NBD - Week 1 Review B

Quick note: this year, instead of putting out a full week's worth of game reviews in one post, I'll be spreading them out over a few days. This makes it easier on me in that I can spend a little time each day writing instead of several hours on Tuesday or Wednesday night, and better for you in that you can check Commandant Lassard almost any day and there will be some new content, and if you (gasp) don't check every day, you can just scroll down and see what you missed.

If you haven't read Part A yet, click here.

Two unexpectedly tight, down-to-the-last minute games last night, though I admit that after Thursday night football, all day and night Sunday football, and the nail-biting Bills-Pats game, fatigue had set in for me by the second half of Raiders-Chargers. I suspect many, if not all, of you were already fast asleep by the time the game ended, sometime around 1:45am. If so, you missed not only some exciting NFL action, but some down-to-the-wire NBD action as well. None was closer than...

Wild Stallions (93) defeat Matt Ryan Loves Dogs (92)
Closing with a 14-point performance from the Green Bay defense, Koehler came out of the weekend with an 18-point advantage over DeYoung. With Philip Rivers and Nate Kaeding going in the late game, the Stallions had reason to feel confident, but not certain. That uncertainty must have heightened as the Raiders somewhat dominated the time of possession, giving the Chargers offense little opportunity to overtake the dog-lovers. Finally, though, the supposedly most-talented offense in the league rose to the occasion, driving in the fourth quarter to lead the Chargers, and the Stallions, to victory.
Also of note in this match-up were Koehler's Cedric Benson (17 pts) and DeYoung's Willis McGahee (20 pts), two rushers given up for dead by this blog who showed they're not quite done yet.

The Death Panel (95) defeats Woody's Warriors (88)
Though it also came down to Monday night, this contest wasn't nearly as dramatic as the last. Woody needed about 14 points out of his favorite early-round draftee, Antonio Gates. Unfortunately for him, Gates fell short (8 pts) and the Death Panel earned the victory. Thanks are due in enormous part to Drew Brees, whose 37 points constituted nearly 40% of DP scoring this week. I guess that answers my question about whether it was worth it to use a 2nd-round pick on him. The bad news for me in this one is that most of Woody's losing roster (Donovan McNabb, Calvin Johnson, Torry Holt, Michael Turner) are my players in other leagues. I did not do well this week.

A-Town Starbuckers (98) defeat You Got Got (91)
A (distant) second to Drew Brees in quarterback scoring this week was Tony Romo, whose early draft selection I similarly questioned. Romo proved me wrong to the tune of 26 points this week, enough to lead his Starbucker team to victory over You Got Got. Like his mascot, Big Brother's Jeff, Colly's team was ambushed before he could even get to the final, with A-Town's Santonio Holmes (19 pts) out-scoring Chris Johnson (6 pts) handily in the season opener. That was enough to overcome Derek's 0-fer from the WR2 position, as Anthony Gonzalez crumpled to the ground untouched early in the Colts-Jags game. One shudders to imagine what might happen if he were actually tackled at some point.

Your final two game re-caps will be posted tomorrow.