Ride 'Em or Rest 'Em: Week Two

Carolina at Atlanta
Ride 'Em:
Atlanta Defense - Jake Delhomme threw 4 interceptions and lost an interception last week against Philly. You decide what to do.

Steve Smith, WR, CAR - Atlanta's fast track won't hurt him, and we all know no one can overthrow him...

Rest 'Em:
Carolina Defense - Matt Ryan is one of the best fantasy quarterbacks, Roddy White and Michael Turner had semi-lousy games last week. My bet is that one of them (or all of them) go off this week.

Minnesota at Detroit
Ride 'Em:
Kevin Smith, RB, DET - He's got hands and they like to get him into the passing game, which is good because he's not gonna do much on the ground against the Vikings.

Bernard Berrian, WR, MIN - Big-time comeback this week after no catches last week.

Rest 'Em:
Adrian Peterson, RB, MIN - Wow, total shocker, right? Yeah, that's because if you DO somehow sit this guy, I'll personally come and delete your team. You. Will. Fail. If. You. Sit. Him.

Visanthe Shiancoe, TE, MIN - Maybe a cheap TD, but he won't be needed much, so maybe find someone better.

Cincinnati at Green Bay
Ride 'Em:
Cedrick Benson, RB, CIN - Cincy is still pretty committed to the run and will try to win time of possession game by pounding with Cedric 25+ times.

Ryan Grant, RB, GB - Comeback player of the year? Maybe a mention after a big game for the second week in a row.

Rest 'Em:
Donald Driver, WR, GB - Bengal corners are large, fast and underrated (as I've said before). Don't expect much from Driver, but Jennings may get deep a few times against weak safeties.

Arizona at Jacksonville
Ride 'Em:
Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, JAC - Arizona doesn't defend the run well on the road, Jacksonville will need to kill clock to keep it close against good offense.

Anquan Boldin, WR, ARI - After a poor game last week, injury should be better and impact should be big on offense.

Rest 'Em:
Tim Hightower, RB, ARI - Don't buy into the 12-catch game last week. He may end up being a good receiver, but don't risk it with anything above a third RB or flex position until you see consistency.

Oakland at Kansas City
Ride 'Em:
Larry Johnson, RB, KC - No definitive word on Cassel yet, so Larry may carry the load.

JaMarcus Russell, QB, OAK - Anyone see what Joe Flacco did last week when there was no pass rush against him? I'll buy Russell this week, I think.

Rest 'Em:
Dwayne Bowe, WR, KC - Still think he'll get a few catches, but Oakland's pass defense is tougher now with Seymour and Asomugha.

New England at New York Jets
Ride 'Em:
Julian Edelman, WR, NE - Welker is out so he should be Brady's go-to receiver on Sunday as Moss will be tied up with CB Revis, and QB eligible/

Kevin Faulk, RB, NE - Against blitz he could get some dumpoffs and turn them into yards and scores.

Rest 'Em:
NYJ Defense - Not against Brady, and could be in trouble if QB Sanchez throws a pick in a bad spot.

Randy Moss and Wes Welker, WRs, NE - Jets CB Revis shut down Andre Johnson last week and he'll stay on Moss as Welker sits with an injury.

New Orleans at Philadelphia
Ride 'Em:
Any offensive player in this game has a good shot to score for New Orleans.

Brent Celek, TE, PHI - Saints defense is nothing spectacular, and Philly may have to throw to keep up. With Kolb at QB, Celek and Westbrook may become his best receivers.

Rest 'Em:
Either team defense.

Houston at Tennessee
Ride 'Em:
Chris Johnson, RB, TEN - He didn't run as poorly as it looked against Steelers, breaking a few big ones. And Houston's D is nothing compared to Pittsburgh.

Matt Schaub, QB, HOU - He's reportedly looked decent at practice, and Roethlisberger looked good when he had protection last week.

Rest 'Em:
Steve Slaton, RB, HOU - He's run well against them in the past, but Titans run defense looks stouter than ever.

