Seth Vigdor
It was a great opening week of football in the NFL. It was a week that reminds us all why the NFL is the best pro sport to watch. There were some big time stats put up in Fantasy Football this week. Let’s take a look at my Five Key Fantasy takeaways from Week 1.
Ameer Abdullah (DET) – He was who I thought he was
I’ve been on the Abdullah train from day one. There’s not much left to say but wow! He out-touched Joique Bell as he had 7 carries for 50 yards and 1 touchdown. The guy has moves like Jagger.
https://vine.co/v/eFE2ImKnqq7
This dude is so sick and he’s just getting started. If he’s able to stay healthy, you’re going to see shades of another former Detroit Lion running back. I know that it’s high praise, but his foot work is nasty and his vision is a thing of beauty. Kudos to the Lions coaching staff for not holding him back. They won’t regret it.
Travis Kelce (KC) – By God I think that Andy Reid finally figured it out
The Fantasy world has known for a couple years now what it finally appears that Andy Reid knows now and that is that Travis Kelce is a monster. It’s hard to imagine why someone would not choose to use a giant monster like Kelce, but that’s what Andy Reid had done up until recently. Not on Sunday though. Kelce grabbed two touchdowns for 106 yards with 6 receptions. There’s a lot of similarities between him and Gronk. The Kelce era has begun. As you can see from the below, Kelce was quite pleased with himself after one of his touchdowns.
https://vine.co/v/eFDthOeXQFJ
Don’t be surprised if Kelce finishes the year as the number two tight end only behind Rob Gronkowski. He’s going to be a force in this league for years to come.
Marcus Mariota (TEN) – Welcome to the NFL, Rookie!
If I told you that Mariota would throw more touchdowns in week 1 then Aaron Rodgers and Andrew Luck, you’d laugh at me and think I was crazy. Mariota threw 4 touchdowns against the Tampa Bay Bucs. Now I certainly think that the hype train is starting to get out of control here because Tampa Bay is awful. But, there’s certainly are some things to really like with what Mariota did in this game. You have to be excited at the possibilities for the future. Just temper your expectations here.
Tom Brady/Rob Gronkowski – Damn the Patriots to Hell!
If you have Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski on your team, chances are your team is going to be a favorite to win your league’s Championship. Brady and Gronk combined for a total of 62 Fantasy points in the Patriots 28-21 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday Night Football. They say you should never wake a sleeping giant, but somehow the NFL has managed to make the defending Champs the angry hunters and in turn, every team in the league is now the hunted. Beware NFL, the Patriots are gunning for you.
Peyton Manning – End of an era?
There had been reports coming out of training camp that Peyton Manning’s arm strength was significantly worse than it’s been over the years. You’ll catch Manning again later in this article, but Manning was bad in the Broncos 19-13 win over Baltimore. When I say bad, I mean that if he produces like he did today more often, don’t be surprised if he ends up on a few waiver wires later in the year. He only threw for 175 yards and 0 touchdowns. Keep an eye on this situation here because it could turn out to be one of the stories of the season.
For anyone that thought they had a bad day on Sunday, check out Josh McCown doing an impression of a helicopter, without the ball.
https://vine.co/v/eFDTnP5IjXY
Waiver Wire Watch (*Keep an eye on, **Time to consider it, *** MUST Grab)
Each week, I will supply you with a list of 5 players that you should consider adding from the waiver wire. Above, I list the 3 tiers of players they are. So let’s take a look at the guys that you should be paying attention to.
**Austin Seferian-Jenkins (TE-TB) – 5 receptions, 110 yards and 2 touchdowns
**James Jones (WR-GB) – 4 receptions, 51 yards and 2 touchdowns
**Stevie Johnson (WR-SD) – 6 receptions, 82 yards and 1 touchdown
**Danny Woodhead (RB-SD) – 12 carries, 42 yards, 2 touchdowns and 4 receptions for 20 yards
*Bishop Sankey (RB- TEN) – 12 carries, 74 yards, 1 touchdown
Here are Week One’s Studs:
Quarterbacks
Marcus Mariota (TEN) – 13/16, 204 yards, 4 touchdowns – Who saw this one coming?
Tom Brady (NE) – 25/32, 288 yards, 4 touchdowns, 143.8 rating – My God. Why won’t he go away?
Philip Rivers (SD) – 35/42, 404 yards, 2 touchdowns –Starting off where he left off last year.
