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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUF at NE | CHI at GB | DAL at TB | DEN at CIN | DET at NO | JAX at IND | KC at BAL | MIA at ATL |
| MIN at CLE | NYJ at HOU | PHI at CAR | SD at OAK | SF at ARI | STL at SEA | TEN at PIT | WAS at NYG |
Week 1 Game Recap: St. Louis Rams 0, Seattle Seahawks 28
St. Louis Rams
| QB Marc Bulger, Pass: 17 - 36 - 191 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 1 - 2 - 0 |
Bulger never really had a chance in this game. Either he was under pressure from a blitz or free pass rusher, or he couldn't find anyone open. Bulger was moving around on some designed rollouts, and he wasn't afraid to throw into tight coverage, but nothing really worked for the Rams pass offense. The offensive line actually gave him time to throw on a good amount of snaps. Bulger didn't make any terrible mistakes, and he was willing to test the defense deep, but to no avail. Some competitiveness bubbled to the surface when Bulger took a hit on a scramble and popped up looking to jaw with a Seahawks defender. The Rams offense was also hampered by numerous penalties, some caused by the loud Seattle crowd, some just Richie Incognito doing his normal thing. Bulger is still just a desperation option at QB.
| RB Steven Jackson, Rush: 16 - 67 - 0 (2 targets) |
Jackson looked just as talented as he always does, making defenders miss, running them over, getting to the corner, but nothing was opening up for the Rams offense, so his carries and yardage suffered miserably. Jackson got most of his yards on three runs that he pretty much created on his own, one in garbage time. He was barely targeted at all - one screen was almost picked off, and another target when he was split out wide turned into an opportunity for a Seahawk defender to take a free shot at him. There's nothing wrong with Jackson except the team that he plays on. He did have one long run called back on a Donnie Avery holding penalty.
| WR Donnie Avery, Rush: 1 - 8 - 0, Rec: 6 - 46 - 0 (8 targets) |
Avery only made catches close to the line of scrimmage (comebacks and screens), and he opened the game with a fumbled kickoff. There was no chance to see if his speed is intact coming back from the broken bone in his foot, but there were no apparent signs of lingering problems with the injury. Avery also got an end around, but dangerously tried to hurdle a defender at the end of his run. He's still fine in PPR leagues, but his potential is obviously limited by the offense.
| WR Laurent Robinson, Rec: 5 - 87 - 0 (10 targets) |
Robinson was basically the #1 receiver in this offense, and he converted the only long pass of the day for the Rams, even though it was in garbage time. Bulger was willing to give Robinson the chance to make a play in double coverage on deep balls, and Robinson also caught a goal line fade, but he couldn't get both feet down. His production was modest until the final few drives when the game was out of hand, but Robinson looks like he's worth hanging onto if you drafted him late, and he's worth a waiver pickup if you are hurting at WR.
| WR Keenan Burton, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (6 targets) |
Burton got a lot of targets, but couldn't turn many of them into catches. He was also targeted deep, but got no separation on his route. He is not challenging to start as long as he keeps playing this way.
| TE Randy McMichael, Rec: 4 - 44 - 0 (7 targets) |
McMichael mainly got his targets on third and long "waving the white flag" targets, although he did get one end zone target. McMichael also had a costly false start in the red zone, but he was far from the only Ram to commit a penalty at a bad time.
| TE Daniel Fells, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets) |
Fells caught one pass in the red zone, but he didn't see the field very often.
Seattle Seahawks
| QB Matt Hasselbeck, Pass: 25 - 36 - 279 - 3 TD / 2 INT, Rush: 1 - 3 - 0 |
The Seahawks had to be happy to see old Matt Hasselbeck back. He did make some questionable decisions, forcing the ball into double coverage and sometimes locking on to a receiver - both of which resulted in interceptions - but for the most part, Hasselbeck was totally in sync with his receivers on short and intermediate routes, nickel and diming the Rams defense to death. He had a lot of time to throw even though he was without bodyguard Walter Jones. Hasselbeck got more patient as the game went on, and he definitely has great timing with Nate Burleson and TJ Houshmandzadeh. He's looking like a great QB2 and sometimes QB1.
| QB Seneca Wallace, Rec: 1 - 24 - 0 (1 targets) |
Wallace got one snap that was a trick play. He and Hasselbeck played pitch and catch - Wallace to Hasselbeck back to Wallace - resulting in a 24-yard reception for the Iowa State product.
| RB Julius Jones, Rush: 19 - 117 - 1, Rec: 2 - 19 - 0 (2 targets) |
Jones had a chance for a bigger day, but when he got stuffed on first and goal, the Seahawks went to a play action pass to John Carlson on second and goal. He was generally held in check, but also ran hard and efficiently for most of the day. Jones was able to get good yardage on his targets in the passing game, and he busted a long TD run to cap the scoring on the day when he ran through a Will Witherspoon arm tackle and caught the secondary flat-footed. Jones is merely average, and he's unlikely to have many better days than this one this season.
| RB Edgerrin James, Rush: 11 - 30 - 0 |
Edge looked solid, running downhill and seeing the hole well. He had a decent burst for a player at a later stage of his career. James low YPC was mostly due to poor blocking on his garbage time runs.
| RB Justin Forsett, Rush: 3 - 17 - 0 |
It looks like Forsett is the sometimes third-down back, and he had the best initial burst and moves in the open field of any Seattle RB. Forsett converted a few key third downs, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him get more work as the season goes on because of his crisp moves and speed in space.
| RB Justin Griffith, Rec: 1 - 1 - 0 (1 targets) |
Griffith got one reception in the reception and did a nice job lead blocking in the run game.
| WR Nate Burleson, Rec: 7 - 74 - 1 (11 targets) |
No signs of the ACL tear from last year as Burleson got a lot of quick targets. He was very productive running after the catch, and he got an easy TD by crossing the DBs face right on time as Hasselbeck hit him in stride. He's not a true #1, but this passing offense doesn't have one. He is definitely on the same page as Hasselbeck, and lines like this one should be common this year. Burleson did have one fumble in his own half of the field, but it didn't result any points for St. Louis.
| WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Rec: 6 - 48 - 0 (9 targets) |
Housh was used innocuously, often catching passes with his back to the defense only 5-7 yards from the line of scrimmage. He was targeted early in the end zone as Hasselbeck tried to force the ball into double coverage, but the play resulted in an interception. The Seahawks fans have embraced the Housh chant, but his fantasy owners have to feel lukewarm about his results in a game where Hasselbeck threw for three TDs and almost 300 yards.
| WR Ben Obomanu, Rec: 1 - 11 - 0 (1 targets) |
Obomanu had one catch late, but he is clearly fifth in the WR pecking order.
| WR Deon Butler, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (3 targets) |
Butler missed his opportunity with Deion Branch out. He did catch one pass in the red zone, but he was out of sync with Hasselbeck on another target, and had another target broken up by tight coverage. He's not ready for prime time just yet.
| WR Deion Branch |
Branch was inactive with a hamstring injury.
| TE John Carlson, Rec: 6 - 95 - 2 (8 targets) |
Carlson was quiet for the first half, except for a short play action TD catch, but he exploded on back-to-back plays in the second half, with a 38-yard catch and run, followed by a 32-yard catch and run TD where he started out lined up wide. Those plays capped off a 99 yard drive that broke the back of the Rams. Carlson also got open deep earlier in the game, but Hasselbeck overthrew him. He's going to be an excellent every week starting fantasy TE this year.