Fantasy Football…Before You Start

Tonight marks the first game of the 2012-13 NFL regular season and that also means it’s the first opportunity for fantasy football drafters to see how their drafting prowess translates into real life. If you drafted players like Dez Bryant, Victor Cruz or any other Cowboys and Giants going at it in tonight’s game you’ll be watching the action on screen and following it off screen closely through your fantasy team site to see how things are going.

Any good fantasy football GM knows that once the draft is over their real job begins and it’s all about managing the team throughout the season. Whether it’s benching an early round pick or cutting a sleeper all GMs have to make the tough decisions if they want to win their league. What makes GMing in the world of fantasy a little easier is all the resources at hand that provide you with as much information as you need to make the right call.

And with the debut of this latest column at GMEN HQ titled “Before You Start” we plan on bringing you relevant fantasy football  information that will aid you in putting together your starting line-up. Look for this article to be posted before every Monday and Thursday night game and each Sunday morning. We’ll be bringing you the fantasy football news you need such as late minute scratches, injury news and anything else that might alter the state of your fantasy football starting line-up.

So, how about we get to it then and give you the information you need before you start setting your line-ups for tonight’s Cowboys @ Giants opening night game!

Cowboys Tight End Jason Witten isn’t expected to play tonight due to a lacerated spleen but there’s a rumor going around that he wants to play so badly that he’ll sign a medical waiver to get in on the action. If he’s on your team you should monitor the situation but even if he does play we recommend looking into other tight end options for the week.

UPDATE: Twitter reports state that Witten’s on the field, in cleats and stretching. Something worth monitoring as game time bears closer.

Miles Austin is expected to play tonight after an injury plagued preseason. Place him in your line-up as no worse than a WR3.

In return yard leagues you might get some extra rewards out of Dez Bryant, as he might be returning some punts. But they will only be in vital game situations.

Ahmad Bradshaw is listed as “probable” due to his hand situation but he should be the Giants starting running back tonight.
Hakeem Nicks has had a remarkable injury recovery journey this off-season and his preseason appearance means that he’ll be playing in tonight’s game.

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