Fantasy Football Fanhouse

Fantasy Football Wrap: T.O. Is Alive

Matt Snyder — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sunday Wrap-Up, NFL Value Machine

Sunday Evening Wrap checks out players who increased or decreased their value during the Sunday afternoon games.

Riser of the Week: Terrell Owens came into Sunday with just 26 catches for 366 yards and a single touchdown -- in nine games. Considering the Bills were switching back to Ryan Fitzpatrick, who did no favors for T.O. when at the helm earlier this season, there was very little reason to start Owens in many fantasy leagues. Instead, T.O. reminded us how cruel a mistress fantasy football can be. He's still alive and kicking, as he ushered forth a vintage stat-line. Nine catches for 197 yards and a touchdown. Is this 2007? I'm not buying any sort of extended rejuvenation moving forward, but it probably felt good for T.O. -- if only for one Sunday in 2009.

Faller of the Week: The Cowboys passing offense generated just 158 yards. Sure, the Redskins entered the game ranked as the top pass defense in the NFL, but the Cowboys weren't even trying until they had to. Tony Romo completed just 15 of 27 passes for a touchdown and a pick. Miles Austin was shut out for three quarters. Jason Witten only gained 43 yards -- further cementing his status as a draft bust for '09. Roy Williams didn't catch a single pass, which means he'll be whining again this week. All in all, it was an awful day for the 'Boys through the air. Hopefully it's not lost on the coaching staff that the only scoring drive of the day was all pass plays. Of course, they do face the Raiders next week -- a team that can't stop anyone on the ground.

Other Shifts in Value

Robert Meachem - Sure, his two touchdowns were his only catches, but at some point you can't ignore the scores anymore. That's four in his last three games and six this year. He should certainly be owned in all leagues, if for nothing more than bench depth.

Kellen Winslow - Sunday provided us a reminder how fickle tight ends working with a rookie quarterback can be. I like Winslow to bounce back, though. The five catches are a good indication Freeman trusts him.

Kevin Boss - Like Meachem, Boss also has four touchdowns in his last three games.

Jason Snelling - His value is completely inverse to Michael Turner's. Monitor the latter's status.

Adrian Peterson - Just 82 rushing yards and no scores? We need more than that from an overall top pick, especially against a bad team.

Nate Burleson - Last week was an aberration (when he was shut out). The six-catch, 100-yard outing was more like the Burleson we've seen much of this year.

Heath Miller - After three sub-par weeks in a row, Miller broke out in grand fashion, throwing up 95 yards and a score.

Jamaal Charles - 17 carries for 58 yards doesn't look great in a vacuum, but Charles did other things to provide us with some serious optimism. First of all, he averaged 3.4 yards per carry, which is exactly what the Steelers' top-ranked run defense had allowed entering the game. Secondly, he caught a touchdown pass, showing the positives of his involvement in the passing game. Third, he took a kickoff back for a touchdown. The more new head coach Todd Haley sees of Charles, the more he has to be impressed. In three of the next four games, the Chiefs square off against lackluster run defenses (San Diego, Buffalo and Cleveland). It's a good time to own the budding Charles. My only question is, what took so long?

Maurice Jones-Drew - The Bills entered the game as the worst run defense in the NFL. MJD mustered just 66 yards on 25 carries. Sure, the touchdown was nice, but what gives?

Greg Jennings - Neither the hill of Sunday or the valleys of much of 2009 were as drastic as T.O., but Jennings was another who channeled the ghosts of fantasy past on Sunday. Widely considered one of the bigger busts in fantasy football, Jennings showed the masses why he was so hyped in the preseason, grabbing five passes for 126 yards and a score. There is definitely hope for this to be sustained, because the Packers are going to be passing quite frequently the rest of the way.

Vernon Davis - Told ya last week it was a temporary blip on the radar for this beast. Never sit him. Ever.

Mohamed Massaquoi - Granted, it was against the Lions, but Brady Quinn appeared to be a functioning quarterback. If that continues, Massaquoi will have value in deeper leagues. He's an add for now, but don't go crazy.

Kevin Smith - He still didn't find many running lanes through the porous offensive line, but Smith caught four passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. This kind of growth -- being involved in the passing game -- gives me some confidence that Smith can be a reliable flex play when the matchup is right. At Cincinnati next week is not one of those times, but a home date against Arizona in Week 15 will work out OK.

Santana Moss - Jason Campbell just doesn't have enough time to look far down field often. Thus, the underneath throws to a running back, tight end or Antwaan Randle El are much more prevalent than to a deep threat like Moss.

Derrick Mason - He's still the Ravens' most trusted receiver and they won't be able to run much against the Steelers next week.

Pierre Garcon - Two straight productive games, but there is no rhyme or reason to how Peyton Manning decides to spread the ball around (for evidence, I'll throw out the name Tom Santi). Garcon will end the season with solid totals, but you can't tell week to week which line you'll get.

Anquan Boldin - Suffice it to say, he's healthy. This is the Boldin you drafted. Enjoy him down the cakewalk of a schedule.

James Laurinaitis - Don't usually dabble in IDP players here, but the son of a Road Warrior collected a whopping 16 tackles Sunday. It's easily a career high and a great sign of what he can be to that improving defense.

Bernard Scott - Good day for the rookie, as he gave the Bengals reason to leave Larry Johnson where he belongs -- riding pine. Scott won't retain value as more than a handcuff once Cedric Benson comes back (should be next week), but it's nice to see he can step up to the challenge.

Raiders running backs - Great for the team and all the players in terms of real football. That's an impressive win for Tom Cable and his troops. As far as fantasy football, though, we're left scratching our heads. Justin Fargas had eight carries; Michael Bush four and Darren McFadden six. Bush appeared the most adept, again, but got the fewest touches. Moving forward, I'd be inclined to avoid them all -- considering there aren't any bye weeks left.

Wes Welker - Especially in IDP leagues. 15 catches? Are you kidding me?

Braylon Edwards - Can't say this one was overly surprising, as Edwards was near-silent. He should only be started in easy matchups. Against the Buccaneers in Week 14 will qualify.

Knowshon Moreno - Due to Josh McDaniels utterly panicking -- like using an injured Kyle Orton for most of the game -- Moreno only carried the ball 10 times. He gained 80 yards, but the lack of touches prevented him from a big day. Also, he fumbled into the end zone. The ball was nearly breaking the plane, but replay reviews upheld the fumble. I still like Knowshon against lesser defenses moving forward, like Kansas City in Week 13.

Philip Rivers - Unfortunately, the Chargers didn't need to pass. He'll be back, though, you can bet on it.

Fantasy Football Wrap: T.O. Is Alive originally appeared on Fantasy Football Fanhouse on Sun, 22 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Who's Been Biggest Bust of Them All?

Sean Lalley — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: NFL Value Machine

When it comes to the proposition of who has been the biggest bust in fantasy football this season, it's a highly debatable subject. There is seemingly no correct answer, as so many different factors and arguments come into play. However, I've got one name I'd love to toss into the party and that's Calvin Johnson. Say what? Yes, really.

At this point, why haven't more people questioned the epic bust Calvin Johnson has been thus far? Sure, I realize he's been injured and perhaps just not clicking in a struggling offense. But even when healthy, Johnson hasn't quite performed up to the first round or even second-round standards we expected. You do realize he has only one touchdown all season and only one 100-yard receiving game, right? That's just not getting it done from a fantasy perspective.

I must say that this is one of the hardest fantasy pieces I've ever had to write. Why? Well, because I'm an admitted Lions fan and I worship Calvin Johnson. I happen to own Johnson on every single fantasy team and yes, you could even say I have a man-crush. So, to come to the realization as I have in recent weeks that Johnson might be the biggest bust of 2009, it's more than just an admittance of being wrong ... it friggin' hurts.

By most standards he was supposed to be one of, if not the best receiver in all of fantasy football. TMR had Johnson rated as his hands-down No. 1 fantasy WR. And I couldn't have agreed more with Berry. He was the "must have" guy at his position with so much potential and freakish ability. What was there not to like? A third-year WR destined for an epic season that we'd all remember and say "Megatron has really arrived." Well, we're 10 weeks in the books and I, like so many others, are still waiting.

For whatever reasons, Johnson has simply not elevated his game to another level this season. On the surface we make the argument that Johnson has suffered from a lingering knee injury or that he's been put in a horrible situation with the talent around him. Those are great excuses to make as to why Johnson has underwhelmed. However, as I recall, Larry Fitzgerald thrived in a season with one of the McCown brothers, John Navarre and the Kurt Warner comeback tour throwing him the ball.

Besides that point, I really don't think this year is much different than last year in terms of Johnson's surroundings. After all, last season was an 0-16 disaster, but that didn't stop him from scoring 12 TDs to go along with 1,331 yards. And I'd probably say at this point Matthew Stafford is far less chaotic than the likes of Jon Kitna, Dan Orlovsky or Drew Stanton were last season. Yes, the injuries certainly haven't helped the Stafford and Johnson connection sync up completely, but again that's no excuse.

As of right now, he's simply just another WR we have to insert in the lineup based on namesake alone and hope he can break a long catch-and-run or net us some big points. Normally when I insert a stud into my lineup I don't hope for the best, I expect the best. Unfortunately, that's just the crossroads we are at with Johnson. We can't bench him, but we sure don't have the oozing confidence we had back on draft day.

I'm hardly implying that Johnson doesn't possess all the makings of a dominant fantasy WR. But fantasy football is not a game based on hype; it's all about production. And as far as production goes, Johnson isn't even close behind the other elite receivers. I could easily compile a much-deeper-than-you-think list of receivers I'd rather have right now than Johnson, but that would only make me more depressed.

Is he just a freakish talent that teases everyone with his tremendous potential? Can he stay healthy? Will he and Stafford ever build a solid rapport and trust each other? Does he have that extra gear, the killer instinct of a Randy Moss, Larry Fitzgerald or Andre Johnson? If you asked me this series of questions at the beginning of the year, I would've laughed them off and said prepare yourself for an amazing season. Now, I just don't know.

Johnson may be considered by some to be the LeBron James of football. Fantasy owners would sure like to see him put up some LeBron-comparable to football numbers on the field. Time is running out on the season, and without a monster finish I will forever remember this year as a colossal bust for Calvin Johnson. And that's even more salt in the wounds when you get shafted by one of your favorite players. Ouch.

Who's Been Biggest Bust of Them All? originally appeared on Fantasy Football Fanhouse on Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ridiculously Early Look at 2010 Fantasy Football First Round

Matt Snyder — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:30:00 EST

Filed under: Draft Advice, NFL Value Machine

In this past week's fantasy football tailgate (every Sunday from 10:30 AM ET to kickoff, come check it out!), someone asked us what we thought the first round would be for next season's drafts. Since we never want to disappoint, let's check it out. Here is one man's opinion on how the first round will shake out next year in standard scoring formats. This is using what we've seen thus far in 2009, plus what I expect to see the rest of the way. The first pick isn't really a secret, if you've been reading me the past two weeks.

1. Chris Johnson, RB, Titans - As I said, I haven't been secretive about this. He's gonna end up with 2,500 yards from scrimmage and close to 20 touchdowns this year. And he's only getting better.

2. Adrian Peterson, RB, Vikings - He actually trails MJD by just over one point per week right now, but I'm pushing forward with All Day based upon two factors. First of all, Peterson is going to have a monster second half as the Vikings cruise to the NFC North title. Secondly, MJD isn't going to have as easy a schedule next season.

3. Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, Jaguars - Don't mistake the above as knocking MJD, though. He's proven himself a fantasy monster this season now that he's freed from time-share duties. For the first time in a while, there will be a three-headed debate for the top overall pick in fantasy drafts. Really, it's tough to go wrong with any one of the three and having the third pick might be the most desirable draft position. Let the first two guys make your decision for you and get the better second rounder.

4. Ray Rice, RB, Ravens - Raise your hand if you thought Rice would be the fourth best running back in fantasy this year. Hell, he's still only owned in 90 percent of the fleaflicker leagues. I have to assume these are leagues where people quit paying attention, otherwise that's insanity. Expect Rice to continue piling up points and it will probably lead to Willis McGahee being cut from the competition next Spring -- further clearing the path for red zone touchdowns.

5. Steven Jackson, RB, Rams - He's currently 11th in running back points, but I'm expecting a few things here. As I pointed out in reality check (fourth bullet-point), SJax has tons in his favor moving forward. The Rams are improving, the run schedule is relatively soft and he always plays his best football in December. I'm expecting a gargantuan finish which will catapult him back into the top five in time for 2010 drafts.

6. DeAngelo Williams, RB, Panthers - Proving last year was no fluke and that there wasn't much need to fear the production Jonathan Stewart provides. Williams is their bell cow and as the running game goes, so go the Panthers. This is great news for Williams in terms of fantasy and he's a very safe pick in the middle of the first.

