So we've officially entered the time when I think you need to select wide receivers first in drafts, spend the most money on them in daily leagues, and make sure you have them. You can get by with lesser running backs. If you don't have a Julio or Odell or A.J., you're going to have a hard time winning games.
Bengals at Ravens: As everyone knows, I love Steve Smith. What can you say about this guy. And seriously, why couldn't the Panthers have shared this feeling and still have him in their offense? Yes he's old and maybe he'll tail off in the second half like last year, but for now, enjoy! He's awesome. ... Similar feelings about A.J. Green. In one league I started off Jones-Green and probably considered Smith Sr., too. Franchise wideouts are where it's at in fantasy. It's a lot easier to find Devonta Freemans or Darren Sproles or other fill-in running backs on the waiver wire and get by. ... A few mistakes for Andy Dalton, but he (and Green) got it done. ... Tyler Eifert lost a touchdown in this game on a play where he caught the ball, was tackled at the goal line, and lost it with half his body in the end zone. This rule simply has to change; it's terrible. You catch the ball, you break the plane of the end zone, the play should end immediately. I just hate it. And I wasn't even starting Eifert anywhere. It just looks dumb. ... Awful day for both running games. Some run defenses just need to be avoided, evidently.
Saints at Panthers: I know that Brandin Cooks has been a disappointment this year, but this was a little more of the game he was supposed to be putting up. Finished 7 for 79, and would have been over 100 yards with a game-winning touchdown if not for a spectacular end-zone interception by Josh Norman in the final minute; a Defensive Player of the Week, game-saving play by the cornerback. That spoiled a solid effort by Luke McCown (I take back some bad things I said about him). And I can only assume that C.J. Spiller is hurt again, because he had 1 carry and 2 receptions. Nice all-around game from Mark Ingram, at least. ... Huge game for Greg Olsen. Switched out Cam Newton for Ben Roethlisberger in a Daily League or I might be writing this from a tropical island somewhere.
Raiders at Browns: Big game for Latavius Murray and Amari Cooper. This being the Raiders, they almost lost a big lead to the Josh McCown-led Browns. He had Travis Benjamin for a tying touchdown, but Charles Woodson came in with a leaping interception to end it. Benjamin did score in this game, again, while Gary Barnidge scored, went over 100 yards, and nearly caught another touchdown, proof that the Raiders really are incapable of covering tight ends. Just incredible. Through three games the three tight ends the Raiders have faced have a typical Bubba Franks season for the Packers way back when.
Falcons at Cowboys: Boom. The Julio Jones monster campaign continues. Just too much for any defense to handle. If you've got him in PPR and have any other semblance of a team around him, you're doing well. Remember the thought that that Dallas defense was good? Atlanta ran and passed all over that notion. Huge game for Devonta Freeman. There's this old saw about players not losing starting jobs due to injury, but we'll see how Tevin Coleman-Freeman shakes out when Coleman returns. Suddenly the Falcons look like they've got both parts of their offense working. Two 3-0 teams in the NFC South right now. ... Then there's that Falcons defense, which let both Joseph Randle (3 TDs) and Darren McFadden (1, while averaging over 6 yards per carry) look like world-beaters. Start Atlanta players and players facing Atlanta! Sadly, Dallas' passing offense gave you nothing at all. Unless you started Lance Dunbar (10 catches). When there are pregame reports that Matt Cassel could eventually replace you, it's not good to be Brandon Weeden, who threw an ugly pick as the game turned against the Cowboys after an early 14-point lead.
Buccaneers at Texans: Mike Evans was targeted 17 times in this game. He had a few drops, and a few that weren't catchable, but the good news is he was healthy and heavily involved. Evans will have some big games coming up. ... If you had the guts to start Alfred Blue on our favorable ranking, congratulations. He's not an exciting runner to watch, but matchup counts for a lot. Start your running backs against Tampa Bay. Sadly for Blue he won't face Tampa Bay again, and Arian Foster might return next week.
Chargers at Vikings: So Adrian Peterson was a little more like Adrian Peterson in this one. Thought he'd have a big game this week, and so he did. Breaking tackles, putting up stiff arms, scoring from in close and long-range. Not so much for Melvin Gordon, though he ran OK; the game just got away from the Chargers. Huge game for Keenan Allen, as in Week 1. Matchups or odd weeks, maybe? Schedule has been kind of tricky for the Chargers thus far. ... Saw Teddy Bridgewater throw an end-zone pick targeting a well-covered Charles Johnson. Saw an errant throw for Kyle Rudolph in the end zone. Not an encouraging start to the season for Bridgewater.
