Week 1 and the first game of Week 2 are in the books and questions abound in the NFL and the fantasy football world.
Was Wes Welker's lack of involvement in the Patriots game plan a sign of things to come?
How long will Fred Jackson and Matt Forte be out?
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Rob Stewart is... The Fantasy Oracle
Were Stephen Hill and Kevin Ogletree's big weeks an aberration?
One week does not a season make, but I have always said to wait on a quarterback in the fantasy football draft. After one week, only two (Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers) of the consensus top five QBs selected early in drafts were even in the top 11 QBs for the week.
In fact, three of those 11 weren't even drafted - Mark Sanchez, Blaine Gabbert and Alex Smith.
Add the struggles faced by Rodgers on Thursday night against the Bears and my point seems to be made.
Winston Churchill said it best, and it applies in both life and fantasy football: "Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it."
Let's start with Fred Jackson. C.J. Spiller should be picked up as a priority waiver claim, if for some odd reason he is available in your league. Reports on Jackson have him out from four to eight weeks. By then, Spiller will have taken the job full-time and (pun intended) run with it.
Matt Forte has a high ankle sprain and Michael Bush becomes the main man for at least three weeks.
The telling stat for Welker was the number of plays Julian Edelman played while Welker was on the sidelines. This appears to be a message to Welker from the Patriots that they are moving on after this year.
With Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez and Brandon Lloyd, Welker becomes expendable. He will have some good weeks, but I would put the cap on his receptions around 70 to 75 based on what I am hearing and seeing.
The Jets' Hill would be my choice over Ogletree - just based on opportunity. Hill only has to compete with Santonio Holmes for targets, while Ogletree is the fourth option in Dallas' passing attack behind Dez Bryant, Miles Austin and Jason Witten. Fantasy football is all about opportunity and Hill will get those necessary looks each week. Do not expect Laurent Robinson (Cowboys former WR3 ) numbers from last year out of Ogletree.
If you do, you will be very disappointed.
SURPRISE STAT OF THE WEEK: Kealoha Pilares is the leading rusher on the Carolina Panthers after one week. He had one carry for five yards, but that was more than DeAngelo Williams (-1), Cam Newton (4), Mike Tolbert (2) and Jonathon Stewart (hurt). In all, the Buccaneers held the vaunted Panthers rushing attack to 10 yards.
FANTASY DUD OF THE WEEK: DeAngelo Williams (only 6 carries for -1 yard).
FANTASY STAR OF THE WEEK: Matt Ryan. His four TDs and 299 yards were a sign of things to come all year.
In the WTO Laid Back League, Jon Sitler's Houshmanzadeh squad put a 131.98-107.56 beating on my Oracles, who like so many others had to endure Fred Jackson's injury. I then watched his backup run wild.
Cody Elms played a straight flush on Josh "The Gambler" Cotton, 103.64-71.04, while defending champion Brian Hagberg nipped Bob "Big Bossman" Patchen by a difference of .16 points (118.04-117.88), which equates to less than two yards.
Derek "Mountain Man" Farr had a 33-point victory over Jonathan "Foosball" McAfoos, 99.92-66.02.
Mitch Wilston upended Allen "Wingnut" Seybert, 106.22-87.30, and Jacob Perryman's Arian Foster Care evicted Brian "Fish" Ferry, 111.16-105.72.
STEELERS: I like Pittsburgh 23-17 over the Jets. Look for Big Ben to throw a pair of scores to Antonio Brown and Heath Miller. Their defense makes a solid play this week as does Shaun Suisham. I would avoid the three-headed monster at running back at all costs. Mike Wallace can be inserted into lineups since there is no Revis Island this week and he should have a decent game.
BILLS: For the second week in a row I like the Bills. Look for Spiller to come up huge and Stevie Johnson to catch a TD. Buffalo, 28-24.
BROWNS: Look for the Bengals to manhandle the Browns, 31-10. Trent Richardson will score his first TD in garbage time. On a related note, Brandon Weeden may be the worst starting quarterback I remember since Rusty Hilger. I expect three more turnovers and less than 200 total yards with a completion rate around 45 percent from Weeden in this one.
FANTASY BUST OF THE WEEK: Chris Johnson. That loud noise you hear is all his supporters jumping off the bandwagon.
FANTASY START OF THE WEEK: Adrian Peterson against the Colts. Enough said.
ELIMINATOR PICK: Cincinnati Bengals over Cleveland Browns.