7. Frank Gore, RB, 49ers - He's as steady as they come -- only failing to reach more than 16.5 points one time when healthy (Week 7, his first coming off the injury). Getting that kind of consistency at the seven pick would be huge, and remember that the passing game will continue to take pressure off him as Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree continue to blossom.

8. Michael Turner, RB, Falcons - The injury doesn't scare me. It's not the type of thing that will linger into next season. If anything, it may make him undervalued heading into next season. The one thing that would scare me is the inconsistency, but he's well worth this slot due to knowing you'll get several huge outings.

9. Randy Moss, WR, Patriots - Recently took over the top of the receiving points and the Pats don't have much resistance from here on out. He may be relatively shut down by Darrelle Revis (again) this coming week, but the stats will pile up thereafter.

10. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Cardinals - Receivers as a group are generally inconsistent. It's part of playing a position where you rely on someone else to throw the ball to you. Fitzgerald, however, is as consistent as they come. His worst game this season was when he caught six passes for 66 yards.

11. Reggie Wayne, WR, Colts - Wayne wasn't a part of the vaunted "Big Four" receivers heading into drafts (Moss, Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson and Calvin Johnson). All he's done is outscore them all except Moss -- and he only trails him by 0.2. Wayne's had at least 12 points in seven of his nine games and more than 20 three times.

12. Andre Johnson, WR, Texans - He's currently sixth among wideouts in fantasy points, but he's battled through a chest injury and will mix in enough big games down the stretch -- as the Texans fight to make the playoffs -- to earn this spot.

One thing you'll surely flock to point out is the lack of quarterbacks. There's a reason for that. You only have to start one quarterback and the difference between the first and second tier of passers is just a couple points per week. On the flip side, there is a big drop off after the elite running backs to unreliable ones or ones in time-share situations. At wideout, there are five clear-cut elite options and a big drop thereafter.

Second-Rounders

(in alphabetical order, just for kicks)

Joseph Addai - He's working his way into first round discussion, but things are clouded by his reliance on touchdowns and Donald Brown's development.

Cedric Benson - Would be a first-rounder, if not for concerns about his workload. If that is curtailed, I'd consider him above one of the wideouts in the first.

Tom Brady - If I had to draft now, he'd be my top quarterback option -- but there are four more right on his tail.

Drew Brees - Weird to say, but he's actually been relatively disappointing this year in fantasy (how dare he and his team put winning above stats?). Still worth a very high pick in '10, though.

Ronnie Brown - He's barely more valuable than his teammate, but they run enough that both are studs.

Matt Forte - Since he's been a colossal bust in 2009, you can get him at great value next year. The Bears won't enter 2010 without doing significant work to the offensive line.

Vincent Jackson - Probably would have been in the first round had I done this last week. He's still a definite member of the Fab 5 at wideout.

Thomas Jones - He'd easily be a first-rounder if not for age (32 next year) and Shonn Greene's presence.

Peyton Manning - C'mon, like he should ever fall out of the second.

Rashard Mendenhall - Think Willie Parker in his prime without losing goal line carries.

Aaron Rodgers - He's the top scoring player in standard scoring fantasy leagues right now, but lack of position scarcity (14 of the top 18 entering Week 10 were quarterbacks) knocks him to the second round.

Matt Schaub - The only question before this season was his health. Check.

After that, I still see a few names lingering and they are mostly running backs. There's the aforementioned big drop off at wide receiver after the clear-cut top five and, again, there's a huge amoeba of nearly equally valued quarterbacks. You could probably get one in the fourth or even fifth round. Knowshon Moreno, Beanie Wells, Steve Slaton, Ryan Grant, Kevin Smith and Brandon Jacobs look to be great value here. Others like Ricky Williams, Pierre Thomas or Jonathan Stewart could end up being decent value picks in the fourth if you want a quarterback like Philip Rivers or Ben Roethlisberger instead of waiting on Jay Cutler or Donovan McNabb.

But you never know. We still have plenty of 2009 from which to draw conclusions.

Still, it's too much fun to not discuss, even nine months in advance.

How do you think things will shake out? Who do you like as first- or second-rounders? Let us know in the comments section.

Ridiculously Early Look at 2010 Fantasy Football First Round originally appeared on Fantasy Football Fanhouse on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fantasy Football Reality Check: Full Speed Ahead for the Cardinals

Matt Snyder — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sunday Wrap-Up, NFL Value Machine

Each Monday of the fantasy football season, we'll cut through the fantasy numbers put up by individuals and tell you what they really mean.

Two weeks ago, the Carolina Panthers went into Arizona and picked Kurt Warner off five times en route to an easy victory over the defending NFC champions. Some began to fear the old man was beginning to lose his touch. If he did, what would happen to the Cardinals' juggernaut of a fantasy football unit?

All they've done since then is score 72 points in two games and looked better than ever.

Last week, they undressed the Bears in Chicago, as Warner threw five touchdown passes. We started to see some offensive balance, though, as Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells combined for 149 yards on 28 carries. This week, the Cardinals got balance between running and passing again, in addition to the return of Anquan Boldin.

The result was 462 yards, four touchdowns and five players who were very solid starts in fantasy football: Warner (340 yards, 2 touchdowns), Wells (117 yards from scrimmage, 2 touchdowns), Steve Breaston (4 catches, 79 yards, touchdown), Larry Fitzgerald (7 catches, 73 yards, touchdown) and Boldin (8 catches, 105 yards).

There's good reason to believe games like this will continue. Not only due to the health of Boldin and emergence of Wells as a solid every-down back, but because of the schedule. You could say the Cards played a porous defense in Chicago and a bad Seahawks defense this week. That might be the case, but here's what they've got the rest of the way (through Week 16, which is when fantasy football seasons typically end).

Team (total defense rank/run defense rank/pass defense rank)*
Rams (28, 27, 23)
Titans (31, 18, 32)
Vikings (18, 6, 21)
49ers (19, 3, 29)
Lions (26, 17, 31)
Rams (28, 27, 23)

* - Entering Sunday

So, as you can see. It's a pretty easy road. Against this schedule -- except for Wells against the Vikings and Niners -- I would advise all five of the aforementioned starters in nearly every fantasy football league. The only real question is if the rookie Wells keeps things going, but you have to ride him against the Rams this coming week. If you can still trade, you'd be advised to acquire these guys if you can.

Ride those Cards full speed ahead, as they are going to pile up the stats. It's a fantasy football paradise!

Other Reality Checks

o. Last week, I mentioned how much I love Chris Johnson the rest of the way. I'm even more confident now. In fact, I'm declaring that he becomes the first player since Jamal Lewis (in 2003) to reach 2,000 rushing yards in a season. That would make him the sixth player in NFL history to accomplish this feat and -- coincidentally -- the third to do so at age 24.

o. Kyle Orton left Sunday's game with an injured ankle. Last season, he injured his ankle and it completely altered his production. In 2008, Orton played seven games before his ankle injury game (home against the Lions). He threw for 1,669 yards and 10 touchdowns with four interceptions. His quarterback rating in the month of October, by the way, was 106.2. When he returned from the ankle injury, Orton played seven games. He passed for 1,195 yards and eight touchdowns. He also threw eight picks and his rating was in the mid-60s. I don't know if it was the cold, pure coincidence or his ankle, but something happened to Orton. Well, Denver gets cold late in the season, too, and Orton's ankle is hurt again.

There are plenty of reasons to believe Orton -- who entered Sunday with an eerily similar 1,838 yards, nine touchdowns and four picks -- has a bad second half again. If he's healthy enough to play. If he's not, Chris Simms -- who was brutal Sunday -- steps in. Either way, I'm selling Brandon Marshall and giving up on anyone else in the passing game. On the flip-side, the Broncos will likely have to shift to a run-and-defense plan, in which case Knowshon Moreno sees a significant boost in value.

o. Last week, we mentioned how much better it is -- for the most part -- to spot-play defenses. We saw the Titans (22 points) and Dolphins (13) prove us correct. For next week, take a look at the Jags (host the Bills), Cardinals (face the Rams), Bengals (host the Raiders) and even the Lions (seriously, they pressured the quarterback well against the Vikings and they face the Browns in Week 11). The Steelers (against KC) and Saints (against TB) should already be owned in every league.

o. Steven Jackson has now rushed for 414 yards in his past three games, and he's now finally hitting pay dirt, with two touchdowns in consecutive games. Sunday, he also added nine catches for 45 yards, giving him 1,146 yards from scrimmage on the season (an average of 127 per game). Next week, he faces an Arizona run defense that was just shredded by Justin Forsett. After that, he'll get Seattle's lackluster defense. The playoff schedule of Tennessee, Houston and Arizona looks pretty tasty for a man of his talent as well.

Oh, and then there's this: in Jackson's career, he has always performed best in December. He's averaging 97.9 rushing yards per game in that month. He doesn't average more than 79.5 yards a game in any other month. He's scored 19 touchdowns in 20 December games, compared to 25 scores in 56 September through November games. An added bonus is that this year the Rams are improving as the season progresses, since they are in rebuilding mode. He's gonna end up in the top five scorers for running backs and be an elite choice next year on draft day. Do 90 percent of you still want Andre Johnson instead? I know I'm happy with the trade.

o. Let's hope you didn't write Tom Brady off after Weeks 2-5, when he was merely serviceable. He now has four straight games of more than 300 yards passing with 13 touchdowns in that time frame. What Brady did Sunday night (375 passing yards, three touchdowns) was no small feat, either. The Colts came into the game allowing just 195 passing yards per game and had allowed only four touchdown passes all season (and they'd faced Matt Schaub and Kurt Warner). They only allowed six touchdown passes in all of 2008. You just don't pass on them like Brady did. He's going to end up as the top fantasy passer this season -- not Aaron Rodgers, not Peyton Manning and not Drew Brees. Tom Brady will finish at the top and it won't even be close. Remember, the game result is irrelevant in fantasy football and it's not Brady's fault his coach made a terrible decision that cost them the game.

Fantasy Football Reality Check: Full Speed Ahead for the Cardinals originally appeared on Fantasy Football Fanhouse on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Vincent Jackson: Fantasy 'What The ...'

Matt Snyder — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:45:00 EST

Filed under: NFL Value Machine

During the course of every fantasy football season, we're constantly reminded just how erratic fantasy football can be -- especially when it comes to wide receivers. Thus, when someone like Vincent Jackson is in your lineup, you likely feel pretty good about his chances to keep playing well, especially if you knew Philip Rivers would throw for 231 yards and two touchdowns.

Yet, when you went and checked your fantasy score, you saw a whopping one point next to Jackson's name. Obviously, this brought about a "What the ... ?" You can fill in the blank as clean or vulgar as you want. The point here is that these five wideouts put up seemingly inexplicable stat lines Sunday.

Vincent Jackson - Jackson came into the game with 722 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in eight games. That's must-start WR1 territory, folks. He had scored five touchdowns in his previous four games, making him among the hottest receivers in the league. Instead 19 of Rivers' 20 completions went to others. A dude named Legedu Naanee had 42 yards (compared to Jackson's 10) and a touchdown. In other news, Jackson owners are ready to break stuff.

Miles Austin - After scoring six touchdowns in his past four games, a stretch that included over 500 yards through the air, Austin didn't even accrue a single catch until halfway through the fourth quarter. On the heels of his one-catch outing last week, fantasy owners are left scratching their heads -- especially in light of Roy Williams' solid game.

Nate Burleson - The Seahawks completed 26 passes for 315 yards. Burleson entered the game with 45 catches for 562 yards and three touchdowns in eight games. So, obviously, he came away from Arizona without a single catch. Cue up the yelling and screaming.

Marques Colston - The lanky wideout entered the game with 596 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Against the Rams, who are horrible against the pass and have no serviceable cornerbacks, Colston came away with a paltry 17 receiving yards. For good measure, he fumbled away a potential touchdown -- leaving his fantasy owners ready to pound their heads against the wall.

Chad Ochocinco - With 639 yards and five touchdowns on the season, Ocho entered the game as one of the most reliable fantasy football receivers. He left it with just 29 yards and no scores. His fantasy owners likely want to bribe him with a dollar for more points.

Vincent Jackson: Fantasy 'What The ...' originally appeared on Fantasy Football Fanhouse on Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fantasy Football Wrap: Brett's Boy

Matt Snyder — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sunday Wrap-Up, NFL Value Machine

Sunday Evening Wrap checks out players who increased or decreased their value during the Sunday afternoon games.

Riser of the Week: With the help of Brett Favre's arm, Sidney Rice is becoming a star in the NFL. Favre's affinity for Rice isn't really difficult to figure, either. At 6-foot-4 and blessed with incredible athleticism, Rice is the rare breed of receiver that can play as both a deep threat and possession receiver, which has made him Favre's favorite target. With a 7-catch, 201-yard effort Sunday, Rice now has compiled 27 catches and 553 yards in the past four games. He still needs to score more touchdowns -- he only has two this season -- but he's gathering enough yardage to make up for it in the meantime. The Vikings' remaining schedule isn't especially tough, either, so don't even think about benching Rice.

