2015 Fantasy Football Week 4 Rankings



Not even Julio could help me pull out the win in Week 3.

Anyone else have a crazy weekend?  Man, Week 3 was nuts!  My wife's birthday was Saturday, and we went up to the mountains to camp with her brother, his girlfriend, and all of our dogs.  It was a nice, peaceful weekend until we got back home and we were both scrambling to change our lineups at like 12:45 on Sunday...right before heading out to watch the big bike race here in Richmond (which was awesome by the way). 

So I know you probably don't care about my team.  You only care about yours, right?  Well if so, then feel free to scroll down to my rankings.  But this is my therapy, so deal with it.  :)

Anyway, in my big money league, I subbed in Steve Smith for Jordan Matthews (awesome).  I also put in Ryan Mathews for Danny Woodhead (another fine choice).  But the last update was Miami defense for Cleveland, which turned out to be the wrong move.  I literally could have played just about any defense OTHER than Miami last week and won my matchup.  But ultimately I lost...even with big games from Julio, Steve Smith, Latavius Murray, and Frank Gore (to name a few).  I mean, how do you lose with those guys and what they did on Sunday?!?  I'll tell you how.  The guy I played subbed in Devonta Freeman for Lamar Miller, which turned out to be the play of the week for sure.  He also had Larry Fitzgerald, who apparently has found the fountain of youth with all of the other geriatrics in Arizona.  Oh and Aaron Rodgers went off for 5 TDs on Monday Night Football, which I pretty much expected but was nearly given a heart attack by as I watched intently, still with hope as I had Travis Kelce in the same game.  I couldn't sleep until that game was over, and in the end, it haunted my dreams.

I don't know what is the worst way to lose in fantasy football, but they all kind of stink.  I scored 147 fantasy points and lost to a guy who scored 152.  In case you were wondering, 147 is a lot of freaking points in that league.  In fact, it's the most I've scored in that league since Week 7 of 2009 (yes, I looked it up).  Meanwhile, more than half of the league didn't even break 100 this week.  One other guy did drop 165, which was also insane.  But it was just one of those weeks I guess. 

Now I sit at 1-2 in that league, and my two losses were to the top two teams.  Sometimes the schedule just works out like that.  Hell, I have the second most fantasy points and I'm in 7th place.  Even crazier might be the guy with the fourth most fantasy points who is in dead last (12th)!  It's the nature of head to head, but hopefully I can keep putting up points and it'll even out a little in the end.  You need to keep grinding and try to put the best lineup out there each and every week. 

And to do that, you might want to check out these rankings!

