Question 1: Asked by Bruce.

Ryan Fitzpatrick (vs. OAK) or Josh Freeman (@ MIN)?

Answer

This is a tough call and one that could go either way. I have Freeman with a slight edge here.  The Tampa Offense is more consistently productive than Buffalo’s is and Minnesota was barely able to keep their offense on the field in week 1.  As far as I am concerned both players are VERY good QB2 options this week, but either guy should do pretty well.  You should trust your gut!

Question 2: Asked by @MFarrell21.

Dwayne Bowe, Steve Smith (carolina). DeAngelo Williams, Cadillac Williams. Need one WR and one RB. Thoughts and why?

Answer

Bowe won’t be able to repeat last season, but he certainly will do better than last week.  And I also don’t think Steve Smith isn’t going to be able to repeat last week either.  I would start Bowe this week as he faces a Lions secondary that is vulnerable to the big play and the Chiefs are going to be looking to make a statement and show they are still a playoff caliber team.  As for the RB choice, I would go with DeAngelo Williams.  We know what his workload will be and while it may not be likely that he has a huge day, I think he is the most likely to get you into double digit points.  This is definitely one of my “play it safe” calls so if your a risk-taker, Caddy is still a solid option this week with a bit more upside.

Question 3: Asked by @aglikas.

Would you trade Reggie Bush 2 get Dez Bryant? I have AP, Steven Jackson & R.Grant. I need WR’s BAD! WR’s are Maclin, Driver, H.Ward, S.Rice.

Answer

In a heart beat.  I think Bryant is going to be the top fantasy WR in Dallas this season and that is not my way of saying that Miles Austin will be a slouch.  Reggie Bush is almost a sure thing to miss a few games to injury this year as he is playing on a natural play surface and that is rougher on the knees and ankles of these fast, quick-cut backs. In addition, if both players do play 16 games this year, Bryant will score significantly more points than Bush.  Great job of negotiating this one, don’t wait to pull the trigger.  He might wise-up.

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Chargers at Patriots

I love when these two teams meet up.  It may be a little better in the post-season, but that might still happen this year too.  The Chargers travel to the east coast to play in Foxboro and this is enough of an edge that I think the Patriots are going to win this game.  Despite winning last week, the Chargers still had special teams issues and Philip Rivers did not look that good in week 1.  Tom Brady on the other hand looked phenomenal in his season opener as the offense kept up the pressure throughout the game and just kept scoring points in any way they could.  For some reason the Chargers never seem to have their act together early on and I don’t see how they keep up with the Patriot’s machine.  I do not think that Ryan Mathews is a very viable starter this week as the passing game is likely to be the focal point for San Diego as they try and keep pace, but Tolbert’s involvement in the passing game makes him a weak RB2 or good flex play.  I feel like Vincent Jackson will have to be a factor in order for this game to be close and I would expect them to try and get him involved early and often.  Despite the quality of the Charger’s defense, you should be starting all your usual Patriots except Danny Woodhead, who is not likely to be used much outside of third downs.

Bears at Saints

People constantly want to discredit the Bears over the past few years, but shutting down Atlanta last week really opened my eyes.  The defense is a top 5 unit and Jay Cutler is growing into quite the gunslinger.  He is going to throw a couple INTs in each game but that is because of all the big plays that he is going for and fantasy owners should respect him for his ability to take risks.  I think it is too tall of a task for the Bears to win this game in New Orleans, but I am almost positive that they will be able to keep it competitive and this should be a great game to watch.  I am not downgrading anyone for the match up at this point however, the Saints RB’s are not start-able at this time and I am not big on Meachem or Henderson, despite the Colston injury.  Someone has to have a good game for the Saints in the receiving game, but good luck trying to figure out who it will be.  I personally think Graham will become the primary red zone target, so that just leaves it up to a game of chance to try and start the receiver that comes up with the big play for Brees. I wouldn’t start Jay Cutler either in this game as I think the Saint’s complex blitzing scheme will be able to exploit a weak Bears offensive line, but I am not too scared to start him if I normally would.  Forte is the key member of the Bears offense and the one guy that is always going to be worth a spot on your roster, so don’t be afraid to start him either.