Faller of the Week: Pierre Thomas appeared to be working into a groove. After a lackluster performance against the Dolphins, Thomas came through with back-to-back solid games. Considering the Saints got to match up against a terrible Rams defense Sunday, everyone was poised for Thomas to come through with a huge game. Instead, Thomas accrued just 42 yards from scrimmage on 12 touches and failed to score. Meanwhile, Reggie Bush starred, showing his rushing prowess outside the tackles. Should the Saints decide to leave Mike Bell as their battering ram and use Bush on the perimeter, it could conceivably render Thomas useless in fantasy. Realistically, though, the Saints backfield will simply continue to be a headache for any Thomas or Bell fantasy owners.

Other Shifts in Value

Knowshon Moreno - Nearly had the first 100-yard rushing game of his promising young career. Better news than the 97 yards, though, is the fact that he got 18 carries to Correll Buckhalter's two. Looks like Denver is settling on their guy.

Ladell Betts - We knew he was a good spot play against a Broncos team on short rest who coughed up a lot of yardage to Rashard Mendenhall last week. Still, he's not going to be the starter when Clinton Portis returns. Sell him now if you can.

Lee Evans - Two more touchdowns Sunday -- giving him four scores in the last three games. The Bills face the Jags next week, who can be beaten through the air by a second receiver, so he's a good bet to score again. Of course, it is Lee "Fickle" Evans.

Titans D/ST - We left them for dead before the bye week. Since then? 16, 25 and 22 points. They do face three straight high-powered offenses (Texans, Cardinals, Colts), but they are still worth owning in most formats.

Donnie Avery - Facing a banged-up New Orleans secondary, Avery slipped through for two scores. The Rams' offense did appear drastically improved, so Avery's worth a look against an upcoming shoddy pass defense schedule.

Cedric Benson - The injury isn't serious, but we told you last week in Reality Check that his workload is too high. Some guys can make it through a whole season on a 400-carry pace and some can't. This injury could be a slight bump in the road or a harbinger of an injury-laden second half.

Ben Roethlisberger Mike Wallace - The Steelers line was brutalized by the Cincinnati pass rush, with countless passes being batted down at the line. Roethlisberger couldn't connect on his deep balls either, which hurt Wallace's value. They'll be back to form against Kansas City next week, but this one was rough.

Mike Sims-Walker - How does his value increase after only grabbing three catches for 49 yards? Because he scored a touchdown. Randy Moss, Marques Colston and Andre Johnson had been shut down by the Jets this season. By managing double-digit points, MSW has cemented himself as an every-week starter, no matter the opposition.

Jerricho Cotchery - The touchdown was just his second of the season, but he's still getting himself back into game mode following the hamstring injury. Sunday was a good sign that he's working closer to WR2 form.

Calvin Johnson - Not necessarily "Megatron"-esque numbers, but it was nice to see Johnson put up a good line (eight catches for 84 yards). Get ready for a big game against the Browns next week.

Kellen Winslow - Talented tight end plus rookie quarterback equals lots of looks. Josh Freeman will be in love with Winslow as his safety valve all season.

Ricky Williams - Not only did Ricky go for over 100 yards, but Ronnie Brown fell injured. Brown will probably be OK long-term, but the Dolphins play again Thursday against the poor run defense of the Carolina Panthers. If Williams is still available in your league, go get him now.

Jonathan Stewart - I guess, judging by the trend, you have to sit him next week. He was great in Weeks 6, 8 and 10 and bad in Weeks 7 and 9.

Roddy White - Seven catches and 98 yards say his knee is just fine. The Giants' banged up secondary won't be able to deal with him next week -- especially if Michael Turner is out and the Falcons are forced to go to the air attack.

Michael Bush - Justin Fargas had been playing really well and Darren McFadden was returning from injury. Naturally, Bush gets the most carries (14) and turns them into 119 yards.

Jamaal Charles - So we get to hear about Kolby Smith being great for a week and Todd Haley comes out and gives Charles twice as many carries. It's about time Charles got a full workload to show would he could do. He came through with 103 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Hopefully he showed enough that Haley will trust him moving forward. Don't think about using Charles next week against the Steelers, but he should be owned as a spot-play based upon matchups from time to time.

LaDainian Tomlinson - Did I get into a time machine before watching this game? Guess what? The Chargers face Denver (been shredded by Mendenhall and Betts in consecutive weeks), Kansas City (sucks) and Cleveland (sucks even worse) in the next three weeks. Looks like someone is trying to resurrect himself in fantasy conversations.

Brian Westbrook - Had to leave with another concussion. You start to worry about someone missing the rest of the season when they've suffered two head injuries in a month.

Cowboys Offense - Um, what the hell was that, guys? Even Tony Romo's late touchdown pass to Roy Williams couldn't salvage a brutal afternoon in Green Bay. Miles Austin owners everywhere are a bit peeved.

Greg Jennings - One of the biggest busts -- in terms of draft-day value -- of 2009.

Nate Burleson - Eight different Seahawks caught passes. Five of them had at least three catches. Matt Hasselbeck threw for 315 yards. Yet, somehow, Burleson was held to an empty stat line. This has to be a tough one to swallow for Burleson owners.

Beanie Wells - I've been on the Beanie train all season, so it was rather satisfying to see his effort (16 carries, 85 yards, 2 touchdowns).

Fantasy Football Wrap: Brett's Boy originally appeared on Fantasy Football Fanhouse on Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Matt Forte Thrives in Receiving Game

Matt Snyder — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST

Filed under: NFL Value Machine

I hate being wrong, but it's bound to happen in this line of work. No one is ever going to be right on 100 percent of their fantasy football proclamations. When it does happen, though, it's nice to be wrong about a player on your favorite team losing much of his fantasy football value. I had completely written off Matt Forte because of the Bears' inability to effectively run the football. The trend continued Thursday night, as Forte gathered just 41 rushing yards on 20 carries.

He did manage to salvage a very solid fantasy stat line, however, due to the Bears' effectiveness in using him on screen passes. He caught eight passes for 120 yards. After watching the game and seeing how he arrived at this total, I'm ready to spin a complete 180 and say he's definitely worth an RB2 slot moving forward. He still has "it," the Bears just need to get him into space so he can do his thing. They have found a way to do so, which is a good sign for Forte's fantasy owners.

Click through to see some more fantasy football observations from the Bears-49ers Thursday night game.

o. Inexplicably, the Bears defense looked like the one from 2005-2006 for the most part. Alex Smith did very little through the air and was constantly harassed by an all-of-sudden feisty Bears pass rush. This rendered Vernon Davis a bystander for the most part. Michael Crabtree was the best receiver for the Niners with four catches and 48 yards. I wouldn't let this game deter Davis owners. He's in the middle of a breakthrough season and will return to form soon. The Niners' remaining fantasy stretch -- at Green Bay, vs. Jacksonville, at Seattle, vs. Arizona, at Philly, vs. Detroit -- isn't even remotely rough on tight ends. He'll be a beast the rest of the way. As far as Crabtree, keep him on your radar in all leagues. He looks the part and it's only a matter of time before we see his breakout game.

o. Speaking of beasts, the Bears' defense played ferocious all game and Frank Gore still managed over 100 yards and a score. If you had any doubt about him being a bonafide RB1 in all formats, that should now be erased.

o. I felt pretty good about Earl Bennett as a deep play. He would have had four catches for 67 yards, but an ineligible lineman down field cost him a 40-yarder, so that hurt. Moving forward, considering all bye weeks are done, he'd only be worth a desperation play in the deepest (16-teamers that start three wideouts) of leagues.

o. Johnny Knox's value has pretty much evaporated, along with that of Josh Morgan and Jason Hill.

o. Greg Olsen caught seven passes for 75 yards and was Jay Cutler's end zone target on each of the last two plays of the game. He's a definite TE1. Don't give up on Devin Hester, either. He's a WR2. Yes, still.

o. We hyped Cutler, with plenty of statistical backing, and it blew up in our face. He did throw for over 300 yards, but his decision-making rendered him a poor fantasy play. Had he turned the two end-zone picks into touchdowns, he would have been a great play this week. Instead, he failed and so did we. He's still a low-end QB1 in 12-team leagues, but it's hard to be confident that he won't give away most of his points on any given week.

Overall, this game was a perfect indicator of how predictable fantasy football -- and real football -- is. We had two badly struggling defenses enter the game opposite offenses who had been playing pretty well. And we end up with one offensive touchdown -- which was on a short field following an interception return. Hopefully all Thursday games don't end up like this. It sends us to the weekend with a bad taste in our mouths, that's for sure.

Of course, I'll send you off with a positive note: both of my IDP sleeper plays -- Zack Bowman and Dashon Goldson -- had an interception. So it wasn't all bad.

(And I'll give a virtual chest-bump to R.J. White for recommending I list Goldson. Teamwork is fun.)

Matt Forte Thrives in Receiving Game originally appeared on Fantasy Football Fanhouse on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fantasy Football Cut-N-Go: Tiff Between Johnson and Stafford Overblown

Knox Bardeen — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:46:00 EST

Filed under: NFL Value Machine, NFL Start 'Em Sit 'Em

Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.

That last thing that anyone wants in Detroit, or in the fantasy football world if you own either of these players, is for Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson to have problems getting along. Unfortunately, cameras caught the two young stars in heated debate on the sideline on Sunday as the Lions were losing to Seattle. At least, one side of the argument was heated, Tom Kowalski of Michigan Live says that Johnson was flat-out ignoring what Stafford had to say.

Lions rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford can be seen talking to receiver Calvin Johnson, who was seated on a bench on the sideline. It appears that Johnson wasn't happy with what Stafford had to say because Johnson turned away, ignoring him.

On Monday, Johnson did not deny the incident happened, but he did his best to downplay it.

"Frustrated with the loss. If we win, all of that's out the window," Johnson said. "There's no problem with us. People are just blowing it out of proportion."

A rift between these two could be fantasy suicide. Johnson has already disappointed fantasy GM's -- missing two games due to injury and when healthy only grabbing 24 passes for 352 yards a one touchdown. Stafford, the NFL's first overall selection in this year's draft, has also missed time to injury and has a measly 55.9 quarterback rating and more then twice as many interceptions (12) than touchdown passes (5).

Tim Twentyman of The Detroit News confirmed that there really isn't anything to worry about. This exchange was just between two frustrated players, obviously annoyed with losing. He said Lions coach Jim Schwartz spoke with both players and feels good about their relationship.

Lions coach Jim Schwartz was aware of the incident and said he talked to both Johnson and Stafford and there's no issue there.

"I've talked to the players, but I haven't looked at TV copies or anything else. I don't see it as being an issue," Schwartz said.

As long as he is healthy, Johnson remains a must-start in all fantasy formats. You'd better believe that if Stafford wants to succeed, he'll target the second-year receiver as much as possible. As for Stafford's fantasy value -- he shouldn't be on any roster unless you're in a keeper league. And even in that keeper league, Stafford should never be starting.

Other Fantasy Football Notes
o. Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean says that Chris Johnson has seen so much success lately that the Titans are phasing out LenDale White. Johnson has three consecutive 100-plus yard games and has averaged 163.7 yards per game over that time. He's also the NFL's leading rusher and FanHouse's Matt Snyder says he should be the consensus No. 1 selection in fantasy football drafts next season.

o. Fantasy GM's who have been dying with Darren McFadden on their roster since he was hurt in Week 4 can breathe easier. Jerry McDonald of the Bay Area News Group says that McFadden will play in Week 10.

o. I refuse to talk about the quarterback battle in Cleveland and Eric Mangini's inability to select a starter. I will tell you that Mary Kay Cabot of The Plain Dealer says the decision will be made on Wednesday.

o. Those of you that own Matt Hasselbeck need to pay attention because his fantasy value is about to rise. Well, a decision made on Sunday is actually what's causing his upward trend. Ryan Divish of The News Tribune says that Jim Mora told offensive coordinator Greg Knapp to scrap the plan of balancing the attack on Sunday. Mora wanted the ball in Hasselbeck's hands and said they aren't going to move away from the run, but they wouldn't be running just to prove a point.

o. Jason Hill hadn't caught a pass all season for the 49ers. On Sunday he stepped in for Isaac Bruce and proceeded to catch four passes for 50 yards and two touchdowns. Matt Maiocco of the Santa Rosa Press Democrat says the 49ers depth chart is changing at wide receiver. Josh Morgan replaces Bruce to start beside Michael Crabtree. Hill will be the new No. 3 receiver.

o. Those of you who are unhappy with the running back by committee approach in New York had better get used to being disappointed. Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News says that Tom Coughlin has no plans to alter the current distribution of carries in the Giants backfield. Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw and Danny Ware will continue to share the rock.