BYES: Tennessee and New England QBs 1.Aaron Rodgers  2.Andrew Luck 3.Matt Ryan 4.Carson Palmer  5.Cam Newton  6.Russell Wilson  7.Peyton Manning  8.Andy Dalton 9.Tyrod Taylor  10.Philip Rivers 11.Drew Brees 12.Derek Carr  13.Eli Manning   14.Joe Flacco  15.Ryan Fitzpatrick   16.Sam Bradford  17.Blake Bortles  18.Ryan Tannehill   19.Colin Kaepernick    20.Michael Vick Last week I continued to be high on Andy Dalton versus the ESPN experts (6 spots higher in fact), and he finished as the #2 fantasy QB in Week 3 (behind Aaron Rodgers, of course).  But instead of talking up the Red Rifle two weeks in a row, I wrote about Marcus Mariota (ESPN #14, ME #11), who finished as a top-12 QB as I predicted.  Now he and Tom Brady have their bye week, so you'll have to look elsewhere if you've been rolling with either of those guys early on.  The guy I was down on, Drew Brees (ESPN #10, ME NOT RANKED), ended up not even playing against the Panthers.  So yeah, I got that one right too.  And before you say that was an easy pick, just know that my prediction was on Wednesday, and you'll notice the ESPN experts ranked Brees as a top-10 fantasy play.  All signs are pointing to him playing this week against Dallas, but it's the Sunday night game.  That makes for a risky play if he becomes a game time decision.  I guess you could always have Brandon Weeden as Plan B, but I don't like that idea one bit.  The other big injury news to mention is Roethlisberger going down with a knee injury in Week 3.  He'll likely be out a few weeks, and Michael Vick will start tomorrow night against Baltimore.   Trust in the Amish Rifle. I'm high on: Ryan Fitzpatrick (ESPN #23, ME #15)  You'll notice a trend that I continue to be higher than the ESPN experts on Andy Dalton, but again I'll try to pick someone different to talk up this week.  The QB position this week looks pretty rough due to injuries and bye weeks.  Once you get past Russell Wilson and Peyton Manning, you find yourself with no sure thing.   Enter Ryan Fitzpatrick (*crickets*)... No, but seriously.  Miami might be listed as the home team in this one, but really there is none since this one will be played across the pond.  That's right, gents.  We have our first of THREE games in London this NFL season (yippeeeeeee...).  And don't look now, but the bearded wonder has thrown a pair of TDs in each of his first 3 games this season.  Meanwhile, the Dolphins just got torched last week by Tyrod and the Bills.  I don't see their secondary putting up much of a fight in this one, and I like Fitzpatrick as a decent streamer if you have someone like Brady, Romo, or Big Ben. I'm down on: Ryan Tannehill (ESPN #14, ME #18)  Let's stick with the same game because that Jets D is looking strong early on.  Going back to last week again, Ryan Tannehill needed lots of garbage time to produce a decent fantasy day against the Bills.  Granted, garbage time points count too.  But I don't see that happening in this contest.  I think it'll be relatively low scoring with these east coasters feeling like they're playing a football game when they should be in bed at 9am.  Oh, a double standard you say because I ranked Fitzpatrick so highly versus the ESPN experts?  Maybe.  But I only ranked him a couple spots higher than Tannehill, and the Dolphins haven't faced a secondary quite like the Jets yet this season.  RBs 1.Le'Veon Bell    2.Jamaal Charles    3.Adrian Peterson  4.Matt Forte 5.Eddie Lacy 6.Latavius Murray  7.Marshawn Lynch 8.Joseph Randle  9.Frank Gore 10.Mark Ingram 11.Karlos Williams 12.Carlos Hyde  13.Devonta Freeman  14.Melvin Gordon  15.Jonathan Stewart  16.Jeremy Hill  17.Justin Forsett 18.CJ Anderson 19.Chris Ivory      20.DeMarco Murray  21.TJ Yeldon  22.Giovani Bernard  23.Alfred Blue 24.Chris Johnson 25.Matt Jones   26.Danny Woodhead   27.Lamar Miller 28.Isaiah Crowell 29.Doug Martin 30.Alfred Morris   31.Ameer Abdullah  32.Todd Gurley 33.Darren Sproles 34.Lance Dunbar  35.Shane Vereen  36.Ronnie Hillman 37.Rashad Jennings 38.Ryan Mathews  39.Bilal Powell 40.David Johnson While I nailed the QBs last week, once again I was way off on my RB picks.  I was high on Isaiah Crowell (ESPN #23, ME #18) , but the Browns fell behind early and mostly stuck with the passing game.  That could be a theme for teams like Cleveland in a lot of weeks, so maybe I should stick with RBs on winning teams for my picks.  Speaking of which, I totally whiffed in Week 3 on Arizona's Chris Johnson (ESPN #27, ME #35).  With rookie David Johnson outplaying CJOK the previous week, I was unsure about the veteran.  Well, Chris Johnson got 150 total yards and 2 TDs on his way to a top-5 performance.  Oops!  Now it appears that Andre Ellington could return this week, so the Arizona backfield becomes even harder to figure out against the Rams. Some big names with injuries to keep an eye on include Marshawn Lynch, DeMarco Murray, LeSean McCoy, and Arian Foster.  It's only Wednesday, so a lot can change between now and Sunday.  But from what I've read, I'm thinking McCoy and Foster won't go and Lynch/Murray will be OK.  And while that's just my opinion based on very little information, my rankings clearly reflect those thoughts.  If Marshawn and DeMarco don't play in Week 4, I'd rank Ryan Mathews and Thomas Rawls right around 21-24 (making them a must-start in most leagues).  Just keep a close watch on your injured guys leading up to kickoff! I'm high on: CJ Anderson (ESPN #25, ME #18)  "Hey man. So yeah. Um. Stop suckin'. OK. Good talk." I'm definitely much higher on Alfred Blue than the ESPN experts, but that's because most of them are more optimistic than I am in ranking Arian Foster as an RB1 in Week 4 (when he hasn't yet proven he's even healthy enough to play, much less produce).  But I digress.  Clearly, CJ Anderson has been a huge bust through the first three games of the season.  