NFL Week 1: Don’t Let Me Fall (#FantasyFootball)

Don’t let me fall……This relates to those players that failed to live up to expectations in the eyes of NFL fans and fantasy football owners during week one of the 2019 NFL Season.  These are the players that can break a fantasy football team if they don’t step up their game.

Yes I’m going to call out those players, keeping in mind this is week one while some of them are inexperienced in the NFL and some are recovering from injury but they better pick up their helmet and run, not walk, onto the field because the season will be a thing of the past before they know it just as our fantasy football seasons will be long lost if we don’t pay attention, be proactive and make the necessary adjustments before they are obvious.

The first player that comes to mind is Melvin Gordon.  I don’t own a single share of this guy but if I did……I’m selling, selling……SELLING!  Unfortunately for his owners…….that opportunity has likely come and gone for now.  He will play at some point this year as it’s a matter of if and not when but even so, I don’t expect him to be “All In” when he does return especially after seeing what his “backups” have done in his absence.

Next up is New England Patriot RB Sony Michel.  15 rushes for 14 rushes without a single target?  Ok, this may be an exception and likely is due to the Patriots taking a commanding lead early in the game and not letting the Steelers back in but it is still concerning and doesn’t excuse the less than one yard per carry average.  Something to pay attention to for sure.

Derrius Guice has been the topic of a lot of preseason hype but I just can’t get excited about 18 yards rushing combined with 3 receptions for 20 more yards in a game where the Redskins had a legitimate chance to beat their division rival Philadelphia Eagles.

Yes, it was his first game back after suffering an ACL injury last year before his first NFL season even began but one has to question whether or not this guy is built for the NFL after claiming that he was questioned about his sexuality and his mother’s source of income at the NFL Combine last year.  Derrius must do more if he wants to keep Adrian Peterson on the inactive list but that isn’t likely to happen since Guice is likely to miss more time after injuring his other knee hoping he can avoid another surgery.

Mike Evans and Davante Adams……where were you???  Please catch me before I hit rock bottom!  These are words coming from fantasy owners who were relying on these guys and are now left wondering if this is a sign of times while hoping this past week was a fluke and things will get back on track this week.  I’m guessing they will but they certainly didn’t help fantasy teams this week.  Who would have thought that DeVante Parker would score more fantasy points than either of these guys?

There is something missin’ with Joe Mixon…….is it AJ Green?  I don’t know but it’s time to stop blaming Andy Dalton for the Bengals struggles.  He did everything he could to get this team a win and they still fell short by a point.  There are times when the extra point matters and that was the case with the Seahawks/Bengals match-up leaving the Bengals a point short of taking this game into overtime.

There was so much attention given to the Eagles running back situation and rightfully so.  They acquired Jordan Howard in a trade with the Chicago Bears just before drafting Penn State RB Miles Sanders in round two of the 2019 NFL Draft.  But after a silent start to week one of the 2019 NFL season, many are questioning if they are going to cancel each other out when it comes to fantasy football stats just as what many believed before the start of the NFL season. I expect this to change as the season progresses and Sanders gets acclimated to the NFL format.

Speaking of the Bears, the guy they drafted in the 3^rd round of the 2019 NFL Draft to replace Jordan Howard didn’t exactly light it up during the first game of the 2019 NFL season but again, he is a rookie whose owners need to be a bit patient.  If you are starting a rookie during the first week of fantasy football then you should not have high expectations.  I started David Montgomery in one league but felt I had some leverage with my other starters and so far…….so good.  But I knew the risk I was taking by starting a rookie the first week of the NFL season.

There are definitely more players that let their fantasy teams down (Mitchell Trubisky cough cough), but it’s up to us owners to pay attention and be aware and react when we feel it is necessary to move on from a given player or maybe look to trade for a player that another owner may be down on after a one week anomaly.

I am not one to overreact after week one but at the same time…….the early bird gets the worm.  Don’t be that owner who sleeps on a sleeper.  Pay attention, look at your roster and ask yourself if that player you are looking at dropping for a player you feel may be a sleeper is going to win you a championship.  If the answer is no…….then why is he on your roster?  Good luck fantasy peeps……..and hope you all have a GREAT fantasy football season!

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