Week 1 Thoughts & Observations

[Tom Kessenich]

Here are some random thoughts and observations about Week 1 as I try and recover from two weeks in New York and Vegas:

I'm not an NFL general manager and I've never won a Super Bowl but maybe, just maybe, if I insist on only building my team through the draft I might want to ... oh I don't know ... ADDRESS THE NO. 1 PROBLEM YOUR TEAM HAD THE PRIOR SEASON. This just in for Ted Thompson, your pass defense stunk last season and it still stunk in Week 1. Perhaps it's because you DID NOTHING TO ADDRESS THIS GLARING NEED IN THE OFFSEASON. Sorry for shouting but Thompson walks on water in this state and in NFL circles and I'm baffled by that when you consider all the things he's failed to do. Yes he's won a Super Bowl and that's damn impressive but he's also in danger of wasting the prime years of one of the game's Top 3-5 quarterbacks.

On the plus side, drafting Eddie Lacy looks like a genius move. Eddie runs HARD. I love that kid.

Welcome back, Jordy Nelson. You've been missed. Now just stay healthy.

I said for weeks leading up to the draft that as much as I liked Dez Bryant I felt he was being overvalued and equally talented WRs such as A.J. Green, Julio Jones and Demaryius Thomas were being overlooked and often becoming huge value picks. How did that trio do in Week 1?

Green: 9-162-2
Jones: 7-76-1
Thomas: 5-161-2

Props to all of you who grabbed one (or maybe two) of these guys.

While I'm on the subject of me gloating I'll happily point out that several of my value picks this summer did me proud in Week 1. Sam Bradford, Darren Sproles and Miles Austin, in particular. I heart you all.

How did the Patriots and Colts fail to cover against the Bills and Raiders? On any given Sunday ...

Hold on, Anquan Boldin just caught another pass against the Packers.

I love me some Russell Wilson but I was shocked to see he threw for 320 yards against the Panthers. Watching the game I never had the feeling Wilson was putting up big numbers. It looked like a constant struggle for the Seattle offense against a revved-up Carolina defense.

Speaking of the Panthers, DeAngelo Williams' fumble inside the 10 with the game on the line was a huge blow but otherwise I thought he looked damn good. He even chipped in with three catches. There's another of my value plays coming through in the opener.

For all the Trent Richardson, CJ Spiller, Calvin Johnson and Marshawn Lynch owners - things will get better. Trust me. They will.

Is it too soon to wonder if Colby Fleener is ever going to live up to his draft spot? Guy has shown practically nothing of note so far in his career.

Hold on, Peyton Manning just threw another touchdown pass.

That Larry Fitzgerald sure looks good when he has an actual NFL quarterback to work with, doesn't he?

Anyone else stunned by how quickly Reggie Bush flew through the hole on his screen pass touchdown? That looked USC Reggie.

Sorry Steelers fans, looks like it's gonna be a LONG year in Pittsburgh.

I'm guessing that heel injury isn't a problem for Victor Cruz anymore.

Hang onto the ball, Jared Cook.

Tavon Austin's on pace for 0 touchdowns. He's also on pace for 96 receptions. I still think it's just a matter of time before the Rams figure out how to really use this kid properly.

I'm not sure there's a quarterback in the league who experiences so many highs and lows during a single game quite like Josh Freeman. He looked absolutely wretched at times against the Jets but then he led the Bucs on what should've been a game-winning drive. We're getting very near the point where it's just time to say that's who Freeman is and he isn't going to progress beyond that.

At what point do the Vikings and Jaguars just admit they don't have a quarterback?

Stevan Ridley ouch. David Wilson and Lamar Miller OUCH.

I went shopping today and saw James Jones' picture on the back of a milk carton.

To those of you who laid off the Top 12 quarterbacks and grabbed Eli Manning as your QB1 much later, congratulations, you look like a genius. For now.

And lastly, Michael Vick did what Michael Vick does when healthy Monday night - he played like a QB1. Now whether he can stay healthy the entire season is the question and I think we all know the answer.

[dabird777]

Great summation, Tom. Love the biting humor. On Vick, which will be the real one? The one who ruled the 1st half, or the one who could've shared a side-by-side photo with James Jones (who I drafted on exactly zero of my teams-----for a reason) on that milk carton in the 2nd?

Fleener was another guy I never touched with a ten-foot fantasy draft pole. His problem appears to be from the neck up. Don't see that coming around anytime soon. Not even with Dwayne Allen's single-handed attempts to keep the medical industry rich.

Agree with you on Lacy. Kid could put up Alf numbers from last year, once he gets the murderer's row part of his sched out of the way.

Love Tavon. He should just get better each game. That is, if Bradford's good enough to figure that out. I remain a skeptic on Sammy. Let's see how good Bradford is in Atlanta when the Falcons 'D' locks down Jared Cook and throws away the key. On a related note, I suddenly fear for Chris Givens' prospects. We now see he's a distant 4th in the pecking order. Though, this week, to me, is the week to start him------Kenny Stills got behind the Falcons 'D' a couple of times last week. And with Atlanta probably putting at least 3 sets of eyes on Cook.......watch out for Givens.

