Fantasy Football Projections: Week 1 Statements of Truth

The first week of fantasy football is here, and as usual, you can find all of the best fantasy predictions, projections and picks over at our Fantasy Football website.

Each and every week though, TheSportsWatchers also want to give you a bird’s eye view of the fantasy football landscape, just so you have a good idea as to what everyone is talking about in the world of fantasy football.

So without further adieu, here are four fantasy football projections that should come true in the opening week of the fantasy season.

Philadelphia Eagles at St. Louis Rams
Michael Vick, Fantasy Projections: 35 points
Michael Vick should have no problem starting off strong in Week 1 of the season. The Rams, while a respectable defense that doesn’t make a ton of mistakes, still does not have the experience or the talent to contain the firecracker that is the Eagles offense. With DeSean Jackson ready to go and LeSean McCoy at running back, the Eagles have speed that the Rams just cannot matchup with on the outsides or in the box. That means Vick will not have to do much more than get the football in the hands of his best players and watch things go from there. Certainly, Jackson can get behind the cornerbacks of the Rams, and McCoy will be as dangerous as ever on the screen pass, so I don’t see the Rams being able to out tactic the Eagles. And if they are able to take away the speed of those two players, they will not be able to do it while containing Mike Vick. All and all, this should be a fairly mundane 3 passing touchdown, 1 rushing touchdown day for Mike Vick, and a whole lot of yards to boot.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens
Joe Flacco, Fantasy Projections: 10 points
If you do not know the history already, get out a piece of paper and a pen. Joey Flacco is not your guy in Week 1, as history tells us he just isn’t going to perform all that well against this Pittsburgh Steelers secondary. In his defense, no NFL quarterback performs all that well against the Steelers defense, so it’s not like it’s a problem. It’s just unfortunate that Flacco has to open up the season against them, play them later in the year at Pittsburgh, and probably for a third time in the NFL postseason. But such are the cards he was dealt, and if you got dealt Joe Flacco as your starting fantasy football quarterback, you better fold. In three games against the Steelers last season, Flacco had just 647 yards, or 216 yards per game, and he threw 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Not exactly the kind of numbers you want from the guy in the opening week of your fantasy football season. So if you have the guts to bench him, I’d recommend you doing just that.

Detroit Lions at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
LeGarrette Blount, Fantasy Projections: 6 points
I know the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are everyone’s “sleeper” pick this season, but they may have a very hard time doing anything on offense in Week 1. No, I’m not saying that the Detroit Lions are the next reincarnation of the Iron Curtain defense, but they sure do have some players that can make it seem that way for a play or two. And against the Bucs, an offense with far less experience than the Lions have on defense, I really think the Lions can get the better of Tampa Bay, especially down in the trenches. Ndamukong Suh is obviously a force to be reckoned with, and he’s a big enough of a force for me to believe that he will almost single-handedly make the Bucs offense one-dimensional. Try as he might, I don’t foresee Blount getting any kind of momentum in this game, not when his offensive line has to double team Suh play, after play, after play. And on the flips-side, the Bucs defense may not be able to handle the passing game of the Lions, making it all that much harder to give Blount the carries he needs to have a nice showing in Fantasy Football Week 1.

Dallas Cowboys at New York Jets
Miles Austin, Fantasy Football Projections: 6 points
The New York Jets may not have been able to land Nnamdi Asomugha, but they still have Revis Island. Unfortunately for Miles Austin owners, it looks like Austin has a one-way ticket to the island in Week 1. While second-year wide receiver Dez Bryant does deserve some attention, it’s Austin who is Tony Romo’s favorite receiver and the one the Jets would be most likely to take out of the game. Quite frankly, as good as Austin is, I do not foresee him doing much against Darrelle Revis. This is a man who has shut down far bigger and better receivers (e.g. Andre Johnson), so Revis certainly will not back down to the physicality Austin uses to his advantage against smaller cornerbacks. Actually, I would be surprised if Austin got more than three or four footballs thrown his way, and barring a slip or a “pulled hammy” by the all-pro cornerback, I cannot imagine that few opportunities resulting in very many fantasy points against Revis.

More Fantasy Football Week 1 Projections

• Fantasy Football Week 1, QBs: Projections, Fantasy Picks, Sleepers, Watch, Predictions
• Fantasy Football Week 1, RBs: Projections, Fantasy Picks, Sleepers, Watch, Predictions
• Fantasy Football Week 1, WRs: Projections, Fantasy Picks, Sleepers, Watch, Predictions
• Fantasy Football Week 1, TEs: Projections, Fantasy Sleepers, Predictions
• Fantasy Football Week 1, Def: Projections, Fantasy Sleepers, Predictions

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