From the Bottom of the Totem

Coming into week one my fantasy team is, to put it gently, an underdog and a darkhorse at best. While drafting my “elite” football squad, I received a variety of snickers and snide remarks from the peanut gallery as my picks may not have been up to par to the superior fantasy standard.

Here is a quick rundown of my team’s starting lineup:

QB: Matt Ryan; WR: Andre Johnson, Brandon Marshall, Jerricho Cotchery; RB: Frank Gore, Kevin Smith; TE: Anthony Gonzalez; K: Ryan Longwell; DEF: Carolina

The first problem with this lineup is that there are very few “sure-things,” but in fantasy sports there rarely is such a thing.  The main question marks on this team lie with my Wide Receivers as Brandon Marshall has already experienced disciplinary problems with the Broncos and Cotchery has an entirely new offensive system in NY headed up by rookie QB Mark Sanchez.

While these are pretty big “ifs” headed into week one, let me take a minute to explain why I believe that my team will rise up and overcome:

First is Matt Ryan.  This guy had a monster rookie year with Atlanta which almost never happens for first year QBs and now has a veteran and proven target joining his squad in Anthony Gonzalez (my TE).  In addition, last year’s explosive performance from RB Michael Turner is sure to draw some “special” attention from defenses, leaving Ryan somewhat of a comfort zone to throw in.  It might seem a little overly optimistic, but I’m putting him at the number 3 QB for year right behind Tom Brady and Drew Brees.

The next reason my team will perform better than expected: RBs on bad teams.  While this can have both a positive and negative swing, I believe it will work more in my favor this year.  Great players on bad teams usually means one thing, they will get the ball.  Gore and Smith both have the potential to have great years and provided their teams make it to the red zone, I think I’ll be swimming in end-zone dances.

The final thing I have going for my team is Andre Johnson.  This guy is truly one of the elites in his position and just may have to carry my team if things don’t work out for me in the other 2 WR spots.  With QB Matt Schaub projected to have a great season, Johnson should get plenty of targets and rack up the yardage for me.

I’ll be sure to let you know how things pan out…