We're all trying to evaluate players' 2009 value here early in the season, and clearly some people have done a bit too much evaluating. In one of my leagues, Chris Johnson, who was merely average in Week 1, was traded for Antonio Gates. So what happens? Johnson goes off Sunday and becomes the first player to score a rushing and receiving touchdown each of more than 50 yards in the first quarter of a game. Ever. Johnson scored a nifty 50 fantasy points in this league, which rewards long touchdowns. I haven't caught up with that former Johnson owner yet to learn how he feels about this. I did, however, learn from Week 2 that
Tom Brady is human. Or maybe he just needed Wes Welker out there. Look, I didn't expect more than 35 touchdown passes from Brady this season anyway, but it should be noted that Brady did have one game like this in 2007, and he still threw 50 touchdown passes. In theory, this means he could still throw 50 touchdown passes despite one bad game. But I still expect "only" 35 from him.
the New York Jets' defense shouldn't be benched. Is this the top defense in the NFL? Is it Steelers-like in its dominance? Well, the unit still hasn't allowed a touchdown now two weeks in. It has prevented Matt Schaub and Brady from directing their offenses into the end zone. From a fantasy point of view, however, there's more than preventing points. The Jets' defense has produced only 16 fantasy points in two weeks in standard-scoring leagues; the Cardinals and Broncos topped that in Week 2 alone. Let's see some turnovers, Rex Ryan! Heading into Sunday, the Jets were owned in 95.1 percent of ESPN standard leagues but active in just 74 percent of them. People were scared because of Brady, I suppose. Don't be.
Darren Sproles might be Reggie Bush. Hey, that's not so bad, is it? Bush hasn't become the dominant player we thought the former Heisman winner would be, but he's still a solid back. Sproles is a little guy who can do marvelous things in open space, and yes, it's premature to think he can't be more than just a special pass-catcher. However, my lasting memory of Sproles from Sunday isn't that he turned a screen pass into an exciting 81-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring against the Ravens, but that the game essentially ended when he was stuffed on a fourth-and-2 play in the closing seconds. (That fourth-down play was an utterly ridiculous call.) Sproles ran 10 times for 26 yards and caught 124 yards' worth of passes.
Ray Rice might be Derrick Ward circa 2008. That's not so bad, either, but I wonder whether Rice is going to be a bit of a hollow fantasy option this season, flirting with 1,000 yards but not getting chances for big games or touchdowns. Willis McGahee has four touchdowns in two games, while Rice hasn't scored. Don't deal off Rice on the cheap, but this could be a trend that sticks.
Brent Celek might be Jason Witten. The Dallas Cowboys tight end caught an average of 88.5 passes over the past two seasons, leading his team in receptions each season. Through two games this season and with two quarterbacks, Celek has 14 receptions. By comparison, DeSean Jackson has six. This isn't a rip on the electrifying Jackson, but Celek looks like a must-own tight end, especially in PPR formats.
Matt Schaub remains a top-10 quarterback. Shame on anyone who gave up on Schaub because of his poor Week 1 performance. I admit I did not start him this week on the one team I have him, but I don't feel bad about it. That was a stunning, unexpected performance. This pretty much proves that, when healthy and properly protected, Schaub can put up numbers against any team, even the vaunted Tennessee Titans defense. Guess what? There are no top defenses on the schedule until Week 11, when the Titans visit Houston, and Schaub has already proved he can handle that unit.
brittle quarterbacks really need to let others do the goal-line work. A week after Donovan McNabb broke a rib scoring a touchdown, Matt Hasselbeck suffered bruised ribs aiming to do the same. And he didn't even score! Fantasy owners appreciate the efforts from McNabb and Hasselbeck but would have preferred that they stay in the pocket, throw the ball away and stay healthy. Hasselbeck wasn't off to a great fantasy start Sunday anyway, and his day ended on the play with a poor four points.
I should have touted Cedric Benson instead of Willie Parker as a dark horse for the AFC rushing title. Look, how much would you have laughed at me had I written that about Benson? Now how do you feel about the guy? Benson ran wild for 141 yards and has 30 fantasy points in two weeks. He's not going away. Maybe he'll finish second in the conference in rushing after Chris Johnson.
Jeff Garcia should have stuck around Oakland. Garcia didn't really want to be a Raider and got his wish by being cut, but the way JaMarcus Russell has played, I think he would have had a better chance for playing time there than in Philadelphia. Kevin Kolb threw for a misleading 391 yards against the Saints but did solidify his standing as McNabb's backup. Meanwhile, Russell dropped a major stink bomb against the Chiefs, completing only seven of 24 passes for 109 yards. Who knows what the Raiders will do with Russell, but fantasy owners need not be interested in the outcome.
the Bills would be nuts to send Fred Jackson to the bench. This guy is really, really good. There's no rule that a player automatically gets his starting role back when he returns from suspension. It's not like Marshawn Lynch was so spectacular to start with. Jackson owners shouldn't think they have just a short-term play there. Maybe there's a time-share when Lynch returns in Week 4. Maybe it's Lynch who assumes a Derrick Ward role. Jackson's performance has simply been too good for him to be benched.