September 15th, 2009 9:37pm PST
Week One Fantasy Highlights….
In case you missed most of the action on Sunday, I’ll be the first to tell you that you missed quite a bit. If you don’t have the Sunday ticket, you need it, get it!
Week one was everything many of us thought it would be, with Drew Brees once again dropping bombs or should we say throwing bombs in the Superdome, to Adrian Peterson running “All-Day” through the defenses, to Peyton and Reggie convincing many fantasy owners to say “Marvin who?”
Some notable surprises in week one actually came last Thursday with the Steelers offense abandoning the run and basically going aerial on the strength of Big Ben’s arm and 363-passing yards. Is he an elite quarterback now? If not, he’s as close as you can get without being one. Then there’s his counterpart Santonio Holmes (9 catches, 131-yards) who proved his miraculous toe-dancing Super Bowl winning catch was no fluke.
I found the hard running of Mike Bell (28 carries) in New Orleans to be refreshing, although you’ll have to question how committed to the run will head coach Sean Payton actually be. The Cowboys offense appeared to be quite healthy in the post traumatic T.O. era, with Romo airing it out for 353-yards and three touchdowns. Fantasy owners ask, who’s going to replace Owens; Willliams (3 catches, 86-yds, 1-Td), Crayton (4 catches, 135-yds, 1-Td), and Witten (5 catches, 71-yds). The offense looks to be in good hands.
Another surprise we saw Sunday, but then was it really a surprise to see the Raven’s running back Ray Rice run as well as he did? Rice gained 108-yards on 19 carries and he also added a couple of grabs for another 12-yards. Speaking of an early 2009 surprise, how about Todd Heap’s five grabs for 74-yards and a score.
Just a year ago both quarterbacks Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco were rookies, but now seasoned vets, each commanded their respective offenses to week one victories. Ryan was more than respectable with 229-yards passing and two touchdowns, while Flacco was impressive completing 26 of 43 passes for 307-yards and three scores.
While there were impressive performances, there were also those that had you scratching your heads; like the Rams under-use of Steven Jackson (just 16 touches) and both the Broncos and Bengals offenses lack-luster performances. The absence of Terrell Owens from the Bill’s offensive gameplan was disappointing for fantasy owners, but less a mystery if you watched the game. The Patriots just had no answer for Bill’s running back Fred Jackson.
There were just a handful of the many things we saw in week one, but more importantly than what we saw, what does it all mean?
First of all, fantasy owners should not panic, remember this was only one game and it was the first game of the season. Just because Steven Jackson didn’t have a huge Sunday, there’s no need to go into desperation mode. It’s quite obvious the Rams need to get their best weapon involved in the passing game as well as the run.
For owners that held onto Brandon Marshall, it appears the rough seas are beginning to calm and it will only be a matter of time before the beast is unleashed. Carson Palmer was not particularly sharp on Sunday, but he did show some good velocity on a few throws. The time missed in preseason showed, but it’s something very correctible.
In New Orleans, head coach Sean Payton is going to have a tough call to make when Pierre Thomas returns; now there’s a three-headed monster (Bush, Bell, Thomas). The Raven’s have a similar dilemma, but it appears they might have already solved their quandary. In Tampa the Buc’s were boasting a running back tri-fecta, but with Graham seeing only one carry that could become the trend; stay with the hot hand and odd man out.
All is well in New Orleans, New England, and Indianapolis with all three aerial attacks firing their big guns in week one. The Cowboys and Steelers, two teams historically known for ball-control ground games, could also be entering the new age aero-dynamics. While these teams are putting their strongest arms forward, teams like the Vikings, Texans, Panthers, and Jaguars are struggling just to lift theirs.
Offenses that struggle to move the ball and pick up first downs, generally don’t accumulate too many yards on offense or points for that matter. Week one offenses that could be a cause for concern for fantasy owners;
Five worst offenses
Team Total yards Total First downs (rank)
1. Carolina Panthers 169-yards 14-first downs (24th)
2. Houston Texans 183-yards 11-first downs (30th)
3. Kansas City Chiefs 188-yards 11-first downs (30th)
4. San Francisco 49ers 203-yards 13-first downs (26th)
5. Green Bay Packers 226-yards 12-first downs (28th)
By David Ortega
Check back every Tuesday for more “Tuesday (Football) Talk”
Week One Fantasy Highlights….
