Sunday Morning Huddle: Week One

Ken Kelly

lockerWelcome to the real opening day of the NFL and dynasty leagues around the world!

Let’s face it, there’s an enormous amount of information out there this morning. We’re not going to waste your time by repeating the news and notes about who’s in or out this week, since that’s really not what you visit us for. We’re also not going to do another article on starts or sits this week – we already have the personalized lineup advice for you on the premium content. Again, there are 100 places you can go for that, so we do something different on Sundays for our Premium Content subscribers every year.

The Sunday Morning Huddle goes through each game and states what we’re looking to see from a dynasty perspective. We’ll pick one player from each team who we have our eye on and describe why their weekend performance is a key one for them in relation to their dynasty value.

Early Games

Miami at Cleveland

For Miami, there’s no player with a bigger spotlight than Lamar Miller.Will the Dolphins actually use Daniel Thomas or make Miller the true featured back? This game will go a long way in revealing just what Miami thinks it has with Miller and Thomas. If Miller can shoulder a big load, he could be in store for a monster season and justify his rising dynasty ADP.

The Browns really need Brandon Weeden to step up. It looks he has a great new weapon in Jordan Cameron and the new coaching staff is “all in” with Weeden. If he struggles early this season, all bets are off in terms of his dynasty value. Be it fair or unfair, the window for Weeden to be a successful quarterback starts right now and will close rather rapidly.

Minnesota at Detroit

It’s odd, you know. Greg Jennings may actually become a worse fantasy play as the first option in Minnesota than he was as the second or third option in Green Bay. Christian Ponder pretty much is what he is at this point and it really remains to be seen if he can utilize Jennings to his capabilities. We’ll get a clue on that front today.

The Lions offense has been rebuilt and now has the best running back they’ve had since Jahvid Best in the form of Reggie Bush. If Bush can stay healthy and look like he did in Miami a couple of years ago, we could be looking at an incredible PPR season – that journey starts today.

Oakland at Indianapolis

Terrelle Pryor is expected to be under center as Matt Flynn face planted in the preseason and lost yet another starting job. Pryor’s performance early this season will obviously be a huge factor in the Raiders success or lack thereof early this season. From a fantasy perspective, you can’t help but be reminded of Tim Tebow when you watch Pryor as he’s destined to put up some decent fantasy stats, but look awful doing it.

We know Reggie Wayne will be Andrew Luck’s main target this year, but it remains to be seen who the true WR2 will be. TY Hilton is a prime candidate for a breakout this season, but the Colts also seem enamored with Darrius Heyward-Bey. Will that continue after this week?

Kansas City at Jacksonville

For the Chiefs, the Andy Reid era begins and all eyes will be on Alex Smith. We know Jamaal Charles will be a key focal point for the offense, but Smith’s ability to get the ball downfield to players like Dwayne Bowe is going to be a huge story this week and beyond.

In Jacksonville, we finally get our first extended look at a healthy Maurice Jones-Drew. After being barely used in the preseason, MJD is poised to return to fantasy’s elite. The Jags will need him because the golden Blaine Gabbert era is still in full swing.

Tampa Bay at NY Jets

It’s a make or break season for a lot of players and Josh Freeman is squarely on that list. After an up and down career thus far, Freeman needs to have an “up” season for the Bucs to be successful. The dynasty values of Vincent Jackson, Mike Williams, Doug Martin and a host of others are all directly tied to his performance today and this entire season.

Is it even fair to put Geno Smith on this list? He’s not just being thrown into any fire, it ‘s more like the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Smith will attempt to manage the flames around him with an offensive cast rivaling that of the league’s worst we’ve seen in quite some time. Get your white flag ready.

Atlanta at New Orleans

In what promises to be a shootout, the Falcons will finally try to re-establish a solid running game behind Steven Jackson. The grizzled veteran has looked a bit slow this preseason, but this should be the game where we see just what he has left in the tank. If he’s feeling good and rejuvenated, we could see a monster touchdown total from S-Jax this year.

For the Saints, we pretty much know what we’re going to get from the passing game. However, there has been a lot of excitement over the running game and Mark Ingram, specifically. We have our doubts about Ingram, but his stock is as high as it’s been since he was drafted by New Orleans in 2011.

Tennessee at Pittsburgh

Speaking of make or break seasons, this is it for Jake Locker. He’s battled bouts of inaccuracy and has been inconsistent at best thus far in his career. Time will tell on this one, but Locker is squarely in the crosshairs today.

