Week 2 Name Calling

Name Calling Is Our Weekly Feature where we help you figure out which name to call for that flex position, #3 wideout spot, or any other lineup conundrum you may be faced with. Our goal is to help you decide on borderline starters by revealing who will hit pay dirt and who will implode. None of this "start Peyton Manning" or "sit Derek Hagan" nonsense. No loving, hating, flaming, or video gaming either. Just a bit of name calling is all. Usually in a neatly sealed package delivered late Saturday Night when I finally get to it because, umm, I want it to be fresh and current for you on Sunday morning.

Hmm... Let's see here. Looking back at the scoreboard from last week, how did I do? Start Willie Parker, ok check. Sit Marques Colston, yep that turned out well. Bench Tom Brady's cologney piece of balogney, (shooting myself in the temple for that as I speak, don't you worry) alright. Oh, and here's this one, start Dante Rosario, yep that was a winner. What? You don't remember me saying that stuff? I swear, I swear. Right here on page... ok. That's bull crap. Who knew Rashard Mendenhall wasn't a goal line back? Who knew Eddie Royal was a stud? Who knew Robert de Niro and Al Pacino would suck so bad? Not me.

So take these name calls with a grain of salt. Season your lineups with your own research and input; do not simply regurgitate what I say onto your roster. Because most of the time, that's exactly what it will be, regurgitation. Ralph. Vomit. I said to sit Donovan McNabb. Seven days later he's the best quarterback in football. Plug in Laurence Maroney? Please. Belichick doesn't hate him any less than last year. Every single schmoe fantasy advice giver has said some variation of this exact same sermon, and I probably ripped off about 38 different guys's format for said post, but it's important that you understand. Be confident, not fixated with me. But back to the non-sappy, non-preachery, non-waste-of-time-retarded stuff that you hopefully didn't already know.

My current winning percentage is 40%. I'd be a hall of fame baseball player! Chad Pennington was genius and I didn't see him on any other experts radar. The MoJo and Taylor predictions were money. Derrick Mason? The Carolina 5 letter abbreviation nickname wrecking crew duo of DWill and JStew? Call me whatever names you want about that. Call and ignore these people for week 2. Who You Gonna Call

Eli Manning - I hate Eli Manning. He's not good at football. He's not good at double stuffed racing. Plus his hair is funny. He's a good Trent Dilfer with a better last name, ok. Shoot me. But this week he plays the early season least-favorites, the St. Louis Rams. They got crushed by McNabb and all his tendinitis glory. With Plax looking as good as any wideout in the league, don't hesitate to put this bad actor into your starting lineup. Damon Huard - Here is a spot start for ya. Oakland let the likes of Eddie Royal, Darrel Jackson, and Brandon Stokely help Jay Cutler drop 300 passing yards against them. Larry Johnson will be the defensive focus of the Raiders so Dwayne Bowe will have some room to run around and do his thing. Rex Ryan has gray; Huard will have gold this week. Or at least some bronze. A touchdown or two.

Willie Parker - I'm not sure if I believe he's Fast and Wily Superman Willie Parker again, but for week two he will be. Pittsburgh is playing Cleveland in primetime Sunday Night and the Browns gave up three rushing touchdowns to the Cowboys in their first game. Big Ben is hurting a bit, so Tomlin will rely on the run more. Parker will benefit and can not be benched even in the smallest of leagues.

Reggie Bush - With Colston out, Bush is the number two pass catcher on the debth chart behind Shockey. He proved he's still the explosive, shifty, make plays type of guy that we saw Chris Berman make sound effects for in college. He has huge opportunities now. He'll make the most of them and is a must start in every league format.

Jerricho Cotchery - He's real. Last week was not a fluke. 2007 was his warm up season, 2008 is when he breaks out. Cotchery is Favre's number 1 option in the passing game, and Coles, if he even plays after being limited in practice all week, has been quoted as saying he doesn't yet "have a feel" for Favre. Don't let the New England match up scare you. Their secondary is actually a bit weak. You can't pass on Cotch in a 12 teamer.

