GAME #1 RECAP AND THOUGHTS

Week one is in the books and TMP exacts some revenge on the only team to beat them a season ago, manhandling Shultz's Hung Over squad 218.5 - 143.  The scoring breakdown is below.  Here are a few observations from the game:



1)  Chip Kelly's offense in Philadelphia is gonna give LeSean McCoy every opprotunity to be one of the top, if not THE VERY top fantasy RB in 2013.  No, he's not gonna have 31 carries every week like he did in week one, but he's gonna get his touches.  And he's so electric that he's a threat to take it to the house every touch.  I'm not gonna expect 184 yards and a TD each week, but I seriously doubt that's his best effort this year.



2)  Bruce Arien's offense is gonna put Larry Fitzgerald back on the fantasy map.  No doubt about it.  This guy is the second most talented WR in the league behind Megatron.  It was just hard for him to put up numbers with the coaching he had the past few years, not to mention the poor QB play of Kolb, Skelton, Anderson, Hall et all.  Now Carson Palmer is slinging the rock, and he's gonna look for Fitz early and often most weeks.  Don't be surprised if Fitzgerald is a top three WR at season's end.  I'll take the 14 targets and an 8/80/2 slash line every week.  I'm thinking Reggie Wayne on steroids in 2013.  BTW, Wayne went 8/96/1 for Schultz, so he's still getting it done too.


3)  A couple guys on the TMP bench came away with big games in week one.  QB Terrelle Pryor actually outpointed starter Matt Ryan 50-47, looking pretty good in the process.  Pryor is no conventional passer, but he has some potential in fantasy circles.  In his two games as a starting QB in the NFL, he's thown for three Tds and ran for two others.  His rushing line is 22/161/2 in those starts.  That's a 7.31 ypc average.  If he starts all 16 games, I'd bet the over on 750 rushing yards, and that might be conservative.  Raiders are gonna be bad, so he's gonna be slinging it from behind most of the year.  As I've said before, if Tim Tebow can be fantasy relevant, I see no reason why this guy can't be.  He's still behind Ryan on the TMP depth chart, but if he can have another good game or two, I have some trade bait.  His next three are a bad Jaguars team at home, a probable blowout from behind in Denver, and a Washington team who let the Eagles and Mike Vick run all over them.  I'm hoping for the best.

The other bench player who came up big is Shane Vereen.  Only two RBs topped 100 yards rushing in week one, and both were on TMP (Note - only three players topped 100 rushing yards in all.  The non RB?   Terrelle Pryor.  Oh yeah) .  Vereen came in after NE starter Stevan Ridley fumbled a couple times and looked quite good.  Unfortunately, who broke his wrist in the game and is out until week 10 at the earliest.  Go figure.  Gotta feel bad for the guy.  Well, not too bad.  He is a Patriot after all.  Gonna stash him on one of my IR spots for the time being.

TOUCHDOWN MY PANTS BOX SCORE
STARTERS
SLOT	PLAYER, TEAM POS	OPP	STATUS ET	PTS
QB	Matt Ryan, Atl QB	@NO	L 17-23	47
RB	LeSean McCoy, Phi RB	@Wsh	W 33-27	48.5
RB	Jamaal Charles, KC RB  Q	@Jac	W 28-2	26.5
RB/WR	Cecil Shorts, Jac WR  Q	KC	L 2-28	9.5
WR	Larry Fitzgerald, Ari WR  Q	@StL	L 24-27	32
WR	Roddy White, Atl WR  Q	@NO	L 17-23	4
TE	Jason Witten, Dal TE	NYG	W 36-31	30
D/ST	Steelers D/ST D/ST	Ten	L 9-16	9
K	Garrett Hartley, NO K	Atl	W 23-17	12

218.5

HUNG OVER BOX SCORE
STARTERS
SLOT	PLAYER, TEAM POS	OPP	STATUS ET	PTS
QB	Andrew Luck, Ind QB	Oak	W 21-17	42
RB	Chris Johnson, Ten RB	@Pit	W 16-9	14
RB	Stevan Ridley, NE RB  P	@Buf	W 23-21	7
RB/WR	Alfred Morris, Wsh RB	Phi	L 27-33	14.5
WR	Reggie Wayne, Ind WR	Oak	W 21-17	29
WR	Antonio Brown, Pit WR	Ten	L 9-16	16.5
TE	Brandon Pettigrew, Det TE	Min	W 34-24	0
D/ST	Seahawks D/ST D/ST	@Car	W 12-7	13
K	Matt Prater, Den K	Bal	W 49-27	7

143

Next up is a rivalry game against Bill and his Sophie's Choice squad.  Early projections have this as an even matchup.  His RBs, Adrian Peterson and Matt Forte, are tough to beat on paper.  I'll take my chances with McCoy and Jamaal Charles.  I'm hoping Joe Haden shuts down Torrey Smith in that matchup.  Game will probably come down to QB play:  Ryan at home against St. Louis and Matthew Stafford on the road in Arizona.  Bring it on!