Every Tuesday night, we'll give you an update on our FanHouse fantasy football league. Who hit on their sleepers? Who made the shrewd pickups? Who's practicing what they preach? In 'House Check, you'll find out.I hope all of you readers scored wins in your first week of fantasy football. I wasn't so lucky, as I squared off against Ryan Dembinsky, the top scorer in Week 1. Ryan rode a 38-point performance from the Eagles defense/special teams (five sacks, five interceptions, two fumbles, two TDs) to a resounding Week 1 victory and laid early claim to being the best team in the league. Big ups to Ryan.
After continuously suggesting Mike Bell as a Week 1 pickup, I used him in my flex spot, where he landed me 12.3 points, more than anyone on my bench. Bell looks like he could be more than a one-week play, as coach Sean Payton has stated that Bell and Pierre Thomas are "competing for carries," something that should delight Bell owners and cause third-round drafters of Thomas to curse.
Sticking with my team, I'm the unlucky owner of Donovan McNabb. Looking through the waiver wire, I'm faced with possibly using a claim on Byron Leftwich, Mark Sanchez, Kerry Collins, Brady Quinn, JaMarcus Russell, Matt Stafford and Marc Bulger. Eli Manning is my new starter for Week 2, and he faces the Cowboys, a team Leftwich had some success against on Sunday. If I were to add one of the above options, I'd likely take Leftwich, who should do well in Buffalo next week. However, since none stand out as must-adds, I'm leaving them all on the wire for now and rolling with Manning. People will be pining for Sanchez, but I'd avoid -- despite what we saw in 2008, rookie QBs are more bust than boom.
The place to be in Week 1 is the wide receiver free-agent listings. In our league, potential pickups include Devery Henderson, Louis Murphy, Justin Gage, Chansi Stuckey, Mario Manningham, Miles Austin, Mark Clayton and Laurent Robinson. I've got Isaac Bruce on my bench, and I'm thinking about cutting him for a receiver with upside. Who to choose? I'm eliminating Clayton and Gage from that list, as they're known quantities like Bruce who give you solid numbers each week but don't have the upside for more. I'm also not considering Murphy, who was the benefit of a blown coverage and has a QB that tends to target the TE more often than not.
That leaves us with Henderson, Stuckey, Manningham, Austin, and Robinson. Henderson was on the field way more than Lance Moore, which was very surprising to me. Could the coaching staff still be worried about Moore's offseason injury? Stuckey looked to be the favorite target of QB Mark Sanchez, but plays on a run-first team. Austin seems like an all-or-nothing player, a guy that will have to score a TD to have a successful game. Manningham has emerged as the Giants' No. 2 WR after one week, though he'll have to fight to keep that distinction. Last we have Robinson, a guy who was QB Marc Bulger's favorite target in Week 1.
With Lance Moore on my team, I'm using my claim on Henderson. Having the No. 2 WR (whoever it may be) locked up in the best passing offense in the league will be a huge lift for my team. Let's cross our fingers and hope my No. 5 waiver priority is enough. In case it's not, I also put claims in on Stuckey and Manningham.
If you're interested to see our standings, check 'em out here.
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