Not only is it the first week of the NFL season, it is also the first week to get some fantasy football action. Perhaps this is the hardest week to project how your team or teams will do. After all, starters haven't played in a couple of weeks and it was only the preseason.
If you were lucky enough to have Rob Gronkowski on a team, you are off to a good start.
But let's look at the season opener between the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals and who you should start and who you should sit.
Start them:
Carson Palmer: Palmer is finally getting some regular season action. If you look at his last 16 games, you have one of the top quarterbacks in the league. And here is a bonus -- he will face what was one of the league's worst defenses a year ago. The Saints secondary is the same as a year ago and they are missing two starters. Expect the Cardinals to throw the ball a lot and to get into the end zone.
John Brown: For the same reason you start Palmer, you start Brown, who has become the number one passing option.
Marques Colston: You might be inclined to start Brandin Cooks and that isn't a bad idea. However, he will be matched up against Patrick Peterson, who looks ready to have a big year. The matchup you should like is Colston against Jerraud Powers. Powers is no slouch, but he struggles against size. Colston is 6-4. If there is a matchup that could be trouble, this is the one.
Sit them:
Mark Ingram: This is nothing against Ingram. The Arizona Cardinals defense for a year and a half, until the last half of last season, wasone of the best against the run. Based on the preseason, it looks like they will be dominant against the run. Ingram won't be a factor.
Ben Watson: Yes, it is the Cardinals and tight ends tend to give them trouble, but Watson is no Jimmy Graham. He isn't the matchup nightmare. He is not super tall or super fast at his position. He is not the guy who will torch the Cardinals. This week you can give the "tight end against the Cardinals" matchup a rest.