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NFL Rookie Battle Royale: Week 3

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All of you know how awesome of a week this has been, especially with the Bungals beating the Steelers, Manning destroying the Cardinals on Sunday night, and the crazy ending to the Vikings game. The rookies decided to show up too, with a few of them having some great games.

Matt Stafford

How could I not lead with the Lions winning? Im still in shock that they were able to put it together for a full 60 minutes. Stafford played pretty well too, as he showed he is starting to gain that confidence he needs to grow in such a horrible offense. Stafford threw a TD that started everything off for the Lions, thus bringing his total to two in three games, but he didn’t throw an interception, so that is like icing on the cake for a rookie QB. I still say its not a good idea to hold his cards, but at least it’s a LITTLE more promising now that the streak is over.

Mark Sanchez

Sanchez played another great game and came away with another win. It was another great defense, the best arguably, but he was calm and collected even during a bad second half. He had a great TD pass to Cotchery in double coverage and ran one in from 14 out. He ended with with 3 total TDs and is making a few people wonder why they may have passed on him at picks 2-4 in the draft. Sanchez cards are at the peak of their value right now, so if you have them, it may be good to sell and rebuy later, if there is a later. Looks like he will be the Matt Ryan value of his class this year.

Percy Harvin

Harvin was great in the Vikings win, scoring his third TD in as many games. He played great during the second half especially, running back a kick 101 yards and catching some key passed on the final drive that led to the score. He ended up with his best game in terms of yardage, but the return was the spike the Vikings needed to stay in the game after being shut down time after time by the Niners’ Defense. Like Sanchez, Harvin’s cards are at the peak of their value, so it’s a great time to sell if you arent a fan.

LeSean McCoy

Im thinking that Brian Westbrook doesn’t feel so bad he missed that game anymore as McCoy sure picked up the slack with ease. The Eagles routed the Chiefs and McCoy got his first TD of the year. He also racked up 80+ yards and a YPC avg over four yards in the effort. McCoy should be pretty good in the long run, though he will always be overshadowed by Westbrook. Keep his cards for right now, as his value has a lot of potential to go up from here.

Knowshon Moreno

Welcome to the NFL Mr. Moreno. Nice to see you. Glad you put up 90 yards and a TD, bout time a running back in Denver does well, right? Knowshon looked pretty good in his first game with a focus over Buckhalter, and I would expect by week 8 he will have 70-80% of the carries. He is a great back, and should continue to put up numbers week after week. As with all the first round running backs, his value is high due to the Peterson effect, but as it starts to come down, it should be a good idea to pick some of his stuff up.

Donald Brown

That 72 yard scamper was pretty impressive wasn’t it? Well, it helped him put up the first 100 total yard game for a non-QB rookie this year, and jumped his value pretty high as a result. Brown doesn’t have the luxury of a huge college following like Wells, but he showed why he needs a pro following. Wells managed -2 yards on 2 carries, while Brown did great. This guy is a keeper.

Johnny Knox

Another game, another TD for Knox, despite the fact that it was his only catch of the game. He sure has been a pleasant surprise for the Bears, as the rest of their receiving corps is almost as inexperienced as he is. Because of the fact that he has done as well as he has, sell as fast as you can. Its not going to go much higher than it is unless he goes for 150 and three TDs somewhere later in the season. That’s a risk I would be willing to take.
The Rookie Graveyard


Here is where I want to talk about some rookies that Im sure are making a few of you guys pretty angry with their lack of contributions to their teams.

Jeremy Maclin – Where the hell have you been? Having 6 receptions for 46 yards on the season is a crap start for a guy I thought would be the star receiver of his class. Wow.

Darrius Heyward-Bey – Im sure having a QB like Jamarcus Russell is a contributing factor, but 1 reception for 18 yards on the whole year is poop. We all know he shouldn’t have been drafted so high, but hot damn, get moving!

Beanie Wells – I think a lot of people are pretty happy that Beanie isnt doing great so far. They say he was a beneficiary of playing at OSU, and it may be starting to show.

Hakeem Nicks – 2 receptions for 19? Doing worse than Hey Bey, but his team doesn’t need him as much. EDIT: Looks like he was injured week 1, my page on NFL.com didnt show that, my fault on this one…

Next week is looking pretty good, especially with Harvin going up against the Packers on Monday night. Now that the rookies are pretty secure in their roles, it could be interesting to see how values respond. Glen Coffee will have his first game against a defense that he can take advantage of, and may have a great game in Gore’s absence, Sanchez looks like he may be in for his first test as he faces the Saints, and with the Bears going up against Detroit, who knows.

Also, be sure to check out my rookie of the week write up on the Upper Deck Blog as soon as the player is announced. You can also enter your cards to track the performances of a few of the guys I talk about here and possibly win some prizes if you have the ROW in your portfolio. Pretty cool.