Fantasy Football Cut-N-Go: Tiff Between Johnson and Stafford Overblown originally appeared on Fantasy Football Fanhouse on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:46:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fantasy Football Reality Check: Chris Johnson Will Supplant MJD, AP

Matt Snyder — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sunday Wrap-Up, NFL Value Machine

Each Monday of the fantasy football season, we'll cut through the fantasy numbers put up by individuals and tell you what they really mean.

When peering ahead to the fantasy football draft of 2010, it's easy to envision getting the top pick and taking Adrian Peterson without a second thought. And if you had one, it would probably be Maurice Jones-Drew. After these past two weeks, though, I'm fully behind considering Chris Johnson the top fantasy football player heading into next season. In fact, I'll say it right now: Johnson will end the season with the most fantasy points among running backs and be the consensus No. 1 player on the board for 2010. Unbelievably, it seems to involve the presence of Vince Young.

Sure, the best game of Johnson's career came in Week 2 with Kerry Collins at the helm, but Johnson was fickle in the first half. Since the bye week, when Young was inserted as quarterback, the Titans have played two games and Johnson has been on top of his game. He's carried the ball 49 times for 363 yards (a disgusting 7.4 per carry) and four touchdowns.

The Titans seemed to have refocused during the bye week, and they will lean heavily on Johnson as Young acclimates himself back into the offense. We already knew Johnson was a home run threat every time he touched the ball, but he's developing power and steadily growing into a heady running back. Oh, and one more thing ...

The Titans' fantasy football schedule from here on out with the run defense rank in parentheses (which is entering Week 9): vs. Buffalo (32), at Houston (20), vs. Arizona (8, but they won't be able to stop him), at Indy (17), vs. St. Louis (28), vs. Miami (6), and vs. San Diego (27).

With the first pick in the 2010 fantasy football draft, I select Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans.

Yeah, that definitely feels right.

Other Reality Checks

o. It's officially much more worthwhile to spot-play defenses than it is to just use the same one every week, with the possible exception of the Saints' juggernaut of a fantasy defense. You can have the Steelers. I'm going with an opponent of the Lions, Chiefs, Redskins, Buccaneers, Browns, Rams or Raiders. That's a lot of teams to choose from, so there should pretty much always be someone available. We'll help guide you each week, but it can't hurt to start looking ahead on your own, as you may have to grab teams one week in advance -- considering many already do this. The latest example was the Seattle Seahawks. Look, the Lions' offense has a bright future, assuming everyone grows as they should, but for right now they are a turnover and sack-allowing machine. The Seahawks steamrolled them for 24 fantasy points. In Week 10, take a look at the Dolphins. They should be available in most leagues and take on the Bucs at home. If you want to jump the gun, take a look at the Cardinals (at St. Louis) and Bengals (at Oakland) for Week 11.

o. The Bengals are threatening to run Cedric Benson into the ground. For the second consecutive game, he carried the ball more than 30 times. He leads the league in carries with 198 (second most is Steven Jackson with 165) and is on pace for a whopping 396 trips. No one has carried the ball that many times since Larry Johnson rushed the ball an insane 416 times in 2006 (in fact, 325 led the league in 2007). It may be a coincidence, but Johnson's career has absolutely fallen apart since then. There's a reason no one usually carries the ball more than 350 times in a season. Running backs take a pounding on nearly every run, thus, the damage should be minimized by spelling the main back when you can. If you play in a deep enough league, it wouldn't hurt to take a preemptive flier on either Brian Leonard or Bernard Scott (Scott has much more upside, but the Bengals might trust Leonard more for now). The Bengals have an easy stretch coming up after the Steelers (Oakland, Cleveland, Detroit) and face a run-friendly fantasy playoff schedule (Chargers, Chiefs). Losing Benson would be a big blow for any owner, so it can't hurt to plan ahead -- just in case his body can't take all the punishment.

o. Just when we were ready to write Roy Williams off, he seemed to have Tony Romo's eye for much of Sunday, nabbing five catches for 75 yards. Maybe he whined enough that Romo felt sorry for him -- and that's not a joke, as Romo seemed to often give in to T.O.'s incessant whining in the past. Regardless, Williams, compared to his fellow receivers, appeared to have the stat line of the team's No. 1 receiver. Of course, Miles Austin did grab the pivotal 49-yard TD pass. Austin is absolutely legit -- even with cornerback Asante Samuel checking him most of the night, he found a way to produce. The rest of the Cowboys' schedule sports very few teams who are adept at stopping the pass, so be sure to leave Austin where you already had him -- the starting lineup. As far as Williams, Sunday night was most certainly a good sign. He's worth a roster spot in all formats and is a must-start in deep leagues for now. We'll need to see more before endorsing him as a definitive starter in all leagues and formats. He could have simply been a beneficiary of less attention than the running game, Jason Witten and Austin for one night. Personally, I need to see consistency before trusting him. Gimme Austin any day.

o. It was a really, really small sample, but adding Chris Chambers to the mix seemed to give the Chiefs the shot in the arm they needed. The bye-week preparation probably helped as well, but whatever the reason, the Chiefs threw it well Sunday. Matt Cassel hit on 23-of-39 for 262 yards and two touchdowns -- without an interception. Dwayne Bowe, Lance Long and Chambers all had serviceable games. You can see what coach Todd Haley is trying to do. He wants to emulate the passing attack he built in Arizona. The problem is his personnel isn't near as strong as the Cards', but it's definitely worth watching as this team grows. They play the Raiders next week, so Nnamdi Asomugha will lock down Bowe -- meaning Chambers is worth a look as a desperation play.

o. Speaking of desperation plays, or "Hail Mary" plays if you will, what about matching up a second- or third-string receiver against the Buccaneers? Patrick Crayton, Sinorice Moss, Lee Evans, Jeremy Maclin, Sam Aiken and now James Jones have all gotten loose against them (among others). The Bucs have the Dolphins on the schedule next week and that's a tough one with all the wildcat-ness going on. Still, depending upon league size, Greg Camarillo, Davone Bess and Brian Hartline could be worth a shot. After that, Tampa has the Saints (Robert Meachem, Devery Henderson, Lance Moore) and Falcons (Michael Jenkins). Just something to think about when trying to gain an edge.

Fantasy Football Reality Check: Chris Johnson Will Supplant MJD, AP originally appeared on Fantasy Football Fanhouse on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Waiver Wire Wonders: One Man Gathers What Another Man Spills

Ryan Dembinsky — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:15:00 EST

Filed under: NFL Waiver Wire, NFL Value Machine

Weeding through those unwieldy waiver wires requires a keen eye and a quick trigger. Thus, Waiver Wire Wonders provides a weekly snapshot of players worthy of consideration who should be available on a good portion of league waiver wires.

It looks like we have the makings for some steamy waiver wire action as Week 9 provided a host of interesting plays. In the "one man gathers what another man spills" department, we saw a perennial backup step in as a fantasy big shot suffered a concussion, a couple of forgotten old-timers break out for their new teams, a couple of deep-on-depth-chart overachievers make a name for themselves, and we even saw a Lion play a good game. With the trade deadline looming, waiver wire moves get even more important down the stretch, so stay on your toes. Let's go.

More Fantasy Football: Week 9 Top Performers | Sunday Wrap-Up

Ladell Betts (RB, Redskins) -- After starter Clinton Portis suffered a concussion, courtesy of Atlanta defensive backs Chevis Jackson and Thomas DeCoud, Betts stepped in and performed admirably, gaining 70 yards and a touchdown. Using fellow veteran Brian Westbrook -- who suffered the same fate two weeks ago -- as a benchmark, we can assume that Portis may miss a game or even two, so Betts makes a solid add for the short term. Plus, if Betts continues to play well as he did Sunday -- essentially outperforming anything Portis has done thus far in 2009 -- he could earn himself a bigger role upon Portis' return.

James Jones (WR, Packers) -- With a battered Aaron Rodgers under center, Jones posted far and away his best game of the season, including a 74-yard touchdown (the longest TD pass of Rodgers' career, by the way). In sum, Jones notched 103 yards and a touchdown on four catches. While Jones remains the No. 3 option for Green Bay, he looked great Sunday and makes a decent add to beef up your bench as an injury plug down the stretch.

Earl Bennett (WR, Chicago) -- The Chicago receiving corps has yet to produce a real reliable fantasy option, but in a desperation shootout with Arizona, Bennett became the main benefactor. As a result, Matt Forte got just five carries to Jay Cutler's 47 pass attempts. The Bears obviously never want to play this type of game and need to get back to the ground game, but, nevertheless, Bennett came up big with seven catches and 93 yards. He might make a decent spot start in games that look pass-happy, but it's difficult to forecast which team will come out for Chicago on a weekly basis. Basically, only the deepest leagues need apply here.

Laveranues Coles (WR, Bengals) -- Here's a name we haven't heard much this year. While Coles only had 16 catches for 155 yards and three touchdowns coming into this week, he caught six passes for 72 yards including a nice 32-yarder against Baltimore. Coles does not represent a screaming buy, but the chemistry with Carson Palmer seems to be finally brewing, so keep an eye on him. Coles is in his twilight years, but he is a great receiver who always seems to make his way into fantasy starting lineups one way or another. I think we will see more of Coles in the second half of this season.

Chris Chambers (WR, Chiefs) -- Here's another one from the halls of the fantasy annals. After packing up and heading east to Kansas City just last week, Chambers wasted no time finding his place in the offense -- providing an immediate two-touchdown spark. Maybe this is finally the right home for Chambers, but going all the way back to his Miami days, he has always been one of fantasy football's most unreliable receivers, right up there with Lee Evans. In total, Chambers caught three passes for 70 yards with the two scores in a nicely played game by Matt Cassel.

Josh Freeman (QB, Buccaneers) -- In the surprise of the day, the Bucs ousted the Packers 38-28 and rookie Josh Freeman broke out with three touchdown passes, despite throwing only 31 times. In his first NFL start, the rook out of Kansas State led the league's last remaining winless team to a victory against one of the NFL's better secondaries. This bodes well for Tampa Bay in general and keep an eye out for potentially better numbers from the team's backs and receivers.

Laurence Maroney (RB, Patriots) -- The twisty Patriots backfield looks a tad more stable as Maroney got 20 carries, the most by a single Patriots back this season, and picked up 82 yards and a touchdown. Take note though, the Pats still used Kevin Faulk for the passing game as Maroney caught zero passes to Faulk's four, which limits the upside for Maroney. Regardless, if you lack depth and can still get him, Maroney makes a good pickup.

Jason Hill (WR, 49ers) -- The 49ers are not making anyone's life easier as far as wideouts go. First, Josh Morgan was supposed to be the guy, then it looked like Michael Crabtree was finally panning out. Sunday, some random named Jason Hill goes out and catches two touchdown passes. He totaled four receptions and 50 yards on the game. This was the first Hill sighting on the season, so let's wait and see if he shows up again before getting too excited. Frankly, the 49ers have too many damn receivers (Crabtree, Bruce, Morgan, Battle, Hill, Spurlock, Jones), so its doubtful anyone will ever have that significant of an impact. I hear Charles Rogers is available, maybe they have room for one more?

Robert Meachem (WR, Saints) -- Here's another one in a similar situation: good receiver on a team with a lot of good receivers. Sunday, Meachem racked up 98 yards on five catches with a touchdown. The problem for Meachem is that, despite playing on one of the best passing offenses in the history of the world, he competes with Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Lance Moore, Jeremy Shockey and Reggie Bush. There's such a thing as too much good company in this case. In deep leagues, he makes a decent bench add, particularly as a lot of people need to start transitioning away from the Indianapolis also-rans (i.e., Pierre Garcon and Austin Collie).

Brandon Pettigrew (TE, Lions) -- It really looked like the Lions were on the way to win No. 2 behind a breakout game for Pettigrew. The surprise first-round draft pick made the front office look good for once as he caught seven passes for 70 yards and a touchdown. Pettigrew looks like a good choice for players struggling to fill a void left by Chris Cooley or Owen Daniels. I'm going to try to add him right now.

Waiver Wire Wonders: One Man Gathers What Another Man Spills originally appeared on Fantasy Football Fanhouse on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 21:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fantasy Football Sunday Wrap: Big Bounce-Back for Kurt Warner

Matt Snyder — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sunday Wrap-Up, NFL Value Machine

Sunday Evening Wrap checks out players who increased or decreased their value during the Sunday afternoon games.

Riser of the Week: After a five-interception game against the Panthers last week, Kurt Warner owners may have been a bit worried, especially since his next task was facing a ball-hawking defense like the Chicago Bears (which, by the way, is more reputation than actuality anymore). Some people were even talking about taking a flier on Matt Leinart in larger leagues. Sunday, Warner put a stop to that, breezing through the Bears' defense like a knife through hot butter. He ended with five touchdown passes and no doubt he's finishing the season as the Cards' starter.

