There you have it, most of the first week of meaningful football is in the books and as always, there were some surprises. For this first of 17 columns (possibly including playoffs), I look at my top performer of the weekend, as well as profiling some studs, underachievers and no-shows from the past week of NFL football, along with providing one waiver wire claim for the week. So let’s grow together as we embark on this new, exciting NFL fantasy football season.

Top Performer

So did anyone see Arian Foster rushing for 230 and 3 TDs coming? I had high hopes for the guy, but I had no idea he would do THAT to the defending AFC champions. I was expecting more around 120 total yards and a TD or two. This output was just ridiculous. At the end of the day, I was left wishing that I owned him on all my teams (he fell to me in the 5th round in one).

If you were lucky enough to have Foster this week, you probably won your first game easily (unless you have a terrible team outside of him). So, what can you expect Foster going forward? Well, I think it would be ridiculous to expect a 41 point fantasy week every time he takes the field, but he clearly will have big weeks. Keep in mind that the Colts defense was completely ineffective defending the run–Foster got at least five yards on most plays before he even got touched.

Still, every year, there seems to be that one RB who jumps into the ranks of the Top 5 fantasy RBs, and the early returns point to Foster being that guy.

Let’s move on to my studs, underachievers, and no-shows of the weekend that was.

Studs

Matt Forte/Jay Cutler--The new-look Bears began their season with a loss/win that went down to the wire. The Bears looked impressive, moving the ball down the field with ease, and they have the stats prove it. They rolled up 463 yards of offense in their 19-14 victory over the Lions. Cutler and Forte supplied most of the fireworks, connecting twice through the air for TDs. The Bears didn’t really bother much with the run game either due to a game plan which focused upon attacking a weak Detroit secondary, or possibly Mike Martz just being Mike Martz. Regardless, Forte showed an explosiveness that he lacked all of last season, best shown is his 89-yard TD on a screen pass. Cutler appears to be a good fit for this vertical offense, though he wasn’t able to avoid turning the ball over with one INT. This should be an interesting offense to watch all season, especially if they can convert those yards into more frequent scores. We’ll have to wait and see. The Lions still aren’t exactly a defensive powerhouse after all.

Peyton Manning--He threw the ball 57 times for 433 yards and 3 TDs, and lost the game. For his fantasy owners, he probably delivered a win, however, though I don’t believe that is any consolation to Manning. The running game in Indy looks nonexistent so far, though the Colts were playing catch up for most of the game. Manning is going to put up numbers similar to this regardless of how his defense or running game performed, though, so expect him to become a weekly feature at the top of this list, though I might just get bored with him, at which case I won’t write about Manning. He’s the most consistent QB in the NFL; enjoy it owners.

Chris Johnson–Well so far Johnson is doing a good job of making me look like an idiot for putting him on my Players I Hate list. The Raiders did a decent job of bottling him up, that is until Johnson took the ball to the house on one of his signature 50+ yard runs (it was 76 yards). The Titans moved the ball through the ground and air with ease against a very disappointing Raiders defense, Johnson ended up with 27 carries for 142 yards and 2 TDs. He’s just so good and patient that when a hole finally does open up for him, he’ll hit it and poof, he’s gone. I still believe he won’t replicate last year’s numbers and won’t end up as the No. 1 RB in fantasy, but he still has the Colts on his schedule twice. Can you imagine what he’ll do to them?

Hakeem Nicks–“Oh Hakeem, you know when I need a TD I only have eyes for you…” said Eli Manning, with feeling. Three TDs to start the season for one of last year’s rookie sensations, I’ll take it. He’s clearly the top dog on the Giants as his speed, size and power are basically unmatched. You might be thinking that you should trade the young WR while his value is up, but I caution you to hold onto him. The Giants’ run game still didn’t look that good, reinforcing the fact that they have morphed into a passing team. Hold onto Nicks and look for him to be a very consistent target for Manning as the season unfolds.

Miles Austin–He was the Cowboys’ offense last night. Despite all the hype with the addition of Dez Bryant and the talk coming from Roy Williams, Austin proved that he was still the most dynamic playmaker on that offense. He looks like he is headed for a surefire Top 3 WR finish this year. The Cowboys? Eh… not so much.

