Fantasy Football News 2011/2012

[HacheMan]

Pickups can make Week 7 a fantasy turning point

Week 7 comes at a crucial time for many fantasy owners hovering at .500 or below. Squads with 3-3 records can climb in the playoff hunt with a victory. Teams with one or two wins are in more dire straits, but a 3-4 or even 2-5 team can still make a run.

Teams off to good starts must maintain that momentum. A Week 7 win for an undefeated team can allow the owner to plan for the playoffs while remaining comfortably in position to make them.

Byes are in full effect, which makes waiver picks more important. In many leagues, teams with poor records have better waiver position and can disarm elite teams looking to make a one-week emergency pickup.
The key is finding players whose values have been overlooked and might even be improving. Here's a position-by-position look at fantasy strategies for Week 7 and beyond.
Quarterback
With Tom Brady, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Michael Vick on byes, fantasy owners can look to veterans Matt Cassel and Jay Cutler to secure steady scoring. Both face teams (the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers) that are in the bottom seven in pass defense.
A pair of young options, Colt McCoy and Mark Sanchez, might thrive in comfortable home environments against West Coast teams (the Seattle Seahawks and San Diego Chargers), thanks to 1 p.m. ET starts.
If those options aren't available, Curtis Painter, Tim Tebow and Sam Bradford could get plenty of passing opportunities for bad teams on the road (at the New Orleans Saints, Miami Dolphins and Dallas Cowboys).
With bye weeks in play, the quarterback options are relatively limited in most larger leagues. So fantasy owners with solid quarterbacks and good waiver position might still want to grab one of the top available passers to make things difficult for top teams.
Running back
Around the midway point in the season, there are usually a number of breakout options at running back, who should play a big role in Week 7.
Regular starters Fred Jackson, Ahmad Bradshaw, LeSean McCoy and Frank Gore have Week 7 byes. In addition, struggling teams might be faced with replacing injured starting running backs such as Peyton Hillis, Joseph Addai or Felix Jones or benching disappointing ones such as DeAngelo Williams and Marshawn Lynch.
Those injuries and disappointments have created opportunities. Talented young backs such as Dallas Cowboys rookie DeMarco Murray, Kansas City Chiefs career special-team star Jackie Battle and Cleveland Browns backup Montario Hardesty have earned chances to shine. Claiming one on the waiver wire might provide a big scoring day, as all three have earned a share of carries.
It's also crucial to look at starting lesser-rated runners who have favorable matchups. Keep an eye on Daniel Thomas against the Denver Broncos, Mark Ingram vs. the Indianapolis Colts, James Starks at the Minnesota Vikings and Ryan Torain at the Carolina Panthers.
Again, it's good to keep an eye on your opponents' needs. But these players can also come in handy if a regular starter is injured.
Wide receiver
No other position offers the vast realm of great scoring days by a sleeper than wideout.
Emerging, young receivers often grow into roles as playmakers as the season goes on. Browns rookie Greg Little, St. Louis Rams starter Danario Alexander, Baltimore Ravens deep-threat Torrey Smith, Broncos second-year star Eric Decker and Seahawks undrafted rookie Doug Baldwin are improving rapidly.
Established workhorses Malcom Floyd, Percy Harvin, James Jones and Devin Hester can provide much-needed scoring and replace fading veterans such as Hines Ward, Donald Driver and Santana Moss in a lineup.
Replacements are required for the numerous top wideouts on bye, including Wes Welker, A.J. Green, Jeremy Maclin, DeSean Jackson, Hakeem Nicks and Steve Johnson.
Tight end
Consistency has lacked for some of the position's elite, including Antonio Gates, Owen Daniels and Dallas Clark. Meanwhile, the Patriots have two tight ends, Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski,producing as consistently as any in the league, but New England has a Week 7 bye.
Keep an eye out for young tight ends on teams that have featured the position heavily in the passing game in the past. The Washington Redskins' Fred Davis, the Ravens' Ed Dickson, the Panthers' Greg Olson and Rams rookie Lance Kendricks are viable options.
Kicker
Kickers are at the mercy of their offenses and the coaches providing them chances. Don't be afraid to switch out a struggling kicker to boost scoring.
If facing a low-scoring fantasy team, go with the sure points. For instance, pick a kicker on a top offense who is facing a weak defense and will provide steady scoring by converting multiple extra points. Week7 options include Billy Cundiff, Mason Crosby, Dan Bailey and John Kasay.
For teams facing high-scoring fantasy squads, take a risk and choose kickers who can score numerous points by booting many field goals. The kickers on potent offenses who are facing solid defenses are strong possibilities to receive multiple field goal chances. They include Neil Rackers, Matt Bryant, Jason Hanson, Nick Folk, Nick Novak, Robbie Gould and Connor Barth.
Defense/special teams
A defense's value is often based on matchups. Teams capable of getting big leads can force shaky offenses to throw frequently and pressure the quarterback into turnovers. The most enticing defenses that fit this profile in Week 7 are the Cowboys, who host the Rams, and the Saints, at home vs. the Colts.
If those options are unavailable, another key matchup advantage comes when an opponent allows a lot of sacks. Look for sacks from the Browns vs. the Seahawks, the Buccaneers vs. the Bears, the Ravens at the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Green Bay Packers at the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions vs. the Atlanta Falcons. As another option, the Bears are the only team to score four ways with its defense and special teams via kickoff, punt, interception and fumble returns. They added a safety last week.
Ultimately, for owners who have endured the disappointment of low scores, landing a great fantasy game via wise waiver claims and favorable starting lineup changes can result in a magnificent scoring week and victory to stay in the playoff chase.

 

[HacheMan]

Marshall Law
Most NFL offenses are afraid to throw at Darrelle Revis. They are so frightened that they simply let Revis take their best receiver out of the game. The Dolphins, however, employed the exact opposite strategy Monday night. Smart? Probably not. A vote of confidence for Brandon Marshall? Definitely.

In a somewhat surprising move, the Dolphins threw at Revis from the opening whistle. By the time it was said and done, Matt Moore targeted Marshall 10 times when he was covered by Revis and 13 times overall. Perhaps more surprisingly, Marshall was often effective and finished with six catches for 109 yards -- but he could have had much more.

Revis barely got a hand in a goal-line fade early on. Moore threw slightly behind an open Marshall on a goal-line slant later in the first half. And Marshall lost his balance and drifted out of bounds while clear of the defense in the second half. Considering the nightmare matchup, owners should be extremely encouraged.

As the Dolphins get used to playing with Moore and they get some softer secondaries on the schedule, the touchdowns will come. And with Miami likely to be playing from behind a ton more this year, the high target-volume will be there as well. If they'll force-feed Marshall when Revis is on him, imagine what they'll do against mere mortal corners.

DOLPHINS at JETS RANDOM THOUGHTS
Daniel Thomas (hamstring) was active and appeared healthy. With winnable games against the Broncos and Chiefs in two of the next three weeks, he should get more work. … Reggie Bush got the first carry of the game and showed good burst overall. But the Dolphins’ refusal to use him in the passing game is mind-boggling. He left with a stinger but later returned. … Shonn Greene is what he is. Nothing special, and the Jets’ line isn’t elite anymore either. … Santonio Holmes has elite talent but it’s getting wasted by Mark Sanchez. Selling high off tonight’s touchdown is a good play. … Plaxico Burress doesn’t even look like he’s playing hard. His only value is in random red-zone fades. … Jeremy Kerley was open more times last night than Derrick Mason was all year before getting dumped.

Editor’s Note: For early rankings, projections, the Running Back report, the top-200 going forward list and much more, check out the Season Pass!

NEWS OF THE DAY #1
Brandon Lloyd was traded to the Rams. For all the fallout, bang it here.

NEWS OF THE DAY #2
The media was so caught up in the Jim Schwartz/Jim Harbaugh fracas that we heard little about an injury that could potentially alter the Lions’ season: Jahvid Best suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter.

This would be a concern if it was Best’s first career concussion. Since he had a really severe concussion in college and another one this training camp, it’s downright scary. Although the secretive Lions didn’t provide a real update Monday, it would be a surprise if Best played this week. And with the bye looming in Week 9, it’s possible we won’t see Best until mid-November.

It’s a major blow to owners of both Best and Matthew Stafford. Best’s ability to make big plays in the passing game was a huge part of the Lions’ offense and Stafford’s success. Through six games, Best was averaging 4.5 catches for 47.8 yards per game.

Jerome Harrison was surprisingly inactive last week, a sign that he’s fallen behind Maurice Morris on the depth chart. Look for Morris to be the primary back and best fantasy add while Best is sidelined.

NEWS OF THE DAY #3
The preseason hype surrounding Felix Jones came with sound reasoning. He was the clear feature back, passing-down back and goal-line option on one of the league’s most explosive offenses. He also possesses special measurables that made him a first-round pick back in 2008.

Alas, this season doesn’t look like it was meant to be. Already dealing with a shoulder injury for much of the year, Jones went down with a high-ankle sprain Sunday. He’s tentatively expected to miss 2-4 weeks, which will include dream matchups with the Rams and Eagles.

The add here is DeMarco Murray as Tashard Choice was reportedly on the trade block prior to the Jones injury. Murray isn’t much of a prospect as a runner, but is looking at 10-15 touches as a pass-catching specialist.

INJURY QUICK SLANTS
Peyton Hillis (hamstring) is in major doubt for Week 7. The Browns signed Chris Ogbonnaya off the street Tuesday. … Vincent Jackson (hamstring) didn’t practice Monday, but Antonio Gates, Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert did. … Sam Bradford (ankle) looks like a longshot to play Sunday. … Jason Campbell (collarbone) is out at least six weeks. … Andre Johnson (hamstring) still isn’t expected back until Week 8. … David Garrard needs back surgery, leaving him off the Raiders’ radar. … Chris Ivory (foot) is ready to go, but his role is uncertain.

DEPTH CHART QUICK SLANTS
Carson Palmer is not expected to be traded by Tuesday’s deadline. … Jonathan Baldwin is healthy but may not be active Sunday. … The Redskins declined to name a starter between John Beck and Rex Grossman. … Mark Clayton (knee) expects to play Sunday, but he has a long way to go to be a factor. … The Rams released Mike Sims-Walker. … C.J. Spiller is being used as a full-time wideout. … The Vikings haven’t yet decided between Donovan McNabb or Christian Ponder as their starter going forward. … Chad Ochocinco played just seven snaps Sunday. … Stevan Ridley played just eight snaps Sunday. He’ll need a BenJarvus Green-Ellis injury to get truly relevant. … Cedric Benson is expected to have 2-3 more weeks until word is passed down on his possible suspension.

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WAIVERS
DEFENSIVE SPOT STARTS
Adding a different defense/special teams each week based on matchups is a fine strategy. Here are units that might be on waivers to consider this week for streaming purposes:

1. COWBOYS vs. Rams - It’s very possible that the Cowboys were dropped last week as they had a nightmare matchup in New England. Now they get a dream setup at home against a Rams team that may be without their starting quarterback.

2. SAINTS vs. Colts - Curtis Painter is certainly showing rapid improvement. But the Saints should be extra jacked up to finally get a home after three straight on the road.

3. RAIDERS vs. Chiefs - Oakland’s defense showed really well against the run last week, shutting down Peyton Hillis and Montario Hardesty. That bodes well for a matchup with the Chiefs’ elite run-blocking line.

 

[HacheMan]

Carson Gets His Wish

Evaluate the player, not the name. I tackled Carson Palmer’s obvious decline before last season, noting that his once golden arm was trending toward Chad Pennington territory. Ever since he rejected Tommy John surgery in favor of rest and rehab, Palmer has struggled with accuracy, sailed passes, and lost zip on his throws. Raiders faithful will soon find out that mobility is an issue as well.

To desperately surrender a 2012 first-round pick for Palmer is a foolish risk. To throw in a conditional 2013 first-rounder is laughable, man. As CBSSports.com’s Gregg Doyel points out, Bengals owner Mike Brown “hasn't won like this since he was born, silver-spoon style, into one of the first families of football 74 years ago.”

Coach Hue Jackson was with the Bengals in Palmer’s salad days of 2004-2006. It’s hard to blame him for remembering a top-three NFL quarterback. On the other hand, he owes it to the organization to take a critical look at the 2009-2010 game film. A pie-in-the-sky optimist will see a precision passer who picked apart the Chargers’ top-rated defense late last season once the Bengals banished Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco to the bench. A realist will put more stock in the rest of the season that saw Palmer pad his numbers against prevent defenses in garbage time.

In pure fantasy terms, Palmer is an upgrade on Jason Campbell as a passer. The Raiders can surround him with enough explosive talent in Darren McFadden, Denarius Moore, Jacoby Ford, and Darrius Heyward-Bey to be worthy of the top waiver claim at quarterback this week. In a run-oriented offense, though, fantasy owners should expect just a top 15-20 quarterback going forward. Palmer isn’t going to be a reliable weekly starter.

On to the players. Here is how I rank the top players at each position as we head into Week 7. Full writeups of each player are below.

Editor's Note: Join subscriber only chats, get weekly rankings before anyone else, plus exlusive weekly projections, stats, dynasty ranks, columns, and much more including the Rotoworld Oracle in our Season Pass.

Quarterbacks
Carson Palmer
John Beck
Christian Ponder
Matt Cassel
Curtis Painter
Matt Moore

Running Backs
DeMarco Murray
Ronnie Brown
Montario Hardesty
Maurice Morris
Roy Helu
Bernard Scott
Donald Brown
C.J. Spiller
Marion Barber

Wide Receivers
Michael Crabtree
Greg Little
Danario Alexander
Demaryius Thomas
Arrelious Benn
Greg Salas
Doug Baldwin
Steve Breaston
Damian Williams

Tight Ends
Fred Davis
Ed Dickson
Jake Ballard
Lance Kendricks

Defense/Special Teams
Cowboys
Chargers
Chiefs

Quarterbacks

Carson Palmer, Raiders - The current version of Palmer isn’t a major upgrade on Jason Campbell, but he remains a better pure passer even with declining arm strength. While Denarius Moore, Jacoby Ford, and Darrius Heyward-Bey represent intriguing weapons in the passing game, this offense runs through Darren McFadden. I would expect low-end QB2 production the rest of the way, which means Palmer is more valuable than Mark Sanchez but not quite worth dumping a Jay Cutler or Sam Bradford.

Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues.

John Beck, Redskins - Coach Mike Shanahan refuses to announce a Week 7 starter until Wednesday, but the game film is going to lead him away from Rex Grossman. Even in Shanahan’s quarterback-friendly offense, I wouldn’t run out to grab Beck in 12-team leagues just yet. There’s certainly top-20 upside, but history suggests Beck’s leash won’t be any longer than Grossman’s was. Consistency will be an issue.

Recommendation: Worth a look in deeper leagues.

Christian Ponder, Vikings - Ponder did little to impress in August, but he showed positive signs in Sunday night’s relief effort. His arm is stronger than advertised, he moved the offense and has a clear mobility edge on Donovan McNabb. Ponder won’t be confused with Michael Vick any time soon, but he could easily be among the top-five running quarterbacks going forward. His preseason stats include eight rushes for 61 yards in one half of action in the finale. Expect a decision from coach Leslie Frazier by Wednesday.

Recommendation: Worth a look in deeper leagues.

Matt Cassel, Chiefs - Cassel is trending back toward legit QB2 territory with a two-week average of 259 yards and 2.5 touchdowns heading into the Week 6 bye. He’s not a bad emergency start this week against a Raiders defense allowing the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks.

Recommendation: Worth a look as a matchup play.

Curtis Painter, Colts - He continues to make incremental improvements by the week. Painter is now adjusting at the line of scrimmage and running the no-huddle formation when the situation calls for it. Considering the Colts’ weapons, Painter could easily graduate to top-20 status by late in the season.

Recommendation: Should be owned in two-quarterback leagues.

Matt Moore, Dolphins - Moore refused to budge from his primary read Monday night, and it killed him. If you’re feeling brave, it’s worth noting that he goes from the defense allowing the 32nd-most fantasy points to opposing QBs in Week 6 to the one allowing the most (Broncos) in Week 7.

Recommendation: Worth a look in two-quarterback leagues.

Watch List: Charlie Whitehurst, A.J. Feeley, Kyle Orton, Vince Young

The Seahawks are preparing as if Whitehurst will start against the Browns, but it’s still possible that Tarvaris Jackson will rally late in the week. … Feeley is on red alert with Sam Bradford nursing a high-ankle sprain. … The Raiders are out of the picture for Orton following the Carson Palmer trade. Perhaps the Dolphins will give him a long look in the few hours remaining before the deadline.

Cut Bait: Rex Grossman, Donovan McNabb, Jason Campbell, Andy Dalton (bye), Alex Smith (bye)

Dalton and Smith aren’t worthy carrying through the bye week in 12-team leagues. … Campbell is done in Oakland following the Palmer trade. … The Vikings may end up cutting McNabb if Ponder takes over. He’s not a “mentor.”

<!--RW-->Running Backs

DeMarco Murray, Cowboys - Entering primarily on running downs, Murray played 26 snaps in relief of Felix Jones compared to 25 primarily on passing downs for Tashard Choice. Jones is expected to miss 2-4 weeks, leaving the two backs to split snaps in his absence. Choice isn’t the player he was two years ago, so Murray figures to garner the majority of the carries in prime matchups against the
Rams (fourth-most points to opposing fantasy backs) and Eagles (second-most) the next two weeks. Both backs are worthy of a roster spot during the bye-week crunch.

Recommendation: Should be owned in all leagues.

Ronnie Brown, Lions - Until we get an indication to the contrary from the Lions, Maurice Morris is still the superior Week 7 play against the Falcons with Brown getting up to speed in former Dolphins coordinator Scott Linehan's offense. The trade does suggest that the Lions were less than satisfied with Morris and Keiland Williams as potential committee partners for Jahvid Best. Brown has the size the Lions were looking for when they drafted Mikel Leshoure and could step in as a 10-12 carry back the rest of the way. Considering Best's injury history, there's potential for more.
Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues.


Montario Hardesty, Browns - Peyton Hillis is in jeopardy of missing this week’s game against the Seahawks after exiting last week with a hamstring injury. Hardesty would be higher on this list if the matchup was better, but Seattle’s stout front four shuts down opposing running games. If Hillis ends up sitting out, Hardesty’s 15-20 touches will at least grant him flex consideration.

Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues.

Maurice Morris, Lions - Starter Jahvid Best is almost certain to sit out this week’s game after sustaining his second concussion of the season. Against the 49ers, Morris played 25 snaps to just two for Keiland Williams while Jerome Harrison was a healthy scratch. Beat writer Dave Birkett confirms that Morris will be “first in line” for carries this week after averaging 55 yards per game alongside a gimpy Best in the second half of last season. Morris should be a low-end RB2/flex option against the Falcons this week.

Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues.

Roy Helu, Redskins - Helu played as the passing-down back behind Ryan Torain last week. Coach Mike Shanahan indicated that Tim Hightower will continue to be an "emergency" third-string back until his shoulder is completely recovered. Check the practice reports this week, but Helu is certainly worthy of a roster stash with attractive matchups against the Panthers and Bills on the horizon. He’s still the most explosive talent in the backfield.

Recommendation: Should be owned in 12-team leagues.

Bernard Scott, Bengals - Scott may no longer be a roster millstone. Per NFL Network’s Jason LaCanfora, Cedric Benson’s suspension has been reduced to one game. The Bengals have a Week 7 bye before a matchup with Seattle’s shut-down run defense. The assumption is that Benson will sit out that Week 8 game, leaving Scott as a less attractive RB2 option.

Recommendation: Worth a look in 12-team leagues.

Donald Brown, Colts - The Colts are beginning to show renewed faith in the 2009 first-round bust after he outplayed Delone Carter for a second straight game. If Joseph Addai (hamstring) sits out against the Saints, Brown will play on passing downs. It’s not unrealistic to believe his touches will increase after averaging 7.3 per last week. He’s more worthy of a roster spot than Carter at this point.

Recommendation: Worth a look in 12-team leagues.

C.J. Spiller, Bills - The No. 9 overall pick in the 2010 draft is now a wide receiver. Spiller played outside at the X and Z spots on 32 of his 35 snaps last week, leaving David Nelson in the slot for 39 snaps. Naaman Roosevelt, expected to man the slot, played just 23 snaps. Coach Chan Gailey suggested Spiller will stay outside, leaving him in the No. 3 receiver role. Especially if he’s granted dual eligibility in fantasy leagues, Spiller has flex potential in PPR formats.

Recommendation: Should be owned in PPR leagues.

Marion Barber, Bears - Barber managed just 2.9 yards per on 11 carries in a blowout victory over the Vikings. He’s not going to eat into Matt Forte’s workload, but it does look like he’s taking over as the designated goal-line back. MBIII is only worthy of a roster spot in touchdown-heavy formats.

Recommendation: Worth a look in touchdown-heavy leagues.

Watch List: Tashard Choice, Keiland Williams, Jerome Harrison, Danny Woodhead

Choice isn't as attractive as Murray, but he's worth a look as a flex play in PPR leagues. ... Williams may be handling goal-line duties, but he has less than 50 yards and just one score through six weeks. … Harrison will likely be active in Week 7, but his workload is a question mark. … Woodhead is worth a look in deeper PPR leagues.

Cut Bait: Jonathan Dwyer, Jacquizz Rodgers, Cadillac Williams

Dwyer will rot on the bench with Rashard Mendenhall back to full health. … Ditto for an injured Caddy. … Quizz played just four snaps last week compared to 15 for Jason Snelling.

<!--RW-->Wide Receivers

Michael Crabtree, 49ers - We recommended Crabtree as a top waiver addition two weeks ago, but he still remains unowned in nearly half of all CBSSports.com leagues. While seeing three times as many targets (15) as the next closest receiver last week, Crabtree also doubled his snap count to 52 on his way to a season-high nine receptions. He should be good for reliable WR3 production as Alex Smith’s No. 1 target coming out of the Week 7 bye.

Recommendation: Should be owned in all leagues.

Greg Little, Browns - Still owned in just a third of CBSSports.com leagues after being elevated to the starting lineup last week, Little came through with six receptions, 72 yards, and a near-touchdown on 12 targets against Raiders. Colt McCoy is on pace for a record 694 pass attempts, and Little is locked in as his No. 1 receiver the rest of the way.

Recommendation: Should be owned in all leagues.

Danario Alexander, Rams - Newly acquired Brandon Lloyd figures to lead the receivers in snaps going forward, leaving Alexander to battle Brandon Gibson and Mark Clayton on the other side with Greg Salas in the slot. Alexander had already moved past Gibson and should hold off Clayton, fresh from the PUP list. DX saw 10 targets on a season-high 66 snaps against the Packers, clearing 90 yards for the second time in four games.

Recommendation: Worth a look in 12-team leagues.

Demaryius Thomas, Broncos - Eric Decker is the top receiver in Denver following the Brandon Lloyd trade, but he’s already owned in roughly 90 percent of CBSSports.com leagues. As Pro Football Focus’ Mike Clay points out, Tim Tebow is a high risk/high reward passer with a low completion percentage but plenty of yards and touchdowns. Thomas is a major health risk coming off Achilles’ tendon surgery, but his ceiling is even higher than Decker’s if he can get close to recapturing pre-injury form. He’s a classic boom-or-bust roster stash.

Recommendation: Worth a look in 12-team leagues.

Arrelious Benn, Buccaneers - It looks like he’s finally back to 100 percent after rehabbing a torn ACL in the offseason. Benn will be hit-or-miss all season, but he’s the lone big-play threat in Tampa right now. He caught a 65-yard touchdown against the Saints and had another long score overturned against the Colts two weeks ago. Stash him in deeper leagues.

Recommendation: Worth a look in deeper leagues.

