Fantasy Football

I will do the first 8 games of R&D today, with the second 8 games coming tomorrow.

Colts 41 Saints 10

D. Brees (NO): 28-41/192yds/0TD/2INT, 1car/4yds; It was just an all around bad game for the Saints, so there is nothing to be worried about here. As a matter of fact, he is a great trade target after the poor showing.

D. McAllister (NO): 10car/38yds, 2rec/7yds; The theme is going to remain the same with all the Saints, it was just a poor performance. Deuce had 12 touches, while Bush had 16, but the Saints were also down the entire 2nd half. McAllister is obviously going to make his bank when the team is leading.

R. Bush (NO): 12car/38yds, 4rec/7yds; Not what his owners were expecting after likely drafting him in the 1st round of their drafts. He’ll be fine.

E. Johnson (NO): 8rec/57yds; While I like Johnson, and he had a solid game, the Saints are going to be getting buried like this every game. It is nice to see Brees is in rhythm with Johnson, but temper your expectations going forward. Certainly worth a TE2 roster spot with TE1 potential.

M. Colston (NO): 6rec/47 yds; Again, the Saints just didn’t have it in this one. However, Colston is a physical specimen, and he will dominate many games this season. As with the other Saints offensive stars, don’t worry about him.

P. Manning (IND): 18-30/288yds/3TD; Was there ever a doubt?

J. Addai (IND): 23car/118yds/1TD, 3rec/25yds; Owners got a scare with the injury on the 1st play of the game, but Addai made up for it. Health permitted, he is going to be a top 5 RB. There is just no way around it.

K. Keith (IND): 5car/32yds, 1rec/-2yds; The unquestioned handcuff to Addai.

R. Wayne (IND): 7rec/115yds/2TD; There was enough love for both Wayne and Harrison in this one, but Wayne went one better. I expect more of that than ever this season.

M. Harrison (IND): 4rec/83yds/1TD; He always seems to get his share, and the TD came early.

D. Clark (IND): 2rec/48yds, 1car/12yds; The Colts didn’t go 3-wide with Anthony Gonzalez as much as anticipated, which was a good reason why the rookie didn’t catch a pass. This bodes well for Clark going forward.

Javon Walker looked very much in sync with Jay Culter against the Bills on Sunday.

Broncos 15 Bills 14

J. Cutler (DEN): 23-39/304yds/1TD/1INT, 4car/18yds; Not bad from the 2nd year QB, and it was more than I expected. While I am still not completely sold, I feel better about Javon Walker’s status as a #1 WR going forward.

T. Henry (DEN): 23car/139yds, 3rec/44yds; A huge yardage day from the newly acquired Broncos RB. It is obvious that Mike Shanahan is going to use him, and use him often. That is of course until he fumbles or offends him in some other way.

J. Walker (DEN): 9rec/119yds; If Culter continues to be efficient, there is no reason Walker won’t be among the best fantasy WRs at season’s end. He has that much talent.

B. Stokley (DEN): 3rec/65yds; He found 3 large holes in the middle of the field against the Bills D, but this won’t happen consistently. He still belongs on your FA list.

B. Marshall (DEN): 5rec/52yds/1TD; He was on many sleeper lists, and he proved worthy in Week 1. His worth will continue to be reliant on the play of Culter.

J. Losman (BUF): 14-21/97yds/0TD/1INT, 2car/13yds; I realize the Broncos D is tough, but this is pathetic. He is a low as David Carr on my totem poll. The Bills need to realize that they are never going to win with Losman at QB. He belongs on FA lists across the universe.

M. Lynch (BUF): 19car/90yds/1TD, 2rec/9yds; This was a very impressive performance by Lynch, and his owners should be smiling ear to ear. The Broncos D is no pushover, and there will be easier matchups in his future. He is looking like a solid RB2 going forward.

L. Evans (BUF): 2rec/5yds; J.P. Losman should personally call and apologize to every Evans fantasy owner out there. Not to worry though, Evans may have cost you your fantasy matchup this week, but he’ll win you one in the near future. You should have braced for this inconsistency when you drafted him.

Steelers 34 Browns 7

B. Roethlisberger (PIT): 12-23/161yds/4TD, 1car/2yds; I have to admit, other than the 4 TDs, Big Ben and the Steelers passing attack never really got into sync against the Browns. Not to worry, they will work out the kinks, but we’ll take the big scoring game in the meantime.

W. Parker (PIT): 27car/109yds, 1rec/-2yds; It was a heavy dose of Parker after the Steelers had the game in hand, and his owners have to be disappointed in the lack of receiving yards and no TDs.

S. Holmes (PIT): 2rec/55yds/1TD, 1car/11yds; A bigger game was prevented only by the blowout that ensued after Holmes caught his 40-yard TD. There was just no need to take any more shots down the field in the 2nd half of the game.

H. Ward (PIT): 3rec/51yds/1TD; Roethilisberger hit Ward on a short TD early in the game, and then on a few longer passes late. When the Steelers play a more competitive game, the yards will be there.

