NFL Week 1: Late Game Wrapup

Detroit vs. Oakland

Jon Kitna - 27/36, 289 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT, 3/17. A great game from Kitna against a solid secondary. The Lions will throw early and often all year along, and even moreso with Kevin Jones recovering from his foot injury. Kitna utilized his new WRs Calvin Johnson and Shaun McDonald well and spread the ball around efficiently. Kitna had a great fantasy season last year, and with improved weapons around him along with a similar propensity to throw, and he could be in for a big year.

Josh McCown - 30/40, 313 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT. McCown was fairly solid, utilizing his weapons and making a few horrible throws as well. The starting situation is up in the air still despite his performance, so don't waist your waiver priority on him.

Tatum Bell - 15/87, 4/6, 1 TD. An impressive performance from Bell against what projected to be a fairly tough Oakland defense. Duckett sprained his ankle and is questionable for next week, so if he's out, Bell has even more value. Minnesota's outstanding run D is up next, however, so his matchup is not favorable despite being on turf.

LaMont Jordan - 15/70. 9/89, 1 TD. Jordan is back. Forget how incredibly brutal the Oakland offense was last year, because that offense and Jordan's injuries were what held him back, not his talent. Jordan is back as a RB2 alternative for all teams and will remain an even better force in PPR leagues.

Roy Williams - 4/20, 1 TD. Nmamdi Asomugha is to blame for this as he is quietly one of the best CBs in the NFL today. Roy is still the focal point of this offensive attack and Kitna wisely utilized his other options. Luckily he got open in the endzone and scored to save his fantasy day.

Calvin Johnson - 4/70, 1 TD. While not the starter, he saw the field plenty and made a couple of great plays. He's a solid WR3 in a pass happy offense that will use him more and more as the season moves along. His skills are freakish, and he's just a mean old bully after the catch.

Shaun McDonald - 6/90, 1 TD. Don't pick him up. He's the 4th WR on this offense and will not be posting stats like these with any regularity unless someone gets hurt in front of him. He'll be on the field a decent bit given how often the Lions will go 4 wide, but he's not going to be a fantasy option.

Ronald Curry - 10/133, 1 TD. Use your waiver wire spot to grab him if he's available...Curry is for real. After playing QB in college, he's adjusted himself to the WR position at the NFL level and is incredibly talented. He will be Oakland's #1 WR, and their offense is much improved over last year thanks to the coaching change. He's a solid WR3.

Zach Miller - 3/23, 1 FL. He's a rookie TE and can't be relied upon, but he should become a factor in their passing game and has solid receiving skills. Keep an eye on him.

Chicago vs. San Diego

Rex Grossman - 12/23, 145 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT. He predictably struggled against the imposing SD defense. He didn't win the game, but he didn't lose the game either. He's not a bad QB2 if you have an elite starter, and Grossman has a good matchup the week of your starter's bye. Grossman has shown he can carve up weaker secondaries.

Phillip Rivers - 22/31, 190 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT, 5/-1. It was not to be against the elite Chicago defense. He'll have much better days when he's not facing Chicago.

Cedric Benson - 19/42, 1 FL. He looks sluggish even when he does have an opening. He'll exploit weaker defenses, so don't read too much into a horrible matchup against the vaunted SD rush defense. He's a decent RB2, but you should consider your options based on what Benson's matchup is.

LaDainian Tomlinson - 17/25, 7/51, 1 TD, 1/1, 17 yards, 1 TD. The greatest fantasy RB ever to play the game. Even on a day when Chicago engulfed him, he still managed to find paydirt on a great run in the redzone, and he found Gates for a TD on a RB toss/pass play.

Bernard Berrian - 5/83. He is clearly Grossman's go-to guy and is a solid WR3 with a bit of upside. He did have a boneheaded play where he gave up on a route which allowed McCree to have an easy INT of a Grossman pass, but fantasy owners could care less about that.

Muhsin Muhammad - 1/8. He's a WR5 at best.

Antonio Gates - 9/107, 1 TD. The game's best TE comes up with a huge game against a great opponent. There's a reason he goes in the 3rd round as he's worth the investment to those willing to take a WR that high.

Vincent Jackson - 3/28. He was an overhyped "sleeper" who will likely be inconsistent from week to week. He has the ability to get open deep and is great in the red-zone, but with LT and Gates hogging most of the TDs, I'm not sure how many he'll score this year. He won't put up consistent yardage thanks to the offensive system and how he's essentially the 3rd option in the passing game despite being the #1 WR.

