Courtesy of: Huffington Post
Week 1’s results column was written by Ross Dunham at I Hate JJ Redick.
Last week, I Hate JJ Redick and The Sports Column teamed up for the first version of the Weekly Battle Royale, featuring Ross Dunham’s and Jim Chaney’s picks for fringe fantasy football starters.
If you missed it, here are the guys that each expert picked for week one, and how each player fared (ESPN standard scoring):
Ross’ Picks
QB – Andrew Luck (vs. OAK) 24 pts.
RB – David Wilson (vs. DAL) -3 pts.
WR – Desean Jackson (vs. WAS) 16 pts.
TE – Jordan Cameron (vs. MIA) 16 pts.
D/ST – Colts (vs. OAK) 5 pts.
Jim’s Picks
QB – Tony Romo (vs. NYG) 16 pts.
RB – Steven Jackson (vs. NO) 11 pts.
WR – Eric Decker (vs. BAL) 3 pts.
TE – Vernon Davis (vs. GB) 21 pts.
D/ST – Rams (vs. ARI) 7 pts.
Wouldn’t you know it, in the first week of the pick em’ challenge, the two teams ended up tied at 58. Let’s look at the picks and break it down by position to find out exactly how the heck this happened.
Quarterback:
-Andrew Luck somehow tied for the fifth highest fantasy quarterback performance on only 23 pass attempts. Luck finished his day with 178 yards on 18 completions against what was thought to be a weak Oakland Raiders defense. He compiled the majority of his points on his two touchdown passes and a 19-yard scamper for a score to seal the game for Indy. While it was only one week, it looks as though Luck won’t be throwing the 40 passes per game like he did in 2012.
-Tony Romo threw the ball 49 times against the Giants in the shootout on Sunday Night Football. The reason why he only had 263 yards was because the Giants were giving the Cowboys everything underneath and weren’t going to get beat deep. Romo had two touchdowns through the air and one interception.
Running back:
-David Wilson did David Wilson things on Sunday; I don’t really want to talk about it. HOLD ON TO THE BALL SON. He has way too much talent to be sitting on the bench, let’s hope for fantasy owners’ sakes that he brings it together. -3 points….yeesh.
-Steven Jackson showed that he’s going to be a solid back for this season if he stays healthy. Although he only had 11 carries for 77 yards, Jackson was targeted eight times through the air and collected five passes for 45 yards. And it’s not a matter of if Jackson scores touchdowns, it’s when; teams will start to focus more on the weapons outside for Atlanta in the red zone, giving Jackson bigger running lanes down there.
Wide Receiver:
-How fun was that Eagles offense on Monday? Chip Kelly has Mike Vick back looking like circa 2006 Mike Vick, which can only mean good things for that offense. Jackson is the primary target and showed that in their first game against DeAngelo Hall and the Redskins. Jackson tallied all of his stats in the first half, with seven catches for 104 yards and a touchdown.
-Eric Decker just flubbed up all over the place on Thursday. He dropped an easy touchdown, had an offensive pass interference and fumbled a ball out of bounds. Decker ended up with two receptions for 37 yards. The good news is he was targeted plenty of times, and he has a track record of playing well.
Tight end:
-Jordan Cameron picked up where he left off in preseason. He showed that he was Brandon Weeden’s primary target at least until Josh Gordon comes back from suspension. Cameron finished with nine catches on 13 targets for 108 yards and a touchdown.
-With Michael Crabtree out for the foreseeable future in San Francisco, Vernon Davis will be the second, if not the first option in the red zone for Colin Kaepernick. That definitely showed in the Niners’ week one win over the Packers, as Davis caught six balls for 98 yards and two touchdowns. He’s a matchup nightmare because he runs like a wide out, so I imagine he will keep this up.
Defense/Special teams:
-Although they forced two interceptions, the Colts allowed Terrelle Pryor to have over 100 yards rushing and 200 yards passing with a touchdown in week one; decent effort, not great.
-The Rams must have been as surprised as the rest of us to see the Cardinals actually have a decent offense. Carson Palmer combined with Larry Fitzgerald is looking like it’s going to be a great combination this year, and the Rams showed that it is tough to stop. I do fully believe that this Rams defense will be a top 15 performer come week 16, though. They generate an excellent pass rush and have a young, but solid secondary.
While a tie is like kissing your sister, I’ll take it considering David Wilson got me negative points. Jim and myself will have our picks coming out before Thursday’s game.
