Monday Morning Quarterback
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly	written by: Jason Sarney 09/14/2009

I think it is safe to say that everyone with a pulse expected a great game from Brees against the awful Lions; but six touchdowns?! This guy is unbelievable, and he very easily could have had a late seventh TD, but we’ll settle with six. Brees picked apart the Lions defense, if you could call it that, and threw TD passes to five different Saints, and hit eight different Saints overall in the passing attack. Look for Drew to continue to roll this season, as it seems everyone in a Saints uniform will be putting up serious fantasy points this season.

Brees may have found two new weapons to consistently target this season in 3^rd year WR Robert Meachem (2 receptions, 51 yds, TD) and Jeremy Shockey (4 receptions, 31 yds, 2 TDs). Last season, in Shockey’s first with New Orleans, the ex-Giant didn’t find the end-zone once, and showed very little promise as a threat for the Saints heading into this season. After a 2-TD opening week, Shockey could be finally ready to show-off his uncapped potential. This is a very, very dangerous offense and for those who have Brees over Brady as their No. 1 overall fantasy QB…so far, so good.

Speaking of Ryan, he did in fact shred the Fins defense with ease, as he moved the Falcons up and down the field barely breaking a sweat. Ryan found new Tight End Tony Gonzalez for his second TD, and it looks as if the two can be hooking up plenty for score in 2009.

Gonzalez was a main reason Ryan had such an easy afternoon, as Miami tried to account for Gonzalez on every play he was in, thus leaving weapons like Roddy White, Michael Jenkins and Jerious Norwood open.

The scary thing is, Ryan could have easily hit the 300 yard mark, but had a few over-throws to wide-open receivers, and on a couple of occasions, just, missed his target. All in all, it looks as if we can be seeing an improved season for the 2^nd-year QB. Keep starting him regularly.

Peyton Manning IND vs. JAX- 28/38 301 yards 1 TD 1 INT

While it wasn’t a classic Peyton Manning 3 TD game, he still showed why he is as close to automatic as any QB in the NFL. Manning tossed for just over 300 yards which is plenty good for fantasy owners, and he did find his go-to-guy Reggie Wayne for a beautiful 35-yard TD to pretty much clinch the game.

He spread the ball around to eight different Colts, and it most likely would have been 9, if not for Anthony Gonzalez tweaking his knee, and leaving the game with the help of the Colt’s trainers. Gonzalez strained his PCL and at this time is said to be out anywhere from 2-6 weeks. So look for Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon to pick up the slack.

Manning and the Colts draw the Miami Dolphins next week on Monday Night Football, and I doubt we will see a regression in his Week 2 numbers. The Fins secondary was soft to say the least Sunday against Matt Ryan and the Falcons, so expect multiple TDs from Manning in Week 2.

Tony Romo DAL at TB- 16/27 353 yards 3 TDs

The last couple of season’s I have not been on the Tony Romo bandwagon. In fact, I have straight up challenged the fact that he is viewed as a marquee NFL-QB. However, my mind may be changing based on how he came out of the gates Sunday at Tampa. Granted the Bucs defense is not that of the old Tampa Bay cover-2 blanket installed so effectively by defensive guru Monty Kiffen. Those days are gone, so take that into consideration when looking at Romo’s career-high in yards for a single game.

If he can do this against defenses like New York and Philly, then losing T.O. may just be addition by subtraction. Romo spread the ball around and hit three different Dallas receivers for scores, Roy Williams, Patrick Crayton and Miles Austin. Hey also got his best buddy, Jason Witten, involved with five receptions for 71 yards.

Romo does indeed have plenty to prove this season, so with the lose of distractions like Owens and that blonde he used to date, things may be looking up for Romo, and a Dallas team still searching for their first playoff win in the last 13 years.

Joe Flacco BAL vs. KC- 26/43 307 yards 3 TDs 1 INT

Most pundits looked at this game as a laugher before it even started; one dominated by the Ravens ground attack. We here at Fantasy Phenoms told you to start Flacco simply because it’s the Chiefs. Kansas City is not good, at all, so expecting 200 yards passing and a TD or two was a safe prediction for the Sophomore NFL QB.

Whoops…Flacco went for 307 yards and 3 TDs in a game that needed him a bit more than we all would have thought. KC kept it close and was even tied with the Ravens in the fourth, but Flacco would change that.