But it's ONLY been 3 games, and he's been dealing with some injuries.  Granted, I'm not sure he's fully healthy from those injuries.  But I do feel confident that he'll continue to get plenty of work in a Denver offense that is likely to put up 30+ points at home against Minnesota.  I think he'll find the endzone in Week 4, and I'd roll with him one more week before benching him. I'm down on: Lamar Miller (ESPN #21, ME #27)  On the other hand, I would consider benching Lamar Miller this week against the Jets.  Man, I'm really down on the Dolphins this week, huh?  What can I say?  I think the Dolphins could suffer from..... (wait for it) ...JET LAG! Sorry about that.  OK, on to the wide receivers. WRs 1.Julio Jones 2.AJ Green  3.Randall Cobb  4.Odell Beckham, Jr.      5.DeMaryius Thomas  6.DeAndre Hopkins  7.Antonio Brown 8.Larry Fitzgerald   9.Emmanuel Sanders  10.Brandon Marshall   11.Amari Cooper   12.Calvin Johnson 13.Mike Evans  14.TY Hilton  15.Steve Smith   16.Keenan Allen  17.Jordan Matthews 18.Donte Moncrief  19.James Jones 20.Allen Robinson   21.Jeremy Maclin  22.Brandin Cooks  23.Jarvis Landry   24.John Brown  25.Steve Johnson  26.Pierre Garcon  27.Alshon Jeffery 28.Vincent Jackson 29.Michael Crabtree   30.Rishard Matthews 31.Percy Harvin    32.Marvin Jones  33.Terrance Williams    34.Travis Benjamin   35.Allen Hurns 36.Kenny Britt   37.Anquan Boldin  38.Doug Baldwin  39.Golden Tate 40.Ted Ginn, Jr. Well, I was 1 for 2 on my WR picks last week...sort of.  I was down on Alshon Jeffery (ESPN #20, ME #28) who, like my Brees pick, ended up right because he didn't play.  But I'll take it because the guy I was high on, Terrance Williams (ESPN #29, ME #20), laid an egg against the Falcons.  I couldn't believe how little Brandon Weeden did in that game, but it was next to nothing.  It looks like with Romo out of that lineup, we're going to see a lot from the RBs and TEs from the Cowboys.  I've lowered Terrance Williams accordingly this week...  I'm high on: Marvin Jones (ESPN #49, ME #32)   ESPN has no respect for Cincy's passing game.  If you hadn't noticed, Marvin Jones has a touchdown in each of his last two games.  Andy Dalton is no Aaron Rodgers, but he is playing well and I could see him finding Marvin for another score against a Chiefs defense that just gave up 5 passing TDs to the Pack. I'm down on: Golden Tate (ESPN #28, ME #39)  Forgive me for not believing in Matthew Stafford against the Legion of Boom...in Seattle.  If he can manage any passing yards, I feel like it has to be to Megatron in this one.  Golden Tate is a good playmaker, but I wouldn't trust him as he returns to his old stomping grounds. TEs 1.Greg Olsen 2.Jimmy Graham 3.Martellus Bennett 4.Travis Kelce   5.Tyler Eifert 6.Jason Witten  7.Jordan Reed 8.Charles Clay 9.Eric Ebron  10.Jordan Cameron 11.Kyle Rudolph 12.Coby Fleener  For the third week in a row, I didn't rank Heath Miller in my top-12.  This time he finally had a stinker of a game.  And now that Big Ben is sidelined for a while, I can't imagine relying on a Vick to Heath connection on a regular basis.  Sorry, Heath Miller.  You're still not in my rankings this week.  Otherwise, my rankings were pretty similar to ESPN's.  But I did mention that I almost ranked Charles Clay, who was back in Miami playing against his former team.  Call it a "revenge game" if you like, but I'll call it a top-5 fantasy day.  I'm actually ranking Clay this week as he's starting to show some chemistry with Tyrod.  I like Fleener to stay on his feet against Jacksonville. This week, my top-7 is exactly the same as ESPN's consensus rankings.  But after that, there is one glaring difference between my rankings and theirs.  And that has to be Coby Fleener, who I squeezed into my top-12 but who ESPN has ranked 20th!  With Dwyane Allen likely out again with an ankle injury, it should leave Fleener to have a productive day against a Jags team giving up top-10 fantasy numbers to TEs through 3 weeks.  I realize Fleener had a similar chance last week and didn't produce, but this is the Jags we're talking about, people!  Have a little faith in their mediocrity!!! DEF 1.Seahawks 2.Cardinals 3.Broncos  4.Bills  5.Panthers   6.Jets   7.Packers  8.Bengals  9.Eagles  10.Colts 11.Ravens 12.Chargers I haven't really been able to figure out defenses too well through 3 weeks.  Like I said, I played Miami in my money league last week, and they were the WORST out of all 32 teams in Week 3.  Granted, pretty much every expert had them as a top-10 fantasy play at home against the Bills.  So I wasn't alone in my thinking.  But still it hurts, especially when I lost by such a close margin... I was high on the Panthers last week (ESPN #10, ME #5), but they actually finished as a pretty middle of the road fantasy defense...even against a Drew Brees-less Saints team.  I think they must really miss Luke Kuechly leading the charge, and they could be an elite defense when he finally returns.  I was also down on the Bills (ESPN #4, ME #10), but they were a top-5 fantasy D against the Dolphins.  I guess I was wrong about that game in more ways than one.   This week, my top-10 is the same as ESPN's (just in a different order from their consensus rankings).  So it's really hard for me to say that I'm high/down on anyone this week versus them.  And considering my poor performance thusfar with my team defense in my money league, I think I'll just stay away from this one in Week 4.  In fact, as of this writing, I don't even have a defense on my team.  I waived Miami D for Alfred Blue, and I'm probably going to wait until Sunday to see who I'll plug into my FLEX position and just pick someone up off the waiver wire and see what happens this week.  Hopefully I don't put up another negative number from my defense... Good luck to everyone in Week 4!   (Except you, Billy...) Cheers, Bart

