There was a lot that I loved about week 1 in the NFL. That Monday night game in New Orleans was a fantasy owner’s wet dream, the Chiefs embarrassed the Jags, the Jets are the same old Jets and (my) Patriots routed a hated rival while adding that rival’s best weapon last year to their roster in a 48-hour span. However, that doesn’t mean it was all roses (Talkin’ to you Jameis Winston). I have plenty of grievances to be aired. It may feel like Christmas with football back, but this article is going to have far more of a Festivus vibe (feats of strength excluded).
- The Denver RB By Committee: No, no, no! This is not what I wanted to see. Philip Lindsay and Royce Freeman split carries and Freeman’s 26-yard run gives him the edge after round 1. This whole offense was flat in the first half, and I suspect they’ll be better collectively as the season goes on, just not against the Bears this week. For now, you may want to sit them both until a winner is crowned. At home after Week 3, there may be situations to start both, but I am not happy about the split.
- The Texans Offensive Line: Deshaun Watson was awesome Monday, throwing for three TD’s and rushing for one. But, he took 6 sacks and the Texans have zero chance without a healthy Waston. Yes, Laremy Tunsil will help eventually when he gets up to speed, but he better do so fast! 6 sacks is unacceptable. Andrew Luck is an in-division cautionary tale!
- Dalvin Cook Was TOO Good: Good for Dalvin Cook. He was awesome, as he should be against a bad Falcons defense. But that also led to 98 yards passing from Kirk Cousins and limited Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs’ fantasy value. Can a guy get some balance please? Just sayin’.
- Jameis Winston Showing No Progress: 3 picks. Yuk. Against the 49ers. Eww. I was really hoping Winston would mature and take that elusive next step in 2019 under Bruce Arians. However, with every interception, he gets closer to being replaced. That will hurt Mike Evans, O.J. Howard and Chris Godwin owners alike.
- The Seahawks Wide Receivers: Tyler Locket caught one ball. Yeah, it was for 44 and a score, but just one? Against the Bengals? DK Metcalf had a few moments, but this offense is in serious trouble on the road this week in Pittsburgh. The Steelers defense is going to get pummeled this week in practice after giving up 33 to the Pats. Seattle is walking into a lion’s den and it’s looking like they don’t have the right weapons.
- Jimmy G Didn’t Pepper Kittle With Targets: George Kittle was awesome last year. Just not when Jimmy Garoppolo was around. I’m chalking this one up to, “It’s Week 1.” But, so help me, if Kittle is quiet again in Week 2, I’ll be banging the drum for Nick Mullens.
- Malcom Brown’s 2 TD’s: I am a Todd Gurley “truther”, and the truth was revealed in the 4th quarter, as Gurley looked sharp as the game was in peril. The trouble is Malcom Brown had not one, but two TD’s, and that is troubling. However, I am choosing, for my own sanity, considering the large number of Gurley shares, to take a deep breath and imagine this will be an anomaly. I can handle Gurley losing some touches, I can’t handle him losing TD’s.
- Derrius Guice Is Already Hurt?: Man, that was quick. Just when we thought it was safe to be optimistic, Guice is already on the shelf with an MCL issue for a few weeks. You could look on the bright side and imagine it could have been worse, but the football season is short. If he misses a month that’s almost a 1/3 of the regular fantasy season.
- Mitchell Trubisky Couldn’t Move The Chains The Packers made Trubisky play quarterback Thursday night, and he failed. What sucks about that is Trubisky is a quarterback. What also sucked about it was the fact it ended up limiting David Montgomery touching the football. When he did, he was awesome. But not enough chain movement and too much Mike Davis ruined Montgomery’s Week 1. Boo!
- Adam Vinatieri Cost Me The Upset Call of Week 1 The Colts covered, as I said they would, but they didn’t win outright and they should have. Adam Vinatieri missed three FGs and an extra point. He also missed key kicks in the playoffs last year for the Colts, so this isn’t a new trend! The Colts have lots of weapons, a good offensive line, and a decent defense. The trouble is, the downgrade of Andrew Luck to Jacoby Brisset means their potential margin of victory will be smaller every week. That means it’s time to put the Hall of Famer out to pasture and realize everyone has an expiration date. If they don’t it, it will be the difference between making the playoffs and not for Indy.
Also check out Joel Bartilotta’s Week 2 Fantasy Football Waiver Wire and Scott Engel’s FAAB Guide.
Joe Pisapia is the author of the #1 best-selling Fantasy Black Book Series and creator of the revolutionary player evaluation tool Relative Position Value (RPV). He’s the host of The Fantasy Black Book Podcast and the LineStar DFS Podcasts. Joe was previously host of the FSTA award-winning On Target Fantasy (2016 Radio Show of the Year), The Fantasy Black Book Show, RotoExperts in the Morning and NFL Game Day for the FNTSY Fantasy Sports Radio Network, as well as RotoWire MLB/NFL DFS Podcasts, and numerous shows for SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio. You can also see him frequently on CBS TV in New York on The Sports Desk. He’s written for The Sporting News, FanDuel Insider and FantasyAlarm. He hosts DFS Today and RotoExperts in the AM every Sunday streaming LIVE on SportsGrid.com.
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