Fantasy Football match-up: Chargers vs. Cardinals

Hello everyone! I wanted to take a short moment to fill all of you in on why I was gone since early June. I left for boot camp at Ft. Sill, and, recently graduated, I just got home yesterday. It's great to be back, and I can't wait to be writing articles for all of you!

In this series, I will break down the Chargers Fantasy options into a few different categories: Start, Fringe, and Bench.

Start:

Philip Rivers - QB

I know that the Arizona Cardinals have one of the most formidable secondaries in the league, but as he did last year, Philip Rivers will do well against anyone with dump passes to the Charger's three headed backfield and short passes to Eddie Royal and our Tight Ends.

Projection: 250 yds, 3 TD's, 1 INT

Unfortunately, for this week, Philip Rivers is the only San Diego Charger I would trust to put up a good stat-line. for any players under the "Fringe" and "Bench" categories, try to find a better option before starting them. All of the fringe players are capable of putting up good numbers, but I honestly believe the ball will be spread out incredibly evenly this week, with no one player getting a great line.

Fringe:

Ladarius Green and Antonio Gates - TE

Ladarius Green has really impressed everyone since coming into the league a few years back. This year is supposedly his breakout year, but I still see him as being handcuffed by Antonio Gates, which is why he's a fringe player. Neither Gates, or Ladarius Green will have fantastic games, because the other will always be there to take targets. That being said, together, they will put up a great stat line. It's up to you to decide which one will get a better line. My guess is Gates, because Rivers has been throwing to him in the red-zone for his whole career. Ladarius Green will have more yards because of his catch and run ability.

Projections:

Ladarius Green: 60 yds

Antonio Gates: 50 yds, 1 TD

Ryan Mathews, Danny Woodhead, Donald Brown - HB

This one is even more convoluted than the two previous players. I do believe that it will be mostly the same as last year, with Ryan Mathews getting most of the carries and Woodhead getting most of the targets, but I expect Donald Brown to have more touches than Ronnie Brown did last year. All three are handcuffing each other, and while that is good for the San Diego Chargers, it is awful for those of us who play Fantasy Football. This is why I didn't touch any of the Chargers' running backs in this year's draft. To top it all off, Arizona is arguably the best team against the run in the league.

Projections:

Ryan Mathews: 60 yds rushing, 5 receiving

Danny Woodhead: 12 yds rushing, 30 receiving, 1 TD

Donald Brown: 20 yds rushing

(Donald Brown should NOT be started in any week, unless Ryan Mathews is out with an injury)

Eddie Royal - WR

Eddie Royal is really the only WR this week on the Chargers who will have a pretty good game. This is because he'll be used on screens and shorter passes and expected to run with the ball. That being said, I wouldn't trust any of our receivers this week.

Projections: 45 yds, 1 TD

Nick Novak - K

Nick Novak was great last year, and was incredibly accurate. This week, I only see him getting one field goal opportunity, and 3 extra point chances. If you're happy with that, go ahead and start him. I believe there are better options this week. Overall, I expect Nick Novak to be a top 7 kicker in Fantasy Football this season though.

San Diego Chargers D/ST

Carson Palmer has always thrown a lot of interceptions, especially since he's one of those famed USC quarterbacks (*cough* Mark Sanchez *cough*), so I expect the Chargers to get 2 picks, 1 to Eric Weddle, and 1 to Shareece Wright. Our D line should be a bit improved, and get 2 sacks. 1 to Liuget, 1 to Ingram. The Chargers DST will be pretty good this week, but I still think there are at least 8 better options out there.

Bench:

Keenan Allen - WR

I know, it's a fallacy that I am saying you should bench Keenan Allen. It's not because I don't trust Keenan Allen, it's because I am scared of that crazy secondary Arizona has. I just don't see Keenan Allen getting the redzone targets this week.

Projections: 50 yds

Malcom Floyd - WR

This is not his comeback game. I believe he will break out against Buffalo in 2 weeks. 10 yards this week on 1 reception, 2 targets.

If there's enough interest, I'll do a forum where I'll answer any questions about starting and sitting, drafting, and anything else fantasy football related. It doesn't even have to pertain to the Chargers! Let me know in the comments!

Editor's Note: SB Nation's partner FanDuel is hosting a $1,000,000 Fantasy Football Contest for Week 1's NFL games. It's only $25 to join and first place wins $100,000. Starts Sunday, September 7th at 1pm ET. Here's the link. FYI: These are just my opinions and Fanduel gave me money to play.