Any other ideas from watching week 1 games? I made this observation watching the NFL shortcut because I was specifically trying to decide between Burleson at WR and Eddie Royal for this weeks matchup.
I'd like to try getting away from preseason predictions and focusing on what is happening on the game. I too thought Houshmanzadeh would be by far the #1 WR for Seattle, but in week 1 that appeared to be anything but the case. And for all that the statline showed (Carleson with a huge game), Burleson was actually by far the most active WR. Carleson completed most of his catches, yardage, and his long TD when the Rams were shifting their coverages to the WRs on the outside and left huge holes in the middle of the field for Carleson to exploit. Not that that is a knock against Carleson mind you, in fact I expect that to be a recurring theme this year as teams struggle to contain Seattle.
One other quick mention that I got from watching games, Ray Rice looks a lot like Curtis Martin circa 2006. That was the year the guy led or competed for the league in rushing yardage, but had very few long gainers. From watching the Ravens, two things stuck out at me. Every time Ray Rice rushed the ball, regardless of how good he looked doing it, he ended up getting 4 to 5 yards each time. Not a 4 or 5 yard average, a 4 or 5 yard consistent gain. Even on the bad plays where he looked stuff, the guy somehow squirted and popped through and was suddenly 4 yards past the blue line. To me that is remarkable to see that kind of effort in a moden NFL game. Everybody gets stopped for a 1 and 2 yard gain for a decent percentage of the time. I didn't believe KC would be all that bad this year, but perhaps Baltimore is just that good. The O-line looked very good and the committee of backs looked excellent. Mcgahee had some nice runs that made him looked like he deserved a starting role as well. Joe Flacco looked like we all predicted Matt Ryan to look like. Guy has a laser and was accurate with his throws, found the open man time and again, and got the ball consistently to his guy even in tight coverage. Derrick Mason had about 80 yards and a TD worth of missed plays and Flacco still had 300 yards and 3 TDs. The 2009 Ravens look like a combination of the 2008 Packers throwing the ball (see Flaccos scrambling ability? crazy) and the 2008 Tennessee Titans running the ball.
I like Steve Smith (G-Men) to have a Housh like year. I'd like to see him as a red-zone target a little more, but week one is still just a short window for judgment. He seems to get a lot of looks, makes a good play on the ball, and has a comfort with Manning.
A sad observation from week one is that Kevin Smith had no room to run vs a Saints D not known for its run stopping ability. In PPR leagues this won't have as big an impact, since he caught a handful of passes, and the Lions will have to pass often. But in standard leagues, he may disappoint.
I think, therefore I am. I think fantasy, therefore I am unreal?
moochman
Hall of Fame Hero
Posts: 16215
(Past Year: 847)
Joined: 20 Jul 2003
Yards this season: 568
Home Cafe: Football
Location: Living in the shame only a Lions fan knows
moochman wrote:A sad observation from week one is that Kevin Smith had no room to run vs a Saints D not known for its run stopping ability. In PPR leagues this won't have as big an impact, since he caught a handful of passes, and the Lions will have to pass often. But in standard leagues, he may disappoint.
Yeah I agree. But, in a standard league 70ish overall yards and a TD is more than enough to get by. We'll see tomorrow how he does against a stout Min D and that should give us a better idea. He can't do much worse than 15 for 20 yards . I hope that's his floor, I hope haha.
So Special K...I love your posts and insight when you're not bickering with Mad Man.
What do you think happens when Branch comes back? I'm considering dropping Avery for Burlseon, but don't want to drop the STL Rams #1 receiver for the Hawks #3.
"There is no charge for awesomeness or attractiveness." - Po (Kung Fu Panda)
I've got to agree with Kensat here. I was higher than everyone all preseason on Burleson and he did nothing but increase my thoughts about him week 1. The way I saw it then, and the way I see it now, is that Burleson has the most history with Hass and history goes a long way. Branch has never been able to stay healthy and TJ was a new WR, so Burleson was the defacto WR1 in Seattle to me coming into the season. And I don't see that changing anytime soon.
As for Joe's question about Branch, if Branch ever manages to get healthy and stay healthy, I don't think you'll see him be anymore than the WR3 or slot guy in Seattle. As far as I'm concerned, Burleson is the number 1 WR in Seattle and the only way that changes is if Burleson gets hurt.
smackthefirst wrote:I've got to agree with Kensat here. I was higher than everyone all preseason on Burleson and he did nothing but increase my thoughts about him week 1. The way I saw it then, and the way I see it now, is that Burleson has the most history with Hass and history goes a long way. Branch has never been able to stay healthy and TJ was a new WR, so Burleson was the defacto WR1 in Seattle to me coming into the season. And I don't see that changing anytime soon.
As for Joe's question about Branch, if Branch ever manages to get healthy and stay healthy, I don't think you'll see him be anymore than the WR3 or slot guy in Seattle. As far as I'm concerned, Burleson is the number 1 WR in Seattle and the only way that changes is if Burleson gets hurt.
what shall we say to todays game? hass is injured and burleson wasnt doing well with hass in anyways
smackthefirst wrote:I've got to agree with Kensat here. I was higher than everyone all preseason on Burleson and he did nothing but increase my thoughts about him week 1. The way I saw it then, and the way I see it now, is that Burleson has the most history with Hass and history goes a long way. Branch has never been able to stay healthy and TJ was a new WR, so Burleson was the defacto WR1 in Seattle to me coming into the season. And I don't see that changing anytime soon.
As for Joe's question about Branch, if Branch ever manages to get healthy and stay healthy, I don't think you'll see him be anymore than the WR3 or slot guy in Seattle. As far as I'm concerned, Burleson is the number 1 WR in Seattle and the only way that changes is if Burleson gets hurt.
what shall we say to todays game? hass is injured and burleson wasnt doing well with hass in anyways
Hasselback has bruised ribs and is questionable for Week 3... Safe to say that Nate Burleson's break-out year will be put on hold once again...
Cafe Home
Fantasy Baseball
Fantasy Basketball
Fantasy Hockey
by Kensat30 » Sat Sep 19, 2009 2:46 pm 
. I hope that's his floor, I hope haha.
