I think it's about now where you really know what kind of team you have, both in the NFL and in fantasy. Maybe you've squeaked out a couple of wins, or lost a heartbreaker or two, but at this point you can probably judge your roster as an actual contender, or a team that's just hoping for a few injuries so that somebody on your bench goes from being a Nobody to a Somebody.
Once you reach that point with your team, there aren't as many surprises. Either you're feeling pretty good about things, or you know it's time to pull out all the stops to make a trade. Here's hoping it's the former. Let's zip through yesterday's relatively surprise-free games.
Baltimore at Buffalo: Joe Flacco resting on his Super Bowl laurels? Missing Anquan Boldin and Dennis Pitta? Whatever. Played poorly. Didn't see defenders jumping routes on a couple of picks. Biggest other issue was that the Ravens didn't run the ball - didn't try. Apologies to those I endorsed Pierce to (other options weren't great but couldn't have been as awful as Pierce). Not to question Harbaugh, but why was Rice even active? And why abandon the run down 20-7 at the half? Feeling like a team-wide Super Bowl hangover here. ... C.J. Spiller was doing fine for Bills when he left with an injury. Sound familiar, perchance? Happens a lot it seems. Some receivers produced, but a tough fantasy outing for most here.
Cincinnati at Cleveland: Browns defense is for real, we have been saying it for a while. Great front seven, shutdown corner. They're going to cause a lot of poor fantasy performances. I still don't agree with the Trent Richardson trade, but hey, so far, so good, I guess. ... Bad game for Cincinnati's offense. Tough matchup. ... Jordan Cameron had a pretty sweet TD catch. Uh, don't sell high. Unless you have Graham, you don't need another tight end; Cameron is your guy.
Chicago at Detroit: OK, this one was kind of surprising. Never thought the Lions would hang 40 on the Bears. Note that they're basically doing it with a single wide receiver, too. They've got two receivers playing running back and a young quarterback who's loaded with talent. Awfully talented defensive line. I'm getting a mid-'90s Packers feel with these Lions, not that things will necessarily progress as well as they did for that team. ... Just a bad day for the Bears Defense. Offense still produced, ultimately. They'll be fine.
Seattle at Houston: It's never over until it's over. Hard to understand how the Texans blew this one. The Schaub pick-6 was bad, obviously, but Houston's defense blew some plays there, too. As bad as losses get. ... Arian Foster looked pretty good running against a tough Seahawks defense, I thought. Big game for Andre Johnson, too.
Indianapolis at Jacksonville: Is Jacksonville going to win any games here? They really might not. The offense is hopeless -- line (surprising because there's some talent), quarterback (not surprising), running back (eh). I drafted Justin Blackmon in a couple of leagues and ironically I might actually cut him this week, as his suspension ends. How can he put up good numbers in this train wreck? ... I've been a staunch supporter of Trent Richardson, but I'll stay quiet after his 20 carries for 60 yards. Jacksonville, personnel wise, looks worse against the pass than the run; that would be all I could offer. And Richardson is getting used to his blocking and lineman and blah blah. Anyway, he's still got some proving to do before we can say this is going to be a team that can emphasize the run and not rely on Andrew Luck.
N.Y. Giants at Kansas City: For the Giants, it's over. Their line is a mess, they can't run the ball, they can't protect Eli Manning, they can't stop anybody. Hakeem Nicks, be it injury or aggravation over contract stuff, can't seem to catch. Ugly team to watch. It's been a tough schedule so far, so maybe the offense can salvage things a little, but it's hard to be optimistic. ... Kansas City has a really good defense. They've got Jamaal Charles and are finally getting some use out of Dexter McCluster, who had one of the more incredible punt returns you'll ever see yesterday. Will be interesting when they face Denver. For now, they're for real.
Pittsburgh versus Minnesota across the pond: No surprises here. Neither team is any good on defense right now. Bad tackling, bad angles, bad coverage. Whatever Leslie Frazier says, I think Matt Cassel is Minnesota's starting QB for a little while. ... Nice start for LeVeon Bell. The yards per carry weren't great, but a pretty awesome first touchdown run. Has a chance to be a bright spot in what's going to be a long season for the Steelers.
Arizona at Tampa Bay: Doug Martin carried 27 times for 45 yards. That's about as scary a stat line from the debut of the Mike Glennon era as you're ever going to see. It's not often you'll say, "They could have won that game with Josh Freeman at quarterback!" but I think you can here. ... Change coming to Arizona backfield, perhaps, with Rashard Mendenhall struggling and Andre Ellington looking good the last couple of weeks. Ellington should be owned in all leagues. Might soon be the starter.
N.Y. Jets at Tennessee: Titans Defense is for real. They could seriously have scored 3 or 4 defensive touchdowns in this game; they actually dropped a couple. They also lost a safety on a highly questionable call. Oh, and Geno Smith had a butt fumble. (His own, not his lineman.) Start defenses against the Jets when you can. ... Ryan Fitzpatrick in. I used to be a Jake Locker fan, but I'm not sure Fitzpatrick changes what this team will do very much. Play great defense, run a lot, throw safe passes. Not a bad recipe for some wins against most opposition.
Philadelphia at Denver: I assume most people watched this game so not a lot needs to be said. Denver's offense may as well have been moving the ball against its own defense in a flag football scrimmage. That thing I said earlier about knowing if your team is good or not? If you have a couple of pieces of the Broncos offense, you have a really good fantasy team. ... Hard for the Eagles to run their offense the way they want to if they can't stop anyone on defense. Simple as that; they're not wearing out other teams, they're getting worn out themselves. Will be interesting to see how things go against a struggling Giants club on Sunday.
Washington at Oakland: No quarterback controversy in Oakland, it will be Terrelle Pryor as soon as possible. Washington's offense looking better yesterday, so they enter their bye on a positive note. This might still be the best team in the NFC East. Not sure the four teams could muster one good defense among them. ... Darren McFadden and Marcel Reece both got hurt. Can't see Rashad Jennings doing anything noteworthy behind Oakland's line, but it sounds like we're going to find out.
Dallas at San Diego: Philip Rivers playing well. The San Diego offense, I think, is one of the more surprising early season stories. Defenses are catching up to Eddie Royal, so Danny Woodhead caught 2 TDs yesterday. For Dallas, well, their offense did fine. Somewhere along the line you need to get a stop.
New England at Atlanta: LeGarrette Blount's long touchdown run was eye-opening. He's lost some weight, it appears, and looked better than he has since his rookie season. I kind of liked the guy back then and am glad for him now; I didn't figure he had any chance of even making New England's roster, let alone having the key play in their win. Of course, players who nobody starts scoring long touchdowns is kind of frustrating, especially since I claimed Brandon Bolden everywhere last week, and keep starting Stevan Ridley. Uh, I am not going to pick up Blount. Can't see him being a weekly fixture based on yesterday. Nice run, though. ... Big game for Kenbrell Thompkins. And Tom Brady. Favorable matchup a huge factor, of course. ... What to say about Atlanta. Well, I wrote off Tony Gonzalez too soon. And am not sure why Roddy White is playing. Get the guy healthy; he's not helping anyone now.
Monday, Monday: I think this is the game where the Saints remind everyone they're an NFC power and knock Miami around a little bit. Could be wrong, but that's where my head is on this one. I like what the Dolphins have shown so far, but don't think they're ready to win this game. I've got it Saints 31, Dolphins 20.
