Looks and Touches: Week 1

The following is a list of the Week 1 leaders in looks and touches. It defines those running backs and receivers who received the most attention this past weekend.

Touches is defined as the number of times a running back carried or caught the football.
Looks is defined as the number of times a player was the intended target of a pass.

 

TOUCHES
• Matt Forte's rookie season couldn't have gotten off to a better start – if you want to get technical, he actually could have if Jason McKie hadn't poached a fourth quarter TD, but you get what I mean. He tied for the league lead with 26 touches (23 carries, 3 receptions) and produced 141 yards of offense (123 rushing, 18 receiving), including a 50-yard scoring run. Even if you thought Forte was in for a decent year before this past Sunday, remember to remain objective before drastically adjusting your season projections – the Bears managed just 3.1 yards per carry as a team in 2007 (albeit with some different personnel).

• Perhaps Willie Parker's demise was greatly exaggerated? He dominated the Steelers' carries in the early going of the 38-17 blowout (just 1 of Rashard Mendenhall's 10 carries came in the first half) and stayed on the field for most short-yardage and goal-line opportunities. With three scores in Week 1, Parker has already surpassed his season TD total from 2007 (2), and he believes that he's got the inside track on those opportunities moving forward.

• Reggie Bush turned 22 touches (14 carries, 8 catches) into 163 yards of offense (51 rushing, 112 receiving), which was good for second among RB for the week – it was an auspicious start for a player who was more dedicated this offseason than the months leading up to his disappointing 2007 campaign.

• Chris Perry's first game as a featured back wasn't exactly a sparkling success – on the road against a tough Baltimore defense, he managed just 42 yards (37 rushing, 5 receiving) on 19 touches (18 carries, 1 catch). I have my doubts that Perry is a better option than Kenny Watson as a rusher (clearly he's a better hands player, though), and things don't figure to get much easier for Perry and the Bengals in the short term (next two games are vs Ten and at NYG).

• The platoon watch notes when a team's RB2 is given at least half as many touches as the RB1, regardless of the reason. Platoon watch for Week 1 included: Atlanta (Michael Turner 23, Jerious Norwood 16), Baltimore (Ray Rice 25, Le'Ron McClain 21), Carolina (DeAngelo Williams 19, Jonathan Stewart 10), Chicago (Matt Forte 26, Kevin Jones 13), Denver (Andre Hall 10, Selvin Young 7, Michael Pittman 7), Green Bay (Ryan Grant 12, Brandon Jackson 10), Houston (Steve Slaton 16, Ahman Green 9), Jacksonville (Fred Taylor 10, Maurice Jones-Drew 9), Miami (Ricky Williams 14, Ronnie Brown 9), New Orleans (Reggie Bush 22, Pierre Thomas 12), New England (Sammy Morris 15, Laurence Maroney 10), NY Giants (Brandon Jacobs 22, Derrick Ward 11), Oakland (Justin Fargas 20, Darren McFadden 10), Tampa Bay (Earnest Graham 13, Warrick Dunn 9), and Tennessee (Chris Johnson 18, LenDale White 15).

• Michael Turner got the season off to a bang, turning 23 touches (22 carries, 1 catch) into 226 yards of offense (220 rushing, 6 receiving) – his average of 9.8 yards per touch led all RB with at least 10 touches. Earnest Graham (9.1), Frank Gore (8.4), Ryan Grant (7.7), Reggie Bush (7.4), and Chris Johnson (7.1) also made the most of their workloads. Chris Perry came in at just 2.2 yards per touch (42 yards of offense on 19 touches), the lowest mark among RB with double-digit touches. LenDale White (2.7), Fred Taylor (2.7), Ricky Williams (2.8), Rashard Mendenhall (2.8), and Brandon Jackson (3.0) all found themselves on the low end of the spectrum.

