Week 1 of the NFL season is finally here, and Vinnie is ready to start off the season with some winners. This week's lines are from usatoday.com (as of Thursday night). VINNIE'S TOP PICKS Miami at Houston (-12) The Ryan Tannehill era begins for the Dolphins and it's going to be a rough start. The offense will struggle with a rookie quarterback learning the ropes. Trading away your best wide receiver in Brandon Marshall won't help either. You know you have problems when your best wide receiver is a running back (Reggie Bush). The Dolphins are in rebuilding mode and are eyeing another Top 10 pick in the 2013 NFL draft. On the other side, you have the Texans, who were picked by many to make a Super Bowl run last year. Those expectations were over once quarterback Matt Schaub went down with a season-ending Lisfranc injury in his right foot. Schaub is now healthy and has his No. 1 wide receiver Andre Johnson back in the lineup. Having the best running back duo in Arian Foster and Ben Tate doesn't hurt either. The Texans should win this one quite easily. Give me the Texans minus the points. Philadelphia at Cleveland (+9.5) The Browns have a rookie quarterback of their own making his NFL debut. Meet 28-year-old, Brandon Weeden. Joining him in the backfield is another rookie, running back Trent Richardson, who's coming off a knee scope during the preseason. Richardson is expected to play in the game, although it is not clear how much he'll play just yet. Since he missed most of the preseason, the Browns may bring him along slowly and have him share carries with Brandon Jackson/Montario Hardesty. The Browns have a lot of inexperience on the offensive side, with second-year wide receiver Greg Little and rookie supplemental pick, Josh Gordon, expected to be Weeden's primary targets. Philadelphia's "Dream Team" looks to rebound after a horrendous start last year, and starting the season against the Browns should do the trick. Quarterback Michael Vick will tear up the Browns secondary with DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. Oh yeah, and don't forget about running back LeSean McCoy, who I hear is pretty good. Give me the Eagles minus the points. Buffalo at New York Jets (-3) The Jets made no major offensive moves this offseason, unless you count adding Tim Tebow to play on special teams and run their wildcat. They did draft wide receiver Stephen Hill, who hasn't played that well in the preseason and will be a work in progress. The team has ...

the "quarterback by committee" draft strategy and combines Matt Schaub and Josh Freeman to create Mosh Schauman.

Well, here we are again. Camps have started and we fantasy junkies will retreat to our 'nerderies' to attempt to determine which round to take a quarterback, what third-tier running back will provide the most value to our teams this year, and whether last year's breakout performers will repeat or not. This is what we do. We take the available data/evidence/information/stats and we make educated guesses based on what we've seen in the past and how we would expect things to go in the future. It is once again the time to beg the question: What did we learn ... about quarterbacks? It's a big two, not a big three. My contention is that there are just two top-tier quarterbacks: Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady. In my book, Drew Brees is a cut below them. Rodgers is coming off one of the truly incredible statistical seasons we've seen, posting 45 touchdowns and just six interceptions. Keep in mind he did that in 15 games, as he sat out the regular season finale. Brady put up more than 5,200 yards, he had one of the most explosive offenses in the league, and he just added a true No. 1 receiver in Brandon Lloyd and an old offensive coordinator in Josh McDaniels. The same McDaniels who had him throwing 50 touchdowns in a season just a few years ago. Brees is good, but he's lost Robert Meachem and Carl Nicks, and losing Nicks will hurt. I think he'll come up just a bit short of last year's numbers, which is still fantastic, but I think the absence of head coach Sean Payton is going to be a bigger deal than some believe. Don't get me wrong; he'll still be the No. 3 fantasy quarterback, but I'm taking Rodgers and Brady before him, and probably won't land Brees on any of my teams. After the Top 5, there's a severe dropoff. I, like many others, have a Top 5 consisting of Rodgers, Brady, Brees, Matthew Stafford and Cam Newton. Stafford and Newton each added their names to this list with remarkable 2011 seasons. Stafford threw for more than 5,000 yards and managed to stay healthy all season, while Newton burst onto the scene as a true double-threat quarterback, seemingly right out of a video game. But however you slice it, and regardless of your personal preference after that Top 5, the dropoff is huge. The next five look something like: Tony Romo, the Manning brothers, Michael Vick and Philip Rivers (this is how I'd rank them). But I can poke holes in every one of them. My advice: get a Top 5 signal-caller. If you miss out, wait until number nine or 10. You can stockpile ...

