24 Hours 'Til Sunday — Andy Richardson

Perhaps you're wondering how my teams are doing. If I'm going to be giving you advice and all, it would be nice to know my 6 teams aren't currently 0-24. At the same time, nobody wants to hear anyone else prattle on about their teams, so I'll be really quick.

I've got a pair of 4-0 teams (Drew Brees, Matthew Stafford, Ray Rice, Beanie Wells, Andre Johnson), two 3-1 teams (Drew Brees, Matt Forte, Mike Wallace), and a 2-2 team (Jamaal Charles and Shonn Greene, and that team is headed down) a 1-3 team (Ben Roethlisberger, Chris Johnson, Roddy White). Aaron Hernandez is on every team, of course.

A general statement I'll make: my best teams have big-time quarterbacks, Brees or Stafford. I'm sure there are 0-4 teams out there with those guys, Aaron Rodgers, or Tom Brady on them, but not in any of my leagues. I waited on quarterbacks in two leagues, one where I have Roethlisberger, one where I have Stafford. Looks like a 50-50 proposition, this waiting on quarterbacks thing. If there's a lesson here, it's make sure you get a good one. If that means taking Rodgers, or Brees, or Brady in the first 20 picks, it might be worth it.

Or use your last-rounder on Cam Newton, one of the two.

Cardinals at Vikings: I guess you have to use Beanie Wells, who's questionable, but I'll be checking to make sure he's not a last-minute scratch anyway. Larry Fitzgerald and Adrian Peterson are must-starts. If the Vikings passing offense can have any value this season, this is the game. These teams played a classic here a year ago, maybe Brett Favre's last good game. Uh, if anyone else cares.

Eagles at Bills: Do either of these teams have a defense? I'm not sure they do. So probably, 13-10, right? I think the key starters for both teams are healthy and facing poor defenses, although I'm a little wary of Steve Johnson; as noted in the Weekly, the Eagles seem to do OK against No. 1 wideouts. It's all the other players that are killing them.

Kansas City at Colts: WELL....what have we here. Playoff teams a year ago, one combined win now. That's probably about how many players you want to use from each team, too. Bowe, Addai, maybe a Colts receiver. Maybe.

Seahawks at Giants: This week's suicide pool favorite. The Giants can be kind of an unpredictable team, but the other home teams are either shaky or have already been used, so they really seemed like the only choice if you don't want to pick a road team (and we didn't.). No Brandon Jacobs, so Ahmad Bradshaw should be pretty good. I'm sticking with my Monday answer: Manningham better than Cruz. Seahawks, no Mike Williams, giving Ben Obamana banana nana fo fana and Doug Baldwin some value.

Titans at Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger will limp around, Rashard Mendenhall likely won't, so Isaac Redman should start and play pretty much full time. I thought Redman looked pretty good in the preseason, so I'd start him; in fact, I am, in the league I lost Jamaal Charles. Tough defense, though. Steelers run defense not all that anymore, so Chris Johnson should have a decent game.

Saints at Panthers: I think the Saints offense will do pretty much whatever it wants here. And for Carolina, so will Cam Newton. I'm starting Steve Smith and would start Newton in the league I have him in...except my other quarterback is Brees. Debating starting Shockey over a gimpy Aaron Hernandez, just because I don't trust the Patriots. This could be a nice breakout game for Mark Ingram, because the Panthers simply can't stop the run.

Bengals at Jaguars: Jungle cats versus jungle cats! Arrr! Wait, that's a pirate. Growr! Roar? Sorry. I'm going to set an over-under here of 33. Bengals win 17-16. Should be a real thriller. I'd use MJD, but not with much conviction. Cedric Benson should do OK, and I'll probably use A.J. Green somewhere and Jermaine Gresham over gimpy Aaron Hernandez.

Raiders at Texans: Arguably the league's best running back against statistically the worst run defense (in yards per carry); that makes Arian Foster the week's best play, and has me uninterested in the Texans' passing offense. (The Raiders' passing offense goes without saying.) If you need a spot starter at wideout, you can do better than anyone playing in this game.

Bucs at 49ers: These teams are both 3-1, and I'd call the Bucs the softest 3-1 team in the league but for the 49ers. I still believe San Fran will be a sub-.500 team. Frank Gore calling out the Eagles got some play. Seems unimportant since they won't play again until next year, and the Eagles would have won but for a missed short field goal late; not sure how the team quitting or whatever factored into a rookie missing a short field goal. Anyway. a couple of pretty decent defenses here, and a likely 17-13 type of game.

Chargers at Broncos: Antonio Gates won't play, but Vincent Jackson will. I'm not using him, though, because he's kind of banged up and doesn't have a great history here. Lots of Orton to Lloyd and Decker, lots of Ryan Mathews. And if the Chargers can win this game, they'll be in pretty good shape coming out of their bye next week.

Jets at Patriots: Tough to get a read on this game since they played two games in Foxborough late last year and one was a huge Patriots blowout and the other was a convincing Jets win. I"m using both quarterbacks, Wes Welker even if he does see a lot of Revis Island, and the main tight ends. I am NOT using Aaron Hernandez; I just don't think he's worth the risk playing probably limited snaps with lots of other good options for New England. I would probably use Stevan Ridley in a deep league (remember, I already said I'm forced to use Isaac Redman somewhere) because Danny Woodhead won't play and BenJarvus Green-Ellis isn't that good.

Packers at Falcons: A word on the Favre controversy this week. Nah, forget it. The Packers will clobber the Falcons since they're deep and talented and want to show the world just how good they are. Last week Rodgers was throwing up 42-17 in the fourth quarter and the team tried an onside kick in the first half. I also, however, like the Falcons receivers here, a lot. If this game isn't a wild shootout, well, it will be.

Bears at Lions: If there's a worrying matchup for the Lions, this is it. Julius Peppers knocked Matthew Stafford out of a game last year, and in general the Bears defense can cause problems for opponents. I'm not betting against Stafford or Calvin Johnson, but I am wary. Most likely, though, they'll do nothing for a half and then come through with 2-3 TDs in the second half. For the Bears, uh, Matt Forte and their Defense, and that's about it. Oh, no Hank Williams Jr., so don't start him this week.

By the way, also don't start any Browns, Cowboys, Ravens, Dolphins, Rams (like that'll be tough), or Shanahans. And, enjoy the games.

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