Greg Salas, Rams - After a nightmare performance on Monday Night Football early in the season, Salas took advantage of a second chance in the slot with eight receptions for 77 yards on 10 targets against the Packers. Touchdowns will be scarce in this offense and Salas will lose a few targets to Brandon Lloyd, but he’s certainly worth a look in PPR formats.

Recommendation: Worth a look in PPR leagues.

Doug Baldwin, Seahawks - As we pointed out last week, the Seahawks have found their long-term slot receiver. One of the most highly sought after undrafted free agents, Baldwin has been called “Bobby Engram with speed.” He carries more value with Charlie Whitehurst under center, and the Seahawks are preparing Whitehurst to start against a Browns defense missing Joe Haden this week.

Recommendation: Worth a look as a bye-week solution.

Steve Breaston, Chiefs - Breaston racked up eight catches, 141 yards, and two scores in the two games heading into the Chiefs’ bye. If he remains available, he’s worth a look as a top-40 option this week against the Raiders.

Recommendation: Worth a look as a bye-week solution.

Damian Williams, Titans - Williams scored in each of the two games heading into the Titans’ Week 6 bye, and he led the team in targets in Week 5. He’s worth stashing as a WR5 for matchup purposes during the bye-week crunch.

Recommendation: Worth a look in deeper leagues.

Watch List: Braylon Edwards, Mark Clayton, Eddie Royal, Dane Sanzenbacher

Edwards is due back from knee surgery after this week’s bye. … Clayton’s path to fantasy value just got blocked by Brandon Lloyd. … Royal is the third most attractive Denver receiver in a run-oriented offense. … Sanzenbacher’s snaps are still too inconsistent.

Hold Off: Jerome Simpson, Naaman Roosevelt, Jason Hill, Devin Hester

Simpson was merely the latest receiver to exploit Colts CB Jacob Lacey. His own head coach was unsatisfied with his performance in a 100-yard game. Don’t chase those points. … Roosevelt saw just two targets while playing fewer wide-receiver snaps than C.J. Spiller. … Hester is dealing with a chest injury while coming off his best game in two years. … Hill is a mirage.

Cut Bait: Robert Meachem, Lance Moore, Harry Douglas, Antonio Brown, Jason Avant, Austin Collie, Ted Ginn

Three Saints receivers played more snaps than Meachem in Week 6 after he led the group in snaps the week prior. He and Moore have been remaindered while Jimmy Graham, Marques Colston, and Darren Sproles hog the targets. … Douglas did little to impress with Julio Jones out. … Brown’s targets are on the wane. … If you chased Avant’s Week 5 points, it’s time to cut the fish loose. … Collie may well be a better receiver than Pierre Garcon, but Curtis Painter doesn’t see it that way.

<!--RW-->Tight Ends

Fred Davis, Redskins - Davis led Redskins skill position players in snaps last week, which is no surprise considering he’s led all season. For the third time in five games, Davis was also the best offensive player on the field for the Redskins while pouring six catches and 95 yards on the Eagles. With Chris Cooley out of the picture for the next month and a half, Davis is once again a rock-solid TE1. He should be owned in all leagues, not the 60 percent on CBSSports.com.

Recommendation: Should be owned in all leagues.

Ed Dickson, Ravens - Dickson is coming off a disappointing 20-yard performance against the Texans, but he’s worth a look this week for matchup purposes. The Jaguars allow the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends, including monster games by Jimmy Graham, Dustin Keller, and Greg Olsen.

Recommendation: Worth a look as a matchup play.

Jake Ballard, Giants - Eli Manning is averaging 322 yards per game ever since Victor Cruz emerged as a dangerous third receiver. A byproduct has been an open seam allowing Ballard to gut defenses down the middle. Ballard’s five Week 6 targets are a season-high, so don’t expect that two-week average of 77 yards to carry over coming out of the Week 7 bye. He’s purely a TE2 option.

Recommendation: Worth a look in deeper leagues.

Lance Kendricks, Rams - A stud in August, Kendricks finally showed up in a real game with 71 yards on four receptions. A 45-yard gain courtesy of a vicious stiff-arm nearly made up for another key drop. If Kendricks ever starts playing with confidence, he has high-end TE2 potential.

Recommendation: Worth a look in deeper leagues.

Watch List: Rob Housler

Todd Heap’s (hamstring) status is up in the air after sitting out Monday’s practice. It’s worth noting that rookie Housler saw eight targets in his absence two weeks ago. Keep him in mind for a late-week add in deeper leagues.

Hold Off: Jeremy Shockey

Shockey has been good for 25-50 yards per week, but he’s yet to find the end zone.

Cut Bait: Chris Cooley, Scott Chandler

Cooley is out six weeks with shattered index finger. … Chandler hasn’t topped 10 yards in a game in a month.

Defense/Special Teams

Cowboys - Rob Ryan’s Browns defense stifled the Patriots for a mere 14 points in Week 9 of last season. His Cowboys defense held the Pats to 20 points last week. In between, Tom Brady topped 30 points against every other team on the schedule. Now healthy, Ryan’s crew is leading the NFL in run defense while also getting to the quarterback. The Cowboys could be welcoming A.J. Feeley to town this week, as Sam Bradford is battling a high-ankle sprain.

Recommendation: Should be owned in all leagues.

Chargers - The Chargers allow just the 25th-most fantasy points to opposing QBs and the 28th-most points to opposing running backs. That’s bad news for a Jets offense that struggled to move the ball through the air or on the ground against a winless Dolphins team Monday night.

Recommendation: Worth a look as a matchup play.

Chiefs - Even with the Palmer trade, beat writer Steve Corkran expects Kyle Boller to start this week’s game against the Chiefs. Palmer will get up to speed in Hue Jackson’s offense during the Week 8 bye. In 66 games and 46 starts, Boller has racked up 51 interceptions and 41 fumbles. He’s like an unholy amalgam of Rex Grossman and Dave Kreig.

Recommendation: Worth a look as a desperation matchup play.

 

[HacheMan]

'11 ranks: Mendenhall, Colston on the rise

Eric Karabell

Time for the latest edition of the end-of-season rankings, as we pretend the season begins today and we use all the information at our disposal to project forward. Yes, Cam Newton is No. 2 overall in standard scoring. Will he finish there, ahead of Tom Brady? Fred Jackson is tops among running backs. Can he finish as the top non-quarterback? And where do Newton and Jackson rank in the overall top 100?


Please note these are not the Week 7 rankings. Those will be published Wednesday and updated as news warrants Friday. Good luck and enjoy!

Top 40 Quarterbacks

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<TABLE style="MARGIN: 0px; WIDTH: 100%"><THEAD><TR><TH style="WIDTH: 50px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Rank </CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 200px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom">Player <CENTER></CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 50px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Team </CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 50px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Prev. </CENTER></TH></TR></THEAD><TBODY><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>1 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8439/aaron-rodgers')"]Aaron Rodgers[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>GB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>1 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>2 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2330/tom-brady')"]Tom Brady[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>2 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>3 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2580/drew-brees')"]Drew Brees[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NO </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>3 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>4 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5529/philip-rivers')"]Philip Rivers[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>4 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>5 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12483/matthew-stafford')"]Matthew Stafford[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Det </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>5 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5209/tony-romo')"]Tony Romo[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Dal </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>7 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2549/michael-vick')"]Michael Vick[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Phi </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>7 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>8 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13994/cam-newton')"]Cam Newton[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Car </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>8 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>9 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5615/matt-schaub')"]Matt Schaub[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Hou </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>9 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>10 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5536/ben-roethlisberger')"]Ben Roethlisberger[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Pit </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>10 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>11 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5526/eli-manning')"]Eli Manning[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYG </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>11 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>12 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12473/josh-freeman')"]Josh Freeman[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>13 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>13 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11237/matt-ryan')"]Matt Ryan[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Atl </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>12 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>14 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11252/joe-flacco')"]Joe Flacco[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Bal </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>14 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>15 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13200/tim-tebow')"]Tim Tebow[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Den </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>17 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>16 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/1575/matt-hasselbeck')"]Matt Hasselbeck[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ten </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>16 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>17 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8664/ryan-fitzpatrick')"]Ryan Fitzpatrick[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Buf </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>15 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>18 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12482/mark-sanchez')"]Mark Sanchez[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYJ </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>18 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>19 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13199/colt-mccoy')"]Colt McCoy[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Cle </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>21 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>20 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8644/matt-cassel')"]Matt Cassel[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>KC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>24 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>21 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10480/kevin-kolb')"]Kevin Kolb[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ari </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>20 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>22 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/4459/carson-palmer')"]Carson Palmer[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Oak </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>23 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8416/alex-smith')"]Alex Smith[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>19 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>24 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14012/andy-dalton')"]Andy Dalton[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Cin </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>26 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>25 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9597/jay-cutler')"]Jay Cutler[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Chi </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>25 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>26 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13197/sam-bradford')"]Sam Bradford[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>StL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>27 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>27 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12479/curtis-painter')"]Curtis Painter[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ind </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>28 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>28 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11128/matt-moore')"]Matt Moore[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Mia </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>31 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>29 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13966/christian-ponder')"]Christian Ponder[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Min </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>30 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13987/blaine-gabbert')"]Blaine Gabbert[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Jac </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>30 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>31 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9589/vince-young')"]Vince Young[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Phi </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>34 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>32 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9650/tarvaris-jackson')"]Tarvaris Jackson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Sea </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>32 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>33 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10484/john-beck')"]John Beck[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Was </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>40 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>34 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9667/charlie-whitehurst')"]Charlie Whitehurst[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Sea </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>33 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>35 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/4477/kyle-boller')"]Kyle Boller[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Oak </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>36 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/4480/rex-grossman')"]Rex Grossman[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Was </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>22 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>37 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/1753/donovan-mcnabb')"]Donovan McNabb[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Min </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>29 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>38 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8520/kyle-orton')"]Kyle Orton[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Den </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>35 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>39 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2704/aj-feeley')"]A.J. Feeley[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>StL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>40 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/1383/jon-kitna')"]Jon Kitna[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Dal </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>36 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>



• There is very little upheaval in the quarterback rankings where it matters most, at the top. In fact, my top 10 doesn't change. The first relatively big mover is San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith dropping two spots after providing just five fantasy points as his team won! Smith has played six games, and topped 201 passing yards just once. Real-life wins have little to do with fantasy performances, so even though Smith's schedule appears to get easier, don't get too excited about him.
• In Minnesota, we don't know for sure whether Donovan McNabb or rookie Christian Ponder will start this week against the defending champion Green Bay Packers, but honestly, does it matter? In fact, why would you still own McNabb anyway? You just cannot rely on him, and we don't know enough about Ponder yet. I ranked the rookie better, regardless of who starts this week. At least there's upside there.
• In Washington, the Rex Grossman era might have come to an abrupt end, but the same principle I discussed above applies here as well: Why trust any Skins quarterback right now? The Redskins have road games the next two weeks in Carolina and Buffalo, and positive statistics can be gained against those defenses, so let's see what John Beck can do. We've seen Grossman's best, and unfortunately his worst. I ranked Beck better, but by no means do you want to count on him, either.
• Then there are the Oakland Raiders. Jason Campbell leaves the rankings, though he seems to think he might return this season. I say you can drop him; he was 12th in standard scoring among quarterbacks entering Week 6. You know, a season ago Carson Palmer did finish 13th in quarterback scoring for the Cincinnati Bengals. Now it appears he's headed to the Raiders, but it might take him some time to get ready. I gave him a cautious rank. Hey, at least he's not Kyle Boller. And we can forget about former Jacksonville Jaguars leader David Garrard joining the crew; he needs back surgery.
• Finally, despite throwing an ugly interception on his first pass as a Philadelphia Eagle, Vince Young matters again. The continued concern over Michael Vick's health -- doesn't it seem like he leaves the game every single week for something? -- moves Young up three spots. Given his weapons, he matters more than some of the rookie starters.
www.rapsports.com
Top 60 Running Backs

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<TABLE style="MARGIN: 0px; WIDTH: 100%"><THEAD><TR><TH style="WIDTH: 50px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Rank </CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 200px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom">Player <CENTER></CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 50px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Team </CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 50px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Prev. </CENTER></TH></TR></THEAD><TBODY><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>1 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10452/adrian-peterson')"]Adrian Peterson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Min </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>1 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>2 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11289/ray-rice')"]Ray Rice[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Bal </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>2 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>3 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12514/lesean-mccoy')"]LeSean McCoy[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Phi </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>3 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>4 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12497/arian-foster')"]Arian Foster[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Hou </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>4 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>5 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11238/darren-mcfadden')"]Darren McFadden[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Oak </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>5 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10195/fred-jackson')"]Fred Jackson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Buf </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>7 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>7 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11278/matt-forte')"]Matt Forte[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Chi </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>8 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9646/maurice-jones-drew')"]Maurice Jones-Drew[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Jac </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>8 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>9 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5679/michael-turner')"]Michael Turner[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Atl </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>10 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>10 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11258/chris-johnson')"]Chris Johnson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ten </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>9 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>11 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8479/frank-gore')"]Frank Gore[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>11 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>12 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11257/rashard-mendenhall')"]Rashard Mendenhall[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Pit </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>17 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>13 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13204/ryan-mathews')"]Ryan Mathews[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>12 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>14 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10693/ahmad-bradshaw')"]Ahmad Bradshaw[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYG </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>14 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>15 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5549/steven-jackson')"]Steven Jackson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>StL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>18 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>16 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11754/benjarvus-green-ellis')"]BenJarvus Green-Ellis[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>15 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>17 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12525/beanie-wells')"]Beanie Wells[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ari </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>16 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>18 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13205/jahvid-best')"]Jahvid Best[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Det </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>13 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>19 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14056/daniel-thomas')"]Daniel Thomas[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Mia </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>23 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>20 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13213/legarrette-blount')"]LeGarrette Blount[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>19 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>21 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11461/peyton-hillis')"]Peyton Hillis[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Cle </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>20 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>22 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9613/deangelo-williams')"]DeAngelo Williams[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Car </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>24 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>23 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/4481/willis-mcgahee')"]Willis McGahee[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Den </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>26 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>24 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8544/darren-sproles')"]Darren Sproles[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NO </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>21 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>25 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12500/shonn-greene')"]Shonn Greene[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYJ </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>27 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>26 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13214/james-starks')"]James Starks[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>GB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>25 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>27 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13208/montario-hardesty')"]Montario Hardesty[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Cle </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>34 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>28 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11256/felix-jones')"]Felix Jones[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Dal </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>22 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>29 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10456/marshawn-lynch')"]Marshawn Lynch[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Sea </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>29 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>30 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8419/cedric-benson')"]Cedric Benson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Cin </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>28 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>31 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13981/mark-ingram')"]Mark Ingram[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NO </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>35 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>32 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11247/jonathan-stewart')"]Jonathan Stewart[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Car </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>33 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>33 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11658/mike-tolbert')"]Mike Tolbert[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>30 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>34 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11362/ryan-torain')"]Ryan Torain[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Was </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>31 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>35 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9616/joseph-addai')"]Joseph Addai[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ind </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>32 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>36 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10544/michael-bush')"]Michael Bush[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Oak </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>36 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>37 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2138/thomas-jones')"]Thomas Jones[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>KC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>37 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>38 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12516/knowshon-moreno')"]Knowshon Moreno[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Den </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>38 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>39 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10713/pierre-thomas')"]Pierre Thomas[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NO </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>39 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>40 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11197/jackie-battle')"]Jackie Battle[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>KC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>41 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>41 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13210/ben-tate')"]Ben Tate[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Hou </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>42 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>42 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/4950/earnest-graham')"]Earnest Graham[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>52 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>43 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14077/delone-carter')"]Delone Carter[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ind </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>48 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>44 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12489/donald-brown')"]Donald Brown[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ind </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>51 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>45 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14028/stevan-ridley')"]Stevan Ridley[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>43 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>46 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12724/bernard-scott')"]Bernard Scott[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Cin </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>46 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>47 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2553/ladainian-tomlinson')"]LaDainian Tomlinson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYJ </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>44 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>48 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14192/roy-helu')"]Roy Helu[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Was </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>45 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>49 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11383/tim-hightower')"]Tim Hightower[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Was </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>40 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>50 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9475/ryan-grant')"]Ryan Grant[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>GB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>56 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>51 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14005/demarco-murray')"]DeMarco Murray[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Dal </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>52 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12898/isaac-redman')"]Isaac Redman[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Pit </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>49 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>53 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9588/reggie-bush')"]Reggie Bush[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Mia </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>55 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>54 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/3582/maurice-morris')"]Maurice Morris[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Det </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>55 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14159/kendall-hunter')"]Kendall Hunter[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>57 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>56 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8524/brandon-jacobs')"]Brandon Jacobs[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYG </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>54 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>57 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13207/dexter-mccluster')"]Dexter McCluster[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>KC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>50 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>58 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13203/cj-spiller')"]C.J. Spiller[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Buf </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>53 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>59 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11359/tashard-choice')"]Tashard Choice[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Dal </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>59 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>60 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11788/danny-woodhead')"]Danny Woodhead[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>



• As with quarterback, there aren't many changes at the top of this position since not much happened in Week 6 to affect the rankings. Rashard Mendenhall of the Pittsburgh Steelers had a big week, and he moves way up -- he probably shouldn't have dropped that much in the first place -- and one of the players taking a hit was Jahvid Best of the Detroit Lions. Best suffered a concussion Sunday, and he has dealt with them before. Be careful if you own him. I added backup Maurice Morris to the back end of the rankings, though I can't say I feel good about it. The point is, Best is now a risk.
• The top scorer in Week 6 was New York Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw, who rushed for 104 yards and scored three touchdowns. Why doesn't he move up? For one, I don't think he's a top-10 running back, and I think there are more than 10 running backs in that conversation (Mendenhall and Frank Gore deserve it, for example). The other issue is New York's schedule, which includes upcoming matchups with the New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers, New York Jets and the Dallas Cowboys twice. Sure, a few of those teams can be run on, but the Giants could be playing catch-up in those games, too.
• Speaking of the Cowboys, Felix Jones suffered a high ankle sprain Sunday and should miss at least two games. DeMarco Murray is the upside play here, but I also ranked Tashard Choice. Jones drops to the back end of the top 30. Jones was close to a top-20 running back entering Week 6, but the truth is he hasn't done much for fantasy owners (he's outside the top 30 among running backs in standard scoring). It's a shame he got hurt, considering he has pending games against teams that can be run on (including the Rams and Eagles).
• The Peyton Hillis situation with the Cleveland Browns is getting a tad annoying, though there's certainly no guarantee Montario Hardesty is poised to take over as the primary ball carrier. Is Hillis hurt? Is he in the doghouse? Whatever the case, neither Browns running back looks like a safe play, but based on what we know Hillis is capable of, not only in 2010 but also in Week 2, he remains a strong flex option when he's active.
• Saints running back Darren Sproles was given one rushing attempt Sunday. That's a bit worrisome, and I was a bit reluctant about having someone like Sproles that close to the top 20 running backs in the first place. The fact is that after Detroit's Best at No. 18, I didn't see another clear and safe RB2. Daniel Thomas of the Miami Dolphins and injured Tampa Bay Buccaneers runner LeGarrette Blount rounded out the top 20. Don't be surprised if Willis McGahee of the Denver Broncos jumps up soon, especially if the Broncos really do change their approach and run more.
Top 60 Wide Receivers

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<TABLE style="MARGIN: 0px; WIDTH: 100%"><THEAD><TR><TH style="WIDTH: 50px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Rank </CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 200px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom">Player <CENTER></CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 50px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Team </CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 50px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Prev. </CENTER></TH></TR></THEAD><TBODY><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>1 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10447/calvin-johnson')"]Calvin Johnson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Det </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>1 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>2 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5941/wes-welker')"]Wes Welker[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>2 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>3 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9638/greg-jennings')"]Greg Jennings[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>GB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>3 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>4 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12601/mike-wallace')"]Mike Wallace[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Pit </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>4 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>5 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8475/vincent-jackson')"]Vincent Jackson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>5 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12586/hakeem-nicks')"]Hakeem Nicks[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYG </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>7 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>7 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5528/larry-fitzgerald')"]Larry Fitzgerald[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ari </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>9 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>8 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11283/desean-jackson')"]DeSean Jackson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Phi </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>8 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>9 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/4461/andre-johnson')"]Andre Johnson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Hou </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>10 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>10 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2622/steve-smith')"]Steve Smith[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Car </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>11 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>11 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10467/dwayne-bowe')"]Dwayne Bowe[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>KC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>12 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>12 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8442/roddy-white')"]Roddy White[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Atl </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>13 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12579/jeremy-maclin')"]Jeremy Maclin[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Phi </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>14 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>14 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11458/steve-johnson')"]Steve Johnson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Buf </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>15 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>15 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13983/aj-green')"]A.J. Green[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Cin </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>16 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>16 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13215/dez-bryant')"]Dez Bryant[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Dal </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>13 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>17 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10147/miles-austin')"]Miles Austin[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Dal </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>18 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>18 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9705/brandon-marshall')"]Brandon Marshall[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Mia </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>19 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>19 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11270/jordy-nelson')"]Jordy Nelson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>GB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>22 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>20 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9838/marques-colston')"]Marques Colston[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NO </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>27 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>21 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/4582/brandon-lloyd')"]Brandon Lloyd[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Den </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>17 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>22 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9611/santonio-holmes')"]Santonio Holmes[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYJ </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>20 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>23 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2564/santana-moss')"]Santana Moss[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Was </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>21 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>24 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11439/pierre-garcon')"]Pierre Garcon[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ind </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>23 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>25 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12569/percy-harvin')"]Percy Harvin[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Min </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>24 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>26 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2578/reggie-wayne')"]Reggie Wayne[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ind </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>25 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>27 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13982/julio-jones')"]Julio Jones[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Atl </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>26 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>28 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13489/mike-williams')"]Mike Williams[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>28 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>29 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13271/eric-decker')"]Eric Decker[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Den </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>30 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>30 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10488/sidney-rice')"]Sidney Rice[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Sea </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>29 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>31 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/4512/anquan-boldin')"]Anquan Boldin[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Bal </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>32 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>32 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/3593/deion-branch')"]Deion Branch[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>33 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>33 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11329/mario-manningham')"]Mario Manningham[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYG </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>34 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>34 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9307/nate-washington')"]Nate Washington[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ten </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>35 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>35 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13553/victor-cruz')"]Victor Cruz[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYG </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>31 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>36 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12598/mike-thomas')"]Mike Thomas[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Jac </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>36 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>37 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/6016/malcom-floyd')"]Malcom Floyd[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>37 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>38 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10517/jacoby-jones')"]Jacoby Jones[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Hou </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>42 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>39 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13621/david-nelson')"]David Nelson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Buf </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>43 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>40 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10471/robert-meachem')"]Robert Meachem[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NO </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>38 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>41 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2139/plaxico-burress')"]Plaxico Burress[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYJ </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>40 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>42 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9400/lance-moore')"]Lance Moore[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NO </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>41 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>43 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12563/michael-crabtree')"]Michael Crabtree[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>52 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>44 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12570/darrius-heyward-bey')"]Darrius Heyward-Bey[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Oak </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>51 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>45 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14221/doug-baldwin')"]Doug Baldwin[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Sea </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>44 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>46 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/4529/nate-burleson')"]Nate Burleson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Det </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>47 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>47 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12678/johnny-knox')"]Johnny Knox[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Chi </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>39 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>48 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/4713/kevin-walter')"]Kevin Walter[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Hou </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>48 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>49 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14024/greg-little')"]Greg Little[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Cle </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>50 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10585/steve-breaston')"]Steve Breaston[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>KC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>49 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>51 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14153/denarius-moore')"]Denarius Moore[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Oak </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>45 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>52 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13216/demaryius-thomas')"]Demaryius Thomas[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Den </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>53 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11280/jerome-simpson')"]Jerome Simpson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Cin </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>54 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13934/antonio-brown')"]Antonio Brown[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Pit </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>50 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>55 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13218/arrelious-benn')"]Arrelious Benn[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>56 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/3561/jabar-gaffney')"]Jabar Gaffney[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Was </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>57 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11315/early-doucet')"]Early Doucet[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ari </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>54 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>58 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10522/james-jones')"]James Jones[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>GB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>59 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>59 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12567/brandon-gibson')"]Brandon Gibson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>StL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>55 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>60 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13935/danario-alexander')"]Danario Alexander[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>StL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>



• Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White isn't looking much like a top-10 option anymore. In a week in which hotshot rookie Julio Jones didn't play, White caught only two passes on five targets versus the Panthers. He has been in double digits in fantasy scoring twice this season. I wouldn't sit White in a fantasy league, of course, but he slips outside my top 10, as Steve Smith and Dwayne Bowe, among others, are looking better.
• Marques Colston really pushed the other Saints wide receivers to the side Sunday; his 11 targets and seven receptions matched all-world tight end Jimmy Graham. Lance Moore, Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson combined for seven targets and four catches. Colston moves back into WR2 consideration and the other guys, well, let's just say they aren't looking so good right now, though even in standard leagues Moore and Meachem remain ownable.
• Fantasy owners have waited for 49ers "athlete" Michael Crabtree, and he certainly looked the part of intriguing fantasy option with nine catches for 77 yards on 15 targets against the Lions in Week 6. Quarterback Alex Smith attempted only 32 passes, and nearly half of them went to Crabtree. Since Crabtree had caught 11 passes the first five weeks, we shouldn't get too excited. But I did move him up, though still not really in flex consideration territory.
• The Browns' Greg Little also saw an impressive number of targets (12) in Week 6. He caught six passes for 72 yards. Like the 49ers, the Browns don't throw the football downfield much, but Little does have upside. He is one of a handful of wide receivers to enter the rankings. The Brandon Lloyd trade from Denver to the Rams opens up opportunity for Demaryius Thomas. Arrelious Benn of the Buccaneers caught only three passes Sunday, but they went for 83 yards and a touchdown. Benn is starting to get interesting in fantasy circles.
• If you're wondering why Packers wide receiver James Jones doesn't significantly move up after catching a touchdown pass for the third consecutive game, the magic number is one. Jones had one target in Week 6. It's too risky to rely on Jones when so many Packers are getting more attention on a weekly basis.
Top 30 Tight Ends

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<TABLE style="MARGIN: 0px; WIDTH: 100%"><THEAD><TR><TH style="WIDTH: 50px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Rank </CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 200px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom">Player <CENTER></CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 50px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Team </CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 50px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Prev. </CENTER></TH></TR></THEAD><TBODY><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>1 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13232/jimmy-graham')"]Jimmy Graham[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NO </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>1 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>2 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/4527/jason-witten')"]Jason Witten[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Dal </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>2 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>3 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11325/jermichael-finley')"]Jermichael Finley[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>GB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>3 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>4 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13230/aaron-hernandez')"]Aaron Hernandez[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>7 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>5 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9592/vernon-davis')"]Vernon Davis[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>4 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9684/owen-daniels')"]Owen Daniels[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Hou </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>5 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>7 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/1231/tony-gonzalez')"]Tony Gonzalez[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Atl </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>8 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12549/brandon-pettigrew')"]Brandon Pettigrew[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Det </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>11 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>9 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13229/rob-gronkowski')"]Rob Gronkowski[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>9 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>10 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5362/antonio-gates')"]Antonio Gates[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>8 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>11 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11282/fred-davis')"]Fred Davis[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Was </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>18 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>12 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10475/greg-olsen')"]Greg Olsen[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Car </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>10 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>13 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/4482/dallas-clark')"]Dallas Clark[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ind </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>14 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>14 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5531/kellen-winslow')"]Kellen Winslow[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>15 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>15 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13530/jake-ballard')"]Jake Ballard[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYG </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>17 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>16 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13228/jermaine-gresham')"]Jermaine Gresham[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Cin </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>12 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>17 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11264/dustin-keller')"]Dustin Keller[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYJ </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>13 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>18 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12537/jared-cook')"]Jared Cook[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ten </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>16 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>19 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9614/marcedes-lewis')"]Marcedes Lewis[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Jac </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>19 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>20 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/3542/jeremy-shockey')"]Jeremy Shockey[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Car </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>22 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>21 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8444/heath-miller')"]Heath Miller[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Pit </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>23 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>22 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/4549/visanthe-shiancoe')"]Visanthe Shiancoe[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Min </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>28 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>23 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10596/kevin-boss')"]Kevin Boss[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Oak </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>29 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>24 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13272/ed-dickson')"]Ed Dickson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Bal </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>24 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>25 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5557/benjamin-watson')"]Benjamin Watson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Cle </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>30 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>26 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14007/lance-kendricks')"]Lance Kendricks[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>StL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>27 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9761/delanie-walker')"]Delanie Walker[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>28 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10605/brent-celek')"]Brent Celek[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Phi </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>29 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11870/evan-moore')"]Evan Moore[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Cle </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>30 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10572/scott-chandler')"]Scott Chandler[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Buf </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>21 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>



• Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez continues to impress. For the second consecutive week, Hernandez led the team in targets, getting even more than Wes Welker. It's not that Rob Gronkowski has been phased out -- that's hardly the case -- but Hernandez is preferred. He moves up a few spots and passes Vernon Davis and Owen Daniels, neither of whom did much in Week 6.
• I'm aboard the Brandon Pettigrew bandwagon. The Lions tight end has not only scored in consecutive weeks, but his 50 targets on the season rank second at the position behind only fantasy monster Jimmy Graham. Pettigrew's consistent targets are a good sign his production will continue.
• By the way, Graham now has four consecutive weeks with 100 or more receiving yards, tying the record for the position. Graham has 77 fantasy points, only 10 more than Gronkowski, but consider the Patriot has only 11 fantasy points the past three weeks. Also, Graham stacks up well even with NFL wide receivers; only four of them have more fantasy points.
• In other tight end news, Fred Davis of the Washington Redskins makes a big leap to No. 11 now that Chris Cooley is out with a broken finger. Davis is fourth among tight ends in receiving yards, but only 17th in targets. Look for the targets to increase now, regardless of who the quarterback is. If you still own Scott Chandler of the Bills, for example, it's time to move on. He hasn't scored even one fantasy point since Week 3, but he's owned in half of ESPN's standard leagues. Young Ram Lance Kendricks has more upside.
Top 32 Defense/Special Teams

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<TABLE style="MARGIN: 0px; WIDTH: 100%"><THEAD><TR><TH style="WIDTH: 40px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Rank </CENTER></TH><TH style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom">Player <CENTER></CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 40px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Prev. </CENTER></TH><TH style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffffff; WIDTH: 5px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER></CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 40px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Rank </CENTER></TH><TH style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom">Player <CENTER></CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 40px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Prev. </CENTER></TH></TR></THEAD><TBODY><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>1 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/bal/baltimore-ravens')"]Baltimore Ravens[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>1 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>17 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/ten/tennessee-titans')"]Tennessee Titans[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>15 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>2 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/gb/green-bay-packers')"]Green Bay Packers[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>2 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>18 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/nyg/new-york-giants')"]New York Giants[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>17 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>3 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/pit/pittsburgh-steelers')"]Pittsburgh Steelers[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>5 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>19 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/oak/oakland-raiders')"]Oakland Raiders[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>18 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>4 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/sf/san-francisco-49ers')"]San Francisco 49ers[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>4 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>20 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/tb/tampa-bay-buccaneers')"]Tampa Bay Buccaneers[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>21 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>5 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/nyj/new-york-jets')"]New York Jets[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>21 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/ne/new-england-patriots')"]New England Patriots[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>22 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/det/detroit-lions')"]Detroit Lions[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>3 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>22 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/sea/seattle-seahawks')"]Seattle Seahawks[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>23 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>7 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/chi/chicago-bears')"]Chicago Bears[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>7 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>23 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/cle/cleveland-browns')"]Cleveland Browns[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>20 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>8 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/no/new-orleans-saints')"]New Orleans Saints[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>8 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>24 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/jac/jacksonville-jaguars')"]Jacksonville Jaguars[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>25 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>9 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/cin/cincinnati-bengals')"]Cincinnati Bengals[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>12 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>25 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/mia/miami-dolphins')"]Miami Dolphins[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>27 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>10 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/atl/atlanta-falcons')"]Atlanta Falcons[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>11 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>26 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/ari/arizona-cardinals')"]Arizona Cardinals[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>26 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>11 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/hou/houston-texans')"]Houston Texans[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>10 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>27 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/den/denver-broncos')"]Denver Broncos[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>28 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>12 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/phi/philadelphia-eagles')"]Philadelphia Eagles[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>16 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>28 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/car/carolina-panthers')"]Carolina Panthers[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>29 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>13 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/sd/san-diego-chargers')"]San Diego Chargers[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>13 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>29 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/min/minnesota-vikings')"]Minnesota Vikings[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>24 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>14 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/dal/dallas-cowboys')"]Dallas Cowboys[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>19 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>30 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/kc/kansas-city-chiefs')"]Kansas City Chiefs[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>30 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>15 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/wsh/washington-redskins')"]Washington Redskins[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>9 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>31 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/ind/indianapolis-colts')"]Indianapolis Colts[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>31 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>16 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/buf/buffalo-bills')"]Buffalo Bills[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>14 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle></TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>32 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/team/_/name/stl/st-louis-rams')"]St. Louis Rams[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>32 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>



Top 100 Overall

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<TABLE style="MARGIN: 0px; WIDTH: 100%"><THEAD><TR><TH style="WIDTH: 50px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Ovr.
Rank </CENTER></TH><TH style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom">Player </TH><TH style="WIDTH: 50px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Team </CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 50px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Pos.
Rank </CENTER></TH><TH style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Next 3
Weeks </CENTER></TH><TH style="WIDTH: 50px; VERTICAL-ALIGN: bottom"><CENTER>Prev. </CENTER></TH></TR></THEAD><TBODY><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>1 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10452/adrian-peterson')"]Adrian Peterson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Min </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB1 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>GB, @CAR, bye </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>1 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>2 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11289/ray-rice')"]Ray Rice[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Bal </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB2 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@JAC, ARI, @PIT </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>2 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>3 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12514/lesean-mccoy')"]LeSean McCoy[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Phi </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB3 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, DAL, CHI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>3 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>4 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12497/arian-foster')"]Arian Foster[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Hou </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB4 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@TEN, JAC, CLE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>4 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>5 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10447/calvin-johnson')"]Calvin Johnson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Det </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR1 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>ATL, @DEN, bye </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>5 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11238/darren-mcfadden')"]Darren McFadden[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Oak </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB5 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>KC, bye, DEN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>6 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>7 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10195/fred-jackson')"]Fred Jackson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Buf </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB6 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, WAS, NYJ </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>9 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>8 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8439/aaron-rodgers')"]Aaron Rodgers[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>GB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>QB1 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@MIN, bye, @SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>11 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>9 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5941/wes-welker')"]Wes Welker[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR2 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, @PIT, NYG </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>8 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>10 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11278/matt-forte')"]Matt Forte[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Chi </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB7 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@TB, bye, @PHI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>7 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>11 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9646/maurice-jones-drew')"]Maurice Jones-Drew[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Jac </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB8 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>BAL, @HOU, bye </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>10 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>12 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2330/tom-brady')"]Tom Brady[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>QB2 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, @PIT, NYG </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>15 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>13 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5679/michael-turner')"]Michael Turner[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Atl </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB9 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@DET, bye, @IND </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>13 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>14 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11258/chris-johnson')"]Chris Johnson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ten </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB10 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>HOU, IND, CIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>12 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>15 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8479/frank-gore')"]Frank Gore[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB11 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, CLE, @WAS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>14 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>16 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9638/greg-jennings')"]Greg Jennings[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>GB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR3 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@MIN, bye, @SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>16 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>17 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11257/rashard-mendenhall')"]Rashard Mendenhall[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Pit </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB12 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@ARI, NE, BAL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>34 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>18 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2580/drew-brees')"]Drew Brees[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NO </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>QB3 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>IND, @STL, TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>21 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>19 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13204/ryan-mathews')"]Ryan Mathews[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB13 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@NYJ, @KC, GB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>17 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>20 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12601/mike-wallace')"]Mike Wallace[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Pit </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR4 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@ARI, NE, BAL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>19 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>21 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8475/vincent-jackson')"]Vincent Jackson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR5 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@NYJ, @KC, GB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>20 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>22 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12586/hakeem-nicks')"]Hakeem Nicks[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYG </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR6 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, MIA, @NE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>24 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>23 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10693/ahmad-bradshaw')"]Ahmad Bradshaw[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYG </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB14 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, MIA, @NE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>23 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>24 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5529/philip-rivers')"]Philip Rivers[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>QB4 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@NYJ, @KC, GB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>30 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>25 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5528/larry-fitzgerald')"]Larry Fitzgerald[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ari </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR7 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>PIT, @BAL, STL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>26 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>26 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11283/desean-jackson')"]DeSean Jackson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Phi </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR8 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, DAL, CHI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>25 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>27 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/4461/andre-johnson')"]Andre Johnson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Hou </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR9 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@TEN, JAC, CLE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>28 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>28 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5549/steven-jackson')"]Steven Jackson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>StL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB15 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@DAL, NO, @ARI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>36 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>29 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12483/matthew-stafford')"]Matthew Stafford[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Det </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>QB5 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>ATL, @DEN, bye </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>38 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>30 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2622/steve-smith')"]Steve Smith[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Car </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR10 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WAS, MIN, bye </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>29 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>31 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13232/jimmy-graham')"]Jimmy Graham[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NO </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>TE1 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>IND, @STL, TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>42 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>32 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10467/dwayne-bowe')"]Dwayne Bowe[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>KC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR11 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@OAK, SD, MIA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>32 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>33 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5209/tony-romo')"]Tony Romo[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Dal </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>QB6 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>STL, @PHI, SEA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>40 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>34 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11754/benjarvus-green-ellis')"]BenJarvus Green-Ellis[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB16 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, @PIT, NYG </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>27 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>35 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8442/roddy-white')"]Roddy White[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Atl </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR12 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@DET, bye, @IND </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>22 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>36 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2549/michael-vick')"]Michael Vick[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Phi </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>QB7 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, DAL, CHI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>54 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>37 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12579/jeremy-maclin')"]Jeremy Maclin[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Phi </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR13 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, DAL, CHI </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>35 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>38 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12525/beanie-wells')"]Beanie Wells[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ari </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB17 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>PIT, @BAL, STL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>31 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>39 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13994/cam-newton')"]Cam Newton[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Car </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>QB8 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WAS, MIN, bye </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>62 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>40 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11458/steve-johnson')"]Steve Johnson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Buf </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR14 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, WAS, NYJ </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>43 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>41 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13205/jahvid-best')"]Jahvid Best[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Det </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB18 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>ATL, @DEN, bye </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>18 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>42 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/14056/daniel-thomas')"]Daniel Thomas[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Mia </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB19 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>DEN, @NYG, @KC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>47 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>43 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13213/legarrette-blount')"]LeGarrette Blount[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB20 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>CHI, bye, @NO </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>37 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>44 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11461/peyton-hillis')"]Peyton Hillis[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Cle </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB21 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SEA, @SF, @HOU </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>39 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>45 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13983/aj-green')"]A.J. Green[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Cin </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR15 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, @SEA, @TEN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>45 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>46 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9613/deangelo-williams')"]DeAngelo Williams[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Car </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB22 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WAS, MIN, bye </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>51 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>47 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13215/dez-bryant')"]Dez Bryant[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Dal </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR16 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>STL, @PHI, SEA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>33 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>48 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5615/matt-schaub')"]Matt Schaub[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Hou </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>QB9 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@TEN, JAC, CLE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>68 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>49 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10147/miles-austin')"]Miles Austin[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Dal </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR17 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>STL, @PHI, SEA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>48 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>50 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/4481/willis-mcgahee')"]Willis McGahee[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Den </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB23 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@MIA, DET, @OAK </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>60 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>51 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9705/brandon-marshall')"]Brandon Marshall[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Mia </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR18 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>DEN, @NYG, @KC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>50 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>52 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/4527/jason-witten')"]Jason Witten[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Dal </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>TE2 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>STL, @PHI, SEA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>49 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>53 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11270/jordy-nelson')"]Jordy Nelson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>GB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR19 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@MIN, bye, @SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>55 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>54 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8544/darren-sproles')"]Darren Sproles[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NO </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB24 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>IND, @STL, TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>41 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>55 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9838/marques-colston')"]Marques Colston[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NO </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR20 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>IND, @STL, TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>64 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>56 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/4582/brandon-lloyd')"]Brandon Lloyd[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Den </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR21 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@MIA, DET, @OAK </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>46 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>57 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5536/ben-roethlisberger')"]Ben Roethlisberger[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Pit </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>QB10 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@ARI, NE, BAL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>75 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>58 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9611/santonio-holmes')"]Santonio Holmes[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYJ </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR22 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SD, bye, @BUF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>52 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>59 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2564/santana-moss')"]Santana Moss[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Was </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR23 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@CAR, @BUF, SF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>53 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>60 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12500/shonn-greene')"]Shonn Greene[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYJ </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB25 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SD, bye, @BUF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>65 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>61 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11439/pierre-garcon')"]Pierre Garcon[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ind </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR24 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@NO, @TEN, ATL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>56 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>62 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12569/percy-harvin')"]Percy Harvin[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Min </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR25 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>GB, @CAR, bye </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>58 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>63 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13214/james-starks')"]James Starks[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>GB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB26 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@MIN, bye, @SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>57 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>64 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2578/reggie-wayne')"]Reggie Wayne[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ind </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR26 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@NO, @TEN, ATL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>59 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>65 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11325/jermichael-finley')"]Jermichael Finley[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>GB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>TE3 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@MIN, bye, @SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>63 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>66 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13982/julio-jones')"]Julio Jones[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Atl </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR27 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@DET, bye, @IND </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>61 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>67 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13208/montario-hardesty')"]Montario Hardesty[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Cle </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB27 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SEA, @SF, @HOU </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>91 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>68 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13489/mike-williams')"]Mike Williams[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR28 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>CHI, bye, @NO </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>66 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>69 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13271/eric-decker')"]Eric Decker[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Den </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR29 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@MIA, DET, @OAK </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>72 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>70 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13230/aaron-hernandez')"]Aaron Hernandez[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>TE4 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, @PIT, NYG </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>89 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>71 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11256/felix-jones')"]Felix Jones[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Dal </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB28 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>STL, @PHI, SEA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>44 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>72 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10456/marshawn-lynch')"]Marshawn Lynch[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Sea </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB29 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@CLE, CIN, @DAL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>71 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>73 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10488/sidney-rice')"]Sidney Rice[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Sea </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR30 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@CLE, CIN, @DAL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>67 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>74 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/8419/cedric-benson')"]Cedric Benson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Cin </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB30 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, @SEA, @TEN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>70 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>75 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/4512/anquan-boldin')"]Anquan Boldin[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Bal </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR31 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@JAC, ARI, @PIT </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>78 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>76 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9592/vernon-davis')"]Vernon Davis[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>TE5 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, CLE, @WAS </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>69 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>77 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/5526/eli-manning')"]Eli Manning[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYG </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>QB11 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, MIA, @NE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>77 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>78 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/3593/deion-branch')"]Deion Branch[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR32 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, @PIT, NYG </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>79 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>79 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11329/mario-manningham')"]Mario Manningham[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYG </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR33 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, MIA, @NE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>81 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>80 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13981/mark-ingram')"]Mark Ingram[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NO </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB31 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>IND, @STL, TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>92 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>81 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9307/nate-washington')"]Nate Washington[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ten </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR34 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>HOU, IND, CIN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>83 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>82 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11247/jonathan-stewart')"]Jonathan Stewart[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Car </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB32 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WAS, MIN, bye </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>84 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>83 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13553/victor-cruz')"]Victor Cruz[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYG </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR35 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, MIA, @NE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>73 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>84 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11658/mike-tolbert')"]Mike Tolbert[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB33 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@NYJ, @KC, GB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>74 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>85 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12598/mike-thomas')"]Mike Thomas[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Jac </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR36 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>BAL, @HOU, bye </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>85 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>86 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12473/josh-freeman')"]Josh Freeman[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>QB12 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>CHI, bye, @NO </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>87 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9684/owen-daniels')"]Owen Daniels[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Hou </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>TE6 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@TEN, JAC, CLE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>76 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>88 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/6016/malcom-floyd')"]Malcom Floyd[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SD </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR37 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@NYJ, @KC, GB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>88 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>89 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/1231/tony-gonzalez')"]Tony Gonzalez[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Atl </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>TE7 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@DET, bye, @IND </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>87 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>90 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10517/jacoby-jones')"]Jacoby Jones[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Hou </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR38 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@TEN, JAC, CLE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>91 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/11362/ryan-torain')"]Ryan Torain[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Was </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB34 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@CAR, @BUF, SF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>80 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>92 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/9616/joseph-addai')"]Joseph Addai[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Ind </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB35 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@NO, @TEN, ATL </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>82 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>93 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/12549/brandon-pettigrew')"]Brandon Pettigrew[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Det </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>TE8 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>ATL, @DEN, bye </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>94 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10544/michael-bush')"]Michael Bush[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Oak </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB36 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>KC, bye, DEN </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>94 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>95 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13621/david-nelson')"]David Nelson[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>Buf </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR39 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, WAS, NYJ </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NR </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>96 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10471/robert-meachem')"]Robert Meachem[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NO </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR40 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>IND, @STL, TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>90 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>97 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2138/thomas-jones')"]Thomas Jones[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>KC </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB37 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>@OAK, SD, MIA </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>97 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>98 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/13229/rob-gronkowski')"]Rob Gronkowski[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NE </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>TE9 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>bye, @PIT, NYG </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>98 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>99 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/10713/pierre-thomas')"]Pierre Thomas[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NO </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>RB39 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>IND, @STL, TB </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>99 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>100 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle">[URL="javascript:newWin('http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/_/id/2139/plaxico-burress')"]Plaxico Burress[/URL] </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>NYJ </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>WR41 </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>SD, bye, @BUF </TD><TD style="VERTICAL-ALIGN: middle" align=middle>96 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[HacheMan]

Palmer preserves value of new teammates

Eric Karabell

New Oakland Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer is certainly more viable to fantasy owners than the franchise's alternatives, which appeared to be below-average veteran Kyle Boller and raw rookie Terrelle Pryor. For all the controversy Palmer has been through since the end of the 2010 season, refusing to suit up for the Cincinnati Bengals and demanding a trade or threatening to retire, he did finish last season as the No. 13 quarterback for standard scoring in ESPN leagues.


<OFFER>The Raiders play the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 7 and then enjoy their bye week, and it would certainly make sense that Palmer would make his Raiders debut in Week 9 against the Denver Broncos (who allow the most fantasy points to quarterbacks!). Palmer, who has a strong relationship with Raiders head coach Hue Jackson from Jackson's days as the Bengals' receivers coach, has been working out in Southern California and should be ready to play by then. The question for fantasy owners is whether he can really help us?


Jason Campbell, the Oakland starter until breaking his collarbone Sunday, entered Week 6 a solid yet surprising 12th among quarterbacks in standard scoring. The Raiders have the NFL's leading rusher in Darren McFadden and enough young, speedy wide receivers to make any quarterback not named Boller relatively interesting. Campbell was middle of the pack in throwing the ball downfield, a key factor in evaluating passing offenses; Palmer's arm strength has been questioned since he suffered a torn ligament and tendon in his throwing elbow in 2008. He hasn't averaged better than 6.8 yards per attempt since 2007.

