I have done so many drafts by now, I don't think I know any other way to function in my life. When my wife asked me what I wanted for dinner last night, I asked her if someone had picked steak yet, and how many people were ahead of me in getting their meals. When we found a good parking spot when going shopping, I said, "I can't believe it fell to us!"

Similarly, the pressure you may have put on yourself leading up to draft day is now behind you. Obviously, we now go into another mode, where we already have to start thinking about early lineup and waiver moves. I won't be surprised to see myself thinking whether I should start or sit my primary care physician for another, or should I drop my cable service and pick up satellite TV (another note to Time Warner Cable: get the NFL Network now.)

You pretty much have to take the same approach to this first week that you did at your draft. Just be prepared and don't over-think. Do your homework. The first game is on Thursday, so you may feel extra pressure to get your lineup in by Thursday. Don't focus on more than one game, though. You don't have to lock in your entire lineup by Thursday. Many league management systems will require you to only lock in your Giants and Redskins by Thursday. You have a lot more time to decide about the rest of your lineup.

If you feel the pressing need to make decisions on Giants and Redskins now, here's some direction. Unless you have another Top 10 quarterback, start Eli Manning. I don't think he is going to have an outstanding game because the Giants will rely on the run due to Washington's very good secondary. Yet Manning will know that, and he is going to limit his mistakes. He's now a more polished, confident, passer, and isn't going to force the issue against the Washington pass defense.

Brandon Jacobs is a fine starter this week. The Giants will use him to help stave off the Washington pass rush and set up Manning for some play-action passes. Plaxico Burress is an obvious start; you didn't draft him to sit him, no matter the matchup. I also like the Giants defensive/special teams unit. Despite the loss of Osi Umenyiora, New York can get pressure with the left side of the defensive line, and the Washington offense clearly is still a work in progress as they adapt to Jim Zorn's schemes. Domenik Hixon can always give you a possible bonus TD in the return game.

I wouldn't start any Redskins except Clinton Portis and Chris Cooley. Washington will likely focus on running behind the strong left side of their line. Zorn should be concerned about the state of his passing game and will want to take the pressure off Jason Campbell. When Campbell does throw, look for him to keep most of his tosses short to medium range, which means a good night for Cooley. Campbell may go deep once or twice to Santana Moss in an attempt to loosen up the coverage, but those will be hit or miss tosses. I would bench Moss if you have a better option, or if it's a close call between him and another WR. I certainly would not start him in two-WR leagues, but again, this is dependent entirely on how many WRs you are allowed to start. Don't expect much from Moss, regardless.

Now that we've cleared our heads regarding the impending opener, you can move on to other tasks as you prepare to set your lineup for the first week. First and foremost, make sure you get your waiver claims in immediately. Do it now so you know the process is done and then you just have to wait to see how things fall out. Don't get crazy, though. Trust yourself that you have drafted well and don't cut some guy based on too much second-guessing. If you drafted early, you will likely be putting in more free agent claims than someone who drafted in the last week. If your league uses a free agent bidding process, save your money for now. Let things play out for at least the first week.

Your job now is simply to stay informed, and you can have some fun, too. While staying abreast of the latest player news, you can spend the next day or two floating out some trade offers. Many other owners will be anxious to make moves, because they still want to get their "fix" on improving their rosters now that the draft is over. The draft day adrenaline will still be pumping in a lot of people, so the next few days are a good time to strike and fill any perceived holes on your roster. You may want to try to upgrade certain areas. Fill those gaps and improve, but steer clear of the blockbuster deal unless it's an offer you simply can't refuse. Have faith in the players you drafted, especially your early picks. Do whatever you can to improve your team, yes, but don't try to deal Randy Moss just a few days after you were so gleeful to land him. Not everything in fantasy football is absolute. Unless you can persuade another owner to make a deal you can't say no to, hold your franchise players. Have fun, make deals, get better, but don't be overaggressive when it comes to shaking things up in a major way.

Also, don’t spend too much time obsessing on start/sit decisions. Matchups should govern decisions between closely ranked players, not make you start a much lesser guy over one of your top players. Plus, lots of matchup predictions you read and hear are going to be based on last year, and the first week of a new season often produces a good amount of surprises. So the best lineup strategy is going to be to stick with proven players wherever possible, guys who have a solid chance of performing well in any matchup. Overall, this week, you must start your best players, and not the ones who seem to have a friendly matchup and look like good gambles. I think it's too early to get "cute" and start DeSean Jackson over a much more established guy because you believe the Rams are going to surrender a lot of yards against the pass.

Your roster tweaks should be minimal and your focus should shift to setting that first lineup. Again, I'm not saying you shouldn't make a major trade, but it's not your primary focus as much as filling holes or upgrading. You should proceed as though your current roster is the one you head into Week One with, and if you do get the chance to acquire Adrian Peterson, that will be a bonus. Float offers out to fill gaps, but let the blockbusters come to you. By Friday, you should have a strong picture of what your lineup should be and you can officially lock it in. For now, keep it ready in concept. Your next goal is clear. Field the best Week One lineup possible, using the best players you drafted. If any major roster moves enter the picture, you can just adjust and move on.

Now, should I trade my PS3 version of Madden 09 for the 360 one? I heard GameStop makes trades. I want to upgrade my Wii library, too.

Scott Engel was a Senior Writer and Managing Editor of Fantasy Sports at CBS Sportsline from 1996 to 2004. He was an Associate Editor and Fantasy Writer/Analyst at ESPN from 2004 to 2008. E-mail Scott at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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