PLAY OF THE WEEK
Steve Smith, Carolina at St. Louis -- The Panthers could get caught up in a high-scoring game with the Rams on Sunday and that, along with the fast turf in St. Louis, should bode well for Smith. In 14 games last season, he was a model of consistency, making five or more catches 11 times and recording three 100-plus-yard outings.
QUARTERBACK
STARTING NOD -- Tom Brady, New England at New York Jets: Brady will continue to spread the ball around, but the big difference this season is the quality of wide receivers he has to work with. Randy Moss and Donte' Stallworth made most of the offsea son headlines, but look for Brady to enjoy a nice rapport with Wes Welker.
OTHER SOLID OPTIONS -- Tony Romo, Dallas; Matt Hasselbeck, Seat tle; Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia.
NOT THIS WEEK -- Vince Young, Tennessee; Philip Rivers, San Diego; Rex Grossman, Chicago.
RUNNING BACK
STARTING NOD -- Shaun Alexander, Seattle vs. Tampa Bay. Owners of the 2005 Most Valuable Player can rest easy after he enjoys a solid outing against the visiting Buccaneers, put ting to rest talk about his foot woes. Alexander returned to form at the end of last season and had 100-plus yards and two scores in a playoff loss to the Bears.
OTHER SOLID OPTIONS -- Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville; LaMont Jordan, Oakland; Willie Parker, Pittsburgh.
NOT THIS WEEK -- Cadillac Wil liams, Tampa Bay; Cedric Benson, Chicago; Clinton Portis, Washington.
WIDE RECEIVER
STARTING NOD -- Terrell Owens, Dallas vs. New York Giants: The flam boyant receiver has promised a big season to fantasy owners and should get off to a fine start. Consider: He will be playing in prime time Sunday night and caught 14 passes for 182 yards and a touchdown in two games against the Giants last season.
OTHER SOLID OPTIONS -- Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona; T.J. Houshmand zadeh, Cincinnati; Jerricho Cotchery, New York Jets.
NOT THIS WEEK -- Lee Evans, Buf falo; Reggie Brown, Philadelphia; Bernard Berrian, Chicago.
TIGHT END
STARTING NOD -- Vernon Davis, San Francisco vs. Arizona: Primed for a breakout year, Davis will get off to a fast start in what should be a high-scoring game . The former Maryland star had nine catches for 128 yards and a touchdown in two meetings with Arizona as a rookie in 2006.
OTHER SOLID OPTIONS -- Jeremy Shockey, New York Giants; Tony Gon zalez, Kansas City; Todd Heap, Ravens.
NOT THIS WEEK -- Heath Miller, Pittsburgh; Alge Crumpler, Atlanta; Kellen Winslow, Cleveland.
KICKER
STARTING NOD -- Jeff Wilkins, St. Louis vs. Carolina: Ranked third among kickers last season with 131 points, Wilkins plays with a potent offense that always presents oppor tunities, particularly when the Rams play inside at home.
DEFENSE/SPECIAL TEAMS
STARTING NOD -- Minnesota vs. At lanta: Stout against the run last sea son, the Vikings should be able to handle Falcons backs Warrick Dunn and Jerious Norwood, leaving more responsibility to quarterback Joey Harrington. That might add up to big fantasy points.