Kevin Kolb will take over for Donovan McNabb if he can’t go in Week 2. McNabb apparently has a cracked rib…With Brandon Stokley’s amazing game-winning play, Kyle Orton‘s line (243 yards, TD) is not nearly as good as it looks…Maybe the Detroit O-line isn’t as bad in pass protection as we thought. Mark Stafford threw 37 passes but was only sacked once…Tony Romo‘s stellar performance (353 yards, 3 TD) against a traditionally good defense means that he’s probably any every-week starter going forward…Shaun Hill (209, TD) was solid if unspectacular against the Cardinals and should be a good start going forward. He has a pretty easy schedule this season…Aaron Rodgers (184 yards, TD) had a very poor statistical game before the game-winning 50-yard bomb to Greg Jennings. If the Packers can solidify the protection on the right side of the, Rodgers should settle down…Mark Sanchez (272 yards, TD, INT) looked pretty solid on the road in his NFL debut…Matt Schaub (166 yards, INT) and the rest of the Texans’ offense was pretty brutal.
Michael Turner carried the ball 22 times for 65 yards. Of course, he’s rarely involved in the passing game, so he doesn’t have a chance to gain yards through the air when the running game isn’t going. Miami was a top 10 team against the rush last year, so don’t panic on Turner…Ronnie Brown‘s performance is a little worrisome because he only got 10 carries the entire game. Miami trailed most of the day, yet Brown only caught three passes despite being the Dolphins best playmaker…Ray Rice (21 touches, 120 yards) looks like the Ravens’ feature back, but he didn’t get much work around the goal line and Willis McGahee (14 touches, 75 yards, 2 TD) actually had the better fantasy day…Don’t worry about a timeshare right now in Cincy. Cedric Benson got 25 touches (for 108 yards and a TD), while the rest of the Bengal RBs touched the ball a total of five times…It was an even split between Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter — each player had eight carries…Jamal Lewis owners should be optimistic after a pretty solid performance on the ground (11 carries, 57 yards) against the best rush defense in the league…Joseph Addai (22 touches, 77 yards, TD) still looks like the Colts’ feature back. Donald Brown had 13 touches for 49 yards…Kevin Smith didn’t have a good day running the ball (15 carries, 20 yards) but he scored a TD and caught seven passes. He’ll rack up a lot of catches as the Lions trail most of the season…So much for that 2-2-1 split in Tampa. It was a 50/50 split between Carnell Williams (13 carries, 97 yards, TD) and Derrick Ward (14 touches, 83 yards, TD)…Byron Leftwich‘s line (276 yards, TD) looks a lot better on paper than it did in the game…Thomas Jones (20 carries, 107 yards, 2 TD) looks like he has quite a bit of gas left in the tank, but the Jets did give Leon Washington 19 touches as well…The Arizona running game really struggled (2.4 ypc), but Tim Hightower was a monster in the passing game (12 catches, 121 yards)…Steven Jackson (16 carries, 62 yards) ran the ball fairly well, but didn’t catch a pass, which was surprising considering all the talk in the preseason about how he was going to be used like Brian Westbrook…Julius Jones (21 touches, 136 yards, TD) had a great game, but we’ll see if he can produce like that against a good rush defense…Ryan Grant‘s line (17 touches, 67 yards, TD) is better than it looks given the solid performance by the Chicago DT. He definitely looks like he has more burst this season…
Mark Clayton (5-77-1) had a nice day. He has struggled to stay healthy this year, but he should post nice numbers as long as Joe Flacco continues to progress…Mark Bradley (4-73) looks like the clear WR2 in Kansas City…The Eagles have a very good defense, so I wouldn’t worry too much about Steve Smith (3-21), though you’d think he’d find a way to catch more than three passes with the Panthers trailing all day…Eddie Royal (2-18) was a big disappointment after a great rookie year and big expectations in preseason. He was only targeted four times all game…With Bernard Berrian (0-0) coming off of a hamstring injury, Percy Harvin (3-36-1) looks like the best WR play in Minny…Anthony Gonzalez (0-0) suffered a non-contact knee injury and expected to miss 2-6 weeks…Patrick Crayton (4-135-1) scored on an 80-yard TD catch…Chansi Stuckey (4-64-1) caught a TD, but Jerricho Cotchery (6-90) was heavily involved as well…The Giants should be okay at WR, though it might be hit or miss who is going to have a big day on any given week. Steve Smith (6-80) looks like a solid start in PPR leagues…Santana Moss (2-6) had a brutal day, while the Giants let Antwaan Randle El (7-98) run loose all day…Josh Morgan (3-38) made a couple of nice catches in the first half, but Isaac Bruce (4-74) led the 49ers in receiving…Nate Burleson (7-74-1) had a very nice day and posted better numbers than T.J. Houshmandzadeh (6-48)…Laurent Robinson (4-87) and Donnie Avery (6-46) should be decent weekly starts in PPR leagues as the Rams trail most of the season…Devin Hester (4-90-1) and Earl Bennett (7-66) both had nice PPR-type days.
Todd Heap (5-74-1) continued the momentum of a nice preseason into the first game. Don’t go crazy trying to trade for him, but if you need TE help, he’s definitely worth a look…Brent Celek (6-37-1) should no longer be a sleeper…Brady Quinn looked to have a better rapport with Robert Royal (4-60-1) than any of his wideouts…Chris Cooley (7-68-1) had one of the best lines of a TE and looks to be a big part of the Washington passing game this season…John Carlson (6-95-2) rewarded all those fantasy owners who waited until the middle rounds to draft him…Greg Olsen (1-8) had a brutal Week 1. The Packers were focusing their coverage on him, and that opened things up for the Bears’ wideouts.