Eagles at Falcons

Atlanta disappointed me by not being competitive against the Bears in week 1.  They looked out matched and were unable to keep up with Jay Cutler and the Mike Martz offense in place for Chicago.  I had high hopes for their defense this season and they disappointed me almost as much as the offense.  The Falcons are a much better team on the road and it all starts with Matt Ryan.  At home, in the dome, the Falcons looked to be unstoppable last season and I expect this to be the game of the week as the Eagles come to town. I feel like the Eagles’ superstar secondary will be more than capable of containing Roddy White and the rest of the Faclons’ receivers and the Philadelphia offense is too explosive for Michael Turner to be able to win this game for his team.  I think Vick and the Eagles are going to win a close game and it will likely not be as high scoring as we might think.  With that said you still have to start all the usual suspects, but I don’t see a big game from any of the Falcons on the horizon.

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Love

Matthew Stafford, QB, DET – The Chiefs looked bad on both sides of the ball last week against Buffalo and they also have officially lost Eric Berry for the season.  I expect a  lot of big plays for the Lions this week and with a receiver like Calvin Johnson, it’s easy to be excited about the Lions passing game for week 2.

Steve Johnson, WR, BUF – The Bills offense opened a lot of eyes in Week 1 when they trounced a Chiefs team that looks to be far from what they were last year.  With the Raiders traveling across the continent to play at 1 pm on Sunday, I think the Bills are very likely to start the season at 2-0.  The Raiders defense IS underrated in my opinion, but Johnson has just been fantastic since early last season and seems to always find a way to be a factor on the scoreboard.

Cedric Benson, RB, CIN – With the Broncos as opponents in Week 2, I think you’ll be hard pressed to keep Benson out of your lineup after a pretty great week 1. The Broncos allowed a total of 27 fantasy points to the Raiders running backs last week and Benson is pretty much the entire Bengal rushing attack.

Jermichael Finley, TE, GB – The Panthers impressed in Week 1 against the Cardinals in a losing effort, but I think we can all agree that the Packers are going to have an easy road to victory in week 2 against the Panthers. They simply do not have good enough linebackers to contain Finley, who is a match up nightmare for opposing defenses.

Rex Grossman, QB, WAS – This is by no way saying you should sit Big Ben or Matt Schaub for Grossman, but if your in a 2 QB league, why not play the guy whose opponent just let Cam Newton throw for over 420 yards?  It is worth noting that Rex looked pretty good against the Giants, who have a much better defense than the Cardinals do.

Rashard Mendenhall, RB, PIT – Boy, the Steelers sure took one on the chin in week 1 and they look to rebound against Tavaris Jackson and the Seahawks in week 2.  I think the Steelers will alleviate a lot of concerns in this game and I expect a big day from all the play makers.  They will also try to re-establish their identity as a run-first team in this one and Mendenhall should have a very nice outting for his fantasy owners.

Calvin Johnson, WR, DET – There aren’t too many guys out there as consistent as Megatron.  He is such a dominating receiver in the red zone and as I said in the Stafford section, with no Eric Berry, I don’t see the Chiefs as able to contain Calvin Johnson that well at all.

Hate

Matt Ryan, QB, ATL – The Falcons struggle last week against the Bears and with the Eagles in week two, it is not an ideal time to bet on a rebound.  The Eagles secondary looks more like an all-star team’s secondary and unless Turner has a big game, the passing game is not likely to hold up well either.  I didn’t have Ryan rated as a #1 QB, so hopefully you have someone else you can play until the match up is a bit more favorable.

Chris Johnson, RB, TEN – He did so bad in week 1 that I still expect him to do better and you should be starting him anyways, but just don’t have high hopes for a big game.  If he gets to double digit points, he did his job.

Danny Woodhead, RB, NE – He saw a lot more snaps than BenJarvus Green-Ellis did in week 1, but that won’t remain the case all season.  The guy to be featured will depend largely on the match up and against San Diego I expect the Pats to want a more physical, punishing runner.  And Law Firm will be getting all the goal line work anyways.

Brandon Lloyd, WR, DEN – Lloyd had a good game and I think he will be ok this week, I just don’t have any faith in the Denver offense anymore and under John Fox, it is going to be about establishing the run.  Which will be harder to do with Moreno banged up.

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What a crazy start to the 2011 season. We saw proven, storied franchises collapse completely and we saw a rookie debut record from a class of QBs that no one was excited about. So lets get this week 1 recap started!

Studs

Tom Brady, QB, NE – Over 500 yards and 4 TDs. I’ll excuse the INT because he probably single-handedly won your week 1 match up if you had him.

