Fantasy football: Week 1 whirlwind

Written by TiVo on September 12, 2005

Good afternoon all,

This is Brother Teevs stepping back in after a long day job-, side-job- and holiday-enjoyment-induced absence. I just recently received word that Father Time will be posting his take on each of Sunday's NFL games sometime today, so for you readers who prefer content you can relate to instead of our internal beefs, we'll actually hook you up this week.

OK, here's whirlwind concept: Teevs has a job that "forces" him to monitor the entire slate of NFL games as they happen, and read about them later. In doing so, several fantasy-relevant thoughts come up. Unfortunately, I work so much on Sunday and Monday that I wouldn't really be able to do a full article until sometime Tuesday. So instead of making you wait, I'll try to use a 15-minute break to touch on everything I jotted down yesterday, albeit briefly.

Just because I have go back to work doesn't mean you readers have to stop. We absolutely want your participation on our message boards (Week 1 thread) and player updates, where you chime in with your thoughts on guys you own just as we do. And if you have questions, our advice thread is always open.

Without further ado, the Week 1 whirlwind:

Fantasy studs: Willie Parker, the Chiefs' O-line and defense, the Colts' defense.

Duds: Daunte Culpepper (3 INTs, 2 fumbles lost), the Titans' defense, the Bills' throwback uniforms

Go pick up: Johnson, Matt Jones, Parker, Frisman Jackson

Got broke up: Javon Walker, Kris Jenkins, Kyle Boller, Patrick Ramsey

Tiiiight: If you got left out of the elite TE crush on draft day, Week 1 gave you reason not to worry. Courtney Anderson (Oakland) and the other Alex Smith (Tampa Bay) scored 2 TDs each, and even if neither doesn't have another two-score game all year, they didn't appear to be fluky. They'll be part of their respective teams' offenses, as will the Jets' Chris Baker (7 rec., 124 yards) quite possibly, which is bad news for Doug Jolley owners. Heath Miller, Ben Troupe and Brandon Manumaleuna each scored TDs, and Jeb Putzier had seven receptions. And I write all this before LJ Smith and Alge Crumpler play on MNF.

Who? As a fantasy owner, don't you hate it when some guy you never or hardly heard of scores? Couldn't Frisman Jackson, Fred Amey, Jeremi Johnson and Willie Ponder each run out of bounds at the 1 and let players we actually drafted score? Same for Daniel Wilcox, Kevin Walter and Ben Utecht? Thaaaanks.

The fix? Seriously, didn't you just know the Saints were going to win?

Suicide: Guess that'w why they call 'em suicide pools. If you picked SF to beat STL, DEN to beat MIA, MIN to beat TB, SD to defeat DAL or GB to beat DET, thanks for playing. It was a fun season, wasn't it?

Why you never waste too many high picks on WRs: Jimmy Smith, Keenan McCardell and Keyshawn Johnson each had two TDs yesterday, while Miami's Marty Booker had 104 yards and a score. In a yardage league, Joey Galloway's 97 yards or Rod Smith's 90 would have hooked you up. Of the young hot WR picks, only Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Smith and Deion Branch went off, while Randy Moss, Torry Holt and Chad Johnson did what they were supposed to.

And for those of you in leagues with long-play bonuses, Randy Moss (73), Frisman Jackson (68) and Marty Booker (60) had the bomb scoring receptions, although Chris Chambers had a 61-yard run.

The choice: I regretted starting Carson Palmer (Cincy hung 58 on Cleveland last season) over Kerry Collins in my league with long-play bonuses, but I had Palmer in a league that gives a point for completions and takes one for incompletions. He was 26 of 34 for 280 yards and two TDs.

Silver lining: Priest Holmes owners did not like seeing Larry Johnson get 9 carries for 110 yards and two scores that could've been Priest's, but enjoy two things: Anytime LJ carries it means Priest isn't getting hurt, and Priest still got the bulk of the action (22 carries, 85 yards, TD)

In one basket: I hated having a team that relied on the Rams' trio of Marc Bulger, Isaac Bruce and Steven Jackson, and their loss to San Fran is exactly why you don't put all your eggs in one basket. Bulger did finish with 362 yards and 2 TD passes, including one to Bruce, but for a long time St. Louis only had nine points, and had me worried.

Long season: I watched the Titans' first drive against Pittsburgh before leaving for work and figured they could make this season work by alternating between Chris Brown and Travis Henry, and taking care of the ball. They walked down the field and scored on a 1-yard pass from Steve McNair to Troupe, but apparently nothing else worked in a 34-7 loss to the Steelers.

And believe it or not, I'm closing with some words of wisdom from Boomer Esiason, as spoken on CBS (they made me watch it) yesterday: "It's Week 1. Don't panic if your team lost, and don't get too high if your team won."

Reach TiVo at Tivo@rotogods.com.

-- Written by TiVo on September 12, 2005