I never liked the first day of school. From tearing up during the Pledge of Allegiance in kindergarten all the way up to my final semester of college where I don’t even think I shaved to look extra sharp for that first day. It was just a bunch of build up and no payoff. You get hyped for the first day and then you just end up having to introduce yourself a ton in between forgetting the various names of people who just said hello. It’s overrated. And since every good fantasy owner spends enough time researching players that the game practically ends up being a class unto itself I’ve always found school to be a solid comparison for parts of the season.

So if I was always less than enthused with the thought of the first day, why do I LOVE the first game of the season? It’s because for fantasy owners the first day isn’t tonight.The first day was when we looked at preliminary rankings. We introduced ourselves to the new class of rookies, and over analyzed the first reports out of mini camp. We delved through coach speak and the constant mantra that competition is everything and that no starting spot is safe. We’ve waded through QB battles, RB depth charts, and WR target breakdowns. We’ve talked about deep sleepers like they’re can’t miss players and we’ve somehow said that Marshawn Lynch is a risky pick.

By the time training camp, Hard Knocks, and the preseason were all said and done it was well past the first day. This to me is more like the beginning of the third week of classes where you’re starting to get a feel for the material. You know what your professor expects, the workload hasn’t become ridiculous yet, and you’ve even started to talk to the cute girl that you have Art History and English with. Everything is great right now, we can focus on watching football, real football (because we all know the preseason just didn’t cut it).

And while we’re on the subject of real football, let’s not forget why we’re here…Fantasy Football

Luckily the fantasy advice for this game is pretty straightforward. For the Packers you’re starting Rodgers, Lacy, Nelson, and Cobb. When it comes to the Seahawks You’re starting Wilson, Lynch, Harvin, and the Seattle D/ST. You gotta love teams that don’t give you too much debate. Don’t get cute with matchups or anything either, there’s plenty of time for that 3 weeks from now.

If you have any questions you can comment below or tweet me @TheFantasyForce