Week 1 Review

WEEK 1

Washington’s Commander In-Chief

Week 1 belonged to Redskins rookie QB Robert Griffin III, who torched the Saints for 320 yards and two TDs. Not quite Cam Newton levels for a debut (422 yards, an NFL record for a debut) but RG3 put up the fourth most passing yards in a rookie’s first game. Outdueling Saints quarterback Drew Brees was just the first step in what promises to be an impressive career for the Heisman winner, stay tuned to see how he performs against a weak secondary versus St Louis next week.

From Colt to Bronco

How weird was it to see Peyton Manning in a Broncos jersey? How much weirder was it to see him beat a tough Pittsburgh Defense after FOUR neck procedures last year? Personally, I wrote him off this year. I didn’t think he was going to produce after his scary neck injury, I didn’t think he would mesh with his mediocre wide receivers, and I just thought he was old. Well, 253 yards and 2 touchdowns later, you know this Humble Pie doesn’t taste that bad. Next week he travels down south to face the Falcons, let’s see if he can continue to be the Manning of old and not an old Manning.

Around The League

Top Wide Receiver- Kevin Ogletree. Dallas Cowboy third receiver Ogletree absolutely destroyed the

defending champion New York Giants. 114 yards receiving, 2 TDs and 17 fantasy points made him the number one overall fantasy player this week. Unfortunately, nobody outside of the Ogletree family saw this coming, so those fantasy points stayed on the bench or, more realistically, the waiver wire. Dallas has a potent offense, and Laurent Robinson showed us last year that you could be the fourth or fifth option and still produce. I see a big year for him this year, much like Victor Cruz of the Giants last season.

Top Running Back- CJ Spiller. Buffalo had an up and down game Sunday. On one hand Spiller went nuts for 169 yards rushing and a score. On the other hand, they lost starting RB Fred Jackson with a leg injury. So fantasy owners of Spiller should be excited to see that he will get more carries. But without Jackson, who broke out last year, Buffalo may be playing from behind a lot and not running as much. All Spiller needs is one play, as he proved in week 1 with a 56-yard scoring run.

Top Defense- Cleveland Browns. Yeah, I have no words for this one. I don’t know if the Browns defense was that good (2 sacks, 4 interceptions, 1 fumble recovery, 1 TD, 27 fantasy points) or if Michael Vick and the Eagles were that bad.  I don’t expect this to happen every week, for the Browns or the Eagles.

Week 2 Storylines

The Packers need to rebound from their loss to the 49ers, but have a tough matchup against the rival

Chicago Bears. Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall plan to build on their success from their early days on the Broncos, and may be too much for the Green Bay secondary. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Packers drop to 0-2, and for Cutler and Marshall to go back to being a top NFL duo.

Speaking of the 49ers, they face a Detroit Lions team that struggled to beat the Rams. Matt Stafford had three interceptions against that weak defense; imagine what the upstart San Fran defense can do to him.

Drew Brees and the Saints play Cam Newton and the Panthers in a must-win for New Orleans. After the whole bounty scandal in the offseason and the suspension of their coach Sean Payton, starting 0-2 would be the beginning of a nightmare season in the Big Easy.

—Barrett Blacque

J’Adore Magazine