I can honestly say I've never Googled a kicker in my life.
But there I was in the middle of Kings Island, Googling Nate Kaeding and finding out why Mike Scifres did kicking instead of Nate Kaeding.
Kaeding blew out his knee on the opening kickoff and is out for the season, which makes it the second-straight year I've had a starter out for the year after one game.
Now losing a kicker is of little consequence in the grand scheme of things. I could have been the owner who drafted Peyton Manning early only to find out a day later he was having what likely will end up being season-ending neck surgery.
In either case, it illustrates the importance of being active in waivers. Regardless of how your league's waivers are done, they are vital to a successful season.
Too often people put a ton of stock in their draft and while the draft is the foundation of any good team, waivers are the bricks to making a strong team.
Let me use last season as an example. In one of my leagues, you only get one waiver pick per week and waivers are done in reverse order of record. So it's essentially a one-round draft each week and wisdom has to be used each week as to not to waste a pickup.
So week one happens, and just like this year, I was drilled in week one. But more importantly to me, Ryan Grant suffered a season-ending ankle injury. I had the second pick in waivers and there was no one I wanted but Brandon Jackson, but knew the guy ahead of me likely was going to take him. Instead, I settled for some chump running back that had a big game for Cleveland: Peyton Hillis. I needed a running back to replace Grant and I wanted Jackson over Hillis.
You all know how that ended: Jackson became second string by the end of the year and Hillis became the Madden cover boy this year and one of my keepers.
Two weeks later, I picked up Michael Vick and those two carried my team to the championship game for the fifth-straight year.
So waivers are essential to a successful fantasy football campaign.
With so many significant injuries the first week of the season, I'm going to focus on those players who stand to benefit from some guys sitting on the sidelines.
Quarterback
There are two quarterbacks in particular that injuries have affected early in the season.
The obvious one is Manning, who had surgery to fuse vertebrae in his neck, likely is out until December, if he returns at all this year. Fuze may be a tasty beverage but it's not a delicious medical procedure.
In a keeper league, you're not doing anything with Manning but holding on to him. But otherwise, if you need the space, don't be afraid to cut Manning loose. I realize that sounds sacrilege but the reality is Manning is not likely back until Advent and I doubt after missing that much time, he's going to be delivering many fantasy gifts come Christmas time and your fantasy playoffs. And if the Colts play as lousy as they did in week one, the Colts will be out of the playoff picture and there will be no need to rush him back to the field.
Sam Bradford left Sunday's game with a hurt index finger, but has returned to practice this week. Still, he has a number of teammates that are hurt, including possession receiver Danny Amendola (likely out until November) and running back Steven Jackson, so more of the defensive attention may be put on (Bradford) if he does return this weekend.
There still are ample good quarterbacks in many leagues. The primary one is Buffalo's Ryan Fitzpatrick. The thing about Fitzpatrick is he's kind of like Emma Watson versus Christine Hendricks (Peyton Manning). No one gets excited about showing up at the party with Watson but at the end of the night, you find out she has worked her witchcraft to score big points.
Fitzpatrick picked up where he left off from last season with 208 yards passing and four touchdowns in his first game, a performance better than Aaron Rodgers, but without the notoriety.
Chad Henne silenced his critics for a week with a 416-yard, two touchdown passing effort on top of 59 yards rushing and another score. But the biggest problem with the former Wolverine is consistency and as easily as he threw for 400 yards, he easily could toss for 198 and three picks. Worth a flyer for sure, but buyer beware.
The last one is Cam Newton. While the Auburn rental had a phenomenal debut with similar numbers to Henne, remember he is a rookie and won the preseason QB battle by virtue of sucking the least, which isn't saying a lot. He will be up and down as he learns that the NFL is not the SEC and if you followed college football any last year, kind in mind Newton was up and down then too. He's a phenomenal talent but I'd make sure I have another option outside of Mr. Oblivious.
Running back
While week one didn't knock out any running back for the year, it kept one star on the sideline for the whole game and another for most of the game.
