RBs who will outperform their Week 1 ESPN Fantasy ranking

1. Doug Martin vs. Ten (Ranked 22): The Titans couldn’t stop anyone a year ago. Martin is rejuvenated and playing in a contract year so expect the former 1st round disappointment to start off strong.

2. Joseph Randle vs. NYG (Ranked 26): New York will experience growing pains as they learn DC Steve Spagnuolo’s D. They’re also without DE Jason Pierre Paul and a bit banged up on the defensive side of the ball. Randle should pick up a lot of yards in the 2nd half.

3. Shane Vereen vs. Dal (Ranked 37): This could become a high scoring affair. Vereen will be heavily involved throughout and especially in passing situations. Strong PPR play.

4. Tevin Coleman vs. Phi: (Ranked 24):. Lots of question marks surround this year’s Eagles D. They made a lot of changes to the backend of the D; we’ll see about the front on Monday. Coleman was given the nod and will outperform his Week 1 ranking.

5. Alfred Blue vs. KC (Ranked 23) Blue will be the man while Foster is out. Look for a strong showing in Week 1.

Top 10 RBs who will underperform

Marshawn Lynch vs. Stl.( Ranked 8). The Rams issues are in the secondary. The front is seven is as good as any in the business. Seattle is breaking in a new OL and Beastmode will find the going tough in Week 1.

CJ Anderson vs. Bal (Ranked 7). Week 1 is interesting. Kubiak coached in Baltimore a year ago so has a good feel for its defense. His run scheme has also been very effective wherever he has been. That being said, Denver’s OL has question marks and one thing Baltimore is always good at is stopping the run.

Top pick

1. New York Giants vs. Jax – The Giants are riding a 6 game losing streak but Tom Coughlin has a way of keeping his team from throwing in the towel. This is also against the team where he first became head coach. Look for the Giants to pull out an easy win.

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2. Houston Texans vs. Ten – They’re going back to QB Ryan Fitzpatrick but have a decided advantage against the Titans. Look for the Texans D to rise up and force Zack Mettinberger into a few turnovers.

3. St. Louis Rams vs. Oak – The Rams D is starting to rev up and may get DE Chris Long back this week. The Raiders ended their losing streak a week ago and will start a new one here.

Seattle Seahawks, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos

Tier 1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Stl – The Rams look really bad in the passing game.

Houston Texans vs. Oak – Once the emotion subsides the Texans will get after QB Carr.

Arizona Cardinals vs. NYG – The new offense is still giving problems to Eli and Co.

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Atl – The outside receivers are deadly but they need time for plays to develop. The Bengals will be aggressive at home.

San Francisco 49ers vs. Chi – Cutler proved he’s once again turnover prone.

Tier 2

New York Giants vs. Arz – Look for New York to keep Arizona to under 17.

Buffalo Bills vs. Mia – The front four will get after QB Tannehill and force a few mistakes.

St. Louis Rams vs. TB – They need help from their O. Will get it here but this is still risky without the offense’s ability to move the ball..

New England Patriots vs. Min – Belichick will have some new wrinkles this week.

Fantasy Sleeper

Green Bay Packers vs. NYJ – The front 7 will force Geno Smith into multiple turnovers.

Bust

San Diego Chargers vs. Sea – The Seahawks are on a roll, and will pound the Chargers D.

11. Houston Texans – They should bounce back. The D never had a chance last year with the offense playing so ineptly.

12. Baltimore Ravens – This is a fantasy sleeper and could end up top 6. Another D/ST that was hurt by horrible offensive play.

13. Pittsburgh Steelers – They’ve invested in a lot of young talent that past few years. Expect Lebeau to get the most out of it.

14. Detroit Lions – This unit was undisciplined a year ago. The new regime will have the front 7 humming.

15. Cleveland Browns – They were a very solid D/ST in 2013. A better offense will help it out.

16. New Orleans Saints – Rob Ryan’s attacking D yielded excellent returns in year 1.

17. New York Giants – The Giants changed their philosophy and focused on LBer in the offseason. It will pay dividends.

18. Philadelphia Eagles – They came on strong over the 2nd half of the season. Some solid young talent on that side of the ball.

19. Jacksonville Jaguars – They are a deep fantasy sleeper. Gus Bradley has built up a solid DL and has a scheme that will force turnovers.

20. Oakland Raiders – They have a chance to be another nice sleeper. Playing Denver twice a year is no fun, but they’ve added playmakers to this side of the ball.