More Fantasy Football: Sunday's Top Performers | Latest NFL Player Notes

Faller of the Week: Since throttling the 49ers four games ago, Matt Ryan has been pretty pedestrian. He's thrown for six touchdown passes and seven interceptions. He's also failed to toss for 200 or more yards in three of the four games. Sunday's output (135 measly yards) was especially poor. Further clouding matters for Ryan owners are the injury to Roddy White and the return of Michael Turner as an absolute beast. If Ryan is your fantasy QB1, you may be in big trouble for the stretch run.

Other Shifts in Fantasy Value

Greg Jennings - He's still failing to live up to lofty fantasy expectations, and this time it was against a brutal pass defense. James Jones even got the long TD, not Jennings.

Josh Freeman - Welcome to the party, kid. That's a nice stat line (205 yards, three TDs, 20 yards rushing) for a rookie quarterback.

Ronnie Brown - He did get a touchdown pass to make his line serviceable, but we need to see more than 48 yards on 15 carries to be able to consider him a certain every-week starter.

Laurence Maroney - Got 20 of the Patriots' 24 rushing attempts, scored a touchdown and averaged more than four yards per carry. Dare he actually start living up to his talent level?

Jamaal Charles - One of the darlings of the fantasy world this week, Charles only took six carries (for 36 yards, which is still six yards per carry! Give him the rock, Haley!) in the Chiefs' loss.

Mike Sims-Walker - He's back, baby. M. S. Dubbs.

Ryan Moats - Saw this one coming -- just 38 yards on 16 carries -- though the touchdown made him serviceable.

Joseph Addai - A few weeks ago I tried to tell everyone who would listen how good Addai would be in the upcoming weeks. There are few more reliable anymore. Don't worry about his number of rushing attempts. He's gonna get receiving yards and he's going to score touchdowns.

Andre Caldwell - He'll become the unquestioned third option for Carson Palmer the rest of the way, as Chris Henry deals with a broken forearm. Plus, you gotta like that he caught a touchdown pass Sunday. Also, look at the Bengals' schedule after next week's battle with the Steelers: at Oakland, vs. Cleveland, vs. Detroit in the following three games and then the Chiefs in Week 16 (the fantasy Super Bowl).

Joe Flacco - Less than 200 yards through the air, no touchdowns and two picks. Not a good day at all for the young signal-caller.

Jay Cutler and Greg Olsen - Set aside the debate about Cutler's ability to help the defense (although I will say if you watched that game and thought freaking Peyton Manning could have won it for the Bears you are insane). In fantasy football, all you care about are stats. The Bears defense apparently sucks now, so they'll have to throw all day to keep up. The 369 yards and three touchdowns did wonders for fantasy teams. Olsen was easily the best tight end in Week 9, hauling in all three of those TDs and going for 71 yards.

Clinton Portis - His concussion was a big blow for fantasy owners, who could have expected a solid day -- especially considering Ladell Betts had 15 carries for 70 yards and a touchdown in his absence.

Brandon Pettigrew - Lost in the mess of the turnovers was the corner turned by the Lions' other first-round draft pick. Pettigrew led the Lions with seven catches and 70 yards. He also added his first career touchdown. The rapport with Matthew Stafford is growing, so Pettigrew's worth a look in deep leagues.

Julius Jones - The rushing line doesn't look great (16 carries for 36 yards) but he scored a touchdown. Oh, and those receiving stats ... six catches for 78 yards. This is an illustration of what the Lions' defense can do for your fantasy team.

Robert Meachem - Only Reggie Bush had more catches and Meachem led the team in total yards from scrimmage (5 catches for 98 yards and a score). He was also damn close to a second touchdown late in the game.

Jonathan Stewart - His partner, DeAngelo Williams, ran wild and scored two touchdowns, but Stewart didn't make good on his chances, gaining just 24 yards on 13 carries.

LaDainian Tomlinson - Only 22 yards on 12 carries, can't punch it in from the one, and he just appears slow. I told you last week his relatively good performance was an aberration. I rest my case.

Steve Smith (Giants-type) - Just when people started to waver on him, Smith came back with a touchdown and eight catches (mmm, PPR-leagues).

Jason Hill - From out of nowhere, Hill snared two touchdowns from Alex Smith. He finished with four catches for 50 yards, too. I doubt you'll see it again, as Frank Gore, Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree will always get more looks, so don't bother diving on Hill just yet.

Vince Young - He didn't throw much, but he was efficient enough to hope he passes more in the upcoming weeks. Plus, he took care of the football and had a rushing touchdown. Good game for V.Y. in real life, and the fantasy goodness will come later.

Fantasy Football Sunday Wrap: Big Bounce-Back for Kurt Warner originally appeared on Fantasy Football Fanhouse on Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fantasy Football Reality Check: Aberration Day for Forte and Tomlinson

Matt Snyder — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sunday Wrap-Up, NFL Value Machine

Each Monday of the fantasy football season, we'll cut through the fantasy numbers put up by individuals and tell you what they really mean.

Matt Forte and LaDainian Tomlinson have been albatrosses for most of the season, but both came through to help their fantasy football owners in Week 8. Forte ran for 90 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Tomlinson also scored twice and amassed 56 yards on the ground. If we look deeper, though, neither back did anything to make you think they're all of a sudden going to turn it on and start producing on a consistent basis.

More: Sunday's Top Performers | Waiver Wire Wonders | Players to Cut Loose

Forte needed 26 carries to gain 90 yards against a terrible Browns rushing defense. He's been fantasy gold against the Browns and Lions, but pretty much sucked against everyone else. His offensive line could barely even mount a push -- and sometimes they didn't have one at all -- against the Browns' front. Looking at the schedule the rest of the way, I can see him being an elite fantasy option one more time, Week 13 against the Rams. That's it. The rest of the way, he'll be held to less than 10 points, starting with the Cardinals next week. Yes, the Cardinals were shredded by the Panthers run game Sunday, but they were the top run defense in the NFL prior to that. And the Carolina run blocking puts the Chicago blocking to shame.

Tomlinson also had a very low yards-per-carry rate, needing 18 carries to reach 56 yards on the ground. His season-high in yards is 71 and he's played against some pretty sorry run defenses. His next three games come against the Giants, Eagles and Broncos, so he's not going to get any better.

If you own either of these guys, trading them now would be a good idea.

Other Reality Checks

o. Brandon Jacobs received 20 carries to Ahmad Bradshaw's nine, but Bradshaw still scored the touchdown -- a one-yarder, no less. What gives? It appears the Giants are simply going to give Jacobs two-thirds of the carries and keep Bradshaw on the field when they feel like it. Whoever is in when the ball is on the one will get the opportunity to score. You should still want to own Jacobs over Bradshaw moving forward, because he'll get more chances for yardage and TDs.

o. Shonn Greene, the hot pickup last week, didn't get much action in the Jets' loss to the Dolphins. He gained just 18 yards on eight carries. Just as we told you all last week, the Jets would stick with Thomas Jones as their workhorse in close games, and he gained another 102 yards on 27 carries Sunday. The split in carries will remain similar for the time being. This -- like Mohamed Massaquoi and Jeremy Maclin, to give two examples -- is a perfect example of people irrationally falling in love with a player after one good game. Like we've seen with Miles Austin, for example, we need to see a couple games before granting a player must-start status.

o. With Owen Daniels going down, there are extra touches to be had on offense for the Texans in their high-powered passing attack. Look for an increase in looks to Jacoby Jones and Kevin Walter. None of the tight ends the Texans will use with Daniels out will be fantasy viable, as they don't have his pass-catching talent. Matt Schaub is just going to throw to whoever can best help them win games and Joel Dreessen and James Casey don't really qualify. Leave them on the wire and grab Walter if someone gave up on him.

o. Kurt Warner got confused and played like Jake Delhomme for this Halloween weekend, throwing five picks against the Panthers at home. Meanwhile, Delhomme threw none. It was like the Bizarro game. For now, you Warner owners have to assume it was just a bad game that can't really be explained. Remember, he threw five interceptions once in 2007, but he bounced back the next week with a big game. He shouldn't have too much trouble carving up the Bears next week in similar fashion. Don't lose the faith just yet, as there's still some gas left in his tank.

o. So Brett Favre beat the Packers twice. Many Brett Favre fans (who claim to be Packers fans) were rooting for the Vikings to win so it would prove some sort of point. Now, they feel vindicated because he's a "winner" and Rodgers isn't. Whatever. Just remember we are playing fantasy football. Rodgers is still an elite option while Favre is a lower-tier QB1 or upper-tier QB2, depending upon league size. The four touchdowns by Favre were great, but that's not going to happen too often. Rodgers will generally always throw for more yardage and he'll get you rushing yards as well. If you own Favre, you might see if Rodgers' owner can't separate real football from fantasy football and make a deal.

Fantasy Football Reality Check: Aberration Day for Forte and Tomlinson originally appeared on Fantasy Football Fanhouse on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fantasy Football Sunday Wrap: Ominous Day for Steve Slaton Owners

Matt Snyder — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:45:00 EST

Filed under: Sunday Wrap-Up, NFL Value Machine

Sunday Evening Wrap checks out players who increased or decreased their value during the Sunday afternoon games.

Faller of the Week: Steve Slaton was most likely a first-round pick, the centerpiece of your fantasy football squad. Obviously, his being benched after just three touches and a lost fumble had a huge impact on your fantasy game this week, but looking to the future, it's much more scary. Ryan Moats was impressive with Slaton out, which does not bode well for Slaton's future. The Texans are in the midst of chasing their first-ever playoff berth, so they aren't going to run someone out there who repeatedly gives the ball away. It's entirely possible Slaton loses his job at some point this season. Thus, he easily takes the biggest hit in fantasy value for this week.

More Fantasy Football: Sunday's Top Performers | Waiver Wire Wonders

Riser of the Week: A week after inexplicably passing far too much, the Panthers remembered how they can win games: on the ground. Last week, they passed nearly twice as much as they used Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams. In Week 8, they remembered how to win games. Williams took the ball 158 yards on 23 rushes and Stewart turned 17 carries into 87 yards and a pair of scores. In all, the Panthers ran the ball 74 percent of their offensive plays. Talk about committing to it. Maybe John Fox wants to keep his job after all. Whatever the reason, the Panthers running backs are back where they belong (Williams an RB1 and Stewart an RB3/Flex).

Other Shifts in Fantasy Value

Hakeem Nicks - The touchdown streak wasn't going to last forever.

LeSean McCoy - He's a home run hitter, isn't he? Brian Westbrook will come back, but he's likely to get hurt at some point and the Eagles aren't going to stop using McCoy.

Ronnie Brown - Man, that's a rough outing for someone who has been an RB1, for the most part. I expect that bad outing to be an aberration, though. The Dolphins are one of the few remaining running football teams.

Dustin Keller - Thought to be a TE1 heading into the season, Keller has largely disappointed. Sunday, though, he came through with a season-high eight catches for 76 yards and a touchdown.

Michael Crabtree - Well on his way to earning the dollars for which he held out. We've seen steady improvement for the past two games.

Peyton Manning - A sign we're spoiled by him: 347 passing yards and we're complaining because he didn't throw a TD. Seriously, Peyton, c'mon man!

Steven Jackson - Not even remotely surprising. He's an animal who needs help around him.

Maurice Morris / Kevin Smith - Interesting split here. Smith carried the ball 16 times for 45 yards, but he watched Morris rack up 63 yards on just 14 carries. Smith does have a banged up shoulder, so it will be interesting to see how this shakes out in the upcoming weeks.

Miles Austin - This week was just further reinforcement that he's no fluke and is easily Tony Romo's favorite option through the air.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh - Nate Burleson is clearly the favorite target of Matt Hasselbeck and Housh has posted very pedestrian numbers in five of the Seahawks' seven games.

Bears D/ST - Gotta love facing the Browns at home to make everyone forget about last week's debacle.

The Browns - How can I even say anything nice? They turned it over five times, no receiver had more than two catches and their kicker had an extra point blocked (his only chance all game).

Terrell Owens - Caught a season-high five passes and scored a rushing touchdown, not that it's any solace to his obviously angry fantasy owners.

Kyle Orton - Yes, the Ravens have traditionally had a tough defense, but they were ranked 23rd in pass defense entering the game. Orton needed to muster more than 152 yards and no scores in order to keep our confidence in his fantasy prowess.

Ray Rice - 108 total yards and a touchdown against one of the toughest defenses in the league. He's definitely a must-start on a weekly basis.

Mike Sims-Walker - Ugh. The Titans haven't defended the pass well all season and MSW only goes for nine yards.

Vincent Jackson - Big game for VJax against the Raiders, as he cements his value as a WR1.

Justin Fargas - He just gets the job done: 79 total yards and a touchdown this time. He's a definite flex player when you have bye week or injury issues.

