Tony Cutillo
The day is finally here. The sounds of Carrie Underwood – or Hank Williams, Jr. if you’re feeling nostalgic – are roaming around in our minds. The NFL is back and Fantasy Football is ready to set the stage for another intriguing year full of key decisions.
In the ever-changing world of strategy and statistics, Fantasy Football has a trending scale similar to the spaghetti charts used to track severe weather, and it has already taken a wrong turn. With the presumed direct hit to Florida by Hurricane Irma, the NFL decided to postpone the Week 1 matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Miami Dolphins. This has already had owners make adjustments to find solid alternatives to players like Mike Evans, Jameis Winston and Jay Ajayi.
Either way you slice it, Fantasy Football continues to be unpredictable with matchups and roster decisions. Can you persevere through the unpredictability? All you can do is take your best shot and hope you last longer than Pat Benatar did.
As always, I look forward to your opinions and feedback. You can tweet me with any lineup questions (@TCutillo23) and leave your comments below. I am always looking for new views and opinions. That’s what makes the world of fantasy sports so great!
Here are my picks for Week 1:
STARS |
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MATT RYAN
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@ CHI
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Super Bowl hangover? Matty Ice doesn’t believe in drinking and the Bears stink. Any questions?
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MARCUS MARIOTA
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VS. OAK
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Marcus Mariota was fantasy’s overall QB1 from weeks 5-12. Stats were 21 TDs, 3 INTS’s. Has a chance to finish as a Top 5 QB this year.
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KIRK COUSINS
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VS. PHI
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Just missed 5,000 yards last year and he gets the Eagles in week 1. Have you seen their secondary play? Case closed!
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TODD GURLEY
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VS. IND
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Part of a bad team in ’16 playing behind a QB who couldn’t hit an 18 wheeler standing still. This year will be different under McVay.
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CHRISTIAN MCCAFFREY
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@ SF
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He has been creating highlights since training camp and works against the best MLB in football. Not to mention he plays SF in week 1.
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JORDAN HOWARD
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VS. ATL
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A QB Carousel, a Top WR on IR and a backup RB removed. All adds up to JH getting more ball than he’s used to.
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AJ GREEN
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VS. BAL
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It’s week 1 against an old time foe. AJ will go over the century mark by halftime.
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BRANDIN COOKS
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VS. KC
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Gronk on bad wheels, Julian on the mend, and Amendola just waiting to tweak a hammy. Will the real Brandin Cooks please stand up!
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RISHARD MATTHEWS
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VS. OAK
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Mariota’s favorite target besides Delaine. Until Deck and Davis prove to be healthy, Rishard will command the targets.
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STIFFS |
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PHILIP RIVERS
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@ DEN
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Denver’s D is stacked. Just think how mad they’ll be knowing they have no QB.
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SCOTT TOLZIEN
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@ LAR
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The Colts are BAD, with or without Luck. No O-line and a below average QB spells disaster.
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CARSON PALMER
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@ DET
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Is it me or does Palmerlook like a Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robot in pads? Besides that, his arm has seen better days and Detroit’s D has been known to “Slay” its opponents.
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FRANK GORE
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@ LAR
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The day may have finally come for the ageless vet. Furthermore, see Scott Tolzien…
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LATAVIUS MURRAY
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VS. NO
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No reason to believe he’s 100%. There’s also a new Cook in Vikingland ready to feast on his opponents.
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MATT FORTE
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@ BUF
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Sorry Matt, but your knees look to be on their last strands of cartilage. It’s been a good run, my man!
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DEMARYIUS THOMAS
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VS. SD
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What off duty bus driver is throwing the ball in Denver this week?
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ALLEN ROBINSON
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@ HOU
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All talent and no QB. Blake Bortles is lost in Jacksonville with no map to return. It’s going to be a rough ride again for Mr. Robinson.
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RANDALL COBB
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VS. SEA
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Are we still holding out hope for this guy? He’s a #3 on a team that’s explosive but gets outplayed by a guy named Jeff Janis!
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TRIPLE THREAT PICK OF THE WEEK
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MARCUS MARIOTA
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VS. OAK
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I have been praising Mariota since May. How do I not lean on him to start off Week 1? He has an underrated line that revitalized DeMarco Murray and has added guys like Eric Decker and Corey Davis. With his mobility on full display, the Raiders will have a hard time containing him.
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TODD GURLEY
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VS. IND
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Gurley did not perform well last year, but not many Rams did. They brought in a 30-year-old coach who made Kirk Cousins a lot of money. Sean McVay knows offense and will look to utilize the weapons he has in place. This all bodes well for Gurley this season.
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AJ GREEN
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VS. BAL
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Last three games vs. BAL: 20 recs, 392 yds, 4 TDs; Three-year average for Week 1: 8/125/1. Green likes to start hot and there’s no reason to believe the streak won’t continue in 2017!
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As always you can stop by my Facebook page (FantasySportsAddiction) or tweet me (@TCutillo23) for questions or some nice fantasy debates. I can also be heard weekly via the internet stream live at WengRadio every Monday at 4:00pm EST for a weekend sports wrap. But most importantly, you can catch me here at Pi!
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For fantasy purposes, all my articles are predicated upon a PPR-based system.