FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 1
BENCH/START WRAP-UP
September 9, 2003
Week one was certainly a wild one. Rookie wide receivers
pulling down the ball all over the place while game tested veterans
can't even get a sniff of a decent game. Maybe, getting some
practice in preseason games ... really
does help. In
general and historically, week one is a tough week for offensive players. The
defenses are just ahead of the offenses at that point and, as a result, the points
scored across the board are much lower on average.
Nostradamus (a.k.a. psychic)
Start:
Joey Harrington - Harrington looked sharp opening day turning in a 4 TD
performance. The city of Detroit finally has something to smile
about other than hockey. Just make sure they don't smile too
much because the Lions don't get to play the Cardinals again this year.
Stephen Davis - With a solid fantasy football showing of 122 yards
total offense, Davis owners are feeling pretty good about the rest of
the season. Carolina looks like they are going to continue to
feed Davis the rock this year. Can Davis return to the NFC
leading rusher status he enjoyed a couple of years ago? Stay tuned
to find out.
Bench:
Keenan McCardell - 3 receptions for 41 yards was just about what we expected
from McCardell. If Keyshawn Johnson and Joe Jurevicius continue to be
the main targets in the Bucs passing game, McCardell's fantasy football value
could plummet. While McCardell owners shouldn't jump off the boat just
yet, this is a situation to keep an eye on.
Chad Lewis - Even though Tampa Bay lost it's middle linebacker last week, they
were still able to limit Lewis' production to just 22 yards. Note to
fantasy football owners of players going up against the Bucs: You are
in trouble. The Bucs looked just plain nasty on Monday night.
We expect to see much more of these results this season.
Peter Warrick - 42 yards of total offense warranted a spot on the pine week
one for Warrick. Hopefully for fantasy football owners of Warrick, Kitna
and the Bengals get things going on offense. Just remember, if you
drafted a Cincinnati player … you still own a Bungle!
David Boston - Boston really stunk it up with 20 yards. We are sure
that there were more than a few fantasy teams who gave this big boy a shot.
As we mentioned last week, "Marty Ball" = death for wide receivers.
Boston owners are in for a long, long season. We have a strange
feeling that Boston will find himself on the Bench list again this year, but
it is just a hunch.
Farmer's Almanac (a.k.a. not so bad/not so good)
Start:
Robert Ferguson - Those 6 receptions and 53 yards looked pretty good in fantasy
football leagues that award points for receptions. Ferguson would have
probably had an even better game if he had not been injuried. Regardless,
he didn't turn in quite the performance we had expected so Ferguson heads up our
"Farmer's Almanac."
Emmitt Smith - Smith made an attempt at a good game, but when Harrington to
Rogers started racking up the points, the Cardinals had to back off on the
running game. This could be the story for Arizona all year. Smith
owners beware.
Rod Smith - Smith was another WR who had a fairly good game in reception leagues
with 5 receptions and 66 total yards of offense. If Smith would have been
wearing a Bengal jersey, he might have gotten a few more receptions.
Fantasy football squads out there with any Broncos receiver had better hope that
Jake Plummer starts throwing a few more completions to guys on
his team.
Darrell Jackson - Jackson just missed out on the end zone this week, but his
fantasy football owners should hang in there. He should rebound nicely
next week against the Cardinals.
Brett Favre - Since there were several starting quarterbacks out there that
turned in negative points week one, Favre is spared the dubious honor of being
a huge bust this past weekend. Instead, he was only a mild bust.
Bench:
Stacey Mack - About the same type of game as Emmitt Smith. Not fantastic,
but OK.
Andre Johnson - Johnson and the Texans surprised the whole league with a victory
over the Dolphins. His 76 yards weren't mind blowing, but they were
respectable.
J.J. Stokes - His 42 yards is pretty bad, but his receptions pull him up to the
next level.
Amos Zereoue - "Famous Amos" did manage to find the end zone and also managed to
find his way out of the fantasy football cellar week one.
Weather Forecast (a.k.a. oops better luck next time)
Start:
Curtis Martin and Trung Canidate - If we put these two together, we might have a
decent game. Since we don't know of any leagues that let you do that, Martin
and Canidate are a couple of calls we would like to take back.
Wesley Walls - You can officially take Walls off the "keep an eye on" list unless he
puts on a Vikings jersey. As many interceptions as Favre had week one, Walls
would have had a nice game if he would have dressed out in purple.
Bench:
Duce Staley - Staley's 7 receptions and his combined yards made him a good start in
fantasy football leagues that award points for receptions. That also makes
him a missed call by the Docs in week one.
