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Things tend to not go like they should when these two teams meet, but there a still some strong fantasy plays in this game.
Bruce Gradkowski: The Raiders offense is actually getting to a point where the QB merits consideration. Gradkowski has a sore A/C joint, but it shouldn’t limit him in this game. The Chargers secondary might, however. The Chargers are in the top five in virtually every defensive passing category.
Prognosis: Bench
Michael Bush: Given the Raiders injury issues, Michael Bush should get plenty of touches. The Raiders offensive line has done a good job in the run game this season. The Chargers are giving up more yards on the ground than they are scores, but the Raiders like to hand the ball to Bush when they are close.
Prognosis: Start
Zach Miller: Miller will be a key factor in the Raiders passing game and especially in the redzone. Miller is always going to be a key factor in the Raiders passing game.
Prognosis: Start
Louis Murphy: Murphy is coming off of a dismal performance and a brutal game ending drop. His banged up collarbone is said to be feeling better this week, but could be limited by the Chargers secondary and their pass rush.
Prognosis: Bench
Raiders D: Until they improve at stopping the run and holding people in the redzone...
Prognosis: Bench
Philip Rivers: Rivers will likely be limited by his own running game this week. The Raiders pass D. The Raiders are 3rd in passing yards allowed and 10th in yards allowed per attempt. They have been giving up passing TDs and are 25th in this category. Still, the weakness of the Raiders D is defending the run—look for the Chargers to rely more on the running game.
Prognosis: Bench—unless you are very QB thin
Ryan Mathews/Mike Tolbert: With Ryan Mathews listed as probable, the Chargers will likely go with a platoon in the backfield. While they are set up to have success on the ground, they will be sharing that success.
Prognosis: Bench
Antonio Gates: The Raiders have some capable defenders for Gates and have even put all world DB, Nnamdi Asomugha on him. Still, never do anything with Gates but…
Prognosis: Start
Chargers WR: Rivers is making up for a lack of #1 WR by spreading the ball around. This makes any Charger WR a wild card.
Prognosis: Bench
San Diego D: They are coming off of a 9 sack performance and are going against an offense line that can't pass block, a RB that just got a cast off of the hand he carries the ball with and WRs that have a tendency to volley the ball to defenders.
Prognosis: Start
The 49ers continue their battle to actually win a game this weekend as they face a banged up Philadelphia Eagles squad. The Eagles have a variety of injuries that should impact this game and potential fantasy prospects.
WR Michael Crabtree: Asante Samuel will not play this Sunday, which means the Eagles will be without their #1 corner. Crabtree showed improvement last week against the Falcons and will look to continue with a second strong effort under new offensive coordinator Mike Johnson. The safe play is at flex, but he could be worth a WR2 look because of his upside.
RB Frank Gore: Always worth starting especially because Alex Smith has become a check-down machine and Gore now leads the 49ers in receptions. He’s a must-start every week.
TE Vernon Davis: His touchdown totals are down but he did get TD #1 last week and remains a must-start every week.
49ers Defense/Special Teams: The Eagles are without Michael Vick, while RB LeSean McCoy will be playing with fractured ribs. A couple big hits and McCoy might spend a lot of time on the sideline. The 49ers defense had a big performance last week with a blocked punt and touchdown and I would think they can boost their performance again this week. Kevin Kolb is a more traditional pocket passer, which could mean more sacks.
Additionally, if you use defense and special teams together, Ted Ginn Jr. will be back returning kicks and possibly punts as well. The speedster is always a threat to take one to the house.
Louis Murphy and Zack Miller have shown to be Bruce Gradkowski’s favorite targets and last week was no exception.
Zack Miller finally found his way into the end zone against Arizona and Louis Murphy went over 100 yards and was a Darius Heyward-Bey Illigal Pick call away from a 190 Yard 1 TD day.
I would start both of them this week. In fact, I AM starting Murphy over Steve Smith, Derek Mason and Mario Manningham
Louis Murphy and Zack Miller have shown to be Bruce Gradkowski’s favorite targets and last week was no exception.
Zack Miller finally found his way into the end zone against Arizona and Louis Murphy went over 100 yards and was a Darius Heyward-Bey Illigal Pick call away from a 190 Yard 1 TD day.
I would start both of them this week. In fact, I AM starting Murphy over Steve Smith, Derek Mason and Mario Manningham
In Week Two it is hard to know what to expect. Rams fans are giddy after a strong showing against their defending division champions, the Cardinals. Still, their offense, while showing some promise, is hardly one to bet on.
The Raiders, vastly underperformed from their expectations. They still have a few fantasy options worth betting on and there is a good chance that they will have a bounce back game and prove the signs of improvement were not a hoax.
The St. Louis Rams Fantasy Prospects
Steven Jackson
Jackson had a less than stellar debut, but he was still solid. Look for the Rams to give the ball often to Jackson to try and take some of the load off of Bradford.
While the Raiders showed some signs of an improved run D vs the Titans and Chris Johnson, Johnson still ended up have a big. Until the Raiders show otherwise, it is always a good idea to start opposing RB’s.
Prognosis: No brainer, start him.
Mark Clayton
He had a career day in his Rams debut. With a thin Rams WR corp and a young QB he already had chemistry with, Clayton should continue to be the first option in the passing game.
He may face the task of having Nnam Asomugha shadowing him and also, he has a rookie QB getting his first road start throwing him the ball.
Prognosis: Unless you are desperate, bench him.
