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Fantasy Notebook from Week 1
Intriguing Week 1 Players
By Chad Stapley, FootballDiehards.com
Packers vs Seahawks
Packers
There are three names you need to watch against this stout Seattle defense. Eddie Lacy, Jordy Nelson, and Randall Cobb. Everyone knows that Nelson and Cobb are big play threats and legitimate Red Zone targets. How they fair against Richard Sherman and the rest of those Seahawk DBs. Lacy proved last year that he is one of the better RBs in the NFL. How he performs against the defending super bowl champions will show exactly the type of running back he is. I expect Lacy to perform better than either Cobb or Nelson.
Seahawks
The three guys I will be watching for Seattle are Russell Wilson, Jermaine Kearse, and Percy Harvin. The Packers have habitually had trouble with a running QB. Wilson isn’t going to scare anyone the way Mike Vick use to but he absolutely can make you pay if your DE’s do not contain the edges. Kearse is my sleeper pick to make the Pro-Bowl in the NFC as a Slot WR. I think Kearse is in for a huge year, plus he blocks like a fullback which equals more playing time for him, meaning more receptions. Harvin is a known commodity by now, I expect him to flourish in a role something like Reggie Bush has when he played for Pete Carroll at USC.
Sunday September 7th
49ers vs Cowboys
49ers
The 49ers offense looked horrid in the preseason. Keep your eyes on Colin Kaepernick and two rookies, Carlos Hyde & Bruce Ellington who are looking to steal the show. Kaep has not looked in sync all preseason, not from a running nor throwing aspect. The Cowboys happen to have one of the worst defenses in the NFL so look for the 49ers and CO. to shore up all their loose ends against them. Hyde is a rookie RB who has shot up the depth chart due to good play and injuries to the other RBs on the roster. Hyde looks like he is the RB of the future for the 49ers. Ellington is another rookie that looks very promising thus far in his young career. Ellington is small but mighty and he is not scared to make the difficult catches over the middle. Ellington also brings an added incentive in that he is a superb return man and is a threat to take it yard whenever he has the ball in his hands.
Cowboys
The Cowboys had better hope that their offense scores around 30+ points a game because their defense is going to have a hard enough time stopping a nose bleed. The three guys that are bound to make a splash are DeMarco Murray, Terrance Williams, and Gavin Escobar. Murray is electrifying when he isn’t injured; the problem is he always seems to get injured. If he can stay healthy for an entire year Murray has the potential to be a top ten RB in the NFL. Williams was a steal of a 3rd round pick in 2013; he caught 44 passes for 736 yards and five TD passes. The Cowboys had so much faith in him that they let Miles Austin leave in FA without putting up any sort of fight to resign him. Escobar is a wildcard; he has all the tools and athleticism to excel in these league. He only had nine receptions for 136 yards to go with two TDs as a rookie, but look for the Cowboys to roll out numerous two tight end formations to try and spread the field and create mismatches with LBs.
Jets vs Raiders
Jets
The Jets season is really going to come down to how well Geno Smith plays in year two. Smith beat out Vick to be the starting QB and they added a couple of new offensive weapons in Chris Johnson and Eric Decker to help him progress. Johnson is interesting because he isn’t too far removed from his 2,000 yard season. If he can regain even a fragment of that form he will have a great year and in turn it will make things easier for Smith. Decker is the key piece here; as he gives the Jets a go to WR that they didn’t have last year. Will Decker be able to handle the pressure of being covered by the opposing defenses #1 CB ever game? If he can, the Jets have the defense to be a title contender.
Raiders
The Raiders just recently named Derek Carr their week 1 starter; not too shabby for a rookie out of Fresno State. Carr had a flawless last preseason game where he threw three TD passes on just 13 total pass attempts. If Carr can be even half this good every week then the Raiders could surprise a bunch of teams this season. The other two guys I am watching are two WRs; Denarius Moore and Brice Butler. Moore is entering his third season and Butler is entering his second season and they both have looked promising in preseason. Moore caught two of Carrs TD passes and Butler caught the other one. The Raiders don’t have a ton of talent at WR or in general so look for them to run a lot of 3-4 WR sets to spread the field.
Chargers vs Cardinals
Chargers
The Chargers are going to be a very good and exciting team to watch. They have two young guys in Keenan Allen and Ladarius Green who are both ready to take their games to the nest level. Allen may already be there, he caught eight TD passes for over 1,000 yards as a rookie. It’s actually scary to think what he may be capable of in year two. Green is an athletic TE who looks like he is ready to start, the only problem is he is stuck behind the ever dependable Antonio Gates. Green had 17 receptions for 376 yards with three TDs last season, like Escobar and the Cowboys I expect the Chargers to run quite a few plays with two TEs to expose LBs in coverage.
Cardinals
The Cardinals added two pieces to their offense this offseason that are quite intriguing. John Carlson and John Brown are going to put up pretty decent numbers this season. Carlson was picked up in FA and he has been a steady TE in the NFL his entire playing career, he is an absolute upgrade over anything the Cardinals had prior. Brown is a recent 3rd round draft pick and he has surprisingly made an impact in his little time with the Cardinals. Brown has already elevated himself to #3 WR on the roster and it looks like he may end up being one of the better WR taken in the 2013 draft. The third person is Andre Ellington, he may not catch as many people by surprise because he has a pretty good rookie season. He is the perfect RB for the Cardinals as he hits the running holes hard and has very good hands for a RB.
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