The Cardinals are going without Carson Palmer today. He’s got the sore shoulder, so it will be Drew Stanton at quarterback.
This is a downgrade for Arizona’s passing game. We had Palmer projected at 270 passing yards and 1.7 TD passes.
With Stanton, we’ve got them down at 245 yards and 1.45 TD passes.
This hurts their wide receivers. We had Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd inside our top 20 at wide receiver on Friday. Now they’re down around 30th.
Stanton started three games for Detroit in 2010 and wasn’t particularly good as a passer, averaging only 182 yards per game, with 3 TDs and 3 interceptions in those three weeks.
On the plus side, he’s been working with Bruce Arians, so he knows that system. He was very good in the preseason, completing 27 of 38 (71 percent) for 341 yards, with 3 TDs and no interceptions.
Also note that Stanton has above-average mobility, and he’s a guy who’ll take off and run. In those three games for Detroit back in 2010, he averaged 27 rushing yards, with 1 TD in those three weeks.
So if you project him to run for about 20 yards, with maybe a 25 percent chance of a rushing touchdown, that helps to make him a middle-of-the-pack fantasy option for this week. We’ve got him in that middle tier that includes Robert Griffin III, Colin Kaepernick, Cam Newton and Tony Romo. We see him as similar in value to those guys for Week 2.
Also for Week 2, Jordan Cameron won’t play for Cleveland, and Carolina is sitting down defensive end Greg Hardy.
For other headline news, check the “Newsblast” section of the website, where Justin Eleff posts blurbs about key players on Sunday mornings.
—Ian Allan