2015 Fantasy FootballFantasy Football

2015 Fantasy Football, Week One 20/20: Antonio Brown Is Money

Finally it got here! The wait for this season felt longer to me than any other before. Maybe it’s because I’m in Philadelphia and I was tired of Tim Tebow stories and former players ripping Chip Kelly as our only headlines.

While the preseason created many questions for owners, the results of Week 1 gave us plenty more. Some of us feel like we were vindicated by our drafts, others were left shaking our heads.

In the list below you’ll find 20 statistical and/or general observations about what we saw the past week and what we learned from it. So on with the 20/20

20. Sometimes you have to take a risk
Some of you in earlier drafts that reached for a possibly suspended Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are feeling really good about yourselves right now. I know I feel terrific. As we all know Brady came out and carved up the Steelers on Thursday night, with Gronk and Julian Edelman as the primary beneficiaries.

Brady’s stat line of 25/32 288 4 Tds and a 143.8 QB Rating was pretty fantastic, but I’m a bit skeptical. I think Brady will have a fantastic season with that enormous chip on his shoulder. Gronk obviously is the best in the business and nobody can cover him.

The reason for the skepticism is how snuggly soft the Steelers secondary looked. Was it Brady playing like a man possessed or was it just a bad defense? My guess is it’s a little of both.

19. Dion Lewis
You can go ahead and grab him if you want him but I want no part at all. Some grabbed him right before the game on Thursday and they are happy that they did. I just can’t deal with Belichick and the running back uncertainty.
Lewis does have talent that’s for sure, his 19 touches for 120 yards and 4.6 yards per carry are very serviceable. I’ve just played this game before and not playing it again. Blount will come back and it will get murky. No thank you.

18. Marcus Mariota vs. Jameis Winston
During my drafts I wasn’t touching either of these guys. Looks like I may have misjudged at least one of them. It’s funny because the guy everybody said “Oh he’s surrounded by weapons” looked horrible. I know you know somebody that told you Mariota had nobody around him.

While I don’t think Winston is this bad I can’t believe Mariota looked that good. I was surprised and while I’d claim Mariota, I wouldn’t make any early trades before you see that again. Matter of fact, if Mariota does continue to play well, you may be able to steal him from somebody cheaper than what you’d pay now after October 11th vs. Buffalo.

17. Ameer Abdullah
I couldn’t have been happier if you told me I just won the lotto. I got him in a bunch of leagues and when a guy busts one on his first carry, that’s just like a warm hug. I can’t believe he didn’t see the ball more.

They babied him in preseason, and he only touched the ball 11 times. When somebody gets 94 yards and a score with just 11 touches it might be time to take the training wheels off.

16. Tyler Lockett
I told you so. When he returned the first punt of his pro career he certainly announced his presence with authority. What intrigued me most were his 4 catches. Granted it was for 34 yards, but that could point to more involvement ahead. Buy Buy Buy

15. Washington Defense
I don’t know what to make of this game. Was it that the Dolphins offense was just that bad that it made Washington look good? Or is a team that we all thought would be a pushover not so soft. It’s worth watching for matchups.

14 Saints Defense
Carson Palmer and the Cards put up 427 total yards. It was a pretty decent split too with 307 yards through the air and 120 on the ground. They have pushover defense written all over them.

13 Raiders Doing Raider things

It serves me right for having optimism in relation to anything with a Raiders logo on it. I just had such high hopes for all of them. Today did not make me feel good for any of my Raiders love in the preseason.

12 Stupid James Jones
Some of you are thrilled but this really got me mad. Here I was in a draft the day after Nelson goes down and I snag Davante Adams with a relatively valuable pick. Then somehow the Giants let Jones go and he finds his way back to Rodgers. I knew this was bad news when I saw the signing. Have no choice but to wait this one out.

11 Jacksonville?
First and most importantly, this was a horrible game to watch. What was that? I was high on Bortles coming into the season and thought there would be some really usable pieces here. I’ll give it another week or two, but they looked horrible.

10 J-E-T-S Jets Jets Jets

That was great to watch. Chris Ivory looks good last season, looks good in the preseason and still fell in drafts. 68 ADP? He could end up being the steal of the draft.

9 Here’s Johnny
Raise your had if you went to the wire when he threw the bomb to Benjamin. Don’t lie.

8 Buffalo Defense
Well we knew they were good, but they just made Andrew Luck look bad. You were probably going to avoid them anyway…but now you have no choice.

7. Titans Run Game
I don’t know how to characterize this game. Or the Titans run game. Sankey racked up 12 carries for 74 yards and score. He also added 2 catches for 12 yards and a score. It was a fantastic start for a guy that really disappointed last year. Here’s the problem. This game was over early so the game plan changed and Tampa looked awful. The picture to me is incomplete.

6. Dez
This is why I don’t draft Cowboys. Well that and I’m an Eagles fan. Horrible news though for owners as it looks like 4-6 weeks. The only positive news here is that it’s not the season.

5. Terrell Suggs
This is obviously a huge blow to the Ravens Defense. Baltimore had a great defensive performance over Peyton Manning of all people. IDP Owners should pay close attention to how this plays out.

4. Percy Harvin
I will not let you suck me in. I will not let you do it to me again Percy Harvin. Seriously somebody is going to pick him up but I just can’t. The guy that really got me interested was Tyrod Taylor. 123.8 Passer Rating and 41 yards on the ground? Sign me up for a seat on the Taylor bandwagon for a few weeks.

3. Romo
His value takes a hit with the loss of Dez, but I wouldn’t give up on him. If Bryant actually does return in 6 weeks, that’s right at the start of the playoff push. If Romo throws up a clunker against the Eagles he might be a nice buy low and stash candidate.

2. Tannehill
I still believe. I had the feeling owners thought he would blow up against Washington. That game took everyone by surprise the way it played out. Even though he only threw one touchdown it’s early with a lot of new faces. No interceptions and 93.5 QB Rating gives me some encouragement.

1 Antonio Brown

How he had an ADP of 8.5 I’ll never understand. He’s money in a Steelers jersey.

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