We are back…and on time for Week 1…30 looks to be the cutoff for Quarterbacks…Husslers may want to un-ring that Bell…A Titanic Tie Tops The Throwing Target Toteboard (Alliteration engine working properly)…We re-review the Golden Rule…Somebody in Texas remembers how to play D…Team of the Week…Chump of the Week…Fun Stats for Dolfans…and more…lets go…
Matt Ryan (XFA)
Grizzled…Aged (30+)…Veteran Quarterbacks were the 1st off the board in the 2014 TBFL Draft…but it was only the Under-30 crowd that managed to score 30+ in Week 1 action…Matt Ryan (29) got us started Sunday morning in a showdown with Drew Brees (35)…Ryan completed 31 of his 43 Attempts (72.1 %) for a new Falcons team record of 448 yards…3 Touchdowns with 0 Interceptions also gave him the most TD Passes in Falcons history with 156…and the highest passer rating on the weekend (128.8)…he added 15 Rushing Yards on 3 Carries to set the bar high at 35 points…Andrew Luck (24) faced off with another vet on Sunday night…while losing the game to the Elder Manning (38)…he actually outproduced him on the Fantasy Field racking up 370 yards and 2 Touchdowns in the air…while scrambling for 19 more yards and a TD on the ground…2 Interceptions and a negative run kept him just under Ryan at 31 points…In Sunday night action Matt Stafford (26) faced off against the Younger Manning (33) and took control early…Stafford piled up 151 yards and 2 Touchdowns all in the 1st Quarter…then quietly managed the clock before rushing in for a score of his own…ending with the 3rd highest Quarterback rating of the day (125.3)…But falling 2 points short at 33…X-Factor takes home the 1st trophy of the 2014 season…
Le’Veon Bell (BAT)
Marshawn Lynch (110) and DeMarco Murray (118) may have found more success on the ground…but no Running Back had more Yards from Scrimmage than Le’Veon Bell…The Steelers youngster carried 21 times for 109 yards (5.2 YPC) including a 38 yard Touchdown run against the Browns…he then pulled in 6 of his 7 Targets for a league leading 88 Receiving Yards (14.7 YPC)…totalling out just shy of 200 yards from scrimmage on the day…Bell tacked on 8 1st Downs on his way to 30 points…the only Running Back to hit the mark in Week 1…Ironically…Bell played against Husslers…who traded Bell away to improve his 2nd and 3rd Draft Picks…AJ Green and Doug Martin…who combined for only 26 Points on the day…It is the 1st trophy on the year for our 5-Time TBFL Champions…
Julius Thomas (HUS)
Our Week 1 Wide Receiver race resulted in a tie at the top of the standings…Julius Thomas started things out quickly on Sunday night pulling in 2 of his 3 1st Quarter Targets for 47 yards…He then exploded in the 2nd Quarter reeling in all 3 of his 2nd Quarter Targets for Touchdowns of 3…4…and 35 yards…He settled down in the 2nd Half pulling in his only 2 remaining Targets for an additonal 14 yards to end the day at 35 points…Megatron opened Monday night action looking to make a statement of his own…His 1st Target of the game was taken to the house for a 67 yard Touchdown on 3rd and 9…and was followed up 7 minutes later with another 16 yard scoring strike…he only pulled in 4 of his next 7 Targets…but led the League with 164 Receiving Yards on the day to match the 35 points…Thomas had the better completion percentage (87.5%)…Johnson had the better Yards Per Catch (23.4)…But MyFantasyLeague voters love Touchdowns…giving the Week 1 award to Thomas with a 3 to 2 edge…It is the 1st trophy on the year for Husslers…
Matt Bryant (PLA)
5 Kick Opportunities…3 Field Goals…2 Extra Points…11 Fantasy Points…that’s always our goal when it comes to Kickers…only 3 players reached that level in Week 1…Blair Walsh had 4 Extra Points with 2 Field Goals…but did get a 50 yard Bonus to end up on 11…Dan Carpenter followed the Golden Ratio with 2 Extra Points and 3 Field Goals…but also used the 50 yard Bonus to get to 12 points on the day…Matt Bryant got extra Kick Opportunities with 4 Extra Points as the Falcons raced the Saints…and then nailed 3 Field Goals including Bonus earning shots of 51 and the game winner of 52 yards to end on 15 points in Week 1…It is the 1st trophy on the year for Bryant and the 1st for Playground Legends…