Running Backs
Matt Forte (CHI) – 24 carries for 141 yards and 1 touchdown – He’s a PPR monster.
Jeremy Hill (CIN) – 19 carries for 63 yards and 2 touchdowns – Beastmode 2.0, the revenge.
Carlos Hyde (SF) – 26 carries for 165 yards and 2 touchdowns – Frank Gore who?
Wide Receivers
DeAndre Hopkins (HOU) – 9 receptions, 98 yards, 2 touchdowns – His big year starts with a bang.
Antonio Brown (PIT) – 9 receptions, 133 yards and 1 touchdown – Nothing new to see here…
Keenan Allen (SD) – 15 receptions, 166 yards – If he does it one more time, I’ll get on board the train.
Julio Jones (ATL) – 9 receptions, 141 yards, 2 touchdowns – Best Fantasy WR in the game this year.
Tight Ends
Tyler Eifert (Cin) – 9 receptions, 104 yards and 2 touchdowns – This may be the year…
Rob Gronkowski (NE) – 5 receptions, 94 yards and 3 touchdowns – Just Gronk being Gronk
Travis Kelce (KC) – 6 receptions, 106 yards and 2 touchdowns – Thank you, Andy Reid!
Defense
Buffalo Bills – 2 INT’s, 1 FR and 14 PA – Shut down Andrew Luck and the Colts. Scary!
Carolina Panthers – 2 INT’s, 1 FR and 1 TD – Bottled up a terrible Jags team.
N.Y. Jets – 1 INT – 3 FR’s – Made the Browns look as ugly as their new uniforms.
Miami Dolphins – 2 INT’s and 1 TD – Made some big plays against a bad Washington team.
Kickers
Brandon McManus (DEN) – 4 for 4 for 18 fantasy points – More Fantasy points than Peyton Manning.
Here are Week One’s Duds:
Quarterbacks
Jameis Winston (TB) – 16/33, 210 yards, 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions – Smh…
Peyton Manning (DEN) – 24/40, 175 yards, 0 touchdowns – Oy vey!
Blake Bortles (Jac) – 22/40, 183 yards, 1 touchdown – That’s just not going to get it done, son.
Running Backs
Andre Ellington (ARI) – Hate to say I told you so, but I told you so. Got Injured Again.
LeSean McCoy (BUF) – 17 rushes for 41 yards – Maybe it’s time for him to focus on the future…
Frank Gore (IND) – 8 rushes for 31 yards – Softer than a roll of tushy tissue in this one.
Wide Receivers
Andre Johnson (IND) – 4 receptions for 24 yards – On that same roll of tushy tissue as his teammate Gore was on.
DeSean Jackson (WAS) – Got Injured – Will miss 2-3 weeks
Amari Cooper (OAK) – 5 receptions for 47 yards – Hopefully, Oakland doesn’t ruin him.
Tight Ends
Charles Clay (BUF) – 4 receptions for 43 yards – Blah!
Richard Rodgers (GB) – 3 receptions for 27 yards – Garbage performance..
Coby Fleener (IND) – 1 reception for 5 yards – If you don’t know by now, Fleener stinks!
Defense
Tampa Bay – Gave up 42 points to the Titans – Lovie’s bunch should be ashamed of themselves.
Cleveland – Gave up 31 points to the Jets – Straight up hideous yo!!
Kickers
Sebastian Janikowski (OAK) – The Raiders suck and so does he. 1 point this week.
Here’s a brief look at the results of Week 1 in the PhillyInfluencer.com Fantasy Football league.
As I mentioned in my draft recap, the top two teams appear to be Philly Influencer’s own, Minitron’s Juice Stand and one of our great readers, Team Victorious Secret. They tore it up this week and had the highest point totals and are on a Week 2 collision course with each other. It could be a Championship preview. Our site’s great Editor, Cunning Stunts also found a way into the win column. However, yours truly and 215 Sean weren’t as lucky. It’s very early in the season, so there’s no need to panic. There’s plenty of season ahead of us.
It was an action packed week 1 in the NFL, but there’s no doubt in my mind that we’re in for one hell of a ride in Fantasy this season. I know people tend to get impatient after week 1, but trust me. Make no irrational decisions in the first 3 weeks. Let things play out a bit and see where things go from there.
You can stay up to date with everything fantasy football related by following me on Twitter (@ViggieSmalls765) and Instagram. I’ll be available on Twitter for upcoming Twitter Chats and to give out advice to help guide you through your fantasy season.