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Chris Gingrich: A review of the NFL’s Week 1

Chris Gingrich

Other than the season-ending knee injury to Tom Brady, the 2008 NFL season started off in excellent fashion.

You had upsets with the Carolina Panthers defeating the San Diego Chargers on the last play of the game, and the Indianapolis Colts being stymied by the Chicago Bears defense.

There also were some great performances from several players, which I will get to.



It’s going to be a long fantasy season for those who drafted Tom Brady with their first round pick.

It must feel like going to the vending machine and putting in a dollar for a top tier Snickers and having it get caught right before it drops. Not the kind of caught where you can shake it out, either.



Such is life in fantasy football.

There were some standouts this week, including a guy whose nickname is the ‘Burner’.

• Michael Turner, running back, Atlanta Falcons – 22 touches, 220 yards and two touchdowns. All I can think is, wow. This guy has some serious talent and if you were one of the folks who drafted him, congratulations, you just landed one of the best running backs in the league. After backing up Ladanian Tomlinson his whole career, Turner really showcased his talent Sunday against Detroit. It’s still impressive, although Detroit isn’t exactly a premier defense in the NFL.

• Donovan McNabb, quarterback, Philadelphia Eagles – 21-33 passing, 361 yards and three touchdowns. McNabb was very efficient in his season debut even without Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown. So McNabb wasn’t just talking smack during the off-season about how good he thinks his team is. Is this a sign of things to come from McNabb this year? Let’s hope so.

• Willie Parker, running back, Pittsburgh Steelers – 25 touches, 138 yards and three touchdowns. Parker only found paydirt twice last year and in his first game of 2008 he hits it not once, not twice, but three times. This is what fantasy players were hoping for when they drafted him – lots of yards and more touchdowns. For all you Parker owners out there, I hope this trend continues because I know it was frustrating owning him last year, when he racked up yards and not touchdowns.

So with Week 1 behind us, here are a couple of things to look for in Week 2:

• Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions – If what Michael Turner did is any indication of what a running back can do to the Lions, look for Ryan Grant to get more than 100 yards and a touchdown.

• Arizona Cardinals vs. Miami Dolphins – Miami let Favre throw as much as he wanted last week and the results were good for the New York Jets. Arizona will rely on Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald to ignite the passing game against weak Miami defense.

Craig resident and Fantasy Fix columnist Chris Gingrich can be reached at hops2008@gmail.com.


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