Fantasy Football – Week 1 Recap
Duds:
Multiple RBs: I mentioned the lack of 100 games earlier in this post, but Alf Morris, Marshon Lynch, Trent Richardson, CJ3, Spiller, MJD, Lamar Miller and the previously mentioned Ridley & David Wilson all put up less than 10 fantasy points. I’ll cover Ridley, Wilson, and Miller next, but as for the others hold tight, don’t make a panic trade they should all be fine.
Stephen Ridley – RB: If you were one of the owners who spent $30+ on Ridley or used a late 1st / high 2nd round pick on him, you understand the sinking feeling I got in my stomach as I watched Ridley’s 2nd fumble. Belichik & the Giants’ Tom Coughlin are notorious for benching anyone who has fumbling issues and I knew that was the last I was going to see of Ridley on Sunday. He was off to a decent start (9 for 46) and probably would of matched Vereen’s numbers against a weak Bills run D if he had stayed in. Cruel move Belichik. Ridley owners caught a break (literally) with Vereen’s injury and should be confident starting Ridley for the next few weeks at least. As much as Belichek would like to take the tough love approach with Ridley, I can’t see him starting LaGarrette Blunt against the division rival Jets this week. If Ridley has a big game, I might test the trade waters and see what you can get for him. A Ridley / Vereen late season platoon won’t be fun for anybody.
David Wilson – RB: Old man Coughlin’s dog house is a scary place to be. Wilson found himself there after a week 1 fumble last year and didn’t get double digit carries until week 13! Luckily for fantasy owners there is no established back like Andre Brown ready to take over. The 0-1 Giants can’t afford to go with untested Da’Rel Scott or whoever they sign off the scrap heap (McGahee?, Jacobs?). I think Wilson will get another chance in week 2 for lack of better options, let’s just hope he hangs on to the ball.
Lamar Miller – RB: Of the three duds I covered in this post, I’m the most worried about Miller. Not only did he split carries with plodding Daniel Thomas, but he actually got out gained by Thomas. I for one didn’t put much stock in the rumors that the backs would be splitting time since anyone who has seen Thomas knows he’s not the answer, but maybe Miller isn’t either? Most likely you spend a decent amount of auction cash or used a pick before the 5th round on Miller, so it is too early to cut bait and it makes no sense to trade him while his value is so low. We can only hope that Cleveland’s defense is better than we think or maybe Miller was slowed by an undisclosed injury. Ugh.
Cecil Shorts – WR: I expected good things from Shorts despite having Blaine Gabbert at QB. I was wrong. Gabbert blows. I’ve seen enough to say that with confidence. Shorts was clearly open on 3-4 of his targets and Gabbert just flat out missed him. Luckily for Shorts owners, Chad Henne is starting in week 2 and Shorts’ number were considerably better with Henne under center (20+ YPG). Have patience and expect a much better week 2 from Shorts.
Kenbrell Thompkins – WR: Thompkins was a nice value pick if you got him before his 10 catch performance on national TV, but after things got out of control. Rookie receivers barely make much of an impact and it’s a stretch to expect much from an undrafted free agent no matter how favorable his situation. On a positive note, Thompkins was targeted 14 times, but he looked lost out there and I can’t see Brady trusting him as much in week 2. You probably have a better option on your bench this week.
Calvin Johnson – WR: What a tease for Megatron owners. Johnson had a TD called back on the Lions first drive and then didn’t do anything the rest of the day ending up with 4 catches for 47 yards. Johnson actually had two worse games last year (1 against the Bears!) so there is no reason to panic. There is more variance in WR scoring than any other position and there are going to be some bad games every year even for a beast like Calvin. Throw an offer out (Larry Fitz) to whoever owns Megatron in your league and see if you get lucky.