Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers

Newton is coming off of a three-interception performance against the New York Giants last Thursday. It doesn’t promise to get much easier going up against an extremely hot Atlanta Falcons defense this week.

Newton, who drew the ire of teammates and fans alike for his performance and lack of accountability on the field last week, is going to be under a tremendous microscope this week in “Hotlanta.” I just have a hard time envisioning him being able to rebound against what has to be considered one of the best teams in the NFL through three weeks.

Moreover, it is important to note that Carolina will probably be playing from behind a majority of the game. This seems to indicate that Newton will be just as mistake-prone as we saw last week.

Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

The Green Bay Packers defense has played a whole lot better over the course of the last two games. They allowed a total of 185 passing yards against the Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks. Green Bay is also coming off of a stunning late game loss against Seattle, a game that was taken away from them by horrendous officiating, which ended up becoming a prelude to the NFLRA and NFL coming to a Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Needless to say, Green Bay isn’t going to be in any mood to mess around against a 0-3 Saints’ team that is struggling a great deal on both side of the ball.

Normally Brees would be a must start against what has been a weak Packers’ defense. I just don’t see him or New Orleans having much success in this game. Look for a couple of interceptions in what will quickly become a blowout.

Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles

I might sound like a broken-record here, but you simply cannot afford to start Michael Vick with the type of performances we have seen in the first three weeks of the season. In short, it makes absolutely no sense to go with a mistake-prone quarterback in fantasy football.

I dropped the talented Eagles’ quarterback all the way down to No. 23 on my quarterback rankings this past week. That seems to indicate that he is no longer a viable QB1 option in standard fantasy league. Not much more to say here.

Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears

The Dallas Cowboys defense is giving up 137 yards per game through the air this season, ranking them atop the National Football League in that category. Obviously the additions of Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr at cornerback has had a lot to do with that.

Meanwhile, Chicago’s passing game has only been able to compile an average of 122 yards per game over the course of the last two weeks. As you can see, indicators are there for Cutler and company to struggle a great deal in the passing game.