Week 2: Start Em, Sit Em

Quarterbacks

Start Em

Carson Palmer, ARI at CHI - Palmer played well in Week 1 against the Saints and could continue that trend this week against the Bears. In the season opener, Palmer threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns, while not turning the ball over. This week he has a favorable matchup against a Bears defense who struggled against the pass last season (gave up the third most passing yards) and continued their struggles in the season opener against the Packers, as they allowed a three touchdown game by Aaron Rodgers. Andre Ellington could sit out with a knee injury this week, which is also something to take into consideration because this could force more passing plays for the Cardinals offense. Palmer has performed as a QB 1 when healthy going back into last season and should have no trouble picking apart this below average secondary.

Other Starts

Sam Bradford, PHI vs. DAL

Ryan Tannehill, MIA at JAC

Eli Manning, NYG vs. ATL

Ben Roethlisberger, PIT vs. SF

Sleeper Alert: Joe Flacco, BAL at OAK

Sit Em

Alex Smith, KC vs. DEN - It's not every week that a quarterback who threw for three touchdowns the previous week will be a player you're sitting the following week. However, in this case, Smith is not a quarterback I trust this week. Besides the fact that he hasn't thrown a touchdown pass to a receiver in 17 straight games, he has a tough matchup ahead of him. The Broncos completely shut down Joe Flacco last week and allowed the fewest passing yards of any defense in the first week of the season. The Broncos secondary is fierce. They are led by Aqib Talib and Chris Harris who are one of the best duos in the league. Last season, Harris did not surrender a touchdown in 623 passing snaps. Smith averaged just over 200 passing yards, one touchdown, and 0.5 interceptions in two games against the Broncos last season. Needless to say, he struggled against them and is off of my fantasy radar this week.

Other Sits

Kirk Cousins, WAS vs. STL

Cam Newton, CAR vs. HOU

Jay Cutler, CHI vs. ARI

Marcus Mariota, TEN at CLE

Bust Alert: Peyton Manning, DEN at KC

Running Backs

Start Em

Mark Ingram, NO vs. TB - Running backs who are favored by Vegas lines usually end up performing better than those who are underdogs. In fact, they have a 12 percent chance more of scoring a touchdowns than those who are underdogs. Guess what? That Saints are favored this week. The matchup is also one that is appealing. In their season opener, the Bucs surrendered 115 rushing yards and two touchdowns to the Titans running backs. Ingram had a strong start to the season as he caught eight passes for 98 yards. Granted, he was held in check running the ball, but the matchup was a tough one and he compensated with his pass catching. Look for Ingram and the Saints to have a big day offensively against a suspect Bucs defense.

Other Starts

Lamar Miller, MIA at JAC

Chris Ivory, NYJ at IND

Justin Forsett, BAL at OAK

Danny Woodhead, SD at CIN

Sleeper alert: Bishop Sankey, TEN at CLE

Sit Em

Latavius Murray, OAK vs. BAL - The Ravens did a good job against the Broncos running backs in Week 1. They surrender just 70 yards on 24 carries. That's what Murray has to look forward to this week. Murray's season opener performance wasn't atrocious by any means, in fact, based on the game flow, it was actually decent. The Raiders could once again fall behind early in this game, forcing the offense to abandon the run, especially if Carr can't play and their second string quarterback gets the start. A similar stat line to what Murray had last week (11 carried 44 yards, 7 receptions 36 yards), could be what's in store for him again this week. These numbers only appeal to those in PPR formats, but hoping he catches a lot of passes against a stingy defense isn't ideal for a back in your starting lineup.

Other Sits

T.J. Yeldon, JAC vs. MIA

Melvin Gordon, SD at CIN

Alfred Morris, WAS vs. STL

LeGarrette Blount, NE at BUF

Bust Alert: C.J. Anderson, DEN at KC

Wide Receivers

Start Em

Brandin Cooks, NO vs. TB - Cooks didn't get off to the start I was expecting, but I'm not concerned because I think he goes off this week. He faces the Bucs defense who surrendered four receiving touchdowns in Week 1 against the Titans. Keep in mind they were at home against a rookie quarterback. This week the Bucs will be in New Orleans against a potential future hall of fame quarterback who strives in home games. The same can be said about Cooks who plays his best in the dome (not the hall of fame comment). In home games, Cooks averages 72.8 yards per game compared to the 39.8 yards per game on the road. To start of the season, he caught four of his eight targets for 49 yards. The matchup was not ideal as he was covered by Patrick Peterson. The good news is that he led the team in targets amongst receivers. Kendall Wright was able to get behind this Bucs secondary and make some big plays last week. I'm anticipating the same for Cooks to be able to do the same and he'll make up the slow start to fantasy owners this week.

Other Starts

Julian Edelman, NE at BUF

Jarvis Landry, MIA at JAC

Terrence Williams, DAL at PHI

John Brown, ARI at CHI

Sleeper Alert: Steve Smith, BAL at OAK

Sit Em

Sammy Watkins, BUF vs. NE - This is the second week in a row that Watkins lands in this spot. Last week he made me look like a genius as he caught zero passes and was only targeted three times. To Watkins defense, he had a tough matchup against Vontae Davis, but once again has another tough matchup against Malcolm Butler. With the Bills being a defensive minded team and relying more on the run than they do in the passing game, this could be a frustrating season for Watkins owners. While a worse performance is impossible, I'm not expecting a big bounce back game either against the Patriots this week.

Other Sits

Jeremy Maclin, KC vs. DEN

Amari Cooper, OAK vs. BAL

Tavon Austin, STL at WAS

Mike Wallace, MIN vs. DET

Bust Alert: Emmanuel Sanders, DEN at KC

Tight Ends

Start Em

Jason Witten, DAL at PHI

Jordan Cameron, MIA at JAC

Austin Seferian-Jenkins, TB at NO

Sit Em

Charles Clay, BUF vs. NE

Owen Daniels, DEN at KC

Coby Fleener, IND vs. NYJ

Defense

Start Em

Miami Dolphins at Jacksonville Jaguars

Baltimore Ravens at Oakland Raiders

Sit Em

Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers

New York Jets at Indianapolis Colts

Twitter: @Armando_Marsal