LOOKS
• Reggie Wayne started the season in fine fashion, garnering a league-high 17 looks en route to 10 catches for 86 yards and a score. The looks weren't exactly hard to come by for any of the Colts' top three wideouts – Marvin Harrison had 11 (8 catches, 76 yards) and Anthony Gonzalez had eight (5 catches, 48 yards) as Peyton Manning attempted 49 passes in the team's 29-13 loss.

• Muhsin Muhammad and D.J. Hackett saw plenty of action in Steve Smith's absence, combining for 27 looks on Jake Delhomme's 41 passing attempts. They totaled just 11 catches for 104 yards, however, as Dante Rosario was the star of the day (8 looks, 7 catches, 96 yards, 1 TD).

• Only two of the top seven TE in looks for Week 1 were among the top 20 at the position in terms of ADP in drafts. Jason Witten (9 looks) and Tony Gonzalez (7) were the popular picks, while the others who saw the most action in the season's first game included L.J. Smith (10), Anthony Fasano (9), Dante Rosario (8), Randy McMichael (7), and Visanthe Shiancoe (7).

• It's not hard to believe that the Browns' offense struggled on a day when Braylon Edwards was only able to convert nine looks into two catches for 14 yards. Edwards had fewer than three catches and 49 receiving yards just once during the 2007 season.

Week 1 Touch Leaders RANK  PLAYER  TEAM WEEK 1 YEAR T/G 1 Matt Forte CHI 26 26 26.0 1 Edgerrin James ARI 26 26 26.0 3 Willie Parker PIT 25 25 25.0 3 Thomas Jones NYJ 25 25 25.0 3 Ray Rice BAL 25 25 25.0 6 LaDainian Tomlinson SD 24 24 24.0 7 Michael Turner ATL 23 23 23.0 7 Larry Johnson KC 23 23 23.0 7 Clinton Portis WAS 23 23 23.0 10 Reggie Bush NO 22 22 22.0 10 Brandon Jacobs NYG 22 22 22.0 12 Marshawn Lynch BUF 21 21 21.0 12 Le'Ron McClain BAL 21 21 21.0 12 Brian Westbrook PHI 21 21 21.0 15 Kevin Smith DET 20 20 20.0 15 Justin Fargas OAK 20 20 20.0 15 Adrian Peterson MIN 20 20 20.0 18 Marion Barber DAL 19 19 19.0 18 DeAngelo Williams CAR 19 19 19.0 18 Chris Perry CIN 19 19 19.0 21 Frank Gore SF 18 18 18.0 21 Chris Johnson TEN 18 18 18.0 