Then again, thanks to a career-high 586 pass attempts, Palmer managed to throw for 3,970 yards and 26 touchdowns last season. The Raiders are not likely to throw nearly as much. As a team, they are tied with Washington for 22nd in pass attempts. I wouldn't call Palmer necessarily an upgrade over Campbell, but I also didn't expect Campbell to remain fantasy's No. 12 quarterback. In my end-of-season rankings leading into Week 6 I ranked Campbell 23rd at quarterback. This week, heading into Week 7, I have Palmer ranked 22nd in those same rankings. For Week 9 against the Broncos, I doubt he'll make my top 20, but in future weeks I could see him rising. Ultimately, he's still not a fantasy starter to me. I'd rather pick up Tim Tebow or Matt Cassel as free agents first, and once the six-team bye weeks end chances are you won't be messing with Tebow, Cassel or Palmer in standard leagues.


What this major trade -- a first-round pick in 2012 and potentially another in 2013 -- does do, in addition to adding Palmer as a factor in deeper leagues, is make Darrius Heyward-Bey owners feel a bit better. Heyward-Bey has thrived for three consecutive weeks, averaging 99 receiving yards and nine targets per contest. Palmer might not get the ball downfield quite like Campbell did, but he's an upgrade on Boller, this week's presumed starter against the Chiefs. I'd still keep an eye on Jacoby Ford and Denarius Moore, as well, for deeper leagues, but Heyward-Bey is the one to own here. Still, he doesn't crack my top 40 wide receivers yet. This is a deep fantasy position and there remains competition at wide receiver on what is a running team.


As for the Bengals' side of this, rookie Andy Dalton has done reasonably well so far, tied for 17th with Alex Smith and Philip Rivers with 75 standard fantasy points. I rank Dalton worse than that, as rookies tend to be inconsistent, but it was clear Palmer wasn't a part of Cincinnati's future. Instead, two high draft picks are. A young running back for the future or offensive line help would make Dalton even better in future seasons.

 

[HacheMan]

Week 7 rankings: Quarterbacks

By Fantasy Staff
ESPN.com


Top 25 quarterbacks for Week 7

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<TABLE jQuery1319057397682="11"><THEAD sizset="0" sizcache="0"><TR sizset="0" sizcache="0"><TH class="header headerSortDown" order="0" jQuery1319057397682="3" column="0" count="1">Rank </TH><TH class=header order="0" jQuery1319057397682="4" column="1" count="0">Name </TH><TH class=header order="0" jQuery1319057397682="5" column="2" count="0">Team </TH><TH class=header order="0" jQuery1319057397682="6" column="3" count="0">Opp. </TH><TH class=header order="0" jQuery1319057397682="7" column="4" count="0">

Harris </TH><TH class=header order="0" jQuery1319057397682="8" column="5" count="0">

Karabell </TH><TH class=header order="0" jQuery1319057397682="9" column="6" count="0">

Cockcroft </TH><TH class=header order="0" jQuery1319057397682="10" column="7" count="0">Avg. </TH></TR><TBODY><TR class="last even"><TD>1 </TD><TD>Aaron Rodgers </TD><TD>GB </TD><TD>@Min </TD><TD align=middle>1 </TD><TD align=middle>1 </TD><TD align=middle>1 </TD><TD align=middle>1.0 </TD></TR><TR class="last odd"><TD>2 </TD><TD>Drew Brees </TD><TD>NO </TD><TD>Ind </TD><TD align=middle>2 </TD><TD align=middle>3 </TD><TD align=middle>2 </TD><TD align=middle>2.3 </TD></TR><TR class="last even"><TD>3 </TD><TD>Tony Romo </TD><TD>DAL </TD><TD>StL </TD><TD align=middle>4 </TD><TD align=middle>4 </TD><TD align=middle>3 </TD><TD align=middle>3.7 </TD></TR><TR class="last odd"><TD>4 </TD><TD>Cam Newton </TD><TD>CAR </TD><TD>Wsh </TD><TD align=middle>5 </TD><TD align=middle>2 </TD><TD align=middle>5 </TD><TD align=middle>4.0 </TD></TR><TR class="last even"><TD>4 </TD><TD>Matthew Stafford </TD><TD>DET </TD><TD>Atl </TD><TD align=middle>3 </TD><TD align=middle>5 </TD><TD align=middle>4 </TD><TD align=middle>4.0 </TD></TR><TR class="last odd"><TD>6 </TD><TD>Ben Roethlisberger </TD><TD>PIT </TD><TD>@Ari </TD><TD align=middle>7 </TD><TD align=middle>6 </TD><TD align=middle>6 </TD><TD align=middle>6.3 </TD></TR><TR class="last even"><TD>7 </TD><TD>Philip Rivers </TD><TD>SD </TD><TD>@NYJ </TD><TD align=middle>6 </TD><TD align=middle>7 </TD><TD align=middle>10 </TD><TD align=middle>7.7 </TD></TR><TR class="last odd"><TD>8 </TD><TD>Matt Schaub </TD><TD>HOU </TD><TD>@Ten </TD><TD align=middle>8 </TD><TD align=middle>9 </TD><TD align=middle>7 </TD><TD align=middle>8.0 </TD></TR><TR class="last even"><TD>9 </TD><TD>Tim Tebow </TD><TD>DEN </TD><TD>@Mia </TD><TD align=middle>10 </TD><TD align=middle>8 </TD><TD align=middle>11 </TD><TD align=middle>9.7 </TD></TR><TR class="last odd"><TD>10 </TD><TD>Joe Flacco </TD><TD>BAL </TD><TD>@Jac </TD><TD align=middle>12 </TD><TD align=middle>12 </TD><TD align=middle>8 </TD><TD align=middle>10.7 </TD></TR><TR class="last even"><TD>10 </TD><TD>Josh Freeman </TD><TD>TB </TD><TD>Chi </TD><TD align=middle>9 </TD><TD align=middle>11 </TD><TD align=middle>12 </TD><TD align=middle>10.7 </TD></TR><TR class="last odd"><TD>12 </TD><TD>Matt Ryan </TD><TD>ATL </TD><TD>@Det </TD><TD align=middle>11 </TD><TD align=middle>13 </TD><TD align=middle>14 </TD><TD align=middle>12.7 </TD></TR><TR class="last even"><TD>12 </TD><TD>Jay Cutler </TD><TD>CHI </TD><TD>@TB </TD><TD align=middle>14 </TD><TD align=middle>15 </TD><TD align=middle>9 </TD><TD align=middle>12.7 </TD></TR><TR class="last odd"><TD>14 </TD><TD>Matt Hasselbeck </TD><TD>TEN </TD><TD>Hou </TD><TD align=middle>13 </TD><TD align=middle>14 </TD><TD align=middle>13 </TD><TD align=middle>13.3 </TD></TR><TR class="last even"><TD>15 </TD><TD>Matt Cassel </TD><TD>KC </TD><TD>@Oak </TD><TD align=middle>19 </TD><TD align=middle>10 </TD><TD align=middle>15 </TD><TD align=middle>14.7 </TD></TR><TR class="last odd"><TD>16 </TD><TD>Colt McCoy </TD><TD>CLE </TD><TD>Sea </TD><TD align=middle>17 </TD><TD align=middle>16 </TD><TD align=middle>16 </TD><TD align=middle>16.3 </TD></TR><TR class="last even"><TD>17 </TD><TD>Sam Bradford </TD><TD>STL </TD><TD>@Dal </TD><TD align=middle>15 </TD><TD align=middle>20 </TD><TD align=middle>17 </TD><TD align=middle>17.3 </TD></TR><TR class="last odd"><TD>18 </TD><TD>Mark Sanchez </TD><TD>NYJ </TD><TD>SD </TD><TD align=middle>18 </TD><TD align=middle>17 </TD><TD align=middle>19 </TD><TD align=middle>18.0 </TD></TR><TR class="last even"><TD>19 </TD><TD>Carson Palmer </TD><TD>OAK </TD><TD>KC </TD><TD align=middle>16 </TD><TD align=middle>18 </TD><TD align=middle>21 </TD><TD align=middle>18.3 </TD></TR><TR class="last odd"><TD>20 </TD><TD>Curtis Painter </TD><TD>IND </TD><TD>@NO </TD><TD align=middle>20 </TD><TD align=middle>19 </TD><TD align=middle>18 </TD><TD align=middle>19.0 </TD></TR><TR class="last even"><TD>21 </TD><TD>Kevin Kolb </TD><TD>ARI </TD><TD>Pit </TD><TD align=middle>21 </TD><TD align=middle>22 </TD><TD align=middle>20 </TD><TD align=middle>21.0 </TD></TR><TR class="last odd"><TD>22 </TD><TD>Matt Moore </TD><TD>MIA </TD><TD>Den </TD><TD align=middle>25 </TD><TD align=middle>21 </TD><TD align=middle>23 </TD><TD align=middle>23.0 </TD></TR><TR class="last even"><TD>22 </TD><TD>John Beck </TD><TD>WSH </TD><TD>@Car </TD><TD align=middle>22 </TD><TD align=middle>23 </TD><TD align=middle>24 </TD><TD align=middle>23.0 </TD></TR><TR class="last odd"><TD>24 </TD><TD>Charlie Whitehurst </TD><TD>SEA </TD><TD>@Cle </TD><TD align=middle>23 </TD><TD align=middle>25 </TD><TD align=middle>22 </TD><TD align=middle>23.3 </TD></TR><TR class="last even"><TD>25 </TD><TD>Christian Ponder </TD><TD>MIN </TD><TD>GB </TD><TD align=middle>24 </TD><TD align=middle>24 </TD><TD align=middle>NR </TD><TD align=middle>24.7 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[HacheMan]

Ranks reaction: Handling the Lions RBs

Eric Karabell

Detroit Lions running back Jahvid Best can be a special football player at times, but my biggest concern with him has always been health. Best is averaging 4.6 yards per rush this season; he's a terrific receiver out of the backfield and is very exciting when he gets into the open field. However, I cringe when the guy gets tackled. We found out after the Lions' Week 6 loss to the San Francisco 49ers that Best suffered a concussion -- and he has a history of them -- and his availability for Sunday's game against the Atlanta Falcons is in question.

I ranked Best 20th among running backs for this week, but I admit we might be removing him from the rankings in Friday's update. Of course, with a vote of health confidence from someone, he might move up to 12th or so for me, as well. Best ranks 10th in standard scoring for ESPN leagues, and he's been even better for point-per-reception formats, even better than Darren Sproles, who probably deserves more carries. Regardless, if Best plays this week, he's worth starting in fantasy. Coach Jim Schwartz has had his handshake full with another controversy -- a self-made one -- this week and hasn't really discussed the matter.
However, the Lions might have tipped their hand when they traded for Philadelphia Eagles disappointment Ronnie Brown on Tuesday, which has some fantasy owners excited and thinking the bigger, wider running back will matter. How did I rank Brown? Well, let's just say I placed Maurice Morris ahead of him this week, and it's not because I think Brown needs some time to learn a new system. It's Ronnie Brown, people.
<OFFER>My theory when the Eagles added Brown to their Dream Team this offseason was that it didn't matter much for real life or fantasy football because LeSean McCoy is so good and Brown, well, isn't. Perhaps that's a bit too blunt, but the Brown I saw with the Miami Dolphins last season lacked speed and burst. He played in all 16 games, but leg injuries had caught up to the guy, turning him into a third-down back. So far this season, Brown has averaged 2.9 yards per carry, and his signature play with the Eagles was a ridiculous decision to attempt a lateral or pass while being tackled near the 49ers' goal line in Week 3. It didn't go well. He hasn't touched the football in a game since.

The Lions didn't give up anything of value to get Brown -- a seventh-round pick and the equally irrelevant Jerome Harrison -- but this team's top running back will remain Best. If he needs to miss time, I don't expect Brown, whom I ranked 39th at running back this week, to make an impact. I ranked Morris a bit better for this week, and he's no star, either. Let's face it, this is Matthew Stafford's team, and the Lions, in part because of trailing in so many games, haven't run much; only four teams average fewer rushing attempts per game. Here's hoping Best can suit up and make the Ronnie Brown experiment moot.
Running back heaven: I ranked quite a few running backs better than I thought I would, thanks to the schedule. For example, I still don't trust what Mike Shanahan and his Washington Redskins are doing at running back, but the Carolina Panthers have been so awful at stopping the run that I had to give Ryan Torain a top-20 rank. Of course, I did that last week and the Eagles, at the time allowing the most fantasy points to running backs, held Torain well in check. I'm not a big Beanie Wells fan, but the Pittsburgh Steelers really don't stop the run the way they used to; as a result, Wells was my No. 10 running back. And then there are the Indianapolis Colts. We know their issues stopping the run, although eight teams are permitting more fantasy points per game. I ranked all three viable New Orleans Saints running backs well this week, with Sproles and Mark Ingram in my top 20. Wow.

Off the Matt: I came thisclose to making the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback the highest ranking "Matt" at the position this week. Matt Cassel comes off a bye week, and he lit up the Colts the week before for four touchdown passes and 27 fantasy points. Now he gets the Oakland Raiders, allowing the third most fantasy points to quarterbacks. I ranked Cassel 10th at quarterback, one spot behind Matt Schaub and better than Matt Ryan, Matt Hasselbeck and, of course, Matt Moore. If only Matt Leinart were playing! I think Cassel and Dwayne Bowe -- and Jackie Battle to some degree -- will be able to put up numbers against the Raiders. I ranked four of the "Matts" better than new Raider Carson Palmer, by the way; I get that he can simply fall out of bed with little practice time and become an upgrade on Kyle Boller, but it doesn't mean I want him starting for my fantasy team so soon. I ranked him 18th at quarterback.
Shootout in Miami: Yes, Tim Tebow is scheduled to be the Denver Broncos quarterback Sunday in Miami, but there are other players worthy of fantasy attention. Brandon Marshall actually impressed me some against the New York Jets on Monday night. He isn't facing Darrelle Revis this week! Eric Decker is a top-20 wide receiver for me, as well, now that Brandon Lloyd is gone. And both teams' running backs made my top 20; I wouldn't have guessed six weeks ago that Daniel Thomas or, especially, Willis McGahee would be a good trade target.

 

[HacheMan]

Trade Deadline Recap

Bengals owner Mike Brown engaged in a high-stakes poker game with Carson Palmer and the NFL this season. On Tuesday, he raked in a massive pot.

By convincing the entire league that he wasn’t bluffing when he said he won’t trade Palmer, Brown extracted the maximum possible value for his asset. In fact, he extracted way more than anyone could have ever expected.

That’s because Carson Palmer is a bigger name than talent at this point in his career. Don’t let yesterday’s rhetoric about Palmer’s skills fool you. Ever since injuring his elbow, he has been a shell of his once-elite self. Palmer is a statue in the pocket, his arm strength is sapped and he hasn’t played football in nearly a year. Hue Jackson, who coached in Cincy from 2004-06, is in for a rude surprise. There’s reason to believe Jason Campbell is a better quarterback than Palmer right now.

Alas, Campbell is likely done for the season due to a broken collarbone. And the Raiders hamstrung themselves by making Kyle Boller -- a third-stringer at best -- their backup. So away we go with Palmer.

How does all this affect the relevant fantasy parties? Glad you asked.

* Kyle Boller will likely start this week against the Chiefs. The Raiders have a bye in Week 8, so giving Palmer a couple weeks to get his body and mind right makes sense. Coach Hue Jackson declined to name an official starter Tuesday evening.

* Palmer will just be a low-end QB2 once he gets going. Although he has nice weapons, the drawbacks mentioned above are glaring. Bang it here for Chris Wesseling’s thoughts on the matter in Waiver Wired.

* The Raiders will go run-heavy. Darren McFadden and Michael Bush will continue to be the focal points of the offense, thus keeping Palmer’s attempts down.

* The value of the Raiders’ wideouts is unchanged. Again, Palmer is not an upgrade on Campbell. Expecting a bump in production from the likes of Darrius Heyward-Bey and Denarius Moore is wishful thinking.

Editor’s Note: For early rankings, exclusive projections, chats, the Running Back Report and much more, check out the Season Pass!

TRADE DEADLINE 2011
LIONS, EAGLES SWAP BACKUP BACKS
Right at the deadline, the Eagles traded Ronnie Brown to the Lions for Jerome Harrison and a seventh-round pick. Interesting.

On the surface, it just looks like two teams admitting mistakes. The Eagles didn’t trust Ronnie Brown and smallish Jerome Harrison wasn’t the proper complement to Jahvid Best in Detroit. However, the bigger concern is that the Lions were looking for a back that can handle a large workload if Best misses significant time due to his latest concussion.

As of Tuesday, the Lions were expressing no long-term concerns about Best. They simply said he is going through his concussion testing and will return when cleared. But given his history, there’s reason for concern. In the meantime, Maurice Morris will start and be the feature back. With Best nursing toe issues over the final eight games of last season, Morris averaged 9.8 carries for 40.7 yards and 2.2 catches for 14.5 yards with five total touchdowns. Brown and Keiland Williams will function in backup/short-yardage roles.

JAGUARS BRING BACK MIKE SIMS-WALKER
The Jags didn’t even attempt to retain Mike Sims-Walker as a free agent this summer. And then the Rams gave up on him after six games, simply releasing him. Now, in a move the stinks of desperation, the Jags have brought him back. Yawn.

In 14 games as a Jaguar last season, MSW averaged 3.07 catches for 40.1 yards. With Blaine Gabbert at the helm, he’s a poor bet to top those numbers.

PEYTON HILLIS STAYS
There was plenty of smoke around Peyton Hillis, but no fire. He didn’t get a contract, didn’t get a trade and didn’t get a clean bill of health on his hamstring. For now, it’s the status quo. He has a hamstring injury of unknown severity and is questionable for Week 7. The problem is that without a huge workload, Hillis isn’t very valuable in fantasy. Montario Hardesty figures to get plenty of work even if Hillis is active.

Editor’s Note: Sick of your team already? Get a new one and win real money with SnapDraft!

DEPTH CHART QUICK SLANTS
Christian Ponder has taken over in Minnesota, replacing Donovan McNabb. Good news for the entire offense. … Cedric Benson’s suspension was reduced to one game. Bernard Scott will be the feature back in Week 8. … Kevin Faulk (knee) is back at practice and set to come off the PUP list. … The Raiders’ fallback plan if they didn’t get Carson Palmer was reportedly Vince Young. … Percy Harvin played just 29 snaps last week. Bernard Berrian played 39. … Coach Gary Kubiak said he wants to focus on getting the ball to Owen Daniels more. … Tashard Choice wasn’t traded at the deadline because of Felix Jones’ 2-4 week ankle injury. He’ll be the second half of a committee with DeMarco Murray.

INJURY QUICK SLANTS
Andre Johnson (hamstring) revealed that his initial timetable was six weeks “at most.” The earliest possible return date for now is Week 8. … Brandon Jacobs (knee) guaranteed he’ll be back in Week 8. … Mike Wallace is dealing with a slight hamstring pull. He may miss some practice time. … Rashard Mendenhall (hamstring) came out of his return last week healthy. … Tarvaris Jackson (pectoral) hasn’t yet been ruled out, but Charlie Whitehurst is preparing to play this week.

BUY LOW
There’s still time to change the course of your season with a trade or two. Last time we went down this road in this space three weeks ago, we hit some good ones. Here are three players I’m putting in offers on this week:

1. Dez Bryant: The fact that Bryant has no second-half catches in three of the Cowboys’ five games is a fluke. His ability to make things happen on jump balls and after the catch is elite. I still think he’ll be a WR1 when it’s said and done.

2. Tim Tebow: Get in on before Tebow bursts onto the scene this weekend in his first start of the season. For whatever reason, there are still people out there that don’t believe him in as a fantasy stud. Perhaps the Brandon Lloyd trade will put a scare into owners. For more on that, bang it here.

3. Jermichael Finley: Outside of his three-touchdown game in Week 3, Finley is averaging 3.2 catches for 47.2 yards with no touchdowns. Quite frankly, I have no explanation. Finley has complained of double teams and had a couple bad drops, but there’s just no reason for the slump. We’re buying on simple, elite talent here.

 

[HacheMan]

Target Watch: Week 7

The numbers by each name are targets for weeks’ 1-6 followed by the total year to date targets in parenthesis.


Arizona Cardinals

Larry Fitzgerald: 7-9-8-11-8-BYE (43), Early Doucet: 3-6-6-6-16-BYE (37), Andre Roberts: 4-7-6-0-6-BYE (23), Todd Heap: 3-1-10-6-dnp-BYE (20), Jeff King: 3-2-0-1-6-BYE (12), Beanie Wells: 4-2-dnp-2-1-BYE (9), Rob Housler: 0-0-0-1-8-BYE (9), Alfonso Smith: dnp-0-5-0-0-BYE (5)

When Larry Fitzgerald isn't hurt and gets out-targeted by Early Doucet by 8 there is little chance the Cardinals are winning. But as far as fake football goes, 16 targets is a whole lot, and Doucet is now clearly the 2nd (or sometimes 1st) read in this passing offense. He was targeted early and often and opportunity often trumps ability. Fitzgerald is still by far the most complete receiver on the team and most other teams and will get his, but teams are going to let Doucet try to beat them early and late.


Atlanta Falcons

Roddy White: 13-4-17-11-9-5 (59), Tony Gonzalez: 7-9-8-9-8-3 (44), Julio Jones: 6-7-7-17-4-dnp (41), Harry Douglas: 4-2-7-0-5-4 (22), Jason Snelling: 7-3-2-dnp-2-1 (15), Jacquizz Rodgers: 5-0-3-1-1-1 (11), Michael Turner: 4-1-0-2-0-3 (10), Ovie Mughelli: 0-1-1-1-1-2 (6)

Last week the Falcons went to a run first, second and third game plan against the weak Carolina Panthers rush defense. Julio Jones being out also played into that strategy as well. Roddy White led in targets and only had five so that tells you a lot. And with their run first mentality we saw more Ovie Mughelli in the blocking back role over Snelling and Rodgers. This of course won't be the game plan every week, but we now know we can't count on them airing it out unless the opponent and situation call for it.

On a side note Roddy White continues to have much less fantasy impact than in the past. In this last game he had a couple good chances for scores but drew pass interference calls. He leads the Falcons in red zone targets but still only has two touchdowns. The TDs should come.


Baltimore Ravens

Anquan Boldin: 7-7-14-2-BYE-9 (39), Ed Dickson: 5-6-9-12-BYE-3 (35), Ray Rice: 5-8-7-5-BYE-7 (32), Torrey Smith: 1-0-8-6-BYE-5 (20), Vonta Leach: 3-1-4-3-BYE-2 (13), Dennis Pitta: 2-3-1-1-BYE-5 (12), Lee Evans: 4-5-dnp-dnp-BYE-dnp (9)

The Ravens had a fairly balanced run/pass ratio with 30 rushing attempts to 33 passing attempts and got all their playmakers heavily involved. Anquan Boldin as the intermediate route runner and Torrey Smith as the deep threat worked well against the Texans and the targets seem about right for those two roles. Smith has shown more speed and ability to separate than Lee Evans and most likely will win that battle in the long run.

The tight end situation flipped back to Dennis Pitta’s side this week with five targets to Ed Dickson's three. I sure didn’t see that coming since Dickson had won the target battle every week of the season so far. This could be an anomaly but it doesn't bode well for Dickson's value.


