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Sunday's Best Plenty of surprise efforts in Week 1
Updated: Monday September 10, 2001 6:06 PM
By James Quintong, CNNSI.com After a long wait for many fantasy football players, the season finally kicked off this week and as should always be said when watching games on Sundays, expect the unexpected. Sure, some of your top players like Edgerrin James and Marshall Faulk did just fine while others like Eddie George struggled, although that might have been expected against the Dolphins. Other players expecting to have big games such as Warrick Dunn and Matt Hasselbeck struggled against spotty defenses, but it's been said that the defenses are usually ahead of the offense at this time of year. A very surprising part of Sunday's action was the number of fullbacks and tight ends scoring touchdowns. Most of these players are usually overlooked on draft day, and most times you don't expect them to produce on a week-to-week basis. However, many of them came through on Sunday. In fact, 13 fullbacks and tight ends caught touchdowns on Sunday. More surprisingly none of them were from the highly ranked tight ends such as Tony Gonzalez, Shannon Sharpe or Freddie Jones. Those players will eventually get in the end zone, and will likely score more often than Tony McGee or Jermaine Wiggins (who both had scores this weekend), so don't hit the panic button right away and try to pick up some of those players. It's still early, and many of the top players should eventually come around, so there's no need to act rash yet, especially if you have a good bench.
Top 10 Studs1. Ahman Green, RB, Packers (17 carries, 152 yards, 2 TDs; 3 catches, 20 yards): He must've been inspired by Nebraska's win on Saturday since he cut through the Lions for two long TD runs (31, 83) in the first half. He's still prone to fumbles, but otherwise, he'll remain a major fantasy threat. 2. Edgerrin James, RB, Colts (28 carries, 135 yards, 2 TDs; 2 catches, 13 yards): James loves playing the Jets, and it showed again on Sunday. He could've had another TD, but dropped a pass at the goal line that led to an interception (although the Colts recovered the fumble on the runback). He's a top-five pick because he consistently has games like these. 3. Jimmy Smith, WR, Jaguars (8 catches, 126 yards, 2 TDs): So much for being slowed down by offseason abdominal surgery. He looked just fine on Sunday, removing doubts about his health. 4. LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, Chargers (36 carries, 113 yards, 2 TDs; 1 catch, 12 yards): Nice debut for the first-round pick from TCU. It looks like San Diego will depend on him a lot to carry the offense this year. As long as the line can hold up, Tomlinson will be a fantasy powerhouse this year. 5. Donovan McNabb, QB, Eagles (32-48, 312 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT; 9 carries, 48 yards): He seemed to do it all against the Rams. McNabb did use his receivers a bit more than he did last year, specifically Todd Pinkston (7 catches, 99 yards). However, his running backs and tight ends did most of the work (22 catches compared to 10 for his wideouts). His rushing continues to give him more fantasy points on a week-to-week basis. 6. Lamar Smith, RB, Dolphins (25 carries, 55 yards, 1 TD; 3 catches, 70 yards, 1 TD): The Titans kept him in check for most of the game, but he found the end zone twice, including once on a 65-yard catch-and-run, which adds to his value in leagues that reward big plays. That's what it takes in fantasy football -- a couple of scores and one big play can make the difference even if he struggled otherwise. 7. Daunte Culpepper, QB, Vikings (22-38, 236 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs; 12 carries, 57 yards, 1 TD, 1 fumble lost: If your league deducts for interceptions and fumbles, Culpepper was a huge disappointment, given where he probably was drafted. However, if you don't count turnovers, he still had a big week. In fact, that fumble came as he was about to score another TD. It was a strange opener for Culpepper, to say the least. His value this week depended heavily on your scoring system. 8. Rich Gannon, QB, Raiders (31-46, 341 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT; 1 carry, 9 yards): He looked sharp down the stretch in rallying Oakland past the archrival Chiefs. He wasn't called upon to run a whole lot, but he made great use of his veteran receivers as both Tim Brown and Jerry Rice had eight catches each. 9. Aaron Brooks, QB, Saints (18-29, 209 yards, 3 TDs; 6 rushes, 3 yards): The Bills slowed him down early, but Brooks recovered in the second half and showed the game that impressed many down the stretch last year. He didn't run as much as he's done in the past, but he looked fine as a pocket passer. 10. Mark Brunell, QB, Jaguars (15-26, 198 yards, 3 TDs; 3 rushes, 7 yards): His fantasy value seems to take a backseat to his on-field value as he never puts up eye-popping stats. He was solid in the opener this year despite many questions about the offensive line and his receivers. It's hard to argue with three TDs, that's for sure. Just missing the cut: Jeff Garcia, QB, 49ers (26-40, 335 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 5 carries, 38 yards); Tim Brown, WR, Raiders (8 catches, 133 yards, 1 TD); Brett Favre, QB, Packers (22-28, 260 yards, 2 TDs); Corey Dillon, RB, Bengals (24 carries, 104 yards, 1 TD; 4 catches, 32 yards); Peyton Manning, QB, Colts (22-32, 231 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs; 2 carries, 19 yards).