1. Carolina Panthers (-3.5) vs. NO – The Panthers will exact revenge against the Saints after being embarrassed two weeks ago. New Orleans is an average team away from the dome and will drop the No. 2 seed after this week. Carolina will cover the point spread and win by at least a TD.

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2. San Francisco 49ers (-13) vs. Atl – The Falcons will want no part of the 49ers on Monday Night. The D will smother Matt Ryan and Co. en route to a 27-6 win.

3. Detroit Lions (-9) vs. NYG – The Lions loss on Monday was devastating, but they’ll get back in the W column with an easy win here. The Giants have mailed it in and are playing with a number of back-ups due to injury.

4. Chicago Bears (+3) vs. Phi – See money line bet.

Rounding things out

Baltimore Ravens (-2) vs. NE – The Patriots are in big trouble without TE Rob Gronkowski. Physical teams do very well against Brady and Co. sans Gronk.

Cincinnati Bengals (-8) vs. Min – The Bengals are a different home team.

Dallas Cowboys (-3) vs. Was – The Skins are an even bigger mess at this point.

Money Line Bet

Chicago Bears (+130) vs. Phi – The Eagles good fortune ended in their 48-30 loss to the Adrian Peterson-less Vikings. This match-up is fairly even but the Bears are the better overall team, and will pull out the close win.

1. Seattle Seahawks (-7) vs. NYG – The Giants tend to mail it in after being eliminated from the playoffs. Look for Seattle to clinch the NFC West with a convincing win on Sunday.

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2. Miami Dolphins (+1) vs. NE – The loss of TE Rob Gronkowski cannot be minimized. He was the engine that really made this offense work. Miami is playing better the past few weeks and always play the Patriots well in Miami.

3. San Francisco 49ers (-6) vs. TB – There is always concern of a letdown, but we don’t see it here. The 49ers D will smother rookie QB Mike Glennon and the Bucs offense all afternoon. The 49ers will easily cover the point spread with a double digit win.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers (+2.5) vs. Cin – See money line bet.

Rounding things out

St. Louis Rams (+6.5) vs. NO – The Saints are not that good on the road and the Rams play much better at home.

Cleveland Browns (+1) vs. Chi – The Bears are gambling going back to Jay Cutler at this point. The Browns are playing tough.

Carolina Panthers (-11.5) vs. NYJ – We expect the Geno Smith of Week’s 11-13 to show up on Sunday against a ferocious D at home. Not the one from a week ago.

Money Line Bet

Pittsburgh Steelers (+120) vs. Cin – The Steelers Playoff chances are extremely slim, but there is still a chance. They’ll turn the tables on the Bengals in their home park and capitalize on a few QB Andy Dalton mistakes.

1. Carolina Panthers vs. Mia – The Panthers will destroy the Fins O Line and top 20 fantasy points.

2. Kansas City Chiefs vs. SD – The Chiefs will have less issues getting to Rivers than Manning.

3. Baltimore Ravens vs. NYJ – Geno Smith is going to find Baltimore a very difficult place to play.

4. San Francisco 49ers vs. Was – RGIII and Co. are very error prone. That plays right into the 49ers hands.

Not far behind

New Orleans Saints vs. Atl – Rob Ryan’s pressure packed D will pose trouble for the struggling Falcons.

New York Giants vs. Dal – The Giants resurgent defense is more about talent and getting healthy than QBs they’ve faced.

New York Jets vs. Bal – The Ravens horrendous offense makes the Jets a good start at D/ST.

Rounding things out

Oakland Raiders vs. Ten – Look for the Raiders to show better at home this week than vs. the Eagles.

Arizona Cardinals vs. Ind – Facing Luck is a difficult task but the Cardinals will score 8-11 points this week.

Tennessee Titans vs. Oak – The Titans are a fantasy sleeper coming off their flop vs. the Jags.

Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cle – Dick Lebeau will dial up aggressive blitzes in this one.

Cleveland Browns vs. Pit – The front 7 will force QB Ben Roethlisberger into a few turnovers.

Potential Bust – Beware

Dallas Cowboys vs. NYG – The Giants offense has been horrendous but is slowly improving.

