Packers-Saints fantasy review

Published Sep. 9, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

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Yes. I am “ready for some football.”

It’s a question that doesn’t need to be asked. If you could liquefy the product and send it shooting through my veins, I’d take the IV now.

I think the Jimmy Kimmel skit said it best. We love football, but maybe that song could be applied to help out in other circumstances .

On Thursday night, fantasy owners were treated to an absolute masterpiece. Other than a few decisions in the red zone by New Orleans, including Drew Brees’ scrambles while eluding defenders in a manner befit for Madden play, it was a non-stop highlight reel. Normally, you’ll see a game tagged with four or five big plays and you can move on to the next contest. This game reached well into double digits, and that was just to tell the basic story.

For fantasy purposes, you couldn’t have asked for much more. The passing games were sharp. You saw two special teams touchdowns. ‘

OK, you wished that Starks or Grant (or even Rodgers) would have plunged in from the one-yard line instead of John Kuhn.

The bell has been rung to open the 2011 season. Let’s break down a season opener that drew a monster 17.2 rating.

1. You saw why Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees were ranked first and second in my (and many others) rankings from the outset of the draft season. You saw fireworks early and big play after big play from myriad downfield options. Just think what they’ll do to lesser defenses and with more time working together.

2. Rodgers and Brees combined for 731 passing yards and six touchdowns.

3. Randall Cobb was flying high on my radar following the NFL Draft. My immediate thought was that he’d replace free agent James Jones to become the No. 3 (3A with Donald Driver still onboard), but the Packers re-signed Jones and slapped a big, fat question mark on the speedy rookie.

Cobb scored twice on Thursday night, including a 108-yard kickoff return, and a 32-yard touchdown reception. Cobb caught both of the passes thrown to him and finished with 35 receiving yards. I’ll need to see a more consistent target count from Cobb before getting onboard, but I’ll put his name in boldface on the “Watch” list.

4. Go find the guy with Mark Ingram in your league and lowball him with a trade offer. Talk about him tip-toeing at the goal line. Talk about his inability to gain traction. Give them trading cards of Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles.

Sean Payton demonstrated tremendous faith in his rookie tailback. Was he wrong for doing so? I was looking for Pierre Thomas in that situation as a dual runner-receiver threat. And, even if Thomas or Darren Sproles had been in the game, I don’t know why you wouldn’t call play-action or a rollout. I’ll replay the scenario on Madden later.

Ingram finished the game with 40 yards on 13 carries and ran with authority when he got his legs under him. He just couldn’t avoid B.J. Raji.

5. With that said, Sproles is quite obviously going to have a huge role in the passing game. He caught seven passes for 75 yards, adding two carries for seven yards.

Thomas made several big plays, finishing with nine touches (four receptions) for 68 yards, but his long-term role is uncertain.

6. The Packers also have a very interesting and maddening backfield split in motion for 2011. Ryan Grant looked good in his return to the field (nine carries for 40 yards). He added one reception for five yards. In the non-statistical part of his performance, Grant excelled in blitz pickups and bought Rodgers time to strike downfield.

Grant was solid, but fans and fantasy owners that watched the game will long remember James Starks’ 17-yard touchdown run. Starks was slotted as a possible Flex play this week. He ultimately delivered with 57 yards on 12 carries.

7. If you had a browser window open to Twitter last night, you witnessed countless 140-character proclamations of love to Jermichael Finley and Jimmy Graham.

Finley began the game with a couple of beautiful catches, including snagging a perfectly thrown ball by Rodgers to the back shoulder. He finished with three catches for 53 yards on four targets. Fantasy owners were excited to see Finley caught a ball in the red zone, and the Twitterverse bemoaned his ability to play Atlas and run with multiple defenders on his back.

As for Graham, I wish I had a nickel for every “I told you so” comment tossed up in social media universe. The play-call for his touchdown reception was fantastic (and something off of that decision tree was what I was seeking in the final play) and he walked in untouched. The mocking of Rodgers’ championship belt celebration was ill-advised, but everyone loves a heel.

On a larger scale, it became emphatically clear that Graham will play a huge role in the red zone. A Gronkowski-esque touchdown total may be in the offing with a higher reception count.

8. The Green Bay offense obviously came out with guns blazing. The first quarter was a veritable clinic in quarterback play. Rodgers absorbed a sack early and was pressured often, but stood tall in the pocket and allowed his receivers to gain separation.

I’ll let others fawn over Rodgers’ stats. I want to talk about the play up front by B.J. Raji. Cullen Jenkins signed away to Philadelphia (he appeared in 11 regular season games before returning in the playoffs), but this defensive front was not affected in the least. The Green Bay defense owned the interior and will improve on last season’s 18th-ranked effort against the run (114.6 yards allowed per game). Raji’s name will be tossed into the Wilfork, Ngata and Hampton discussion as the season progresses.

9. Green Bay cornerback Tramon Wiilliams was injured in the fourth quarterback when he collided with teammate Nick Collins. He departed with a shoulder injury. The extent of the damage is not yet known.

10. As you’ve undoubtedly seen seven or eight … hundred times, Charles Woodson will be the first player to get a letter from Roger Goodell this week. In the third quarter, Woodson threw a punch at backup tight end David Thomas that went unnoticed by the officials. It was the hot topic of debate online and in the broadcast booth for the balance of the second half.

11. Finally, we know that Drew Brees loves to spread the ball around. Coming into the game, I spoke of starting Colston and Graham with potential WR3 or WR4 love for Robert Meachem (five receptions for 70 yards) and Devery Henderson (six receptions for 100 yards) with Lance Moore sidelined. Obviously, Colston was the only player of that quartet to finish without a touchdown catch, though he tied for the most targets in the game with nine (six receptions for 81 yards and the crushing lost fumble).

New Orleans-Green Bay Target Counts

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