Washington 7, Buffalo 6 Redskins The highlight of this matchup was the preseason debut of RGIII. After a slow start, on the Skins 3rd possession Griffin hooked up with Pierre Garcon twice, including a 20-yard screen pass for a touchdown. Based on this one performance it was clear the "French Waiter" is Griffin's favorite target as the Skins newest playmaker accumulated three receptions for 58 yards a one TD. As promised by head coach Mike Shanahan, the Skins started running back Evan Royster who remained in the game alongside the starting unit. Royster put together a rather pedestrian performance highlighted by a fumbled handoff from Griffin on Washington's second series. Royster was eventually replaced by 2nd year man Roy Helu who also had a lackluster performance. Given Shanahan's strong ties to the RBBC it would be hard to rely on any Skins RB at this juncture. Bills Oddly reminiscent of last season, the Bills offense came out of the gates very slow. However, the absence of Fred Jackson, and the limited role of CJ Spiller accounts for the Bills' shortcomings. Fitzpatrick was able to hook up with Stevie Johnson for a 20-yard touchdown, only to be called back after an illegal formation (it speaks to Buffalo's poor performance when the only highlight is a negated touchdown). Falcons 17, Baltimore 31 Falcons The Falcons have been promising all offseason that they are going to "throw the football", and they delivered in spades. Matt Ryan opened the game on fire hooking up multiple times with both Roddy White and Julio Jones. Jones capped off the opening drive with a back of the endzone TD. Early indications have every member of the Falcons' aerial attack in store for a productive fantasy season. Starting running back Michael Turner was relatively ineffective looking sluggish. Turner was later replaced by backup Jacquizz Rodgers who was a much more efficient runner showing mobility and strength including scoring the Falcons second TD in a goal line situation. Turner's fantasy value continues to slide. Ravens The Baltimore offense began the game very anemic as their first 1st down didn't come until the 2nd quarter. Rice had little room to run on the opening series, but didn't play after that. It's never a good sign when the starting lineup stays in the game into the 2nd quarter of preseason game one. On the bright side, the Ravens would put together a long scoring drive capped off by a touchdown from tight end Ed Dickson. Wide receiver Torrey Smith also performed admirably and looks ready to step into his role as the Ravens leading wide receiver. Update: Smith emerged from the game with an apparent ankle injury and will miss a few weeks. Fortunately, we are still in the preseason, but certainly worth monitoring. Philadelphia 23, Pittsburgh 24 Eagles The Eagles 1st-team offense was nonexistent. Shady McCoy had one carry for minus-2 yards, DeSean Jackson caught one pass for 4-yards and Jeremy Maclin did not play due to an apparent hamstring injury. In fact, the biggest news from the Eagle performance was the hand injury to Michael Vick after smacking his hand on the helmet of his center. X-rays have come back negative. Steelers Despite concerns of a shoulder issue, Big Ben started the game marching his team down the field for an opening field goal. Starting for the Steelers at tailback was Isaac Redman (more confirmation than newsworthy). Playing only one series Redman caught a pass out of the backfield, churned out some tough yards and even converted a short yardage 4th-and-1. This information reaffirms the notion that Redman will be the Steelers' starter, and goal line runner. Jonathan Dwyer replaced Redman in the 2nd possession and is now considered the primary handcuff. I know that many won't highlight Antonio Brown's two receptions for 21 yards, but the talent is as obvious as a supermodel walking down the freeway naked. After each catch Brown quickly converts into a "punt returner" looking to turn up field and extend the play with extra yardage. His offseason hype is warranted. San Diego 21, Green Bay 13 Chargers Following the very first carry of Ryan Mathews' 2012 season he quietly walked off the field swinging his arm. Mathews has now been diagnosed with a broken clavicle, a diagnosis that carries with it a 4-6 week recovery period. During the offseason Mathews has been touted as a top tier running back, but let this be a reminder to all of us of the risk we take drafting "injury prone players" in the opening two rounds of our fantasy draft (Darren McFadden or DeMarco Murray). In Mathews absence stepped