23 Steven Jackson STL 17 17 17.0 24 Steve Slaton HOU 16 16 16.0 24 Jerious Norwood ATL 16 16 16.0 26 Sammy Morris NE 15 15 15.0 26 LenDale White TEN 15 15 15.0 26 Julius Jones SEA 15 15 15.0 29 Ricky Williams MIA 14 14 14.0 29 Jamal Lewis CLE 14 14 14.0 31 Kevin Jones CHI 13 13 13.0 31 Joseph Addai IND 13 13 13.0 31 Earnest Graham TB 13 13 13.0 34 Ryan Grant GB 12 12 12.0 34 Pierre Thomas NO 12 12 12.0 36 Tim Hightower ARI 11 11 11.0 36 Derrick Ward NYG 11 11 11.0 38 Warrick Dunn TB 10 10 10.0 38 Rashard Mendenhall PIT 10 10 10.0 38 Laurence Maroney NE 10 10 10.0 38 Jonathan Stewart CAR 10 10 10.0 38 Fred Taylor JAC 10 10 10.0 38 Fred Jackson BUF 10 10 10.0 38 Darren McFadden OAK 10 10 10.0 38 Brandon Jackson GB 10 10 10.0 38 Andre Hall DEN 10 10 10.0 47 Ronnie Brown MIA 9 9 9.0 47 Maurice Jones-Drew JAC 9 9 9.0 47 Felix Jones DAL 9 9 9.0 47 Ahman Green HOU 9 9 9.0 51 Leon Washington NYJ 8 8 8.0 51 Chester Taylor MIN 8 8 8.0 53 Selvin Young DEN 7 7 7.0 53 Michael Pittman DEN 7 7 7.0 53 Jamaal Charles KC 7 7 7.0 56 Tashard Choice DAL 6 6 6.0 56 Mike Tolbert SD 6 6 6.0 56 Maurice Morris SEA 6 6 6.0 56 Dominic Rhodes IND 6 6 6.0 60 Lorenzo Booker PHI 5 5 5.0 60 DeShaun Foster SF 5 5 5.0 62 Peyton Hillis DEN 4 4 4.0 62 Leonard Weaver SEA 4 4 4.0 62 Kenny Watson CIN 4 4 4.0 65 Tony Hunt PHI 3 3 3.0 65 Rudi Johnson DET 3 3 3.0 65 Justin Griffith OAK 3 3 3.0 65 Greg Jones JAC 3 3 3.0 65 B.J. Askew TB 3 3 3.0 70 Zak Keasey SF 2 2 2.0 70 Mike Cox KC 2 2 2.0 70 LaMont Jordan NE 2 2 2.0 70 Ladell Betts WAS 2 2 2.0 70 Jason McKie CHI 2 2 2.0 70 Heath Evans NE 2 2 2.0 70 Darren Sproles SD 2 2 2.0 70 Correll Buckhalter PHI 2 2 2.0 78 Vonta Leach HOU 1 1 1.0 78 Tim Castille ARI 1 1 1.0 78 Thomas Tapeh MIN 1 1 1.0 78 Patrick Cobbs MIA 1 1 1.0 78 Ovie Mughelli ATL 1 1 1.0 78 Nick Goings CAR 1 1 1.0 78 Mike Hart IND 1 1 1.0 78 Madison Hedgecock NYG 1 1 1.0 78 Lorenzo Neal BAL 1 1 1.0 78 Korey Hall GB 1 1 1.0 78 Jason Wright CLE 1 1 1.0 78 Carey Davis PIT 1 1 1.0 78 Brad Hoover CAR 1 1 1.0 78 Ahmard Hall TEN 1 1 1.0