H. Miller (PIT): 4rec/35yds/1TD; This could be the theme of Miller’s season, very little yards with a TD mixed in. He’s worth owning as a TE2.

J. Lewis (CLE): 11car/35yds, 2rec/11yds; The matchup had this line written all over it, but Lewis may be finished as a legitimate fantasy factor.

K. Winslow (CLE): 4rec/83yds; The fact that the Browns will be playing from behind almost every game will make Winlsow’s stats look good.

B. Edwards (CLE): 3rec/49yds; Edwards owners need to be hoping that Brady Quinn starts sometime soon.

Packers 16 Eagles 13

D. McNabb (PHI): 15-33/184yds/1TD/1INT, 4car/9yds; I’m not so sure this wasn’t the result of a good Packers D as much as it was a bad McNabb. He’ll bounce back next week.

B. Westbrook (PHI): 20car/85yds, 6rec/46yds; Just another day at the office for Westbrook. On a 1st and goal in the 1st half, Westbrook carried the ball once and was thrown the ball twice, but failed to reach the endzone. However, it was a good sign that the Eagles were attempting to get him the ball down there.

J. Avant (PHI): 3rec/54yds/1TD; The Eagles spread the ball too much in the passing game to get excited about Avant.

K. Curtis (PHI): 2rec/53yds; It was clear that the Eagles want to use Curtis as they did Donte Stallworth last season, as their primary deep threat. He will get a few 50+ yard TDs before the year is over.

R. Brown (PHI): 1rec/14yds; I hope I wasn’t the only one who saw this coming. Brown will have his better days, but I just don’t believe he’s a #1 type WR. McNabb’s tendency not to lock onto one will leave Brown owners frustrated many weeks.

Texans 20 Chiefs 3

M. Schaub (HOU): 16-22/225yds/1TD/1INT, 1car/-1yd; The 77-yard TD to Andre Johnson made his stat line, but the Texans were also uncharacteristically winning the entire game. That will change, and Schaub is going to have a solid fantasy season.

A. Green (HOU): 16car/73yds, 4rec/23yds; Not a bad opener of Green, but Ron Dayne getting 13 carries is not a good sign. We’ll see if this becomes a committee going forward.

R. Dayne (HOU): 13car/33yds; The poor game from Dayne may lead to more Green touches, but only time will tell.

A. Johnson (HOU): 7rec/142yds/1TD; It is not a coincidence that Johnson broke his career long TD catch in just one game with Matt Schaub. David Carr couldn’t do this for AJ, and that is why I was so high on him going into the season. There is plenty more where this came from.

J. Jones (HOU): 2rec/33yds, 1car/4yds; Not a bad opener for the rookie considering the Texans were winning the entire game. He is clearly more of an option than Kevin Walter.

O. Daniels (HOU): 1rec/14yds; There will be better games for the Texans TE. There was just no need to chuck the ball that many times in this one.

L. Johnson (KC): 10car/43yds, 7rec/44yds; It is obvious that Johnson won’t get anywhere near his TD total from last season with this team, but he’s still going to be very valuable as a RB1. If a LJ owner is worried about his week one totals, try and pitch him a trade below his value. We are all going to see the biggest dose of Johnson yet to come, because quite frankly, that is the only hope the Chiefs have to win a game.

D. Bowe (KC): 3rec/42yds; With Eddie Kennison pulling a hammy early, and for lack of better options, the rookie had a decent game. If Kennison is forced to miss time, Bowe becomes the #2 receiving option behind Tony Gonzalez.

T. Gonzalez (KC): 5rec/28yds; Much like Larry Johnson, Gonzalez is going to have a solid year in a bad offense because he is about the only option they have. He’ll be better going forward.

Titans 13 Jaguars 10

V. Young (TEN): 11-18/78yds/1TD/1INT, 11car/22yds/1TD; ESPN’s Tom Jackson said last night, “I don’t care about the stats, Vince Young just wins games.” Well, that may be true, but fantasy owners only care about the stats. As I have said before, his passing numbers will be too poor week-to-week to make him a viable QB1.

C. Brown (TEN): 19car/175yds, 1rec/3yds; While he was on my sleeper list, I certainly didn’t expect anything near this in Week 1. He deserves to get more carries than LeDale White going forward, and he probably will. However, if you own him, I would only start him as a RB3 until White is out of the picture.

L. White (TEN): 18car/66yds, 2rec/7yds; After watching this game on Sunday, I know why people question White’s weight and work ethic. He looked very overweight, while looking sluggish and slow along with it. There is no way he should get more touches than Chris Brown next week, and I don’t believe he will. Brown is the Titan RB to own.

J. Gage (TEN): 2rec/26yds; I put Justin Gage here just to make all owners aware that there is not a Titan WR worth owning. He led the team in receiving Sunday.

D. Garrard (JAX): 17-30/204yds/1TD, 5car/24yds; More than anything, Garrard’s game shows me that he can move the Jaguars offense enough to make their running game effective. He is not an option as a fantasy QB.

