Fantasy Football: Week 1 revelations

9/10/08
fantasy football
By Ryan Chatelain

Fantasy Football: Week 1 revelations

Photo credit: Game Face

Willie Parker scored more touchdowns in Week 1 than he did all of last season.

Week 1 is always the trickiest week to set your fantasy lineups. After all, it’s in the season openers when we learn the true roles of many players, news that can send an athlete’s stock soaring or plummeting.

Here are several revelations from Week 1:

Jay Cutler is poised to join the elite quarterbacks. The third-year Bronco made a statement Monday night when he passed for 299 yards and two touchdowns against a strong Raiders secondary – and that was with his favorite target, Brandon Marshall, serving a suspension.

Willie Parker is far from done. Many fantasy footballers backed off Parker because the Steelers spent their first-round draft choice on running back Rashard Mendenhall. Mendenhall’s preseason case of fumble-itis, however, opened the door Sunday for Parker to run for 138 yards and three touchdowns, one more score than he had in all of 2007.

Laurence Maroney shouldn’t be in your starting lineup. The Patriots running back had just as many carries (10) as teammate Sammy Morris. Maroney doesn’t catch many passes (just four last season), and when Morris was healthy in 2007, Maroney didn’t score touchdowns. Those shortcomings qualify him as a fantasy liability.

There’s a time-share in Denver. Broncos coach Mike Shanahan has fooled us again when it comes to his running game. While everyone assumed Selvin Young was Denver’s featured back, it was Andre Hall who led the team in carries, with 10. Young had seven attempts.

Hold off on the Reggie “Bust” talk. Reggie Bush may not have panned out as a great traditional running back, but the Saints star is still dynamic enough to gain yards in a variety of ways. That was evident by his performance Sunday against Tampa Bay, when he had 51 yards rushing, 112 yards receiving and a touchdown.

Ahmad Bradshaw is not the Giants’ No. 2 running back. Derrick Ward had 11 offensive touches while Bradshaw had none, despite that Bradshaw was drafted higher in virtually all leagues. Giants coach Tom Coughlin says he botched the rotation and Bradshaw should see more playing time in the future. But Bradshaw’s lack of action speaks louder than Coughlin’s words.

NFL FANTASY WEEK 2: PLAYERS TO START AND SIT

Start

Eli Manning, QB, Giants (vs. St. Louis). Manning faces a Rams pass defense that gave up 414 yards to the Eagles last week.

Hines Ward, WR, Pittsburgh (vs. Cleveland). Ward is coming off a two-TD game and is playing against a lousy Browns secondary.

Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee (vs. Cincinnati). Fresh off his 127-yard coming-out party against the Jags, the rookie goes up against the Bengals, who gave up 229 yards on the ground in Week 1.

Sit

Matt Hasselbeck, QB, Seattle (vs. San Francisco). The Seahawks are without receivers Nate Burleson, Deion Branch and Bobby Engram and running back Maurice Morris.

Greg Lewis, WR, Philadelphia (vs. Dallas). Don’t be fooled by his 100-yard game against the Rams.

Chris Perry, RB, Cincinnati (vs. Tennessee). The new Bengals starting running back faces a Titans defense that gave up just 1.9 yards per carry to Jacksonville’s Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor last week.
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Fantasy Football: Week 1 revelations

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