Studs

Arian Foster, RB, HOU – Despite missing a good portion of the first half of the game due to disciplinary reasons, he still tallied 187 all purpose yards and two scores.  Foster is like lightning in a bottle so far this season and until SOMEONE shows the ability to stop him, he will keep climbing in the rankings.

Terrell Owens, WR, CIN – If you started Owens you very likely were in some serious bye week trouble.  It was not unexpected that a Bengals receiver was going to have a big game against the Browns, but the smart money was on Chad Ochocinco.  If you did need to use Owens, congratulations on hitting your home run… but you can drop him now because Carson Palmer sucks.

Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, JAC – This is a shining example of why you keep starting your top draft picks despite any early season struggles.  The Jags are a bad team and MJD was not 100% healthy when the season started.  He had been held out of football activities for almost the entire off season and it takes time to get acclimated to the speed of the game again.

Rashard Mendenhall, RB, PIT – Well his value is about to drop, but not disappear.  Rashard has been as reliable as the Steelers could have hoped for in the absence of Big Ben.  Now that Ben is back they will be using the aerial attack much more.  I still like Mendenhall as a top 10 RB but once their bye week is over he won’t be coming near the top 5 for a while.

Zach Miller, TE, OAK – With Louis Murphy struggling with his shoulder pain the Raiders only consistent receiving threat was a non-factor. I was big on Zach Miller going into the year because of this lack of production from the Raiders receivers and it finally hit big.  This is obviously not what you can expect but Miller is a key part of their offense and he will stay a top 10 TE.

Peyton Hillis, RB, CLE – Hillis is now clearly the Browns RB you want to own.  I won’t bail on Jerome Harrison until I see Hillis get all the work again next week.  He is looking to be a good RB 2 if the Browns have a good match up and a flex play otherwise.

Reggie Wayne, WR, IND – Colts fans may need to be concerned after a surprising loss to the Jaguars on Sunday, but fantasy owners don’t need to share their concern.  Wayne hauled in 15 passes for 196 yards on Sunday. The one thing I did take from this game, is that if Garcon gets his #2 spot back Collie wont be able to maintain this value.

LaDanian Tomlinson, RB, NYJ - I was expecting a good game from LT this week with the soft match up, but I did not expect to see him look like he was 29 again.  I am encouraged by this performance and think LT just may remain a viable fantasy starter come the playoffs.  Shonn Greene owners should be concerned.

Duds

Santana Moss, WR, WAS - Moss had been the go-to guy so far this entire season, but the Eagles defense was able to shut him down.  I am not concerned because the strategy backfired on the Eagles and is not likely to be repeated.

Randy Moss, WR, NE – There have only been around 5 games in Moss’ career where he went without a catch and this was one of them. I have no concerns with Moss in the future you have to start him.

Jay Cutler, QB, CHI – The ridiculous pressure that he faced early in the game was not his fault.  Holding on to the ball and refusing to make a decision on who to throw to in the 2nd quarter was his fault.  For now I am treating this as a one game deal and next week (if active) he will still be ranked around 10th.

DeSean Jackson, WR, PHI - Kolb means bad news for DJax as he favors the safe check down style throws.  If you own this guy you will still probably have to start him because with a whole week to prepare knowing he is the #1 QB, Kolb will have the confidence to take a shot or two down the field.

Chris Johnson, RB, TEN - Tough crap, you drafted him. You are starting him.  It is frustrating I know, but he is still the best back in fantasy football.

Ronnie Brown, RB, MIA - Ronnie Brown looked bad last night on Monday night in a tough loss at home for the Dolphins.  Williams looked like the best back and the one that Sporano trusted the most.  I think that Williams might be the most likely to see carries in the red zone and might overtake Brown in the rankings.

Ray Rice, RB, BAL – See the first sentence of Chris Johnson.  He might be on pace to be this year’s Matt Forte… but you can’t say that quite yet.  He was playing against the Steelers.

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Pickups

Ryan Torain, RB, WAS – Portis was beaten up all game and Torain was left to pick up the slack.  Averaging 3.89 yards per carry on 13 carries he was able to find the end zone and come up big for any fantasy owners who were digging deep enough to use him.  Shanahan is well known for utilizing his unknown running backs to the best of their ability.  As an interesting side note, Portis was the most successful of Mike Shanahan’s discoveries and one of the only to have a long career.

Mark Sanchez, QB, NYJ – You still won’t be able to start Sanchez in anything but a deep format, but if you are being riddled by injuries and/or bye weeks then Sanchez is proving to be a very realistic option.  The offense is soon to get Santonio Holmes back and Sanchez should actually see an increase in production once they are able to stretch the field.  Oh, he hasn’t thrown an INT yet on the season either. The Jets will be able to make it to the Super Bowl if Sanchez can keep up this safe yet efficient play style.

John Kuhn, RB, GB – The RB position is a mess in Green Bay but with bye weeks upon us such a productive goal line back on one of the leagues best offenses deserves a spot on someone’s team in every league.  Here is hoping you have some of your FAAB (Free Agent Acquisition Budget) left after grabbing Jackson earlier.