M. Jones-Drew (JAX): 7car/32yds, 3rec/28yds; This game from a Jags offensive perspective was a complete mirage, as they never really had the ball. The Titans ability to run over the Jags normally stout D kept the offense off the field for most of the 1st half. Jones-Drew carried the ball only 7 times, with Fred Taylor only having 6. Jones-Drew was on the field much more than Taylor, which is a good sign for coming weeks. Don’t get nervous if you’re an owner, and I suggest trying to pry him away from an owner who is.

F. Taylor (JAX): 6car/16yds; Again, the Jags were never able to play their offensive game, which is pounding the rock. They didn’t have the ball much in the 1st half, and they were playing catch-up in the 4th quarter. Taylor and Jones-Drew will get things on track next week against the Falcons.

D. Northcutt (JAX): 4rec/57yds; While he had a decent game, many of the Jags WR will remain inconsistent week-to-week. They will get back to pounding the ball on the ground next week.

J. Broussard (JAX): 2 rec/55yds/1TD; See Dennis Northcutt.

Vikings 24 Falcons 3

W. Dunn (ATL): 22car/55yds, 4rec/26yds; I’m sorry, but Dunn doesn’t deserve 17 more carries than Jerious Norwood, he’s just not good enough anymore.

J. Norwood (ATL): 5car/33yds, 2rec/24yds; Ummm…..I’m really confused. Jerious Norwood is by far the Falcons best offensive weapon, and he touches the ball 7 times? New head coach Bobby Petrino should be fired after one game, and I’m serious. If Warrick Dunn continues to out-touch Norwood, the Falcons may not win a game. If you are a Norwood owner, I wouldn’t worry, because I find it impossible to believe Petrino can be this dumb.

A. Crumpler (ATL): 4rec/40yds; As bad as Joey Harrington is, he is not any worse of a passer than Michael Vick is. He’ll have his big games as usual.

A. Peterson (MIN): 19car/103yds, 1rec/60yds/1TD; Wow, he looked good. It helped that Chester Taylor hurt his oblique early in the game, but it seemed AP was destined to shine in the opener. Although Taylor’s injury doesn’t appear serious, Peterson will be the man as long as healthy.

Patriots 38 Jets 14

T. Brady (NE): 22-28/297yds/3TD, 1car/4yds; I called for 3 TDs, and Brady delivered. As long as the Patriots aren’t winning every game (which is possible) Brady should have another career year.

L. Maroney (NE): 20car/72yds; Considering the Pats scored 38 points, it is disappointing that Maroney didn’t catch a pass or score a TD. It is also worrisome that Sammy Morris got 11 carries, and was effective doing so (54 yards). Heath Evans scored a late 1-yard TD, but that was with the game way out of hand, so it remains to be seen who will get the goal line touches when it counts. Concern should be growing for owners who took him late in the 1st round.

S. Morris (NE): 11car/54yds, 2rec/11yds; I don’t think anyone envisioned Morris getting this much work, but the Patriots are unpredictable. It could have been because of the score, but it could also be because the Pats don’t want to overwork Maroney.

R. Moss (NE): 9rec/183yds/1TD; I said he was the wildcard of the week, and he was all of that. I know it is just one week, but Moss may be on his way to a career yardage year. Oh yeah, he can score some TDs as well.

W. Welker (NE): 6rec/61yds/1TD; Despite the fact that Randy Moss showed up to play, there were still enough Tom Brady passes to go around. Welker is going to have a solid year with Moss opening up the underneath routes, and he is worth playing weekly as a WR3.

D. Stallworth (NE): 1rec/19yds; I think this game proves that Stalloworth may be the most inconsistent of the Patriots new WRs. However, that doesn’t mean he’s not going to have his big games, because he will. It is going to be difficult to judge when those games will come.

B. Watson (NE): 2rec/9yds/1TD; Although he was the forgotten man yardage wise, he managed to get a score from Brady. With all of Brady’s new weapons, Watson may have to take a backseat in the middle of the field.

C. Pennington (NYJ): 16-21/167yds/2TD, 1car/3yds; Much prediction came true, he didn’t finish the game. The stat line doesn’t look bad, but he is still a fantasy reserve at best.

T. Jones (NYJ): 14car/42yds, 1rec/6yds; Similar to what was expected. He’ll have some good games against weak defenses, but he can’t be counted on as a RB2.

L. Washington (NYJ): 4rec/15yds, 3rec/30yds; Washington had half the touches Thomas Jones did, and almost equaled him in yards. I can see this quickly turning into a split carry situation. Washington continues to be worth owning.

L. Coles (NYJ): 7rec/59yds/2TD; More yards and less TDs were expected, but Coles owners will certainly take it. Don’t be surprised if he doesn’t score again for a little while.

J. Cotchery (NYJ): 6rec/57yds; A decent game from Cotchery, but the Jets passing game will not be good enough to make both Coles and Cotchery worthy fantasy starters going forward. I wouldn’t start Cotchery as a WR3 unless Coles gets injured.

Feel free to email me at Jdimaggio5@aol.com with any questions you might have regarding your own team.