Houston Texans (BAT)
Defenses in Week 1 were…for the most part…terrible…9 Defenses ended in 1-Digit scores…and 1 ended up giving points back to their opponent…but 3 showed up to play…The Panthers came into Tampa as as underdogs…but the Defense held strong getting 3 Sacks…2 Interceptions…and a Fumble Recovery to keep the score at 14 to end on 10 points…The 49ers came into Jerry Jones house…smacked him in the mouth and took away all his toys…They sacked Romo 3 times…Picked him off 3 more…and took a DeMarco Murray Fumble back 35 yards for 6 points to end on 17…But it was the Texans who were serious on Sunday…they sacked RG3 3 times…forcing him to cough 1 up in the process…They blasted Niles Paul for a 2nd Fumble Recovery…blocked an Extra Point try on the Redskins only score…and then had a Blocked Punt they returned for a score of their own to seal the game ending on 26 points…It is the 2nd trophy on the year for Thrashers…
Team of the Week
The more things change…the more they stay the same…Thrashers lost the #1 Defensive Unit that averaged 6 points per game better than the #12 squad…and find themselves with…the #1 Defensive Unit…that scored 19 points better than the #12 squad…they lost the contract on ‘Best Running Back in the League’ Jamal Charles this season…and did not miss a step making a steal of a trade for ‘Best Running Back in the League’ Le’Veon Bell…Maybe Bell was just playing up against his former team…2013 set a new record with 7 160+ point games played…and we start Week 1 with a 164…It is the highest score ever put up in Week 1 of a Season (previously 160)…tied for the 16th highest score…adding Husslers 110 ties as the 14th Highest Combined Score of all time (274)…It is the 1st team of the Week Award of the Year…Bay Area Thrashers have now won the award 19.83 times…
Chump of the Week
Armed N Dangerous was called out for poor Receivers…but it was his 1st 3 Draft Picks in Lacy…Rodgers…and Bush that failed to deliver in Week 1…67 Points is the lowest score put up by AND since Weeks 7-9 of 2010…when they finished the 3 week stretch with sliding scores of 61…60…and 59…They totalled the lowest efficiency rating of the week at 63.2%…leaving more points on the bench then they scored in the game…It is their 1st Chump Score since Week 10 of last season…
Chump Survivor
This contest does not officially begin until Week 2 to give everyone a chance to 2nd guess their roster…but Week 1 started us out with an average of 108 points…down 16 points from Week 1 of the 2013 season…In a quirk of scheduling…Money Inc and Bubba Army both got wins while remaining in the bottom 3rd of points scored facing off against fellow bottom 3rd teams Armed N Dangerous and Hurricanes…
Notes & Numbers
Allen Hurns of the Jaguars became the 1st player to catch 2 Touchdown passes in the 1st Quarter of his NFL debut…Only 2 other players since 1933 have scored 2 TDs of any type in the 1st Quarter of their debut…Joe Dudek…a replacement player for the Broncos during the 1987 NFL players’ strike…and Charlie Garner of the 49ers in 1994…
Frank Gore totaled 63 Rushing Yards in his Week 1 win making him the 29th player in NFL history with 10,000 yards for his career…Gore is also the 10th player with 10,000 yards and 10 seasons all with the same team…
In the game against Dallas…San Francisco’s total Time of Possession in the 1st Quarter was 94 seconds…they ran 4 plays in total and entered the 2nd Quarter with a 21-3 lead…
As a Dolphin Fan…my favorite note of Week 1…the Patriots are in sole possession of last place in the AFC East for the 1st time since Tom Brady became Quarterback…At no point in the past 13 years has New England ever been in dead last in the AFC East…
The last time New England was in last place…Rob Gronkowski was 11 years old…