FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 1 1:00 GAMES WRAPUP

The 1:00 were jam-packed with notable actions and injuries so let's get it all out there for discussion.

-It is only one game but the Pittsburgh Steelers offense looked downright pathetic which calls into questions any of the players associated with the mess we saw against the Tennessee Titans.  Never a fantasy star to begin with, Ben Roethlisberger threw for only 191 yards and 1 TD with 1 INT against one of the worst defenses in football in 2012.  Once again Big Ben was running for his life behind an awful line which is the same story we have talked about for years.  Antonio Bronwn (5 catches for 71 yards) and especially Emmanuel Sanders (7 catches for 57 yards) did well enough for themselves in PPR formats but no scores by either.  Still looking forward to LeVeon Bell's return but the rest of the Steeler weaponry leaves a lot to be desired.

-As far as Tennessee was concerned, Chris Johnson was a non-factor with 70 yards on 25 carries with ZERO receptions.  The big story was the fact Jackie Battle was in for goal-line work, culminating in a rushing touchdown.  Battle did nicely around the goal-line for the Chiefs last season and so there is big time concern about Johnson's overall value if he is not going to be put in position to score touchdowns.  This needs to be watched very closely as Johnson's value could go tumbling.

-Geno Smith did all right in his first NFL start, throwing for 256 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT while also rushing for 47 yards in a shocking victory.  No need to go out and make an add though as the same questions regarding the lack of weapons for Smith continues.  They face a still uptick in quality of opposition next week versus New England.

-As predicted Bilal Powell did nothing in rushing for 29 yards on 12 carries.  Whether it is Powell or Chris Ivory, don't even think of adding a Jets running back.

-Disappointing day for Doug Martin who ran for only 65 yards but he did score.  The Jets defense is tough so no worries.  Martin will be just fine.

-Vincent Jackson was a terror in grabbing 7 passes for 154 yards, including what was looking like the catch that would clinch the game for the Buc's.  While Jackson has never been a PPR guy, he is still a fine WR 1 option.

-One Jets who could get a look is tight end Kellen Winslow who caught 7 passes for 79 yards and a score.  We are always on the lookout for tight end help and Winslow is a proven name who can still get it done as evidenced by his performance in this game.

-We learned a long time ago never to doubt Tom Brady no matter who his receivers are and the opener against Buffalo continued to show why this is the case.  Brady fought though an unexpectedly stiff challenge from the Bills defense in throwing for 288 yards and 2 scores with 1 pick.  He quickly got to work with new toy Danny Amendola, who shook off a slight groin injury to catch 10 passes for 104 yards.  Yup the comparisons to Wes Welker are spot on but the going issue is a reminder of how risky Amendola is to own.  However the upside is huge if he can somehow keep himself on the field.  100 catches is the upside.

Meanwhile, the much-hyped Kenbrell Thompkins was a non-story with 4 catches for 42 yards.  Hold onto him though for another week as you can't toss aside any Brady receiver that quickly.

-One guy we had a big time sleeper label attached to was Shane Vereen given his ability to catch the football and he did that and more Sunday.  Vereen replaced a benched Stevan Ridley by rushing for 101 yards on only 14 carries to go with 7 catches for 58 yards.  Depending on if Ridley stays in the doghouse, Vereen could be a HUGE player going forward,  At the very least Vereen needs to be used in PPR formats.

Speaking of Ridley, he was awful in losing a fumble while rushing for only 46 yards.   Since Ridley doesn't catch the football, he needs to put up nice rushing and touchdown numbers to be useful.  Watch this week to see if any news comes out of the benching.

-Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone vowed to use both Fred Jackson and C.J. Spiller in the running game and he was true to his word.  Jackson actually outrushed Spiller 67 to 41 yards with four less carries.  Also Spiller didn't help matters by losing a fumble in the first half.  If Jackson continues to have this much work, than Spiller's value is negatively effected.  It was this uncertainty that had me questioning Spiller's worth as a first round pick.  So far my concerns are validated.

-Now let's get to rookie QB E.J. Manuel.  The rookie was exciting in preseason and he did nothing to quell that optimism Sunday in throwing for 150 yards with 2 touchdowns and no INT's.  He also ran for 23 yards in showing his rushing game.  While Manuel is not there yet as a fantasy football option, I wouldn't object if you made a sleeper add.

-Julian Edelman slipped through the cracks when it came to talking about the receivers on the Patriots this season.  The only holdover to make an impact other than Shane Vereen, Edelman caught 7 passed for 79 yards and 2 touchdowns.  He will be one of the biggest adds of the coming week and rightfully so.

-The shootout that was expected in the New Orleans-Atlanta game certainly materialized.  Drew Brees threw for 357 yards with 2 TD's and 1 INT which is standard operating procedure for him.  His counterpart Matt Ryan tossed two touchdowns of his own for 304 yards with 2 scores and a late second INT.  The only thing I could quibble about was the shoddy protection from the Atlanta offensive line which could negatively impact Ryan's passing numbers and leave him susceptible to injury.