Cam Newton, QB, CAR – Newton was not expected to be an immediate success in the NFL.  He came from an option-style offense after just one year and one NCAA championship. Many people, including myself, felt that he was not worth the number 1 overall draft pick.  24 completions on 37 attempts, 422 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT. That shut me up. This yardage total is a record for rookie’s in their debut, beating out Peyton Manning’s first ever rookie performance.

Ray Rice, RB, BAL – Wow. Are the Raven’s that good or are the Steelers that bad? Honestly, probably neither.  But Rice’s performance was outstanding considering how dominant the Steelers defense has been.  He was certainly helped by 7 turnovers increasing his number of chances, but I am interested to see just how big of a season Rice will have running behind Vonta Leach.

Steve Smith, WR, CAR – Smith definitely helped Cam look good Sunday as he faced off against Patrick Peterson and made him look foolish all day in coverage. After last season, in my Year in Review article, I discussed how if Carolina could land a decent QB then Smith would return to fantasy relevance. I am still not betting on Newton’s consistency, but Newton sure looks like he will be enough to make Smith into a startable option for fantasy owners.

Mike Tolbert, RB, SD – He may not have racked up too much yardage, but any fantasy owner loves to see a 3 TD performance and that’s what Tolbert did this week. He did appear to be hurt late in that game, but all reports have been great since the game and we can expect Tolbert to be at 100% for week 2.  His usage in the passing game and especially in the red zone makes Tolbert the clear guy to own of the Chargers running backs.  At least for now.

Matt Forte, RB, CHI – The Bears offense looks to be building off their success from last season and Forte is going to be a big part of that with his pass catching ability out of the backfield. I was surprised to see Khalil Bell get 10 carries in the win over the Falcons, but in a Mike Martz system, you want the guy that catches the ball so I am not concerned.  Especially not following 158 all-purpose yards and a TD.

Kenny Britt, WR, TEN – I love to talk about this guy, I don’t think people are giving him the credit he deserves.  He tallied 136 yards on 5 catches and scored twice in Week 1.  This is going to be a season to remember for Britt and it will be without an elite QB.  This guy has a really bright future and will be a big part of your season if you were lucky enough to draft him.

Darren McFadden, RB, OAK – 150 yards on 22 carries? I guess he isn’t a one-year wonder.  While the match-up wasn’t great, neither was anyone else on the Raiders.  He will remain an integral part of the game plan and he is a number 1 caliber back in my opinion.

Chad Henne, QB, MIA – People might not have noticed exactly how good Henne was in a losing effort on Monday night.  His opponent Brady overshadowed him pretty bad, but Henne finished as the 2nd highest point total among all QB’s in the NFL in week 1 and should not be on free agency if you have serious QB concerns.

Duds

Ben Roethlisberger, QB, PIT – Ben committed FIVE turnovers this week with three interceptions and two lost fumbles as the Steelers looked completely inept against division rival Baltimore Ravens.  A bad game doesn’t make me as nervous as the loss of right tackle Willie Colon for the season as the offensive line was weak already.  You need a good, servicable back up for Ben this year.

Vincent Jackson, WR, SD – Rivers ended up with a decent enough point total that he evades a spot on this list, but Rivers did not play that well in Week 1.  The Chargers are known to start slow and managed to claw their way to a win… but special teams hurt them again and Jackson was not a factor in the vertical passing game, which will need to change for the Chargers to be a Super Bowl contender as they hope to be.

Chris Johnson, RB, TEN – Holding out as long as he did really slowed the start of the season for CJ2k as he had just 24 yards rushing and 25 receiving. I thought he was supposed to be one of the top playmakers in the NFL? I guess he’ll have to earn that pay check next week.  If you own him, your starting him.

LeGarrette Blount, RB, TB – The Buccs have some work to do because despite how close the score looked at the end of the game, the Lions really controlled the game from start to finish and Blount was rendered ineffective by a need to pass to try and get back into the game.  Blount needs carries to get into a rhythm and wear down the defense so I am not too concerned, but we can expect at least a few more games like this by the end of the season.  He is still a solid RB2.

Dwayne Bowe, WR, KC – I kinda called this one, the Buffalo pass defense does not get enough credit and they really shut down the Chiefs in week 1.  I have concerns going forward for Bowe, but I had them before and he is no more than a low-end WR2 in my eyes.  He will drop further if KC can’t get their running game going either.

Matt Ryan, QB, ATL – The Falcons offense looked out-matched against the Bears D and Ryan was not a very effective passer in this game. I think the Falcons will get ti figured out and I am not overly concerned with Ryan going forward.

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