Week 1 Look Leaders RANK  PLAYER  TEAM WEEK 1 YEAR L/G 1 Reggie Wayne IND 17 17 17.0 2 Muhsin Muhammad CAR 15 15 15.0 3 Plaxico Burress NYG 13 13 13.0 3 Joey Galloway TB 13 13 13.0 3 Dwayne Bowe KC 13 13 13.0 6 Andre Johnson HOU 12 12 12.0 7 Eddie Royal DEN 11 11 11.0 7 Anquan Boldin ARI 11 11 11.0 7 Marvin Harrison IND 11 11 11.0 10 Calvin Johnson DET 10 10 10.0 10 DeSean Jackson PHI 10 10 10.0 10 Matt Jones JAC 10 10 10.0 10 Wes Welker NE 10 10 10.0 10 D.J. Hackett CAR 10 10 10.0 10 L.J. Smith PHI 10 10 10.0 10 Santana Moss WAS 10 10 10.0 17 Reggie Bush NO 9 9 9.0 17 Anthony Fasano MIA 9 9 9.0 17 Jason Witten DAL 9 9 9.0 17 Nate Burleson SEA 9 9 9.0 17 Lee Evans BUF 9 9 9.0 17 Courtney Taylor SEA 9 9 9.0 17 Braylon Edwards CLE 9 9 9.0 24 Dante Rosario CAR 8 8 8.0 24 Antwaan Randle El WAS 8 8 8.0 24 Terrell Owens DAL 8 8 8.0 24 Anthony Gonzalez IND 8 8 8.0 24 T.J. Houshmandzadeh CIN 8 8 8.0 24 Antonio Bryant TB 8 8 8.0 30 Randy Moss NE 7 7 7.0 30 Tony Gonzalez KC 7 7 7.0 30 Greg Lewis PHI 7 7 7.0 30 Randy McMichael STL 7 7 7.0 30 Bernard Berrian MIN 7 7 7.0 30 Steven Jackson STL 7 7 7.0 30 Visanthe Shiancoe MIN 7 7 7.0 30 Ted Ginn Jr. MIA 7 7 7.0 38 Bo Scaife TEN 6 6 6.0 38 Patrick Crayton DAL 6 6 6.0 38 Hines Ward PIT 6 6 6.0 38 Jeremy Shockey NO 6 6 6.0 38 Robert Royal BUF 6 6 6.0 38 Ike Hilliard TB 6 6 6.0 38 Kellen Winslow CLE 6 6 6.0 38 Antonio Gates SD 6 6 6.0 38 David Martin MIA 6 6 6.0 38 Derrick Mason BAL 6 6 6.0 38 Zach Miller OAK 6 6 6.0 38 Dominic Rhodes IND 6 6 6.0 38 Shaun McDonald DET 6 6 6.0 38 Ricky Williams MIA 6 6 6.0 38 Jerricho Cotchery NYJ 6 6 6.0 38 Steve Breaston ARI 6 6 6.0 38 Greg Camarillo MIA 6 6 6.0 38 Marques Colston NO 6 6 6.0 38 Roscoe Parrish BUF 6 6 6.0 38 Desmond Clark CHI 6 6 6.0 38 Justin Gage TEN 6 6 6.0 38 Ronald Curry OAK 6 6 6.0 38 Chris Chambers SD 6 6 6.0 61 Greg Jennings GB 5 5 5.0 61 Sammy Morris NE 5 5 5.0 61 Donald Driver GB 5 5 5.0 61 Bryant Johnson SF 5 5 5.0 61 Roy Williams DET 5 5 5.0 61 Ashley Lelie OAK 5 5 5.0 61 Mark Clayton BAL 5 5 5.0 61 Marshawn Lynch BUF 5 5 5.0 61 Brandon Stokley DEN 5 5 5.0 61 Amani Toomer NYG 5 5 5.0 61 Troy Williamson JAC 5 5 5.0 61 Todd Heap BAL 5 5 5.0 61 Jordan Kent SEA 5 5 5.0 74 Frank Gore SF 4 4 4.0 74 John Carlson SEA 4 4 4.0 74 Maurice Jones-Drew JAC 4 4 4.0 74 Kevin Smith DET 4 4 4.0 74 Ahman Green HOU 4 4 4.0 74 Garrett Mills MIN 4 4 4.0 74 Vincent Jackson SD 4 4 4.0 74 Jason Avant PHI 4 4 4.0 74 Kevin Walter HOU 4 4 4.0 74 Chris Johnson TEN 4 4 4.0 74 Owen Daniels HOU 4 4 4.0 74 Larry Fitzgerald ARI 4 4 4.0 74 Marcedes Lewis JAC 4 4 4.0 74 Marion Barber DAL 4 4 4.0 74 Tim Hightower ARI 4 4 4.0 74 Ray Rice BAL 4 4 4.0 74 Brandon Jackson GB 4 4 4.0 74 LaDainian Tomlinson SD 4 4 4.0 74 Dwayne Jarrett CAR 4 4 4.0 74 Sidney Rice MIN 4 4 4.0 74 Santonio Holmes PIT 4 4 4.0 74 Julius Jones SEA 4 4 4.0 74 Lance Moore NO 4 4 4.0 74 Reggie Williams JAC 4 4 4.0 74 Jerious Norwood ATL 4 4 4.0 74 Chad Johnson CIN 4 4 4.0 74 Dane Looker STL 4 4 4.0 74 Brandon Jacobs NYG 4 4 4.0 74 Laveranues Coles NYJ 4 4 4.0 74 Bobby Wade MIN 4 4 4.0 74 Jeb Putzier SEA 4 4 4.0

Matt Buser is a Yahoo! Sports fantasy expert. Send Matt a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.

Updated on Wednesday, Sep 10, 2008 11:37 am, EDT

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