Underachievers

Larry Fitzgerald–Either Derek Anderson is incredibly inaccurate (he did complete less than 50% of his throws last year) or him and Fitzgerald are just out of sync. Fantasy owners have to be disappointed in Fitz’s performance with what appeared to be a very favorable matchup. Though he did end up with a TD, his output was still well below his standards (3 catches, 41 yards). Anderson did target him a whopping 15 times though, and I expect Fitzgerald to bounce back in a big way next week as he gets on the same page with Anderson and heals up a little bit more. He’s just simply too good.

Adrian Peterson–Blame the Vikings’ play calling for this one. Peterson looked like he was well on his way to his first 100 yard game of the season before halftime, when suddenly the Vikes forgot that they should continue to feed the ball to their best player. While the Viking offense continues to gel, I expect Peterson to carry the load, however (the Vikings won’t make the same mistake twice), and I suspect that they’ll like what they see. I still have him primed to finish as the No. 1 RB in fantasy.

Steven Jackson–Sam Bradford looked surprisingly good throwing the football, so much so that the Rams allowed him to pass 55 times. Talk about a debut. Lost in all this pass-happiness was the beast that is Steven Jackson, who ran the ball 22 times for only 81 yards, a disappointment for most of his owners.  I expect Jackson to bounce back from this relatively weak opening game however, and if Bradford continues to improve, it may back some defenders out of the box, allowing more open lanes for Jackson and consequently more big plays.

No-Shows

Matt Schaub/Andre Johnson–The passing leader of 2009 barely cracked 100 yards and managed to throw only one TD along with an INT, while the receiving leader of the past two years only managed 3 catches for 33 yards. I’ll take their performances as an anomaly however. Clearly the Texans wanted to run the ball down the throat of a Colts team that they needed to beat. Schaub also showed some early-season rust, under throwing a wide open Andre Johnson on what would have been a long TD (and significant stat boost to both). Foster isn’t going to run for 200 yards every week and the Texans will have to be more balanced as the season wears on. Don’t worry about either.

Terrell Owens–Batman? I don’t think so. Though Owens ended up with a decent 7 catches for 53 yards, “Robin” finished with 12 catches for 159 yards and a TD. Both Owens and Ochocinco were targeted 13 times as well, so the stats clearly speak for themselves. At this point in his career, Owens is more of a possession receiver who lacks the burst and ability to get deep. He’ll have his weeks, but I don’t see him as anywhere close to being a consistent fantasy starter.

CJ Spiller–Proof that the preseason means nothing. Spiller lit it up in exhibitions, and then got lit up against an average Dolphins defense. His stat line reads more like a third string RB than the 9th overall pick in the draft: 7 carries for 6 yards and 4 catches for 8 yards. In most leagues, that’s zero fantasy points. Spiller will break one every now and then, but behind such a poor offensive line and with limited other offensive threats around him, he should be a player to watch with interest for upcoming seasons, and little starting potential this season.

Waiver Claim of the Week: Michael Vick

Four players rushed for 100 yards or more in the opening weekend of games, and one of them was the embattled QB, Michael Vick. Now this claim is dependent entirely upon whether or not Kevin Kolb will be healthy enough to play next week, but with how serious concussions are being treated (and the fact that both Kolb and Stewart Bradley were let back into the game after suffering concussions, can you say “fined by the NFL,” Eagles?), I have to believe that Vick will start. For those with underperforming QBs, Vick is worth a look. He appeared to have his legendary burst back, which is a scary thought for the rest of the league.

Players I Love/Hate Score-Tracker

I plan on updating this list every week just so that you can see how knowledgeable/incompetent I am with these preseason prognostications. Every time a player I loved does well, I get a point, whereas if a player I hated does well, I subtract a point and vice versa. I figure if I end the season with at least half of the possible points, then I did alright.

Jamaal Charles: TBD
Arian Foster: +1
Kevin Kolb: +1
Larry Fitzgerald: 0 (Not very good, not bad though)
Brandon Marshall: +1 (Exactly what I said, lots of catches for little yards/no TD)
Chris Johnson: -1
Justin Forsett; -1
The Rams; -1 (some fantasy relevancy)
Joe Flacco: TBD
Tom Brady: -1 (he put up the numbers that I thought he would, but no other QB really did as well)

Current standing: -1 (with two still to play).

Not exactly the start I was looking for, but we’re in for a long season. Check back soon for updates as well as my thoughts on the fantasy aspects of Monday night’s two games.

Check out all the articles from the Players I Love/Hate series. Players I Love: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV and Part V. Players I Hate: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV and Part V.