Week 1 Thoughts and Rants

William Shakespeare said that expectation is the root of all heartache. Barry Schwartz said that the secret of happiness is low expectations. Tom Magliozzi said that happiness equals reality minus expectations. I think I like that last one best. My expectations were perhaps a little too high coming into Week 1. Next week I'm going to lower those expectations and see if there's a direct correlation to my level of happiness. In any event, here are my thoughts and rants after the first full day of games.

The offensive line in Baltimore is either terrible or the defensive line in Denver is amazing. Several plays saw the Broncos in the Ravens' backfield before Forsett even got the handoff.

Peyton Manning's arm isn't what we thought it was. Several of Manning's throws looked off. Expecting Peyton Manning to outscore Brandon McManus was not a stretch of expectations by any means; yet, Manning's 175 yards and a pick is not going to be enough to outscore McManus' 4 field goals.

T.Y. Hilton came out swinging in Week 1, but Colts owner Jim Irsay said that Hilton will likely miss a few weeks due to the knee bruise that brought him out of the game today.

Frank Gore struggled mightily in his Colts debut. Before he left with calf cramps, he tallied a whopping 31 yards on 8 carries - not what we had in mind.

The change of scenery has done Nick Foles well as he had a solid debut in St Louis against a Seahawks defense that generally scares the hell out of opponents. They didn't look so scary on Sunday.

The Packers rush defense was touted to be much improved over last year. It will be interesting to see when that defense shows up as Matt Forte gouged them for 141 yards and even Jay Cutler tacked on 31 rushing yards.

The reports about Matt Forte being less of a receiving threat are as realistic as Kanye West running for and winning the US presidency in 2020. His 5 receptions for 25 yards is misleading as Cutler threw to him twice that amount including a dropped TD pass. Forte is still going to be a PPR monster.

James Jones picked up where he left off with the Packers. I anticipate plenty of fantasy owners rushing out to grab him off the waiver wire this week.

Watch the HotJobs board this week. There will be plenty of openings for quarterbacks. Derek Carr suffered a hand injury and was replaced by Matt McGloin. Josh McCown was replaced by Johnny Manziel. Ryan Mallett took over for a struggling Brian Hoyer. It was not a great day to be a 4th-tier NFL quarterback.

Jimmy Graham started off slow but finished the day with a respectable 6-for-51 and a score in his Seahawks debut. Yes, he's still as good as he was in New Orleans.

We knew that Tavon Austin was fast, but it was nice to see that fact on our television sets. Not sure I'm rushing out to grab him on the waiver wire, but he could be a nice stash for those who do.

I cringed knowing the price I paid to draft Russell Wilson after he struggled at the start of that game. He threw an interception and was sacked three times. He bounced back for 251 yards and a score, but this is hardly the start fantasy owners were hoping for.

Jamaal Charles looked good catching 5 of his 8 targets including one that saw him sneak it into the endzone. He looked good, but will have his work cut out for him next week against Denver.

Perhaps we should have been drafting Jerricho Cotchery instead of Devin Funchess...

This was the week of the Tight End as we saw Rob Gronkowski tear it up on Thursday and Travis Kelce light it up with 6-for-106 yards and 2 scores against the Texans.

Even though the Texans lost, JJ Watt is a man-beast from another planet. Who needs a helmet when you're sacking a QB? Not JJ Watt.

Alex Smith threw 3 scores. For a guy who averaged 1.1 scores a game all of last year, I'd say he's over-performing. Could this be a new Alex Smith?

Cam Newton did not light the world on fire as he completed only 58% of his passes for a paltry 175 yards. Perhaps a little less time fighting during practice and a lot more time creating a cohesive unit. OK Cam?

I took a late round flier on Percy Harvin this year in a number of leagues because I felt he has the talent and potential to be ridiculously good even with the baggage that he brings. The good news is that his Week 1 performance seemed to validate my thoughts. The bad news is that he sat on my bench. Trust is an important thing and I want to trust Harvin - just not there yet.

Be honest - if I would have told you this morning that Tyrod Taylor would outperform Andrew Luck today, would you have believed me? Yeah...I didn't think so.

I knew Brandon Marshall was going to do well today. No, seriously, I did. He's the kind of player who will always "get his" and he got it today with a team-high 9 targets and 6-for-62 and a score. Safe WR2 going forward with potential low-WR1 upside.

I'm utterly convinced that Robert Griffin III needs to get out of Washington. He's drowning there.

DeSean Jackson left the game with a lower leg injury. My leg hurt as I watched him stretch to make that catch. The Redskins passing game needs a guy like DJax who can stretch the field.

The good news is that Arian Foster expects to play next week. I think Week 3 is more realistic, but for any fantasy owner who had the good fortune to draft Foster late, that lottery ticket is almost ready to be cashed.

...end of rant...

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