Ronald Curry - Lost in the Tom Brady injury madness in the first Pats game of the season was the fact that Randy Moss was still a monster, putting up 116 and a score against Kansas City. That was with Matt Cassel throwing him the ball. Oakland plays the Chiefs this week and coming off a game in which Jamarcus Russel actually looked solid, dropping two scores, the passing game should click. It's tough to read who the number one receiving option is right now, but Ronald Curry supposedly had the leg up all pre season and is the best looking wideout of the bunch. I'd take a risk on him in a standard 12 team league.

Matt Cassel - If Chad Pennington and Greg Camarillo can do it, anyone can do it. A week later and the New York Jets still have injury issues in the secondary. Cassel has the little guy named Randy Moss who probably has the ability to dominate fill in backup cornerbacks. The best part though? How do you gameplan against someone who hasn't played in a game in about 38 years? Cassel has not started since high school. What, the Jets are going to check that tape out and figure out how to scheme based on how he did when he was 16? From one mediocre QB to another, take a flyer on Cassel if you are a non Brady owner who managed to snag him off waivers and Brady handcuffers, be confident this week in your karaoke singing hail mary.

On Speed Dial (Names you should always, always call, using discretion of course. I don't want idiots saying I told them to start some dude over LDT): RB's against Detroit, WR's against St. Louis, TE's against San Diego, QB's against Atlanta

Who You Not Gonna Call

Drew Brees - Ya, ya. He's the number one quarterback in fantasy football right now. I don't buy that he keeps that up, at least at first, without Marques Colston. David Patten, Devery Henderson, and Robert Meachem are not the wide receiving corps of a top fantasy option.

Steven Jackson - It took stud rusher Clinton Portis 23 carries to just get to a measly 84 rushing yards, an average of 3.6 a touch, against the Giants last weekend. SJax and the Rams look horrible already and if you can, I'd pass up starting Jackson against a New York defense that looks very solid against the run. Aww first round picks...

Desaun Jackson - Let's not dub him Jerry Rice just yet. The Eagles played the super bowl least-favorite St. Louis Rams week one. Whoop dee doo. I'm not jumping the McNabb and friends train just yet. Especially not with them playing a Browns team that shut down the high powered Cleveland Browns passing game last week.

Derek Anderson - Think Anderson's bad streak at the end of last season was a fluke? Look at his week one totals against the 'Boys. Now look at his matchup this Sunday, Pittsburgh. Mat Schaub was less than good against the Steelers last week and don't expect a slumping DA to do much better.

Not On Speed Dial (Names you should always, always caller ID check and ignore, once again, using discretion of course. I don't want idiots saying I told them to sit Randy Moss) - RB's against Tennessee, Kyle Orton, San Francisco WR's

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Stat Boy Saturday: TOM BRADY DIED AND OMG MY SEASONS OVER AND LT SUCKS AND...

Another week with our honorary stat boy, Zach Fein of Fein Sports. A contributor with as much stat muscle as anyone in the business. You may not understand what he's says and use it for you fantasy leagues, but if you're in the mood to be baffled and confused, then boy does he have you covered. Because life is one big spreadsheet. This week he gets the dirt on the legitimacy of week 1 numbers. ...Shut up Look, you shouldn’t be trading away Peyton Manning for Jay Cutler or Donovan McNabb, LaDanian Tomlinson for Michael Turner, or Torry Holt for Eddie Royal after Week One. And I’m sure you know that, too. There is always a week one surprise (See: Holcomb, Kelly, 2002; Ismail, Qadry, 2002; and Jordan, LaMont, 2007) that doesn’t always pan out. And then there’s also the week one bust, the first-round pick who puts up less than five points. The question is, How do those players perform for the rest of the year? The following tables show the comparison of the Week One points-per-game and Season PPG of various groups of the end-of-season top 30 or 50, depending on the position, since 2002. (Tight Ends and Quarterbacks are split up into groups of five based on the top 30, while running back and wide receivers are split into groups of ten based on the top 50.) The average percent error column is the absolute difference of that group’s Season The following tables show the comparison of the Week One points-per-game and Season PPGPPG and week one PPG, then divided by the season PPG and finally multiplied by 100 to get the percent out of 100. (Ed. Note: Players who were in the top-30 or top-50 in the end-of-season ranks but not in that same range for week one points were marked with having a zero for week one.]

