24 Hours 'Til Sunday — Andy Richardson

I'm thinking about luck this week, which I do whenever I have a losing team that's a high scorer and in fact has scored far more than it has scored against it. A 20-point win and three losses by less than 5 points after four games is kind of frustrating.

Last week some fantasy type I follow tweeted that all you can do is make what seem like the right decisions based on the information available. If you do that, you've won, no matter what happens on Sunday. That thinking doesn't put little plastic trophies on shelves, but maybe it will help those of us with a losing team sleep easier. Maybe.

Dolphins at Bengals: No injuries of note here. Bengals don't have much going on defensively, so I'd be fine using Bush and Hartline, maybe even Bess. Dolphins have been really good against the run, so stick to the Cincinnati passing game, not the law firm. Yes, if you picked up Hartline, use the guy this week.

Packers at Colts: I'm fully a believer in Andrew Luck, even as a starter this year. Indy's running game isn't good and their defense isn't either, two things which are often good news for fantasy QBs. I'm still hesitant to put Donnie Avery or one of their tight ends into a lineup, but it's a week where they should lose like 34-20, so I'd consider it. No Greg Jennings, so James Jones is worth the gamble.

Ravens at Kansas City: Things get worse for Kansas City. Jamaal Charles and Dwayne Bowe look like pretty much their only options this season. Even Dexter McCluster hasn't been doing anything recently. For the Ravens, Flacco Smith Rice Pitta maybe even Boldin, blah blah. The Kansas City defense sure isn't the same group it was late last year. (Although all the turnovers and short fields aren't helping.) No Peyton Hillis, in the unlikely event anyone was considering a No. 2 running back against the Ravens.

Browns at Giants: The Giants are without Nicks and Barden, so them's that left are appealing. I don't think Andre Brown can be used until the team shows a willingness to give him a decent role with Bradshaw around. Apparently they don't trust him in pass protection. Trust in running backs and Tom Coughlin, an issue for fantasy coaches. The Browns have Trent Richardson and a bunch of receivers who either can't catch, aren't healthy, or aren't ready. Gonna be a big broom sweeping through the front office after the season.

Eagles at Steelers: Eagles are healthy. Steelers get Rashard Mendenhall back. I would be hesitant to use him since I'm still expecting a committee; ease him back in. We're not talking about Adrian Peterson here. This has all the look of a 19-17 type of game, so I wouldn't be rushing to start marginal fantasy options.

Falcons at Washington: Traded for Matt Ryan and Julio Jones this week. Very confident those guys will put up big numbers the rest of the way, starting here. Whether or not you start Pierre Garcon is a question of risk tolerance. There's potential, because he now seems to be healthy, but I am the type of owner who likes to see a good game from guys coming back from injury before I use them. If you have him, your choice. Alfred Morris and Robert Griffin are the Washington guys I would/will be readily starting (I have Morris everywhere, like most Index readers I imagine. Friend of mine drafted Morris on my recommendation while the guys before and after him in the draft selected Hightower and Helu. Booyah! Okay, enough bragging, I realize we get stuff wrong every now and again too).

Seahawks at Panthers: Will Russell Wilson open it up against Carolina's subpar pass defense, or will Marshawn Lynch run wild on their lousy run defense? I'm going with the latter and starting Lynch in SuperLeague and Gridiron God competitions. I can't imagine using a Seattle wideout. I dropped Sidney Rice in a league this week and he wasn't picked up.

Bears at Jaguars: Jacksonville defense has some stuff going for it. Their offense, again, has Maurice Jones-Drew and not much else. We like Justin Blackmon, but not against a Bears defense that's playing really well. Am starting Matt Forte, and I guess if you have Brandon Marshall, who we apparently weren't high enough on, you should use him too.

Titans at Vikings: No Jake Locker, probably no Kenny Britt. I don't expect Chris Johnson to build on last week, but if you have him you probably don't have much in the way of better options. Jared Cook has some potential, Nate Washington and Kendall Wright too, though I think Matt Hasselbeck is very much done. Tennessee's defense is bad and I would readily use any and all Vikings, while conceding Rudolph's zero last week cost me dearly in a 3-point loss. Still, I'd go back to that well anyway.

Broncos at Patriots: Funny fake Manning-Brady conversation making the rounds, look for it on Facebook or Twitter. Not for all ages but amusing. Should be a good game and the Patriots' defense doesn't scare me. New England won't have Julian Edelman or Aaron Hernandez. I would simply plug the regular starters for both teams into lineups and let them role. Should be a fairly high-scoring game.

Bills at 49ers: Bills defense doesn't have much working these days, so go ahead and start ...uh....Gore and Davis. Maybe Crabtree as a desperation play. Picked up Colin Kaepernick in my dynasty league this week. For like the 11th or 12th time.

Chargers at Saints: Shootout! Because of Lance Moore being ruled out of this game, I'm going to probably be taking a zero at one lineup spot this week. I have six wideouts: A.J. Green, Moore, Kendall Wright, two guys on byes, and my desperation claim before free agency locked on Thursday, Saints wideout Joseph Morgan. Who's also questionable and might not play. Unfortunate. Leagues shouldn't lock all players before Thursday. Anyhoo, most are probably wondering how the Battle-Mathews thing will play out. If I had Mathews, I would use him. I have Battle somewhere, and am benching him, but only because I have better options. I think Chargers will run for about 150 in this game, so both players have value. Saints passing game of course should be great. Philip Rivers and Malcom Floyd, too. Not bold enough to start Meachem back in his old digs. Like Gates and Sproles. Should be a fun game to watch. I hear Sean Payton will be there. Are they gonna stop the game when Brees breaks Unitas' record? Sorry, but I don't think it's that big a deal. Especially since his "streak" includes him sitting out the final week of the 2009 season to protect his 70 percent completion record. (No, I don't know if Unitas missed a game or two way back when.) Still seems odd.

Texans at Jets: Well. Don't use any Jets. Use your Texans. Pretty straightforward. Things are so awful right now for the Jets I actually think they might shock the world and be competitive. Maybe the Texans come out overconfident (they certainly ought to be) or the Jets use a lot of trick plays and such. Or, you know, Tebow. But I still can't figure out how exactly the Jets are going to move the ball or score, this week or in the foreseeable future. Do not ask lineup questions involving Jets players, 'cause I wouldn't use a one of them. Maybe instead of my Lance Moore zero, but....

Enjoy the games.

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