Box Score Tonight: Football's Back Baby!

I remember conversions I had with friends in May that at most the upcoming football season would only be eight games. I am super excited that I was proven wrong. Even though I hate the Packers with a passion that burns inside of me with the intensity of 1000 suns, this football season started off with a great match up between the Green Bay Packers and the New Orleans Saints.

For those of you who don't know and/or forgot, I/we here at GOI (but mainly me) try to go over the Box Scores for every single NFL football game. What ended up happening last year was that the BST's (Box Score Tonight) started to get gradually worse and less helpful as law school started progressing. However, I am semi-buzzed from spending a night of watching football with friends at B-Dubs and I am fully prepared to talk about this first game of the season.

- I don't know if you've heard of these kids named Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees, but they're really good.
- I really thought Ryan Grant was going to get more carries than James Starks this game. While Grant started on the Packers first two drives and actually ended up with the better YPC, this game was all James Starks. He ended up with more carries (12 to 9), rushing yards (57 to 40) and TDs (1 to 0). I wouldn't put Grant in my starting fantasy line up unless a) He gets traded, b) Starks gets injured, or c) I'm super desperate.
- Even though Pierre Thomas is healthy, rookie RB Mark Ingram got more carries (13 to 5) and rushing yards (40 to 31) even though Thomas had double the YPC as Ingram (6.2 to 3.1). Even on the last play of the game to potentially tie it the Saints used Ingram over Thomas which prompted TBO to text me "Man they really hate pierre thomas". Like Grant, I'm weary to put Thomas in my starting line up, even when healthy.
- Darren Sproles played like I thought he would- as the third down back and catching a shit ton of passes. While he got a TD off of a punt return (chances are those points didn't count for you) I would only play Sproles in super deep leagues.
- Two things popped out to me from the wide out positions: 1) Jordy Nelson is a legit fantasy starter in deeper to semi-deep leagues- over both Donald Driver and James Jones and 2) There's a damn good reason I didn't draft Marques Colston in any leagues.
- Jordy Nelson just looked like he was in way more drives than Driver- who the Packers claim to be the starter. Nelson caught 6 out of his 8 targets for 77 yards and a TD.
- Colston looked terrible in this game. He's always been streaky on a per game basis and he's now coming off of microfracture surgery. I'd be weary to also start him but a) chances you don't have any better options and b) Colston always has the potential to get 100+ yards and a TD every single game. However, he's also prone to stinker games like this one.
- I predicted the Saints to finish 3rd in the NFC South for many reasons: a) I have a man crush on Tampa Bay, b) historically in recent years the NFC South never turns out like what you thought it would and it's always topsy turvy year after year, and c) I think the Saints defense is going to blow. New Orleans' D looked terrible and that's why we saw Drew Brees throw 49 times for 419 yards and 3 TDs. I think the Saints are going to be in a lot of shoot outs which just means a lot of fantasy points for Brees and that offense.
- Devery Henderson led all receivers with 100 yards and had a touchdown. Henderson, Colston, and Sproles all had 9 targets which led the Saints. As good of a fantasy day as Robert Meachum had (5/8, 70 yards, TD) it doesn't surprise me Henderson, the deep threat (16.7 YPR this game), had the better one. Henderson is a real sneaky play but I trust Meachum more week in and week out. Lance Moore didn't get a target (Did he even play? I think he might be injured).
- Two top TE's played in this game: Jimmy Graham and Jermichael Finley. Graham (4/7, 56 yards, TD) had the better fantasy day than Finley (3/4, 53 yards, 0 TDs), mainly because of the TD Jimmy had. There's still no reason to think Finley won't be better than Graham the rest of the year.

Well, I already wrote too much about this game. I hope you enjoy Box Score Tonight for the upcoming season. And we... are... OUT!