Buffalo Bills

Stevie Johnson: 6-14-10-6-5-10 (51), David Nelson: 6-13-8-3-2-6 (38), Donald Jones: 5-6-10-8-2-dnp (31), Fred Jackson: 1-2-6-8-6-6 (29), Scott Chandler: 5-4-3-2-1-1 (16), Naaman Roosevelt: dnp-dnp-1-1-7-2 (11), C.J. Spiller: 1-1-1-1-2-5 (11)

Early on the Bills' receiver situation looked ripe for the fake football pickings but lately it has been difficult to figure out who the secondary receiver to trust might be, if any. Last week we saw Naaman Roosevelt once again put up a decent line, but this time with only two targets and one reception that went 60 yards for a touchdown. We just can't rely on him taking a slant for 6 every week with just two targets. David Nelson moved back up the target list and had six with four receptions and 64 yards. Even though he didn't get into the end zone that was a good sign for him after having low target numbers before Donald Jones was hurt.

I often make a point to point out the lack of time C.J. Spiller spends on the field but this week I can't do that. His 35 snaps were more than he had totaled in the three previous weeks combined. He also had a season high five targets and five receptions but for a measly 34 yards. With the injuries to Parrish and Jones, Spiller has stepped up in the slot. Chan Gailey says this isn't a permanent change but it at least gives Spiller some chance to touch the ball. He's not getting enough work to warrant picking him up yet but it's worth keeping an eye on.


Carolina Panthers

Steve Smith: 11-13-7-10-7-7 (55), Greg Olsen: 6-4-10-7-5-10 (42), Jeremy Shockey: 3-5-7-5-7-7 (34), Legedu Naanee: 5-7-2-11-7-2 (34), Jonathan Stewart: 3-8-3-4-1-3 (22), Brandon LaFell: 5-5-0-6-2-1 (19), DeAngelo Williams: 2-4-3-1-0-3 (13)

Superman targeted his little pal Olsen 10 times but not much came of it besides five receptions and 42 yards. Jeremy Shockey once again received too many targets for my liking, but if that's the way they want to play it, so be it. All I know is it's time for me to give up on Brandon LaFell, for now. Yes, I am the last one to do so.

The running back situation remains one to stay away from for the most part. Jonathan Stewart vultured a goal line touchdown from Cam Newton and ran more effectively than DeAngelo Williams but still just isn't seeing the ball enough to be trusted as anything more than a bye week filler.


Chicago Bears

Matt Forte: 6-14-8-5-7-7 (47), Devin Hester: 5-9-5-2-7-7 (35), Dane Sanzenbacher: 1-7-7-2-10-3 (30), Johnny Knox: 4-6-9-4-2-4 (29), Kellen Davis: 5-1-2-1-3-3 (15), Roy Williams: 4-dnp-4-1-1-4 (14), Sam Hurd: dnp-3-1-2-5-0 (11)

This was the Devin Hester show for the most part. He had his best game of the season as a wide receiver with seven targets, five receptions, 91 yards and a touchdown (and his 17th return TD). The Bears offensive line gave Jay Cutler some time for the first time this season and he made them pay. After Hester and Forte there were mainly just some scraps strewn about for the other receivers. Hester will have to repeat this type of game for me to even come close to believing that he has risen out of the muck of mediocrity.
<!--RW-->Cincinnati Bengals

A.J. Green: 4-14-5-10-8-7 (48), Jerome Simpson: 9-9-4-3-7-9 (41), Jermaine Gresham: 8-5-8-7-7-6 (41), Andre Caldwell: 1-4-12-5-4-4 (30), Brian Leonard: 2-2-1-2-3-2 (12), Cedric Benson: 1-3-1-1-0-1 (7)

Andy Dalton and the Bengals looked like the worst team in the league in preseason and now, amazingly, they don't. Dalton continues to find A.J. Green in the end zone. Green's rookie campaign is feeling very similar to Tampa Mike Williams' rookie season. Green's ability to make the tough catch will keep red zone targets coming his way.

Jerome Simpson saw a ton of targets and cashed them in for a 100 yard game. This isn't going to be the norm, but it's good to see that he can take a plus matchup and make good on it.

Cedric Benson outplayed Bernard Scott and today had his suspension reduced to just one game. And the game he gets to watch from his man cave is against the Seahawks tough run defense. All in all this is good news for Benson owners.


Cleveland Browns

Ben Watson: 7-4-10-9-BYE-8 (38), Mohamed Massaquoi: 7-6-6-9-BYE-7 (35), Greg Little: 3-5-5-8-BYE-12 (33), Josh Cribbs: 3-3-6-8-BYE-5 (25), Peyton Hillis: 8-4-dnp-6-BYE-1 (19), Montario Hardesty: 0-0-4-9-BYE-4 (17), Evan Moore: 6-1-3-2-BYE-3 (15), Alex Smith: 0-5-4-2-BYE-3 (14), Brian Robiskie: 3-0-1-3-BYE-1 (8)

The big news in the Browns target world is Greg Little. He got a promotion and ended up seeing 12 total targets against the Raiders. Add that to his eight before the bye and that's a nice trend. The Brown's offense isn't going to be able to pull off a Green Bay Packers costume for Halloween, but if Little can continue to get the targets he can be useful.

Ben Watson still leads the Browns in targets and receiving touchdowns, but Little has passed him and Massaquoi in receptions and should start to see more red zone targets going forward.


Dallas Cowboys

Jason Witten: 9-14-9-10-BYE-4 (46), Miles Austin: 9-15-dnp-dnp-BYE-10 (34), Dez Bryant: 8-dnp-4-5-BYE-8 (25), Felix Jones: 4-2-3-7-BYE-4 (20), Laurent Robinson: dnp-dnp-5-10-BYE-2 (17), Kevin Ogletree: 2-4-7-2-BYE-2 (17), Tashard Choice: 1-2-1-5-BYE-5 (14), Martellus Bennett: dnp-0-3- 3-BYE-3 (9), DeMarco Murray: 1-1-0-1-BYE-2 (5)

This week looked like it would be Dez Bryant's day but he once again decided to make an early exit into obscurity in the second half. The good news for fantasy fanatics is that Miles Austin is healthy. Yes, he dropped some balls and had a so-so game, but he had 10 targets and was visible on the field for the whole game.

Felix Jones left the game early with a high ankle sprain and DeMarco Murray and Tashard Choice filled in for him. Murray saw 26 snaps to Choice's 25 and 12 looks to Choice's 10. That's a fairly even split, but Murray looked like the more decisive runner and if I had to guess as to who would lead in touches this week it would be Murray.


Denver Broncos

Eric Decker: 5-9-12-10-5-BYE (41), Brandon Lloyd: 11-dnp-7-11-4-BYE (33), Daniel Fells: 6-2-4-3-4-BYE (19), Willis McGahee: 7-2-5-2-1-BYE (17), Matt Willis: 2-4-3-1-3-BYE (13), Lance Ball: 1-1-5-2-0-BYE (9), Knowshon Moreno: 3-dnp-0-1-3-BYE (7)

Demaryius Thomas and Eddie Royal will be back in Week 7 and Brandon Lloyd will be playing for some other team. With Tim Tebow at the helm the offense gets a whole new look. Willis McGahee will start to lose out on some goal line opportunities and Eric Decker will get the most targets in the near future.

Knowshon Moreno did get three targets against the Chargers and turned one of those into a touchdown. He was also on the field for 20 plays while McGahee was in there on 25. It will be interesting how that sorts out with Tebow Time in full effect.


Detroit Lions

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Calvin Johnson: 10-7-11-13-6-9 (56), Brandon Pettigrew: 6-3-13-9-5-14 (50), Jahvid Best: 5-8-7-8-4-8 (40), Nate Burleson: 5-9-2-4-4-10 (34), Titus Young: 1-7-8-5-4-5 (30), Tony Scheffler: 1-3-1-1-1-dnp (7), Maurice Morris: 2-0-2-0-1-1 (6)

This was the week of Nate Burleson's target revival. After not topping four targets in Weeks 3-5 he received a season high with 10 catching only four of them, but one for a touchdown. Brandon Pettigrew continues to see a goodly amount of looks with a team high 14. Pettigrew is the only non-Megatron receiver that we can rely on from week to week right now.

Jahvid Best had eight targets but also left late in the fourth quarter with a concussion. Maurice Morris saw 25 snaps to Keiland Williams' two in relief but the Lions just traded for Ronnie Brown so that muddies the situation quite a bit. If Best can't go this week Morris has the upper hand since he knows the offense, but Brown would most likely come in for goal line looks.


Green Bay Packers

Greg Jennings: 8-8-10-7-5-10 (48), Jermichael Finley: 4-6-8-6-7-4 (35), Jordy Nelson: 8-2-5-6-7-3 (31), Donald Driver: 7-1-2-4-2-5 (21), James Starks: 1-4-4-6-3-2 (20), James Jones: 1-2-6-3-7-1 (20), Randall Cobb: 2-2-1-3-2-0 (10), Ryan Grant: 1-3-1-dnp-1-2 (8)

Jordy Nelson and James Jones combined for four targets, three receptions, 139 yards and two touchdowns. This is a good example of how good Aaron Rodgers is and how it impacts the weekly value of his receivers. The receivers don't need many targets to get into the end zone, but the margin of error is pretty slim when there are so many viable options for Rodgers to target.




Houston Texans

Andre Johnson: 11-9-12-5-dnp-dnp (37), Owen Daniels: 2-5-9-7-11-3 (37), Jacoby Jones: 3-4-2-1-11-7 (28), Derrick Mason: 6-2-10-3-1-4 (26), Arian Foster: dnp-2-dnp-5-7-11 (25), Kevin Walter: 2-dnp-3-1-6-8 (20), Joel Dreessen: 1-2-1-1-9-2 (16), Ben Tate: 0-4-4-0-dnp-1 (9)

The Texans took on the tough Ravens defense last week so dump offs to Arian Foster and the short passing game in general were the norm. Kevin Walter and Jacoby Jones saw 15 targets together with Andre Johnson still out. Derrick Mason saw 29 snaps to their 59 and 64. It will be interesting to see if that number moves up.
<!--RW-->Indianapolis Colts

Reggie Wayne: 11-8-13-8-7-6 (53), Pierre Garcon: 6-5-10-8-8-11 (48), Austin Collie: 3-10-7-7-2-6 (35), Dallas Clark: 5-8-6-4-5-7 (35), Joseph Addai: 4-4-2-2-1-dnp (13), Delone Carter: 0-0-1-0-3-1 (5)

Reggie Wayne still leads in total targets, but since Curtis Painter took over, Pierre Garcon has taken over as the most targeted receiver. Dallas Clark saw a little bump in targets with seven and caught six of them for 53 yards and a touchdown. This was his best game of the season and it's a nice sign that he didn't drop half of the targets.

Delone Carter played 27 snaps to Donald Brown's 33 and had 14 looks to Brown's 7. But to complicate the matter more Brown outplayed the rookie and scored a touchdown. Hope for Joseph Addai to come back healthy soon so you don't have to worry about these two.


Jacksonville Jaguars

Mike Thomas: 11-10-8-11-7-6 (53), Jason Hill: 5-dnp-5-9-7-3 (29), Marcedes Lewis: 3-dnp-2-7-4-8 (24), Maurice Jones-Drew: 0-4-3-4-0-3 (14), Deji Karim: 3-1-2-1-4-1 (12), Jarett Dillard: dnp-2-0-3-1-3 (9)

The Jaguars offense is looking like they are led by a rookie quarterback not named Cam Newton or Andy Dalton. Marcedes Lewis had a nice eight targets, his highest on the season! Yeehaw! Oh, but he only caught two for 29 yards, wha wha whomp. The Steelers pass defense is stout, but Gabbert and company didn’t even put up a fight.


Kansas City Chiefs

Dwayne Bowe: 8-8-6-9-11-BYE (42), Dexter McCluster: 5-5-6-4-2-BYE (22), Steve Breaston: 2-2-6-5-5-BYE (20), Leonard Pope: 6-3-3-1-3-BYE (16), Keary Colbert: 3-dnp-1-4-2-BYE (10), Jackie Battle: 1-0-1-1-2-BYE (5)

Dwayne Bowe abused the Colts secondary and deserved every one of his 11 targets and then some. He will continue to be the target hog. Breaston only had five targets, but turned those into two touchdowns. Dexter McCluster was only on the field for 12 snaps and is most likely going to start losing targets to Breaston.

The running back situation is fairly split, but Jackie Battle took over as the lead back as the game went on. Battle was on the field for 34 snaps and Thomas Jones for 29.


Miami Dolphins

Brandon Marshall: 13-11-7-8-BYE-13 (52), Davone Bess: 7-5-9-5-BYE-3 (29), Brian Hartline: 7-7-4-5-BYE-6 (29), Anthony Fasano: 6-2-2-4-BYE-2 (16), Reggie Bush: 10-1-1-2-BYE-2 (16)

Matt Moore was not good, but he targeted Brandon Marshall 13 times which is very good news for his fantasy value going forward, especially since the Dolphins passing game is going to struggle for the most part.

Daniel Thomas was on the field for 40 snaps to Reggie Bush's 19 but Bush had 78 total yards to Thomas' 59. Thomas will remain the early down back with Bush as a change of pace guy.


Minnesota Vikings

Percy Harvin: 4-8-5-7-2-9 (35), Visanthe Shiancoe: 1-7-2-8-6-7 (31), Michael Jenkins: 3-3-10-1-6-6 (29), Bernard Berrian: 2-4-5-6-dnp-7 (24), Devin Aromashodu: 0-2-2-2-5-2 (13), Kyle Rudolph: 1-1-3-4-0-3 (12), Adrian Peterson: 3-2-5-1-0-1 (12), Toby Gerhart: 0-1-2-1-0-2 (6)

Percy Harvin saw less snaps than the other receivers since he sat out some plays after the game got out of hand but still led the team with nine targets and seven receptions. Ponder is the new Vikings' quarterback and he targeted Harvin twice right out of the gate and Harvin caught both for 15 and 20 yards. The sample size is still too small to really know what will happen but the signs aren't horrible for Harvin right now.


New England Patriots

Wes Welker: 12-11-20-14-8-10 (75), Aaron Hernandez: 10-8-dnp-dnp-9-14 (41), Deion Branch: 9-10-3-4-8-5 (39), Rob Gronkowski: 7-6-9-5-4-7 (38), Chad Ochocinco: 3-2-4-2-3-1 (15), Danny Woodhead: 1-2-5-0-dnp-3 (11), BenJarvus Green-Ellis: 1-1-0-1-1-1 (5)

Thankfully this offense can supply enough work for Welker, Hernandez, Gronkowski and Branch who collectively totaled 36 targets and 24 receptions. Aaron Hernandez has returned from his injury at full force with 23 targets in his last two games.

It looked like Stevan Ridley would get a lot of work against Dallas with three carries on the first drive but it was all BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Danny Woodhead after that. Ridley was only on the field for eight snaps whereas Green-Ellis and Woodhead were there for 30 and 32.


New Orleans Saints

Jimmy Graham: 7-7-8-14-12-11 (59), Darren Sproles: 9-10-9-7-7-11 (53), Robert Meachem: 8-4-8-6-5-2 (33), Marques Colston: 9-dnp-dnp-3-6-11 (29), Lance Moore: dnp-4-9-6-6-3 (28), Devery Henderson: 9-3-4-1-1-2 (20), Pierre Thomas: 5-4-1-4-3-1 (18), Mark Ingram: 0-0-2-2-2-1 (7)

Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles are both on pace for 104 receptions. That won't happen especially with Marques Colston back in the fold, but there are a lot of receptions going around in New Orleans. Graham, Sproles and Colston all had 11 targets against Tampa Bay and it looks like they are going to continue to be the most targeted receivers from week to week. Those other guys will need some injuries to go down.
<!--RW-->New York Giants

Hakeem Nicks: 11-7-5-14-7-7 (51), Mario Manningham: 7-7-dnp-5-9-8 (36), Victor Cruz: 2-2-5-9-11-4 (33), Ahmad Bradshaw: 2-5-5-5-5-2 (24). Jake Ballard: 3-1-1-3-4-5 (17)

Victor Cruz came down to earth this week with only four targets after having 20 the two weeks before. He was on the field for 24 snaps to 53 for Manningham and 65 for Nicks. Manningham came excruciatingly close to scoring a couple touchdowns. And Jake Ballard also came within inches of a touchdown, but Ahmad Bradshaw hoarded them all for himself. This gave Eli Manning a big fat zero touchdowns. Oh the perils of fake football.


New York Jets

Dustin Keller: 8-6-9-8-2-5 (38), Santonio Holmes: 10-4-2-11-6-4 (37), Plaxico Burress: 9-2-6-8-8-4 (37), LaDainian Tomlinson: 7-2-6-3-1-4 (23), Derrick Mason: 6-2-10-3-1-dnp (22), Shonn Greene: 1-2-7-0-2-2 (14), Jeremy Kerley: 0-0-0-1-3-4 (8)

The Jets offense has stubbornly stuck to the ground and pound philosophy in the hopes of hiding their quarterback. In turn they have really hurt any value for the receiving game. Amazingly Santonio Holmes has found the end zone the last two weeks.

The focus on the ground game would make more sense if it was working but it really isn't. Shonn Greene is averaging 3.4 yards per carry while Ladainian Tomlinson is averaging 3.3.


Oakland Raiders

Darrius Heyward-Bey: 7-dnp-3-7-12-9 (38), Denarius Moore: 1-8-6-5-6-4 (30), Darren McFadden: 1-8-3-6-3-1 (22), Derek Hagan: dnp-8-3-5-3-0 (19), Jacoby Ford: 4-dnp-dnp-2-7-4 (17), Brandon Myers: 5-3-1-0-1-1 (11), Chaz Schilens: 0-1-4-1-3-0 (9)

With Jason Campbell breaking his collarbone and Kyle Boller coming in, there wasn't much hope for the passing game, but Darrius Heyward-Bey once again led the team in targets and receptions and is finally looking safe to own. And thankfully Kyle Boller is not going to be the Raiders quarterback for long! No, Carson Palmer is no savior, but he is better than Boller and should at least keep the status quo with some room for upward mobility.


Philadelphia Eagles

Jeremy Maclin: 3-15-7-11-8-7 (51), DeSean Jackson: 12-3-6-9-7-6 (43), Jason Avant: 7-4-5-8-10-4 (38), Brent Celek: 3-7-2-4-5-9 (30), LeSean McCoy: 3-4-3-9-7-4 (30)

Jeremy Maclin is the more complete wide receiver in Philadelphia and is showing it by averaging 8.5 targets and six receptions a game this season. Desean Jackson is a riskier proposition from week to week, especially in PPR leagues. But you knew that already.

Brent Celek saw his highest target total for the season with nine and found the end zone for the first time. This is a good sign for him, but we'll probably need to take a wait and see attitude for now.


Pittsburgh Steelers

Mike Wallace: 11-9-7-4-7-6 (44), Antonio Brown: 9-6-8-10-4-2 (39), Hines Ward: 9-6-4-4-8-4 (35), Heath Miller: 5-3-6-3-4-6 (27), Emmanuel Sanders: 3-3-5-2-3-4 (20), Rashard Mendenhall: 1-2-4-2-dnp-0 (9)

This was Rashard Mendenhall's breakout for the season and the Steelers didn't need to do much passing. It's a good sign that when Ben Roethlisberger only completes 12 passes that Mike Wallace goes for 76 yards and a touchdown. He is averaging 5.5 receptions and over 100 yards a game to go along with four touchdowns. That's good. After him there is not much consistency with Ward, Brown and Sanders all competing for targets.


San Diego Chargers

Vincent Jackson: 3-15-8-4-6-BYE (36), Mike Tolbert: 9-9-5-8-3-BYE (34), Malcom Floyd: 8-2-5-3-7-BYE (25), Ryan Mathews: 5-9-4-5-1-BYE (24), Randy McMichael: 3-1-5-6-6-BYE (21), Antonio Gates: 13-1-dnp-dnp-dnp-BYE (14), Patrick Crayton: dnp-dnp-7-1-2-BYE (10), Jacob Hester: 4-0-2-0- 2-BYE (8) With Champ Bailey doing his best Champ Bailey impersonation on Vincent Jackson, Malcom Floyd was able to see more work than usual.

For the most part Jackson will be the man, but not until after he faces the Jets and Revis this week.

The running back situation was a little screwy with the concussion to Mike Tolbert and the multiple injuries to Ryan Mathews.

Jacob Hester came in and looked capable, but the pecking order is pretty clear now if these guys can stay healthy. After the bye these guys should all be ready to go.
<!--RW-->Seattle Seahawks

Ben Obomanu: 6-6-2-4-10-BYE (28), Doug Baldwin: 6-2-4-6-9-BYE (27), Sidney Rice: dnp-dnp-10-6-5-BYE (21), Marshawn Lynch: 2-2-3-4-6-BYE (17), Justin Forsett: 5-3-3-4-1-BYE (16), Zach Miller: 4-2-3-6-0-BYE (15), Mike Williams: 5-3-1-5-dnp-BYE (14), Golden Tate: 5-2-3-0-3-BYE (13), Anthony McCoy: 3-3-0-0-6-BYE (12)

Marshawn Lynch had 18 looks and the most receiving targets he's had all season. He used to be a receiving threat back in the good old days so this is a good sign. The breakdown of wide receiver targets continues to be erratic from week to week, but Doug Baldwin is slowly moving up the target totem pole and as long as Sidney Rice continues to get attention Baldwin is worth keeping a close eye on in PPR leagues.


San Francisco 49ers

Michael Crabtree: 2-dnp-6-9-5-15 (37), Vernon Davis: 6-2-9-6-3-2 (28), Josh Morgan: 2-5-4-3-6-dnp (20), Frank Gore: 4-3-2-2-2-5 (18), Delanie Walker: 1-4-2-3-3-3 (16), Ted Ginn: 0-7-0-1-0-5 (13)

I mentioned that Crabtree was crab walking his way up the target tree and then he gets a whole slew of targets against the Lions. Of course the running game is what moves that offense, but 15 targets is going to get my aunt Betty on PPR radars.

Vernon Davis only had two targets while he was helping fight off the Lions pass rush. He is susceptible to these types of games this season and looking at the effectiveness of the opponent's pass rush may be worthwhile in analyzing his weekly matchup.


St. Louis Rams

Danario Alexander: dnp-7-8-8-BYE-10 (33), Brandon Gibson: 5-8-7-1-BYE-10 (31), Mike Sims-Walker: 4-11-6-6-BYE-dnp (27), Lance Kendricks: 5-4-3 -9-BYE-6 (27), Greg Salas: 3-8-dnp-dnp-BYE-10 (21), Cadillac Williams: 10-5-2-dnp-BYE-3 (20), Steven Jackson: 0-dnp-1-8-BYE-5 (14)

The Rams just traded for Brandon Lloyd and he will most likely move right into the starting lineup and take many of Danario Alexander's targets away from him but Greg Salas should continue to see a decent number of targets in the slot. If and when Mark Clayton returns Salas' status might get cloudy, but really any receiver not name Lloyd will need to fight and gouge out eyes to get targets.


Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Mike Williams: 10-4-9-8-9-13 (53), Kellen Winslow: 8-8-4-6-9-10 (45), Earnest Graham: 9-5-8-6-0-2 (30), Preston Parker: 6-7-1-7-3-5 (29), Arrelious Benn: 7-2-4-1-4-6 (24), Dezmon Briscoe: 2-4-0-0-2-2 (10), Luke Stocker: 1-1-2-4-dnp-dnp (8), LeGarrette Blount: 0-0-3-2-3-dnp (8)

Mike Williams is having trouble getting into the end zone, but not getting targets. Unfortunately he caught only six of 13 which, if my math is correct, is less than 50 percent and he only had 59 yards. Arrelious Benn on the other hand was only targeted six times and caught three for 83 yards and a touchdown. Williams is getting extra attention and also not making much happen after the catch. You can't give up on him when he is still getting so much attention. As long as he has the faith of the offensive coordinator and quarterback he has to be on fantasy teams.


