Studs

Arian Foster, RB, HOU – What more can you say other than “WOW”. 25 carries for 115 yards and 2 TDs was not enough for Foster, he had to throw in 119 yards and a score in the receiving game.  Fantasy owners appreciated it and there isn’t too much to say here. Foster is an elite fantasy RB. When Andre Johnson is back, defenses will not be able to stack eight in the box to stop him.

Chiefs, D/ST, KC – The Raiders were a comedy of errors this week and only some of it was their fault.  They recognized that Palmer was not going to be effective on such short notice and tried not to use him.  But Boller was just awful and when Darren McFadden left the game, there was just no chance for success. I do not trust the Chiefs defense without a sweet match up at all the rest of the way, but this has me relatively confident in their ability to be serviceable against a bad offense.

DeMarco Murray, RB, DAL – This just feels like how Adrian Peterson burst onto the scene doesn’t it? Odds are that is not the case and he will just settle in as a decent RB2 but when talking about upside, this is the potential that exists with Murray. I am very confident that you have a new RB2 if you picked this guy up however. The Cowboys have been itching for an effective running game for some time and Felix Jones has not been getting it done.  If Murray can produce this weekend with a great match up against Philly, I think he will be the feature back even when Jones comes back.  To put this in historical perspective, there have been 9 players in NFL history to gain 250 yards rushing in a game and 8 of them have then had multiple 1,000 yard seasons in their career. Jerome Harrison is the odd man out.  Great pick up last week if you got him!

Marques Colston, WR, NO – Colston has been great since coming back off injury.  This game was a joke and the Saints were just scoring at will so I do not think that this can continue, but you have to start this guy every week.  Colston had 7 targets and 7 catches this week for 98 yards and two scores. I LOVE when a guy catches 100% of the passes that come his way and I have a feeling Drew Brees does too.

Tim Tebow, QB, DEN – My advice to pick up and start Tebow this week had nothing to do with a belief that he is a savior sent from the University of Florida to destroy the NFL and bring championships to the Broncos. Those people are insane.  It had to do with his style of play translating well to fantasy points.  There is a lot to be said about a QB that will have 50 yards rushing and essentially serves as the goal line back for his team (Cam Newton owners can also explain this to you).  Tebow played terribly for around 55 minutes in this game and still managed to be the 5th highest scoring QB of the week.

Plaxico Burress, WR, NYJ – I’m not going to justify this performance with any more than saying it was a fluke.  He only caught 4 passes for 25 yards. You can’t rely on even ONE TD from such few receptions and yardage, let alone THREE!

Duds

Vincent Jackson, WR, SD – San Diego tried to get the ball to Jackson while he spent the day on Revis Island but they were unsuccessful. VJax saw eight targets and was only able to haul in one catch for 15 yards.  I have no concerns down the stretch, but I would have liked to see him be more productive considering that Matt Moore and Brandon Marshall were able to get it done last week against Revis.

Ray Rice, RB, BAL – I am so shocked that Baltimore laid an egg on Monday night that I want to list every last start-able Raven here, but I wont. Teams coming off the Bye this year have done pretty badly thus far and I blame the new rules. Teams are barely allowed to practice and players can only show up to the facilities a couple of days on the week off.  I am not sure when this stopped being “professional” football players, but I won’t be expecting a good game from too many players coming off the bye week anymore.

Chris Johnson, RB, TEN – I can’t believe it, but CJ has just been awful and is about to fall completely out of the top 20.  There is no bigger bust for 2011 and you should look to find a replacement.  Don’t drop him yet though unless there are NO other options and Murray is available.

Miles Austin, WR, DAL – With Austin and Bryant competing for targets and DeMarco Murray running like a mad man, I am not surprised that Austin had a bad game.  I still like him more than Bryant, but one more week of such anemic stats and that will change.

