Photo By: Brad Mills / US PRESSWIRE Maybe Robert Griffin won’t post the same statline we saw from Cam Newton in his debut vs the Cardinals, but he should have a productive game against the Saints. New Orleans brought in some talented linebackers this off-season but failed to do much to improve a pass rush that had safety Roman Harper leading the team in sacks. With Will Smith out of the lineup (suspension), ...

Photo By: Jeremy Brevard / US PRESSWIRE For now Jonathan Stewart still has a chance to play against the Buccaneers, but don’t be surprised if he’s out of the lineup or at best in a limited role, coming of an ankle injury. Both Cam Newton and Mike Tolbert will be the top candidates to run the football in close to the goal line should Stewart miss the game, but I like Williams as an RB2 option. Williams looke ...

Photo By: Josh D. Weiss / US PRESSWIRE   It’s going to be a difficult challenge for any NFL secondary to cover both Julio Jones and Roddy White. The first week of the season Atlanta will head out to Kansas City to take on the Chiefs. Already problems are brewing in a Chiefs secondary that lost theirs starting free safety for the season a few weeks ago and are holding out hope top corner Brandon Flowers ...

Photo By: Ric Tapia / Icon SMI The 49ers will be a run first offense again, but early in the season they may find themselves in situations where the game scripts suggest they need to throw the football. Week one, in Lambeau, should be a situation where Vernon Davis has a chance to put up the kind of numbers we saw in the playoffs from last year. I do have concerns about San Francisco’s pass protection as Cl ...

Photo By: Kevin Hoffman / US PRESSWIRE As is the case most weeks, we have some big time favorable matchups on defense as the Lions, Texans, Seahawks and Eagles will all face some of the worst offenses in the game. However, there is one group in my top five that might have a harder matchup than the schedule would indicate. Buffalo Needs To Send a Message To Division Foe On paper you would think the Bills def ...

Photo By: Icon SMI No doubt David Akers should still be viewed as the top option at kicker in fantasy leagues. Week one, Akers faces a challenge as the game scripts could easily tilt towards the 49ers falling behind, playing on the road against the Packers. It will be up to the 49ers defense to hold down one of the better offenses in the league and I think that's a tall order, especially week one. Expect ma ...

Ray Rice @ Patriots - Playing against one of the better defenses in football Ray Rice failed to put up start worthy numbers in his first playoff game of the year. Heading to New England, Rice will play against the team he had his best playoff performance against a few years ago when he broke off an 80-yard touchdown run on the first play of the game. The Ravens have come close to finding the Super Bowl in r ...

Hakeem Nicks @ 49ers - In case you fell into the trap that the media seemed to set about Victor Cruz being the only big-play threat in New York, true No.1 Hakeem Nicks has stepped up and put together back to back monster games in the playoffs. This week should be a greater challenge for Nicks as the 49ers tend to do a better job wrapping up (with an exception to the Jimmy Graham touchdown in the fourth quar ...

Alex Smith vs. Giants - If you happened to have Alex Smith in your lineup last week, you were pleasantly surprised to see him not only throw for 299 yards and three touchdown passes, but run for a 28-yard score as well. As a 49er fan, it refreshing to see what can happen for a team and a quarterback when quality coaches come on board and actually put their players in situations to win. For all the hell Smit ...

Rob Gronkowski vs. Ravens - The Broncos must have ticked Rob Gronkowski off after their regular-season meeting when they held him in check for only four receptions for 53 yards, as they forced Tom Brady to throw the football to fellow tight end Aaron Hernandez. Well, in the rematch Gronkowski went off for arguably his best game as a pro with ten receptions for 145 yards and three touchdowns. I'm not sure wh ...