Arian Foster tweeted out his injured hamstring photo in the preseason and said it was no big deal but still missed week one. It appears that it will be a one week layoff for him as he has practiced with the starters on Wednesday and Thursday. Something you still want to watch. Keep in mind that it is a hamstring injury is not an easy injury to just come back be normal after a week off. Ask Knowshon Moreno, who suffered his third hamstring injury in the last two years on Sunday.
Ben Tate filled in for Foster and rushed to the tune of 116 yards and a touchdown and is worth owning if Foster shows he's not all the way back.
Willis McGahee also is worthy of ownership since Moreno has yet to practice this week and has shown little success at staying healthy in his three years in the league.
The other significant injury was to Jackson, who strained his quad. He has yet to practice this week and looks doubtful for Monday. In his place was Cadillac Williams, who like your grandfather's ride, is good for a few trips around town but it's not who you want to drive with cross country. Williams piled up 140 total yards in Jackson's absence. You need to own him, for like a hamstring, you never know when a quad injury is going to be completely healed.
Wide receiver
The biggest injury at wide receiver this weekend was actually not on the weekend at all as the Saints' Marques Colston suffered a broken clavicle in Thursday's opener against the Packers. Colston had six catches for 81 yards before getting injured and is expected to miss about a month.
With the Saints there are ample replacements: Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem. While Colston is the best of the bunch, he's kind of like rolling a seven with a pair of dice. The odds of are in your favor of him being the top dog. But Henderson, Meachem and Lance Moore, who missed week one with a groin injury, are all sixes or eights. The odds aren't as high but still a pretty good chance they'll hit on any given week.
Hakeem Nicks saw some swelling in his knee after the game but could be back this weekend. What would help his owners and that of Mario Manningham's is if Eli Manning would get back to playing at a high level instead of what he's shown through the preseason and one week of the regular season.
Steve Smith of Carolina returned from the fantasy dead in week one and showed flashes of the player he was four years ago with a 178 yard, two touchdown outburst. He's still available in some leagues. So is the sexy pickup of the week: Jordy Nelson, who had six catches for 77 yards and a touchdown for the Packers as the No. 3 receiver.
With Sidney Rice out in Seattle, rookie Doug Baldwin led the Seahawks with six targets, with four catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. He's worth putting on a watch list at this point. Deion Branch, not Chad Ochocinco, was the one who himself a big beneficiary of Tom Brady's 500-plus passing yards, snagging seven balls for 93 yards. He's continues to be an oldie but a goodie in that Patriots' offense. Remember Brady gets loyal and it's hard to break that loyalty. So until Ochocinco can break into that inner circle, expect Branch to still produce.
Kickers
It's not often I discuss kickers in this space but with two of the preseason point favorites injured, it warrants mentioning.
The aforementioned Kaeding was put on injured reserve this week after tearing ligaments in his knee. In his place, the team signed Nick Novak, a journeyman kicker in a short career.
Novak last made a regular season appearance in 2008 with the Chiefs, after spending parts of 2005 and 2006 with the Cardinals and Redskins. In his career, he's 19 of 30 in field goal kicking, further illustrating why he's been more of a NFL gypsy than a kicker who has maintained a starter's job. However, he was signed to a two-year deal and will kick in the high-scoring Chargers offense and worthy of a pickup to replace Kaeding.
Garrett Hartley is not nearly as bad off as Kaeding but he's expected to miss half the season with a hip pointer. In his place, John Kasay, who has been around for a long time but is still quite solid. In the potent Saints attack, Kasay stands to score a lot of points for your fantasy team and is a good placeholder while Hartley gets healthy.
Kasay brings me back to my original point: be active in the waivers.
In my second year of fantasy football, 15 years ago, I drafted Kasay in a keeper league with my first round pick. The year before, Kasay led our league in points, but I refused to make him one my keepers. That didn't stop me from trading up to get the first pick of the draft and take him. I learned that rookie lesson that you should never draft a kicker that early, a lesson I continue to get harassed for by the guys in my league. I won the league that year, but it had little to do with drafting Kasay first and more to do with savvy waiver moves in the season. A bad draft is not the end of your season.
Maybe it was a desire to make that trip down memory lane, but replacing Kaeding on my roster this week was Kasay. Some old habits die hard.
Aaron Korte is the A-T's fantasy football writer. He can be reached with questions and comments at .