He found Mark Clayton (pick him up) for a 31-yard scoring pass that put Baltimore up by seven. They’d later add a ground TD to close out the game 38-24. 

This Ravens team is built to run and play defense, but if Flacco can put up these kind of numbers when the time comes to air it out, the Ravens could be smelling a Super Bowl. Before we get it too excited here, we must still realize this was against the Chiefs.

Chiefs or not, he did buy himself a must start status until he proves otherwise. Get him in next week, and if you start him as your second QB in 2-QB start formats…congrats.

This was not a good way for the Bengals to begin a make or break 2009 for the short-term of this franchise. Not only did they put up an overall lousy performance against the Broncos, they lost perhaps the worst way imaginable, just seconds before they would begin a likely victory celebration.

After getting blanked all game, Cedric Benson broke through the Broncos goal-line “D” for a 1-yard score, putting Cincy up 7-6 with seconds left in the game. On the ensuing possession Kyle Orton through up a long pass that was deflected almost idiotically by a Bengals’ defender, which basically landed in WR Brandon Stokley’s lap.

87 yards later, the Broncos had an improbably 12-7 lead.

If only Carson Palmer came to play. He looked as if he was out of the league for multiple seasons, and it is clear he is still feeling the affects of an injured ankle suffered earlier this pre-season, as well as last season’s elbow surgery.

Palmer threw two INTs and no scores and didn’t seem to be even a shell of his former All-Pro self. It’s looking like this could be another long year in Cincinnati, unless Palmer and the Bengals drastically improve this offense.

The Redskins have to be getting impatient with Campbell. Although he has a very strong arm, Campbell just has not looked like a big time NFL QB consistently since he has been running the Skins offense the last few seasons. Granted he faced a rabid Giant’s pass rush and overall defense, but at this point in Campbell’s still young career, he must prove that he can beat top-end defensive units. Especially when one is a division rival.

Campbell tossed a late TD, but overall, did nothing to make him a fantasy starting QB for Week 2 or any other Week in the immediate future. He barely cracked 200 passing yards, and tossed an INT, which in his defense was a heck of a better defensive play by Corey Webster than it was a bad throw by Campbell.

Campbell relied on TE Chris Cooley over the middle and utilized the overall talent of Antwaan Randle El, each of whom caught seven passes, but only connected with top WR Santana Moss twice for six yards.

Campbell must improve his game, or else we will be seeing Todd Collins under center in D.C. sooner than later.

New Brown’s head coach Eric Mangini didn’t announce his Week 1 starter publicly until late last week…and for what? Brady Quinn didn’t do all that much, against yes, a very solid Vikings defense, but Browns fan could not have been overly thrilled with their Home-town hero.

The Brown’s as a whole, just didn’t have an answer for anything the Vike’s threw at them, and Brady didn’t do anything to impress his critics. The Browns, outside of Braylon Edwards need a viable No. 2 target, and that guy was not found Sunday. Quinn did hit nine different Browns, but not one caught more than four balls, and Edwards was held to a measly 12 yards on just one catch.

Quinn needs to turn these no names like Mike Furrey, Mohamed Massaquoi, and Brian Robiskie (catch-less in Week 1) into big time threats, as Quinn relied mainly on dumps to running backs (a third of his passes were to runners) and tight ends (six total receptions by TEs Robert Royal and Steve Heiden)

I would not be surprised at all if we see Derek Anderson as the Brown’s QB before mid-season.

Kurt Warner ARI vs. S.F. - 26/44 288 yards TD 2 INT

We have been referencing that clichéd Super Bowl hangover all pre-season when talking about Warner and the Cardinals, and after Week 1, there is not much reason to refute it. Warner and the Cards weren’t even close to the juggernaut offense they were during their run to the SB last year. Granted Anquan Boldin was banged up, and Steve Breaston was a late scratch, but this offense was not at all as potent as it could have been. 

You know there is a problem when your leading receiver for the game, shockingly, was RB Tim Hightower with 12 catches for 121 yards; odd, to say the least. Larry Fitzgerald did score a TD, but only accounted for 71 yards on six grabs, extremely pedestrian for a top end talent like Fitz, versus an exploitable defense like the Niners.

Warner and the Cards look to rebound next week at Jacksonville, which isn’t necessarily the perfect match-up for a big rebound day. Warner needs all of his horses to be healthy to win the race, so if Breaston and Boldin are back to 100%, look for Warner to improve, but if not, it may be wise to have a contingency plan in place.

