Kenny Britt, Troy Polamalu and the Steelers' Non-Existent Running Game

If you're a football fan (and who isn't), you were treated to an excellent first game of the season. We saw everything from blocked field-goals to a last-minute fumble, and you have to love any first game decided in overtime. If you're a fantasy football fan, however, there were a few things to like about Thursday's clash (Kenny Britt and Ben Roethlisberger, for example), and several things to hate. Since we have to wait a couple days for more pro football, let's analyze (and potentially over-analyze) the Tennessee-Pittsburgh game.

I've been underselling Santonio Holmes this year as a WR2. Hines Ward has been the top receiver in this offense for so long, and I felt that people who were using a high pick on Holmes were setting themselves up for disappointment. But Holmes looked like he may have finally passed Ward for fantasy usefulness, as he turned in a reprise of his Super Bowl numbers: 9 catches, 131 yards, 1 far-less dramatic TD. Ward was no slouch either, catching 8 balls for 103 yards. Both receivers should be great WR3s moving forward.

Of course, the reason the pair of receivers put up such great numbers is that they had to. The Pittsburgh running game was terrible. Willie Parker gained 19 yards on 13 carries, and Rashard Mendenhall gained just 6 yards on 4 carries. At the end of the game, coach Mike Tomlin switched to Mewelde Moore, but even he had just 8 yards on 5 carries. Moore did make an impact in the passing game, catching 4 balls for 28 yards. While it's just one game (against a pretty good defense), the mediocrity of the Steelers' rushing offense could send us back to 2007, when Roethlisberger was filling up the stat-line on a weekly basis. I'd be extremely worried if I was a Parker owner (which I'm not, thankfully).

For Tennessee, a lot of people are likely going to be talking about rookie Kenny Britt, who led the Titans in receiving yards with 85 on 4 catches. A big chunk of that production (57 yards to be exact) came on a blown coverage at the end of the first half; on the next play, Kerry Collins hit Justin Gage, who was the real receiving star for Tennessee, for a touchdown. Nate Washington was able to play this week, but he looked limited, and once he's healthy I think Britt moves into a third-receiver role and we start seeing two-catch, 15-yard games from him. Stash or Trash Britt? I'd trash him in a non-keeper/non-dynasty and use that roster spot on somebody more useful.

OK, I can understand an occasional field goal getting blocked, but what was up with Rob Bironas' first field-goal attempt of the season? For a guy that was near or at the top of most people's kicker rankings, a 1 for 3 day isn't something you want to see in Game 1. Remember, if that missed FG in the first quarter had sailed through, this would have been yet another Titans victory against the Steelers.

Last item: Coach Tomlin called Troy Polamalu's injury an MCL sprain, and he's expected to miss 3-6 weeks. Bummer for anyone counting on him in IDP leagues, although he did give us a great performance before exiting (6 tackles, 1 INT). Need a replacement? Check out our Ballhawkin' column, which should be up later today, for largely available guys we think could come through big.