Wednesday night was like Christmas.
Turning on the TV was like opening the first present on Christmas morning.
Tony Romo was magnificent in leading the Cowboys to the 24-17 victory over the Giants. He threw for 307 yards and three touchdowns.
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Rob Stewart is... The Fantasy Oracle
Kevin Ogletree was the other offensive star for the Cowboys, hauling in eight passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns. Teams will be rushing to the waiver wire to pick him up this week, but I see him as nothing more than a fourth option in the Dallas passing offense; he will just frustrate you as he will have some good games and some real clunkers.
The regional teams all have tough matchups this week. The best game of the week should be the Steelers going to Denver to battle Peyton Manning in his first regular season game that is not in a Colts uniform. There are whispers that Rashard Mendenhall may be active, but I am definitely not playing him until he shows he is recovered and will get more than 10 carries in a game. I like Denver in this one, 24-19, with Manning throwing a pair of touchdowns, one to Eric Decker and one to Demaryius Thomas. For the Steelers, I like Antonio Brown more than any other Steeler this week, aside from Shaun Suisham, who may have a big week.
The Browns play host to the Eagles and this one has all the looks of a blowout. There is not one Brown I would start except Trent Richardson. As for The Eagles, I would be starting all of the usual suspects, along with Brent Celek.
The Bills, meanwhile, travel to face the Jets and I smell upset here. I personally can't wait to watch the Tebow wildcat, but I just think the Bills' arrow is pointing north while the Jets are headed due south. I would start Fred Jackson, Stevie Johnson and the Bills defense for Buffalo, while only starting Shonn Greene for the Jets. In deeper leagues, Santonio Holmes could get a sniff (no pun intended).
The WTO Laid Back league had its draft last Saturday and a few curve balls were thrown, including one by myself as I selected Drew Brees with the seventh pick. I am a proponent of waiting for a QB, but wanted to make sure I grabbed one in this league, which heavily weighs quarterback points. The first round went as follows:
1.. Brian "Fish" Ferry - Aaron Rodgers
2. Jacob "Foster's already hurt?" Perryman - Arian Foster
3. Derek "Mountain Man" Farr - Ray Rice
4. Cody "Revenge will be mine" Elms - Tom Brady
5. Jon "Houshmanzadeh" Sitler - LeSean McCoy
6. Bob "Big Bossman" Patchen - Chris Johnson
7. The Oracle - Drew Brees
8.Allen "Wingnut" Seybert - Calvin Johnson
9. Josh "The Gambler" Cotton - Darren McFadden
10. Mitch Wilston - Cam Newton
11. Brian "The Real Champion (not Sitler) Hagberg - Larry Fitzgerald
12. Jonathan "Foosball" McAfoos - Rob Gronkowski
This year looks to be real competitive as several teams had great drafts and I can see this season being full of parity. My picks for the playoffs will be Sitler, Cotton, Hagberg, Farr, Ferry, along with the Oracles (Of course).
Patchen's "injury waiting to happen" crew could surprise if they can stay healthy, and that's a big if.
Seybert has all his eggs in one basket (Lions, not Tigers or Bears). If that basket has a hole in it, it could be a quick elimination. On the other hand, it could actually be gold - not the Fool's kind - if Calvin and Stafford stay healthy and produce like he is expecting.
FANTASY START OF THE WEEK: DeAngelo Williams. Williams is a Top 10 back if Jonathon Stewart is out.
SNEAKY PLAY OF THE WEEK: Peyton Hillis. Something tells me Hillis is going to be real involved in this game plan.
FANTASY BUST OF THE WEEK: Dwayne Bowe. Bowe has a real bad matchup one on one against Asante Samuel and is still learning a new offense after his holdout. Usually those two things don't add up to success.
ELIMINATOR PICK: Chicago Bears.