Tennessee Titans

Nate Washington: 7-11-9-4-8-BYE (39), Kenny Britt: 10-13-3-dnp-dnp-BYE (26), Chris Johnson: 7-5-7-2-3-BYE (24), Jared Cook: 2-3-2-6-9-BYE (22), Lavelle Hawkins: 0-4-5-4-8-BYE (21)m Damian Williams: 2-dnp-3-4-11-BYE (20), Javon Ringer: dnp-2-2-0-6-BYE (10)

The Steelers pass defense has been very strong this season so it's hard to put too much stock in the production from their last game, but seeing Jared Cook get 9 targets is a great sign. He has the ability to be a top tight end in this league and as long as the targets are there he will produce.

Damian Williams took a step forward with 11 targets and his second touchdown in as many weeks. Yes, Matt Hasselbeck had more attempts than he usually will, but Williams is the clear No. 2 receiver now.

And don't forget about Nate Washington either. He hasn't had a great matchup since Kenny Britt left. When he gets some room to roam he should be able to produce.


Washington Redskins

Santana Moss: 8-9-8-10-BYE-6 (41), Jabar Gaffney: 7-8-6-4-BYE-10 (35), Fred Davis: 6-7-3-6-BYE-11 (33), Tim Hightower: 3-2-6-3-BYE-dnp (14), Chris Cooley: 3-2-5-2-BYE-1 (13), Roy Helu: 0-4-2-0-BYE-4 (10), Anthony Armstrong: 6-4-0-dnp-BYE-dnp (10), Donte' Stallworth: dnp-5-dnp-1-BYE-3 (9)

In yet another confusing quarterback situation we saw John Beck come in for the struggling/inept Rex Grossman. In relief Beck targeted Gaffney, Moss and Davis about the same as Grossman had. Those three are the receivers that have the value of course, but Fred Davis might have the most value since he is a tight end and and has more receiving yards than either Moss or Gaffney.

The running back situation is, as usual, frustrating. Tim Hightower did not play due to a shoulder injury, but it’s hard to say how much he would have played even if he was a full go. Ryan Torain only averaged 2.2 yards per carry on 10 rushes, but Grossman put them in a hole time after time. Roy Helu is the back with the most upside, but reading the Shanahan tea leaves is often fruitless.

 

[HacheMan]

Out of my league

By Matthew Berry
ESPN.com

"Whatever you do, don't try to be funny!"

I was on the phone with my younger brother. He's one of those high-powered Hollywood managers who understands everything about show business -- and about me. All the negatives about me and whatever positives there might be. He is also, like me, a huge fan of "The League," the comedy about fantasy football that airs on FX on Thursday nights at 10:30 ET.


Episode 3 of Season 3 airs tonight, and I'm in it, playing a (hopefully!) slightly less awkward version of myself. It was filmed in August, and, as I was getting ready to leave my hotel room to go to the set, I was talking with my brother about it. And he had some advice.


"Look, these are some of the best comedians and improv actors in the business. They are all hilarious. Truly brilliant. You won't be able to keep up with them. I've seen you act. You're not a good actor. So just promise me, whatever you do, don't try to be funny!"


The reason he was saying that, other than, ahem, the obvious, was that the show is not scripted. The creators of the show are Jeff and Jackie Schaffer. The spouses have many famous credits, but among them, Jeff was a writer on "Seinfeld" for many seasons and an executive producer on the final two seasons. He's also an executive producer on "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and this show is shot in much the same way.


There is an outline of the plot of the show and what is supposed to happen in each scene. There might be a few lines of key dialogue, but much of it is improvised. Only the basic beats (plot points) of each scene are laid out.


Like, I'm making this scenario up, but you might be handed a script that reads: Pete and Ruxin are talking. Taco enters the bar and invites them to a party. They leave, but, as they are paying the bill, Ruxin decides to not leave a tip.


That's all there would be. The only important things to accomplish in that scene are the invite to the party (where a future scene will be) and the not leaving a tip (I'm guessing Ruxin will meet up with the waitress again at a very inopportune time).


So although I had the basic beats, all the dialogue was improvised. By some of the funniest improv comics in Los Angeles. And, gulp, me. So you understand my brother's trepidation.

It's one thing to memorize lines; it's another to go toe to toe with folks as you're making stuff up. I'll see it for the first time along with the rest of America, so I have no idea how it turned out, but hopefully I didn't totally embarrass myself. I do know that the rest of the cast was hilarious around me, so even if I am a total train wreck, I hope folks will be laughing hard enough not to notice.

One reason I was so excited to do the show, and the thing I like most about it, is "the league" itself. It's about an eight-team fantasy league (I've heard of many, incidentally, stop being so snobbish) and only six of the people in the league are featured characters (two live out of town). It's a 30-minute show; you can't do a live-action sitcom (a good one, anyway) focusing on 10 different people. So although some might quibble with the league size, no one will argue about the fantastic spirit of the league, which is very true to fantasy football.


There is epic trash-talking. Outrageous bets. Lopsided trade offers, angry emails, people too in love with their own roster, rampant overthinking about roster moves and a true desperation to win at all costs. Like every league I've ever been in, but so much better.


They compete for the "The Shiva," named after an awkward girl they went to high school with. The show is very funny adult humor, but it's not politically correct. Not even close. The last-place finisher in the league -- "The Sacko" -- has to perform humiliating feats. The show captures everything that is special, fun and unique about fantasy football. This season's opening "Shiva Bowl Shuffle" is one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

I've written about my personal favorite league before, but I wondered about other people's leagues. So I asked my friends on Facebook and those who follow me on Twitter what was the best thing about their league. Got some great responses.


Many leagues force the losers to wear a dress somewhere public. I've heard about leagues where every team name has to be a weird kid from high school or the last-place finisher in the league has to wear some sort of toilet seat and/or pay for everything at next year's draft. Many leagues have weekly write-ups, podcasts devoted to their league and online videos. The members of the "Ducal League" all have secret identities on Twitter and follow each other, just to trash talk to each other but not fill anyone else's timeline.


Lots of folks suggested that the winner of the each week's matchup gets to choose the avatar of the losing team for the next week and that draft infractions are punished by getting beer in the face (YouTube "Duff Beers in the face"). All great stuff. Here are some more I liked. First from Twitter.

@WillReiter: loser of the league each year has to take the SATs again with high school students. Score is then etched onto trophy.


@patfrank If your guy gets fined for a hit or something, you pay too! $25k = $25 to the league.


@ZachPrieston Started a tradition where Champion of previous year chooses what the last place owner has to wear at the next year's draft.


@RogerRogerPow: Draft order is determined by simulating a NCAA '06 season with all of us having colleges named after us.


@smerta13: At the draft if you try to pick some one who was already drafted, you do a shot of something gross.


@CollinCampbell5: The Ring of Shame! Lowest week score in our 12 team league must shave a visible ring around either arm or leg and post pic!


@ftank47: My league's "thing" is the loser of toilet bowl has to eat a stick of butter. Solid.


@RonCoobie: loser of the Star Spangled Banner game has to sing the national anthem to start the following year's draft.


@jdgriff4: We say the pledge of allegiance before every draft. Standing up, hands over hearts.


@BenBenJammin: ýFive guys living in a college apartment. Lowest amount of points cleans the bathroom.


And now from Facebook.


Jeremy Vetterkind: Photoshopping pics of the opponent.


Austin Trupp: We have 4 columns a week: one modeled after TMR columns, one modeled after MMQB by Peter King, one modeled after Bill Simmons, and one original concept rating smack talk. Columns average 5,000 words a week.


Nick Barnard: Always pre-draft QB challenge and Texas Hold 'Em. But we make wagers in head-to-head match ups. We've had a guy wear a diaper to the Super Bowl party, another guy shave his eyebrows off, and 3 of us last year had to do a polar plunge at the super bowl party. There was 16 or so inches of snow on the ground and we had to axe a hole in the pond.


Norman MacFarland: Each week we have a new smokeshow with a picture of an ex or current girlfriend of someone in the league. At the end of the year we have a bracket-style tournament of all the smokeshows to decide a winner. Next week, the smokeshow is going to include someone's mom.


Matt Franklin: Each week the winning team can steal a player from whom they beat in exchange for someone they started at the same position. Slow starts makes it rough.


And finally, I'll give a shout-out to one of my own leagues. This year, I got invited into a league with a bunch of the guys who work on the Howard Stern show and, as you might imagine, it is both very funny and not-safe-for-work for me to print much of it. They have one rule I really like: It's a 10-team league, and two sets of wins are awarded every week. The five teams that win their head-to-head matchup get a win, and the top five highest-scoring teams also get a win. Helps mitigate those weeks when you have the third-highest score but were playing one of the two highest-scoring teams. Or, conversely, penalizes those who squeak by with a less-than-stellar week. I lost Jamaal Charles in that league and am still top four, partially thanks to this rule.


I'm sure there are other great league ideas; let me hear them on Facebook, Twitter and here in the comments on this piece. In the meantime, let's get to this week's Love/Hate. As you might have noticed, I did not do rankings Wednesday and missed the podcast. Some personal life stuff came up, but all is good now and I expect to have ranks up Friday. But because I didn't have my own ranks to go off of for this column, this is still based on where my fellow rankers ranked these guys. As always, this is not a pure start/sit but rather is about guys I like more or less than my fellow rankers do for this week. Let's get to it.



Week 7 Players I Love

Tim Tebow, QB, Broncos: As seen in last week's "Love/ Hate"! www.rapsports.com

Jay Cutler, QB, Bears: Psst. Come close. I don't want him to hear. (Looks around). OK, so, don't tell anyone, but when Cutler actually has time to throw, he's not a terrible quarterback. I liked the protection adjustments Chicago made last week against the Vikings, and now the Bears get the Buccaneers. Only eight teams have fewer sacks than the Bucs. Dump-off passes to Matt Forte that he runs for 12 yards each? They count, and they add up, don't you know.


Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Steelers: Is it daylight saving time, is it not daylight saving time; I can never figure out what time it is in Arizona, except now. You know what time it is? Time to start Big Ben! It's also time for hacky segues. What do want from me? I'm on three hours of sleep. Anyway, the Cardinals give up the ninth most fantasy points per game, and that includes games against Donovan McNabb and Tarvaris Jackson. Against, shall we say, more accomplished quarterbacks, they give up an average of 21 fantasy points a game, which is a lot, even in Arizona.


Matt Hasselbeck, QB, Titans: Just like reduced-fat Wheat Thins and the new "90210" TV show, Hasselbeck is better than you think at first blush. More fantasy points this year than Tony Romo or Philip Rivers, to name a few, and he's at home and coming off a bye, which -- for quarterbacks not named Rex -- I tend to like. Extra week to prepare, all that. But more importantly, Pierre, can I get an ESPN Next Level sound effect? (Waits, hears it). Great, thank you. When Hasselbeck faces five or more rushers, he has a completion percentage of 67.2 percent and is top five in the NFL in that category along with yards per attempt, 30-yard passes and Total QBR. Meanwhile, the Texans send five or more rushers on 56.5 percent of dropbacks, the second-highest rate in the NFL. Among those five rushers? Not Mario Williams.


Ryan Mathews, RB, Chargers: Remember when people used to be scared of the Jets' run defense? Me neither. Another ESPN Next Level stat for you: Mathews is top six in the NFL in yards per rush, yards after contact per rush and 20-yard rushes when running up the middle. The Jets are allowing 4.2 yards per carry up the middle.


Ryan Torain, RB, Redskins: You might feel gun shy. I don't blame you. You might hate Mike Shanahan. You would not be alone. You might say "I've played with that fire, Berry, and have the burnt fingers to prove it," and I would say "I am sure you do." So, as I said last week on Fantasy Football Now and on Twitter, you play with a Redskins running back, you play with fire. But with this being on the road, John Beck's first start, etc., I think the Redskins will run the ball more than normal and Torain will get the bulk of that work. The Panthers allow the most fantasy points to opposing running backs and have allowed them to score eight times in the past three weeks.


Earnest Graham, RB, Buccaneers: As a flex option this week, you could do a lot worse. I am assuming LeGarrette Blount is not playing in this game, of course. Graham ran well last week (109 total yards), and, against the Bears and that Cover 2, I think you'll see a lot of dump-off passes and checkdowns. Graham is fifth in the NFL among running backs in terms of receptions. Chicago gives up a surprising 5.4 yards per carry.


Maurice Morris, RB, Lions: Ugh. I know. I feel like dirty Randy just writing it. But assuming Jahvid Best does not play, I expect Morris to get the majority of playing time and, in a bye week with a lot of good running backs out, you could do worse and probably already are. Detroit can't run the ball, but the Lions do involve their running back in the pass attack (Best already has 27 receptions on 40 targets this year) and only three teams have allowed more receiving yards to opposing running backs than the Atlanta Falcons.


Mark Ingram, RB, Saints: He has scored a touchdown in back-to-back games and in three of his past four. No team in the NFL has allowed more rushing touchdowns than the Indianapolis Colts. Just because it's obvious doesn't make it any less true. He won't get a ton of touches, limiting his upside, but Ingram is a good flex play this week.


LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, Jets: Think they get him a touchdown against his former team? Me, too. If you're down in the low 30s of our rankings looking for a running back, here's one with as good a shot at a score as anyone.

Eric Decker (right now) and Demaryius Thomas (in the long run), WRs, Broncos: At some point, Tebow is going to have to throw it. And these are the guys who are gonna catch it. Decker needs no introduction, as he leads the Broncos in targets, receptions and receiving touchdowns despite Brandon Lloyd's having been there the first six weeks (LLoyd did miss one game). Now that Lloyd has left, I expect fantasy goodness to ooze from Decker as Tebow will throw more than folks think. And, if you feel like speculating a bit, grab Thomas off the waiver wire. He is a physical beast with all the skills who just can't stay healthy. I would not start Thomas this week until we see him on the field, but, if you have room, I would stash him. He has the tools and opportunity to be a stud this year.


Brandon Lloyd, WR, Rams: "I love you. … No, I love you more. … No, I love you more. … I love you times infinity. … I love you times infinity plus two! … Awww. … You say good night first. … No, silly billy, you say good night first. … No, you first. … No, you go. … OK, we'll hang up at the same time. … OK. … 1, 2, 3, hang up! … You didn't hang up! … Because I knew you wouldn't hang up! … Oh, silly billy, I missed you. … No, I missed you more." …

And that, kids, is an excerpt from the official transcript of one side of the conversation during the first phone call between Brandon Lloyd and Josh McDaniels after Lloyd had been traded to the Rams. Whose side was it? Does it matter? I don't care who is throwing the ball; it's coming Lloyd's way this week.


Mike Williams, TB, Buccaneers: Thirteen targets last week -- he can't be this bad. Can he? No. I've decided. He can't be. The fact that they are not throwing to him deep actually helps in this game as I feel he'll get a bunch of stuff underneath. The Bears have struggled with no-huddle offenses this year, and I expect Tampa to use that some, which means Freeman will be looking for the familiar. Mike Williams South has been brutal this year. I get it. But as a flex play/No. 3 wide receiver from outside the top 20 this week, I think he could be OK.


Greg Little, WR, Browns: Becoming more involved in the passing offense, and (spoiler alert!) the Browns will struggle to run the ball in this game. They'll need to throw, and, when they do, Little (20 targets the past two games) will be the beneficiary.


Fred Davis, TE, Redskins: Leads the Redskins in receiving yards, is second in receptions and his 15.6 yards per catch not only leads Washington but is second in the NFL among tight ends with at least 20 attempts. He'll probably need to block more with the injuries to Washington's offensive line, but I also see Beck not finding anyone open, Davis releasing and catching a lot of checkdowns. With Chris Cooley banged up, Davis is clearly the guy but has a boring name. We need to jazz this up. How about Funky Fred Davis? Yes? Maybe? We'll work on it.


Dustin Keller, TE, Jets: He definitely has disappointed recently, but he was wide open in the end zone Monday night and Sanchez just completely missed seeing him. Given that the Chargers allow the third fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers and are tied for the eighth most fantasy points allowed to opposing tight ends, I think it's fairly obvious where the Jets will need to attack San Diego. Keller is second on the Jets in red zone targets, and the Chargers are actually tied for the 11th most red zone passing touchdowns allowed despite already having had their bye and having faced teams such as Miami, Minnesota, Kansas City and Denver. I'm keeping the faith with Keller one more week.


Dallas Cowboys D/ST: Available in 45 percent of leagues, Dallas has double-digit fantasy points in three of the past four, including this past week against the Patriots. Another spoiler alert: The Rams, with A.J. Feeley potentially at quarterback, are not the Patriots.


Washington Redskins D/ST: If you are in a deeper league and need a bye-week defense from outside the top 10, the Panthers have 10 turnovers this year and Washington is, believe it or not, tied for ninth in D/ST scoring with the Eagles and Giants, all just ahead of the Cowboys for an all-NFC East block.



Week 7 Players I Hate:

Carson Palmer, QB, Raiders: He's been retired for almost a year; he's been in the offense for three days; the Raiders have a higher percentage of running plays than any other team in the NFL. … He's a big name and it's a big news story, but don't let that fool you into starting him this week. Way too risky for me to have as a top-20 play this week, which is where he's currently ranked.


Matt Ryan, QB, Falcons: The Lions, at home, allow an average of just five fantasy points a game to opposing quarterbacks and allow the fourth fewest fantasy points to them overall. Probably no Julio Jones in this game, and, according to the New York Life Protection Index, the Falcons have allowed a combined 61 quarterback sacks, hurries and knockdowns. That's a lot. Especially considering they are about to face an angry Lions front line. One more on Ryan, as we go ESPN Next Level: Ryan has thrown five of his picks and been sacked 13 times when facing four or fewer rushers. No team has pass-rushed four or fewer this year more than the Lions, who do it on 83.3 percent of all opponent drop-backs.


Curtis Painter, QB, Colts: Said it last week, will say it again this week: When faced with pressure, Painter is not a good quarterback. Saints blitz on 71 percent of opponent pass plays. Not even if you're desperate.


Steven Jackson, RB, Rams: The Cowboys have the No. 1 run defense in the NFL; they allow the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs; and Jackson has not had more than 11 points in any game this year. Even in a bye week, I have a tough time making him top 12, where he is currently ranked. More of a midtier No. 2 guy this week.


Montario Hardesty, RB, Browns: I'm assuming Peyton Hillis won't play. But wanna win a bar bet? Ask someone which run defense allows just 3.1 yards per rush, lowest in the NFL. The answer is the Seattle Seahawks. I have Hardesty outside my top 20 and as a low-end flex play at best. Drink up.

Shonn Greene, RB, Jets: To own Shonn Greene is to hate him. You already know I think that, if there is a rushing touchdown to be had here, it goes to Tomlinson, plus, Greene had 38 of his 74 yards rushing in the fourth quarter last week against a Miami team that was essentially out of it. I don't expect a run-out-the-clock fourth quarter against the Chargers this week.


James Starks, RB, Packers: Single-digit fantasy points in four straight including one negative point game. The Vikings aren't a good football team, but they can stop the run. And just because the Packers are up big doesn't mean they'll stop throwing. Ask the Rams.


Pierre Garcon and Reggie Wayne, WRs, Colts: Like Garcon more than Wayne but not crazy about either. See Painter, Curtis.


Robert Meachem and Lance Moore, WRs, Saints: It's obviously a good matchup, and one of these guys could easily have a good game here. But Brees spreads it around so much and you know Jimmy Graham, Darren Sproles and Marques Colston will get theirs in the passing game, leaving not a ton for the rest of the receivers.


Plaxico Burress, WR, Jets: Seriously. Welcome to Dumpsville.


Jermichael Finley, TE, Packers: Look, if you have him, you gotta play him. I can't imagine you have better options. But the Vikings have yet to allow a touchdown to an opposing tight end and give up the eighth fewest fantasy points to opposing tight ends. And, for all of Green Bay's prolific scoring, Finley has six or fewer points in every game this year but one; the crazy three-touchdown game against Chicago. He has that potential any game he plays, of course, given his skills and the offense he plays in, but I'm not feeling it this game.


Jared Cook, TE, Titans: Texans (third fewest points to tight ends) are a bad matchup for Cook, who has yet to become fully integrated into the Titans' offense.
That's all I've got this week. Good luck in your most important league, whatever it is. Here's hoping you don't have to shave anything into yourself come Tuesday.

 

[HacheMan]

Flex ranks: No worries about DMC, A-Pete

Eric Karabell

Welcome to Week 7 and the latest flex rankings, as we combine the best of the running backs, wide receivers and tight ends into one neat and tidy package, hopefully offering some guidance in this crazy fantasy football season. Once again, the bye weeks will be creating havoc with many rosters, so you might need to dig a little deeper than normal this week.

As always, make your best decisions -- make sure they're your choices -- and best of luck in Week 7 and beyond!