So true on Eli. I think everyone hopes the Den-NYG game this weekend is the shootout that it appears in the making. Another guy not to sleep on? Andy Dalton. 26-33 at Chicago. Yes, most of the damage was to A.J., but he also connected with Eifert, Gresham, Sanu and the RB's. Would be very surprised if Dalton DOESN'T go for 400 fantasy points this season.

Colin Kaepernick is the real deal. Not like that's news, but some people probably still had doubts. It'll be real interesting this week in Seattle though. No 13-206-1 line for you this week Mr. Boldin.

Fitz is rejuvenated in Arizona, no doubt about it. But, don't sleep on Andre Roberts. In PPR, the man will be a rock for you this season if you need a good WR3 or flex in a pinch.

And C.J. Spiller being a 1st round pick? He looked a lot like CJ?K in Game 1 vs. NE. And we all know that's NOT a good thing. While Fred Jackson, once again, turned back the hands of time. If you don't root for a guy like FJ, fantasy or not, there is something wrong with you. I sense RBBC in Buffalo this season. And, to that, I say a very sincere F U to Spiller. Perhaps Spiller is the kinda guy who likes coming off the bench rather than starting. Pull another Mark Ingram like performance against Carolina this week and that may be exactly the role he's heading for.

[Tom Kessenich]

Givens saw a lot of Patrick Peterson on Sunday. That was a tough matchup. I wouldn't give up on Givens.

[David U Kennedy]

Spiller was going to split with Jackson anyways. CJ don't need many touches to be great. He will be just fine. NE def main concern was taking Spiller away and they did that. It wont happen much again this year. We shouldn't over react too much to week one. Lynch looked pretty bad too.

[cass]

No one is 'locking down' jared cook...guy is a beast..just need a QB with a pulse. Pick of the year...

[dabird777]

Givens saw a lot of Patrick Peterson on Sunday. That was a tough matchup. I wouldn't give up on Givens.

Good point, Tom. But, still, with Tavon, Cook and probably D-Rich (or whoever comes out of the backfield) I can see Givens being only 4th on that totem pole. And with a middling QB like Bradford, that's disconcerting. But I'll def be playing Givens this week.

[dabird777]

No one is 'locking down' jared cook...guy is a beast..just need a QB with a pulse. Pick of the year...

He is a beast in the making, agree there. But even a beast can be tamed if triple-teamed. I can see that happening this week. Atlanta controlled Jimmy Graham last week. (yes, I know he caught a TD, but 4-46 is pretty good 'D' on him) A team that knows all too well how important the TE is (with Gonzo) won't let another team's TE beat them.

It'll be interesting to see if Bradford can go to different receivers, or if he'll try to force the ball and probably wind up with a couple of picks. I understand you gotta play Cook off last week's game. But he's going to be the focal point of Atl's 'D' this week. If you get 10 pts out of Cook this week then that's pretty good.

[cass]

Valid points about ATL def. But STL has other weapons that need to be dealt with also it's not like they are weapon less. Could be a tough week but going forward the guy is a matchup nightmare playing a quick track with a good QB...sky is the limit. And nice to look at on all 4 of my teams

[Greg Ambrosius]

Sammy "The STATS Man" Lubeck gave us a lot of good Week 1 stats for our STATS Fantasy Advantage show on Wednesday night. We didn't post them after our show, but we will here now. Enjoy.

Week 1 Notes From Sammy "The STATS Man" Lubeck:

** Peyton Manning not only tied an NFL record with 7 TD passes in Week 1, but he also became the first QB in NFL history to pass for at least six TDs on three separate occasions.

** There were 3 QBs who passed for 400+ yards in Week 1. Nobody threw for 400 yards in 2012. There were also 12 QBs who threw for 300+ yards in Week 1 compared to 9 in 2012, 3 in 2010 and 6 in 2009. In 2011, 14 QBs threw for 300+ yards.

** Week 1 produced 63 TD passes, the most for any week in NFL history. The previous record was 58, set in Week 17 of 2007 and Week 13 of 2004.

** Only 3 players rushed for 100 yards in Week 1 and one of them was a QB (Terrelle Pryor). That compares to 5 100-yard rushers in Week of 2012, 7 in 2011, 4 in 2010 and 5 in 2009.

** The average rushing yards per team in Week 1 was 93.4, the 5th lowest average for any single week since 1970. The lowest ever was 90.5 in Week 10 of 2001.

** All NFL teams seem to be running more plays with the hurry-up offenses, led by Chip Kelly in Philadelphia. The Eagles ran 77 plays against Washington on Monday Night, which was third in the league behind New England's 89 and Baltimore's 87. The NFL average was 65 plays per team in Week 1. But the Eagles ran 53 plays in the first half, the second most of all-time behind Minnesota's 56 on Dec. 13th, 1998.

** There were 4 safeties in Week 1, the 2nd most in NFL history. Since 1940, there have been 11 weeks that featured 4 safeties, but only one (Week 14 of 2011) that featured 5 safeties.

Pretty cool stuff. Enjoy.

[King of Queens]

There were three games decided by 1 point in Week 2:

CAR 23
BUF 24

MIN 30
CHI 31

DAL 16
KC 17

Seems like an unusually high number.