FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 1
BENCH/START WRAP-UP
September 11, 2007
Welcome to our weekly look back at our Bench / Start calls. Each week we hold ourselves accountable for our good and bad recommendations. It is easy to make predictions,
but it is tough to stand behind them. Week 1 can be a difficult week to predict as far as fantasy goes
because you just don’t know how things will shake out. We were fortunate in our Bench / Start calls
because we had a pretty solid effort right out of the gates. We hope some of these calls helped you
win a game or two this weekend. Without further ado, let’s get to the weekly fantasy football Bench / Start
Wrap-up.
Nostradamus (a.k.a. psychic)
Start:
Adrian Peterson, RB, MIN – We told you to stick with the rookie even though he was scheduled to split time. If you followed our advice, you were rewarded with a 60 yard TD reception and 103 yards rushing. This was a huge first game for Peterson. Now the real question becomes, “can he keep this up?” Be sure to check back on Wednesday in our week 2 Bench / Start to find out.
LaMont Jordan, RB, OAK – Jordan was a great start in standard formats and even better in point per reception leagues. He managed to take advantage of the Lions as we thought he would. Jordan amassed 70 yards rushing, 89 yards receiving, 9 receptions, and a 12 yard TD run. You just can’t ask for much more than that from a guy you were able to acquire late in your draft. Jordan will have a much tougher week 2 matchup against the Broncos, but he will still have the advantage of being the only real rushing threat the Raiders have.
Matt Hasselbeck, QB, SEA – Hasselbeck just barely made our solid calls this week by playing solid, mistake-free football. Hasselbeck had no turnovers, 222 yards passing, a TD, and 7 yards rushing. Ask Steve McNair what turnovers will do for you! Hasselbeck probably won’t ever be spectacular in 2007, but he should continue to be reliable.
Marion Barber, RB, DAL – How do the Cowboys face themselves in the mirror every morning and decide to stick with Julius Jones? Marion Barber is just a better back. He is fun to watch and very effective. Barber had another great week with 94 yards of total offense and a rushing TD. Barber was a discount in your draft and you are loving it. Be sure to stick your tongue out at the Willis McGahee and Reggie Bush owners who took those players rounds before Barber.
Bench:
Jamal Lewis, RB, CLE – We called out Lewis as being a “twinkle toes” runner and he did nothing to prove us wrong. Lewis only managed 46 total yards and he turned the ball over. Yuck. Hopefully you didn’t have to start Lewis. If at any point this season Lewis looks good, try to trade him immediately. It will surely be just a fluke.
Rex Grossman, QB, CHI – How does 145 yards passing and an interception sound to you? It sounds like a great bench call to us. Grossman will have a few good games this season, but he will also burn you, so you should be careful when playing with this Grossman fire.
Reggie Williams, WR, JAX – Williams did not play. We aren’t claiming this as a good bench, but we will leave it here. Don’t worry, we took one the other way where a player didn’t play that we wanted to start (Greg Jennings, WR, GB).
Matt Jones, WR, JAX – Matt Jones did play, but you won’t be able to tell from his final fantasy stats. Jones managed a great big goose egg week 1. He was thrown the ball in the endzone and he had a chance to make a circus catch, but he couldn’t haul it in. Matt Jones continues to be a huge disappointment.
Jason Campbell, QB, WAS – 222 yards passing isn’t bad, but 2 INTs and 0 TDs will kill your fantasy day. You just have to get more from your fantasy QB. It would be nice if Campbell tried to get the ball to Santana Moss a little more. Campbell was best left on your bench as was suggested.
Any Cleveland Browns QB – When we made this call we weren’t stepping out there on a limb, but we just wanted to make sure you didn’t get any bright ideas. Derek Anderson had 184 yards and a TD pass, but he also had 2 turnovers. Charlie Frye had an even worse game with 34 yards and an INT. If you were able to add these performances, you still have a bench call.
Farmer's Almanac (a.k.a. not so bad/not so good)
Start:
None this week
Bench:
Warrick Dunn, RB, ATL – Dunn just missed getting out of our so-so bench calls for week 1. Dunn had 55 yards rushing, but he also had 4 receptions for 26 yards. This effort was just about as poor as you can get without being unplayable.
LenDale White, RB, TEN – Chris Brown clearly stole the show here and White had a very unimpressive game by comparison. However, White did manage just over 70 yards of total offense. As a result, he was a so-so start, but he was real close to being a good bench call.
Weather Forecast (a.k.a. oops better luck next time)
Start:
Alex Smith, QB, SF – The 49ers decided to go VERY conservative and Smith ended up with a terrible performance. If the team’s offensive philosophy doesn’t change soon, we fear for all the receiving options the 49ers have.
Deuce McAllister, RB, NO – We expected to see a better fight from the entire Saints’ offense. The bad news is that McAllister suffered along with the team. Once the Colts started to run away with the game, McAllister became less of a factor. As a result, McAllister only had 38 yards receiving and 2 receptions for 7 yards.
Reggie Brown, WR, PHI – YUCK. McNabb looks like he could have used a little more preseason action. McNabb looked bad, the Ealges lost to the Packers, and Reggie Brown had a poor game.
Greg Jennings, WR, GB – Here is one of our players we wanted to start on Wednesday, but he didn’t play. However, it was announced that Jennings would not play after our Bench / Start call, so we hope you were able to find a replacement.
Oakland Raiders Defense – We predicted some turnovers and then we hoped for a TD. The Raiders did get 2 turnovers and they had a chance to score on one of them. However, they allowed way too many points to be considered a good start. If the Raiders offense would have helped out the defense, we think the results for this fantasy D would have been much better.
Bench:
Clinton Portis, RB, WAS – Portis nearly broke 100 yards on Sunday and managed a TD. As a result, he would have been a good start week 1.