1. Seattle Seahawks vs. Min – So long as they don’t lose interest, this will be a dominant effort.

2. Arizona Cardinals vs. Jax – The Jaguars have been abominable at home this year.

3. Cincinnati Bengals vs. Cle – They’ll pay back the Browns on their home turf.

4. Baltimore Ravens vs. Chi – Expect the Ravens to get after QB McCown all afternoon.

Not far behind

New York Giants vs. GB – The Giants get the Packers 3^rd string QB and are on a roll.

New Orleans Saints vs. SF – QB Colin Kaepernick is struggling mightily.

Indianapolis Colts vs. Ten – The Colts D will get back on track after the stunner in Week 10.

Rounding things out

San Francisco 49ers vs. NO – Although this is a tough place to play, the 49ers D is stellar and will force multiple turnovers.

Green Bay Packers vs. NYG – Eli Manning still cannot be trusted.

Buffalo Bills vs. NYJ – This is the week for bad QB Geno Smith and the Jets to show up.

Detroit Lions vs. Pit – DT Suh and Co. will overpower the Steelers offense and get to QB Roethlisberger.

Oakland Raiders vs. Hou – This is a fill-in match-up but the Texans have committed many turnovers this year.

Carolina Panthers vs. NE – Expect 10-12 fantasy points after coming off their big win in SF.

NY Jets vs. Buf – Rex Ryan’s squad will force QB EJ Manuel into a few mistakes.

Denver Broncos vs. KC – Alex Smith and Co. have slowed down in recent weeks.

Potential Bust – Beware

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Den – It’s in Denver and Peyton and Co. will put up 28+ points.

1. Seattle Seahawks vs. Atl – The Falcons are injured and struggling mightily on offense.

2. Tennessee Titans vs. Jax – It’s the Jags.

3. San Francisco 49ers vs. Car – Look for the 49ers to harass Newton and force a few mistakes.

4. Carolina Panthers vs. SF – The Panthers D matches up well against the Niners. They will force Kaepernick into 1-2 turnovers.

Not far behind

Miami Dolphins vs. TB – Expect Wake and Co. to get after QB Mike Glennon on Monday Night.

Indianapolis Colts vs. Stl – The Colts aggressive D will put up 12-15 fantasy points here.

Baltimore Ravens vs. Cin – The Ravens D is much better on at home.

Rounding things out

Philadelphia Eagles vs. GB – The Eagles will face a severely depleted offensive team, missing the best QB in the NFL.

New York Giants vs. Oak – The Giants D has not surrendered an offensive point in 10 quarters.

Oakland Raiders vs. NYG – The Raiders will bounce back from that abysmal showing on Sunday.

New Orleans Saints vs. Dal – This D is much better in the Superdome.

Arizona Cardinals vs. Hou – The Texans are in a tail spin and Arizona is a tough place to play.

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Bal – The Ravens offense just can’t seem to get it going this year.

Potential Bust – Beware

Green Bay Packers vs. Phi – The Packers’ injuries are mounting and Nick Foles will be firing on Sunday.

1. Houston Texans (-2.5) vs. Bal – The Ravens are struggling mightily on offense and that will be their undoing on Sunday. Houston has had its fair share of problems early on but are the more complete team and will cover the point spread to win by more than a FG.

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2. Cincinnati Bengals (+3) vs. GB – See money line bet below.

3. Minnesota Vikings (-7) vs. Cle – The Browns are a mess offensively and things just got worse with the trade of RB Trent Richardson to the Colts. Look for the Vikings to win by double digits in their home opener.

4. New York Giants (-1.5) vs. Car – Two 0-2 teams desperate for a win, but it will be the Giants who get into the W column on the road.

Rounding things out

St. Louis Rams (+4) vs. Dal – The Cowboys are tough to figure out but appear to still be troubled by previous woes. The Rams have gotten off to a slower start defensively but will turn it around and keep it close throughout. They’re a good candidate to pull out the win (money line is +170).

Pittsburgh Steelers (+2.5) vs. Chi – The Bears are 2-0 but both wins have been unconvincing. Pittsburgh’s off to a horrible start but good enough to pull this one out (or at worst not lose by more than two).

Arizona Cardinals (+7.5) vs. NO – The biggest surprise this year for the Saints has been the play of its defense. However, its early season success will fade and the Cardinals are a good enough team to keep this close.

Money Line Bet

Cincinnati Bengals (+140) vs. GB – This game is not in Lambeau and the Packers are not quite the same team on the road. Cincinnati is a very talented young team and match up well with Green Bay. Look for them to move to 2-1 with the close, high scoring win on Sunday.