An upside down day in Week 1

To quote Steve Martin and Dan Akroyd, it was a wild and crazy Sunday as the NFL opened its season in earnest.

Who'd have thought Cam Newton would be a stud and Ben Roethlisberger would be a dud? Or that Shonn Greene would be invisible while Mike Tolbert looked invincible?

It's never good to panic after Week 1 but that doesn't mean fantasy football owners should sit on their hands and do nothing. Depending on who your back-ups are, it can't hurt to replace some of them with players who looked good Sunday.

Among the quarterbacks who might be attractive are Newton of Carolina (422 yards passing, 2 passing touchdowns, 1 rushing touchdown),  Ryan Fitzpatrick of Buffalo (208 passing, 4 touchdowns) and even Washington's Rex Grossman (305 passing, 2 touchdowns).


Some receivers who should be available are Arizona's Early Doucet (3 catches, 105 yards, 1 TD); Devery Henderson of New Orleans (6 for 100, 1 TD) and Seattle's Doug Baldwin (4 for 83, 1 TD).

As for the running backs Houstons' Ben Tate went off in Arian Foster's absence with 116 yards rushing and a touchdown. He's great insurance even if Foster comes back healthy. Cadillac Williams of St.Louis also played well (91 yards rushing, 5 catches for 39 yards) when starter Steve Jackson left with an quadriceps injury.


And don't forget James Starks of Green Bay from Thursday night (57 yards rushing, 1 TD). Even if he hasn't won the starting job from Ryan Grant yet, it looks as if he's going to be a big part of the Packers' offense.


Sunday's top three performing tight ends probably weren't even drafted in your league. Buffalo's Scott Chandler had five catches for 63 yards and two touchdowns, the Jets' Dustin Keller was 5 for 61 with 1 TD and the Rams' Jeff King was 2 for 61 with 1 TD.

There was even news on the place-kicking front as San Diego's Nate Kaeding suffered what is believed to be an ACL injury on the first play of the game and will likely be out for the season. Whoever replaces him with the Chargers should have excellent value.


Catch Tuesday's Fantasy Forum in the print edition for the ramifications of this week's injuries and performances.

Surprise, surprise, Colston hurt again

It seems the oft-injured Marques Colston of the New Orleans Saints is hurting again and is expected to miss at least four weeks with a broken collarbone suffered in Thursday's game against Green Bay.

Colston was once an elite receiver in the league but hasn't been able to regain that status for a few years now due to injuries. Lance Moore (groin) may or may not be back next week which means the value of Devery Henderson and Robert Meacham rises dramatically.

The other big injury of note for this weekend is the status of Houston running back Arian Foster. A few days ago it seemed promising that he would play but now reports are saying he's doubtful. Head coach Gary Kubiak says Derrick Ward will get the start if Foster can't go but that Ben Tate and Steve Slaton will also play. Many fantasy owners are starting Tate in anticipation of his getting a lot of touches and that may not be a bad way to go.

The Colts without Peyton Manning?

It sounds as if Peyton Manning could miss a large chunk of the 2011 season with his lingering neck problem. In terms of Fantasy Football, that's not good news at all for Manning or the other skill players around him. His replacement, Kerry Collins, is a capable quarterback but won't come close to duplicating the kind of numbers Manning has put up in his career.

You probably can't get much for any of the Colts receivers in a trade right now so it's best to see how Collins does in Week 1 and then look at your options.

There's also a rumor circulating out of Tampa that running back LeGarrette Blount may be part of a running-back-by-committee this season. The impetus for the story came from some remarks made on a radio station by Bucs' general manager Mark Dominik. It's best to wait and see how Blount is used this weekend before making any knee-jerk moves.