Top-30 Quarterbacks

Rank	SeasonPPG	Week1PPG	Avg.Difference	Avg. % Error
1-5	17.4	16.8	5.7	3.5
6-10	14.7	12.1	5.4	18.1
11-15	12.9	12.3	6.0	4.3
16-20	10.8	10.5	5.6	2.3
21-25	8.9	9.8	7.1	9.8
26-30	6.8	5.6	5.7	17.5

Top-50 Running Backs

Rank	SeasonPPG	Week1PPG	Avg.Diff	Avg. % Error
1-10	16.7	16.9	6.4	1.4
11-20	11.4	10.7	6.8	5.8
21-30	8.9	6.7	5.2	24.1
31-40	6.6	5.9	4.7	10.9
41-50	4.7	2.9	3.7	39.2

Top-50 Wide Receivers

Rank	SeasonPPG	Week1PPG	Avg.Diff	Avg. % Error
1-10	12.2	10.3	6.5	15.5
11-20	9.4	9.1	5.5	2.7
21-30	7.8	6.9	4.3	12.3
31-40	6.5	5.0	4.8	23.1
41-50	5.6	5.0	5.2	12.1

Top-30 Tight Ends

Rank	SeasonPPG	Week1PPG	Avg.Diff	Avg. % Error
1-5	7.7	6.5	4.9	15.6
6-10	5.5	5.6	4.0	2.8
11-15	4.3	9.6	8.2	123.6
16-20	3.4	3.6	2.9	7.1
21-25	2.8	2.5	2.4	10.6
26-30	2.4	1.7	2.4	30.3

• Quarterbacks have little variance in their week one and season PPG, with the exception of the sixth- to tenth-ranked quarterbacks.
• Various under-performers such as Carson Palmer and Matt Hasselbeck, and over-performers such as Donovan McNabb and Jay Cutler, were among those ranked in the preseason to be in that range.
• You see the Top-20 running backs have a low Average Percent Error, but after that, it's unpredictable.
• Matt Forte, I'm looking at you.
• Each wide receiver group did worse in week one than their season PPG.
• Braylon Edwards, I'm looking at you.
• Look at those tight ends! The 11th- through 15th-ranked TEs more than doubled their season PPG in week one, while the top five TEs did much worse than their season PPG.
• Dante Rosario and Tony Gonzalez, I'm looking at y'all.

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From the Man Cave Sofa Chronicles: Man Crush Thursday!

Is there a better activity in the world than chilling down in the man cave discussing football and girls? Red blooded American males say it in unison, "No." Of course not. This is why every Thursday FFWWH will let you all in on our own couch talk about football. And girls. And football playing girls. The down side? Football playing girls don't matter in the type of fantasy football that this site is specifically about. So uhh, we kind of had to improvise and work with what we have. So, umm, this feature will be about our mancrushes. (Ya, ya, cue the "figures, he's from California" jokes, blah, blah) Moving on. Here's each of our respective man crushes for week 1. A-Koz With Marques Colston out 4-6 weeks and consequently it opens the door for new players to shine in the Saints' high-powered offense (plus it makes Tosten totally screwed in the 20 team league we're both in).

One of those is David Patten. This week, Patten gets to go against the depleted Washington secondary, who got torched last week. Plaxico Burress put up big numbers against them, having 10 receptions for over 130 yards. Patten in the #1 WR this week and there really isn't a true #2 on the team with Colston out, similar to New York. Robert Meachem has struggled with route-running and wasn't even active yet, and Devery Henderson is more hit-or-miss than my jokes.