Rashard Mendenhall, RB, PIT – I am at a loss about Mendenhall’s spotty performance this season.  I do not think we can consider him a top 10 guy but Arizona is a decent rush defense and bad secondary, so I don’t think we can expect such a pass-heavy offense down the stretch. Especially with that poor offensive line.

Eric Decker, WR, DEN – I thought Decker would be the top receiver for Denver, at least while Demaryius Thomas got back into the rhythm of things.  It apparently did not take long for that to happen.  Thomas will be my top ranked Broncos receiver for week 8.

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Texans at Titans

Houston failed to run away with the division as I had thought they would and Tennessee actually sits in first at 3-2 with the Texans at 3-3.  The Titans got off to a VERY fast start when Kenny Britt was healthy and even with VERY limited production from Chris Johnson over the first three weeks. Johnson HAS had 12 fantasy points in two consecutive games to start to recoup some of his value but with where you drafted him and the size of his contract, I think we ALL can agree that one 100 yard rushing game is not good enough. Both defenses here are allowing just over 100 yards on the ground per game and I think that the Tate and Foster combo will prove to be too much for Tennessee to deal with.  Matt Schaub is listed as Questionable at the moment but assuming he plays, I like the Titans to win this game handily. I think Chris Johnson and Arian Foster are must starts this week, as per the usual. And Nate Washington and Jacoby Jones are viable plug-in guys for an owner in Bye week hell.  In deeper formats Hasselbeck might be OK, but this Texans secondary is legitimate under Wade Phillips and you should look elsewhere if possible.

Chargers at Jets

With the Chargers’ record being this good, this early and the fact that the Jets have gone to two straight AFC championship games… I could see this being a preview of the AFC Championship game.  One thing needs to happen in order for us to get to that point though; The Jets need to play a LOT better. Both on offense and defense, the Jets are not the team I thought they would be and it all starts with the running game. The recipe for playoff success is simple; Run the ball and stop the run. Obviously you need to be able to stretch the field vertically to compete with the Drew Brees’, Aaron Rodgers’ and Tom Brady’s of the world, but nothing shuts these elite QBs down like a lot of time on the sideline. This is exactly why the Chargers are going to win this game and I am not convinced it will be close.  The Chargers are healthy on offense again with Antonio Gates looking to rejoin the list of Rivers’ targets on offense and the Bye week helped Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert get back into playing shape.  With two backs that are more productive than Shonn Greene and the Jets defense appearing unable to contain the running game, I think that we will see very limited fantasy production from all of your New York Jets.  The one guy I do want to start from New York is Santonio Holmes because of junk-time stats after the Chargers have already run away with it. Bye weeks might force you to use Greene, but I feel like you are hoping for a goal line carry or two here so that you can at least get a TD out of him. I think Mathews and Gates are in for big games for San Diego, but don’t expect too much from VJax and Rivers despite the fact that your going to be playing them.

Bears at Buccaneers

This game, if you didn’t know, is being played at Wembley Stadium in London. Tampa has made this trip to play in London and they learned a thing or two the last time they did it. Don’t travel to London late in the week and face jet lag as well as your opponent… Tampa has been in London since Monday and holding practices in England all week. Chicago waited until today to make the trip and as a result, I think Tampa Bay has a serious advantage in this game.  You couldn’t make me bench Matt Forte at all this season but since Cutler and his receivers are risky under ideal circumstances, just leave them on the bench this week. Mike Williams clings to a top 20 spot in the rankings despite his hugely disappointing season thus far, but if this advantage holds true, one step is all a receiver needs to beat coverage deep and Freeman is still more than good enough to to recoup his fantasy value.  Earnest Graham is worth a play to fill-in for a bye week despite the weak match-up should Blount sit and it looks like he will. You shouldn’t look to this game for any deep or sneaky plays, but you should see solid outings from the guys that you have been counting on all year long.  I think Tampa gets the win as the “home team” and stays on top of their division.

