Sep 24, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers (12) celebrates after a Packers touchdown against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field. The Seahawks defeated the Packers 14-12. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

It appears as though the experts are making some bold predictions for this week’s games. On paper, there are some pretty epic battles between some good quarterbacks and some good defenses with the advantages going to the quarterbacks. Griffin III has passed the concussion tests and was limited at practice. He is listed as Questionable and knowing Coach Shannahan its a strong possibility that will bench Griffin III in fear that the concussion has affected his cardiovascular endurance. If you have Griffin III as your main QB, I recommend that you have your back up on stand by and if you don’t have a quality back up, get one fast! You don’t want to be caught off guard Sunday morning if the Redskins rule Griffin III Out for the game. As you all know I pull my prediction rankings from NFL.com, ESPN.com and Fleaflicker.com fantasy football. They all have different scoring systems, so don’t compare the actual projected scores, but focus on the quarterback rankings.

Looking at the ESPN.com predictions, the only reason I don’t agree with a top 5 of Rodgers, Stafford, Brady, Peyton and Eli Manning is because I see match-ups on the road versus 5 good defenses. (Houston, Phila., Seattle, San Diego, San Fran) Granted these are 5 quarterbacks that usually produce versus every NFL team, I don’t see them putting up the top 5 point totals versus these 5 defenses on their home turf. I believe the low projections for Griffin III are due to the thinking that even in the event that he plays, Washington will eliminate as much of the running portion of his game as possible. Taking away roughly 100 yards on the ground and a touchdown, justifies the decreased projection.

Sept. 30, 2012; Tampa FL, USA; Washington Redskins running back Alfred Morris (46) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the first half at Raymond James Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Stamey-US PRESSWIRE

I don’t see this hurting the Redskins because of the emergence of Alfred Morris as a dominant running back. He has had a stellar season so far, currently #4 in the league in rushing yards. As good as he has been, I see Morris having his breakout game this Sunday vs. Minnesota with some of the workload coming off of Griffin III’s shoulders. I project his first career 200+ yard game as a professional and the Fantasy Stud of the week. (Remember you heard it here first)

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September 9, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) reacts after throwing a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints during the first half of a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Somewhere in the world, there is a lucky Fantasy Football owner that profited very well by making the bold choice to start Redskins rookie, Robert Griffin III, week 1 vs the New Orleans Saints. They didn’t care that Griffin’s first NFL game was in one of the loudest, most difficult stadiums to play in. They believed Griffin would be great from the first snap and didn’t hesitate to draft him as their starting man. For taking that risk, that owner had a top performing quarterback bolstering their starting lineup.

According to three of the most popular fantasy football websites: NFL.com, ESPN.go.com and Fleaflicker.com, Robert Griffin III didn’t finish any lower than third in points among all quarterbacks in week one.

ESPN

T-1. Matt Ryan- 29

T-1. Robert Griffin III- 29

3. Tony Romo- 23

4. Peyton Manning- 21

5. Mark Sanchez- 20

NFL.com

1. Matt Ryan- 36.47

2. Tony Romo- 32.43

3. Robert Griffin III-  31.87

4. Drew Brees- 30.3

5. Aaron Rodgers- 29.8

Fleaflicker.com

1. Matt Ryan- 38.46

2. Tony Romo- 31.48

3. Robert Griffin III- 31.00

4. Aaron Rodgers- 29.82

5. Drew Brees- 28.6

September 9, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III (10) talks with New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) following a win at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Redskins defeated the Saints 40-32. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

The stats for week 1 have been tallied and its undeniable that Griffin was in the elite class of quarterbacks, but I have a question… Was this post game exchange Brees saying you got me this time young buck but I’ll bounce back or Brees, the former MVP, saying,”Hey Griff…you got the juice now?’ According to the sports insiders that create week by week projections, Griffin III wont have the same level of success vs the Rams in week two.

ESPN.com has Griffin projected as the #13 overall quarterback vs St. Louis on the same list that has Vick ranked #5 vs Baltimore fresh off 4 interceptions vs Cleveland. Fantasy projections on NFL.com rank Griffin #9 on the same list that projects the previously struggled Matthew Stafford #1 vs the tough San Francisco defense and the rankings that make the most sense belong to Fleaflicker.com who also have Griffin ranked #9 overall, however, #1-5 is Ryan, Brady, Brees, Rodgers, Romo.

Is this simply just professional expertise at its best predicting performances before they happen? Is it people scared to believe that a rookie quarterback could perform at the same level that Cam Newton performed at for an entire season, the very next season? Who Dat honestly believe that Robert Griffin III has had his moment in the spotlight and now its time for him to be humbled and “welcomed to the NFL?”

I believe that the professionals are afraid to be wrong about what their gut is telling them to project about Griffin. I find it very hard to believe that anyone responsible for ranking players can take the quarterback that snapped the Saints 8-game home win streak at the Superdome and call that performance so fluke that they barely rank him top 15 the following week vs a far more mediocre team. What do you think Redskins Nation? Are these accurate projections or is Griffin going to have to do some more Griffining to earn respect from the world?

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Jan 1, 2012; Jacksonville FL, USA; Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Pierre Garcon (85) catches a pass as Jacksonville Jaguars safety Dawan Landry (26) defends in the second quarter of their game at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-US PRESSWIRE

Slowly but surely, Fantasy Football season is approaching and many of us, including myself, are avid Fantasy players (Champion 3 out of 6 years). There are many staples in previous years that you can build a great Fantasy team around, depending on the scoring settings of your league. Players like Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Arian Foster, Ray Rice, etc. but who from the Washington Redskins will be the breakout player in Fantasy this year? RG3? Tim Hightower? Another member of the 53 man roster? No one? I think this may come as a surprise…

Again, this depends on a variety of factors specific to your particular league (i.e. Depth allowed at each position, scoring system, number of teams, etc.) but the Redskins who would be good Fantasy pickups are: Pierre Garcon and Fred Davis. That may sound very bizarre but they would be a pretty good additions to your team. Let’s look at a typical draft. In the 1^st and 2^nd rounds of a 12 team league you probably should get a ProBowl QB or RB (none of which the Redskins have from last season). 3^rd round you either want to continue your depth at these positions, depending on how many your league requires, or snag a WR. Again, you may want to pickup a perennial Probowler with this pick (i.e. Calvin Johnson, Wes Welker, Larry Fitzgerald, etc.) However, a good 4th  or 5th round pick would be Pierre Garcon. Garcon has the potential to be a great impact player on the Redskins and help this offense excel. Adding him to your team in the 4^th round would be a move you won’t regret. Garcon had 6 TD and almost 1000yds in Indianapolis without a good starting Quarterback AND while being the slot receiver. In the 5^th round, Fred Davis would be a great pick. The main reason I believe Davis should be drafted behind Garcon is because typically you need more Wide Receivers than Tight Ends, meaning you should grab as many as possible as early as possible. Both of these guys will post similar stats and you can count on them to put up respectable numbers weekly. Other Redskin players would be good to add to your roster but later on in the draft or off of Free Agency.

Thanks for Reading and Good Luck!

Follow me on Twitter @KareemNS