Another Sunday, another fantasy headache. Once again, here are some fantasy commodities that did well, and others that made us all kick ourselves for granting them a starting spot in the lineup.
CHRIS JOHNSON — Whoa! Johnson had the best fantasy day of his career, scoring three touchdowns on 284 all-purpose yards. Surprisingly, backup running back LenDale White has followed his 15-touchdown season with 14 rushes for 53 yards in two games. What I thought might be a timeshare has turned out to be just the opposite.
RYAN GRANT — Grant has quietly become one of the most consistent fantasy backs dating back to the middle of last season. He’s reached the end zone in each of the first two games, and while his stats aren’t dominant, they are respectable.
TOM BRADY — A dismal day for Brady. He completed less than half of his passes as his Patriots failed to score a single touchdown in Sunday’s loss to the Jets. He didn’t have Wes Welker, but he used Julian Edelman in the same way he would have used Welker. The biggest issue was Brady only finding Randy Moss four times for 24 yards.
FRANK GORE — Oh my. Gore cruised to 207 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Seattle; his two touchdowns were 79- and 80-yarders. He even caught five passes for 39 yards. So at the end of the game, Seattle had 283 net yards, and Gore had 246. Wow.
CEDRIC BENSON — He was seen by most as a late-round flyer in the draft, but Benson has silenced the critics that said he was mediocre by putting up two solid fantasy performances, including 141 rushing yards against the Packers’ defense. I wish I would have taken a chance on him on draft day.
BRETT FAVRE — Favre may have set the National Football League record for consecutive starts on Sunday, but his stats haven’t been worthy of fantasy chatter. The Vikings are 2-0, but Favre has just 265 passing yards through two weeks of play. Is this a sign that Adrian Peterson’s domination makes the passing game unnecessary, or is Favre really as ineffective as he appears to be?
KURT WARNER — He’s back. Warner set a NFL record by completing a ridiculous 92.3 percent of his passes, and he only needed three quarters to dismantle the reeling Jaguars. He spread his completions out among nine different players, and proved to the league that he is back in top form.
STEVE SLATON — He was projected as a top-five running back in some draft projections, but what is going on here? Houston’s offense took down the Titans, but didn’t use Slaton at all. He hasn’t found the end zone yet, and has just 26 carries for 51 rushing yards in two games. I sure hope this wasn’t a waste of my first-round pick.
ANDRE JOHNSON — Nine catches. 143 yards. Two touchdowns. He was the best receiver by far this week. Enough said.
DARREN SPROLES — Remember the last time a LaDainian Tomlinson backup was this good? His name was Michael Turner, and when he left San Diego he compiled far better stats than Tomlinson. Sproles is far too good to remain a backup for much longer, and fantasy owners are loving it this season.
WILLIS MCGAHEE — You probably sat McGahee for his two-touchdown day, but how could you have known? Ray Rice is a better back than McGahee is, and I hate starting running backs that play in a timeshare. But how could we have known? I wouldn’t expect too many more days like this from McGahee. But how can I know? Such are the perils of fantasy football.