Week 1 has finally come....and gone. I have been draft prepping all summer long, staring at my dynasty roster to see if I can improve my already 1st place (but unfortunately not a Championship winning) team, keeping up on every single tidbit of information from all the training camps and preseason action, trying to cram every single useful piece of information and color coding on my cheat sheet for my money leagues, which I always must maintain 1 page per position to appease my "OCD." Ultimately, I have simply been anxious for the 2009 season to begin ever since Santonio Holmes' tiptoe catch in the Superbowl. FINALLY!!! FOOTBALL IS BACK, BABY!!!
On Sunday, my wife was kind enough to watch my 2 daughters all day in order to allow me to watch football. Well, after watching my Lions blow another game and spending the entire day staring at all my FF matches on the computer and the games on TV...."ALRIGHT! Colston got a TD early, he should be in for a huge game on my team!"....I decided to spend the remainder of sunlight out golfing.
Pass on watching more football in week 1??? Am I crazy???
Well, spending all day inside on football Sundays causes me to obsess about every point scored on my teams or my opponents' teams. Staying true to form, I watched just about every point being scored on my fantasy teams while also watching the Lions desperately trying to figure out Drew Brees...."What happened to Colston?"....as he spread the ball around to all his weapons. After 4 straight hours of obsessively watching my teams...."OK, AD and Reggie Wayne got my back"....I had to break myself away from the computer and enjoy the beautiful day. I guess I will take a 150 yd shot, from the rough, over trees, landing within 1 foot of the hole, over getting excited that Matt Hasselbeck completed a 15 yard passing play.
Anyhow, here are some stats and thoughts about players and teams from week 1.
Starting Studs
Players labeled "studs" always own a spot on your starting lineup, no matter what the match up is. These particular studs show why...
Adrian Peterson ~ 25 runs, 180 yards, 3 TDs; 1 catch (1 target), 18 yards
Drew Brees ~ 26/34 completions, 358 yards, 6 TDs, 1 int
Reggie Wayne ~ 10 catches (14 targets), 162 yards, 1 TD
Tom Brady ~ 39/53 completions, 378 yards, 2 TDs, 1 int; 1 run, 9 yards
Greg Jennings ~ 6 catches (8 targets), 106 yards, 1 TD
Randy Moss ~ 12 catches (16 targets), 141 yards
Tony Gonzalez ~ 5 catches (9 targets), 73 yards, 1 TD
Downgraded Players
Here are some great performances from guys who many thought were overrated or who slid in most drafts because of certain situations supposed to be detrimental to their values...
Tony Romo ~ 16/27 completions, 353 yards, 3 TDs; 1 run, 2 yards
Thomas Jones ~ 20 runs, 107 yards, 2 TDs
Willis McGahee ~ 10 runs, 44 yards, 1 TD; 4 catches (5 targets), 31 yards, 1 TD
Mark Clayton ~ 5 catches (9 targets), 77 yards, 1 TD; 1 run, 9 yards
Jeremy Shockey ~ 4 catches (4 targets), 31 yards, 2 TDs
Todd Heap ~ 5 catches (8 targets), 74 yards, 1 TD
Over Achievers
These are some of the players who had more of a one-week-wonder performance or who happened to play better than their potential. I'm not saying any of these players cannot perform like this again, but rather I'm saying don't expect those kind of stats from these guys very often. They will cause you migraines if you attempt to integrate them into a regular starting rotation for your team. Need I say more?...
Patrick Crayton ~ 4 catches (6 targets), 135 yards, 1 TD; 1 run, 5 yards
Julius Jones ~ 19 runs, 117 yards, 1 TD; 2 catches (2 targets), 19 yards
Benjamin Watson ~ 6 catches (7 targets), 77 yards, 2 TDs
Cedric Benson ~ 21 runs, 76 yards, 1 TD; 4 catches (4 targets), 32 yards
Byron Leftwich ~ 25/41 completions, 276 yds, 1 TD; 3 runs, 3 yards
Louis Murphy ~ 4 catches (9 targets), 87 yards, 1 TD
Brandon Stokley ~ 1 catch (4 targets), 87 yards, 1 TD
You're Killing Me!
What the hell happened to these guys? You are looking at a few first round draft picks and regular starters in general. This list of guys lost a lot of FF games everywhere for their owners. These are not simply underachieving starters, these guys had absolutely horrendous performances. In fact, only Matt Forte and Jay Cutler from this list scored 5 or more points in standard, no-PPR scoring, and Cutler threw 4 picks in his bust-worthy effort. I won't even bother listing their stats because all you need to know is, for a lack of a better descriptive phrase, they sucked! I also won't so much as consider listing Jake Delhomme here because if you started him, you deserve to lose...
Matt Forte
Steve Slaton
Andre Johnson
Steve Smith (CAR)
Brandon Marshall/Eddie Royal
Jay Cutler
Matt Schaub
Reggie Bush
Larry Johnson
Terrell Owens/Lee Evans
Knowshon Moreno
Braylon Edwards
Greg Olsen
Laveranues Coles
Carson Palmer
Santana Moss
Willie Parker
Thoughts and Observations
Before the season started, I labeled both Matt Forte and Steve Slaton as sophomore slumpers/busts for this year. So...it's just week 1 and there is a lot of football, I understand that. However, I knew that Jay Cutler doesn't check down, and that is where a lot of Forte's stats came from his rookie year. Also, the Texans coaching staff has been looking for a short-yardage RB to compliment Slaton, but his week 1 futility was more a credit to the revamped Rex Ryan defense of the Jets, than it was to a Slaton slump.
Jake Delhomme....really?!?! Can the Panthers please do something to assure the preservation of what has the potential to be a Hall of Fame career for Steve Smith?
While watching the Raiders/Chargers game on Monday night, I noticed a few things: The Raiders will run, run, run, and then pass to Zach Miller. I suggest picking up Michael Bush if he is still on the waiver wire of your league, or trade for him while his value is still low, especially if you own Darren McFadden. Bush is one McFadden injury away from being a very good RB2 for your team. I also noticed Ladainian Tomlinson on the sidelines a lot nursing a "sprained ankle." He has had one of the most illustrious careers for a RB, but he is no longer a regular FF starter, and with the mileage he has on his body, I would certainly expect him to get dinged up a lot more easily. When he is healthy, you still may want to sit him against tough run defenses. If you drafted him in the first round...well, that is your fault, and you should try desperately to trade him to someone who is still enamored with his namesake and will give you top value in return.
Michael Crabtree is an egotistical moron.
Do you think Romo misses Terrell Owens? The Tampa Bay game was a statement game for him. You may also notice I listed Patrick Crayton as an over achiever from week 1. Three reasons for that: Miles Austin, Sam Hurd, and Martellus Bennett. Roy Williams and Jason Witten are the top 2 receivers on the team. Not only has Crayton been terribly inconsistent throughout his career in Dallas, but he will be fighting those other 3 guys all year for TD and yardage scraps leftover from Williams and Witten. Did I also forget to mention that Marion Barber and Felix Jones are very good receiving RBs?
Here are some defense shout-outs:
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