The running game of the Steelers took a big hit with Le’Veon Bell going down in the preseason. With the surprise release of Jonathan Dwyer, Pittsburgh is going to rely heavily on Isaac Redman. Can he respond better than he did last season?

Cincinnati at Chicago

Dynasty owners who used a high rookie draft pick on Giovani Bernard are crossing their fingers and hoping he begins to overshadow BenJarvus Green-Ellis and become a big part of the Cincinnati offense. There are still some questions about Bernard’s ability to handle a huge workload, but it’s time to see what this kid can do.

The Marc Trestman era begins in Chicago and Jay Cutler needs to respond in a contract season. The development we’re most interested in this season is that of Alshon Jeffery, though. Rumor has it he’s going to really emerge as a big-time option and today will be his first real opportunity to show if the rumors are true.

Seattle at Carolina

The Seahawks have Super Bowl aspirations, but lost their most dynamic off-season addition in Percy Harvin to a hip injury earlier this season. The player to keep an eye on here is Golden Tate. With Sidney Rice being in and out of the lineup, Tate has to establish himself as a legitimate threat while Harvin recovers. He looked good during stretches last season, so let’s see what he can do. Remember, he’s going to be a free agent at the end of the season so his 2013 performance is huge in dynasty circles.

The Panthers really need to have Cam Newton step up and be the player we saw the second half of last season. This first game is a tough one for Newton, but success here against this tough defense would lay the groundwork for an explosive fantasy season.

New England at Buffalo

The Patriots have a rebuilt offense and it’s going to be a lot of fun to see what the “Diaper Dandies” in the form of Kenbrell Thompkins and Zach Sudfeld can do. Can the Patriots establish a new offensive identity with these two youngsters or will they really have to rely so heavily on Stevan Ridley, Shane Vereen and the running game?

In Buffalo, its EJ Manuel’s time to shine. It’s hard to predict any success from a rookie quarterback in the NFL, but Manuel has looked the part so far. Let’s just hope his knee feels good and the Bills defense avoids putting the team in a huge hole.

Late Games

Green Bay at San Francisco

This could very well be the matchup of the week. The Packers would like to re-establish some type of a running game and it’s on the shoulders of none other than Eddie Lacy to get it done. A good game against the stellar San Francisco defense would indicate Lacy is truly the real deal.

The 49ers have given the keys to the castle to Colin Kaepernick after he led them to the Super Bowl last season. What does he have in store for an encore?

Arizona at St. Louis

To say the quarterback play in Arizona has been terrible lately is offensive to all things terrible. Carson Palmer arrives in the desert and the dynasty value of Larry Fitzgerald is at stake. If Palmer can stay upright, the Cardinals’ skill players will all rise in value.

The Rams have moved on from the aforementioned Steven Jackson, but the passing game is in focus today. Like Freeman and Locker above, it’s a critical season for Sam Bradford. With a talented receiving corps and rebuilt offensive line, Bradford is out of excuses and these are the games the Rams have to win.

Sunday Night Football

NY Giants at Dallas

There may be no other player with more interest in dynasty leagues than David Wilson. Need I say more?

For the Cowboys, Dez Bryant looks to build upon a dominant second half of 2012.  If Bryant can maintain that level of excellence, he’s an MVP candidate in fantasy and reality.

Monday Night Football

Philadelphia at Washington

The Chip Kelly era begins and the Eagles roll out a new fast paced offense. The entire group is truly under the microscope as this could go down as an epic changing of the guard in NFL offensive philosophy or a total Steve Spurrier-like disaster. With Michael Vick at the helm, both of those are possible.

Wait, there is one other player with more interest in dynasty leagues than David Wilson and it’s RGIII. Will he look like the same player, running with reckless abandon and terrorizing defenses? One one hand, that would prove he’s healthy. On the other, that would show it may not last long.

Houston at San Diego

Arian Foster returns from a lost preseason due to injuries to find himself with a suddenly healthy and explosive Ben Tate nipping at his heels again. If Foster looks sluggish at all, Tate could work his way into a lot of his carries early in the season. In fact, it wouldn’t be shocking to see each of them push for 1,000 yards again this year. Let’s see just how much the demise of Foster has been exaggerated, if at all.

The Chargers need a lot of things to go right this year in order to be competitive – the biggest of those needs to be a healthy and productive Ryan Mathews. He was a huge disappointment last season and a solid effort would go a long way in rebuilding his dynasty value. This game is huge for him as his owners are losing patience.

Here we go!

ken kelly