Beanie Wells - So much for his growth. Of course, we didn't really get a fair evaluation period due to the Cardinals getting blown out in the second quarter. They were playing from behind all game, so of course they were going to pass. I still like him to get in the 15-carry range when they play in close games.

Sidney Rice - Brett Favre threw four touchdown passes, but none to Rice. Maybe the man is actually not falling in love with Rice?

Greg Jennings - There's the big game we were looking for from Jennings (8-88-1). We need to see more consistency before saying he's back to being a WR1, but he's definitely got the tools.

Fantasy Football Sunday Wrap: Ominous Day for Steve Slaton Owners originally appeared on Fantasy Football Fanhouse on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 19:45:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fantasy Felony: Rescuing Your Team From Total Nightmare

Tom Herrera — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:10:00 EST

Filed under: NFL Fantasy Felony, NFL Value Machine

Fantasy Felony helps you hijack your fellow team owners.

Look at Matt Forte over there. He looks so forlorn, doesn't he? Like he's carrying a rotting cantaloupe instead of a football.

Forte is just one of many reasons your team might be 2-5, or even 1-6 (yikes territory). Or maybe you don't have underperforming players at all, and have just been hit by bad luck and bitten hard by the injury bug. Regardless of the scenario, time is running out for all you cellar-dwellers. This is the week you need to make trades in an attempt to save your season. And even if it's beyond the point of saving, at least you can say you tried. Time to blow this squad up and go for broke.

I know you're still scanning that waiver wire, looking for the next great hope, but he sure as hell didn't come along this week. Shonn Greene and Jamaal Charles are not going to do the trick alone. You have to make some gutsy maneuvers, ones that may even make you a little queasy. But what else do you have to lose? Here's the recovery plan.

Dump the Depth

Ask yourself this question (if you have him): How often have I started Ahmad Bradshaw? If the answer is only "one or two times," then what is the point? For teams that are serious about making a playoff run, yes it makes sense to have great depth to back up your studs. But when all you have is a collection of "once in a whiles" and "these matchups suck," then you need to package them together for something bigger and better. Pierre Thomas, Marion Barber, the list goes on and on.

Look for a team in your league that only has one great starting running back, then a bunch of ragtag rushers after him. It works even better if that team's owner is in bye-week trouble (six teams on bye, again!?). If that one great running back is Steven Jackson -- perfect, he gets to play Detroit this week. There's no point in keeping players who can help you down the road. If you don't win this week, there might not be a next week.

As a case study -- in one league, prior to Week 7, I traded Fred Jackson and Cadillac Williams for Laurence Maroney, who came through against the Bucs. I filled the empty spot with Green Bay wideout James Jones. Then I cobbled together a receiving core of Jones, Lee Evans and Austin Collie. Not dazzling at all, right? Well, that trio netted 28 points. Never underrate the power of a strong matchup.

Drop Your Guard

So many people try to flat-out rob each other in deals. There are really ridiculous trade offers floating out there. Heck, even the title of this piece reflects that. I'm in a $400-entry fee league and there are barely any trades because when so much money is on the line, everyone is always trying to ace each other. But sometimes you have to give up more than you get, especially when you're part of a trade-averse league.

Don't be afraid to be taken advantage of. If it means sacrificing better overall players in exchange for players that will help you win now, then I say go for it. Kevin Smith, Matt Forte, LaDainian Tomlinson and Marshawn Lynch (one of my favorite trade targets) are a few buy-low running backs who have favorable matchups this week, also known as your "must-win" week. If you're looking deeper, Beanie Wells and Justin Fargas are two lower-end options going up against defenses ranked in the bottom 10. Need receiving help? Target the ones facing weak secondaries, like Mike Sims-Walker, Lee Evans, Steve Smith (Carolina) and Devin Hester. Some of the Week 8 sleepers on the cheap include Donnie Avery and Kenny Britt. For more strong upcoming schedules, check out SI.com's "The Road Ahead."

Again, in desperate times, it's OK to let your fellow owner feel like he got the better end of the deal, as long as you acquire the players to help you win over the next few weeks.

Opposite Thinking

This is where you might need a bottle of Pepto sitting nearby, because it's time to trade for the disappointing stars everyone else is ripping -- guys like Tomlinson, Forte, Jason Witten, and even T.O. Why? We live in the "educated" era of fantasy sports. Many years ago, you had to subscribe to Baseball Weekly or some publication just to get an edge. Or you'd even call into some 900-number hotline (sorry about those charges, mom). Now, sound advice is everywhere on the Internet. Even the notes provided by the good folks at Rotowire give owners key hints right next to the player's name in Fleaflicker.

The main advantage when every expert is telling you to avoid a certain player -- a dirt-cheap price. I remember everyone saying "David Ortiz is done" during the fantasy baseball season after he only managed one home run in his first two months. I traded Denard Span for him. Oh, how the mighty had seemingly fallen. Ortiz went on to smash 27 homers over the rest of the season. Granted, the law of averages works much better in a game like baseball, but if the opportunity to succeed is still there, you can never totally count someone out.

So you might as well give opposite thinking a shot. Heck, the method worked out pretty well last season when Sean Lalley advised it here and here.

Best of luck to you in your turnaround attempt. And as always, feel free to drop questions in the comments below.

Fantasy Felony: Rescuing Your Team From Total Nightmare originally appeared on Fantasy Football Fanhouse on Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:10:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fantasy Football Reality Check: Miles Austin Becoming a Beast

Matt Snyder — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:30:00 EST

Filed under: Sunday Wrap-Up, NFL Value Machine

Each Monday of the fantasy football season, we'll cut through the fantasy numbers put up by individuals and tell you what they really mean.

A few years ago, I used to swear by the draft-day method of avoiding all wide receivers for at least the first three rounds -- and sometimes up to the fifth in leagues with multiple flex positions. The reasoning was simple: the incredibly fickle nature of receivers. Not only is there more turnover from season to season in terms of production than at any other position, there is week-to-week turnover. Maybe it's time to get back to that theory. Witness, Miles Austin has accrued 16 catches for 421 yards and four touchdowns over his last two games. Anquan Boldin, an upper-tier wideout before the season, entered Week 7 with 306 yards and one touchdown for the entire season.

More: Top Performers | Waiver Wire Wonders | Sunday Wrap-Up

This isn't an indictment of Boldin. It's just an illustration (we can find other examples, such as Sidney Rice vs. Greg Jennings or any high school player vs. T.O.) of how the position is so unpredictable.

Anyway, we should move on, because we can't retroactively go back and tell you to avoid multiple wideouts early in the draft.

For Austin's purposes, there's no way you can sit him next week. He's a must-start until he proves otherwise, following two 25-plus point games. The Cowboys like what they've seen from him, and it's entirely possible he's emerging as a star. In addition to being the deep threat, he's become Tony Romo's go-to wideout, since Roy Williams and Patrick Crayton couldn't lock up that role.

Meanwhile, Marion Barber had just 47 yards on 14 carries and Tashard Choice didn't get to run the ball once. Felix Jones ran well, but he only received eight carries. Are we seeing the Cowboys transition back to being a passing team? Time will tell, but for the immediate future, the best fantasy player on America's Team is Miles Austin. Who would've thought that at the beginning of the season?

Other Reality Checks

o. We have to start giving the Houston Texans' run defense some respect. After making like a sieve against Thomas Jones, Chris Johnson and Maurice Jones-Drew, respectively, in the first three weeks of the season, everyone -- yes, including us -- assumed the Texans run defense would create fantasy gold for the opposing running back. They followed that up by stifling the rushing offense of the Raiders and then the Cardinals. OK, well, the Raiders suck and the Cardinals don't run the ball too effectively. In the past two games, though, the Texans are showing we can't just write off their run-stuffing ability. First, they held Cedric Benson to 44 yards on 16 carries -- and he showed what he's capable of Sunday against the Bears. This week, they made easy work of Frank Gore (32 yards on 13 carries). Taking into account everything we've seen the past four games, we shouldn't assume a big day against the Texans moving forward, and we might have to consider moving guys down the rankings against them.

o. I just mentioned the Cardinals' ineptitude in terms of running the football this season, and with good reason. Entering Sunday, they were tied for dead last in the NFL -- with, hilariously, LaDainian Tomlinson's Chargers -- averaging 57.6 yards per game and 2.9 yards per carry. Those two teams were also the only two in the NFL to not have a single rushing play go for more than 20 yards. Might there be a light at the end of the tunnel for the Cards with Beanie Wells? Tim Hightower is still going to get the goal line carries, but Wells seems to have taken over duties as the team's top back and he looked strong in doing so. The Giants have one of the better run defenses in football, but Wells managed 67 yards on 14 carries. He also scored his first career touchdown. He has the chance to have a very solid week against Carolina in Week 8, too, so definitely grab him if available on the waiver wire.

o. Good debut as a starter for Michael Crabtree. He caught five passes for 56 yards and you could even argue his presence helped pave the way up the middle of the field for tight end Vernon Davis to have a career day. In fact, it appears the 49ers have the chance to be a pretty solid passing team if Crabtree continues his rapid growth. Definitely grab Crabtree in every league if you still can. I'd even use a waiver claim on Alex Smith (if he's definitely named the starter) as quarterback depth. They'll have to throw all game to keep up with the Colts next week, then they'll host the Titans' horrific pass defense the following week.

o. I cannot possibly fathom any discernible reason that Jake Delhomme attempted 44 passes while DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart combined for just 23 carries. It got them a loss and three Delhomme interceptions. The Panthers did, however, seemingly pander to the complaints of Steve Smith, as he hauled in six catches for 99 yards. Is it possible making him happy at the expense of working their strength was part of the game plan? (yes, that was sarcasm) Regardless of what we saw in Week 7, I still don't believe Smith is even a WR2. I mentioned above how inconsistent wide receivers are, but he's more extreme than your garden-variety fickle pass-catcher. Here's what he's done weekly (catches-yards-touchdowns):

Week 1: 3-21
Week 2: 8-131
Week 3: 4-38
Week 5: 5-65
Week 6: 1-4
Week 7: 6-99

Also note the Panthers lost during his two good weeks. They won in Weeks 5 and 6. And he hasn't scored a touchdown. This is someone who was ranked among the preseason WR1 tier. You can have him. I'll take Austin and Rice over him in a heartbeat.

o. You know who really has been consistently good -- or even great? Chad Ochocinco. We loved him as a draft-day bargain, and boy has he been one. Check out his weekly breakdown:

Week 1: 5-89
Week 2: 4-91-1
Week 3: 5-54
Week 4: 3-24-2
Week 5: 7-94
Week 6: 5-103
Week 7: 10-118-2

Now, that is a WR1. In fact, the Bengals have been full of great draft-day bargains this year -- a season after being one big colossal disappointment.

Fantasy Football Reality Check: Miles Austin Becoming a Beast originally appeared on Fantasy Football Fanhouse on Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fantasy Football Sunday Wrap: Alex Smith to Vernon Davis?

Matt Snyder — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:15:00 EST

Filed under: Sunday Wrap-Up, NFL Value Machine

Sunday Evening Wrap checks out players who increased or decreased their value during the Sunday afternoon games.

Risers of the Week: Alex Smith and Vernon Davis were first-round picks of the 49ers in consecutive seasons (Smith was first overall in 2005, Davis went sixth overall in 2006). They were supposed to be the main building blocks of a highly successful passing attack in the Bay Area for years to come. Instead, each was a colossal bust for several years. Sunday, 49ers fans -- and fantasy owners of Davis -- were treated with a much-belated version of what was originally planned.

Once Smith took over for the struggling Shaun Hill, he threw three touchdown passes, all to his dreadlocked tight end. Davis is clearly a must-start every week at this point. Smith wouldn't be a QB1, but would certainly be worth owning if handed the keys. Wait and see.

Faller of the Week: Pierre Thomas got all the work in the Saints backfield in the first half. In the second half, he lost carries to Mike Bell, who was much more effective. Bell ran 12 times for 80 yards while Thomas carried eight times for 30 yards. Forgetting fantasy stats for a second, it has to mean something to head coach Sean Payton that the Saints began to move the ball effectively once he started using Bell. Also, Drew Brees ran for two touchdowns while Reggie Bush added one of his own. For all the love Thomas received in the preseason, he's only delivered on his potential twice and you could argue Bell has looked like the better back when healthy.

Other Shifts in Value

Randy Moss - So Tom Brady completes 23 passes, but only five to Moss. Brady throws for 308 yards, but only 69 of those were to Moss. Brady heaves three touchdown passes, but none were to Moss. This isn't the work of an elite wideout.

Cadillac Williams - Derrick Ward got more carries and was more effective. The Bucs aren't paying him all that money to play second fiddle all season anyway. Caddy's moving down to option 1b instead of 1a -- and it may eventually just become No. 1 and No. 2.

Colts Defense - Not that it was against a real opponent, but the Colts had three sacks, two takeaways and only allowed six points in the return of former NFL Defensive Player of the Year Bob Sanders. Sanders left the game late, but it was not due to an injury. The Colts were just being careful with him. This is a good defense without him and great defense with him.