In case you missed most of the action on Sunday, I’ll be the first to tell you that you missed quite a bit. If you don’t have the Sunday ticket, you need it, get it!
Week one was everything many of us thought it would be, with Drew Brees once again dropping bombs or should we say throwing bombs in the Superdome, to Adrian Peterson running “All-Day” through the defenses, to Peyton and Reggie convincing many fantasy owners to say “Marvin who?”
Some notable surprises in week one actually came last Thursday with the Steelers offense abandoning the run and basically going aerial on the strength of Big Ben’s arm and 363-passing yards. Is he an elite quarterback now? If not, he’s as close as you can get without being one. Then there’s his counterpart Santonio Holmes (9 catches, 131-yards) who proved his miraculous toe-dancing Super Bowl winning catch was no fluke.
I found the hard running of Mike Bell (28 carries) in New Orleans to be refreshing, although you’ll have to question how committed to the run will head coach Sean Payton actually be. The Cowboys offense appeared to be quite healthy in the post traumatic T.O. era, with Romo airing it out for 353-yards and three touchdowns. Fantasy owners ask, who’s going to replace Owens; Willliams (3 catches, 86-yds, 1-Td), Crayton (4 catches, 135-yds, 1-Td), and Witten (5 catches, 71-yds). The offense looks to be in good hands.
Another surprise we saw Sunday, but then was it really a surprise to see the Raven’s running back Ray Rice run as well as he did? Rice gained 108-yards on 19 carries and he also added a couple of grabs for another 12-yards. Speaking of an early 2009 surprise, how about Todd Heap’s five grabs for 74-yards and a score.
Just a year ago both quarterbacks Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco were rookies, but now seasoned vets, each commanded their respective offenses to week one victories. Ryan was more than respectable with 229-yards passing and two touchdowns, while Flacco was impressive completing 26 of 43 passes for 307-yards and three scores.
While there were impressive performances, there were also those that had you scratching your heads; like the Rams under-use of Steven Jackson (just 16 touches) and both the Broncos and Bengals offenses lack-luster performances. The absence of Terrell Owens from the Bill’s offensive gameplan was disappointing for fantasy owners, but less a mystery if you watched the game. The Patriots just had no answer for Bill’s running back Fred Jackson.
There were just a handful of the many things we saw in week one, but more importantly than what we saw, what does it all mean?
First of all, fantasy owners should not panic, remember this was only one game and it was the first game of the season. Just because Steven Jackson didn’t have a huge Sunday, there’s no need to go into desperation mode. It’s quite obvious the Rams need to get their best weapon involved in the passing game as well as the run.
For owners that held onto Brandon Marshall, it appears the rough seas are beginning to calm and it will only be a matter of time before the beast is unleashed. Carson Palmer was not particularly sharp on Sunday, but he did show some good velocity on a few throws. The time missed in preseason showed, but it’s something very correctible.
In New Orleans, head coach Sean Payton is going to have a tough call to make when Pierre Thomas returns; now there’s a three-headed monster (Bush, Bell, Thomas). The Raven’s have a similar dilemma, but it appears they might have already solved their quandary. In Tampa the Buc’s were boasting a running back tri-fecta, but with Graham seeing only one carry that could become the trend; stay with the hot hand and odd man out.
All is well in New Orleans, New England, and Indianapolis with all three aerial attacks firing their big guns in week one. The Cowboys and Steelers, two teams historically known for ball-control ground games, could also be entering the new age aero-dynamics. While these teams are putting their strongest arms forward, teams like the Vikings, Texans, Panthers, and Jaguars are struggling just to lift theirs.
Offenses that struggle to move the ball and pick up first downs, generally don’t accumulate too many yards on offense or points for that matter. Week one offenses that could be a cause for concern for fantasy owners;
Five worst offenses
Team Total yards Total First downs (rank)
1. Carolina Panthers 169-yards 14-first downs (24th)
2. Houston Texans 183-yards 11-first downs (30th)
3. Kansas City Chiefs 188-yards 11-first downs (30th)
4. San Francisco 49ers 203-yards 13-first downs (26th)
5. Green Bay Packers 226-yards 12-first downs (28th)
By David Ortega
Check back every Tuesday for more “Tuesday (Football) Talk”
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