Monday, Sept. 10, 2001

Week One observations

Don’t worry; things will return to normal

By Steve Soucie, Contributing writer

"This is a bad day for fantasy football."

One of my fellow fantasy football players continued to decry the lack of sensational output by the league’s top players with that same mantra.

It wasn’t like the football gods swooped down and replaced the typical touchdown makers with guys like Sam Gash, Jon Ritchie and Cecil Martin, but it was certainly a rather unorthodox day.

Edgerrin James responded the way you’d expect a top-five performer to do. The others, well … not so much.

But don’t panic, folks. Marshall Faulk will get his. Randy Moss will NOT be limited to one-catch performances too many times this season. There are enough offensive chances for both James and Marvin Harrison to shine on the same team. I still haven’t figured out where Terrell Owens was Sunday, but don’t worry, he’ll be there.

In other words, don’t slit your wrists just yet. It’s just Week One.

Things will return to normal. There were numerous close football games that required the draining of the clock with running backs; thus, the numerous 25-plus-carry efforts logged by surprising sources such as San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson and Atlanta’s Jamal Anderson.

With that in mind, place your faith in the players you expected to succeed. They will. Week One will likely prove to be more of an aberration than a trend.

Here are some brief Week One observations:

• Travis Henry looked as if he has some serious potential as the Bills’ lead runner. With Rob Johnson struggling (0 TDs, 3 INTs), Henry could get more chances to shine.

• New England selected Antowain Smith to get the majority of the carries in Week One. It was a boring selection, but one that doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things because neither Smith nor running mate J.R. Redmond should be a regular player in your lineup.

• Was that the same Jay Fiedler who had struggled to amass 100 yards passing in several games last season? I guess it was, but Fielder could be a pleasant surprise, especially if rookie wideout Chris Chambers continues to evolve into another solid offensive weapon.

• Don’t count on Corey Dillon or Darnay Scott continuing to post huge numbers every week. But isolated against poor defenses, the tandem can be potentially dangerous.

• Baltimore’s offensive struggles will likely continue. Terry Allen and Jason Brookins aren’t the answer. If the Ravens can’t get a ground game going, that will make Elvis Grbac’s job even tougher. Defense carried this team last year, and the offensive weapons shouldn’t be highly rated.

• Jimmy Smith was underrated on many lists due to injury concerns. Those who still had faith will continue to reap the benefits all year long. The Jaguars very well might not win a ton of games, but they will score a lot of points in the process.

• The Chiefs still haven’t settled their running-game problems, and when push came to shove, they went right back to standby Tony Richardson instead of Priest Holmes.

• Rich Gannon is going to post huge numbers all year long, and look for Tim Brown to be the main benefactor.

• Washington isn’t this bad. Stephen Davis will get his motor running, and both Michael Westbrook and Rod Gardner will do good work once Jeff George gets the rust out.

• Don’t count on exciting numbers from any Bears offensive player, including Marcus Robinson when he gets fully healthy. This offense is geared toward ball control and very short passing. Yardage bonuses are nonexistent here.

• Green Bay looked sharp on Sunday. If the Packers can figure out a way to get Antonio Freeman interested at all, then they could have a multitude of weapons. For now, lean on Ahman Green.

• And in closing, who the heck is Nick Goings? If he was anywhere to be found on drafters’ radar screens going into Draft Day, I’d be shocked. I’m not ready to anoint him the solution to the numerous Carolina running-game problems, but he sure did have a nice spring to his step and looked like a much better alternative than Tshimanga Biakabutuka. He’s certainly worth a flier waiver pick for RB-weak teams.

The Archives
2001 - 2002 Season