Stat Boy I’ll start my mancrush analysis with a comparison of two players, with their stats from last year (both prorated to 515 pass attempts). Player A: 65% completion percentage, 4040 yards, 31 touchdowns, and 14 interceptions Player B: 60% completion percentage, 4010 yards, 35 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions You might recognize Player A as Peyton Manning. But Player B? Those are the stats allowed by the Miami Dolphins’ passing defense last year, and those would have been good for third among all quarterbacks last year. Which is why my week two mancrush is Kurt Warner. Last year from week 10 on, nobody had as many touchdowns as Warner (not even Tom Brady), plus his passer rating at home was 18 points higher than on the road (and in case you were wondering, this week the Cards are at home). Besides the obvious Tony Romo and Peyton Manning, there is no other quarterback I'd rather have this week.. New Guy Call me a bandwagoner (Ed note: oh don't worry, we will), but I'm going Chris Johnson. Johnson proved he's here to stay with his coming out party against the "highly" touted Jaguars defense. Now that he's facing a defense that gave up 100 yards to Le'Ron McClain, I think Johnson has a field day and easily surpases 100 yards rushing, as well as a few receiving yards and a TD. And trust me, the best is yet to come with this kid, and if you don't grab him while you can, he'll be more coveted than Elisha Cuthbert's phone number. Tosten Burks Tiffany Toth. No question about it. You thought I was gonna start a column, "Is there a better activity in the world than chilling down in the man cave discussing football and girls?" and not provide some gorilla biscuits? You underestimate me. But seriously, this week you have got to start Ryan Grant. He's playing the Lions. Last week, Michael Turner put up 200 yards and two scores against Detroit. Lost in the BT madness was Jerious Norwood, who also put up 93 rushing yards and one touchdown. That's 300 and three. By the Falcons. Ryan Grant's totals are gonna be higher than Mario Chalmers this week.

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The Weekly Post of Irrelevance

If Jerry Seinfeld was a fantasy football blogger... This is where I ramble about bull crap that may or may not have anything to do with fantasy football. Link postage, yo momma jokes, reviews; anything is valid. Because I know you get tired of reading fantasy info all day during work and are in need of some mindless relief. Video of the Week Or Something Link Dump The most reasonable thing I've heard all week. Football Guys Blog Aren't social networking sites designed to meet chicks? I don't think these will help out a whole lot. Rotomania and Football Jabber Locker Room Bill Simmons is back. So are his haters. The Sports Hernia Cue a group moan. Jay Glazer A Dallas Cowboy in the top two at every position except running back. Marion Barber was four. Super Bowl favorites? Roto Arcade From the Bad Joke Department Heard of Dead Baby jokes? Vince Young almost became one. 1000 Words
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Monday Night Recap—With Added Bonus!

You've seen the commercials. You've heard the music. You know the day and time. Talking about Sunday games at the water cooler mean that Monday Night Football is only a few short, John Madden-less hours away. And as with every opening week, you got a bonus two games instead of the usual one. The Packers and Vikings game couldn't have been scripted better for Monday night; Aaron Rodgers' first start against the phenom Adrian Peterson. But Denver at Oakland? Yeah, nothing gets me more excited for football season than borderline .500 teams. In addition to the usual recap, you'll get another threat, just like the MNF doubleheader. Me, trying to be funny! That should be a sight. (Or a read, however you want to put it.) Yes, I'll be doing interviews with the man who made Frank Caliendo famous, John Madden. But make no mistake, I'm no Caliendo. Heck, I'm not even a Caliendo knockoff. But I'll do my best. This should be interesting. What wasn't interesting was the Denver/Oakland game. Denver dominated almost the entire time, winning 41-14. Cutler was sharp, throwing for nearly 300 yards and two scores. Eddie Royal was on the receiving end of most of that, filling in for the suspended Brandon Marshall, who will return next game. JaMarcus Russell was less than stellar, not being able to get it going until late in the 4th when the game was over. Darren McFadden, in his rookie debut, suffered a shoulder injury. The extent of it is not known yet, so stay tuned. Madden Interview Me: Hey John. How's it going? Madden: Pretty good. Got to see Favre play yesterday, made my day. Heck, that's made my whole year. [Has a "John Madden" laugh—you know the kind, the one where you're not sure if he's going to laugh or suffer a nervous breakdown] Me: So John, what did you think of Cutler's performance today? Madden: I gotta say, it was pretty darn good. He looked sharp out there. Real solid game. Reminds me of a young Favre... Me: [interrupts] Yeah, let's move on. Your thoughts on Eddie Royal? Madden: He's got a lot of talent, a lot of speed. With all that speed, I'm surprised the Raiders didn't draft him. You know how much Al Davis loves speedy guys. Me: That I do, Madden. That I do. [At this point, Madden sees that Sportscenter is going to talk about Favre after the break. I've been promised a finish to the interview tomorrow. You don't want to miss that; though, if you thought this was the least funniest thing ever (I don't blame you), you might.]
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Running the Wire

