As the season's first game approached on Thursday night, this salivating Alan Malamud-wannabe took a pen in one hand and a beer in the other and waited in anticipation. Here's a special primer from opening night…

The first humorous comment for me came not from an announcer but from the Mrs.. As the game began and player introductions flashed on TV, my wife muttered incredulously as she was leaving the room, "That guy only weighs 93 pounds?" It took me a few seconds to figure out what she was saying and I realized that as Dwight Freeney was introduced, next to his name it showed 93 LB. Needless to say, my wife is not a football fan…

It became evident early on that Indy was going to be able to run up the gut against a weak NE middle. Credit must be given to Indy's O-line and running attack, but Keith Traylor, Ty Warren and the rest of the interior did not look very good. Their ineptitude allowed Edge and Rhodes to rush for 40/184. That is more than twice what NE averaged giving up per game both overall last year and against Indy in the playoffs. It allowed the league's oldest LB, Roman Phifer, to grab 8 solo and 6 assist tackles. Keep your eyes on this situation. NE might really miss Ted Washington. If the NE middle continues to falter, Phifer could be a nice pickup…

That was a great sprawling, reaching INT by Tedy Bruschi in the first half. I think that was Ty Warren that caused Manning to force his end zone throw, but a great play by Bruschi nonetheless…

Speaking of Freeney, he displayed his outstanding quickness and spin move in a first half sack of Tom Brady. If Indy is to go far this year, they will need Dwight Freeney to have a big year…

One of the things I will be looking at early on is Cato June (and Gilbert Gardner), as the WLB has been a big FF scorer for Indy recently. Last year it was David Thornton, the year before Mike Peterson. Many speculated that with Thornton moving to the strong side, his numbers would drop drastically and June's (or whoever played at the weak side) would jump. After week one, Thornton had 4-1 tackles, June 2-2. Jim Nelson, who plays a couple different LB spots, had 4-1. Although he was beaten in coverage on more than one occasion, Thornton still showed nice speed…

Many FF owner's hearts skipped a beat hearing that Mike Doss hurt his hamstring. The replays reflected nothing odd, just Doss running down a player on a special teams play. Doss left the game, not to return. With Bob Sanders and Cory Bird still hurting, this is a situation to watch out for. Sanders could be back soon. If Doss is out longer and Sanders is not ready, second year player Anthony Floyd might take over.
Stay tuned…

On to the rest of the games…

With 11 solo tackles in game one, Derek Smith is off to a good start for the 49ers. Same goes for Julian Peterson, who didn't appear to need the early parts of training camp. Peterson had two sacks and two forced fumbles to go with 5 tackles. In the same game, CB Mike Rumph injured his groin and is considered doubtful for next week…

They've been saying all along that for Atlanta to be successful this year they need DT Rod Coleman to do well. Atlanta beat the 49ers and Coleman contributed a sack and 4 tackles. His sack on Rattay knocked him temporarily out of the game. More importantly, Coleman swatted away the two-point conversion pass from Rattay to Brandon Lloyd. Atlanta won by two. If available, Coleman's a solid pickup…

With Miami's offense being as abysmal as it is, LB Zach Thomas, already a superstar FF performer, should be a lock for a monster year. On Saturday, Thomas had 10 solo and 3 assisted tackles…

With 5 tackles and a sack, perhaps it's too early to write-off Junior Seau this year, especially on that team…

Titan rookie DE Antwan Odom got the start in week one, the first Titan rookie to do so since Kearse. Odom, a tremendous physical specimen and talent who only needs to get his head together, had a sack and a forced fumble in his professional debut…

SD LB Donnie Edwards is a stud. His tip of a David Carr pass in the second half led to an INT (which later became a TD) as the Chargers went on to win against Houston. Edwards added 6 solo and 4 assisted tackles…

Ray Lewis (13-1) might be on his way to another huge year, but it was CLE DE Kenard Lang's day against the Ravens. Lang has never had more than 8 sacks in his seven-year career, but he got 3 sacks on Sunday in week one. He also had a forced fumble and a few tackles. He can't keep up this pace, but anytime someone gets 3 sacks in a game, FF owners perk their ears up. Of course, Vonnie Holliday had 3 sacks in week one last year only to end up with 2.5 more the rest of the year…

BUF safety Izell Reese's INT against Byron Leftwich in the fourth quarter Sunday was the first INT by a Bills safety in 3 years…

Jag LB Mike Peterson started the year off well with 6 solos and 7 assists. Look for a return to the kinds of numbers he had in 2000 and 2002 for Peterson, whose improved play in the latter part of 2003 should be noted…

I had targeted Skins safety Matt Bowen as a bust in preseason until they cut Ifyeani Ohalete. That would have been a mistake. Bowen not only had 9 solo tackles and 2 sacks, but it was his stripped fumble out of the hands of Brad Johnson in the second quarter that led to a FG and a 10-0 game at the time…

As of this writing, Ram LB Pisa Tinosisamoa could miss a few weeks due to dislocated right shoulder. Tinoisamoa led the Rams in tackles last year as a rookie. Backup LB Trev Faulk also hurt himself (hamstring) and could be out a while. Keep your eyes open to the FBG injury reports for more info…

Many targeted PIT LB Clark Haggans as a solid FA pickup this year, as he was anointed as a starting outside linebacker. He did not disappoint in week one with 5 solo tackles, 2 sacks and 2 forced fumbles. It was only Haggans fifth career start…

Many IDP loyalists had their eyes on the Jets LB Jonathan Vilma, as it seems only a matter of time before he starts putting up huge numbers, supposedly at the expense of veteran LB Sam Cowart. Cowart went 11-2 with a forced fumble in the Jets win over Cincy. His forced fumble led to a touchdown by Donnie Abraham. Vilma? He was hardly seen and only had one tackle…

Bengal rookie safety Madieu Williams played a lot after Rogers Beckett went down with a concussion in the first half. Williams had 8-1. Stay tuned for news on Beckett, as Williams could be a reasonable dynasty pickup…

The much-ballyhooed battle for Saints MLB was won by Courtney Watson, as Orlando Ruff is not good enough and Cie Grant headed to his familiar position on IR. Despite the Saints loss to SEA, Watson had a nice game with 8 solos and 3 assists…

Eagle safety Michael Lewis was my sleeper candidate this year, as much as you can be a sleeper after his impressive sophomore season last year. He started off as quickly as he ended 2003, as he had 10 solos and 2 assists Sunday against the Giants. Lewis could be in for a career year in FF…

Dating back to last season, Giant DE Michael Strahan has 17.5 sacks in his last 13 games. He could be alone on a Giant team that seemed unable to stop anything the Eagles did on offense…

CAR LB's Dan Morgan, Will Witherspoon and S Mike Minter averaged over 8 solo tackles and 2 assists Monday night against Green Bay. Of course, it didn't hurt that GB rushed the ball 46 times. Morgan can never stay healthy, but I like Witherspoon to have a big year…

Until next week…