Sunday Recap: Week 1

After what seemed to be a long summer, football is finally back, and not much has changed from 2014. The Buccaneers are awful, Jay Cutler is still not clutch, and choosing a kicker on FanDuel is always a downer. While there are two Monday night games to go, the bulk of the action has already happened for week one.

Packers @ Bears

The early games were off to a slow start, outside of Travis Kelce, but eventually hit the over -- or close to it. Vegas was fairly spot on this week, rewarding those who choose their players from big point totals. The Packers were on everyone's radar this week, especially Davante Adams. He was the chalkiest value play of the weekend, and if you faded, well done. He led the team in targets, with eight, but only managed 59 yards on four catches. Instead, it was former Packer, James Jones, who found the end zone twice. Jones was an excellent GPP pivot, but it was hard to pull myself from Adams.

Colts @ Bills

The Colts were an easy avoid this week, going to Buffalo against a top five defense. My one take away from the Colts' side is, T.Y. Hilton is still the man for Andrew Luck. Hilton left the game with a bruised knee, but he led the team in targets. The Colts have plenty of weapons, making it difficult to pair up one with Luck for upside. Donte Moncrief was the one to come away with a touchdown when Hilton went down. The Bills shocked a lot of people on offense, as Tyrod Taylor had a decent fantasy game. Sammy Watkins was nonexistent Sunday, something that is worrisome for the rest of the season. No receptions, and he barely recorded a target late in the second half. He is going to be blanketed by team's top corners, adding to an already rough fantasy outlook for Watkins. Even with Percy Harvin being a deep threat, the Bills' passing game is an easy fade. Buffalo scored 27 points, and you would think Lesean McCoy made an impact right away, right? Nope, he rushed for a pitiful 41 yards on 2.4 YPC. There will be better options each week in the backfield, McCoy is off my list for the meantime.

Chiefs @ Texans

Alex Smith wowed me on Sunday, being efficient, and he found the end zone three times. Travis Kelce was the beneficiary in the receiving core, catching two touchdowns and totaling over 100 yards receiving. Kelce was trending upwards coming into 2015, but now we have seen his upside in week one. Jeremy Maclin led the team in targets and had five catches for 52 yards. Not an awful debut, but I believe he is going to help out the guys around him more than wowing with his own individual stats. We saw Kelce breakout, and in the right matchup, Jamaal Charles will breakout. As a whole, the Chiefs are looking like a team to pluck some GPP players from each week. The Texans, on the other hand, were chasing the game, and they leaned on DeAndre Hopkins. He totaled nine catches for 98 yards and two scores. Hopkins is the number-one playmaker in Houston, and it might be time to treat him like one in the fantasy world.

Browns @ Jets

Browns-Jets was a simple one for us DFS players, Chris Ivory and Jets defense were the only worthwhile plays. Both rewarded with excellent outings, especially Ivory. The running back nearly crossed 100 yards on the ground, and he found the end zone twice. We were looking towards the Jets getting ahead, and Ivory taking the game into his hands. This will not be the case every week. If the Jets are trailing, Bilal Powell will sneak in for some touches. At $4,100, I was surprised to see Ivory so low owned in tournaments on DraftKings. Ivory should be a target for a few weeks, given the right matchup.

Dolphins @ Redskins

Miami failed to wow us against the Redskins, as they were talked about as a nice pivot away from the popular plays. Jarvis Landry was the only one to deliver, and that was on a punt return. There were a lot of positives to take away from this game for the future. Jordan Cameron is going to be a plus in the passing game, as he was targeted seven times and had 73 receiving yards on four catches. He nearly came away with a touchdown, and he was a cheap flier on some sites this week. Landry led the way, though, with eight catches on 12 targets, but not for much yardage. The receptions boost his value, but other than that, I want guys to find the end zone on offense. In his price range, there were plenty of guys to look at. The negative with the Dolphins this week was Lamar Miller. The workload has been the concern when trotting him out in lineups, and once again that was the case. He only rushed the ball 13 times for 4.1 YPC. That needs to be in your notes moving forward. The Redskins did everything right on Sunday, which was score very little points, and allow a touchdown.

Jaguars @ Panthers

Jaguars-Panthers was a game I avoided entirely, being that it was one of the lowest projected scoring games on the slate. Neither team had any player with some sort of value, and this is something I will believe to hold true for most of the year. Newton was wildly inaccurate again and did not make up for it on the ground. It was a bad matchup for both sides, but there are still some players who may sneak into tournament plays at some point, Allen Robinson and Jonathan Stewart, just to name a few. Greg Olsen was the biggest disappointment from this game, coming in as Newton's number one guy. Newton threw to at least nine receivers on Sunday, and Olsen was only targeted three times. This should change when the Panthers are involved in a game they need to come from behind in.

Seahawks @ Rams

The Rams and Seahawks combined for 65 points. Seattle's defense was a popular play, but it really could have turned out to be a disaster if they did not score two touchdowns. Moving forward, the Seattle defense and special teams should just show a picture of Tyler Lockett. He is the man who will bring the upside to the table each week. Allowing 34 points to the Rams is not a good look to start the year after losing some guys in the offseason. Benny Cunningham rushed for a poor 2.8 YPC, but he did his damage in the passing game. He had five receptions for 85 yards. He was a risky value play who actually paid off. Cunningham could be a guy to keep an eye on until the other backs get healthy. Wilson destroyed the Rams last season, but he did not look sharp, finishing with a 48.9 QB rating. The Seahawks receiving core is going to be a mystery each week, and I do not want to touch anyone outside of Jimmy Graham. Jermaine Kearse led the team in targets with Doug Baldwin and Graham just behind. I think this may have been one of those flukey week one games, and I am not speculating too heavily on it.