Sam Bradford
Too soon, too soon, too soon
Prognosis: Bench
Rams Defense
The Rams defense certainly looked improved in Week One and the Raiders Offense looked shaky. The Rams may get some sacks in this game, but that will be about it.
Prognosis: Bench
Oakland Raiders Fantasy Prospects
Darren McFadden
He had a great debut against a stout defense. He was the Raiders only effective weapon. Michael Bush is listed as questionable and may cut into McFadden’s touches. Still, 20 days after thumb surgery any role Bush plays will be limited at best.
Look for the Raiders to get their run game going and keep McFadden rolling. He also looked to have good chemistry with the check-down happy Campbell.
Prognosis: Start him
Louis Murphy
He did not have impressive stats in Week One. Campbell seemed to be looking his way more than he was throwing it. Still, the Rams were effective in slowing down Larry Fitzgerald last week and with the Raiders passing game still under construction….
Prognosis: Bench
Zach Miller
Didn’t have the most impressive day Week One and he may be needed to provide extra protection. Still, he remains the Raiders main weapon in the passing game and will be the first person Campbell looks to in the Redzone.
Prognosis: No brainer, start him
Jason Campbell
He is going to need time to throw it to put up any stats. The Rams have a decent D-Line, which could generate some pressure. I expect Campbell will have a bounce back game, but look for the Raiders to rely more on the run in this game.
Prognosis: Bench
Raiders Defense
They gave up big plays and points last week, but they have a solid pass rush. A good pass rush vs. a rookie QB making his first start on the road = turnovers.
Prognosis: If you need it, this D could be a good waiver wire one week start.
The 49ers head into Monday Night Football against the New Orleans Saints in all sorts of turmoil after a 31-6 loss to the Seahawks that can only be described as a debacle. The 49ers came into the season with high expectations and yet just everything that could go wrong did go wrong. For fantasy football purposes, the only real positive was Vernon Davis snagging eight receptions for 73 yards. The 49ers defense had trouble with too much aggression but for fantasy scoring purposes the interception and sack made up for that.
As the team comes home to face the defending Super Bowl champions, it will be interesting to see what they’ve resolved this week. They continue to have various viable fantasy options, but it becomes a bit more of a gamble as long as this team struggles.
Vernon Davis
Davis was the only offensive player to provide much in the way of a fantasy performance last week. He’s as talented as anybody on the team and given the performance last week, he remains a must-start every week. I’d imagine he’ll catch Alex Smith’s eye a whole lot against the Saints and put up solid numbers again.
Frank Gore
Over the last couple of years, we’ve learned that when it comes to fantasy football Frank Gore is a boom or bust kind of running back. He’s going to get his numbers over the course of the season, but it won’t be consistency week to week. Rather, he’ll have some big games and he’ll have some poor games. Of course, the good news is he is often featured in the passing game and even though he only had 38 rushing yards last week, he mixed in 45 receiving yards as well. If you’re in a points per reception league, those six receptions were huge.
When healthy, Frank Gore remains a guy you start every week. You’ll get some bad games, but do you really want to be the guy who left him on the bench the week he blows up for 150 yards and two touchdowns?
Michael Crabtree
After missing all four preseason games, there was some question as to whether there might be rust and/or chemistry issues between Crabtree and Alex Smith. It would appear such concerns were well-founded. Crabtree was fairly abysmal in his 2010 debut finishing with two receptions for 12 yards.
Will he bounce back this week? It’s entirely possible he reverts to his 2009 form, but for now I question whether he’s worth starting. For the moment he’s arguably no more than a #3 wide receiver. I expect him to bounce back but unlike Frank Gore, I think he’s a guy you can occasionally sit. Of course, the argument for starting him is that this is Monday Night Football, the biggest stage of each week of the regular season. Maybe he plays up for the night. He could be worth a roll of the dice, but I wouldn’t question somebody for sitting him.
Alex Smith
As much as I like Alex Smith, if you’re starting him in a fantasy football league at this point in the season, you may have made a serious error in judgment during your draft. I suppose if you’re in a dynasty league starting Matt Stafford, maybe Smith is a guy you have to go with this week. In normal single year leagues though, I don’t expect people to start him for the foreseeable future.
49ers defense
The 49ers defense was dominant for the first quarter and a half, and then fell apart the rest of the way. They couldn’t get consistent pass rush and saw their secondary fooled on numerous occasions. The 49ers will likely get back Ahmad Brooks this week, which should only help the pass rush. The secondary will likely be less aggressive, which might mean fewer interceptions, but also might mean fewer points.
As far as I’m concerned, the 49ers defense, even against the Saints is a must-start. They might give up a lot of points, but they also could get a good number of sacks and turnovers.
The NFL is now a week old and just as important as whether your favorite team is 1-0 is whether you got your waiver bid in on RB Brandon Jackson in light of Ryan Grant's season-ending ankle injury. Yes, fantasy football is back in full swing for 2010. I've got two money leagues and am 1-0 in both leagues. Of course, I expect a wholesale collapse in each of them at some point so I won't get my hopes up too high.
In the meantime, we'll be here all season long to provide you with essential fantasy football updates related to the San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders. While both teams got off to inauspicious starts, they both have a host of intriguing fantasy talents. Whether you're looking for updates on Darren McFadden and Vernon Davis, or you need to know whether you should start Zach Miller and Michael Crabtree, we'll be here with the latest information.