Week 1 of the NFL season kicked off with a bang as Arian Foster racked up 231 rushing yards and three scores, while Peyton Manning threw the pigskin for 433 yards with three scores of his own. But, with the good you always have the bad and Donovan McNabb (171 passing yards and no scores) was nice enough to bring up the rear as I predicted he would. The first week of the NFL season is just the first of 16 games, but this is the regular season so every game has to count if you want to win that fantasy title.
Winners
Jay Cutler: Cutler excelled in the new Mike Martz offense as he finished the game with 372 passing yards with two TDs and an INT. Cutler is going to be a hot trade chip after this strong performance and with good reason, but don't expect this type of game from him every week from him since the Lions have the worst secondary in the NFL and that is an honor only one team can have.
Carson Palmer: Palmer and his revamped offense kicked off the season with a bang, it's just too bad it all came in the second half of the game. Palmer finished with an impressive 345 passing yards and added two TDs and an INT. I knew Palmer would be good, but this is better than even I had hoped.
Arian Foster: I told you to play Foster… did you listen? As I mentioned before, Foster dominated just about every fantasy format and I am encouraged by his 33 rushing attempts in the first week. That type of workload will take a toll on him as the season wears on, but in fantasy football you have to ride the wagon until the wheels fall off.
Matt Forte: Forte was another of the fortunate people to play the lowly Lions this weekend as he finished the game with 201 total yards (50 rushing and 151 receiving) and two TDs. Hey, numbers are numbers and that is all that matters in fantasy football, but I will say that I am not all that impressed as he finished the game with an unimpressive 2.9 rushing yards per attempt.
Hakeem Nicks: This is another one of those Forte disclaimers where I will say numbers are numbers, but take it with a big grain of salt. Nicks finished with four catches for 75 yards and three TDs, so he was a legit top three play this weekend. But, without the touchdowns, he was a very average fantasy play. I'm not jumping on the breakout player bandwagon that other sites are just yet, but… scoreboard!
Chad Ochocinco: Ochocinco had the game we all knew he could with a depleted Patriots secondary. He finished the game with a league leading 159 receiving yards on 12 catches and chipped in a touchdown for his owners. Obviously this won't happen every week, but he has the skills and the help around him to reward his owners richly.
Dallas Clark: Clark proved why he is still one of the top fantasy TEs in the game this weekend as he finished with 11 catches for 80 yards and a TD. You won't get double-digit receptions from him most weeks, but the yards and touchdown is what you can expect more times than not.
Seattle Seahawks Defense: I wouldn't have called this one in a million years and still wouldn't if I hadn't seen it for my own eyes. The Seahawks shut Frank Gore down to the tune of 38 rushing yards (2.2 YPC) and 45 receiving yards and still managed to get two sacks, two INTs, one defensive touchdown and allowed just six points. If you own the Seahawks for some strange reason, start putting out trade offers right now, because this won't happen again.
Losers
Donovan McNabb: As I said earlier, McNabb isn't what he used to be and that Redskins offense is not going to be explosive enough to give him fantasy value. Sub 200 yard games will come more often than you would like and McNabb is nothing more than a mid-level QB2.
Matt Schaub: Schaub was the victim of Foster this weekend as he finished with just 107 passing yards, one touchdown and one interception. This was a fluke game for Schaub because of how well Foster did, but it hurt nonetheless when your QB1 puts up 15 points in your fantasy league and you were expecting 30-35 points.
Ryan Grant: Grant is someone I avoid in drafts because he fails to impress me in any format. This week Grant finished with 45 yards on eight rushes and no scores before spraining his ankle. No matter what the reason is, Grant got most teams just a few points for his rushing yards and that could have been the difference between a win and a loss.
C.J. Spiller: Another back I warned you about… did you listen? The rookie finished the game with six yards on seven attempts (1.2 YPC) and eight receiving yards on four catches. I wouldn't cut him on the back of this performance, but the Bills were my pick to get the 1st overall pick in next year's draft and this shows you why.
Andre Johnson: This is what happens when your QB makes the losers list, you make it too as a WR. Johnson was taken in the top 7-8 picks in most leagues, so finishing with three catches for 33 yards and no scores is not what his owners drafted him for. This won't happen again, so chalk it up as a bad week.
DeSean Jackson: Jackson was a victim of the Kevin Kolb concussion then Michael Vick running show as he racked up an unimpressive four catches for 30 yards and no endzone dances. Despite what Coach Andy Reid says, there is a QB controversy in Philadelphia and Jackson could be the ones who suffers the most with Vick at the helm.
Jason Witten: Typically I am not a fan of Witten for personal reasons, but this week proved why I was right to avoid him in drafts. The Cowboys offense looked out of sync and it shows when you look at the boxscore and see Witten's three catches for 27 yards and no touchdowns.
San Francisco 49ers Defense: The Niners defense entered the season as one of the top projected defenses in the NFL, but they hardly lived up to the hype in week 1. They allowed 25 points while netting just one INT and one sack… hardly enough to make up for the points. The way the team as a whole played on Sunday, I would start to worry if you are a Niners fan.
Send your fantasy football emails to James (nolimitallstars1@hotmail.com) and he will answer them the same day and you could get your question featured in an upcoming article as the Question of the Week!
