NFL Smoke and Mirrors

Week 1 saw a lot of sparks fly with an NFL record 7,482 combined passing yards. I’ll tell you which ones will ignite into season-long flames and which will leave a desolate trail of smoke.

Matthew Stafford (305 yards- 3 TD’s) went undervalued in drafts mostly due to his injury history. With a quarterback rating of 118.9 vs. Tampa Bay last week, Stafford is proving that he has the weapons to put a top-five season together at his position if healthy. Owners, forever hold your (trade) piece.

Cam Newton (422 passing yards- 2 TD’s) exploded onto the scene last week in his first NFL game, but owners shouldn’t expect this kind of production for the rest of the year. He exploited a terrible Arizona defense, and it will be difficult to trust him on any given week. With eight rushing attempts, he should serve as a decent backup in deeper leagues.

Cedric Benson (121 rushing yards- 1 TD) rose from the ashes in a surprising outing against the Browns. However, this was a rare Cincinnati victory. Benson’s lack of pass-catching ability will render him less useful to the Bengals, who figure to be losing many games this season.

Kenny Britt (136 receiving yards- 2 TD’s) is a legitimate No. 1 receiver with quarterback Matt Hasselbeck at the helm. The Titans will be in position to air it out and Britt has a nose for the end zone.

Editor’s notes: A 2009 NIU graduate, Pat Kaiser is the No. 1 ranked fantasy sports player by RotoGrinders and founded DraftADaySports.com. For Week 3 start/sit advice to print next week, you can email him at [email protected] by Wednesday.