1. Darren McFadden, RB, Raiders: I got a bit scared about Run DMC's value when I thought Kyle Boller would be the Raiders' starting quarterback. Then again, the Ravens ran the ball just fine when Boller was their starter. Nothing to fear here.
2. Ray Rice, RB, Ravens
3. Matt Forte, RB, Bears: Well on his way to a career season yards-wise, even better than his impressive rookie campaign. Just needs more touchdowns.
4. Arian Foster, RB, Texans
5. Adrian Peterson, RB, Vikings: People ask me if I'm concerned about the rookie quarterback hurting him or the receivers. My reply: "It's not like Donovan McNabb was playing well."
6. Michael Turner, RB, Falcons
7. Rashard Mendenhall, RB, Steelers: Well, that was quick. Just beware his value could change again because the schedule gets tougher after this.
8. Calvin Johnson, WR, Lions: Still on pace for a million touchdowns, though he didn't score last week. Should make up for it this week against the Falcons and next week against Denver www.rapsports.com
9. Mike Wallace, WR, Steelers: Yes, it's a nice matchup for Ben Roethlisberger and Co.
10. Chris Johnson, RB, Titans: Johnson goes head-to-head with Foster (No. 4 above). Will either back break 100 yards? Yes, both will!
11. Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, Jaguars
12. Dwayne Bowe, WR, Chiefs: The Raiders give it up to opposing passing games, and Matt Cassel threw four touchdown passes in Week 5.
13. Steve Smith, WR, Panthers
14. Beanie Wells, RB, Cardinals: Seems odd that he's ranked this high, but teams have been running on the Steelers.
15. Greg Jennings, WR, Packers
16. Ryan Mathews, RB, Chargers: Health might always be an issue with Mathews, and that's what scares me about December. But this week looks good; the Jets can be run and scored on.
17. Miles Austin, WR, Cowboys: Beautiful home matchup against a winless team. Love it!
18. Willis McGahee, RB, Broncos: I'm still buying. He might lose some goal-line touches, but the yards are there.
19. Jimmy Graham, TE, Saints: I'm sure I used to rank Antonio Gates this well in previous seasons … or maybe not.
20. Roddy White, WR, Falcons: He's a mild concern, but you still have to start him.
21. Steven Jackson, RB, Rams
22. Dez Bryant, WR, Cowboys: I'd feel better if Tony Romo would occasionally look his way in the second half. This week, the game could be over by halftime.
23. Earnest Graham, RB, Buccaneers: Nice 100-yard game in Week 6. It had been three years since we saw that for Graham. And still no LeGarrette Blount this week.
24. Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Cardinals
25. Darren Sproles, RB, Saints: I expect more than one rushing attempt this week. How about double digits!
26. Daniel Thomas, RB, Dolphins: I thought he looked fine against the Jets, actually.
27. Vincent Jackson, WR, Chargers
28. Brandon Marshall, WR, Dolphins: It would be nice if he could convert the occasional red zone touchdown. He's actually performing well otherwise.
29. Marques Colston, WR, Saints
30. Mark Ingram, RB, Saints: This week, the running backs should shine. It is, after all, the Colts.
31. Ryan Torain, RB, Redskins: Great matchup, but who really knows what Mike Shanahan will do?
32. Jason Witten, TE, Cowboys
33. Pierre Garcon, WR, Colts: Yep, it was all Kerry Collins' fault. But what about last season? Was it Peyton Manning's fault?
34. Jordy Nelson, WR, Packers: Still gets a somewhat inconsistent number of targets, but he makes big plays.
35. Shonn Greene, RB, Jets
36. Anquan Boldin, WR, Ravens
37. Jahvid Best, RB, Lions: Concussion could keep him out of this game, so pay attention.
38. DeMarco Murray, RB, Cowboys: Here's your chance to shine with Felix Jones out a few weeks. I'm a bit apprehensive, actually. Watch Romo throw.
39. Santonio Holmes, WR, Jets
40. Jackie Battle, RB, Chiefs: I take the under on 19 carries this week.
41. Santana Moss, WR, Redskins
42. Jermichael Finley, TE, Packers: Speaking of inconsistent … it's just easier to stomach with a tight end.
43. Brandon Lloyd, WR, Rams: Well, at least it'll (probably) be Sam Bradford throwing to him. It could have been worse.
44. Marshawn Lynch, RB, Seahawks
45. Eric Decker, WR, Broncos: Already was playing like a WR2 even before the Lloyd trade, wasn't he?
46. Fred Davis, TE, Redskins: Fantasy monster alert!
47. Sidney Rice, WR, Seahawks
48. Reggie Wayne, WR, Colts
49. Julio Jones, WR, Falcons: I didn't rank Harry Douglas, so even if Jones sits, look for lots of Michael Turner.
50. James Starks, RB, Packers
51. Kevin Walter, WR, Texans: Definitely useful with Andre Johnson out.
52. Brandon Pettigrew, TE, Lions
53. Percy Harvin, WR, Vikings: Like with Peterson, I don't see how things could get worse with a rookie at quarterback. Just look Percy's way, please!
54. Peyton Hillis, RB, Browns: Getting close to having fantasy owners give up on him, which is a mistake.
55. Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, Raiders: Has played well the past three weeks, and I'm buying into it.
56. Pierre Thomas, RB, Saints
57. Mike Tolbert, RB, Chargers
58. Mike Williams, WR, Buccaneers: Man, his owners seem awfully angry these days. Don't cut him, though.
59. Greg Little, WR, Browns: Not a bad start at all.
60. DeAngelo Williams, RB, Panthers: Kind of lingering, but not much else.
61. Jonathan Stewart, RB, Panthers: He has scored more points than the other guy.
62. Robert Meachem, WR, Saints
63. Doug Baldwin, WR, Seahawks
64. Tony Gonzalez, TE, Falcons
65. Delone Carter, RB, Colts: Had a few decent runs last week, but overall he was disappointing.
66. Nate Washington, WR, Titans: People were so excited about him when Kenny Britt went down. Now, not so much.
67. Ben Tate, RB, Texans: Don't cut him. One injury and he's really relevant again.
68. Lance Moore, WR, Saints
69. Montario Hardesty, RB, Browns: If only Ben Tate was a Brown! Hardesty will get his chances.
70. Malcom Floyd, WR, Chargers
71. Ryan Grant, RB, Packers
72. Owen Daniels, TE, Texans
73. Mike Thomas, WR, Jaguars
74. Nate Burleson, WR, Lions
75. Tashard Choice, RB, Cowboys: Should get enough touches this week to do something.
76. Maurice Morris, RB, Lions: Should get enough touches, but isn't he like 84 years old? Perhaps not. And no, the "non"-acquisition of Ronnie Brown really didn't affect Morris' rank, in my mind.
77. Torrey Smith, WR, Ravens: His owners really love him, but people, this is Devery Henderson, AFC version. Big plays, but not enough of them. He has nine receptions all season!
78. Jacoby Ford, WR, Raiders
79. Plaxico Burress, WR, Jets
80. Michael Bush, RB, Raiders
81. Steve Breaston, WR, Chiefs
82. Kellen Winslow, TE, Buccaneers
83. Roy Helu, RB, Redskins: Honestly, it could be him running wild Sunday. It could be John Riggins. Could be anyone in that backfield.
84. Jacoby Jones, WR, Texans
85. James Jones, WR, Packers: Yep, he scored a touchdown. It was his only catch of the game. Not to be negative, but that's a problem.
86. LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, Jets
87. Johnny Knox, WR, Bears: Speaking of much ado about nothing.
88. Knowshon Moreno, RB, Broncos
89. Hines Ward, WR, Steelers
90. Thomas Jones, RB, Chiefs
91. Jabar Gaffney, WR, Redskins: Actually seeing quite a bit of action.
92. Reggie Bush, RB, Dolphins
93. Arrelious Benn, WR, Buccaneers
94. Eddie Royal, WR, Broncos: Sneaky start this week in deep leagues in case Demaryius Thomas isn't ready.
95. Tim Hightower, RB, Redskins
96. Antonio Brown, WR, Steelers
97. Greg Olsen, TE, Panthers
98. Donald Brown, RB, Colts: One of these weeks he could get 15 carries and really do something. Until then …
99. Ricky Williams, RB, Ravens
100. Dane Sanzenbacher, WR, Bears
Just missed: Dexter McCluster, RB, Chiefs; Dallas Clark, TE, Colts; Denarius Moore, WR, Raiders; Chris Ogbonnaya, RB, Browns; Isaac Redman, RB, Steelers.

 

[HacheMan]

Players to buy: Greene, Mike Williams ...

Eric Karabell

I don't concern myself with an NFL team's December schedule before the season, because trying to predict which teams will be good and bad by then is a complete guessing game. We're six weeks into the season now, and let's just say we know a lot more about the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions and Buffalo Bills than we thought we did two months ago. Likewise, some of the perceived tough teams don't look as tough now (I'm looking at you, Eagles). So strength of schedule doesn't really mean much to me in August, but in mid-October, they aren't merely guesses. We know more.


Checking out pending schedules is just one way to buy low on fantasy football options, and it's certainly a wise time to do this because it's a great way to gain value and improve your team. When I look at players to buy low -- or sell high, for that matter -- certainly future opponents play a role, but I also look at health (current and historical), the potential for adjusted roles, and sometimes it merely comes down to who I think is not as good as their numbers indicate, and who is better than what they've shown. With that, let's go position by position with players I'm buying low on. In order to buy low, I'm presuming the player is not performing up to expectations, can be acquired for less than his draft-day value and will improve. While I'm a proponent of owning deep fantasy teams, because bye weeks and injuries can turn any squad into a mess quickly, it's a wise time to make 2-for-1 deals, as long as you get the better player.


Philip Rivers, QB, San Diego Chargers: This consensus top-5 passer on draft day is currently tied for 17th in standard scoring at quarterback with Alex Smith and Andy Dalton. Wow. Rivers has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns and hasn't reached 20 standard fantasy points in any game. We knew he's typically a slow starter, but this is ridiculous -- and misleading. Rivers threw for a league-best 4,710 yards last season, and he's actually on pace to top that figure. The six touchdowns in five games is one problem, and he has been a bit unlucky on interceptions, suffering from the Eli Manning phenomenon of tipped passes going perfectly awry. He also has reportedly been dealing with a sore sternum from a hit he took early in the season.
We can't totally blame the absence of all-world tight end Antonio Gates and his injured foot. Then again, think about how much more effective Rivers would be, as well as Vincent Jackson and the running backs, if Gates were wreaking havoc in opponents' secondaries. Fill-in tight end Randy McMichael has 11 fantasy points … for the season. Gates is an obvious major target who has suited up only twice this season, but he's supposed to play this week. Last year Gates caught 10 touchdown passes in his 10 games. His return simply has to help. If you own Rivers, hold on to him, and if you can get him cheaper than normal, go for it. I keep ranking him well in the rest-of-season rankings. Let's also remember that, historically, Rivers' best month has been December, with not only a 20-3 record, but 40 touchdown passes against 14 picks. Also buying: Alex Smith of the 49ers has a sweet schedule from here on out, and defenses should test him more in the future. I also see improvement pending for Sam Bradford.

Chris Johnson, RB, Tennessee Titans: Perhaps I'm too trusting of star players, but he's far too talented to be this below average any longer. Remember, Johnson didn't have a preseason. It can't be the only reason for him averaging 3.0 yards per carry, which is 47th of 48 qualifiers for the rushing title, but this is also a guy showing progress, with 23 fantasy points over his past two games. Johnson has already served his bye week, already faced the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, and the December schedule features every fantasy owner's dream defense for opposing running backs: the Indianapolis Colts. By the time Christmas rolls around -- really, Thanksgiving too -- Johnson will be long gone from the fantasy bust list.
Shonn Greene, RB, New York Jets: I fear I'll regret this selection, but Greene has averaged 4.8 yards per carry in eight December games, so perhaps he just takes a bit longer than most to get going. I'm not a big fan of his running style, but the Jets are clearly committing to him; he has 21 carries each of the past two weeks. The Jets' offensive line is healthier with center Nick Mangold back, and the December schedule features the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants, both teams that are getting pilfered by opposing running backs. Plus, I just have a gut feeling on Greene: He's big, and even if he makes poor decisions and turns his 20 carries into only 75 yards, he still can score touchdowns. It's the Cedric Benson theory: A heavy workload can often overcome talent. Plus, for Greene to have scored six career touchdowns in 35 games seems awfully unlucky to me.
Also buying: Roy Helu of the Redskins will get a shot at some point. So will Montario Hardesty in Cleveland. And I think Miami's Daniel Thomas will be a top-20 running back this season. Mike Williams, WR, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The No. 13 wide receiver in ESPN average live drafts is currently outside the top 60 in wide receiver fantasy points. Oddly enough, Williams is still tied for seventh in wide receiver targets. So what does it all mean? Well, it means we have a talented wide receiver being dropped in leagues catching roughly half his targets, yet his quarterback (Josh Freeman) is 10th in scoring at his position. I say don't panic here. Williams is good, and the best is yet to come. He'll pass teammates Preston Parker and Arrelious Benn in fantasy points soon and be a worthy WR2 most weeks.


Percy Harvin, WR, Minnesota Vikings: I thought about recommending Roddy White and Brandon Marshall here. Each are top 10 in the league in targets but have been unlucky in the red zone, and in White's case, he has even been uncharacteristically dropping passes. I'd go get White and Marshall on the cheap. Like Williams, they will improve. In Harvin's case, I think the quarterback change to rookie Christian Ponder will really help him. Harvin has been dealing with bruised ribs, and we always worry about the migraine headaches, but the fact is, Donovan McNabb was his big problem. The veteran just wasn't looking Harvin's direction enough; Harvin has 36 targets in six games. He hasn't scored a touchdown after hitting paydirt 12 times his first two seasons. Ponder leaned on him in Week 6, and he should do so moving ahead. This situation is about to improve.
Also buying: White, Marshall, DeMaryius Thomas, Antonio Brown (only five fewer targets than Mike Wallace!) and Greg Little (finally a starter).
Fred Davis, TE, Washington Redskins: If Chris Cooley had been playing on another team this season, Davis would have more fantasy points than Jermichael Finley, Vernon Davis and Owen Daniels. I'm sure of it. He'd be top-five. As it is, Davis is fourth among tight ends in receiving yards, yet 17th in targets. Now that Cooley is out of the picture, go get Davis.
Also buying: Kellen Winslow of the Bucs is tied for third in tight end targets, but tied for 21st in scoring. Blame the goose egg in the touchdowns column. To me that means all five or six of the touchdowns he usually scores per season are still pending. Also, I still think Lance Kendricks of the Rams will matter eventually. Good luck making those trades!

 

[HacheMan]

Four rookies could have a big fantasy impact in Week 7.

Studs
•QB Josh Freeman, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Chicago Bears finally put the clamps on a running back, holding Adrian Peterson to 39 yards. So the Bucs might be forced to air it out, especially with LeGarrette Blount out. Freeman scorched the New Orleans Saints for his first 300-yard game of 2011.

• MORE: Leaders by position

•RB Ryan Mathews, San Diego Chargers: The New York Jets have regressed in stopping the run, ranking 28th. Mathews has gone for at least 118 total yards in every game this season.
•RB Mark Ingram, Saints: No team gets run on more than the Indianapolis Colts (34.7 attempts a game). Rookie Ingram will have flashbacks to his Alabama days, when his stats were as big as Bear Bryant's legacy.
•WR Brandon Marshall, Miami Dolphins: Champ Bailey isn't Darrelle Revis, and Marshall scorched Revis for a 100-yard game. QB Matt Moore knows to send double-digit targets Marshall's way against the Denver Broncos.
•TE Brandon Pettigrew, Detroit Lions: He's Matthew Stafford's No. 2 target after Calvin Johnson. If the Atlanta Falcons gave up 28 points on the road to the Seattle Seahawks, what will happen when they play at equally boisterous Ford Field?
Duds
•QB Philip Rivers, Chargers: The Jets pass defense has allowed the fewest passing scores (three), while Rivers has thrown two touchdown passes over his last three outings.
•RB Willis McGahee, Broncos: Inexperienced Tim Tebow lost his best wideout, Brandon Lloyd, to a trade and will likely be facing a defense intent on shutting down Denver's run game.
•WR Sidney Rice, Seahawks: Nobody has burned the Cleveland Browns for a 100-yard receiving game. And Rice might be becoming the second option for the Seahawks behind emerging rookie Doug Baldwin.
•WR Plaxico Burress, Jets: San Diego's No. 2 pass defense has given up one 100-yard receiving game. In the last three weeks, Burress is averaging 2.3catches for 30 yards despite being targeted 20 times.
•RB Jonathan Stewart, Carolina Panthers: Cam Newton has more carries (46 to 44) and rushing TDs (six to one) than Stewart. The talented, 235-pound back has two games of 10 or more touches. What a waste.
Sleepers
•QB Matt Cassel, Kansas City Chiefs: Here's his chance to upstage fellow Southern California alumnus Carson Palmer. Oakland's No. 28 pass defense has allowed the most touchdowns (12), and Cassel passed for two scores in last season's visit to the Black Hole.
•RB Daniel Thomas, Dolphins: Denver's No. 23 run defense has allowed consecutive games of 100-plus total yards to running backs. Rookie Thomas (4.4 yards a carry) might be used heavily in what is expected to be a tight game between two struggling offenses.
•RB DeMarco Murray, Dallas Cowboys: Felix Jones is out, so the rookie has a chance to prove he can be the featured back. The St. Louis Rams' run defense is last in the league by nearly 23 yards a game.
•WR Greg Little, Browns: Seattle lost its best cornerback, Marcus Trufant, for the season and rates 25th in opponents' yards a catch (8.2). Rookie Little led the team in targets (20), receptions (12) and yards (129) during the past two games.
•TE Ed Dickson, Baltimore Ravens: The Jacksonville Jaguars have been vulnerable to tight ends, allowing 40 catches for 387 yards and four TDs. Tight ends have led the Ravens in receiving three times vs. the Jags, including two 100-yard games.

 

[HacheMan]

Beck's Bolero

In sports, like in life, one has to make bold decisions to reach the top. If you’re only willing to do the same old thing, someone else with a newer and better idea will pass you by before you can so much as say “slow and steady wins the race.”

But there’s an extremely fine line between genius and madness.

This is something it took Mike Shanahan all of five games to find out this season. Long one of the smartest men in the room, Shanny decided to go rogue upon arriving in Washington, freezing out a six time Pro Bowler in favor of a quarterback more famous for his turnovers than touchdowns.

So the fact that the Rex Grossman “era” in Washington has ended in abject failure should not be a surprise to anyone who can still remember back to 2006. Shanahan’s gamble, bold as it may have been, was doomed to fail. There’s no other way to describe installing a 31-year-old with just 18 appearances since the end of the 2006 season and a career 1/1 touchdown to interception ratio as your Week 1 starter.

So the focus now shifts to John Beck. Already 25 years old upon entering the league out of BYU in 2007, Beck is now a 30-year-old with four career starts.

In parts of six career games, he’s completed 68-of-122 passes for 676 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. He’s dropped back just 15 times since 2007. So should we trust Shanny’s second gamble any more than his first? No.

The main thing Beck has going for him is that he’s an open book. He doesn’t have the history of failure Grossman did entering 2011. The problem, of course, is that he has no history at all. All we can go on is a poor preseason and the fact that no team was willing to give him a regular season snap between 2007 and 2011.

If you’re looking for hope on the waiver wire, turn to Carson Palmer. If you’re looking for hope in Washington, turn to Ryan Torain.

Editor’s Note: For early rankings, exclusive projections, chats, the Running Back Report and much more, check out the Season Pass!

NEWS OF THE DAY #2
The NFL trade deadline is traditionally quieter than the Jets locker room after the AFC Championship Game, but this year was different. Not one, but two deals were completed on Tuesday, likely shattering the total from the previous 10 years combined.

But things grew retroactively less active on Wednesday with the Eagles and Lions’ swap of Ronnie Brown and Jerome Harrison being voided due to “health issues” with Harrison.

Aside from the awkwardness it may create in the locker room, the collapsed deal is of little consequence for the Eagles. It doesn’t really matter who gets three carries per game behind LeSean McCoy.

For the Lions, however, it’s a major headache. With Jahvid Best dealing with his second concussion of the year, Detroit was hoping to add a big and experienced back to a backfield down to Harrison, Maurice Morris and Keiland Williams.

Now, they’re left with just Morris and Williams assuming a health issue that was serious enough to derail a trade is serious enough to hold Harrison out in Week 7.

The Lions’ running game will be a situation to avoid this weekend, but early indications are Morris will be in line for the most carries. That could change in a hurry depending on Harrison’s health, however.

NEWS OF THE DAY #3
Julio Jones (hamstring) missed Falcons practice Wednesday, a sign he’ll probably be forced to sit out again in Week 7.

That would likely mean another weekend of ground-and-pound for the Falcons, who overpowered Carolina’s hapless run defense in Week 6. Limited to just two catches for 57 yards in Jones’ absence last weekend, slot-man Harry Douglas won’t be worth gambling on for the second straight week.

Jones should be ready to return following the Falcons’ Week 8 bye.

Editor’s Note: Sick of your team already? Get a new one and win real money with SnapDraft!

NEWS OF THE DAY #4
Despite increasing doubt from other corners about Sam Bradford’s (high-ankle sprain) Week 7 status, the NFL’s top reporter Adam Schefter held firm on Wednesday that the Rams’ sophomore signal caller should be under center against the Cowboys this weekend.

Bradford will sit out his second straight practice this afternoon before hopefully turning in at least a limited session on Friday.

Almost always, what Schefter says goes, so if you’re counting on Bradford in a two-quarterback league or as a bye week fill-in, he’ll likely be at your service on Sunday. Just don’t expect him to build on a promising Week 6 performance playing on one leg.

NEWS OF THE DAY #5
According to his always effervescent agent Drew Rosenhaus, free agent Terrell Owens (ACL surgery) has been medically cleared to resume playing football.

It’s hard to believe since T.O. went under the knife less than seven months ago, but this is the same player who was able to return from a badly broken leg in just six weeks to play in the 2005 Super Bowl.

The real issue for Owens won’t be proving his health, but proving he won’t be a cancer. Considering he has been in five consecutive stops, the odds are low he’ll be able to convince anybody to take a chance on his 37-year-old ego.

Like Randy Moss before him, Owens’ attitude might force him out of the league before his body does.

NEWS OF THE DAY #6
Although Kyle Boller took the first-team reps at Raiders practice Wednesday, Carson Palmer is fully expected to get the start under center this weekend just five days after his shocking trade.

He’s worth a flier if you’re thin at quarterback, but coming off a 20-interception season and playing in a run-first offense, the odds are exceedingly low he’ll be anything other than a QB2 down the stretch.

INJURY QUICK SLANTS
Mike Wallace (hamstring) was absent from Steelers practice Wednesday. If he’s not at least limited this afternoon, his Week 7 status will be in grave doubt. … Greg Olsen sat out of practice Wednesday after being diagnosed with a case of turf toe. With turf toe being one of the more lingering injuries in all of sports, Olsen is looking very iffy for Sunday against the Redskins. … Antonio Gates (foot) returned to Chargers practice Wednesday, and “looked as good as he always does” according to Philip Rivers. He should be active for the first time since Week 2 this weekend. … His teammate Ryan Mathews (calf) was absent from the Bolts’ injury report, and will be a borderline RB1 against the Jets’ suddenly soft run defense. … Tarvaris Jackson (pectoral) was limited in Seahawks practice Wednesday. He could end up a game-time decision against the Browns. … Brandon Marshall was held out of Dolphins practice with a quad injury, but there has been no word that the ailment is major. Look for him to return to the practice field this afternoon.

 

[HacheMan]

Week 7 Rankings
The three most valuable fantasy players so far this season didn’t go early.

Fred Jackson was a RB3/4 afterthought in most leagues. Wes Welker dropped deep into WR2 territory coming off a down year. And Saints tight end Jimmy Graham was usually not one of the first six tight ends off the board.

Graham is quietly on pace for the most ridiculous tight end season of all time. The record at the position for yards in a season is 1,280 by Kellen Winslow. Graham is on pace for 1.648.

In some ways, Graham is a throwback to the days of John Mackey, when tight ends were counted on for big plays rather than moving the chains. In other ways, he feels like the future of the NFL.

Teams try to cover Graham with safeties, linebackers, and cornerbacks. He beats them all. New Orleans has so many weapons and alignments that defenses can’t seem to key on him enough to slow him down.

There was an argument back in August that Graham wasn’t worth the fantasy hype. It’s a reminder that sometimes the hype isn’t enough. The owners that took Graham “too early” got the single best value in the draft.


Week 7 Quarterbacks


<TABLE style="WIDTH: 100%"><TBODY><TR class=TableTopRed><TD>Rank</TD><TD>Player Name</TD><TD>Opponent</TD><TD>Notes</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>1</TD><TD>Aaron Rodgers</TD><TD>at MIN</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>2</TD><TD>Drew Brees</TD><TD>vs. IND</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>3</TD><TD>Tony Romo</TD><TD>vs. STL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>4</TD><TD>Matthew Stafford</TD><TD>vs. ATL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>5</TD><TD>Cam Newton</TD><TD>vs. WAS</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>6</TD><TD>Ben Roethlisberger</TD><TD>at ARZ</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>7</TD><TD>Philip Rivers</TD><TD>at NYJ</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>8</TD><TD>Tim Tebow</TD><TD>at MIA</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>9</TD><TD>Joe Flacco</TD><TD>at JAC</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>10</TD><TD>Matt Schaub</TD><TD>at TEN</TD><TD>Probable(chest)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>11</TD><TD>Josh Freeman</TD><TD>vs. CHI</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>12</TD><TD>Jay Cutler</TD><TD>at TB</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>13</TD><TD>Matt Ryan</TD><TD>at DET</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>14</TD><TD>Sam Bradford</TD><TD>at DAL</TD><TD>Questionable(ankle)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>15</TD><TD>Matt Hasselbeck</TD><TD>vs. HOU</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>16</TD><TD>Matt Cassel</TD><TD>at OAK</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>17</TD><TD>Kevin Kolb</TD><TD>vs. PIT</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>18</TD><TD>Curtis Painter</TD><TD>at NO</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>19</TD><TD>John Beck</TD><TD>at CAR</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>20</TD><TD>Mark Sanchez</TD><TD>vs. SD</TD><TD>Probable(-)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>21</TD><TD>Carson Palmer</TD><TD>vs. KC</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>22</TD><TD>Colt McCoy</TD><TD>vs. SEA</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>23</TD><TD>Matt Moore</TD><TD>vs. DEN</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>24</TD><TD>Christian Ponder</TD><TD>vs. GB</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>25</TD><TD>Tarvaris Jackson</TD><TD>at CLE</TD><TD>Questionable(pectorals)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>26</TD><TD>Charlie Whitehurst</TD><TD>at CLE</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>27</TD><TD>Kyle Boller</TD><TD>vs. KC</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>28</TD><TD>Blaine Gabbert</TD><TD>vs. BAL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

QB Notes: I watched Tim Tebow’s half against the Chargers and it wasn’t pretty. He started with back-to-back-to-back three and outs typified by ugly throws. He locks into a primary receiver and can’t seem to move off him. He’s not composed in the pocket at all. And I’d still start him this week.