Steven Jackson - Why both arrows? He had 134 rushing yards against a really solid defense, but his team is just so bad he's still without a touchdown on the entire season. This is such a shame.

Sidney Rice - Do we need to continue to hammer home the fact that he's a weekly play? Um, OK. He's a weekly play.

Ben Roethlisberger - He entered the game as the NFL's leader in passing yards, but was only able to air it out for 175 against a Vikings secondary that was shredded by Joe Flacco last week. This was vintage Ben (circa 2005 or so), where he was a better real quarterback than fantasy. Don't worry, though, we expect the fantasy monster to return -- though he does have a bad stretch here with the bye week followed by a trip to Denver.

Jamaal Charles - Seriously, Todd Haley -- what in God's name are you waiting for? This is ridiculous. Larry Johnson had 16 carries for 49 yards, while Charles gained 33 on just four runs. The difference in yards per carry for the entire season is almost two full yards. Charles is much younger and doesn't have near as much tread on his tires. I just don't get it. Until Haley wakes up, though, Charles doesn't have any value.

LaDainian Tomlinson - So much for his rebirth. If you can't gain more than 71 yards on 23 carries against the Chiefs, you are definitely not an RB2.

Kevin Walter - He's been rendered pretty meaningless, as he only accounted for 29 of the Texans' 336 total yards. Even with Andre Johnson leaving the game injured -- and receiving tons of attention from the Niners prior to injury -- Walter still only caught three passes.

Mohamed Massaquoi - Again, this is why I've never been high on him. You cannot count on anything even resembling consistency from the Browns.

Ryan Grant - I was admittedly pretty down on him after last week's rather pedestrian point output against the Lions, but Sunday he made up for it, gaining 151 total yards and punching one in the end zone.

Carson Palmer - He'd been mostly average this season heading into the game. All he did against the Bears was connect on 20 of 24 passes for 233 yards and five touchdowns.

The Bears - Pathetic. Disgusting. Abysmal.

The Raiders - Even worse.

Shonn Greene and David Clowney -
It was such a laugher the also-rans had a great game during the Jets' throttling of the Raiders. Greene is definitely a great own in keeper leagues, but Thomas Jones still has the job (and had 121 yards and a score of his own). With Leon Washington out for the season with a horrific leg injury, Greene will see work when he spells Jones, so he does retain some value. As for Clowney, he's worth a look in bigger leagues against bad opponents.

Miles Austin - Apparently he wanted everyone to know the ridiculous stat line against the Chiefs wasn't a total fluke. Get him in your lineups as a weekly starter for now.

Matt Ryan - He did throw two touchdowns, but the three turnovers did a good job wiping away much of his production. He also failed to reach 200 yards.

Jonathan Stewart - The Bills' run defense had been brutal, so it looked like Stewart would be a good play even with the presence of DeAngelo Williams ahead of him on the depth chart. Instead, he had just seven carries for 25 yards, as the Panthers looked awful.

Lee Evans - We had already buried Evans, but he's had two consecutive good games with Ryan Fitzpatrick at the helm. He's definitely better than Terrell Owens at this point (but is that really saying much?).

Ricky Williams - He's the second back in Miami, but they run the ball so often and so effectively, both players are worth using on a weekly basis in larger leagues. If you went with Ricky on Sunday, he rewarded you with 80 yards and three touchdowns. It was his fifth straight week with at least 55 rushing yards and he now has six total touchdowns.

Fantasy Football Sunday Wrap: Alex Smith to Vernon Davis? originally appeared on Fantasy Football Fanhouse on Sun, 25 Oct 2009 20:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fantasy Football Reality Check: Ravens a Passing Team, Which Suits Rice

Matt Snyder — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sunday Wrap-Up, NFL Value Machine

Each Monday of the fantasy football season, we'll cut through the fantasy numbers put up by individuals and tell you what they really mean.

The Baltimore Ravens are known as a black-and-blue, smash-mouth, old-school, ball control football team. After all, they won a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer at the helm. They had Jamal Lewis as the punishing bruiser for years. Things are a bit different now, to say the least. The Ravens have now attempted 227 passes and 154 runs this season. They have gained more than twice as many yards and first downs through the air. Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron loves to throw the ball in a variety of different ways. Joe Flacco is becoming a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback. Do the math: the Ravens are a passing team.

More: Waiver Wire Wonders | Top Performers | Fleaflicker Adds/Drops

The best part about this fact is that it actually helps the fantasy football value of Ray Rice, who is clearly the best running back the Ravens have. The diminutive Rice averages six yards per carry due to how perfectly Cameron picks his spots to run the football. Sunday was a perfect example: Rice carried the ball just 10 times, but gained 77 yards and scored twice. The best part about Rice, however, is his value through the air.

Rice caught 10 passes for 117 yards Sunday. Those are the numbers of a WR1 against the Vikings' tough defense, not a shifty running back. On the season, Rice now has 33 catches for 325 yards -- meaning he's gained 766 yards from scrimmage in six games. That's a lot of points, especially for a guy who lost a load of touchdowns earlier this season to Willis McGahee.

McGahee's out of the picture now. It's the Ray Rice show.

Even on a passing team, they have an RB1. Funny how that works, eh?

Other Reality Checks

o. Hopefully you didn't sell the farm for Braylon Edwards after his electric debut in a Jets uniform. In his second game -- and home debut -- he hauled in just three balls for 40 yards. These past two games do a great job of illustrating what we can expect from Edwards the rest of this season. He's playing for a new team and with a rookie quarterback. In addition to there being an adjustment period, he'll have to deal with fickle quarterbacking as Mark Sanchez encounters growing pains. Don't be surprised to ride a veritable roller coaster with Edwards in fantasy point totals. I expect, at the end of the season, a line graph of his weekly point totals to look like a mountain range.

o. In case Rashard Mendenhall owners were worried Willie Parker was going to get the job back in the Steelers' backfield, we have news for you: it's still Mendy Mania. Mendenhall received 17 carries to Parker's seven. He got the short-yardage carries, including the Steelers' lone rushing touchdown. Another layer to mention here, though, is that the Steelers are clearly a passing team -- like the Ravens, though not to the same extent. They attempted 35 passes in a game which was never really in doubt, compared to 29 carries by running backs. Ben Roethlisberger threw for 417 yards, so the pass was working quite well for them anyway. On the season, the Steelers have thrown 208 passes and their three running backs have carried the ball a combined 144 times. Thus, Mendenhall is a RB2 in larger leagues and Parker is a flex option as a bye-week filler, at best.

o. Speaking of teams known as running teams who are actually passing teams, the Bears can't run the football with Matt Forte. They just can't. The run blocking is awful. The holes are so small and cave so quickly, that the smaller and quicker Garrett Wolfe has had better success with the ball in his hands than Forte has. The longest run of the night was by Jay Cutler. The Bears are finding more success passing for touchdowns in short yardage than getting Forte in the end zone from the one-yard line. There's just no good news for Forte owners and it doesn't appear things will be changing anytime soon, either, because the personnel on the line is the problem. It's definitely time to worry about Forte, and I wouldn't have a problem trading him if you could get back first-round value.

o. I wouldn't get caught up in this "don't trust Bill Belichick with running backs" game. Sure, that has been the case in the past, but this season, he's mostly leaned on one guy. First, it was Fred Taylor. He got hurt. Then, it was Sammy Morris and he fell injured early Sunday (which, by the way, really sucked -- one play and he's out? Fantasy killer). After the Morris injury Sunday, Laurence Maroney carried the ball 16 times. BenJarvus Green-Ellis had seven carries, but let's look deeper. The Patriots undressed the Titans, 59-0, so much of the second half was trash time. Green-Ellis carried the ball four times in the fourth quarter with Maroney out resting. That means the carry ratio when the starters were still in the game was 16-3 in favor of Maroney. If Morris is out versus Tampa Bay next week in London, Maroney will be a fine play. Dare I say an RB2 in large leagues? The Bucs can't stop the run. I would grab Maroney off the waiver wire immediately for the short-term.

o. Steven Jackson is an absolute monster, it's just too bad he's playing for such a bad offense. The good news is that the Rams did start to move the ball a little better Sunday. Jackson didn't have many running lanes, but he still managed 50 yards on 16 carries. He found a way to be productive through the passing attack, though, as he garnered 78 yards on six catches. The 128 total yards would look much nicer if he could find a way to get into the end zone, but I guess we'll have to keep waiting. It will be interesting to see what he does against the Colts next week. You can run on Indy, but the Rams will likely be so far down they'll have to pass. The following week against Detroit, though, and SJax will definitely be worth 20 points. I'd bet on it.

o. The Giants' running back situation did little to sort itself out Sunday. In the running back rankings, I explained that I believed Brandon Jacobs would resume his role as the more valuable fantasy back against good competition, as Ahmad Bradshaw had simply gotten fat against chump teams. Sunday, we still didn't get a very good read as the Giants got blown out of the building and were only able to use the two backs a combined 17 times on the ground. They had similar average-per-carry numbers, which is a good sign for Jacobs owners, but Bradshaw scored the one rushing TD, which is a bad sign. I'm still sticking with Jacobs the rest of the way, but it's only by a slight margin.

Fantasy Football Reality Check: Ravens a Passing Team, Which Suits Rice originally appeared on Fantasy Football Fanhouse on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 08:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fantasy Football Sunday Wrap: The Resurrection of Elite Tom Brady

Matt Snyder — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:20:00 EST

Filed under: Sunday Wrap-Up, NFL Value Machine

Sunday Evening Wrap checks out players who increased or decreased their value during the Sunday afternoon games.

Sunday's Top Riser: We've seen this Tom Brady before, and it was in 2007 when he threw for almost 5,000 yards and totaled 50 touchdown passes. So far in 2009, he'd been good, but not great. And we drafted Brady for great in fantasy football. Enter the Tennessee Titans and the worst pass defense in football. Brady, despite playing in a quasi-blizzard, completed 29-of-34 passes for 380 yards and six touchdowns. That's all he'll need to get that swagger back. Next week against Tampa Bay, he's going to put on a show across the pond in London's Wembley Stadium, and he's a bonafide top-three fantasy QB again -- you can take that to the bank.

More: Waiver Wire Wonders | Top Performers | Fleaflicker Adds/Drops

Sunday's Top Faller: The Eagles. I mean, really? The Raiders bottled you up? No touchdowns, Donovan McNabb completed less than 50 percent of his passes, Jeremy Maclin went back to being irrelevant and Brian Westbrook only received six carries. No receiver reached 100 yards (though, to be fair, both DeSean Jackson, Brent Celek and Brian Westbrook had decent-to-good receiving numbers) and LeSean McCoy was worthless. Everything stemmed from the offensive line being pushed around by Richard Seymour and company. Still, what a brutal showing for a team who appeared to be firing on all cylinders after last week.

Other Shifts in Value
Dwayne Bowe - After two bad games, Bowe is clearly back on track and becoming a favorite of Matt Cassel as the KC offense slowly improves (which means they've gone from putrid to below-average).

Santana Moss - His lackluster performance is a bi-product of the poor quarterbacking in Washington. The problem? That's not going to change as we move forward.

Cadillac Williams - Wasn't a huge game, but 77 yards and a touchdown is good for where he was being used. The Panthers run defense is very fantasy friendly ...

DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart - ... as is their own running game. Those worried about DeAngelo (30 carries, 152 yards, 2 touchdowns) can now breathe a sigh of relief and Stewart (17-110-1) came through as a solid flex play.

Jamal Lewis - We saw this coming, although I actually thought he'd get more carries. On the podcast, I said last week was an aberration and predicted 20 carries for 41 yards this week. He ended with 11 for 21. He sucks. Move on.

Hines Ward - Dude was so on fire he even poached a catch from Santonio Holmes -- and promptly took it to the house. Big day for "The Dalai Lama of Football."

Marques Colston and Lance Moore - The Saints spread it around, so there's a tendency for Robert Meachem or Devery Henderson to infringe on Colston's potential stat-line, but Sunday he got his. Also, Moore had done nothing this season until coming through with six catches for 78 yards and a touchdown. He is again ownable in fantasy football.

Eli Manning - I've long thought he was incredibly overrated in fantasy due to his last name, but he was getting it done this season. I had been biting my tongue and biding my time. He'd been great against the Redskins, Cowboys, Bucs, Chiefs and Raiders. That's not exactly the '85 Bears, '00 Ravens and '70s Steelers of defenses. Sunday, he faced a strong Saints' defense and completed less than 50 percent of his passes for only 178 yards, one touchdown and turned it over twice.

Sidney Rice - It's not just the 176 yards, it's how Rice looks in the Minnesota offense. Not only is he the obvious deep threat for Brett Favre, but he's a tall red-zone target as well. There is big-time potential here for Rice to move himself into WR2 range. He should not be left on any waiver wire after this week.