2015 Fantasy Football Week 3 Rankings



Yes, I'm recycling this picture from last week.  I like it...

If your fantasy team is now 0-2, you're not in terrible company.  No, I'm not talking about me.  Although I did get CRUSHED in my ESPN league (which leaves me at 0-2 there), I won in my other two and feel like I'm back on track.  Side note: The LADIES in that league are 10-0.  *APPLAUSE*

No, I'm actually talking about the real NFL teams like the Seahawks, Colts, Saints, Eagles, and Ravens (to name a few).  All of them lost their first two games of the 2015 season, and history tells us that most of them will not make the playoffs this year.  Personally, I'll be pretty surprised if the Colts and Seahawks don't make it back to the playoffs.  But the others?  Yeah, I could see them missing out this year. 

What about your fantasy team though?  Are you done at 0-2?  Hell no!  It's time to focus, people.  If your little fantasy players have been lucky enough to escape the injury bug, you're ahead of some teams out there.  If you have guys like Dez Bryant or Jordy Nelson but drafted well (or have been paying attention to the waiver wire early on), you may have some guys on your bench who can fill in.  Depth is becoming more and more important, and keep in mind that the byes start in Week 4.  If you're keeping track...that's NEXT week!

But let's get back to THIS week and see how the rankings are shaping up, shall we?

