Phew! On my original projection against my opponent, I was predicted to lose by about 20 points. And that would have been true had my opponent played Tua on his lineup. But thanks to my Niners on my team, namely Christian McCaffrey, I had the definitive win projection at the start of the Sunday afternoon games.
Week 1 Flops
Overall, I didn’t do too bad in choosing my lineup up. Most of who I predicted would be better on the bench turned out to be accurate. That gives me a little faith for this blog that I still know some things.
12 Man Bust
Geno Smith’s production made me doubt my draft choice of a second QB. I was very pleased with Geno’s production last year. He turned out to be the perfect sleeper. He had great statistics, which showed as the Seahawks did make it to the first round of playoffs for the 2022 season.
In the first half you could really see that Seattle’s offensive line struggled against a better built Ram’s defensive front. Geno could not stay long enough in the pocket, or have enough time to plant and go through progression when he chose to pass. At most his average passes were only about 5-6 yards each. It doesn’t help either that the Rams secondary played very tight coverage on Seattle’s receivers for any route that was 10 yards or more.
In addition, the Rams just had more time of possession. Which greatly affected the amount of time Geno had to get into a rhythm or adjust his decision making. I am hoping that next week will be better, but Geno is definitely on my hot seat and a lot of QB’s did well this week and looking at their production and style of play would be better consistent option for my QB2.
Bengals Need a Better O-Line
Goodness, the Bengals did not look like the dominant offense they did last year. I had both Joe Mixon their #1 running back and Evan McPherson their kicker.
The weather didn’t help conditions much, but Cincinnati also has an open stadium so they are used to weather elements. But the offensive line left much to be desired both for the passing and run game for the Bengals.
The blocking for Mixon was horrendous. Mixon only totaled 56 yards for the whole game. Granted not all of those were runs, some were off of check down passes or routes in the flat. But there was just no cohesiveness to open up the running gaps for Mixon or any other running back. It doesn’t help that the Cleveland’s defense really are “Dawgs” as they like to be known for and they were coming for anything that was going on in the back field.
Bengals play the Ravens next, which I have to prepare that will also be a running game struggle. But they will be at home, so I am hoping that gives them a little gusto and hopefully both my Bengal players will have increased fantasy points for Week 2.
Run The Dang Ball, KC!
As I mentioned in my breakdown of the flop of Kansas City for game 1 of the season, the Chiefs need to feed Isiah Pacheco more. Their offensive line needs to step up and provide better holes for the run game, especially if Travis Kelce is going to be out more.
Patrick Mahomes is now a 2x SuperBowl champion, and Kansas City is a dominant team. Other teams will constantly be coming for them and playing with nothing to lose. So they need to go back to the drawing board and have a Come to Jesus with Mahomes, that if they want to make another SuperBowl run, they need to develop all their offensive levels.
Also I just need more fantasy points so, Matt Nagy, don’t be dumb, call more run plays please!
No Waiver Moves This Week
Overall, all my other fantasy players did produced as expected or average. And thankfully I don’t have any injuries. So as it stands from my original draft post, I’m not planning on dropping or trading anyone just yet after Week 1.
Also there weren’t many break out sleepers or unknown’s as per usual like past seasons. At least none worth trading what I have both on my active line up and my bench players. However, I know a few of my friends have asked about who they should look to pick up for this next week.
In my opinion, unless you drafted Aaron Rodgers or another major player that is now out for the season or for a good amount of time, hang on to your teams right now. It’s Week 1. A lot of teams are going to go back to the drawing board and hopefully adjust.
If you did draft Aaron. I agree with ESPN Fantasy’s analysis that Jared Goff, Brock Purdy and Jordan Love would be great pick ups in the quarterback arena. For all other positions, see how Week 2 goes. A lot of restructuring went on during off season, so a lot of teams needed to real time season games to determine the areas they need to improve on.
Week 2 Lineup
So here we go, no changes for me as of yet. Praying no injuries during practices. Predicted to be an even match with my opponent this week. I feel confident my players have the stronger team going into this next week, so I am hoping to come away with another win.