Willis McGahee - The Ravens gained 448 yards in total offense. McGahee accounted for three. Three! Meanwhile, Ray Rice shredded the mighty Vikings for 194 total and two rushing touchdowns. The sun has set on McGahee's fantasy value for 2009.

Mike Sims-Walker - I told you guys not to get down on our boy "Em Ess Dubbs." I can't be angry at him for taking the Seattle booty-call. He bounced back with nine catches for 120 yards. Are you still mad at him?

Donnie Avery - He scored a touchdown, but that was his only catch of the game against a sub-par Jaguars' pass defense. Five players had more catches, including fellow wideouts Keenan Burton and Danny Amendola (who?). UPDATE: Actually, Avery left the game with a hip injury after the catch. Thus, we can't actually complain, as he may have been on his way to a big game. Still, the injury means his value takes a hit.

Ryan Grant - Sure, he gained 90 yards, but it took 24 carries and he failed to score a touchdown. That's not the work of a quality RB2 against a team who allows five yards per carry and one rushing touchdown per game -- especially not when he was running out the clock the entire second half. Boo him. And hiss if that's your thing.

All Lions receivers - I'm sure Drew Stanton is a nice guy and a hard worker, but he decimates the value of Calvin Johnson, Dennis Northcutt and Bryant Johnson. Brandon Pettigrew is not even ownable with him. With Daunte Culpepper leaving injured and Matthew Stafford's season in jeopardy (Stephania Bell of ESPN is reporting he will miss the season if Dr. James Andrews determines surgery is needed), this is not a good situation.

Texans passing attack - The Bengals' defense had been tough all season. All Matt Schaub did was carve them up for 392 yards and four touchdowns. Steve Slaton and Andre Johnson went for triple digits, Owen Daniels scored twice and Jacoby Jones caught a touchdown. The only problem was that Kevin Walter disappeared? What's up with that? (By the way, do not ever even think about sitting Schaub. He's an elite quarterback in fantasy -- up there with Manning, Brady, Brees. Yes, he really is.)

Cedric Benson - As I conditionally mentioned in the running back rankings, we can now start believing the Texans' run defense has improved. Don't give up on Benson just yet.

Zach Miller - Even without the stupendous 86-yard touchdown catch-and-run, he would have had five catches for 53 yards. Good all around game for Miller.

Thomas Jones - The more explosiveness and consistency we see from Jones, the more we have to believe he's not giving up carries at all in 2009. He's a fringe RB1 most weeks, depending upon matchups.

Bills defense - Not sure if you've ever noticed, but I grab at least one player from each team for this feature. At this point, I don't have anything to add about the Bills offense. I called them worthless last week and Sean Lalley covered them in Sink or Swim. Trent Edwards left the game in the first half Sunday. So, instead, I'll give some credit to their defense. They hassled Mark Sanchez for five picks and a sack. Even in allowing so many rushing yards, they kept the score reasonable, too.

Steve Breaston - Guess who is quietly outplaying Anquan Boldin on a per-game basis?

Matt Hasselbeck - So much for him playing well at home. That was an out-and-out disaster. What a dreadful performance.

Fantasy Football Sunday Wrap: The Resurrection of Elite Tom Brady originally appeared on Fantasy Football Fanhouse on Sun, 18 Oct 2009 20:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fantasy Football Reality Check: Joseph Addai Still Colts' Guy

Matt Snyder — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST

Filed under: Sunday Wrap-Up, NFL Value Machine

Each Monday of the fantasy football season, we'll cut through the fantasy numbers put up by individuals and tell you what they really mean.

Ever since the Colts selected Donald Brown in the first round of last April's draft, fantasy players have been anxiously awaiting him to take over the No. 1 RB role for the Colts' high-powered offense. Well, they'll be waiting a while, because -- in terms of touches, goal-line carries and usage in the passing game -- Joseph Addai is still clearly the Colts' top option at running back.

Addai has 88 touches to Brown's 51. Addai has scored four times; Brown twice. Addai has 26 catches compared to just seven for Brown. This is not a changing of the guard. This is a starting running back being spelled by a backup.

It's true Addai didn't run the football well Sunday night, but consider the opponent. The Titans have had a strong rushing defense and pathetic pass defense all season. Thus, the Colts took what the Titans gave them and threw the ball most of the time. Addai's 10-catch performance should only further cement our confidence that he's the top option out of the backfield.

The Colts will head into a bye week, but when they return they'll get the Rams. The Colts won't need to throw a ton to throttle the pathetic "Lambs." You're gonna see a lot of running from both Addai and Brown. Expect them both to get their fair share of work. Just remember, if Brown ends up with better numbers, that doesn't mean he's taking anything away. When the Colts play reasonable opposition, they'll lean more on their veteran back.

Other Reality Checks

Apparently, Jamal Lewis is still above Jerome Harrison the Browns' depth chart. Color us shocked. Not only did we have Lewis buried, we had already planted sod over the grave and left the cemetery. So, what to make of him taking 31 carries for 117 yards while Harrison only received eight carries? Unfortunately, it means Eric Mangini is going to stick with Lewis as his workhorse when healthy. Harrison falls back down to handcuff status, which is a major stomach-punch for many of us. Of course, bench every Brown next week against the Steelers anyway. They mustered just two field goals against the Bills, so the Steelers might find a way to cause a negative score.

Jamaal Charles is clearly the best back in Kansas City. The problem? He's still not getting the workload he deserves. Larry Johnson came into the game averaging an embarrassing 2.6 yards per carry, and he's apparently not going to be content until it dips down below 2.0, because he turned 21 carries into 37 yards against the Cowboys. Not only that, he's now touched the ball 101 times and failed to score a touchdown. Meanwhile, Charles caught five passes for 54 yards and is averaging 5.1 yards per carry. It's about time he got a shot, but we still aren't seeing him get it. For now, Charles should be owned in all deeper leagues in anticipation of eventually finding a role in a KC offense that is starting to move the ball via the air. If they want a balanced attack, they'll forgo any LJ carries in favor of Charles. Oh, and this should go without saying, but don't start Johnson in any league.

It's only a matter of time before Vince Young is starting over Kerry Collins. We saw Young enter the game late against the Colts, but that doesn't mean there was a change in the depth chart. Yet. The Titans are cooked. Yes, they haven't even played a third of the season, but they aren't rebounding from 0-5. It's time to give the keys to Young and see if he can resemble a starting NFL quarterback the rest of the way. He did look just as spry as ever on a six-yard run late in the game. He didn't connect on any of this three pass attempts, but the Colts' pass defense is pretty stout. I'd take a flier right now on Young in multi-QB leagues (I play in one league where you can start three, depending on how you use your flex position, and I'd definitely grab him now in that one) in anticipation of a move being made. My guess is they'll use Collins in New England and then make the change after their bye week, but being proactive instead of reactive can win you championships. VY against Jacksonville at home on November 1 could be a pretty decent spot-play.

Sammy Morris is clearly the Patriots' No. 1 running back. We suspected this is what would happen, and it did. The Patriots ran the football 27 times and Morris took 17 of the carries. He also caught two passes for 39 yards. The Patriots will continue to use several running backs, but with Fred Taylor injured, Morris the only runner Bill Belichick really trusts to handle more than an occasional carry. The Broncos have had a pretty solid run defense this season (ranked fifth entering the game), so Morris' 68 yards on 17 attempts (4.0 average per) is a good sign. He'll have a tough test against Tennessee but will get enough looks to be as productive as he was Sunday.

Kyle Orton is a very solid fantasy option at this point. He's not a QB1 in most formats, but he's definitely worth using as a bye-week/injury replacement in every format. Knowshon Moreno continues to develop, Brandon Marshall is a man-child and Eddie Royal finally, Sunday, became as involved in the short passing game as we thought he would before the season began. The Broncos play sound defense and move the chains on offense. They have so much confidence now, too, that a swagger is developing. Expect good numbers from Orton (and Royal, Marshall and Knowshon) next Monday night against San Diego's lackluster defense. If your QB has a bye and Orton is available on the wire, get him now.

Fantasy Football Reality Check: Joseph Addai Still Colts' Guy originally appeared on Fantasy Football Fanhouse on Mon, 12 Oct 2009 09:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fantasy Football Sunday Wrap: Sad Bills Becoming Worthless in Fantasy

Matt Snyder — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:15:00 EST

Filed under: Sunday Wrap-Up, NFL Value Machine

Sunday Evening Wrap checks out players who increased or decreased their value during the Sunday afternoon games.

Faller of the Week: All Buffalo Bills. Three points against the Cleveland Browns? The same Browns who ranked dead last in the NFL in total defense, 31st in scoring defense, 22nd in passing defense and 31st in run defense? Abandon ship. Everyone except Terrell Owens and the two running backs (Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson) can be dropped. No one can safely be started in any league at this point. This is just a mess. Lee Evans and Trent Edwards are owned in far too many leagues. Drop the dead weight.

More Fantasy Football: Waiver Wire Wonders | Latest Player Notes

Riser of the Week: Miles Austin had a bit of fun against the Swiss Chiefs. How does 10 catches for 250 yards and a pair of touchdowns sound? With Roy Williams sidelined, Austin shined. We've seen his potential in short little bursts throughout his career, but never a sustained outing even approaching this bad boy. You can't count on this consistently, but Austin's worth a look in deep leagues. He's a bye-week replacement-type who could shake free for a long score at any given moment.

Other Shifts in Value

DeSean Jackson - Just when it appeared he was becoming a reliable WR2 (if not more), he lays an egg while watching Jeremy Maclin go ballistic.

Kellen Winslow - Sure, they were playing catch-up, but they do that every week. The 9-catch, 102-yard, 2-TD outing was a great sign that Josh Johnson is starting to trust his tight end.

Ahmad Bradshaw - He's feasted upon the Bucs, Chiefs and Raiders in the past three weeks. Can it continue against actual competition? Being so explosive, it would be hard to bet on him staying quiet most weeks.

Zach Miller - Good to see one of our preseason faves having a decent game. You still can't count on him weekly, though.

Matt Cassel - He finally started clicking with Dwayne Bowe and ended with a solid line. There's a definite correlation. We'll see if he keeps it up.

Willie Parker - His job is being stolen by Rashard Mendenhall, and there's nothing he can do about it.

Clinton Portis - He's a sell-high right now. The Redskins' line is brutal and Portis was the beneficiary of touchdowns on two different short-field drives set up by takeaways. He still only averaged three yards a carry against the league's worst (heading into Week 5) run defense.

DeAngelo Williams - Lost a fumble and gained only 40 yards on 18 carries without hitting pay-dirt.

Mohamed Massaquoi - We suspected last week was a bit fluky, but not to this extent. Of course, when your quarterback completes just two passes (TWO!) all game, it's hard to do much as a receiver.

Cedric Benson - Guess I have to eat some crow here. We said Benson was a sell-high two weeks ago and we appeared to be correct after last week in Cleveland. Instead, Benson sliced through the stout Ravens defense for 120 yards on 27 carries and a rushing touchdown.

Joe Flacco - Of course, in the same segment of our podcast, we said Flacco was a sell-high. He had a rough outing against Cincy and the schedule doesn't get any easier (at MIN, vs. DEN, at CIN) the next few weeks.

Roddy White - This is why you don't give up on your stars based upon a few less-than-stellar outings. White wasn't pulling an Eddie Royal and totally disappearing, he just wasn't providing WR1 numbers. Yet. Eight catches, 210 yards and two touchdowns say you don't think about sitting him again.

49ers Defense - What a difference a week makes. I guess the Atlanta Falcons are a little better than the Rams, eh?

Matt Hasselbeck - Four touchdown passes in his triumphant return to the lineup.

Mike Sims-Walker - It's a good time to trade for him. His owner will likely be livid after taking a goose egg at the last minute after the Jaguars suspended MSW one game for breaking a team rule. That won't happen next week against the hapless Rams, as the Jags' pass offense looked out of sync without him.

Randy Moss - Tom Brady completed 19 passes. Only one was to Moss. Buy low here, as the Pats have the Titans and Bucs the next two weeks. That's a receiver's paradise.

Eddie Royal - He has a pulse! PPR-leaguers who held onto him in hopes of a resurgence were handsomely rewarded with 10 catches. His 90 yards weren't too shabby either. This is what we expected from Royal -- and Kyle Orton throwing short routes to him -- in the preseason.

Beanie Wells - We needed more than that to be convinced of his value for 2009. The Texans' run defense is bad and Wells gained just 24 yards on seven carries. Plus, Tim Hightower is going to get all the goal-line carries. It's time to give up on him in shallow-to-medium-sized leagues.

Fantasy Football Sunday Wrap: Sad Bills Becoming Worthless in Fantasy originally appeared on Fantasy Football Fanhouse on Sun, 11 Oct 2009 21:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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