Screwing League Mates Over By Stealing The Missing Pieces Of The Puzzle That They Need 101

Tom Brady has a real injury. Burleson's out for the year. Joseph Addai and Maurice Jones Drew (called it) forgot how to play the game of football. One week in and owners are already scrambling to fill gaps in their roster. Here is your guide to navigating the competive seas of the waiver wire.

Gold Wire Pick Ups:

Anthony Fasano - How did no one see this coming? It honestly makes so much sense that it is pathetic his huge week one came as a surprise. Sporano comes from the late Cowboys regimen that produced Jason Witten. So does Parcells. The Tuna had his job for around 3.7 seconds before going out and aquiring Fasano. He obviously likes him. Pennington's woeful arm is not a secret so it was apparent he was not gonna be making it rain with Ted Ginn all day. To whom did we think he was going to toss his eight-yard dinks? Derek Hagan? I'd say Fasano is a legitimate starting tight end at least in 14 team leagues. It just makes too much sense.

Chris Johnson - He should have been drafted, but in case he wasn't, you should probably go get him. LenDale White is fat. Johnson is not. LenDale White is slow. Chris Johnson is not. LenDale White could eat a football. No comment from Johnson on the matter. Pick him up. He's the first Titans running back in a long time who has the potential to stay healthy for more than 4 games in a row. Sammy Morris - You people. You never learn. Laurence Maroney is a sleeper this year isn't he? Because he finished strong at the end of the season and stuff right? When Morris was out? After Bill Belichick had no other option but to hand him the ball? Nothing has changed. And that could not have been more obvious during week 1's game in which Morris led the team in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and yards per carry. Snag him off the wire, where he only was in the first place because bozo experts in magazines all of a sudden wanted to elope with Maroney. Matt Cassel - Dance off. 'Nuff said. Oh, and Randy Moss is pretty good as well. Copper Wire Pick Ups: Eddie Royal - Every year there is one rookie wide receiver who proves everybody wrong when they say there's never any productive rookie wide receivers. This year it's Desean Jackson (pick him up if for some reason he's available). Royal ain't a bad option though. He's a starter on the Denver offense that looked pretty darn good Monday Night, without Brandon Marshall. And when he's back, Marshall only frees up more space for Royal. He'd be a solid #4 wide out, especially in keeper leagues. Don't expect too many more 150 yard games though. Derrick Ward - On Sunday Ward proved what I've been saying all along: Ahmad Bradshaw is not the Brandon Jacobs handcuff you want. Ward had nine touches. Bradshaw had none. Jacobs will eventually get hurt sometime this season. Make sure you have Ward when it happens. Randy McMichael - McMichael led the Rams offense in catches week one. Unfortunately, the Rams offense looks ridiculously horrible. He removed some of the doubt that Saunders wouldn't use a tight end, but seriously St. Louis, 166 total yards? Come on now. He'd be a borderline starter if the Rams looked like they had somewhat of at least a college caliber offense. Chicken Wire Pick Ups: Kerry Collins - He won't ever get caught grinding with a bunch of shirtless dudes and I don't think he'll ever contemplate jumping off a bridge or anything like that. And uhh, he won a Super Bowl once. Basically he's valuable in 26 team leagues. Matt Jones - He caught six passes for 80 yards this week. Really. And no cops had to show up. I swear, I swear! Jerry Porter was out though and Reggie Williams was coming off a hamstring injury. Add him if you're desperate. Seriously. Antwan Randle El - If you believe that Randle El (or just El? That sounds way more intimidating) will have seven grabs again this season, then by all means, add him to your roster. Also, tell me how Britney's doing in the Asylum when you see her at lunch today. Dante Rosario - He'll never do this again. Trust me.

