Starting Lineup Suggestions?

Question

I'm new to fantasy football. I was wondering what areas I should try to improve in. I am on a 12 team league and had 9th pick

QB Drew Brees

RB Frank Gore

RB Darren McFadden

WR Reggie Wayne

WR Calvin Johnson

TE Todd Heap

K Phil Dawson

DEF Seattle

Bench

RB Matt Forte

WR Hines Ward

WR D.J. Hackett

QB Jon Kitna

QB JaMarcus Russell

Answer 1

Drop one of your QB's,  Russell!!!  Pick up a RB.  You can never have enough.  Start Forte over McFadden.  You should always start the "Starter" over the 2nd back.  The NFL this year has so many RBs to play, you can pick one up in FA.  I also think you should be starting Ward over Johnson.  Ward is a solid Red Zone receiver.  If you are going to start Johnson, you should be starting Kitna as well.  When Kitna hit Johnson it will be points for both and that is better than one.  It's risky though.  My starting line up with this team would be...

Brees

Gore

Forte

Ward

Wayne

Heap

Dawson

Seattle

Answer 2

Until JaMarcus Russell outperforms the available players, he doesn't belong on your roster. With Brees & Kitna you're set at the QB slot. McFadden vs. Forte is a tough call - the Raiders claim they're going to run the ball a ton, but Forte may not split as many carries as McFadden. Calvin Johnson should definitely be starting over Hines Ward. Ward has to compete with Santonio Holmes, Heath Miller and to a lesser extent, Limas Sweed for catches, plus the Steelers have 2 decent RBs - stay with Johnson starting.

As I see your starting lineup, it's good how it is, you should be competitive. If you end up dropping Russell (which you should), look at guys like Chester Taylor or Ray Rice unless there's a solid player that should already be on a team. Good luck.