veteran Ronnie Brown, also a highly injury-prone player. Although Brown filled in admirably, keep an eye on Chargers' running back Curtis Brinkley. In limited action in 2011, Brinkley displayed excellent power for a player of 209-pounds (kind of like Ahmad Bradshaw). The other player of note from the Chargers offense was wide receiver Vincent Brown after producing four receptions for 81 yards a touchdown (our own Jim Bukowski already warned you this kid would emerge). I recognize Brown's production came against the Packers' 2nd-string defense, but Brown is a big, physical wide receiver with excellent hands in the mold of a Hakeem Knicks or Dwayne Bowe. Should Robert Meachem or Malcom Floyd stumble, Brown would be in line for a solid season. Packers The Packers offense looked out of sync, which is highly unusual. Running back James Starks led the way making numerous mistakes including a dropped pass and poor fumble. Reports have surfaced all season of Starks' troubles, and they have now manifested into the first preseason game. Returning from ACL surgery, Alex Green later supplanted Starks in the backfield, but it was 3rd-string tailback Mark Tyler that looked to be the best Green Bay running back. We must be reminded that Tyler was running against the Chargers 3rd-string defense. New Orleans 6, New England 7 Saints For the Saints this game was a toned down version of last week's performance. A mix of running backs and short passes as the first team offense saw very limited action. Oddly enough, in two preseason games neither Marques Colston, Lance Moore nor Devery Henderson have recorded a single reception. We should also note the Jimmy Graham hasn't even seen the field. The one position battle we are continuing to monitor is the Saints' kickers. Once again, John Kasay took the first field goal attempt nailing a 46-yarder, only to miss his second attempt from 41 yards. Garrett Hartley went 1-for-1, hitting his lone attempt from 27 yards. Whoever wins the competition will have solid fantasy value. Patriots The Patriots offense isn't going to change much coming into the new season. Brady did have a number of pass attempts to new target Brandon Lloyd, although no receptions were made. It was also nice to see Gronk on the field catching 2 balls for 20 yards. In the backfield the Patriots started Steven Ridley as promised. Ridley looked solid with good burst grinding out 40 yards on eight carries. Backup Shane Vereen was also impressive adding 64 yards on 11 carries. Although Ridley has been gaining a tremendous amount of notoriety of late, never forget that Belichick is a strong proponent of the RBBC. Vereen's solid performance will only help solidify that notion. Denver 31, Chicago 3 Bears Just looking at the score and we can deduce the poor performance of the Bears offense. It's worth noting that starting quarterback Jay Cutler did not play after the birth of his son earlier in the week. Matt Forte also sat out this game due to "unfavorable field conditions". Starting under center for the Bears was former Raider Jason Campbell. Relatively unimpressive, Campbell struggled to maintain any semblance of an offense. Backup Josh McCown didn't fare much better. The lone bright spot for the Bears was rookie wide reciver Alshon Jeffery, if you consider a bright spot four receptions for 35 yards. We'll dismiss this game as an aberration. Broncos Is it just me, or does Manning still look goofy wearing that orange and blue jersey? In his first start for the other horse team, Manning looked solid adjusting his offense at the line of scrimmage and correctly reading through his progressions. Although we did see a number of passes with great zip, we were not provided an opportunity to evaluate Manning's downfield arm strength, which continues to be the major question mark entering the new season. We need confirmation before we can draft Manning with confidence. We should also note the Manning's first three pass attempts went to former Colts' tight end Jacob Tamme, I can assure you Tamme will be gaining value this week. Manning also connected with wide receivers Eric Decker and Demaryius Thomas, but Decker looks to be the favorite as a quick outlet. Again, this could be the byproduct of Manning's developing arm strength. As expected, Willis McGahee started in the Broncos' backfield, but he was quickly replaced by 2nd-string tailback Lance Ball. We also saw first half carries from Knowshon Moreno. Highly publicized rookie running back Ronnie Hillman looks to be buried on the depth chart as the Broncos 4th running back.