Jeff Garcia - 19/27, 201 yards, 0 TD, 0 INT, 1/3. He's a mediocre QB2 with little upside given the weapons around him.

Matt Hasselbeck - 17/24, 222 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT, 2/7. Solid game against a solid defense, but I honestly don't think he'll crack the top 12 starters come year's end despite being drafted as one. He'll have some great games, but he's better as a matchup starter.

Carnell Williams - 12/60, 2/14, 1 FL. He was running well before getting hammered and hurting his ribs. Reports have him missing at least one game, so hopefully you drafted a RB3 early given the risk surrounding Cadillac. It's questionable when he'll return right now. Pick up Michael Pittman if he's avaiable as he'll start while Williams is hurt.

Shaun Alexander - 27/105, 2/12, 1 TD. He had a couple big runs late in the game, but I believe his fantasy value these days is closely tied to a big workload, and given his age, I don't think he can handle it. I'm very pessimistic regarding Alexander this year, and I advise you to think about selling high after a strong first game. The 3.9 YPC just isn't vintage Alexander.

Joey Galloway - 5/72. He's still a great wide receiver with incredible speed for his age. He has no problem getting open and will be a solid WR3 this season assuming he stays healthy.

Deion Branch - 0/0. Just what owners wanted, right? No? WTF. No explanation for this.

D.J. Hackett - 1/7. Hackett suffered the dreaded high ankle sprain, so he's out indefinitely. Go ahead and drop him unless you have a deep bench and don't like the WW guys this week. Nate Burleson will start, and he's not the worst guy you could have stashed. Don't waste your waiver wire priority on him, however.

New York Giants vs. Dallas

Eli Manning - 28/41, 312 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT, 1/2. What a start to the season for Eli. He shredded the Cowboys defense, throwing often as his team got down quickly and stayed down for much of the contest. The bad news, however, is the reported sprained AC joint that he endured. There's conflicting reports as to what exactly his injury is, but that's what it is being called at the moment. Stay tuned for his real status, but consider him out for this week.

Tony Romo - 15/24, 345 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT, 3/11.. Ditto for Romo, proving that his ADP was no fluke. Romo is for real as a great NFL QB and he showed it in this one, shredding the Giants secondary with big plays to both Owens and Witten all game long. Very few QBs can put up 300+ yards with only 15 completions.

Brandon Jacobs - 6/26. Jacobs left early in the 2nd QTR with a knee sprain, and luckily it's turned out to be a sprained MCL and not a torn ligament. He's being called week-to-week right now, but he should definitely be out for this coming week. Here's to a quick recovery for a RB I thought was severely undervalued in drafts this year.

Julius Jones - 16/66, 1/11. Jones got more of the carries, but looked like the worse RB, just like last season. This is going to be more of a 50/50 split unless he starts to run better. He's a questionable RB3.

Marion Barber - 11/65, 1/29, 1 TD. He seems to be the better of the two RBs to everyone but the Cowboys' coaching staffs. Still, he should start to see more carries if he continues to outproduce Jones. I can't imagine Phillips being as patient with Jones as Parcells was. Barber is a great RB3 with upside for more.

Plaxico Burress - 8/144, 3 TD. Holy crap. Burress torched the Cowboys secondary all game long and was in complete rhythm with Eli. He got open more than he was thrown to and could have had an even bigger day. His owners have to hope that Eli's injury isn't too serious as he'll definitely lose value while Eli is out.

Amani Toomer - 9/91. He's rosterable again as a WR5, but is unusable with Eli out. With Eli healthy, he's not a bad bye-week fill-in.

Jeremy Shockey - 5/41. You'd assume bigger numbers from him given the score, but Burress stole most of the throws. Shockey looked healthy and is a TE1 in all leagues.

Terrell Owens - 3/87, 2 TD. Still elite. He made the most of his 3 catches by getting open deep and outrunning defenders. He's a great WR1.

Jason Witten - 6/116, 1 TD. He torched the middle of the Giants secondary all game long and was in complete rhythm with Romo. He's a great TE1 with Romo starting as Romo loves looking his way.

Patrick Crayton - 3/51. He's the third receiving option on the team, but he's worth owning as a WR5 while Glenn is out, possibly for the season.