Jay Cutler CHI at GB- 17/36 277 yards TD 4 INTs

Attribute it nerves, to the Lambeau advantage, attribute it to whatever you’d like, but all in all, Jay Culter’s Bears’ debut was nothing short of a disaster. Minus a few nice plays including a long bomb to rookie Johnny Knox and a TD pass to Devin Hester, Culter didn’t look as if he had control of the offense.

He threw four interceptions including a last minute pick by Al Harris to clinch a Packers victory. Cutler will have to limit his mistakes, and although most of the blame needs to fall on his shoulders, there were some missed routes by his receivers, which arguably led to at least one of those turnovers.

The good news is, Cutler really could only get better from this performance, yet the bad news is he draws Pittsburgh and that Super Bowl Championship defense next week at Soldier Field. A bit more good news is that the Steeler’s defense will be without its star, Troy Polamalu, which of course should make life a bit easier for Cutler.

A decent showing in Week 2, could lead to Cutler becoming assimilated enough to the Bears WR corp. and playbook to decimate the Bengals in Week 3. The next month should be interesting to see what Cutler can do. Don’t jump ship yet, he’ll get right.

Jake Delhomme CAR vs. PHI- 7/17 73 yards 4 INTs  

There isn’t much to say on this one, other than Delhomme was simply awful against a blitz-happy Eagles defense. Delhomme was rushed into throwing four picks, and didn’t even look comfortable all game long, until he was benched in favor of backup Matt Moore. He also tossed a pick.

Delhomme is not looking like a fantasy-starter, and he wasn’t expected to be one heading into this season. He has not done nearly enough to prove his job is safe in his past few performances dating back to last season, so watch out for a brewing QB-controversy in Carolina.

Steve Smith was non-existent in this one, catching just three balls for 21 yards. Delhomme and the Panthers must utilize Smith, or else DeAngelo Williams and the ground attack will be facing 8-man fronts, while exposing themselves too much to potential injuries.

Based on Sunday, it’s not looking very promising for Carolina this season, unless Delhomme drastically improves against the Falcons next week on the road.

Matt Schaub HOU vs. NYJ- 18/33 166 yards INT

This may have been the most bothersome stat-line for all QBs in Week 1, in my eyes. The Jets dominated the Texans as if they were still an expansion team. Matt Schaub and the offense didn’t do anything to back up their crazy hype and potential heading into this year. Andre Johnson and Owen Daniels both led the team in receptions with four, and A.J. was a guy who led the league in receptions last season with 115. Four wont cut it for Johnson, as Schaub and the Texans’ offense will produce, mainly when Andre does. Schaub and the Texans weren’t helped at all by the ground game, as Steve Slaton and Chris Brown combined for just 32 rushing yards.

If you are looking for a reason the Texans were so inept, it is simply the defense Rex Ryan and his Jets threw at them. It seemed as if Schaub was being blitzed from every angle, and it seemed so on nearly every play. This reason is valid to why Schaub struggles, but with offensive talent like Johnson, Slaton and Daniels, this team should have been able to exploit something down the field during one of those blitzes. 

I’ll give Schaub a tad of the benefit of the doubt, since No. 2 WR Kevin Walter was a last minute scratch because of a hamstring injury. With Walters back next week, hopefully, Schaub and the Texans look to rebound against Tennessee, which is no easy task.

Matt Stafford DET at NO- 16/37 205 yards 3 INTs

A rookie QB for the Detroit Lions starting Week 1 after a 0-16 season…what did you expect? Well, honestly a tad more than the above stat-line. Young Matthew Stafford got his official welcome to the NFL Sunday as the Saints beat up the hapless Lions. I was hoping to see some fireworks between Stafford and “Megatron,” Calvin Johnson, but all those two could come up with were three hook-ups for 90 yards. Sure the 90 yards is nice to see from Johnson, but for a guy as talented as he is, Stafford must do what he can to get this guy the ball close to 10 times a game. Easier said than done… 

Double-teaming of Johnson leaves virtually nobody for Stafford to throw to other than his second-year safety net, RB Kevin Smith, who hauled in a team high seven passes yesterday. At WR, Stafford’s second option is Bryant Johnson, who caught four balls for just 45 yards. This is going to be a long year for Detroit, and their No. 1 overall pick from last April’s draft.