Jason Avant, WR, PHI – Avant was a decent flex play late last season but in the Mike Vick offense he disappeared.  Once Kolb entered the game Avant was the only receiver he was able to work into the mix and could help you out as a bye week plug-in over the next couple weeks.

Tony Moeaki, TE, KC – He was just on his bye week and if you have an underachiever with his bye coming up, this guy is the real deal.  He fits in well with the Chiefs offense since Cassel doesn’t have the arm strength to throw the deep ball consistently.

Michael Bush, RB, OAK - I don’t know exactly how the situation between Bush and McFadden will flesh out, but for now at least it looks like both of them will be able to be fantasy relevant.  Bush should only be used as a flex play until this proves to be a regular occurrence.

Javon Ringer, RB, TEN - He has ability to be a big play threat and while he is not start-able while CJ is playing he is looking to be one of the best hand-cuff options out there.

Dump List

James Jones, WR, GB - He couldn’t get the job done against the Lions, so even if he does have a few good games this season it is unlikely you would be starting him anyways.

Tim Hightower, RB, ARI - The Cardinals offense is inept and Hightower will be losing more and more touches over the course of the season to Beanie Wells.  If I owned him I would just bail out now before it gets any worse.  There must be someone out there with upside.  You can ignore all of this if your in a PPR league.

Laurence Maroney, RB, DEN - Moreno can’t come back fast enough.  The Broncos are a pass-first offense in what is proving to be a very competitive division.  I expect them to stick with what is working for as long as Orton is red hot.  Maroney has done nothing with his two starts so get rid of him now instead of two weeks from now.

Darren Sproles, RB, SD – This was the second week that Mathews was inactive or limited by injury and Sproles has yet to be a factor in the offense.  No reason to hang on to him with Tolbert the obvious number two.

Lee Evans, WR, BUF – While Fitzpatrick has provided a spark for the Bills offense the past two weeks Evans has been unable to have any substantial production.  I know he was up against the Jets, but there was lots of junk time in that game and Evans couldn’t even get open against a prevent defense.

Mohamed Massaquoi, WR, CLE - Delhomme will give him some value, but it will be VERY hit or miss and I couldn’t trust him even if I was in bye week hell.

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Early Games

Jahvid Best, RB, DET – Active

Steven Jackson, RB, STL – Active

Ray Rice, RB, BAL – Active

Pierre Thomas, RB, NO – Inactive

Late Games

Joseph Addai, RB, IND -

Austin Collie, WR, IND -

Owen Daniels, TE, HOU -

Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, OAK -

Andre Johnson, WR, HOU –

Louis Murphy, WR, OAK –

Clinton Portis, RB, WAS -

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1. Packers
2. Jets
3. Ravens
4. Steelers
5. Eagles
6. Chargers
7. Bears
8. Saints
9. Bengals
10. Texans
11. Colts
12. Seahawks
13. Falcons
14. Titans
15. Giants
16. Dolphins
17. 49ers
18. Redskins
19. Bills
20. Broncos
21. Rams
22. Cardinals
23. Browns
24. Raiders
25. Jaguars

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1. Mason Crosby
2. Nate Kaeding
3. David Akers
4. Stephen Gostkowski
5. Jeff Reed
6. Rob Bironas
7. Matt Bryant
8. Mike Nugent
9. Neil Rackers
10. Robbie Gould
11. Dan Carpenter
12. Matt Prater
13. Adam Vinatieri
14. Jay Feely
15. Joe Nedney
16. Graham Gano
17. Lawrence Tynes
18. Billy Cundiff
19. Josh Scobee
20. John Carney

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1. Antonio Gates
2. Dallas Clark
3. Jermichael Finley
4. Vernon Davis
5. Chris Cooley
6. Zach Miller
7. Brent Celek
8. Dustin Keller
9. Todd Heap
10. John Carlson
11. Tony Gonzalez
12. Aaron Hernandez
13. Jeremy Shockey
14. Greg Olsen
15. Marcedes Lewis
16. Heath Miller
17. Jermaine Gresham
18. Anthony Fasano
19. Rob Gronkowski
20. Tony Scheffler
21. Kevin Boss
22. Owen Daniels
23. Benjamin Watson
24. Bo Scaife
25. Daniel Fells