St. Louis at Washington
Ride 'Em:
Washington Defense - Marc Bulger is still not fantastic and he doesn't have any real threatening weapons except SJax, who will have to deal with Albert Haynesworth all day long.

Clinton Portis, RB, WAS - If you were on the fence about starting him after a struggle in Week 1, hang your doubts and watch him rack up points with punishing yards and probably TDs this week.

Rest 'Em:
Steven Jackson, RB, STL - Look, he's talented, but he's only ever had ONE really great season. And he looked a little slow to me against Seattle. If he catches the ball, maybe he'll be okay, but LaRon Landry is lurking and WAS secondary is vicious and fast.

Seattle at San Francisco
Ride 'Em:
Matt Hasselbeck, QB, SEA - SF's corners are overrated, but I kind of expect a few turnovers with SF blitz packages.

Frank Gore, RB, SF - Last week I was down on him and he scored twice. This week, I don't expect great results, but give me a TD and 5 or 6 catches and yardage around 90-100.

Rest 'Em:
T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR, SEA - Still not sure he breaks out against a good linebacker corps. Still, 5-7 catches, but not huge yards. TD unlikely.

Tampa Bay at Buffalo
Ride 'Em:
Cadillac Williams, RB, TB - He looked great on more than a few runs on Sunday against Dallas and the O-line was blocking well. That should continue this week with LB Posluszney out.

Fred Jackson, RB, BUF - Face it, he IS their offense right now.

Rest 'Em:
Terrell Owens, WR, BUF - Still not buying it, but CB Barber is aging and he may very likely draw T.O. assignment.

Pittsburgh at Chicago
Ride 'Em:
Santonio Holmes, WR, PIT - I have believed in Santonio since he was a senior at Ohio State. He's rarely disappointed... Except when I drafted him last year and he never broke 100 yards and scored only from my bench. Argh. One year too early, I guess.

Matt Forte, RB, CHI - Shifty runners like Forte seem to mess with the Steelers, and he'll be used after a lightweight performance last week. Usually I recommend sitting a RB against Pittsburgh, but without Polamalu, it's just a different defense.

Rest 'Em:
Devin Hester, WR, CHI - CB Ike Taylor is nearly as fast as Hester and much taller, which could mean a long day for Hester... or a long TD.

Willie Parker, RB, PIT - Until further notice, all Pittsburgh rushers are off-limits.

Cleveland at Denver
Ride 'Em:
Braylon Edwards, WR, CLE - Had a TD taken off the board against Minnesota and QB Quinn seemed to be looking for him.

Brandon Marshall, WR, DEN - Okay, I know I used this last week, but in Week 2 last year, he had 18 FREAKING CATCHES!!

Rest 'Em:
Knowshon Moreno, RB, DEN - Even AP was well contained for a half against Cleveland last week, and Moreno will only get half of the carries, if that much.

Baltimore at San Diego
Ride 'Em:
Vincent Jackson, WR, SD - Dwayne Bowe caught a short TD for KC last week, so maybe VJax can duplicate his effort.

Ravens Defense - I see Rivers throwing a Pick-6 in the direction of Ed Reed this week, who will drop back a lot without threat of Tomlinson for SD.

Rest 'Em:
Darren Sproles, RB, SD - Timing is everything, so it's unfortunate timing that LT got hurt and Sproles gets a tough matchup against Ravens. Against most teams he'd be a stud.

New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys
Ride 'Em:
Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, RBs, NYG - Easy to see them doing well against a Dallas Defense that allowed a TD each to Derrick Ward and Cadillac Williams.

NYG Defense - That D-line looks fiercer than ever before, and although Romo is elusive, count on a few sacks and a turnover or two.

Rest 'Em:
Patrick Crayton, WR, DAL - Well, it's not that I think he'll have a bad game, but I don't think he'll have time to get deep with NYG pass rush in Romo's face all day.

More Ride 'Em, Rest 'Em tomorrow when I'll break down the Monday Night game between the Colts and Dolphins.