Giants Daily Blitz Blog

Week 1 Fantasy Grades

The views expressed in this article are not of the New York Football Giants but those of an independent Fantasy Expert.

Start

1. Nate Washington

Nate had 53 yards and a score before getting lambasted across the middle. Not only did Washington get hurt, but so did his quarterback on the very same play. Things were just starting to look good for the dynamic duo. Even though Washington scored a touchdown over 20 yards, I still consider his week to be okay, despite leading the team with 8 targets. I was looking for at least 80 yards and a score. I think if him and Locker were healthy for the full game he would have eclipsed 100.

Fantasy Arrow: Up

2.Stevan Ridley

Ridley had one of the best days out of all running backs in the league. He had 125 yards off 21 carries and a score. Tom Brady only had 236 yards passing and Wes Welker had 14 yards from 3 catches. Are the tides changing in New England? No, but could there be a 60-40 pass-run team now that they have found their back? Yes. As long as Ridley stays healthy, look for him to be one of the best value picks in fantasy football this year.

Fantasy Arrow: Up

3.Titus Young

To put it simply, Young was terrible. He had 14 yards from one catch and 11 yards on a run. He was targeted 3 times and was locked down all day by rookie phenom Janoris Jenkins. I was looking for Calvin Johnson to take the top off the defense and make more room for Young to have a day. That wasn’t the case. Stafford threw three interceptions and Johnson didn’t even score, though last year he set NFL record for most consecutive games to start season with at least 2 touchdowns in the first four games of the season. It’s not that I’m mad at Titus Young, just disappointed. Which is way worse.

Fantasy Arrow: Down

Bench

1.Willis McGahee

Willis lived up to all the predictions and his habit of not performing well against the Steelers’ front seven. He had 64 yards and a fumble, almost identical to his game seven months ago in the playoffs vs. Pittsburgh. The one positive, he did catch a 2-point conversion. Other than that, he had a miserable day at the office, while Manning controlled the game as we’ve seen plenty of times before.
Look for McGahee to bounce back this week vs. Falcons this Monday night as he takes on the current 31st team ranked against the run.

Fantasy Arrow: Up

2. BenJarvus Green-Ellis

Green-Ellis had a good day. Rushing for 91 yards and a score was enough to shut me up. He did not get the 100 yard mark but did enough to make his owners happy and me look bad. Though it was a bold prediction, I have to live with it.

Fantasy Arrow: Down

Steelers D

Pittsburgh’s defense was pretty much as advertised — stuffing the Broncos on the run and letting Denver beat them with the pass. Manning looked like the old No. 18 and put up an easy 25 on the Steelers defense. Though Manning only threw for 253 yards and 26 attempts, that’s all he needed as the game came to a close a bit early. Rest of the league should be scared, he’s back.

Fantasy Arrow: Up

Top Scoring Defense

Eagles

Eagles defense dominated this game. Making Weeden throw 4 interceptions, while Richardson was hardly noticeable with 19 carries and only 39 yards rushing. They also held the Browns offense to 3 field goals, even though the Eagles offense didn’t help by turning it over numerous times in their own part of the field. The Eagles finished the browns offense off with 2 sacks and 5 tackles for loss.

Fantasy Arrow: Up

Top Free Agent Pickups

Alshon Jeffery, Bears WR

Week 1: 3 Catches 80 yards, TD. Cutler threw a 42-yard bomb to Jeffrey in the fourth quarter. Jeffery was targeted 5 times, only behind Forte’s 6 and Marshall’s 15. Look for more big plays to come from this former South Carolina Gamecock. With cover 2 emphasis on Marshall, Jeffery will reap the benefits as will whoever decides to take a chance on him.

Stephen Hill, Jets WR

Week 1: 5 Catches 89 yards, 2 TD’s. Hill performed well in his debut as a Jet to say the least. Buffalo seemed to be worried too much about Holmes and did not put enough attention on yet another breakout stud from Georgia Tech (D.Thomas of Denver and C.Johnson of Detroit). Sanchez finally has found his counterpart to Holmes and one he can know trust and further develop as the season continues.

Alfred Morris, RB Redskins

Week 1: 28 carries, 96 yards, TD
The only reason why Morris is ranked at 3 is that he plays in Washington, which is known for running back by committee offense. It seems like whomever they plug in, they produce. Though he has definitely warranted a waiver spot, beware for future games.

James Jones, WR GB

Week 1: 4 catches 81 yards, TD. Jones looked great in the opener vs. a tough minded and built 49ers secondary. Though I don’t think he can be an every week player, Jones looks to be a solid back up/3rd string receiver if need be. At the very least a good free agent pick up if injuries are to occur.

Andre Roberts, WR ARI

Week 1: 5 catches, 54 yards, TD. Roberts has been getting a lot of praise lately for his play since the end of last year and the start of the pre-season. In week 1, he backed it up. Even with the Cardinals selecting first round pick Michael Floyd, who laid a big fat goose egg on opening day, Roberts still seems to be the second guy out in Arizona.

Power Rankings Roundup

OUTLET	THIS WEEK	LAST WEEK	COMMENTS
	7	2	ProFootballTalk: They’ll be sliding more than five spots per week if they can’t find four (or five) defensive backs who can cover receivers.
	7	3	Dan Graziano: A loss to Dallas in the home opener raised the old, pre-Super Bowl questions.
	9	8	Brian Billick: Victor Cruz had three drops. Osi Umenyiora had just one tackle and applied no pressure the entire game. Sure, the defensive secondary needs some help, but those two need to step up their games for the defending Super Bowl champs to get back on track.
	10	1	Elliot Harrison: Yes, the Giants lost. And yes, they still stack up evenly with most teams in the NFL. But the big drop is a byproduct of much stronger performances from other clubs in the top 10.
	10	2	Voters in the NFL.com Power Poll: Gil Brandt, Bucky Brooks, Charley Casserly, Heath Evans, Daniel Jeremiah, Michael Lombardi, Willie McGinest, Shaun O’Hara, Gregg Rosenthal, Darren Sharper, Kurt Warner, Brian Webber, Steve Wyche.
	13	2	Pete Prisco: They need to tighten up the back end of that defense or even their vaunted pass rush won’t save them.

Top 10 Tuesday: Leading Rushers

With 78 yards in Week 1, Ahmad Bradshaw moved into ninth place on the Giants’ all-time rushing list.

Here is a look at the top 10 in franchise history:

CLICK HERE TO VIEW GALLERY OF TOP 10 LEADING RUSHERS

Daily Blitz: Relive Super Bowl XLVI

Miss the NFL Network premiere of “America’s Game” last week? Or just want to re-watch it? Giants.com has you covered.

Here are five segments from the hour-long documentary of the Giants’ fourth Super Bowl run as told by Tom Coughlin, Eli Manning, Justin Tuck, and Victor Cruz: