For a fantasy recap of Sunday’s action, click here.
Monday night’s tilt between the Ravens/Jets was like watching a monkey hump a football — there were things happening, but nothing much was getting done. Mark Sanchez (74 yards, 0 TD) didn’t turn the ball over, which was the biggest thing that Jon Gruden said he needed to work on this season, but he didn’t make many positive plays, either. This is obviously worrisome for anyone who drafted any of the Jet receivers (namely Santonio Holmes, since he was going the earliest in drafts despite missing the first four games of the season), but things should be easier next week against the Pats mediocre defense. For his part, Dustin Keller (2-13) was targeted five times and had a 33-yard catch called back on a penalty. Generally speaking, I still like him as a mid- to high-end TE2.
As for the running game, it didn’t look too bad considering Baltimore typically hangs its hat on stopping the run. Shonn Greene owners have to be worried since he was out-touched by LaDainian Tomlinson 13-to-6, and just looked out of it after fumbling a couple of times (losing one). It’s clear that the Jets are going to use LT2 a lot this season, and why not? The guy can still play.
On the other side of the ball, Joe Flacco owners have to be encouraged by his yardage (248 yards, INT), though he overthrew a wide-open receiver in the goal-line package in the first half. Still, he looked fairly sharp considering the competition and it’s clear that Anquan Boldin (7-110) and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (1-27) were upgrades in the passing game. And let’s not forget about Todd Heap (6-72) who continued his good preseason in Week 1. He almost caught a long TD in the first half and actually out-targeted Boldin 11-to-10. I know owners have fantasy fatigue with Heap (i.e. they’ve been burned before, and they’re not going back), but he’s still just 30 years old and seems healthy for the first time in a long, long time. He had an outstanding leaping catch in the fourth quarter that showed just how good his hands really are.
In the running game, I wouldn’t read too much into Ray Rice‘s struggles (23 touches, 62 yards), but it is disappointing that the Ravens were so intent on using Willis McGahee and Le’Ron McClain in short yardage. Rice should have a much better game against the Bengals next week.
In the late game, the Chiefs held on to beat the Chargers, despite the fact that Todd Haley still refuses to use Jamaal Charles in a feature-back role. Even if you remove his electric 56-yard TD run (and why would you, really?) Charles still averaged more yards per carry than Thomas Jones (11 carries, 39 yards). Unfortunately, coaches get more stubborn when they win, so don’t expect Haley’s attitude to change until he drops a game or two.
It’s tough to hold Matt Cassel‘s feet to the fire for his lackluster numbers in the passing game (68 yards, TD), but the weather wasn’t good and once the Chiefs got the lead, they didn’t need to throw a whole lot. The lone bright spot in the KC passing game was rookie TE Tony Moeaki (3-21-1), who showed nice hands and athleticism on his four targets. Dwayne Bowe (1-13) and Chris Chambers (1-14) were nearly no-shows.
As for the Chargers, Phillip Rivers (298 yards, 2 TD) was his normally fiery self and posted surprisingly nice numbers in a tough situation. Maclom Floyd (3-48) was a disappointment given his 12 targets, but Legedu Naanee (5-110-1) capitalized on a blown coverage to break free for a 59-yard TD in the first half. I like Naanee, but I wonder how many games he’s going to have like this as the Chargers’ third option in the passing game. Antonio Gates (5-76-1) was his normally dominant self, but KC was focusing on him so much, he only ended up seeing six targets from Rivers.
In the running game, Ryan Mathews (19 carries, 75 yards) owners might be a little concerned, but he did get the lion’s share of the carries. He lost a fumble and only caught one ball, so it doesn’t look like he’s going to be very involved in the passing game. This is going to limit his upside this season.
That about does it for Week 1. Be sure to check out our Waiver Wire Watch and post your roster questions on our Week 2 Q&A, which will be up shortly.
Obviously, if you were planning to go after Brandon Jackson before, you really need to go after him now. He’s fantasy RB2-caliber the rest of the way, especially in PPR leagues, since he’s so adept in the passing game. He’s not the inside runner that Grant is, so John Kuhn is likely to get the goal line work until the Packers find someone else to sign. In a blind bidding situation, don’t be afraid to put the whole lot down on Jackson. It’s not often that a pretty surefire Top 20 back is up for grabs at this point in the season.
