By Dan O’Shea
Here’s brief list of massively hyped players who utterly sucked in Week 1 of fantasy football:
C.J. Spiller, RB, BUF: He went as high as No. 2 overall in one league I’m in, and was supposed to be the center of the Bills offense, the second coming of Gale Sayers and the guy who would put veteran RB Fred Jackson out to pasture. He was out-gained by Jackson Week 1, and lost a fumble on his way to 31 yards rushing and just 14 yards receiving.
Calvin Johnson, WR, DET: Some folks expect him to challenge his own record for receiving yards. Only 37 yards receiving, though he would have had a TD if he had maintained control of the ball in the end zone.
Arian Foster, RB, HOU: Managed to get himself healthy enough to play in the opener, and 57 yards rushing is respectable, but HOU is supposed to be so run-oriented; it only have one non-RB with fantasy value (WR Andre Johnson).
Dez Bryant, WR, DAL: A close second to Spiller for biggest disappointment. The Cowboys said he was double-teamed all game, which explains just 22 yards receiving, but we were told he was going to be an All-World this season no matter what.
Stevan Ridley, RB, NE: To be fair, he wasn’t as hyped as the rest of these guys, but was predicted to have a career year for a Pats team lacking star receivers. In Week 1, however, he looked like second fiddle to presumed second fiddle Shane Vereen.
What do these failures tell us about what to expect for the rest of the season? Probably nothing . . . hopefully nothing. I’m a little concerned about how easy it was for DAL to ignore Bryant and still win, and Spiller may end up losing a few touches to Jackson, but the bottom line is that it was only one week. Check back again next week before you think about panicking.
Expert Wire
* Bleacher Report sizes up Week 1 surprises and disappointments.
* Sports Illustrated says to take a chance on Broncos tight end Julius Thomas after Peyton Manning made him a household name.
* Rant Sports looks forward to Manning vs. Manning in Week 2.
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Dan O’Shea is our man in fantasyland. He welcomes your comments.
Posted on September 11, 2013