The first order of business is understanding the law of probability when it comes to fantasy football. For instance, did you know that since 2009, 36 percent of first-round picks are statistical busts for that season? That means roughly one out of three first round picks will underperform. Six of the first round busts since 2009 were thanks to a serious injury and five had prior years of injury problems, whether through professional or college years. (Frank Gore, Ryan Mathews, Rashard Mendenhall, Darren McFadden and Andre Johnson) Or the fact that since 2000, the running back who leads the league in carries has scored less fantasy points the following year. The decrease in production is actually staggering for carries leaders from the prior year since 2000. Thirty-nine percent average decrease in yardage, and 49 percent decrease in touchdowns. So, if you were thinking Maurice Jones Drew, who led the league with 343 carries in 2011, be prepared for 979 yards and five touchdowns in 2012, according to this data. When the 2012 drafts begin, you will have heard all about how this is a passing league and running backs are as thin as Kate Moss, but if you are a numbers cruncher, be prepared to blow those people away. Let's get started with quarterback. This might be a pass-happy NFL, but why does this mean you have to draft quarterback so early? Aaron Rodgers is a sure-fire Top 5 pick, and rightfully so if you ask me. He is the picture of consistency, scoring in the Top 3 of all fantasy players the previous three years. So you missed out on Rodgers, now what? Wait on a Quarterback Assuming you are in a 12-team league, standard scoring with one starter each week. You are certainly going to see Tom Brady, Cam Newton, Drew Brees and most likely Matthew Stafford off the board by the start of Round 3. But how much true value are you receiving by watching these guys go by? In 2011, the average draft position (ADP) of the Top 10 quarterbacks combined was the sixth round. Only two of the Top 10 averaged a first- or second-round ADP. And history tells us ... In 2009, Rodgers was the top fantasy quarterback in standard leagues, scoring 397 points. The 12th-best quarterback in standard leagues scoring was David Garrard, with 234 points. The weekly difference in a 16-game schedule with playoffs: 6.81 In 2010, the two quarterbacks to compare were Michael Vick and Matt Cassel. The weekly difference in a 16-game schedule with playoffs: 5.19 In 2011, this ...

For all the assistant coaches who impressed in 2011, I wanted to draw attention to the turnaround Wade Phillips is bringing about on the defensive side of the ball in Houston. Team defenses tend to be measured against one another primarily in terms of yards allowed. Houston ranked second in this category league-wide, with 285.7 per game. Another gradient with which people often rank defenses is points allowed. Houston ranked fourth in this category, with 17.4 per game -- comfortably ahead of the next best team's 19.2 points allowed per game. In comparison, Houston ranked No. 30 out of 32 teams in 2010 with 376.9 yards allowed per game, to go with its No. 29 ranking in points allowed. Both represent phenomenal improvement for a team that since 2007 experienced only one losing season (Gary Kubiak's second year as a head coach, Matt Schaub's first as a starting quarterback), yet failed to punch any tickets into the postseason on account of good offensive production but a consistently lousy defense. Houston ranked No. 13 in rushing yards allowed two seasons ago -- slightly above average, actually -- but ranked No. 26 in rushing touchdowns allowed. This past season? Allowing 96 rushing yards per game was good enough for a ranking of fourth, while the Texans tied a couple other teams with a ranking of third in rushing touchdowns allowed. Let us consider a few other angles, shall we? Houston sacked opposing quarterbacks 44 times (a ranking of sixth), allowed 189.7 passing yards per game and 6.2 per attempt (rankings of third and second, respectively), and held opposing teams to a passer rating of 69 (a ranking of second). Featuring a different lineup and different play-calling, the year before last, the Texans ranked last or next-to-last in most of these indicators of pass defense. Playing at a high enough level on defense last season to overcome significant injuries to Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson and Mario Williams, this team parlayed its success running the football into the first playoff appearance in franchise history. Most of the credit is due to the newly hired defensive coordinator. In fairness, the Texans had some holdover talent on that side of the ball, namely Williams, DeMeco Ryans and Brian Cushing. All three were moved to at least slightly different positions, however, and Houston's draft haul was highlighted by J.J. Watt and Brooks Reed, archetypal players for the 3-4 scheme Phillips prefers. Cushing took to his role as an inside linebacker ...

