Andy Richardson

Nobody can watch every game on Sunday; there aren't enough hours in the day, especially when you're also trying to host a 2-year-old's birthday party. But by making sure you're in front of a TV from about noon Eastern to midnight, with multiple tuners so you can have one on DirecTV's Red Zone Channel and another on a primary game -- which you then change around as stuff gets boring or interesting -- you can see an awful lot. To wit:

Jets at Texans: A lot of people are wondering why they thought the Texans would be so good this year this morning. It was only one game, but yikes. Darrelle Revis (who's really, really good) took Andre Johnson out of the game, Kris Jenkins and Co. stuffed the run, and their offense didn't function. Only one game; as a Slaton owner I'm not too concerned yet. But that's just fantasy-wise. NFL-wise, the Texans are going nowhere.

As for the Jets, as you'll hear plenty of today, Mark Sanchez was a revelation. Quick release. Impressive footwork to elude pass rushers. Ridiculous third-down efficiency; I don't have the numbers but he was something like 9 of 12 at one point. Jerricho Cotchery was a legit No. 1 go-to-guy. Thomas Jones didn't look half as washed-up as he did all preseason -- indeed, on his long touchdown run I actually thought it was Leon Washington at first. The Jets will find things a little tougher against the Patriots next week, but you've got to be happy if you invested in their key players in yearly and dynasty formats: Sanchez, Dustin Keller, Washington (who will catch more passes in games when the Jets aren't winning throughout), Cotchery, and even Thomas Jones.

Broncos at Bengals: I've spent a few minutes trying to think of a more painful loss for a team. That game a few years back when the Saints had all those laterals to score a touchdown on the game's final play, then missed the extra point that would have forced overtime, comes to mind. Chargers-Patriots in the playoffs, when the Chargers intercepted Tom Brady in the final minute, then fumbled it back to the Patriots a few seconds later, was another. But to lose on an 87-yard TD pass thrown to another wideout that was deflected by your own defensive back into the hands of the guy who caught it....well, words fail.

There's a tendency to say, well, it's the Bengals. Maybe that's true. The other thing to keep in mind here, though, is that the Bengals didn't even score, at home, until the final 38 seconds. That's not good. Laveranues Coles dropped nearly everything thrown his way, which either means he's washed up (probably not) or that not getting any work with Carson Palmer in the exhibitions was costly (my guess). Cedric Benson wasn't great but he was OK; the only worry is that this was, in theory, one of the easier defenses he'll see for a while. At Green Bay next week might not be much better. As for the Broncos, I might have underestimated their defense. On offense, they didn't show a lot of fantasy value, either in their crowded running back committee or their erratic quarterback who should be 0-1.

Vikings at Browns: And that's why you don't use a No. 1 pick on anybody but Adrian Peterson if you have the chance. And why the Browns' most dangerous weapon is someone you can avoid by simply not kicking the ball to him. And why Brett Favre was interested in joining this team, which looks to be an old, broken-down quarterback's ideal situation in many weeks (although it could change in games against the Ravens and Steelers).

The big thing to talk about here is the Wildcat. The Browns used Joshua Cribbs near the goal line as a Wildcat quarterback; bad news for Brady Quinn and Jamal Lewis, good for Cribbs' value. The Vikings gave Percy Harvin a couple of snaps in the shotgun; given his involvement in the passing game and in taking snaps -- granted, Bernard Berrian being at less than full health probably helped him get some extra looks -- Harvin is startable; he nearly had a second touchdown. Talented guy who's going to be a problem for opponents, but a nice one to have for fantasy owners, I think.

Washington at Giants: This game was remarkably similar to the team's meetings last year. Washington still has problems actually, you know, scoring, and their defense was good enough to keep them in the game but not good enough to overcome a shoddy offense. Plus, the Giants defense remains really, really good -- doesn't look like they'll miss Steve Spagnuolo too much, given their personnel.

Couple of random notes from this game: Washington scored its first TD on a fake field goal. You gotta love when guys who normally don't score (the punter) get a chance to spike the ball and actually do it, with gusto. And second, Santana Moss got into a scuffle with a Giants defender -- maybe some frustration from realizing Washington's passing offense is going to be about as bad this year as it was last year. Forget last year's second-rounder Malcolm Kelly, who started but caught only 1 pass. Consider instead last year's third-rounder Mario Manningham, who looked very good for most of the preseason and showed some nice moves on a touchdown here. With Hakeem Nicks spraining his foot and likely missing some time, Manningham should be the clear No. 3 (at least until he passes Domenik Hixon).

Bears at Packers: We probably should have guessed that the battle of two of the NFC's best young quarterbacks would end up being the kind of hard-hitting defensive struggle that once led to this being known as the Black and Blue Division its name. Jay Cutler's numbers (18 INTs last year) hinted that he could be a little careless with the football, but this? During one series he threw balls that should have been intercepted on three consecutive pass attempts; the last one finally was. Cutler made some good throws (TD to Hester and a should-have-been TD to Johnny Knox where he was forced out of bounds, setting up a Cutler INT), and was under some pressure, but most of his mistakes were just lousy forces into coverage with no receiver in the area. In week 2 the Bears host the Steelers, who will at least be without Troy Polamalu, but still, a worrisome start for Cutler. Best I can say for Cutler is that he threw what should have been a TD to Desmond Clark, but for some curious reason Clark stopped his route. That lesser receiving corps rears its ugly head.

Regarding the Packers, I've already seen people frustrated by Aaron Rodgers, saying he was overvalued based on the preseason. I don't think there's much to worry about, beyond a very iffy right tackle situation. He himself looked fine; the defenses will get easier and the pass rushes lesser. Hey, they've got two games against the Lions, remember. Decent game for Ryan Grant, too.

Additional random notes: If last year's injury to Tom Brady convinced you not to draft a quarterback in the first round, this year's 6-TD game by Drew Brees convinced you that it's OK to do so. That's fantasy football. ... Jake Delhomme sure picked up where he left off last year. I own Steve Smith in nearly every league and am officially, if not worried, concerned. ... If the Bucs utilized a feature running back, that player could be great. They have a good run-blocking line and some talented backs. As is, though, it's going to be very hard to start a Tampa back and count on production. It sure looks like a haphazard approach they're using, where no one player can even be considered a favorite to carry at the goal line. ... I might have been wrong about Seattle, writing them off as a bunch of losers. Or else, it's going to take a while before the Rams can be considered an NFL caliber team. Or both. Seattle at San Francisco this week should be a very interesting game.

Monday, Monday: Two games tonight, which is cool except for those of us who won't be able to stay up for the late one. Anyway, some things to watch for: In Patriots-Bills, will Fred Jackson be effective? If he's even average, he could be huge at home against Tampa Bay next week. I'd like to see Terrell Owens look fully healthy, because he too could be very good against a soft Bucs secondary if so. And how will the Patriots use their running backs? ... As for Oakland-San Diego, it sounds like Richard Seymour will play. Will that translate into Oakland's defense finally being able to stop the Chargers' ground game? A little? And how much work will Darren Sproles get? Those of you who can stay up for it, enjoy.

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