Week 1 Start 'Em: Harvin, Forte, Wells

It’s time once again for the Fantasy Focus weekly features, Start ‘Em and Sit ‘Em. The concept is pretty simple: Each week, in preparation for that Sunday’s action, I’ll offer three guys I recommend for your starting lineup, then three guys I think you should stay away from.

I’m not going to waste your time, or mine, by telling you to start Peyton Manning and sit Sam Bradford. Duh. Instead I’ll be focusing on borderline guys, backups, flex players – because that’s where fantasy matchups are won or lost.

Just to keep me honest, I’ll also check in on my previous week’s picks so you can track my recommendations and hold me to them. Sound good? Alright, then here we go:





- PERCY HARVIN at Saints: Harvin says his doctors have found the cause of the debilitating migraines that have plagued him for years and put his 2010 season in jeopardy. The Vikings aren't sharing this medical breakthrough with the millions of other migraine sufferers, but I guess we can let that slide if Harvin can contribute to our fantasy teams. The Vikes seem to have no doubt that will be the case, as they traded away kick returner Darius Reynaud to give the job to Harvin. Minnesota would be wise to go to Harvin early and often with Sidney Rice on the shelf. He's an optimal flex play this week.

- MATT FORTE vs. Lions: If only Forte could've played Detroit 16 times last year. The Bears RB only cracked the 100-yard mark twice in an otherwise dismal 2009, but both came against the Lions: 121 yards and a TD in Week 4, 101 yards in Week 17. I'm not totally sold on a Forte comeback in 2010, but this is one week I'm buying.

- BEANIE WELLS vs. Rams: I'm still not sure how coach Ken Whisenhunt envisions splitting up the work this year between Cardinals RBs Beanie and Tim Hightower. But with Derek Anderson piloting the offense (yikes!) I expect to see a heavy workload for Wells. In his two meetings with St. Louis last year, Beanie ran for 74 yards and a TD and 64 yards and a TD, so we could very well see a repeat.

Matt Leinart out, Derek Anderson in?

Matt Leinart's out in Arizona. Derek Anderson's in.

At least that's the early indication from Cardinals camp, with reports surfacing that Leinart is on the trading block after failing to grab the starting QB job.

Leinart wasn't a very intriguing fantasy prospect this year thanks to some poor showings in preseason action and an ongoing clash with head coach Ken Whisenhunt. The former USC party guy has had multiple chances to prove he's the Cardinals' answer at QB but failed. Leinart's only fantasy appeal came from the fact he'd be throwing to All-Pro talent Larry Fitzgerald and a few other solid receivers in Arizona. But with Leinart on the trading block - and facing the possibility of being cut by Saturday - it's looking like he'll end up riding the pine somewhere else to start 2010.

That leads us to the Cardinals' next best option at QB, Anderson, a man last seen getting run out of town in Cleveland. Think about that for a second. CLEVELAND didn't want him! That's how bad Anderson was last year (3 TDs, 10 INTs, 42.1 QB rating) and in 2008 (9 TDs, 8 INTs, 66.5 rating). But it's easy to forget DA had an improbable Pro Bowl season in 2008 with the Browns, when he threw for more than 3,700 yards and 29 TDs with 19 INTs. He also helped WR Braylon Edwards join him on the AFC Pro Bowl squad and led Cleveland to a 10-6 record.

Alright, so he's no Bernie Kosar. Derek Anderson isn't even Ken Anderson. But maybe DA still has a few tricks up his sleeve and could come close to reproducing those '07 stats. Having Fitzgerald, Steve Breaston, Early Doucet, Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells around him will help. Do I think you need to run out and add Anderson to your team? Not so fast. The situation in Arizona is still too volatile. But Anderson's somebody to keep tabs on and possibly consider at the first sign of trouble if you're in the market for a fantasy No. 2.

Time for a change, America: Brady Quinn's a starter

It’s time for change, America.

Time for a new direction. A different perspective. A young, charismatic leader with a new way of doing things.-

It’s time for the Brady Quinn Era.

Quinn, the former Notre Dame heartthrob and Heisman Trophy finalist, will start his first NFL game today when the Cleveland Browns host the Denver Broncos. Up until now, Quinn’s biggest claim to fame as a pro has been starring in those commercials for EAS Myoplex (whatever that is) and perfecting the art of clipboard-holding.

But with the Browns, a trendy preseason playoff pick, sinking fast in the AFC North, Cleveland decided to pull the plug on Derek Anderson and turn the reins over to Quinn.

Anderson’s certainly been a disappointment this year after a breakout 2007 (3,787 yards, 29 TDs) — he threw nine TDs and seven INTs before getting demoted. The problem is, Anderson wasn’t the only reason for the Browns’ struggles. He hasn’t been helped by Braylon Edwards’ butterfingers (14 drops) or the absence and/or ineffectiveness of Kellen Winslow, Donte’ Stallworth and Joe Jurevicius.