Jaguars at Patriots: It looked a teensy bit like the Patriots were running up the score in this one. Not that they can be blamed for Jacksonville's embarrassing inability to stop either the run or the pass at any time. If you started Brady, Gronkowski, Edelman, Amendola or either Blount or Lewis, and of course Gostkowski, you made out great. As did those of us who took New England in Survivor pools. The noteworthy thing here is that Dion Lewis was the starter and got the most work early, with Blount basically taking over with New England already winning big. Lewis isn't going away; congrats to you if you grabbed him. And the Patriots are one of their hurt feelings type of missions to punish everyone. Even though it probably wasn't Jacksonville's fault!
Eagles at Jets: Just when you think it's safe to believe in the Jets. They lose at home. They fall way behind a winless Eagles team. They make Chris Ivory active but don't put him on the field. Not sure which is most disappointing to me, but it's our annual, weekly reminder that you can't take too many risks with questionable players, that teams don't care about fantasy football, and well, that the Jets can't be trusted in any way. Except for Brandon Marshall, him you can trust. Eagles running game looked a lot better with DeMarco Murray inactive. Darren Sproles, who had a touchdown run and a spectacular punt return score, is an every-week kind of play in PPR. I'd rather risk the occasional down week than risk benching him on a week like this one.
Steelers at Rams: A word on Nick Foles. At the end, with the Rams trailing by 6 points, I saw him take off and run the ball on a third and goal. From about the 25 yard-line. Naturally he got about 10 yards and then got crushed. Who does that? Later he heaved up a bad interception into double-coverage that finished things. Now we can say clearly why quarterbacks like Bradford and Foles get traded for each other. Because they aren't that good. ... Ben Roethlisberger out 4-6 weeks a knee injury. It's a negative for the Pittsburgh passing offense (duh) but I could see Michael Vick doing OK. I'd be interested in acquiring Antonio Brown if I found anyone selling.
Colts at Titans: The Colts were headed for 0-3, but the Titans let them off the hook. Andrew Luck helped put them in a hole, but he also got them out of it. Sweet TD to Donte Moncrief, great throw and catch. TD to Phillip Dorsett. No Colt caught more than 4 balls, a continuing problem with this offense. Nice game for Frank Gore, though. ... In the final minutes, with the Titans having scored a touchdown to pull within 2 points, they gave the ball to fullback Jalston Fowler, who was stuffed. If only they had a running quarterback who could have picked up those 2 critical yards!
49ers at Cardinals: Speaking of running up the score. The Cardinals were throwing on second down midway through the fourth quarter with a 40-7 lead. I know we're all adults here and if you don't want to have the score run up on you, stop it, but what's the point of having Carson Palmer in particular out there at that point? The Cardinals are going to win an awful lot of games this year if they keep Palmer healthy. And doing stupid things that risk that is, frankly, stupid. Big numbers for Chris Johnson, who I guess I need to get off my bench. ... San Francisco is going to lose a lot this year.
Bills at Dolphins: Going to sit down and watch my tape of this game. What I can tell from the highlights is that Joe Philbin isn't long for this team (but I knew that going into the season). There is more talent here than a 1-2 team that needed a punt return to beat Washington. ... Disappointing that Sammy Watkins isn't having a bigger season. Charles Clay has a big game against his former team.
Bears at Seahawks: If you thought this one was ugly, wait til next Monday night, when the Lions travel to Seattle. ... Jimmy Clausen through for 63 yards in this game. ... Nice 100-yard game for Thomas Rawls. If I hadn't started Marshawn Lynch I might have won the Super League this week. Though I don't believe they'd have given me the gift card.
Broncos at Lions: The main takeaway from this game is that the Broncos have a really good defense; better than Peyton Manning has had on his side throughout his career. He made a couple of nice throws and did enough, but it's clear he's not the same guy; it's hard work for him to get this offense moving (especially with no running game whatsoever). But the defense is great, and Denver will win a bunch of games with Manning having lesser numbers. ... Maybe Ian is right and Ameer Abdullah isn't viewed by the Lions as being a lead, featured back. But they don't have a choice. Joique Bell looks like he's running backwards. They gave him the ball on a 2-point conversion, the most useless, waste of time play they could possibly run. Just kick the extra point if you're going to fall on your sword on a 2-pointer like that.
Monday, Monday: Two of the game's biggest stars in Aaron Rodgers and Jamaal Charles highlight this one. I'm sort of expecting a higher scoring affair, and that Eddie Lacy will play and do fine. Let's call it 27-24, Packers, and hope it's a good enough game that we forget we stayed up until midnight watching Lions-Broncos.