Sometimes fantasy football is about patience. Players start slow, or seem to be buried on the depth chart, or seem like they're already blown picks. You start getting lowball offers for your top picks, and worse, you start considering them.
But things can change quickly, and a week rolls around which reminds you why you liked these players so much in the first place. Who knows, maybe tonight it will happen for Tom Brady.
Panthers at Ravens: I do believe in payback games, especially when they involve players like Steve Smith who left under circumstances like he did. He's a guy I've pretty much drafted onto all my teams for years, with later picks the last couple of seasons of course, but I started him everywhere this week and he paid off big time. First TD was a bizarre tip that almost looked designed. Second TD he was being held and hacked by a defender. Remarkable, and the key to this game. ... Bernard Pierce didn't play, Forsett and Taliaferro split the work. Some of us had to start one of those players and they paid off, except of course Pierce. Maybe Baltimore makes him their lead back next week and messes with us all, but based on what would they do such a thing? ... DeAngelo Williams has had a lot of good games in his career, but never when you most expect them. Quiet game for Greg Olsen. And Kelvin Benjamin is an every-week starter.
Packers at Bears: This is why you don't worry about slow starts for the Packers offense after a few tough matchups with good defenses. They could have probably scored 50 in this game with a little more effort. Couple TDs for Nelson and Cobb, with one of Nelson's coming after Cobb dropped one. Davante Adams had a great touchdown erased by a penalty, but it's probably safe to give him that third receiver job; looked good. Eddie Lacy scored once and had another erased by a penalty. Still didn't look great out there, but I'll take it. (And if you still give up on him, at least he has trade value now. I was offered Shonn Greene for him this past week.) For Chicago, another Cutler meltdown against the Packers. Started out nice, with TDs to Marshall and Jeffery, a big game for Bennett, and finally a good game for Matt Forte, too. They didn't win, but good fantasy games all around. Plenty more offense for these teams coming.
Bills at Texans: The Bills are a strange team. Looked good starting out 2-0. Not so good the last two weeks. If EJ Manuel wasn't missing open receivers, those receivers were dropping passes. They'll be competitive often, but there's something missing with this team. Fred Jackson useful in PPR leagues, but not much else to see here. Touchdown bomb to Mike Williams, a guy you can't really start. ... Buffalo's run defense has been very good this year, but you can't sugar coat Arian Foster and Alfred Blue combining for 15 yards on 17 carries. Most people probably didn't start either of them with Foster being active but reportedly not moving well in warmups. DeAndre Hopkins looking like a viable No. 2 receiver these days.
Titans at Colts: The good matchups keep coming for the Colts. Is anybody starting Andrew Luck losing this season? He's tearing it up out there. Trent Richardson actually scored a touchdown this week, though he looks as ordinary as ever (20 carries for 47 yards) and dropped at least one pass. Whatever, there are cottage industries built around ripping Richardson, so I'll take pity on my distant relative and stop. Except to say Ahmad Bradshaw, who scored again thanks to some awful tackling, still looks much better. ... Touchdown run out of Bishop Sankey, who got more work in the latter stages. Gotta think a changing of the guard is going on now. ... Great touchdown grab between two defenders by Delanie Walker, big week for Reggie Wayne. ... Charlie Whitehurst can't play, but he didn't get much help from Justin Hunter (dropped ball for INT) or Nate Washington (not looking for thrown near goal line). Although he overthrew Kendall Wright in the end zone all by his lonesome.
Lions at Jets: Would have been nice if they'd made Calvin Johnson inactive, instead of playing him for limited snaps and killing fantasy lineups. You can at least say that Matthew Stafford proved he can have a big game without Megatron. Pretty TD bomb to Jeremy Ross (Jets secondary can be had, we know). Nice scramble for a touchdown. Big game for Golden Tate, answering the question of whether Johnson's absence would produce huge Tate numbers. Yes! Detroit's other running backs hurt in this game, so Reggie Bush could be awfully appealing next week. ... For the Jets, Chris Ivory ran well, especially early. But Chris Johnson got the touchdown on a burst through the line (despite just 6 carries) and Ivory had a costly drop late -- although he really shouldn't be the target on a critical 3rd and 2, he can't catch.
