The replacement refs are allowing a lot of holding and grabbing by defensive backs and then calling penalties on them almost arbitrarily. In particular, one of Eli Manning's first half picks - the one that was returned for a score - was in part due to Victor Cruz being grabbed and prevented from making his break. Manning threw to the spot, and it was picked off.
Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks are both top-10 receivers, possibly top 5. There is no better tandem in the league, though Roddy White and Julio Jones are arguably equal.
Andre Brown ran north-south with plenty of power and little hesitation. Even if Ahmad Bradshaw were to miss time - and it's not clear whether he will - David Wilson's role might not increase that significantly. I'd pick up Brown ahead of him.
Martellus Bennett is a better pass catcher than any tight end they've had since Jeremy Shockey. At 6-6, 270, he's also a massive red-zone target.
Even though Stephen Gostkowski's shanked field goal knocked me out of all five of my survivor pools, it didn't affect me the way it would have were it not preceded by an unbelievably bad fumble by Ryan Williams that made the attempt even possible. Once you've already accepted your fate, you no longer dread it in the same way. And even the possibility that I would survive the New England pick cheered me up to the point that the eventual loss didn't especially bother me. It also helped that the Giants had just had their own dramatic comeback and unlike the Patriots saw it through.
For all the talk of drafting quarterbacks early the top five (Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Matt Stafford and Cam Newton) have been ordinary, certainly not much better (if at all) than Eli Manning, Matt Ryan, Tony Romo, Philip Rivers, Robert Griffin III, Peyton Manning and Michael Vick. Maybe the big five - or at least the big three - will kick it into gear, but at this point maybe we should have been talking about a big 12.
Chris Johnson simply has nowhere to run on a team that seems lost from its blocking to its play calling. Even down 28 with 28 seconds left in the game, Johnson was met in the backfield by a defensive lineman when he carried the ball.
It's shocking in retrospect that the Sean Payton-led Saints of all teams were unable to mine Reggie Bush's talent. Bush is a top-15 back right now, and probably top-10 in PPR.
If Fred Jackson were out for the year, I might rank C.J. Spiller ahead of Ray Rice or LeSean McCoy. Certainly over Maurice Jones-Drew.
While Ben Tate (2 TDs, 97 total yards) cut severely into what could have been an all-time monster game for Arian Foster, it's hard to complain after Foster got 28 carries, six catches and a score of his own. The Texans love to run, and Foster will probably get more work than McCoy or Rice even with Tate around.
Didn't the Chiefs lose their first two games last year by a combined score of 89-10 before going 7-7 the rest of the way? This year, they're down only 75-41.
I wasn't pleased to see Dante Rosario score three touchdowns while starting Malcom Floyd and Robert Meachem in the Stopa Law Firm league. With teams like the Chargers and Packers, you really can't guarantee yourself the receiving production even when key players like Antonio Gates and Greg Jennings are scratched. I made the same mistake with Randall Cobb on Wednesday night.
Speaking of which, the Bears/Packers game was nearly as bad as the Raiders/Chargers abomination last Monday night. Mike Tice has to be the worst offensive coordinator in the NFL (with the possible exception of whoever's calling plays for the Titans). The Bears receivers simply weren't getting open down the field, and Tice seemingly never thought to call a screen or a quick slant to get the ball out quickly. So Jay Cutler alternated between throwing picks and holding the ball too long and taking sacks in between running for his life. Cutler made some stupid decisions, too, but he was largely set up to fail.
The Bears followed the Niners and Giants template of taking away Green Bay's big plays, and once again the Packers struggled to move the ball down the field. The Packers scored on a fake field goal which was insane because it was something like 4th and 17, so if the play succeeded in gaining 15 yards, it would have cost the Packers three points and turned it over to the Bears.
Something's wrong with Brandon Marshall when he gets into the red zone. It's like a reliever who pitches well as a setup guy, but can't handle closing.
The NFC West could be tough this year with the Cardinals, Seahawks and Rams looking a lot better, and the 49ers arguably the best team in the NFL.
The 49ers offense has some upside, but we're likely only to see glimpses of it because the defense is too good.
Of course, I didn't start Brian Hartline in my PPR leagues this week (have him on three benches), but I did start Stephen Hill in one.
The Eagles were minus three in turnovers but still beat the Ravens.
The Browns lost by just seven points in Cincinnati despite the Bengals getting a kick return for a score and star cornerback Joe Haden not playing. QB Brandon Weeden looked like a different player than the one who debuted with a QB rating of 5.1, and Trent Richardson is a top-10 back again.