Even if the rookies didn’t come to play, this season has still been a great ride so far. I hope it will continue to be as exciting as it has been, as there have already been some great stories. Next week is when things start to get interesting, so don’t miss it under any circumstances. Trust me, it only gets better from here.

NFL Rookie Battle Royale: Week 2

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The week is pretty much in the books, and there was actually a lot of rookie action during the games, so ill try to keep it short to cover all the recaps. There were definitely some surprises as well, and a few possible contenders for rookie of the week, in addition to those who were also coming off good games in Week 1.

Mark Sanchez

Who wouldve thought that a rookie QB could actually beat the almighty Patriots. I didn’t. Sanchez played well, and even threw a nice TD en route to another win. I would think that after this week, in addition to last, his cards should continue to soar in price. I wouldn’t go out and buy any until he comes down from this high, though he may not actually do so if the Jets continue to have a good season. Regardless, 163 and a touchdown is always a good performance against a stingy defense.

Matt Stafford

After the first half, I was sweating the Lions play against my Vikings, as Stafford was actually hanging in there. He wasn’t counted on much, mostly handing off to a rushing game that was having success. Then, when the second half started, and the Vikings were gaining momentum, he crumbled as most rookies would. He ended up adding to his interception total rather than his small TD total, which led to the kitties losing again. His cards were a bad hold to start, and though he will probably end up with a good career, this year will not be a good one for his card value. He will throw more INTs than TDs, and should end up with one win, four at the most. I will say this, the Lions do look BETTER than the Browns this year.

Percy Harvin

Harvin had another good week, though he was playing against a defense that could be one of the softest he plays all year. He had a few key third down catches, as well as a touchdown, which should raise card and fantasy value even more than it already is. One thing I noticed watching him was that like Peterson, Harvin refuses to go down. There was one play where he had four Lions trying to push him back and still ended up falling forward for a few more key yards. He is going to be great.

Johnny Knox

Mr Knox had another good game, catching 6 passes and touchdown for 70 yards. With Forte sputtering (YES!), Knox has been there to pick up some of the slack, something I would guess Cutler is quite happy about. His values started climbing last week, and will continue this week, as he proves himself to be a vital part of the Bears’ young receiver corps. Knox looks good, and could potentially be a star one day, so those fans looking for a Bear to collect should go to him.

Julian Edelman

Who the fuck is Julian Edelman, right? He had a great week for the Patriots in the absence of Wes Welker, thus proving that Brady needs a goofy white guy to throw to each game, haha. Edelman was one of the last picks of the draft, and wasn’t even invited to the combine, though had a great pro day. He obviously made the team, and could end up as a good four guy for the Pats. I wouldn’t expect long term success, but he did look amazing in his role. Considering the Pats have two great receivers already, he may not be a good one to invest in quite yet.

Knowshon Moreno

The Broncos made Moreno more a part of their offense this week, and he responded with the best performance out of a rookie back so far this year. He put together close to 100 total yards, and though he didn’t get a TD, im sure he will continue to be a good option for a team that lost their best player. Moreno should end up being great, but right now its obvious that he is still feeling things out. Im guessing he will be the first one to break a big one of all the rookies this year. Not Chris Johnson or Matt Forte style from last year, but still good. Donald Brown still has yet to play, so we will see what is going to happen with that.

Beanie Wells

The Cardinals played MUCH better this week, and therefore Beanie wasn’t as much of a focus. Hightower got their rushing score, and Wells managed 7 for 44 yards. Not awful, but not great either. He is going to need to prove his worth, especially with Fitz and Boldin being the lynchpins of the offense. I would say he should be a good back eventually, but its going to take a big game for him to gain the trust to handle more stuff. Hightower will get the goalline carries, so that’s also going to be a problem for the people who collect him. He has an OSU following, so his cards wont be cheap, but they wont be worth much more until next year probably.

Maclin and McCoy

These two guys could end up being the best rookie tandem of the year, but so far Maclin has done nothing. He had 2 catches for 22, which doesn’t bode well coming off a shutout last week for him. McCoy had a decent game with 55 total yards, which was great with Westbrook in front of him. It shows that the Eagles want him there, and should solify some of his card values. McCoy should develop nicely this year, and with the starter being kind of injury prone, he could move up quite quickly.

Next week is also looking like it could be a good week for the rookies, and you can bet that this is the time where the teams are also cementing depth chart roles, as well. We should see a big rookie week next week, and I am looking forward to seeing how Stafford and Sanchez come off their games respectively. If Sanchez wins again, look for astronomical prices, the opposite happening for Stafford if he continues to throw picks. Marky Mark got lucky playing for a good team, so it will be great for his values once the end of the season comes. Oustide of that, we shall see how Harvin and Knox continue, as well as seeing if Britt and Hey Bey grow in their roles.