QBs 1.Aaron Rodgers  2.Tom Brady  3.Russell Wilson  4.Andrew Luck 5.Ben Roethlisberger 6.Carson Palmer 7.Matt Ryan  8.Peyton Manning  9.Cam Newton  10.Eli Manning  11.Marcus Mariota   12.Ryan Tannehill  13.Philip Rivers  14.Andy Dalton  15.Teddy Bridgewater 16.Colin Kaepernick  17.Ryan Fitzpatrick  18.Tyrod Taylor 19.Matt Stafford 20.Nick Foles Last week I was high on Andy Dalton (ESPN #27, ME #19) versus the ESPN experts and down on Tony Romo (ESPN #6, ME #10).  Yes and double yes.  The Red Rifle finished as a top-10 fantasy QB, and Romo's bad fantasy day got worse when he got knocked out with a broken clavicle in the second half.  He obviously finished outside of the top-25 fantasy QBs in Week 2, but he was no where along the way to a top-10 finish as it was before the injury.  With Romo and Dez now out (and DeMarco obviously in Philly), Dallas is looking pretty thin at the offensive skill positions.  Maybe my Redskins will find a way to win the NFC East this year with a 7-9 record! Where's the love, ESPN? I'm high on: Marcus Mariota (ESPN #14, ME #11)  Once again, I'm 6 spots higher than the ESPN experts on Andy Dalton this week.  But I thought I'd highlight someone else I really like in Week 3.  Marcus Mariota has thrown 6 TDs in his first two NFL starts, and both have been on the road.  Now he plays the Colts in Tennessee's home opener, and I think he'll keep it going and finish as a QB1 yet again. I'm down on: Drew Brees (ESPN #10, ME NOT RANKED)  Early reports (/overreactions?) this week had Brees potentially missing several weeks with a shoulder injury.  Now it looks like Drew is going to try to suit up in Carolina on Sunday, but I don't know how much I'd trust him as my fantasy QB this week.  I tend to rank him lower on the road anyway, but I definitely don't agree with him being a top-10 fantasy QB this week.  In fact, I think it's very possible he either doesn't start or doesn't finish this contest. RBs 1.Adrian Peterson     2.Marshawn Lynch   3.Jamaal Charles  4.Le'Veon Bell 5.Matt Forte 6.LeSean McCoy  7.Jeremy Hill  8.Eddie Lacy 9.Latavius Murray  10.Justin Forsett  11.Joseph Randle   12.Carlos Hyde  13.DeMarco Murray 14.Jonathan Stewart   15.Chris Ivory  16.Mark Ingram  17.CJ Anderson   18.Isaiah Crowell  19.Lamar Miller 20.Frank Gore 21.TJ Yeldon  22.Alfred Morris  23.Melvin Gordon     24.Dion Lewis  25.Devonta Freeman    26.Doug Martin  27.Danny Woodhead  28.Matt Jones 29.LeGarrette Blount 30.Rashad Jennings 31.Ameer Abdullah  32.Bishop Sankey  33.Giovani Bernard  34.Todd Gurley 35.Chris Johnson 36.Shane Vereen  37.David Johnson 38.Chris Polk  39.CJ Spiller  40.Darren Sproles  If you nailed the top-3 fantasy RB trifecta in Week 2, give yourself a pat on the back: 1. DeAngelo Williams 2. Matt Jones 3. Dion Lewis Last week I was high on Rashad Jennings (ESPN #22, ME #16), but the G-men went with a 3-headed attack from the RB position as they lost at home to Atlanta.  Maybe they should have stuck with Jennings...?  Either way, this looks to be a backfield to possibly avoid altogether for the time being.  Shane Vereen is the only guy I think I could trust right now to at least get a lot of catches out of the backfield, but I do have Jennings slightly higher for tomorrow night's game. I was also wrong in being down on Melvin Gordon (ESPN #26, ME #33), who finished as a top-25 fantasy RB.  Little Danny Woodhead actually finished just ahead of Gordon in fantasy points, even though he received fewer touches.  This is an interesting backfield to monitor as they travel to Minnesota this week.  It could be that Gordon will start getting more and more carries, but I could also see the Chargers sticking with Woodhead near the goal line and in the hurry up offense until the rookie proves his worth.  Also pay attention to injured RBs leading up to kickoff, as a lot of big names have been hit with the questionable tag early in the week: DeMarco Murray, LeSean McCoy, Matt Forte, Eddie Lacy, and many others. I'm high on: Isaiah Crowell (ESPN #23, ME #18)  He didn't find much room to run against the Jets in Week 1, but Crowell had a solid game in last week's win over the Titans.  I look for him to get get 75-80 total yards and a touchdown against a Raider D that has given up a ton of fantasy points to RBs early on. I'm down on: Chris Johnson (ESPN #27, ME #35)  I realize CJOK got 10 carries in Week 1 and 20 carries in Week 2.  But rookie David Johnson also outplayed him last week, and I could see him easily overtaking the veteran while Ellington is sidelined.  