til he shows something before you gamble with him.

Dallas at Tampa Bay
Ride 'Em:

Felix Jones, RB, DAL - Breakaway threat anytime, and Tampa's defense is old and without a good coordinator.

Rest 'Em:

Tampa Bay Defense - The end of last year was the end of their greatness. Look elsewhere.

San Francisco at Arizona
Ride 'Em:

Shaun Hill, QB, SF - Arizona scores lots at home, so he'll be behind, meaning lots of throwing opportunities perhaps picking them apart in garbage time.

Any Cardinals Passing game threat - They score a ton, but Fitzgerald might succumb to Madden curse!

Rest 'Em:

Frank Gore, RB, SF - Seems like a stud, right? Arizona stops run well, especially at home. PPR league might be okay, though.

St. Louis at Seattle
Ride 'Em:

Matt Hasselbeck, QB, SEA - Bounceback year starts against weak St. Louis secondary, with new WR Houshmandzadeh.

Rest 'Em:

Marc Bulger, QB, STL - No threats at receiver, no offensive line, no running game. Weak fantasy scorer, too.

Washington at New York Giants
Ride 'Em:

Brandon Jacobs, RB, NYG - Manning has few legit receivers and only threat on Washington's D is new DT Haynesworth.

Giants Defense - Pass rush should be dominant again, meaning sacks and turnovers will be abundant.

Rest 'Em:

Santana Moss, WR, WSH - As QB Campbell is pressured, he'll have less time to get open deep.

Chicago at Green Bay
Ride 'Em:

Green Bay Defense - Cutler has the potential for 4TDs or 4 turnovers.

Greg Olsen, TE, CHI - Tony Scheffler had some great stats last year with Cutler at QB.

Rest 'Em:

Chicago Defense - With Hester more involved in offense, the special teams take a hit, devaluing the D/ST a ton.

Buffalo at New England
Ride 'Em:

Terrell Owens, WR, BUF - No one else in Buffalo worth starting.

Any Patriot involved in Passing game - Duh. Brady's back.

Rest 'Em:

Trent Edwards, QB, BUF - Like I said, no one else in Buffalo worth starting.

San Diego at Oakland
Ride 'Em:

Darren McFadden, RB, OAK - Now officially a starter and will be used in passing game, too.

Any Chargers you have - Um, Oakland is nothing on defense (unless Seymour magically appears) and Rivers and Tomlinson will come up big.

Rest 'Em:

JaMarcus Russell - Hasn't shown promise yet, so wait til he shows something before you risk it.