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1. Randy Moss
2. Brandon Marshall
3. Andre Johnson
4. Roddy White
5. Reggie Wayne
6. DeSean Jackson
7. Greg Jennings
8. Calvin Johnson
9. Larry Fitzgerald
10. Chad Ochocinco
11. Marques Colston
12. Santana Moss
13. Austin Collie
14. Jeremy Maclin
15. Steve Smith (CAR)
16. Hakeem Nicks
17. Anquan Boldin
18. Donald Driver
19. Malcom Floyd
20. Steve Smith (NYG)
21. Wes Welker
22. Louis Murphy
23. Johnny Knox
24. Mike Wallace
25. Mark Clayton
26. Mike Sims-Walker
27. Terrell Owens
28. Michael Crabtree
29. Eddie Royal
30. Legedu Naanee
31. Hines Ward
32. Demaryius Thomas
33. Derrick Mason
34. Pierre Garcon
35. Jacoby Jones
36. Braylon Edwards
37. Kenny Britt
38. Lance Moore
39. Devin Hester
40. Mario Manningham
41. Lee Evans
42. Kevin Walter
43. Mike Thomas
44. Nate Washington
45. Jabar Gaffney
46. Davone Bess
47. Mike Williams (SEA)
48. Josh Cribbs
49. Robert Meachem
50. Josh Morgan

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1. Chris Johnson
2. Frank Gore
3. Arian Foster
4. Michael Turner
5. Maurice Jones-Drew
6. Cedric Benson
7. Darren McFadden
8. Rashard Mendenhall
9. Steven Jackson
10. Pierre Thomas
11. LeSean McCoy
12. Ray Rice
13. LaDanian Tomlinson
14. Ahmad Bradshaw
15. Ryan Mathews
16. Ronnie Brown
17. DeAngelo Williams
18. Beanie Wells
19. Jahvid Best
20. Matt Forte
21. Joseph Addai
22. Justin Forsett
23. Ricky Williams
24. Shonn Greene
25. Peyton Hillis
26. Brandon Jackson
27. Clinton Portis
28. Laurence Maroney
29. Tim Hightower
30. BenJarvus Green-Ellis
31. John Kuhn
32. CJ Spiller
33. Jonathan Stewart
34. Marshawn Lynch
35. Ryan Torain
36. Jerome Harrison
37. Willis McGahee
38. Donald Brown
39. Jason Snelling
40. Michael Bush
41. Sammy Morris
42. Mike Tolbert
43. Chester Taylor
44. Brandon Jacobs
45. Darren Sproles
46. Rashad Jennings
47. Fred Jackson
48. Bernard Scott
49. Correll Buckhalter
50. Javon Ringer

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1. Aaron Rodgers
2. Drew Brees
3. Peyton Manning
4. Philip Rivers
5. Tom Brady
6. Matt Schaub
7. Michael Vick
8. Donovan McNabb
9. Jay Cutler
10. Kyle Orton
11. Chad Henne
12. Carson Palmer
13. Matt Ryan
14. Mark Sanchez
15. Joe Flacco
16. Vince Young
17. Eli Manning
18. Sam Bradford
19. Bruce Gradkowski
20. Alex Smith
21. Matt Hasselbeck
22. Derek Anderson
23. Charlie Batch
24. David Garrard
25. Jimmy Clausen

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Question 1 asked by@Nikkosphere

@BigJim_SFL I just received a trade proposal, they’re asking for Jamaal Charles and want to give me Felix Jones, Zach Miller…yes/no

Answer

Even though Thomas Jones has been taking carries from Charles, this can’t last.  Come the end of the season last year, Jones had lost some of his speed and explosiveness. This led to Shonn Greene having a breakout end of the season where he was used as the only serious RB on the team.  This year should be no different.  Charles is a dynamic play maker that makes the Chiefs offense as successful as it has been this year.  There will be very few games where Charles is not productive and you have to hold on to him.  Felix Jones was likely drafted in the top 5 rounds when we expected him to lead the Cowboys in carries.  It now appears that he is a 3rd down back at best and that Barber is the RB to own in Dallas.  Zach Miller is among my favorite TEs this year, but the talent at the position is so deep that I would rather have Dustin Keller who was likely a free agent until this week.

Question 2 asked by Brian

Im in a PPR league and need 2:
Wes Welker vs Mia
Steve Smith (NYG) vs Chi
Malcom Floyd vs Arz

Answer

Given it is a PPR league, Welker is a must start.  The Dolphins do have a young, underrated secondary, but the Patriots are still an elite offense and Welker is a crucial part of that.  Malcom Floyd would be my 2nd guy because of the matchup.  He is not a PPR stud, but apart from in junk time last week, Smith has been a huge disappointment.  I do not think people should abandon him in their lineups but with two other very viable options you can minimize some risk by sitting Smith.

Question 3 asked by Pro Style

Best 2 RB plays this week?

Forte vs NYG
R.Brown vs NE
LT vs Buf
DMC vs Hou

Answer

This is a great group of RBs and because of this you will have some tough decisions from week to week, this Sunday not being an exception.  McFadden is proving to be a feature back for the Raiders.  He is a completely different person that we have seen since he was drafted.  Because of this success Michael Bush is not own-able in a standard league and DMC sits as the NFL’s 3rd best RB, averaging 115 yards per game.  The Texans are not a superb defense and while Louis Murphy is my favorite to steal the show in this game, DMC is a number 1 fantasy RB until something changes.  For the second spot I would go with LT.  He has the best match up for a running back.  The Jets will still continue to use him as their primary guy as long as he holds up physically… and the Bills really can’t stop him.

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