Top 5 Duds1. Derrick Alexander, WR, Chiefs (0 catches, 0 yards): Plenty of top-flight wide receivers had lackluster numbers this week, but Alexander put up no numbers in a supposedly pass-happy offense. In fact, there was only catch by Chiefs wide receivers -- Snoop Minnis' acrobatic catch late in the fourth quarter. 2. Randy Moss, WR, Vikings (1 catch, 28 yards): Hopefully he's gotten his one bad week out of the way early. Once Minnesota gets its bearings, Moss should be fine. 3. Eddie George, RB, Titans (18 carries, 49 yards; 2 catches, 19 yards): Other top backs also had bad weeks (Stephen Davis, Emmitt Smith, Jerome Bettis), but George was likely picked ahead of them, and thus jumps on this list. However, George was also going against a tough Dolphins defense, so it wasn't completely surprising that he struggled. 4. Matt Hasselbeck, QB, Seahawks. (20-34, 178 yards, 2 INTs; 5 carries, 9 yards): Can he produce once the regular season begins? The jury is still out on Hasselbeck, who struggled in his Seattle debut. Big things were expected of him since they were playing the Browns, which makes him a disappointment this week. 5. Jeff George, QB, Redskins (8-16, 66 yards, 2 INTs): The mercurial George couldn't muster up any offense against a team that went 1-15 last year. He was pulled in favor of Tony Banks, which is definitely not a good thing. He could rebound next week, if he starts, as he'll take on Arizona.
Top 5 Surprises1. Cecil Martin, RB, Eagles (6 catches, 40 yards, 2 TDs): Donovan McNabb likes throwing to his running backs and tight ends. (Despite rushing for just 9 yards, Duce Staley had 81 receiving yards.) Martin lucked out in catching two TDs in the red zone, but don't expect this production to continue. However, look for Staley to be a decent rushing/receiving threat. 2. Jerome Pathon, WR, Colts (8 catches, 93 yards, 1 TD): He was Peyton Manning's favorite target on Sunday while Marvin Harrison had just four catches for 35 yards. Indianapolis has yet to find a consistent No. 2 receiver behind Harrison. Pathon might emerge in that role, although he still faces much competition from first-round pick Reggie Wayne, who missed the opener with an ankle injury. 3. Chris Weinke, QB, Panthers (13-22, 223 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 1 rushing TD): The reigning Heisman Trophy winner played very well in his NFL debut. He made few mistakes and played well enough to lead Carolina to the upset win. He worked well with his main targets Muhsin Muhammad and Wesley Walls, which will help all three. Weinke could emerge as a solid second-tier quarterback this season. 4. Jay Fiedler, QB, Dolphins (12-20, 225 yards, 2 TDs; 7 carries, 25 yards): Despite being an NFL starting QB for a second year, most fantasy owners passed over him, and he definitely wasn't starting for most teams this week. Somehow he put up solid numbers against a very good Titans defense, which does bode well for him in the future. 5. Nick Goings, RB, Panthers (25 carries, 86 yards): Those who drafted Tim Biakabutuka might be worried after he was benched in favor of Goings. And Goings was primarily a third-stringer who got a chance because Richard Huntley was injured. Keep an eye on the Carolina running back situation this week. Whoever gets the job could have good game with the Patriots next up on the schedule.
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