Start 'Em

Brandon Pettigrew vs. KC
Is Scott Chandler (Buffalo TE) that good or is the Kansas City defense vulnerable to opposing Tight Ends? I’m leaning heavily towards the latter and therefore feel pretty darn good about Pettigrew this week. His line in Tampa could have been better (4 catches, 57 yards) had he not dropped a TD pass in the 2nd quarter. Look for him to bounce back nicely against the floundering KC defense.

Santana Moss needs to be active.

Robert Meachem vs. Chi
Meachem and fellow WR Devery Henderson figure to pick up the slack in light of Marcus Colston’s broken collarbone and both should see an increase in reps and targets this week against the Bears. Meachem appears to be the superior receiving option and has shown good chemistry with Drew Brees, which is a very good thing. The Saints hope to have Colston back in Week 6, so Meachem’s fantasy value could peak in the coming weeks. Strike while the iron is hot.

Santana Moss vs. Ari
Moss didn’t get much respect coming into the 2011 season in fantasy circles despite catching 93 passes for 1115 yards and 6 TDs in 2010. He’s got a great matchup this week and could even improve upon his Week 1 line of 6 catches for 76 yards. The last time he faced the Cards, Moss had 7 catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. He needs to be active, especially PPR leagues.

Steve Smith vs. GB
Steve Smith owners drafted him hoping for the best, but most prepared for the worst by tucking him on their Week 1 benches. Ouch. Can’t say that I blame you, but he deserves to be lineups as your 3rd receiver this week after posting 8 catches for 178 yards and 2 TDs (matching last year’s 14 game total) in Arizona. The last time he faced the Packers he reeled in 4 passes for 105 yards. Smith is not done yet.

Bench 'Em

Dwayne Bowe @ Det
Bowe led the NFL with 15 TD receptions and had a career best 1,162 yards receiving in 2010, so his Week 1 performance (2 catches, 17 yards) was discouraging. I looked further into his numbers from last season and found that 26 of Bowe’s 72 catches (36%), 356 of his 1162 receiving yards (31%) and 5 of his 15 TDs (33%) came in 2 monster games (Week 10 @ Den & Week 12 @Sea). That means in the other 14 games he averaged 3.3 receptions for 58 yards and 0.7 TDs. So while Bowe has shown a bit of a nose for the endzone, the other numbers left me expecting more.

Mike Thomas @ NYJ
PPR leaguers will find it hard to bench Thomas due to his team-high 11 targets last week (8 catches), but in Week 2 he has to contend with the Jets dynamic DB duo of Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie. The Jaguars propensity to run the ball further lessens Thomas value this week. In the event that the Jets open up a big lead, Thomas owners are trusting Luke McCown’s ability to deliver him the ball against a very tough defense.

Scott Chandler vs. Oak
Last week in Kansas City Chandler gave the Bills their first multi-TD game from a Tight End since 2007. He finished with 5 catches for 63 yards and 2 TDs and is certainly one of the hottest waiver-wire adds this week. Before we go crazy, realize that it will be a challenge for Chandler to duplicate last week’s numbers considering he was only on the field for 38 offensive snaps. Let things play out before benching say, Owen Daniels in favor of Chandler. Who reading this remembers Browns 2005 WR Frisman Jackson? Right.

Deion Branch vs. SD
Branch is coming off a solid game (7 catches, 93 yards) and QB Tom Brady has shown that he will try to get him the ball. Just keep in mind that the Pats have a lot of mouths to feed and while Deion will have his moments, consistency could be an issue. The Chargers will obviously try to keep the Brady & Co. on the sidelines (i.e. run the heck out of Mathews and Tolbert), so while Branch will get looks, expecting last week’s numbers may be a stretch.

Good luck in Week 2!

Quarterbacks