Dolphins vs. Raiders in Merry Olde England: Guess Ryan Tannehill was properly motivated by talk of being benched for Matt Moore. Will it save his coach's job? Bet he's hoping not for long. Anyway, good game for him and Lamar Miller. Not a big game for Mike Wallace, but he scored and it was an impressive, tackle-breaking play on his part. ... For Oakland, the injury to Derek Carr showed just how much better he is than Matt McGloin. James Jones and Andre Holmes did well for Oakland, the guys you'd expect to in a blowout loss. Miami Defense was a great spot start (nice pass rush against anyone).
Bucs at Steelers: Friend of mine is a big Steelers fan and no question this loss ruined his entire weekend. Just brutal. We thought the Bucs might make a game of it, but it was surprising the way they pulled it out. Dramatic stuff. Big throws by Mike Glennon, who I think we can say will be in the lineup for a while. Touchdowns for Evans, Jackson and Martin. Rainey in the game sporadically, including at the very end, but not a factor or a good fantasy start. ... The main reason this thing was tough for the Steelers, I think, is they moved the ball pretty much at will. Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown, that connection is at another level compared to most of the rest of the league right now. Heath Miller had the big game we've been waiting for (even had another TD wiped out by a penalty). Steelers will bounce back and this was actually a good game for their offense, but tough loss. Good news for those of us who didn't pick them in suicide pools, anyway.
Jaguars at Chargers: San Diego is really playing at a high level right now. Jaguars hung around for a half and then just got buried. Hopeless defense, especially against the pass. ... The interesting player here, who I've kind of kept track of since early in the preseason, is undrafted rookie Branden Oliver. He's quick and has some moves, and runs with a little power, too. He's just the change of pace guy, but Donald Brown has been kind of disappointing the last couple of weeks. So maybe Oliver gets a few more carries next week, see what happens. Course it's the Jets. ... Nice games for Keenan Allen (finally!) and Malcom Floyd. Eddie Royal, too, a beneficiary of the Woodhead injury. Nice to see them doing more than just leaning on the run in San Diego. ... OK outing for Blake Bortles. Fine as NFL debuts go. May as well get him some work.
Falcons at Vikings: Jerick McKinnon! We figured he was the heir apparent to Adrian Peterson, not that he'd be doing it this year. Talented athlete who it will be very tough to keep off the field. Committee with Matt Asiata coming. It won't always be as good as it was this week, but I think the days of him barely touching the ball are over with. ... Not sure what to make of the big game for Jarius Wright, beyond him being a beneficiary of Kyle Rudolph's absence; more three-wide receiver sets. Will it happen every week, no, but in good matchups (like Green Bay this week), maybe. Especially with the team not making any special effort to feature Cordarrelle Patterson. ... Atlanta has been better than expected to start the year, but that's a bad defense and one-dimensional offense. Enjoy Ryan-Julio-Roddy, but that's all this team has.
Eagles at 49ers: So Philly's offensive line woes have caught up to them. It's not happening for LeSean McCoy. Nick Foles was under too much pressure. He missed some throws, and didn't have time to make some others. And San Francisco played like they knew they had to have this game, with Frank Gore turning in his best game of the year. Couple of times Foles could have had a big game-changing play, but didn't get it. Philly's offense did nothing in this game. Talk of them running away with the NFC East can be set aside. For San Francisco, their offense did just enough and their defense played big. Still not sure they're a legit contender, but they're not done, either.
Saints at Cowboys: It's no secret the Saints don't play as well on the road, but this? They simply got crushed. Can't stop the run, things aren't clicking on offense. Brees finished with decent numbers, but that was just a butt-kicking. All of a sudden the Cowboys, no-name defense and all, are a real contender in the NFC East. DeMarco Murray probably won't stay healthy, but if he does he's an early candidate for MVP. Impressive. Big game for Terrance Williams, too. Call it a breakout, actually; if teams keep focusing on Dez Bryant, he'll have more good games ahead.
Monday, Monday: Kind of think the Patriots will roll in this game, though I don't want to underestimate Kansas City, as well as they played in Miami last week. But I don't think their defense can stop New England's offense, and I know New England's defense will cause some problems for Kansas City's lesser offensive line. I'm going to call it 28-17 New England, and maybe a step on the road back to respectability for Brady.