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Love

Chris Johnson, RB, TEN – CJ has been disappointing fantasy owners for two weeks after he held out of training camp for a contract extension.  He has a very favorable match-up against last season’s 31st ranked pass defense that lost two interior defensive linemen before the start of the season.  I’m not saying for sure he’s back to his old self, but this is the week I think they really try and get him back to being the featured play maker of the offense.

Steve Smith, WR, CAR – With how Cam Newton has been playing and how bad of a secondary Jacksonville has, I see no reason not to expect a very good outting from Smith again.  He looks to be rejuvenated by his rookie QB and I think he is a must start in your WR 2 spot this week.

Beanie Wells, RB, ARI – Wells has run hard in the first two weeks. And with his carries being up in the absence of Tim Hightower and Ryan Williams, you’ve gotta like Beanie’s chance at success against a bad Seahawks team. Treat him as a must-start RB2 this week.

Devery Henderson, WR, NO – He seems to get the big game a slight bit more often than Meachem does and I have the both ranked much higher than I normally would for this week.  Houston’s secondary is still quite a weak spot and who better to exploit it than Drew Brees?  there will be plenty of catches to go around and the Saints are going to take a fair amount of shots vertically this week.

Philip Rivers, QB, SD – Hopefully Rivers doesn’t get the Chargers ahead too quickly in this game and make the passing game irrelevant.  Without Charles and Berry, the Chiefs are way outmatched in this game and the sky is the limit statistically for Rivers and the Chargers. I wouldn’t be shocked to see another modest performance due to a couple rushing TD’s, but there is zero risk with Rivers this week.

David Nelson, WR, BUF – The Bills have the NFL’s top scoring offense. It just feels good to say it.  The bubble is almost certainly going to burst for us Bills fans as we host the Patriots in week 3, but not for fantasy owners.  Buffalo will score points and be forced to do it in the air as they try and keep pace with New England’s offensive machine. The Bills are going to use Nelson a lot more in his most natural role, as the slot receiver, now that Roscoe Parrish is on IR. The Amish Rifle (Fitzpatrick) really seemed to have a connection with him and after Johnson, this is the guy that will be the most productive in my opinion.

Ryan Mathews, RB, SD – The Chargers are going to dominate the Chiefs in week 3.  I don’t think many people would disagree with that and it makes Mathews an attractive start as an RB2 for all the carries he will likely see later in the game to run down the clock.  I like Tolbert a lot too, but with how difficult TD’s are to predict, the yardage total for Mathews makes him a safer play in my opinion.

Hate

Eli Manning, QB, NYG – Eli has played less than inspired over the first two weeks of the season and against a ball hawking secondary like Philadelphia has, I think Manning is just WAY too risky of a play.

Arian Foster, RB, HOU – We can’t even be sure he’ll be active in this game but even if he is, I don’t think you can expect very much from him in week 3.  One of the scariest things for me as a fantasy owner is to see a guy come back from an injury and have to leave the game early again. Expect them to bring him back slowly with how well Ben Tate is running the ball and the sudden lack of a competitive division.

Reggie Wayne, WR, IND – On talent alone, Wayne is still a top 10 fantasy receiver in my opinion.  He isn’t likely to finish in the top 10 of points scored but he is tough to beat from a consistency standpoint. You probably need to start him as a WR2 or flex play still, but you definitely need to lower your expectations.

Steven Jackson, RB, STL – Even if he IS 100%, I’m hoping to not need him for more than a flex play against Pittsburgh.  I expected to see better offensive production from Bradford thus far and don’t think Jackson will exceed any expectations without teams being legitimately afraid of the passing game.

Fred Jackson, RB, BUF – I know what your thinking, he IS the 4th highest scoring RB in fantasy football over the first two weeks. But let’s face it… to keep pace with Brady, Buffalo will need to feature the vertical passing game and that suits CJ Spiller more than Jackson. I’m leaving Jackson as a low-end RB2 for this week, expect him to go up considerably when the match up is more favorable to a ground game.

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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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