Week One Wonders

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The waiver wire is going to be flooded like it typically is after week one. Should you over bid for certain player’s or should you let the feasting to be desired by the rest of the league? Here are some players that I believe were week one wonders.

Geno Smith
With all the New Yorkers out there I’ll go ahead and keep it simple for you. Geno Smith delivered a drive before half from near the fifty yard line, and then another twenty five yard drive that setup their game winning field goal. Besides that Smith was sporadic and ran a simplified offense. At the end of the day it’s hard to see how he accumulated over 250 yards passing.

Russ Wilson
The day I see Russ Wilson as my opponent’s fantasy starting quarterback, I’ll know instantly I have one position won. Wilson has the Tim Tebow flare because he plays his best late in games and in fourth quarters. He has quarterbacking skills but I believe they’re vastly overrated from where they should be. He may get to that level but lets cool his rankings a bit. 300 yard passing games are not going to be the norm from Wilson.

Rashard Mendenhall
People do not always just look for the yardage and fantasy numbers from a player to consider him a worthy waiver wire pickup. Mendenhall had sixteen carries Sunday, and that looks fantastic for owners looking for quality backs. The problem was that Mendenhall only averaged 3.8 yards a carry. His best days are long behind him. It will only be a matter of time before the Cardinals platoon a higher ratio of carries in a crowded backfield.

Jackie Battle
Tennessee is a team that is not goin to light up the scoreboard offensively. That has always made the Titans a one man fantasy backfield. Lendale White had a bit of success but that was years ago with a better all around offense. If Fitzpatrick becomes the Titans quarterback than Battle may be worth looking at. For now ignore his touchdown Sunday, even though he is the goal line back of the Titans.

Brian Hartline
Hartline is included in the waiver wire column this week as well. His outbreak this week might end up being his best output of the season. Ryan Tannehill is obviously most comfortable with his only receiver that sees the field that was on last year’s team. It’ll take some time for Tannehill to develop the same chemistry with Gibson and Wallace. Once it happens Hartline will likely just be a depth filler.

Doug Baldwin
The Seahawks have not had a 1,000 yard receiver since Bobby Engram in 2007. Baldwin has flirted with fantasy rosters in the past. Owners hopefully learned last year that he is not fantasy roster material. His 90 yards week one will surely be his high of the year. If he surpasses 600 yards receiving it’ll be a big surprise. Baldwin’s biggest contribution for the Seahawks is on special teams.

Marlon Brown
I profiled the Ravens dilemma at receiver a bit in the waiver wire article post week one. Brown is figured to be the next guy in line to fill in for Jacoby Jones over the next month. He’ll be used intermittently but I believe the Ravens are going to lean more in the veteran directions of Brandon Stokely and Dallas Clark.

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Tuesday will feature the waiver wire pickups post week one. Before the dash to click the add/drop button in your league there are a few things to consider. And no, waiver wire priority order is not one of them. Pick your spots before being one of those fantasy managers that is enamored with the waiver wire every week. Here are this weeks one week wonders.

Quarterbacks

Robert Griffin III- His dazzling week one performance is going to be attached to his career for quite awhile. Credit Mike Shanahan for fantastic play calls. He called specific options or run plays for Griffin that the defense seemed unprepared for. Game tape is always a young quarterbacks worst nightmare. Griffin will keep having solid games, but one without turnovers consistently will be hard to imagine. Worthy of a waiver pickup if he is out there, but do not expect to start him for at least another month.

Mark Sanchez- The Jets went from incapable of scoring a touchdown in the preseason to lighting up the Buffalo Bills. Sanchez and the offense seemed in the flow of things, and Buffalo gave them whatever they wanted. The performance of the Jets offense is not typical of a Rex Ryan coached team and will not continue. Turnovers led to a good portion of Jets points which they were able to capitalize off of.

Kevin Kolb- Kolb came in for one drive after John Skelton went down to an apparent gruesome injury. With teammates seemingly looking affected by the injury, Kolb was unflustered. He came in and looked prepared and ready to seize command of the game. He did just that, shaken off Whisenhunt running onto the field for a timeout, and throwing the game winning touchdown. Skelton’s injury looks like a season ending, and Kolb will have the duties for the year if so. With Kolb though he is the type of quarterback that just can’t put four quarters together.

Russell Wilson- I’ll add Wilson to this list based on hype. He was favored on the road against Arizona based on his preseason performance. A condensed NFL preseason experience is not going to mean a great career or regular season. Wilson seemed bothered by pressure, falling backward in the pocket at times. It does not look like Pete Carroll will expect Wilson to do more than be a game manager for a length of time.

Running Backs

CJ Spiller- Whenever an injury occurs to a top twelve fantasy back, immediate action is to pickup the next guy. Especially one that ran wild as Spiller did with 156 yards. As long as Ryan Fitzpatrick continues to be shaky with his arm, defenses are going to drill in on the ground game. Spiller is not a heavy work load back, which means he has to make the most out of twelve to fifteen carries.

Alfred Morris- The young back ran his heart out and demonstrated why Mike Shanahan wants to have him as their main back. He falls forward and carries defenders on his back. That’s the problem with Morris as he does not seem to have the ability to make a cut and give an extra burst. Shanahan is not afraid to use his full roster of running backs throughout the season. If RG3 is going to continue to have success he is going to need a back to average better than 3.8 yards per carry.

Wide Receivers

Kevin Ogletree- Ogletree will likely still be a solid contributor for the Cowboys, but week one will by far be his best game of the season. Tony Romo even stated he had become use to Ogletree with Witten and Austin out in training camp. He had eleven targets from Romo, which can’t be a weekly occurrence for someone that will be the teams fourth option.

Mike Williams- Williams has seemed to turn into a tier three tight end of sorts. A red zone specialist and that’s it. All other parts of the football game he just can’t be a factor. Since his rookie year in 2010, Williams has dropped off the radar considerably. A touchdown here and there is not going to cut it.

Stephen Hill- Of Mark Sanchez’s three touchdowns two went to Stephen Hill. Hill has outplayed veteran Chaz Schilens for roster depth, and appears to have developed the Plaxico Burress threat they are looking for. A big target that can haul in deep balls, Hill will be a factor in certain instances. Besides being a big play threat, Hill is going to have a tough time being a consistent every down threat. He is still learning the nuances of the game and developing at the receiver position.

Cecil Shorts- Even with Jacksonville likely to have an increased passing attack with the maturation of Gabbert, their receivers having a fantasy impact are going to be minimal. Marcedes Lewis and Justin Blackmon should be the only two Jaguar targets on your fantasy roster. Laurent Robinson has struggled since becoming a Jaguar but between him and Shorts, they’ll offset between decent fantasy noticeable games.