So will Quinn fare any better? Cleveland certainly hopes so. It’s counting on him to inject new life into an offense that ranks in the bottom third of the league in most passing categories. There isn’t much tape out there on Quinn — he’s attempted eight regular season passes in his career — and the team is counting on that unfamiliarity to sting the Broncos’ 27th-ranked pass defense Thursday.

It’s easy to forget the arm strength and leadership qualities Quinn displayed with the Fighting Irish, qualities that made him a first-round pick in 2007 and the second quarterback selected after JaMarcus Russell. Those skills will serve him well as a pro, and though he’ll have the expected struggles of a young QB, he’s definitely worth a waiver claim this week. If you’ve been counting on second-tier QBs like Matt Schaub or Kyle Orton or Dan Orlovsky — all of whom will miss extensive time with injuries — or had Anderson as your starter, Quinn is a suitable replacement with some upside.

Some other youngsters whose time has come:

Tim Hightower has evolved from goal-line vulture to full-fledged feature back for the Arizona Cardinals. The rookie has supplanted Edgerrin James, rushing for 109 yards and a TD on 22 carries last week against the St. Louis Rams in his first NFL start. Now he has a promising primetime date against the San Francisco 49ers this Monday night. Start him without fear — and get ready to kiss Edge goodbye.

Jamaal Charles got his chance to shine this week when Kolby Smith suffered a season-ending knee injury and Larry Johnson was benched (again) for disciplinary reasons. All the Kansas City Chiefs rookie did was gash the tough Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense for 106 yards on 18 carries Sunday. Charles is a starter-by-default for the time being with LJ facing more suspension time, and he’s got a great matchup this week against the San Diego Chargers’ league-worst run defense.

Time to hit the panic room

Ever see that movie "Panic Room?"

Jodie Foster's house has this tricked-out, burglar-proof room with four-inch-thick steel doors and security monitors where she can hide and keep tabs on the bad guys in case of a home invasion.



I have a similar room in my house, except mine has DirecTV's NFL package on the screens. It's where I go when I'm panicking about my fantasy teams, and I felt compelled to lock myself in there this past weekend after watching a few frightening performances.

I'm out now, I've analyzed their performances, crunched the numbers, and I'm ready to tell you if it's really time to panic about these guys:



Larry Johnson is not a happy camper in Kansas City after he received just 12 carries (and rushed for just 22 yards) in Sunday's loss to the Oakland Raiders. Johnson accuses the franchise of phasing him out, although critics would argue the Chiefs had to bench him and start throwing the ball once they were down by two scores and the Raiders had shut down the run.

Is this just a case of LJ being his usual disgruntled self? Coach Herm Edwards says he'd like Johnson to touch the ball 20-25 times a game, and we saw that in Week 1 (22 rushes for 74 yards against a good New England Patriots run D). I expect to see a similar workload this week at Atlanta, but I also have concerns about a passing game no one respects and an offensive line that's a shadow of its former run-blocking self. In other words, if Johnson's one of your starting RBs, I hope you have some good alternatives for later in the season.



Cleveland Browns QB Derek Anderson looks nothing like the Pro Bowl quarterback of a year ago, having thrown just one touchdown and two interceptions with a dismal 57.1 QB rating. Part of that can be blamed on the remnants of Hurricane Ike, which created less-than-ideal conditions in Sunday night's game and made Anderson's counterpart, Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers, look almost as mediocre.

I'm not ready to declare Anderson's 2007 season a fluke yet. Last time I checked, he still has Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow to throw to, and the forecast for this week's game in Baltimore looks clear. I'm not looking for a replacement QB for at least two more weeks - after the Ravens, Anderson plays the Cincinnati Bengals, who he torched for five TDs in Week 2 last year.



Matt Hasselbeck's another struggling QB, but you can hardly blame him now that the Seattle Seahawks' receiving corps has been decimated. The team's lost Bobby Engram, Deion Branch, Nate Burleson, Seneca Wallace and Logan Payne to injury and replaced them with Billy McMullen, Courtney Taylor, Keary Colbert and Koren Robinson - not exactly the most reliable group of pass-catchers.

I don't particularly like any of those guys for fantasy purposes, although Robinson, a former Seahawks No. 1 draft pick, is intriguing. Still, I'm willing to bet Hasselbeck makes them look like stars this week against the lowly St. Louis Rams. The schedule gets tougher from there, so you'll want to have a spot starter in place, but I believe Hasselbeck can weather the storm and still be a viable No. 1 once Engram and/or Branch returns.