As far as the rest of the cast of characters, Tony Gonzalez caught a touchdown pass but otherwise was quiet 3 catches for 36 yards.  Roddy White was a guy I told you to be careful with due to his high ankle sprain that has kept him from practicing.  The result was only 2 catches for 19 yards in a no-show game.  I did say to pick up Harry Douglas and he caught 4 passes for 93 yards.  Julio Jones was the most productive wideout for the Falcons with 7 catches for 76 yards and a score.  Not a good start for White who is on the wrong side of 30 amid worries he is on the decline.

-On the flip side, Marques Colston did his thing:  5 catches for 68 yards and a touchdown.  Jimmy Graham got the other score on 4 receptions for 45 yards.  Truth be told I expected more out of Graham in this one but at least he hit paydirt.  Finally both running games did little but Steven Jackson is still a solid RB 2 while Mark Ingram should be left on the wire.

-Scary day for Jamaal Charles owners.  The electric running back was terrific with 77 rushing yards on only 16 carries and a score while also catching 3 passes for 23.  The bigger story however was Charles leaving with a quad injury which is very scary for running backs.  However Charles did return and had one more carry before he called it a day so he seems like he dodged a bullet.  Big exhale for Charles owners who would have been beyond devastated for any game he would potentially miss.

As far as Maurice Jones-Drew is concerned, he did nothing to dispel the notion he was a bad investment for 2013 given his age, the fact he is coming off injury, and is on a truly horrendous offense by rushing for 45 yards on 15 carries.  MJD looked slow and hesitant.  Very bad signs.

-As great as Russell Wilson was as a rookie in 2012 which paved the way for him being a top ten fantasy football passer this season, he had never thrown for 300 yards before.  That is until Sunday when Wilson threw for 320 yards and a touchdown.  Seattle is a run first and second offensive unit but Wilson is looking like a safe commodity.

Cam Newton meanwhile once again had a slow start to a season, throwing for only 125 yards but he did toss a touchdown to salvage things some.  Newton has proven to be a volatile guy who goes up and down as the season goes on.  You like more consistency but the bottom line numbers should be nice.

-How about Doug Baldwin?  He led Seattle with 7 catches for 91 yards with both Golden Tate and Sidney Rice active.  Steve Smith meanwhile scored on 6 catches for 51 yards.

-What a disaster if you owned any Miami Dolphins fantasy football-worthy player.  Flat out the two biggest busts for the day were WR Mike Wallace and RB Lamar Miller.  I spoke loudly about how I wouldn't touch Wallace as I think he is grossly overrated and the one catch he had Sunday with shaky QB Ryan Tannehill showed why.  Ever the professional, Wallace popped off after the game.  He is being paid like a WR 1 but in my view Wallace is nothing more than a WR 3.

Than you have Miller who will likely cause me to be 0-1 barring a miracle in the Experts League.  So confident in my belief Miller would take off as a starter, I went with him over Ryan Matthews to fill the second RB slot on my squad.  Miller's grand rushing total however was 3 yards on 10 carries.  Clearly he earned the most curse words attached to his name this week.

-Jordan Cameron was a must have sleeper due to the fact his head coach is Rob Chudzinski who helped develop Antonio Gates and Kellen Winslow into stars.  Well Cameron went along with the script in catching 9 passes for 108 yards and a score.  Yes Brandon Weeden is awful but young QB's like him always look towards the tight end.  We could be looking at a Jason Witten-like season out of Cameron.

-I told you that Matthew Stafford was looking like a terrific bargain guy at QB off his hard to explain bad 2012.  With a tremendous collection of receivers, Stafford was in line for a major rebound.  Stafford looked ready to make good on that promise in throwing for 357 yard with 2 TD and 1 INT.

-How about the one-two punch of Reggie Bush and Joquie Bell?  Both guys were monsters Sundays, with Bush rushing for 90 yards and catching 4 passed for 101 yards and a score.  Meanwhile Bell scored TWICE with 25 yards on the ground and another 5 receptions for 67 yards.  By the looks of things, Bell is shaping up to be the goal-line back which is a negative for Bush.  However the Lions want to throw to the running back as much as any other offense so both guys have very solid value.

-Only Adrian Peterson can score on his first carry, going 78 yards.  Still Peterson failed to rush for 100 yards, netting 93 with two scores.  He remains the top player in the game by a decent margin.

-Terrell Pryor played a like running back, rushing for 112 yards.  His passing was another story however as he threw for 217 yards with a TD and 2 INT.  Leave him on the wire.

Andrew Luck meanwhile got his first two touchdown passes on the season, along with a rushing score.  Luck's ability to run is very underrated and as long as he gets decent protection, a 30-TD season is looking like a lock.  The sky is still the limit.

-Want to know what Reggie Wayne eats for breakfast since he doesn't get old.  He caught 8 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown Sunday and looks like he is ready to repeat his shockingly great 2012 campaign.

-Yes Matt Forte got the goal-line carries Sunday, resulting in his first touchdown of the season.  This takes his value to its highest level, making Forte a RB 1 in both standard and PPR leagues.

-Nothing doing yet for Giovani Bernard who got only 4 carries. This is still the Law Firm's show.

-A.J. Green looks ready to try and challenge Calvin Johnson for the title of best receiver in football as he caught 2 touchdowns on 9 catches for 162 yards.  Tremendous player.

There you have it.  As always let us hear what you think.