Fantasy Football Over/Under: Predicting Performances in Week 1

Here's how it works. We throw some intriguing matchups at the FanHouse staff and ask whether each player will be over or under a certain point total. The result? Fantasy Football Over/Under. Makes sense, right?

Week 1 holds a surprising amount of intrigue for several fantasy options. Should you start free agent pickup Mike Bell in your flex spot? What about Chris Henry or Cadillac Williams? Is Tony Romo worth a start on the road against Tampa Bay? What about Joe Flacco at home against Kansas City? To some, these may be easy questions to answer, but don't question their importance. With anywhere from 12 to 14 games on the docket for your fantasy football regular season, every decision is critical.

Below, we've listed a healthy chunk of players that you might need help deciding whether to start or sit on Sunday. A few of them (the RB1s, the WR1s, and a couple others) each week will be automatic starts regardless of matchup, but we still wanted to give our opinion on how good they'd actually be.

Normal scoring (passing 20/4, rushing/receiving 10/6) applies. Benchmarks:

QB - 18 points (200 yards passing, 2 TDs; 220 yards passing, 2 TDs, 1 INT, etc)
RB1 - 16 points (100 yards and 1 TD)
RB2 - 10 points (100 yards, zero TDs; 40 yards, 1 TD)
WR1 - 14 points (80 yards and 1 TD)
WR2 - 10 points (100 yards, zero TDs; 40 yards, 1 TD)
WR3 - 8 points (80 yards, zero TDs; 20 yards, 1 TD)
FLEX - 6 points (60 yards or a TD)
TE1 - 6 points (60 yards or a TD)

Position	Player	Matchup	White	Dembinsky	Snyder	Bardeen
QB	Palmer	vs. DEN	Over	Under	Over	Over
QB	Schaub	vs. NYJ	Under	Over	Over	Under
QB	McNabb	at CAR	Under	Over	Over	Over
QB	Romo	at TB	Under	Over	Under	Under
QB	Ryan	vs. MIA	Over	Under	Over	Over
QB	Flacco	vs. KC	Over	Under	Over	Over
RB1	Tomlinson	at OAK	Under	Over	Over	Over
RB1	Westbrook	at CAR	Over	Over	Over	Over
RB1	Turner	vs. MIA	Under	Under	Over	Under
RB1	Slaton	vs. NYJ	Over	Under	Over	Over
RB2	Rice	vs. KC	Over	Over	Over	Over
RB2	Addai	vs. JAC	Over	Under	Over	Over
RB2	Benson	vs. DEN	Over	Under	Over	Under
RB2	F. Jackson	at NE	Under	Under	Under	Under
RB2	J. Jones	vs. STL	Under	Over	Over	Over
RB2	Moreno	at CIN	Under	Over	Over	Over
WR1	Fitzgerald	vs. SF	Under	Under	Over	Over
WR1	S. Smith	vs. PHI	Over	Under	Under	Under
WR1	Jennings	vs. CHI	Under	Over	Over	Over
WR1	Bowe	at BAL	Under	Under	Under	Under
WR2	Royal	at CIN	Over	Over	Over	Over
WR2	Edwards	vs. MIN	Under	Under	Under	Over
WR2	D.Jackson	at CAR	Under	Over	Over	Over
WR2	V.Jackson	at OAK	Under	Under	Over	Over
WR2	Owens	at NE	Under	Over	Under	Under
WR3	Avery	at SEA	Over	Over	Over	Under
WR3	Moore	vs. DET	Over	Over	Over	Over
WR3	Mason	vs. KC	Over	Over	Over	Over
WR3	Bryant	vs. DAL	Under	Under	Under	Under
WR3	Hester	at GB	Under	Under	Over	Over
WR3	Berrian	at CLE	Under	Over	Under	Under
FLEX	C.Williams	vs. DAL	Under	Over	Under	Under
FLEX	D. Brown	vs. JAC	Over	Under	Under	Under
FLEX	Bradshaw	vs. WAS	Over	Over	Over	Over
FLEX	F. Taylor	vs. BUF	Under	Over	Under	Under
FLEX	M. Bell	vs. DET	Over	Over	Over	Over
FLEX	C. Henry	vs. DEN	Over	Over	Over	Over
FLEX	Burleson	vs. STL	Over	Over	Over	Over
FLEX	Bennett	at GB	Under	Under	Over	Over
FLEX	Meachem	vs. DET	Over	Under	Over	Over
FLEX	Breaston	vs. SF	Under	Over	Over	Under
TE	Gonzalez	vs. MIA	Over	Over	Over	Over
TE	Keller	at HOU	Under	Under	Under	Under
TE	Shiancoe	at CLE	Over	Over	Under	Under
TE	Shockey	vs. DET	Over	Under	Under	Under
TE	Fasano	at ATL	Over	Under	Over	Over

• Of the four RB1s, the only one we all agree will have an excellent game is the one you might have drafted as your RB2: Brian Westbrook. The Panthers are without big DT Ma'ake Kemoeatu this season, meaning there will be plenty of room to run inside. 100 combined yards and a TD will be cake for Westbrook, a player who dropped in drafts over concerns of his health.

• At RB2, we agree that Ray Rice is a must-start. He's been getting most of the work with the first-team offense and is primed to have a breakout season in his second year. You probably drafted Rice as your RB3 or RB4, so our prediction has to look pretty good to you. Don't hesitate to bench your normal RB2 if he has a tough matchup or is already a little banged up.

• Despite knowing he'll receive a ton of targets, we're not too optimistic on Dwayne Bowe's outlook for Week 1. He might approach 100 yards, but the Ravens should have no trouble keeping him out of the end zone. If you're stacked at WR, or if you have a nice group of overs at the WR position (say, Eddie Royal and Lance Moore are your other starters, and Derrick Mason is on the bench), sitting Bowe could turn out to be a wise move.

• Sure, Antonio Bryant is healthy enough to play, but we don't think he should be started this week. Like Dallas, Tampa will likely focus on establishing the run and use their own three-headed attack at running back to produce most of the offense. Use caution with Bryant; if he looks healthy in this game, he'll make for a great play next week in Buffalo.

• I'm a big fan of Ahmad Bradshaw this year, and he should make for a great flex play throughout the season. Week 1 is no exception, as we all have him to score at least 6 points against the Redskins. He and Bell should be your first options at flex, with Henry and Seattle's Nate Burleson not too far behind. We like Burleson even though Seattle plans to focus on the run -- I wonder how T.J. Houshmandzadeh would have done in our chart.

• Three of us see Flacco as a QB1 this week, while three of us also see Romo falling short of QB1 numbers. If you have both quarterbacks, you're thinking long and hard about benching your nominal starter Romo this week. With Dallas' plans to be a run-first team and their lack of talent at WR, Romo's road game at Tampa Bay provides the perfect excuse to sit him for a week and see how the Dallas offense performs.