Well well well, another week down and another week full of news. If you were banking on one of your top named all-star players making a huge impact for you this week, well you were probably disappointed. This week we saw lots of great running games get going and a few under-rated passers get their groove on. So, let’s take a minute here and let’s break down the studs and duds for week 7!

The Studs

Steven Jackson
160 yards rushing, 3 rushing touchdowns, 2 receptions, 16 rec yards
Well Steven Jackson owners were happy this week. In a Cowboys/Rams matchup in which the Cowboys were tremendously favored, the Rams came in and tore them up! As you can see Jackson ran to the tune of 160 yards and 3 touchdowns! A great performance from a guy we’ve all been waiting on to break out this year.

LenDale White
149 yards rushing, 3 rushing touchdowns, 1 reception, 7 receiving yards
It was a guarantee that the Titans were gonna rip apart the Chiefs, but it was no guarantee that they’d have over 300 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns between their 2 rb’s alone! LenDale White lead the dangerous duo tacking on 3 more touchdowns to his already high touchdown total this year. If you start this guy at the right time, you’re all but guaranteed a win for that week.

Chris Johnson
168 yards rushing, 1 rushing touchdown, 2 receptions, 4 receiving yards
The other half of the dangerous running duo out of Tennessee may not have had as many touchdowns, but he sure did manage to tear it up with 168 yards of his own!! He also managed one score which still put him amongst the top 5 fantasy scorers for this week! Great job by this rookie this weekend, and all of this year so far.

Mewelde Moore
120 yards rushing, 2 rushing touchdowns, 5 receptions, 14 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown
Well I’m not ashamed to say that I underestimated Moore this week by putting him on the “do not start” list, but I guarantee you I’ll never make that mistake again! Moore absolutely terrorized the Bengals defense to the tune of 3 total touchdowns and over 120 total yards! Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall who?

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After Week 1, there are a lot of injuries that open the door for a lot of players, there were a lot of players who surprised, in both good, and bad ways. Let’s get started on who I think you should be starting, and sitting, this Sunday.

Patriots - Jets
The Tom Brady injury has ruined many owner’s fantasy seasons. A lot of owners though, are taking advantage of the injury, and are picking up Matt Cassel. While it might not be a bad idea to pick up NE’s new starting QB, I would not suggest starting him unless you are extremely desperate, especially not this weekend against a much improved Jet D as proved last week against Miami. Maroney is a definite start though. The Jets front 7 is a much improved unit, and could be a force, but the Patriots will be pounding the ball this Sunday, and Maroney should be seeing lots of playing time.

For the Jets, Thomas Jones had a very nice week yesterday getting over 100 yards on the ground and a score. Jones will be facing a much better front seven in NE’s this week, and Favre will be looking to exploit that less then impressive Patriot secondary that allowed over 200 yards to the combo of Croyle and Huard. ‘Nuff said. Even with that said though, Jones should still have a good game, and both he and Favre should be starts. Check Out the Rest of This Article

Alright everyone, I know I’m a bit late here… by a day or so lol, but here is the week 1 recap. After week 1 we’ve seen tons of surprises and plenty of injuries, enough to get a scare out of many fantasy owners, and even ruin some seasons. Let’s get the break down going… here we go!

*Note - All opinions below are based on how well these players played fantasy wise, not in reality. Of course a good game for someone in reality doesn’t always mean a solid fantasy start. Just keep that in mind.

Washington Redskins 7 - New York Giants 16

Jason Campbell looked absolutely horrible and should in no way be considered for a starting position on your roster. Portis had a solid game, but not a 1st or 2nd round game which most of us expect from our top tier running backs. Antwaan Randle El was a pleasant surprise with 7 catches for 73 yards, however Santana Moss owners will be happy to see that despite having 5 catches for only 37 yards, he did manage to get the ‘Skins only TD. Chris Cooley and Shaun Suisham who?

Plaxico is the real deal that’s for sure. Brandon Jacobs showed why you shouldn’t sleep on him, and K John Carney showed a little spice for an old timer. The rest of the team didn’t look so hot… Eli was ok, the defense was invisible and Kevin Boss got lost.
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Almost every fantasy owner has to deal with the burden of, “should I start this guy, or this guy” every week. In week one, it’s even harder because you have not seen anybody play, obviously. Some of these guys could very well be giving you a hard time on deciding to start, or sit him; so let’s dive right in.

Ricky Williams
Ricky is a definite start. While I think that by Week 5, after the Dolphins bye week, Ronnie Brown will take over more of the running duties for the Dolphins, Ricky will get the poop run out of him in the first 3. Ricky will be getting lots of playing time against NY on Sunday, and should be in for a good game. Williams has always had tons of success against New York as well; in 6 career games vs. the Jets, he has 530 yards and five touchdowns on 131 carries, basically 90 yards and a TD per game; some great numbers. I would start Williams, at least as your R/W.

Marc Bulger
Sit em’. I love Bulger, and love even more that I can get him in the later rounds of any draft, and while I think he is in for a big season, I would sit him this week. He will be playing an unbelievably good Philly pass defense, featuring Samual, Sheppard, and Brown. All three are 90 or above on Madden, we’ll put it that way. Cole is one of the better LE’s in the NFL, so you can bet that Bulger will feel the pressure a lot. The Rams will probably be focusing more on running the football on Sunday, and I doubt Bulger throws more then 25 passes, unless St. Louis is down late. Even though a lot of you have a sure fire QB as your starter, if you are considering starting Bulger, don’t. He should not have a great fantasy day. Check Out the Rest of This Article

Ok guys and gals, the first game of the season has passed and we got to see a little of what the Giants and the Redskins are going to bring to the table this year…. The Redskins.. seems to me like they won’t bring much of anything to the table unless Campbell can get his head out of his ass and complete some passes. The Giants, on the other hand, looked to be in a very similar rhythm to their playoff run. Let’s take a look at the fantasy impact of this game…

Washington Redskins

First and foremost… the Redskins offense looked horrid. I think it was something like their first 3 or 4 possessions were 3 and outs.. yikes!! That’s not something good to see for a team, or for a fantasy owner. Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s only 1 game, but what I saw out of Jason Campbell tonight reflects that of a QB who is regressing instead of progressing. Often Campbell would call hike and stare down one receiver the whole time, then if that receiver wasn’t open he’d be forced to scramble or take a sack… he had no scanning ability whatsoever. People are saying that Jim Zorn’s West Coast offense isn’t a good fit for Campbell, but to me it doesn’t matter what offense your in, if you can’t scan the field, you aren’t gonna be a good QB. How easy is it for a defense to read the QB if he’s looking at 1 player the whole time? Jason Campbell loses a lot of value after this game… so if you were considering starting him, please leave him on your bench until he’s proven something.

Clinton Portis had a slow game as well. He managed to put up 84 yards on 23 carries, but didn’t get a touch and managed very few points for a #1 or #2 RB on any fantasy team. In his defense though, this is a tough defense and there was no support from the passing game. I wouldn’t get scared right away of Portis’ ability to put up points, he will continue to be a viable fantasy back this season.

Anyone in a deep league who took a chance on Antwaan Randle El would be pretty happy. This usually quiet receiver managed 7 catches for 73 yards, a beautiful game, especially in PPR leagues. However the lone touchdown for the Skins was a nice cross pattern completion to the speedy Santana Moss. Moss put up 5 catches for 37 yards and a touch, not a bad week for a #3 WR. Chris Cooley really got the short end of the stick this week, managing 1 catch for 7 yards, leading to under a point in most fantasy formats.

Overall, it was a bad week to start any Redskins players… onto the Giants.

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