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Weekend Recap: Week 1

It finally happened. Football and fantasy football fans alike rejoiced. Except for New England fans and Tom Brady owners—I'll get to that later. Some fantasy teams are on the fast track to a good year; others, well, aren't. I'm a mix of both this week. I finally got a laptop, and after countless hours of trying to get it set up (I've been cursed with computer problems), it's finally up and going. And I almost love it more than I did Larry Johnson this year. Yes, I'm still high on him. For the record, I still hate Joseph Addai more than my desktop. The bad news is that I had a pretty poor fantasy week. Thanks a lot Carson Palmer and Marc Bulger. Way to go Courtney Taylor. (Hey, it was a 20 team league—you're going to have some shaky guys starting.) But enough about me, let's jump into the crazy world we call the NFL. Redskins vs Giants: 16-7 Giants In the first game of the 2008 season, the Giants picked up where they left off. They played good defense and did just enough on offense to win. Brandon Jacobs was on top of his game, rushing for over 110 yards on 21 carries. Jacobs was the main back as Derrick Ward only had 9 carries. Ahmad Bradshaw didn't record a single carry. Jacobs appears to be a strong #2 option from here on out. He's an even better play next week against a terrible Rams' defense. Eli Manning was decent, but I still have my doubts. He didn't throw a touchdown, but threw an INT. He also completed only 54% of his passes. The INT's and completion percentage were problems for him last year, so this is something to monitor. Burress showed he was worth the $35 million he got earlier in the week, catching 10 of Manning's 19 completions for 133 yards. His troublesome ankle from last year seemed non-existent as Plaxico wreaked havoc on Washington's secondary all game. On the flip side, the Redskins were borderline terrible. The offense stalled nearly all game. Jason Campbell only threw for 133 yards on 27 attempts. A lot of his completions came late in the game, with the game over and with the Giants' defense on cruise control. Clinton Portis wasn't shabby, but a TD would've really helped his fantasy production. Campbell's struggles shows how important Portis is to the Redskins. I'm still a fan of him, but the same can't be said for Campbell until he shows improvement. Lions vs Falcons: 34-21 Falcons Didn't see this coming. Anytime the Falcons are able to put up 30+ points, you know you're defense had a bad day. And the Lions' certainly did. Michael "The Burner" Turner lived up to his name, going for over 200 yards and scoring twice. While he did look great and his value just went through the roof, don't get too excited yet. Bear in mind that this was against the Lions, you know, the team that collects WR's and doesn't care about how terrible their defense is. This game was also in Atlanta. Let's see how Turner and the rest of Atlanta can perform against the Bucs in Tampa next week. One last thing about Turner. A huge question about him coming into this season was whether or not he'd be able to handle the load as the #1 back over the course of a full season. It's only been one game; that question still remains. Matt Ryan didn't throw the ball much, but he made the most of it, including throwing a 62 yard strike to Michael Jenkins on his very first pass attempt. What a way to start off your career. One stat (stealing a little bit of "Stat Boy's" thunder here) that makes me a little worrisome about Falcons' wide receivers—or you could just say Roddy White; Atlanta is thinner at WR than Nicole Richie: No Falcon caught more than two passes Sunday. Hard to be productive in fantasy when you don't see the ball too often. As mentioned, before we start jumping on Atlanta's fantasy bandwagon, let's see if they can compete against a team tougher than Detroit first. Wow, I don't think I've ever talked about Atlanta that much in my life. Who's the team they played..? Oh, right right, the Lions. The Detroit offense, unlike the defense, wasn't terrible. Kevin Smith got his first career touchdown, though his yards and YPC left a lot to be desired. Right now, he's best suited to start only when the matchup is favorable. Kitna is currently healthy, and production will follow when that's the case. I still don't trust him to stay upright all season, the Lions' gave up