Colts/Saints Recap

Drew Brees - 28/41, 192 YDS, 1/4, 0 TD, 2 INT, 1 FL. The Colts put pressure on him quite often last night, and then towards the end of the game, Brees made a couple throws that hail from the WTF catagory. There are some doubters out there regarding how good the Saints offense will be now that the league has gotten a whole year's look at them, but obviously 1 game doesn't prove anything. He's definitely put his owners in a hole in week 1, but he will bounce back from this ugly outing.

Deuce McAllister - 10/38, 2/7. If the Saints D is going to play like that all year, they'll be best served using McAllister far more often to establish an inside running attack and control the clock a bit. McAllister is going to be very inconsistent this year, which is exactly why he's best suited as an RB3/Flex fantasy player this year. He will have games where he approaches 20 carries and scores at least once, and then he'll have games where he's not on the field as often as Bush due to the passing game. If you play in a standard 2 RB league, odds are you weren't starting him last night anyways.

Reggie Bush - 12/38, 4/7. I know this is an RBBC, but given how often Bush was on the field in passing situations, especially during garbage time, it's ridiculous that this is all he could produce. He still dances too much in the backfield instead of taking what the defense gives him. It will get better, but one has to wonder why exactly he was going 3-4 rounds ahead of McAllister.

Marques Colston - 6/47. So goes Brees, so goes Colston. The pressure of the front line and solid job of the secondary completely limited what the Saints were able to accomplish, and Colston never got open downfield. He figured to be a bit overvalued this season as owners expected him to become an elite WR1, but expecting WR2 numbers is probably more reasonable.

Devery Henderson - 3/34. Henderson will make some big downfield plays this year, but he figures to be an inconsistent WR3. It's much better to use him during quality matchups rather than relying on him to be an every week starter. As I said before, the Colts didn't let them get deep, and Henderson isn't a very well-rounded receiver.

Eric Johnson - 8/57. Johnson figures to be a quality TE2 this year until he gets hurt. He racked up about half of his yards during garbage time, but he looks to be a nice checkdown receiver for Brees. He's always been talented in the passing game, but has never stayed healthy long enough to fully show it. Expect him to be a good bye-week fill-in, or a borderline starter in PPR leagues.

Peyton Manning - 28/41, 288, 3 TD. Vintage Manning. He started off slow in the first half, but he made his usual 2nd half adjustments and came out blazing in the 2nd half, torching former teammate Jason David for all 3 of his TDs, all of which were 25+ yards. He's given his owners a very nice start to week 1.

Joseph Addai - 23/118, 3/25, 1 TD. Addai came exactly as advertised last night, carrying the load, putting up a great yardage total, and punching one in from 2 yards out. Owners endured a brief scare when he came out with a slight ab injury on the first play, but he returned the next series and started racking up the yardage. As long as Addai can handle the full load, he's going to be very consistent thanks to the explosive Colts offense giving him plenty of room to run and numerous scoring opportunities. He looks much improved in short yardage situations, boding well for his goal line carries this year. Manning ran a playaction pass on 1st and goal, but had to throw the ball out of the endzone, and then gave it to Addai on the next play. This figures to be a frustrating theme all season long for Addai owners, but he's a lock for 10+ TDs. I don't think you'll be able to differentiate Edge's numbers from his last few Colts seasons and Addai's this season.

Marvin Harrison - 4/83, 1 TD. Harrison made an excellent TD catch, dragging his feet in bounds along the back of the endzone on a deep pattern. He's going to remain a consistent WR1 this year, but unless he has a huge finish like last season, expect this to be the year that Wayne outproduces him.

Reggie Wayne - 7/115, 2 TD, 1 FL. Wayne had his owners pissed at halftime, posting 3 catches for 4 yards and a lost fumble returned for a TD. He blew up in the 2nd half, catching 4 balls for 111 yards and 2 TDs to leave his owners smiling come game's end. Wayne will be an elite WR1 this year, and like I said above, I believe he'll outproduce Harrison this season.

Dallas Clark - 2/48, 1/14. Not a bad outing, but he's going to rely on deep routes down the middle for his value, leaving him as an inconsistent TE1 option, but a solid TE2 option. Owners in decimal scoring leagues are probably happy with the 6.2 point production from their TE, though, if they started him.