Fantasy Football's Real and Surreal of Week One

The NFL season is underway, girls and boys, and tons of headlines filled the news, with Tom Brady’s injury obviously leading the way. Among other story lines were the losses of both the Colts and Chargers, preseason favorites to win the AFC.

The Falcons’ Michael Turner rushed for 200 yards; Willie Parker rushed for three touchdowns, one more than he had all of last year; and Eddie Royal was the top wide receiver in Week One.

Which of these surprises are real, and which are surreal? Let’s get to the list.

Headline: Chris Johnson starts, and gains 50 more yards than LenDale White in the same amount of carries.

Coach Jeff Fisher had never appointed a true starter, and reports stated that the Titans’ RBs would have an equal split of carries on the season. That was true in Week One, when each got 15 carries, although Johnson gained 93 yards and White ran for only 40 yards, a 3.5 yard-per-carry difference. Johnson had a monster preseason, so I would label this as real.

Headline: Eagles offense goes off; three receivers gain 100 yards

The Rams’ defense is one of the worst in the league, even with first-rounder Chris Long; last year only one team gave up more points than the Rams, and only four had a higher opponent yards-per-pass-attempt.

The Eagles were without Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown due to injury, but hyped-up rookie DeSean Jackson, Hank Baskett, and Greg Lewis each produced a 100-yard game. Baskett had two catches, with one being a 90-yarder, and Lewis’ previous career high was an 88-yard game in 2007, so it’s safe to assume both are surreal.

Jackson, on the other hand, averaged 60 yards in his three preseason games, and although he is a rookie, I’d classify him as real; just keep your expectations around 50 yards a game.

Headline: Derek Anderson struggles as Browns lose to Cowboys

Anderson averaged 180 yards, a touchdown, and an interception while completing only 54 percent of his throws in the last four weeks of ‘07, with a 5.99 YPA. Add in a 3.95 YPA in two preseason games and Week One and a 49 percent completion percentage and you’ve got yourself a bust.

Even more reason not to like him? Those last four games from 2007 were played against the Jets, Bills, Bengals, and 49ers, all of which were in the bottom half in the league in overall defense. I’d call this one real.

Headline: Eddie Royal shines in his first career game

After catching nine balls for 146 yards and a score against a top-10 pass defense, Royal is sure to be one of the hottest pickups of the week. Brandon Marshall is coming back next week, so defenses can’t focus on Royal too much or else Marshall will burn them deep.

As I mentioned about DeSean Jackson, Royal is a rookie wideout, but generally one rookie WR will slip through the cracks (See: Bowe, Dwayne). He’s for real.

And speaking of the Broncos, here’s one far-out-there prediction: They win their division with a 10-6 or 11-5 record, while making the AFC Championship game. Book it.