FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 1
BENCH/START WRAP-UP
September 12, 2006
Week 1 of the NFL and fantasy football seasons was a wild one as usual. The NFL seems to always throw curve balls week one.
The important thing to remember is to not panic. It is a long season, and it isn’t how you
start... it is how you finish. We called more than our share of good calls week one, but we
also had a couple blow up in our face as well. Remember, we are not interested in recommending "no-brainers" like LaDainian Tomlinson each week, rather,
we recommend players that are not obvious fantasy football studs to help you fill in your roster with those tougher decisions. Join us as we take a look back at our week 1 calls and hold ourselves to the fire.
Nostradamus (a.k.a. psychic)
Start:
Frank Gore, RB, SF – If you gambled on one of your starting RBs and ended up with Gore, you had to be pleased with what you saw week 1. Gore ran rampant all over the Cardinals. Keep in mind that many teams run well on the Cardinals, but also keep in mind Norv Turner’s history (success) with running backs. With 2 TDs and over 160 yards of offense, Gore was a slam dunk.
Corey Dillon, RB, NE – Week 1 was a week for oldies but goodies. Dillon was one of the oldies we called. Dillon was only 5 yards shy of 100 yards. He also added a couple of receptions for points in point per reception leagues. Not a bad game from this old pro. Don’t worry Dillon owners, his TDs will come.
Kurt Warner, QB, ARI – Warner went for over 300 yards passing and he dropped in 3 TDs. This was a huge game and your fantasy team benefited from it big time. Strike 1 up for the
QB free fallers. It is a long season, but after week 1, free falling on a QB can produce big rewards.
Donovan McNabb, QB, PHI – We threw McNabb in our Bench Start because we felt like people were down on him for little reason. He was hurt last season and lost T.O., so we felt like he needed to be recognized as a stud once again. He probably won’t pop up in our bench start again, but just keep in mind that you should start him every week. McNabb was another QB who went for over 300 and 3 TDs. McNabb also scored one of those TDs from 40+ for those of you in big play leagues.
Philadelphia Eagles Team D – The Eagles only allowed 10 points. It is amazing that they didn’t get any turnovers, but they did rack up a gaudy 5 sacks. In leagues that reward 2 points per sack, this was a monster game.
Starting RB, DEN - Both Denver Bells (Tatum and Mike) had solid games. Tatum had more yards, but Mike scored the TD. All in all, the Bells could have helped you make it through week 1. Hopefully, they did just that for you.
Bench:
Chris Simms, QB, TAM – We said we liked his potential long term, but we told you to stay far away from the Ravens. Simms had a terrible game with a load of turnovers and only a few yards. Simms barely scored positive points in most leagues. If you left Simms on your pine, it was a wise move.
Brett Favre, QB, GRB – Favre was taking care of the ball until late, when he tossed 2 INTs. Look, we weren’t high on Favre coming into this season and we will hold fast with that stance. His turnovers hurt the Packers, and they will hurt your fantasy team too. Zero TDs for Favre just in case you were counting.
David Boston, WR, TAM – This is kind of a first for us. There was a load of premature excitement about Boston out there, so we told you not to start this guy on Wednesday and then on Saturday his actual team released him. I guess they were just following our advice. Either way, hopefully you weren’t counting on Boston in your deep leagues.
Kerry Collins, QB, TEN – Kerry Collins’ passer rating barely broke 40 and he wasn’t running around the field like Michael Vick. As a result, his fantasy numbers were terrible. He did get a 2 point conversion and 223 yards passing, but he also had 2 INTs. Hopefully, you benched this former quality QB. He may rebound later this season, but the Titans are a mess right now.
Doug Gabriel, WR, NE – Gabriel was a hot and new signing coming into the first week of the season. However, we told you to stay away b/c it would take him a while to click with the Patriots offense. It looks like the coach agreed with us. Gabriel was deactivated prior to the game, but we told you not to start him on Wednesday.
Kevin Jones, RB, DET – Jones didn’t look very good in the game. No TDs, very vanilla yardage, and a lost fumble will cost your fantasy team the game from a key fantasy position. If you took our advice, you were glad to leave Jones on your pine and go with another option at RB for week 1.
Kevin Curtis, WR, STL – We told you that the odds were stacked against Curtis with the new configuration of the Rams offense. Curtis didn’t catch a ball on Sunday and it was a good idea to leave him off of your roster.
Farmer's Almanac (a.k.a. not so bad/not so good)
Start:
Bobby Engram, WR, SEA – Engram was a nice start for those of you in larger leagues with a point per reception. Engram hauled in 5 passes for 52 yards. If he would have gotten a few more yards, we could have made him a good call instead of a so-so call, but those are the breaks.
Rod Smith, WR, DEN – Smith’s receptions are the main thing that barely kept him from missing the busted calls list.
Bench:
None this week
Weather Forecast (a.k.a. oops better luck next time)
Start:
Thomas Jones, RB, CHI – Jones really let us down against a weak Packers squad. The rest of the Bears offense looked much better, so we are still really surprised by Jones’ bottom line. 63 yards rushing just doesn’t get the job done.
Reuben Droughns, RB, CLE – Droughns was even worse than Jones. Yikes. If Droughns cannot do it against the Saints, we fear for his fantasy future in 2006.
Keenan McCardell, WR, SDG – The Chargers were far more tentative with their passing game than we thought they would be. The team had better start passing more or Tomlinson might not make it to the end of the season. However, he looked great week 1 and the Chargers really didn’t have to pass to beat the Raiders.
Jake Plummer, QB, DEN – What was supposed to be a safe play was nasty. Plummer turned the ball over 4 times! That about wraps up his (and the Broncos’) day.
Bench:
Julius Jones, RB, DAL – Jones had two big plays that crushed our bench call. Terrell Ownes may continue to provide those homerun opportunities for Jones the rest of the season. Keep an eye out for Jones even though Marion Barber will continue to get a large number of carries.
Michael Jenkins, WR, ATL – Jenkins broke a tackle and broke our prediction in one swift move. Jenkins scored on that 34 yard scamper and that was all it took to bust up our bench call.
Hines Ward, WR, PIT – We will not tell you to bench Ward the rest of the season assuming he is relatively healthy. It was a good call considering all of the controversy around him, but it was still an incorrect call. Let us also state that Ward scored on busted coverage because no one was near him for his TD pass. That score is what hurt our call.
Ahman Green, RB, GRB – Green bounced back just fine against a great Chicago D. Green will continue to run well until his team gets behind. He has lots of monetary incentive (statistical markers that he can reach to get bonuses) to do well this season.