at least 3 sacks...probably more, I lost count. Megatron had a "mega" (+1 for word play) game, reeling in over 100 yards on 7 catches. Roy Williams managed to salvage his day with a touchdown, too. Chiefs vs Patriots: 17-10 Patriots New England won, I still like LJ this season, and I heard something about a future Hall of Famer getting hurt. Yes, all the talk about this game will be about the golden boy, Tom Brady. Midway into the first quarter, Bernard Pollard, safety for Kansas City, hit Brady right after he let the ball fly out of his hands. Brady buckled and stayed on the ground. He did walk off the field under his own power, but a short time later, rumors about a possible torn ACL, and consequently, the end of his season, began to swirl. It was confirmed today that Brady is in fact done for the year and has been placed on injured reserve. The exact extent of Brady's injury isn't known (the Patriots are more secretive than the FBI) but reports are it's a torn ACL and possibly a torn MCL. The good news is that since the injury occurred early in the year, he should be back for 2009. Matt Cassel is expected to be the new starter, and the word from Belichick is that they have not brought in either Chris Simms or Tim Rattay to workout as Chris Mortensen reported. Mort's inaccurate report streak is almost longer than Favre's start streak. Cassel should be grabbed in most large leagues as a borderline #2 backup option. This will likely be the choice for most Brady owners. Just goes to show what happens when you buy into the hype of taking a non-RB with the first few picks. For once, I can actually say I'm glad I didn't have Tom Brady on my team. In other Patriots news, Randy Moss had a 100+ yard day. Maroney had a good YPC, 5.1, but saw red zone carries stolen by LaMont Jordan and Sammy Morris, who punched one in. But honestly, who cares—for this week, it's all about Brady. The golden boy is mortal. Lost in all of this is Kansas City, who managed to almost tie the game late in the 4th quarter. Larry Johnson had over 20 carries, a token to show how much KC will rely on him this season. Although most would think it was just an average game from him, I find this to be very positive news. Again, we saw how committed KC is to the run game. Add a touchdown to LJ's stat line and you get a very good game from him. Given how much they're going to run this year, Johnson will have plenty of options to score to go along with a consistent yardage total. He's still a #1 RB in my opinion and is a marvelous play next week against a weak Raiders' defense. At home, too; could you paint a better picture? Brodie Croyle has a separated shoulder, he's out 2-4 weeks. Damon Huard has been named the new starter over Tyler Thigpen. Unlike Croyle, Huard isn't god-awful and could be given a look in deep leagues. He still isn't recommended to start, but Brady owners could be looking at a lot of different options this week. I really feel bad for the guy in my 20 team league who has Brady.... (Look at that, Brady managed to find his way into the KC section of the article—Like I said, this week is all about him.) Seahawks vs Bills: 34-10 Bills I picked Seattle to go to the Super Bowl. Ain't looking so good after the first week, that's for sure. The Seahawks were flat-out terrible, unable to do anything on offense and being dominated by the Bills offense, something that hasn't been said since the 90's. Hasselbeck, still possibly feeling the effects of his back injury, completed 41% of his passes for a mere 190 yards. He also threw an interception to go along with a lone touchdown. I'm sorry, did Tavaris Jackson secretly get traded when I wasn't looking? Granted, it wasn't all Hasselbeck's fault; his WR's had many, many drops, including one of my biggest sleepers this year, Courtney Taylor. I thought I'd look like a genius by the end of the year for snagging him in a ton of leagues; I'm starting to look more like Barney Rubble now. I betcha that Fred Flintstone could've done a better job that Seattle's WR core. The running game was worse, they should've suited up Bam-Bam. Juluis Jones managed only 45 yards. You know things are bad when Leonard Weaver starts getting carries before you do. Nate Burleson did haul in a score, after dropping a sure touchdown the earlier play. He later left with a sprained knee; he is expected to play in Week 2, but that could change. And