Ravens @ Broncos

The afternoon games were a lot of fun for fantasy points, with the exception of Broncos-Ravens. The star in this game was Brandon McManus, who hit four field goals, which included two from 50 yards. He was the FanDuel stud of the day if you ask me. This was an ugly game, and I for one am happy I avoided. Both teams have solid defenses, but I expected a little more from the Broncos. Baltimore has zero weapons for Flacco right now, and Steve Smith is not going to outman a team's number one corner. I am very concerned about the Ravens' offense moving forward. With zero passing game, Denver was able to buckle down on Justin Forsett, who had a subpar day. After what I saw on Sunday, Baltimore is going to be a team I avoid. Denver scored through the defense and the kicking game. C.J. Anderson and Demaryius Thomas left the game hobbled, and we saw Ronnie Hillman pick up the slack in the backfield. He would enter as a value play if Anderson missed any time. Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders dominated the targets for Manning, as expected, but nothing came about. The Broncos offense might not get back on track next week, but this is not a game I am chalking up as a big concern.

Lions @

Now onto the fun games. Chargers-Lions filled the score column. Just the way this game started, the passing game on both sides started to dominate any chance of rushing attempts. No running back on the Detroit side saw more than 10 carries, and Melvin Gordon saw just 14. Something I know from playing season long is, get your Phillip Rivers shares in early. He starts off the season hot and fades down the stretch. He put up over 400 yards in the air with two scores. It was also nice to see Keenan Allen dominate the targets with 17. He caught 15 balls for 166 yards. Going back to fading Adams from Green Bay, Stevie Johnson was a name to pivot to. He totaled six catches, 82 yards and a score. If San Diego opens up the passing game like this, Johnson will have plenty of value. I loved what I saw from the San Diego offense, and I hope it continues. It was a guessing game at points last year, especially with Allen. With the world on Julio Jones, and other top wideouts, Calvin Johnson was a low-owned pivot who disappointed. He only had four targets, which is an issue for me, given he is the best player on the offense. Hey Matthew Stafford, get him the ball! I am hoping this game keeps players off him going forward. The weekly upside is always there. Ameer Abdullah showed us why he belongs in contention for DFS right off the bat. He is a big time playmaker and was a focal point in the offense. After seeing it with my own eyes, I will be intrigued each week. He had 94 total yards and a score. He rushed for 7.1 YPC, and nearly was the leading receiver. He will be a fun flex play on DK.

Saints @ Cardinals

With a Saints' battered secondary, Carson Palmer delivered what some thought he would do. He torched the New Orleans' defense through the air for over .300 yards and three scores. This opened up the the ground game for Andre Ellington, who rushed for 69 yards on 12 carries and found the end zone. Ellington left the game with an injury, and quickly we saw David Johnson and his playmaking ability kill the game. There are a lot of targets in the passing game for us to choose from. Larry Fitzgerald was leaned on heavily in the second half, which was a nice sight. Even with Michael Floyd and his injury, I do not want to suffer from having him in my lineups hoping he has his one good game of the season on that week. He ranks behind John Brown and Fitz in the core. The Cardinals defense is tough, especially at home, and I did not have much stock in the Saints' offense. They will put up their share of points, so I am not knocking them down because of this week. Mark Ingram impressed me in the passing game, which was the reason they brought in C.J. Spiller in. Ingram totaled eight receptions for 98 yards, making him the only fantasy relevant player in week one for the Saints.

Bengals @ Raiders

Two of the less featured games were the Bengals-Raiders and Titans-Buccaneers. The Bengals did their damage with Tyler Eifert dominating the Oakland secondary. Eifert had nine catches, over 100 yards and two scores. Dalton raved about him in camp, and it looks like there is a connection building. This could bode well for A.J. Green and Dalton moving forward, but with Dalton's inconsistency, I would like to see this against a better defense. Jeremy Hill had a mediocre day rushing the ball for just 3.3 YPC. He found the end zone twice, though, which bailed his owners out, including myself. Outside of Eifert, there were no real surprises in this game. The Bengals put up their points, and Oakland struggled to be DFS relevant.

Titans @ Bucs

The Titans, namely Marcus Mariota, shocked the world. The coaching staff did a great job of play calling, which paid off for Mariota. He only threw the ball 16 times, but did so for 204 yards and four scores. Bishop Sankey only had 12 carries but ran well and had 74 yards to show for his efforts. He found the end zone twice, and this Tennessee offense was clicking. With the Titans jumping out to a huge lead, the Doug Martin GPP play went down the drain. He rushed the ball well, but the touches were limited due to the nature of the game. This is the week-to-week concern for Martin, and we saw it already. With the Bucs chasing the game, and Mike Evans out, Vincent Jackson showed zero reason for me to believe in a rebound season. Austin Seferian-Jenkins was the big target to come through with value. It will be interesting to see his targets when Evans comes back.

Giants @ Cowboys

The final game of Sunday produced 53 points, which should be good right? Wrong, there were six field goals and a defensive touchdown between the two sides. One score from Dallas was by Gavin Escobar, too. So, no, not a fun night if you had the big names in this game. The Giants have some favorable matchups over the next few weeks, and I will head back again to their passing game. The Cowboys' passing game is up in the air right now with Dez Bryant out for the next few weeks. This leaves Terrence Williams and Cole Beasley as featured wideouts. Even with them seeing more volume in the offense, I am not exactly thrilled. Jason Witten is the safe play to grab. He benefitted from the lack of running game success, which was anticipated by some. Joseph Randle emerged as the leader in carries, and he rushed well averaging 4.1 YPC. He did not get a large voluem of them, but we could see that change in the next few weeks. The Dez scenario puts a lot of question marks in this Dallas offense.