Week 1 Heroes & Zeros

This was a great week to start…

Peyton Manning, QB, Colts – His 433-yard, 3-TD performance came up short for the Colts, but his fantasy owners are ecstatic.
Tom Brady, QB, Patriots – Looked razor sharp in passing for 258 yards and 3 TDs without a turnover.

Arian Foster, RB, Texans – Rumbled for a team record 231 yards and a TD trifecta. Believe he’s the real deal now?
Chris Johnson, RB, Titans – Hit the ground running with 142 yards and 2 TDs. Just another day at the office.
Matt Forte, RB, Bears – Rumors of his demise apparently are premature, after he torched Detroit for 151 receiving yards and 2 TDs, plus 50 on the ground. Then again, this was Detroit.
Darren McFadden, RB, Raiders – Gotta give him his due. 95 yards rushing plus 6 catches for 55 yards and a TD is exactly what we’ve been waiting for.

Hakeem Nicks, WR, Giants – Solidified his role as the Giants’ top wideout, with 4 catches for 75 yards and a trio of TDs.
Chad Ochocinco, WR, Bengals – Hauled in a dozen passes for 159 yards and a score.
Wes Welker, WR, Patriots – Caught 8 passes for 64 yards and 2 TDs. Yeah, he’s back.
Miles Austin, WR, Cowboys – The lone bright spot for Dallas, with his 10 receptions for 146 yards and the game’s only offensive TD.
Austin Collie, WR, Colts – Reeled in 10 catches for 131 yards and a late score.
Legedu Naanee, WR, Chargers – For one night anyway, he was the Chargers’ most prolific receiver, with 5 catches for 110 yards and a TD. He was all alone near the end zone when Rivers badly overthrew him, or he would have added another long TD to his tally.
Steve Breaston, WR, Cardinals – His 7 receptions totaled 132 yards.

Dallas Clark, TE, Colts – Peyton’s favorite target caught 11 balls for 80 yards and a TD.

This was a great week to play against…

Matt Schaub, QB, Texans – When your RB is busy setting the world on fire, you don’t need to throw for more than 107 yards, with 1 TD and 1 INT.
Mark Sanchez, QB, Jets – Had a horrendous night, with just 74 passing yards.
Donovan McNabb, QB, Redskins – His 171 passing yards without a TD was enough to win the game, but it didn’t help his fantasy owners.
Matt Cassel, QB, Chiefs – Managed to beat San Diego with just 68 yards passing and 1 TD.
Joe Flacco, QB, Ravens – Passed for 248 yards without a score, but with an INT and fumble.
Drew Brees, QB, Saints – His 237-yard, 1-TD outing wasn’t awful, but he isn’t likely to repeat such pedestrian stats soon.
Brett Favre, QB, Vikings – Another gunslinger held in check, with just 171 passing yards, 1 TD and 1 INT.
Matt Ryan, QB, Falcons – 252 yards passing with 1 INT and 0 TDs is no way to break out of a sophomore slump.

C.J. Spiller, RB, Bills – Accumulated 6 yards on 7 carries, plus 8 yards on 4 receptions. Perhaps this is what happens when the opponent isn’t worried about the passing game?
Jonathan Stewart, RB, Panthers – Ran for only 12 yards against the same team he gashed for 206 yards and a score in late 2009.
Shonn Greene, RB, Jets – Welcome to the NFL, rookie. Virtually invisible on Monday night, except when fumbling, with 18 rushing and 9 receiving yards.
Michael Turner, RB, Falcons – 42 rushing yards is not what you want from your first-round pick.
Ray Rice, RB, Ravens – Just 43 yards rushing and 2 catches for 19 yards, while his short TD run was poached by Willis McGahee. Speaking of which, McGahee managed the one score, but lost 2 yards on 6 carries and another 6 yards on his only reception.
Jerome Harrison, RB, Browns – Posted a 52-yard rushing day against 2009’s worst run defense, while Peyton Hillis vultured his TD run.
DeAngelo Williams, RB, Panthers – Held to 62 rushing yards and no receptions.
Seahawks RBs – The three-headed committee of Justin Forsett, Leon Washington and Julius Jones combined for a paltry 73 rushing yards.
Cowboys RBs – Marion Barber and Felix Jones tallied 77 rushing and 27 receiving yards between them.

Mike Sims-Walker, WR, Jaguars – I expected Champ Bailey to keep him in check, but I sure wasn’t expecting a goose egg.
Kenny Britt, WR, Titans – Also posted a goose egg.
Bernard Berrian, WR, Vikings – His 3-yard effort won’t make us forget Sidney Rice any time soon.
Chiefs WRs – Chris Chambers had one reception for 14 yards, which was better than Dwayne Bowe’s 13-yarder.
Jets WRs – Jerricho Cotchery led the team with 2 catches for 18 yards. You can imagine what Braylon Edwards’ stats looked like.
Percy Harvin, WR, Vikings – One 12-yard catch is enough to give any Harvin owner headaches.
Michael Crabtree, WR, 49ers – He needed two catches to amass 12 yards.
Devin Hester, WR, Bears – His sole catch for 17 yards made him a bit player in this one.
T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR, Ravens – Targeted 4 times, but only brought down one 27-yarder.
Derrick Mason, WR, Ravens – He had 2 for 21 yards.
DeSean Jackson, WR, Eagles – Caught only 4 passes for 30 yards. On the bright side, all of his completions were thrown by Vick.
Andre Johnson, WR, Texans – His 3 receptions for 33 yards will likely be a one-game aberration.
Calvin Johnson, WR, Lions – Robbed of an outstanding TD catch that should have stood, he finished the day with a mediocre 45 yards on 4 receptions.

Owen Daniels, TE, Texans – His 9-yard day may have had more to do with Foster than his knee, but he needs to stay on your bench until he’s 100%.

Garrett Hartley, K, Saints – Missed both field goal attempts, but made two XPs.
David Buehler, K, Cowboys – Blew his only field goal try, and made one XP.

I didn’t see that coming…

Mark Clayton, WR, Rams – With less than a week to get acclimated, the Ravens’ castoff reeled in 10 receptions for 119 yards. Not too shabby.
Brandon Lloyd, WR, Broncos – Notched 5 catches for 117 yards.

Marcedes Lewis, TE, Jaguars – Turned his only two catches into 31 yards and 2 TDs.