even if he plays, he may not be 100%. Stay tuned, I think Steve Largent is going to get a call pretty soon. (Ed's note: Burleson is out for the year with a knee injury.) Though the stats might not show it, Marshawn Lynch ran well. Like last year, he should be the cog in the Bills' engine. How about Brian Moorman? The punter, yes punter, threw a TD pass on a trick play. Waiver wire gold! Just kidding, but I think that Brady owner in my 20 team league I mentioned could be tempted. In other news, despite the rumors, the Bills do know they have a TE. And they actually used him! This is truly a week for firsts. Robert Royal had 6 receptions and a touchdown. I wouldn't recommend him yet though, not until he shows some consistency. Okay, this is been pretty long and I'm only a few games through. Let's put a nice little bow on the rest of the games. - I don't know what's worse, but the Bengals offense and defense are both terrible. Stay away from both until there's major improvement. The reason I say major improvement is because I don't think it's possible for them to get worse. - Le'ron McClain led the Ravens' in rushing. Don't expect that to happen again. Joe Flacco had a big touchdown run. Don't expect that to happen again either. - The Steelers were rolling against Houston. All offensive players should be good starts against the Browns' defense next week. - Houston wasn't rolling. Far from it. Schaub made poor decisions and as was to be expected, the running game didn't do much. The bright side is that Andre Johnson had over 10 catches and 100+ yards, even if some of it came late in the 4th quarter with the game out of hand. He's the only Texan worth starting next week against the Ravens. - David Garrard threw just three interceptions all last season. He's thrown two throughout one game so far this season. Monitor how he bounces back the next few weeks. - Chris Johnson looks like the real deal, if only I was on the bandwagon during the preseason. Vince Young still hasn't shown signs of improving. To make matters worse, he suffered a sprained knee that could keep him out 2-4 weeks. Titans' fans seem happy while Young owners are looking for a new backup. Yeah, no one should've been starting Young. Kerry Collins will take over, giving a boost to all Titans' wide receivers. - The Eagles played great. - The Rams did not. I hope they can turn it around, because I took the gamble on Bulger in quite a few leagues. A date with the Giants next week isn't making me feel better, however. Injury notice: Drew Bennett suffered a foot injury. Seems serious. - Dallas was in control most of the game. Even Patrick Crayton performed well, but don't expect that to happen week-in and week-out. - Those who said Derek Anderson is a fluke could be right. He really struggled out there, at one points not completing an entire pass most of the second quarter and all of the 3rd (0-9). - Lou Gehrig was wrong. Brett Favre is the luckiest man alive. Seriously, who else would've been able to to complete a 4th and 13 "just throw it up there" pass for a touchdown? I'm asking Favre for lottery tickets. - Chad Pennington loves tight ends in Miami. They combined for 12 catches with RB's combining for 8. By comparison, Miami WR's had only 6 receptions. Darrell Revis is a darn good corner. - Drew Brees got off to a slow start, but this slump wouldn't last 4 games, like it did last season. Brees turned it around in-game, throwing 3 touchdown passes by games end. Reggie Bush had 50 rushing yards and 112 receiving yards, I'd like him better if those numbers were switched. Robert Meachem was inactive, so much for his sleeper potential. Pierre Thomas has seemed to all but pass Deuce on the Saints' depth charts, making Deuce virtually unownable. I'll spare you a corny bathroom joke. - J.T. O'Sullivan played like J.T. O'Sullivan, and in case you didn't know, that's not a good thing. Frank Gore played well, despite the woes of his poor 49ers offense. That'll probably be the story of the year. - Edgerrin James had 100 yards—good; Tim Hightower stole some red zone carries—bad; Cardinals in all—myeh. - The Panthers/Chargers game was a thriller, the good kind, not the Micheal Jackson kind. Something is up with teams who usually neglect their TE's all of a sudden using them. Dante Rosario, yes that Dante Rosario, had close to 100 yards.
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