HOUSTON -- The Texans begin their OTAs next week, and coach Gary Kubiak will have to keep a close eye on quarterback Matt Schaub to make sure he doesn't try to do too much.

It is 2012. This is the last year of the confusion and then we get into the familiar territory of decade measurement. You know the teens, twenties, thirties, etc. This whole timeline from 2000 -- 2009 was really only good for those glasses you see on everyone in Times Square New Year's Eve. 2010 -- 2012 will be the ugly siblings of the teens and twenties. It is playoff time everybody. Next week's article will try to pick the two final teams of the year and this year is no different than the past but always with a twist. Beep....Beep.....Beep! This year's wildcard story is about the sounds of those large vehicles backing up. If you are The Houston Texans, you got in even though you loss three in a row. If you are The Cincinnati Bengals, you got in with a loss. If you are The Denver Broncos, you could have clinched three times yet you lost all three games and got in on a tiebreaker. Every other team won their way in to the playoffs and that means the streak is on your side. Let us look at the games this weekend, shall we? Last In Is Most Likely First Out The Wildcard weekend has four games. It all begins with the injured Houston Texans hosting the Cincinnati Bengals. Both teams are not looking so good. Houston would be a formidable team if they had their starting QB Matt Schaub and a fully restored to health WR Andre Johnson. But in a close game, I believe that Houston gives their fans a reason to celebrate a home playoff game. This is big for Houston because they are in the same division as Indianapolis and they never get a home playoff game...ever! That is until now. Next up on Saturday will be the Detroit Lions against the New Orleans Saints. The Lions are an upstart team that has the mental toughness of Matthew Stafford and his star WR Calvin Johnson. The New Orleans Saints have the number one single season passer of all time in Drew Brees. The home field advantage will work and the Saints come out on top. Detroit is getting closer to getting better but watch for many mistakes and flags. That will be the downfall of Detroit. The Atlanta Falcons stroll into New York to face the up and the down New York Giants. Which Giant team will appear this week? The one that beat the New England Patriots or the one that lost at home to the Seattle Seahawks. The New York Giants have the potential to be the Green Bay Packers of last year. They are that dangerous. But they chose the wrong opponent. In a mild shocker I have the Atlanta Falcons coming out on top...

With the playoffs on the line now it is easy to look at a player who's been bad but coming off one strong game to and determine he's worth a roster spot. Being so close to the title you want to take those chances, or at least prevent others from jumping on a chance you were too hesitant on to pull the trigger. It's easy to look at somebody, like Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kevin Kolb, and overvalue him at this point. He is finally back from injury and available in a lot of leagues, an intriguing option for owners who were rolling with Matt Schaub or Jay Cutler. Likewise, Indianapolis Colts receiver Reggie Wayne has seen his stock rise again after a huge performance against the Carolina Panthers two weeks ago. However, but Kolb and Wayne find their way to our Week 14 Fantasy Football Sit ‘Em list this week.

In recent weeks we've thrown some pity towards the Houston Texans for their injury woes after they lost their top two quarterbacks, Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart, for the rest of the season. Now it's the Chicago Bears' turn. The Bears have lost quarterback Jay Cutler for the rest of the regular season and now running back Matt Forte is out 2-6 weeks with an MCL sprain. Marion Barber is a solid replacement for Forte. Caleb Hanie is not a good replacement for Cutler. We are not recommending cutting Forte just yet because he could return in time for some fantasy football playoff games. Cutler, well, you can say bye to him.

The Houston Texans just cannot catch a break. They are in the middle of their best season in franchise history, with an 8-3 record that ties the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots for the best in the AFC. One week ago we included Texans quarterback Matt Schaub on this list because he was put on injured reserve with a foot injury. Matt Leinart started the team's Week 12 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars and played well before a shoulder injury took him for the rest of the game, and likely the rest of the season. This all happened when Pro Bowl receiver Andre Johnson returned to the lineup after missing six games because of a hamstring injury. Canadian Drug Pharmacy. Leinart finds his way to the list this week because of the injury, but he isn't the only Texan on the list. Continue on to find out which Houston player joins him, as well as to see the rest of the guys that aren't worth your time any more.