It was a somewhat puzzling Week 1 in the National Football League as some key players fell far short of expectations. When Oakland’s Terrell Pryor ends the week as the league’s second-leading rusher, fantasy owners are left scratching their head for good reason. As a matter of fact, there were only three players who rushed for more than 100 yards with Philly’s LeSean McCoy leading the pack at 184.

While most top running backs were able to get into the end zone and save face on their point totals, Arian Foster, Marshawn Lynch, Trent Richardson, Chris Johnson and C.J. Spiller all had lackluster performances. Owners who drafted one of these tailbacks might feel like they bought fake Jordan shoes from a bootlegger in a liquor store parking lot. But don’t worry, upon further examination those Week 1 knockoffs are truly authentic and will bring good value down the stretch.

Patriots’ Stevan Ridley was drafted in the second or third round in most drafts and his owners may be the most disappointed after he was benched for fumbling. He lost control of the rock in the first quarter, which was overturned because he was ruled down by contact. The third-year man fell down untouched and coughed it up again in the second quarter and Bills’ safety Da’Norris Searcy returned it for a 74-yard touchdown.

That was the last we saw of Ridley on Sunday as he was exiled to the bench with 46 yards on the day. His replacement, Shane Vereen, picked up the slack and tallied 101 rushing yards on 14 attempts as New England went on to beat Buffalo by a slim margin on the road, 23-21. The good news comes for Ridley’s owners as Vereen suffered a broken bone in his left wrist and will be out several weeks. Ridley will likely get most of the reps in the backfield unless the ball control issues arise again.

It’s no secret that the game has shifted into a pass-heavy league where quarterbacks throw for more than 300 yards as often as Miley Cyrus twerks. It happened 12 times last week and there were three games of 400 or more yards passing by a couple guys named Manning and the other named Kaepernick. Unlike Peyton and Colin, Eli wasn’t even in the top-10 amongst quarterbacks in most rankings before the season, even though he threw for over 4,000 yards in three of the last four years. It’s like he doesn’t have Victor Cruz to throw to, who caught three touchdown passes against the Cowboys after being underrated in most drafts.

There were 19 players with over 100 yards receiving in Week 1, three of which had 10 or more grabs. Just in case you wanted more proof of the pass-heavy era we are witnessing.

That leads me to Megatron, otherwise known as Calvin ‘I had two touchdowns overturned’ Johnson. The All-Pro wideout was targeted nine times and finished with four receptions and 37 yards. Reggie Bush was the Lions’ leading receiver in the win over the Vikings with four catches and 101 yards through the air, including a 77-yard touchdown pass. Johnson’s owners need not worry because the leader of the Decepticons will once again possess the All Spark and become the weapon of mass destruction we are used to seeing. Let’s not forget that he set a record for receiving yards last season with 1,964.

2013 Fantasy Woes Week 1 - Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson

During the offseason, Cowboys’ wide receiver Dez Bryant told the media that he could eclipse 2,000 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns in a season, breaking Johnson’s record in the process. The four-year pro out of Oklahoma State had only 22 yards on four catches in the first game and left in the fourth quarter with a sprained left foot. It is possible he suits up next week, but it is impossible that he lives up to his prediction, at least not in 2013.

So, your top draft choice(s) didn’t yield the results you expected in Week 1? There is no reason to lose sleep or panic because the season is young and better times are ahead. Each team has 15 more games on its schedule and players have plenty of time to put together the pieces of the puzzle.

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