I have a hard time trusting Chris Johnson any week, but especially right now while the rookie is hot. WRs 1.Antonio Brown 2.Julio Jones 3.Odell Beckham, Jr.  4.Randall Cobb      5.DeMaryius Thomas  6.Julian Edelman  7.AJ Green  8.Emmanuel Sanders  9.Calvin Johnson  10.DeAndre Hopkins  11.Brandon Marshall   12.Allen Robinson 13.TY Hilton  14.Jarvis Landry  15.Larry Fitzgerald   16.Jordan Matthews 17.Keenan Allen  18.Brandin Cooks   19.Mike Evans  20.Terrance Williams  21.Steve Smith   22.Amari Cooper   23.Jeremy Maclin  24.John Brown  25.Sammy Watkins 26.Kendall Wright  27.Donte Moncrief   28.Alshon Jeffery    29.Pierre Garcon  30.Vincent Jackson      31.Steve Johnson  32.Davante Adams  33.Golden Tate 34.Andre Johnson 35.James Jones  36.Doug Baldwin  37.Anquan Boldin 38.Mike Wallace 39.Torrey Smith 40.Travis Benjamin Even though TY Hilton played on Monday night, it was Donte Moncrief who finished as a  top-10 fantasy WR in Week 2.  I had a hard time ranking Moncrief and Andre Johnson last week, but I'll be ranking the young buck higher for the foreseeable future.  Week 2 also saw Larry Fitzgerald turn back the clock with a 3-TD performance in Chicago, and Antonio Brown continued to show that he's the clear #1 fantasy WR in the game.  I was high on Fitz's teammate John Brown (ESPN #24, ME #16), but it was the old man stealing all of the fantasy points in Week 2.  I was down on  the rookie Amari Cooper (ESPN #17, ME #30), and he broke off a 68-yard TD in the opening drive of the game and finished just outside of the top-10 fantasy WRs  Not only was I wrong about Cooper, but I have a very unhappy wife on my hands with the Ravens at 0-2 after losing in Oakland... I'm high on: Terrance Williams (ESPN #29, ME #20)  I realize he now has Brandon Weeden throwing to him, but that's the guy who hit him for a TD against the Eagles after Romo went out last Sunday.  Now in addition to Dez being out, Jason Witten is banged up and might not go against the Falcons.  I'm sure the Cowboys will try to run a TON in this game, but when they do throw, I feel like it has to be to Terrance.  I think he'll get 10+ targets and turn that into a solid top-20 performance. Do you trust Alshon this week? I'm down on: Alshon Jeffery (ESPN #20, ME #28)  Before I saw ESPN's rankings, I actually thought I might be too high on Alshon this week.  He's playing in Seattle against a defense hungry for a win at 0-2 (and who just got Kam Chancellor back).  He's probably still not 100% healthy, but who knows?  He also will have Jimmy Clausen throwing to him instead of Jay Cutler.  Take your pick from those reasons, but I don't like Jeffery in Week 3. TEs 1.Rob Gronkowski 2.Travis Kelce 3.Greg Olsen 4.Jimmy Graham 5.Tyler Eifert 6.Martellus Bennett  7.Jordan Reed 8.Kyle Rudolph 9.Jason Witten  10.Eric Ebron  11.Delanie Walker  12.Jared Cook Nope! Still not ranking you, Heath! Last week I didn't rank Heath Miller in my top-12 AGAIN.  And again, ESPN did.  The guy caught two passes for 15 yards: one for a TD and one for a 2-point conversion.  What the heck?!?  I'd still play a young guy over him, and I'm not ranking him for a 3rd week in a row!  If you want to go against me and roll with Heath, I'll understand.  But I just can't rank the old wahoo.  Otherwise, my rankings are pretty similar to ESPN's.  I guess I like Jared Cook there at #12 a little more than the experts, but I'm not betting my paycheck on him either.  I almost ranked Charles Clay, who will be back in Miami playing his former team.  I always like revenge games like that, but they also don't always work out (see DeMarco Murray last week). DEF 1.Seahawks 2.Broncos  3.Patriots 4.Cardinals 5.Panthers   6.Texans  7.Jets  8.Dolphins  9.Browns 10.Bills  11.Rams 12.Packers I was 1 for 2 in this spot last week.  I was high on the Chiefs (ESPN #20, ME #9), and they finished as a top-10 fantasy defense as they lost a heart-breaker on Thursday night to Denver.  I was also down on the Patriots though (ESPN #11, ME not ranked), and they actually finished ahead of KC among fantasy defenses in Week 2.  This week I have New England near the top as they host the Jags, but I have Seattle against the Jimmy Clausen led Bears as my top pick. I'm high on: Carolina Panthers (ESPN #10, ME #5)  If you told me Luke Kuechly would definitely play in this game and Drew Brees wouldn't, I'd consider ranking Carolina above Seattle this week.  As of today though, we don't know either of those things.  But either way, I like the Panthers at home in this one to get to 3-0 and put up some decent fantasy points on the defensive side of the ball while doing it. One of the best Ds in the league? We'll see... I'm down on: Buffalo Bills (ESPN #4, ME #10)   Sure, they looked great Week 1 against the Colts...but the Jets looked pretty good against Luck and the boys too.  Last week the Patriots dropped 40 points on the Bills, and they made it look easy.  Some of that is the Brady/Gronk/Edelman train, but I'm not sure some of it is that Buffalo might not be this great defense everyone thinks they are.  Now they have their first road game of the season, and it's a division matchup against the Dolphins.  I actually like Miami as a better fantasy defense than the Bills in this game, and I'll try to hang my hat on that. Good luck to everyone in Week 3!   (Except you, Jimmy...) Cheers, Bart