NFL Week 1: Fantasy Football Highlights and Lowlights

If you needed a reminder as to why playing fantasy football is better than betting on games outright, consider Saturday’s game between USC and Utah in Los Angeles. Although it seemed that Southern Cal failed to cover in their 17-14 win over the Utes, the Pac-12 Conference convened and credited the Men of Troy with another touchdown two hours after the game ended. The result? A 23-17 final and Utah loses against the spread. 

Confused? You should be, because fantasy football is so much simpler than this betting against the spread stuff. Now let’s recap some fantasy highlights and lowlights from Week 1.

Stud Life: The guys that have it all, and can still do it all.

Tom Brady: 517 yards passing, four passing TDs (100 percent owned in Yahoo! leagues).

Brady became the 11th player in NFL history to throw for 500 yards in a single game in the second half of the Monday night doubleheader.

Brady’s success stems from his ability to find multiple receivers (eight different Patriots had at least one catch in last night’s game) and his offensive line’s ability to protect him (Brady was only sacked once). Patriots center Dan Koppen suffered a broken ankle in the first half, but it didn’t affect Brady last night and probably won’t next week when they host the Chargers.

Ray Rice: 149 all-purpose yards, two TDs (100 percent).

This is Rice’s first year as “the man” in the Ravens backfield, and he made the most of that opportunity in Week 1. We usually see good rushing production in a blowout win, and Rice held up his end of the bargain.

Kenny Britt: 136 yards receiving, two TDs (94 percent).

We could have gone with Steve Smith or Wes Welker, both of whom had monster games on Sunday, but Britt did it without an overachieving quarterback. In Britt’s first two seasons at Tennessee, he never managed a 1,000-yard receiving season, but if he continues to connect with Matt Hasselbeck, he will reverse that trend.

Overachievers: Young bucks working their way up the proverbial ladder.

Cam Newton: 422 yards passing, two passing TDs, one rushing TD (43 percent).

That game should shut up all of the doubters about whether Newton could turn the corner from the college game to the NFL. One year of experience at Auburn seems to have been good enough for Newton, who generated offense with his arm and his feet. My favorite joke of the weekend about Cam Newton was about how he had to take a pay cut to play in the NFL. You guys!

If you’re looking for a consistent backup at quarterback, chances are that Newton is available in your league. Get those waiver claims in.

Tim Hightower: 97 all-purpose yards, one touchdown (87 percent).

Those who expected good things in DC after the departure of Clinton Portis were rewarded. While the Rex Grossman renaissance will win the majority of press in Washington, this week, Hightower did his fair share, carrying the ball 25 times and not fumbling once.

If Tim is available in your league, your only concern is whether he can maintain that pace and stay healthy.

Walk of Shame: The guys who woke up and have to live with what they did over the weekend.

Chris Johnson: 24 yards rushing, 25 yards receiving (100 percent).

Johnson must be a lot slower, now that he has all of that new contract money in his pocket.

Rashard Mendenhall: 45 yards rushing, one fumble lost (100 percent).

Rashard’s is a stat line indicative of the Steelers’ beatdown at the hands of the Ravens Sunday.

Matt Ryan: 309 yards passing, one interception (98 percent).

How can a guy throw for 300 yards and only score nine fantasy points?

Fantasy Football Email of the Week:

This comes to us from Samer, and he has an enterprising idea for us in this economy:

As I keep looking for work while being unemployed, I thought of making up a new job. Do you think I could get a job as some kind of fantasy football substitute manager? Wouldn't that be the greatest job ever? People could pay you to draft their team or take care of their players if they go on vacation or have some [other] responsibilities, like going to church.

My resume would be my previous fantasy football experience. I would totally do that for a reasonable fee. Consider this my ad listing. I'm making FREELANCE FANTASY FOOTBALL MANAGER cards already.

Not bad, Samer, although I’d be content with Fantasy Football Insurance for that one week where real-life strikes and I’ve started four players on their bye weeks because I forgot to reset my lineup.

Send me your emails regarding fantasy football (and everything else) to TheGORoute-at-bleacherreport-dot-com, and I’ll answer your questions in a future post. Even the bad ones.