The Sack: SB Nation’s Fantasy Football Mailbag offers injury remedies for Week 3

@TheSackSBN How many Asiata/McKinnon questions will you end up getting?

— Brendan Darr (@BrendanDarr) September 17, 2014

Nowhere close to what I got last week, though I hope that question's been put to rest. Matt Asiata's the short-term guy and a RB2/RB3, while Jerick McKinnon is the dynasty stash. This week is all about Bobby Rainey and Knile Davis questions. Will I answer them?*

@TheSackSBN was working during ? period.. can you answer this for me ...best D this week and rest of year-Browns, Dolphins, Chiefs? thx.

— Mark Harmon (@rayguy3) September 17, 2014

I'm not really a fan of sticking with the same defense each week. The consensus top defense heading into the season was the Seattle Seahawks, and even though I still think they'll top the ranks by season's end, we were reminded last week that even the best can be lit-up.

With the Seahawks about to face the Denver Broncos -- and yes, I did watch the Super Bowl -- it's not easy to be confident in them, despite what they did the last time these two teams met. This week, if I don't have the New England Patriots or Houston Texans on my roster, I'd much rather play the waiver wire and test my chances with an average defense about to face a terrible offense.

That said, there isn't much on the wire this week that warrants much excitement. I'm starting the Indianapolis Colts in a few leagues this week because of a juicy matchup against a Jacksonville Jaguars team that just allowed 10 sacks to Washington. The Philadelphia Eagles also have a boom-or-bust matchup versus a Kirk Cousins-led offense, but there's a chance that could backfire. Better yet, taking a heavily favored team like the New Orleans Saints tends to lead to good things. Of your choices though, I prefer Miami, Kansas City and Cleveland, in that order for this week. Reverse the order, and that's my thoughts on where they rank for the rest of the season.

@TheSackSBN Pick two RB: S. Jackson, B. Pierce, T. Richardson.

— Tom Garrett (@TheAxisOfEgo) September 17, 2014

Fantasy owners, take a good look at these choices. Not meaning to poke fun at Tom or anything, because this is not a unique situation. More fantasy owners than not are having to choose between similar, sometimes sadder, options. That's what happens to the many who drafted Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice, Jamaal Charles, Ben Tate, Ryan Mathews, Tshimanga Biakabutuka, or Chris Fuamatu-Ma-Afala. It's only Week 3, and guess what: the RB position is going to get worse before it gets better.

Bernard Pierce is my first choice since he's no longer in John Harbaugh's doghouse for fumbling. He was trusted with a full workload in Week 2, and is still seeing goal-line opportunities despite having yet to cross it. The Cleveland Browns defense is no slouch, but I like Pierce's chances of having a big enough volume to warrant being penciled into the lineup.

As for choosing between Steven Jackson and Trent Richardson ... oof. Do you want the has-been, or the never-was? Do you want the guy who has only eclipsed 100 total yards once since the start of 2013, or do you want the ... wait, that actually applies to both of them!

Both backs have favorable matchups this week, and it will ultimately come down to what each offense wants to do. The Colts, despite having one of the best quarterbacks in the league, seem resigned to wanting a balanced attack on offense. The Atlanta Falcons were the pass-heaviest team of 2013 when everything went wrong, but were still seventh in 2012 when they finished just shy of the NFC title. They like to take to the air, and considering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have allowed Derek Anderson and Austin Davis to succeed in doing so, you can bet the Falcons want some of that.

The Colts still want something out of T-Rich, and I think this is a week where they can instill some much-needed confidence in him. The Jacksonville Jaguars had no answer for Washington's ground game, and the threat of Andrew Luck and company could leave them unarmed versus a steady dosage of the ground game. It's not a preferable situation, but there's at least a sliver of enough upside to make me want to go with Richardson this week.

Andre Ellington has a foot injury that is supposed to hamper his production. Apparently no one told him this. Sure, owners can lament that he hasn't gotten in the end zone yet, but they can't hate the fact he's averaged 17 touches for 90 yards over his first two games despite his ailment. If he's averaging 5.1 yards per carry at less than 100 percent, I'm excited to see what a healthy Ellington can do with the backfield all to himself. Start him this week, even versus a run defense like the San Francisco 49ers.

Your ace in the hole this week though, is Knile Davis. Though Jamaal Charles hasn't officially been ruled out yet, his high-ankle sprain will likely warrant RB1/RB2 volume for his handcuff. The Chiefs game plan won't change too much in Charles' absence, as evidenced by Davis' near 30-point output in PPR scoring leagues last week. He'll get fed the ball, and cash in on a few of Alex Smith's patented checkdowns. Davis is a low-end RB1 with upside for as long as Charles is sidelined. As for your flex, put in Mike Wallace this week and watch him continue to come into his own under Bill Lazor's tutelage.

Only in the deepest of leagues. Bobby Rainey has been nothing but lights-out in relief of Doug Martin, but the best case scenario for him is a shared backfield. Martin still projects to get the early-down and goal-line work, and though he's also a capable pass catcher, Rainey may have supplanted him in that area. The Tampa Bay backfield is not a situation I'd like to be dealing with on my roster (I am though, and in a few leagues), but Martin is the one I would plug into my lineup as long as he's healthy. He's gotten the first-team practice reps all week and gets to face a sieve of a Falcons defense. Even in a shared backfield, that's enough for me to consider him as a RB2/flex option.