Denver’s two scoring drives came on short fields, but Tebow’s running ability makes him such a safe fantasy option. All he needs to do is hit a couple of well-designed screens, like he did to Knowshon Moreno and San Diego. His rushing will do the rest. I have my doubts Tebow will be a quality NFL quarterback, but he’s already a top-ten fantasy option. Don’t expect the passing yards he had last year, but expect him to score plenty against Miami.

Philip Rivers has had too much Patrick Crayton, Randy McMichael, and Kory Sperry in his life this year. Hopefully that changes this week with Antonio Gates back and his starting wideouts truly healthy. Rivers has earned the right to start every week, even against the Jets. … Ryan Fitzpatrick has been compared to a point guard this year as a distributor. Drew Brees is a similar style player, except he has more weapons and arm strength. … Cam Newton has made loose throws from day one. They are starting to get caught more now, so people are noticing. It doesn’t make a difference as long as he keeps running. And there are still a few wow throws after moving in the pocket each game. Carolina has run more options plays lately, which almost seem unnecessary. This is Newton’s toughest test yet, but he’s earned every-week starter status.

It didn’t quite show up in the box score, but Sam Bradford had his best game of the season against Green Bay. He was hurt by drops and penalties by his teammates. He made good decisions and on target throws. With Mark Clayton back and Brandon Lloyd in town, things could improve quite a bit from here. … The Rams no longer have a dangerous pass rush. This should be a bounce back Tony Romo week.

I’m really down on Matt Ryan until proven otherwise. His accuracy is off and the Falcons are getting less aggressive with him as a result. Losing Julio Jones potentially for another week hurts too. … I expect Carson Palmer to put up similar numbers to what Jason Campbell did in Oakland. Palmer hasn’t been any better as a starter over the last three years.


<!--RW-->Week 7 Running Backs
<TABLE style="WIDTH: 100%"><TBODY><TR class=TableTopRed><TD>Rank</TD><TD>Player Name</TD><TD>Opponent</TD><TD>Notes</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>1</TD><TD>Darren McFadden</TD><TD>vs. KC</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>2</TD><TD>Arian Foster</TD><TD>at TEN</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>3</TD><TD>Ray Rice</TD><TD>at JAC</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>4</TD><TD>Adrian Peterson</TD><TD>vs. GB</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>5</TD><TD>Matt Forte</TD><TD>at TB</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>6</TD><TD>Rashard Mendenhall</TD><TD>at ARZ</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>7</TD><TD>Chris Johnson</TD><TD>vs. HOU</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>8</TD><TD>Ryan Mathews</TD><TD>at NYJ</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>9</TD><TD>Michael Turner</TD><TD>at DET</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>10</TD><TD>Beanie Wells</TD><TD>vs. PIT</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>11</TD><TD>Maurice Jones-Drew</TD><TD>vs. BAL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>12</TD><TD>Steven Jackson</TD><TD>at DAL</TD><TD>Probable(quadriceps)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>13</TD><TD>Darren Sproles</TD><TD>vs. IND</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>14</TD><TD>Daniel Thomas</TD><TD>vs. DEN</TD><TD>Probable(hamstring)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>15</TD><TD>Mark Ingram</TD><TD>vs. IND</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>16</TD><TD>DeMarco Murray</TD><TD>vs. STL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>17</TD><TD>Willis McGahee</TD><TD>at MIA</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>18</TD><TD>Ryan Torain</TD><TD>at CAR</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>19</TD><TD>Earnest Graham</TD><TD>vs. CHI</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>20</TD><TD>Shonn Greene</TD><TD>vs. SD</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>21</TD><TD>Montario Hardesty</TD><TD>vs. SEA</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>22</TD><TD>DeAngelo Williams</TD><TD>vs. WAS</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>23</TD><TD>Mike Tolbert</TD><TD>at NYJ</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>24</TD><TD>James Starks</TD><TD>at MIN</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>25</TD><TD>Jackie Battle</TD><TD>at OAK</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>26</TD><TD>Jonathan Stewart</TD><TD>vs. WAS</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>27</TD><TD>Ryan Grant</TD><TD>at MIN</TD><TD>Probable(middle body)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>28</TD><TD>Marshawn Lynch</TD><TD>at CLE</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>29</TD><TD>Donald Brown</TD><TD>at NO</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>30</TD><TD>Pierre Thomas</TD><TD>vs. IND</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>31</TD><TD>Delone Carter</TD><TD>at NO</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>32</TD><TD>Michael Bush</TD><TD>vs. KC</TD><TD>Probable(ankle)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>33</TD><TD>Knowshon Moreno</TD><TD>at MIA</TD><TD>Probable(hamstring)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>34</TD><TD>Reggie Bush</TD><TD>vs. DEN</TD><TD>Questionable(groin)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>35</TD><TD>Maurice Morris</TD><TD>vs. ATL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>36</TD><TD>Ben Tate</TD><TD>at TEN</TD><TD>Probable(groin)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>37</TD><TD>Tashard Choice</TD><TD>vs. STL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>38</TD><TD>Isaac Redman</TD><TD>at ARZ</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>39</TD><TD>Dexter McCluster</TD><TD>at OAK</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>40</TD><TD>Peyton Hillis</TD><TD>vs. SEA</TD><TD>Questionable(hamstring)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>41</TD><TD>Thomas Jones</TD><TD>at OAK</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>42</TD><TD>LaDainian Tomlinson</TD><TD>vs. SD</TD><TD>Probable(calf)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>43</TD><TD>Ricky Williams</TD><TD>at JAC</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>44</TD><TD>Roy Helu</TD><TD>at CAR</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>45</TD><TD>Keiland Williams</TD><TD>vs. ATL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>46</TD><TD>Marion Barber</TD><TD>at TB</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>47</TD><TD>Jacquizz Rodgers</TD><TD>at DET</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>48</TD><TD>Tim Hightower</TD><TD>at CAR</TD><TD>Questionable(shoulder)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>49</TD><TD>Kregg Lumpkin</TD><TD>vs. CHI</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>50</TD><TD>Jason Snelling</TD><TD>at DET</TD><TD>Probable(concussion)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>51</TD><TD>Deji Karim</TD><TD>vs. BAL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

RB Notes: The Broncos rush defense can easily be pushed around. It should be a solid day for Daniel Thomas. I’ve also been surprised how San Diego’s defense isn’t holding up against halfway decent ground games. This is a fine matchup for Shone Greene. … Ryan Mathews has quickly turned me into a believer. He’s a slick runner, able to avoid the big hit. His lateral movement sticks out and allows him to make people miss on inside runs and out. He’d rather get to the outside and that should be doable against an overrated Jets rush defense. San Diego’s offensive line is strong. They opened up holes big enough two weeks ago that Jacob Hester looked like a threat.

Denver’s running game seemed to be improving before their bye week. Expect Willis McGahee to remain the lead guy in a fine matchup against Miami. … Darren Sproles continues to have the most consistent role on the Saints. He’s been a lot of fun to watch, ducking under defenders and running in short-yardage more than you think. Sproles is a young Kevin Faulk on crack; great at running out of passing situations. This could be a Mark Ingram kind of week, though. New Orleans could build a big lead and run a power game against a small Colts front.

Defenses have to account for Cam Newton the runner, which is helping DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart in the running game. All of the option stuff especially has helped uncork some big plays. … It’s time to start considering the Cowboys defense a tough matchup. That doesn’t bode well for Steven Jackson. S-Jax just can’t get to the outside when he needs to anymore. … DeMarco Murray is a solid RB2 this week because of the matchup. He goes for the big play too much and won’t usually rank so high, but it doesn’t beat a home game against the Rams.

Ryan Torain needs a big game and has the right matchup. Unfortuantely, the Redskins are down two offensive lineman. If Torain doesn’t start the game hot, expect to see more of Roy Helu and Tim Hightower if he’s healthy. This will be a fluid situation all year. I can’t imagine ever truly trusting Torain.
<!--RW-->Week 7 Wide Receivers


<TABLE style="WIDTH: 100%"><TBODY><TR class=TableTopRed><TD>Rank</TD><TD>Player Name</TD><TD>Opponent</TD><TD>Notes</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>1</TD><TD>Calvin Johnson</TD><TD>vs. ATL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>2</TD><TD>Mike Wallace</TD><TD>at ARZ</TD><TD>Probable(hamstring)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>3</TD><TD>Greg Jennings</TD><TD>at MIN</TD><TD>Probable(groin)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>4</TD><TD>Steve Smith</TD><TD>vs. WAS</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>5</TD><TD>Miles Austin</TD><TD>vs. STL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>6</TD><TD>Larry Fitzgerald</TD><TD>vs. PIT</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>7</TD><TD>Roddy White</TD><TD>at DET</TD><TD>Probable(knee)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>8</TD><TD>Dez Bryant</TD><TD>vs. STL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>9</TD><TD>Dwayne Bowe</TD><TD>at OAK</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>10</TD><TD>Brandon Marshall</TD><TD>vs. DEN</TD><TD>Questionable(quadriceps)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>11</TD><TD>Marques Colston</TD><TD>vs. IND</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>12</TD><TD>Vincent Jackson</TD><TD>at NYJ</TD><TD>Probable(hamstring)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>13</TD><TD>Anquan Boldin</TD><TD>at JAC</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>14</TD><TD>Santana Moss</TD><TD>at CAR</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>15</TD><TD>Sidney Rice</TD><TD>at CLE</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>16</TD><TD>Jordy Nelson</TD><TD>at MIN</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>17</TD><TD>Santonio Holmes</TD><TD>vs. SD</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>18</TD><TD>Pierre Garcon</TD><TD>at NO</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>19</TD><TD>Reggie Wayne</TD><TD>at NO</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>20</TD><TD>Brandon Lloyd</TD><TD>at DAL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>21</TD><TD>Percy Harvin</TD><TD>vs. GB</TD><TD>Questionable(ribs)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>22</TD><TD>Mike Williams</TD><TD>vs. CHI</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>23</TD><TD>Greg Little</TD><TD>vs. SEA</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>24</TD><TD>Nate Washington</TD><TD>vs. HOU</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>25</TD><TD>Kevin Walter</TD><TD>at TEN</TD><TD>Probable(flu)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>26</TD><TD>Hines Ward</TD><TD>at ARZ</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>27</TD><TD>Mike Thomas</TD><TD>vs. BAL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>28</TD><TD>Torrey Smith</TD><TD>at JAC</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>29</TD><TD>Lance Moore</TD><TD>vs. IND</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>30</TD><TD>Eric Decker</TD><TD>at MIA</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>31</TD><TD>James Jones</TD><TD>at MIN</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>32</TD><TD>Malcom Floyd</TD><TD>at NYJ</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>33</TD><TD>Darrius Heyward-Bey</TD><TD>vs. KC</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>34</TD><TD>Danario Alexander</TD><TD>at DAL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>35</TD><TD>Doug Baldwin</TD><TD>at CLE</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>36</TD><TD>Steve Breaston</TD><TD>at OAK</TD><TD>Probable(hamstring)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>37</TD><TD>Jacoby Jones</TD><TD>at TEN</TD><TD>Probable(knee)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>38</TD><TD>Nate Burleson</TD><TD>vs. ATL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>39</TD><TD>Plaxico Burress</TD><TD>vs. SD</TD><TD>Probable(elbow)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>40</TD><TD>Robert Meachem</TD><TD>vs. IND</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>41</TD><TD>Davone Bess</TD><TD>vs. DEN</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>42</TD><TD>Arrelious Benn</TD><TD>vs. CHI</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>43</TD><TD>Denarius Moore</TD><TD>vs. KC</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>44</TD><TD>Early Doucet</TD><TD>vs. PIT</TD><TD>Probable(hamstring)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>45</TD><TD>Johnny Knox</TD><TD>at TB</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>46</TD><TD>Antonio Brown</TD><TD>at ARZ</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>47</TD><TD>Jacoby Ford</TD><TD>vs. KC</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>48</TD><TD>Roy Williams</TD><TD>at TB</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>49</TD><TD>Greg Salas</TD><TD>at DAL</TD><TD>Probable(ribs)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>50</TD><TD>Brian Hartline</TD><TD>vs. DEN</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>51</TD><TD>Jabar Gaffney</TD><TD>at CAR</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>52</TD><TD>Damian Williams</TD><TD>vs. HOU</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>53</TD><TD>Mohamed Massaquoi</TD><TD>vs. SEA</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>54</TD><TD>Dane Sanzenbacher</TD><TD>at TB</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>55</TD><TD>Michael Jenkins</TD><TD>vs. GB</TD><TD>Probable(-)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>56</TD><TD>Austin Collie</TD><TD>at NO</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>57</TD><TD>Harry Douglas</TD><TD>at DET</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>58</TD><TD>Demaryius Thomas</TD><TD>at MIA</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>59</TD><TD>Eddie Royal</TD><TD>at MIA</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>60</TD><TD>Titus Young</TD><TD>vs. ATL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>61</TD><TD>Brandon LaFell</TD><TD>vs. WAS</TD><TD>-</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

WR Notes: Malcom Floyd didn’t do a great job stepping up when his teammates weren’t at 100% for much of the first five games. There’s no reason to trust him now. … Champ Bailey looked like his old self before the bye week. That’s more bad news for Brandon Marshall owners that had to watch him run out of bounds for no reason on Monday night. … Marques Colston’s health hurts Robert Meachem. Drew Brees doesn’t look to the outside that much. I wouldn’t give up on Lance Moore yet. He’s been close to some big plays and had some bad breaks this year.

If Dez Bryant doesn’t catch any second half passes against Justin King, Al Harris, and company then he never will. (And he will. Starting this week.) … It’s criminal that the Falcons don’t throw deep to Roddy White anymore. I’d buy low on him long term. … Joe Haden’s availability will affect Sidney Rice’s value this week. At this stage, it looks like Haden will play. … I would take Brandon Lloyd in St. Louis over Brandon Lloyd with Tim Tebow in Denver. He should give solid WR2 value.

There are legitimate fears that Percy Harvin’s value will be sunk by Christian Ponder. The rookie didn’t look remotely ready in August. There were some decent moments by Ponder in garbage time last week. … Until everyone is healthy and fully back, I’d consider Eric Decker the top wideout in Denver. … You could do worse than Steve Breason if you have a bye week problem this week. Same goes for Jacoby Jones. … Arrelious Benn should be owned at this point. It’s like he never had knee surgery.



<!--RW-->Week 7 Tight Ends


<TABLE style="WIDTH: 100%"><TBODY><TR class=TableTopRed><TD>Rank</TD><TD>Player Name</TD><TD>Opponent</TD><TD>Notes</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>1</TD><TD>Jimmy Graham</TD><TD>vs. IND</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>2</TD><TD>Jason Witten</TD><TD>vs. STL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>3</TD><TD>Jermichael Finley</TD><TD>at MIN</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>4</TD><TD>Antonio Gates</TD><TD>at NYJ</TD><TD>Questionable(foot)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>5</TD><TD>Owen Daniels</TD><TD>at TEN</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>6</TD><TD>Fred Davis</TD><TD>at CAR</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>7</TD><TD>Brandon Pettigrew</TD><TD>vs. ATL</TD><TD>Probable(shoulder)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>8</TD><TD>Kellen Winslow</TD><TD>vs. CHI</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>9</TD><TD>Tony Gonzalez</TD><TD>at DET</TD><TD>Probable(elbow)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>10</TD><TD>Dustin Keller</TD><TD>vs. SD</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>11</TD><TD>Dallas Clark</TD><TD>at NO</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>12</TD><TD>Greg Olsen</TD><TD>vs. WAS</TD><TD>Questionable(toe)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>13</TD><TD>Ed Dickson</TD><TD>at JAC</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>14</TD><TD>Heath Miller</TD><TD>at ARZ</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>15</TD><TD>Jared Cook</TD><TD>vs. HOU</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>16</TD><TD>Ben Watson</TD><TD>vs. SEA</TD><TD>Probable(hip)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>17</TD><TD>Kevin Boss</TD><TD>vs. KC</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>18</TD><TD>Visanthe Shiancoe</TD><TD>vs. GB</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>19</TD><TD>Marcedes Lewis</TD><TD>vs. BAL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>20</TD><TD>Evan Moore</TD><TD>vs. SEA</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>21</TD><TD>Todd Heap</TD><TD>vs. PIT</TD><TD>Questionable(hamstring)</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>22</TD><TD>Zach Miller</TD><TD>at CLE</TD><TD>Probable(concussion)</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
TE Notes: Jimmy Graham had a reputation as a leaper from his days as a basketball player. No one expected him to be so tough. Graham is ridiculously hard to take down after he makes the catch and his effort on each play is incredible. … Antonio Gates is a must-start if he plays. Don’t get too cute worrying about his injury or the Jets. … I didn’t trust Jared Cook to start the season and the same holds true now. He just isn’t on the field enough. … Dallas Clark may benefit more than anyone from Curtis Painter’s improvement. If Clark can just stop dropping passes, he could slowly rise the ranks.


Week 7 Team Defense


<TABLE style="WIDTH: 100%"><TBODY><TR class=TableTopRed><TD>Rank</TD><TD>Player Name</TD><TD>Opponent</TD><TD>Notes</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>1</TD><TD>Ravens Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>at JAC</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>2</TD><TD>Steelers Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>at ARZ</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>3</TD><TD>Cowboys Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>vs. STL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>4</TD><TD>Packers Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>at MIN</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>5</TD><TD>Saints Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>vs. IND</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>6</TD><TD>Raiders Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>vs. KC</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>7</TD><TD>Chargers Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>at NYJ</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>8</TD><TD>Buccaneers Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>vs. CHI</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>9</TD><TD>Bears Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>at TB</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>10</TD><TD>Jets Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>vs. SD</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>11</TD><TD>Redskins Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>at CAR</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>12</TD><TD>Dolphins Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>vs. DEN</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>13</TD><TD>Chiefs Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>at OAK</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>14</TD><TD>Lions Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>vs. ATL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>15</TD><TD>Titans Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>vs. HOU</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>16</TD><TD>Texans Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>at TEN</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>17</TD><TD>Seahawks Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>at CLE</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>18</TD><TD>Falcons Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>at DET</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>19</TD><TD>Broncos Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>at MIA</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>20</TD><TD>Panthers Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>vs. WAS</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>21</TD><TD>Browns Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>vs. SEA</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>22</TD><TD>Jaguars Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>vs. BAL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>23</TD><TD>Cardinals Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>vs. PIT</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>24</TD><TD>Colts Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>at NO</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>25</TD><TD>Rams Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>at DAL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>26</TD><TD>Vikings Def/Spec Team</TD><TD>vs. GB</TD><TD>-</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

Week 7 Kickers


<TABLE style="WIDTH: 100%"><TBODY><TR class=TableTopRed><TD>Rank</TD><TD>Player Name</TD><TD>Opponent</TD><TD>Notes</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>1</TD><TD>Mason Crosby</TD><TD>at MIN</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>2</TD><TD>John Kasay</TD><TD>vs. IND</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>3</TD><TD>Sebastian Janikowski</TD><TD>vs. KC</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>4</TD><TD>Jason Hanson</TD><TD>vs. ATL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>5</TD><TD>Matt Bryant</TD><TD>at DET</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>6</TD><TD>Dan Bailey</TD><TD>vs. STL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>7</TD><TD>Billy Cundiff</TD><TD>at JAC</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>8</TD><TD>Nick Novak</TD><TD>at NYJ</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>9</TD><TD>Robbie Gould</TD><TD>at TB</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>10</TD><TD>Neil Rackers</TD><TD>at TEN</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>11</TD><TD>Josh Brown</TD><TD>at DAL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>12</TD><TD>Matt Prater</TD><TD>at MIA</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>13</TD><TD>Rob Bironas</TD><TD>vs. HOU</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>14</TD><TD>Dan Carpenter</TD><TD>vs. DEN</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>15</TD><TD>Nick Folk</TD><TD>vs. SD</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>16</TD><TD>Shaun Suisham</TD><TD>at ARZ</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>17</TD><TD>Olindo Mare</TD><TD>vs. WAS</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>18</TD><TD>Connor Barth</TD><TD>vs. CHI</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>19</TD><TD>Steven Hauschka</TD><TD>at CLE</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>20</TD><TD>Phil Dawson</TD><TD>vs. SEA</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>21</TD><TD>Adam Vinatieri</TD><TD>at NO</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>22</TD><TD>Graham Gano</TD><TD>at CAR</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>23</TD><TD>Jay Feely</TD><TD>vs. PIT</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>24</TD><TD>Ryan Succop</TD><TD>at OAK</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW2><TD>25</TD><TD>Ryan Longwell</TD><TD>vs. GB</TD><TD>-</TD></TR><TR class=TABLEALTROW1><TD>26</TD><TD>Josh Scobee</TD><TD>vs. BAL</TD><TD>-</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

[HacheMan]

What's Best for Best?

Before Jahvid Best was a player at a crossroads for the Detroit Lions, he was a dynamic, if undersized, running back for the University of California.

Known as one of the FBS’ most explosive players, Best’s college career was humming along until the ninth game of his junior season. Averaging a scintillating 6.35 yards on 132 carries (after averaging an eye-popping 8.1 yards on 194 carries the year prior) entering Cal’s battle with Oregon State, Best did what he had done so often during his first two and a half seasons for the Golden Bears: make an amazing play to find the end zone.

Only on this score, the 5-foot-10 (on stilts) runner was flung nearly 10 feet into the air before landing on his neck. As his teammates began to celebrate the awe-inspiring score, they quickly realized something was wrong: Best wasn’t moving.

As it turned out, it would be the final play of Best’s college career. He was probably lucky to escape with “only” a severe concussion. As you can see, it’s hard to believe he didn’t break his neck.

But an often forgotten aspect of the injury was that it was Best’s second concussion in two weeks. He got healthy, of course, but the back-to-back brain injuries helped to vividly illustrate an obvious point: at 5-foot-10 and less than 200 pounds, Best was small for an NFL running back.

Nevertheless, despite his size and new-found label of “injury prone,” Best was still able to sneak into the first round of the 2010 draft, going to the Lions at No. 30 overall.

As a rookie, he did prove injury prone, picking up a case of turf toe in September that would linger for the entire season. He was able to appear in all 16 games, however, and most importantly avoided a third concussion.

This raised hopes for his 2011. If the young man could stay on the field through injury as an NFL rookie, maybe he could do it again as a sophomore, only more effectively.

Then the third concussion came.

Best was knocked out of Detroit’s second preseason game before returning for its fourth. He was mostly what the Lions hoped he could be through their first five regular season games, averaging 4.90 yards per carry while serving as a dangerous weapon in the passing game.

That brings us to where we are today, concussion number four. Now comes the uncertainty. While it appears rumors that Best would be shut down for the season were unfounded, whether or not he’s cut out for life as an NFL running back is very much up in the air. How much trauma can one brain take, let alone in three years?

The Lions acknowledged Best wasn’t cut out for life as an every-down back when they drafted Mikel Leshoure, but were forced to give the experiment another try when Leshoure tore his Achilles’ tendon in training camp.

Now they’re down to journeyman Maurice Morris and Keiland Williams in the backfield. Morris will get the start this Sunday, but neither is capable of carrying a running game. Morris’ ceiling is that of an RB3/flex, while Williams’ best hope for fantasy value is vulturing goal-line carries. If you’re a Best owner stuck in limbo, your best bet is adding Morris and monitoring the waiver wire.

As for Best, he’s worth holding onto. He will play again this season — it’s just unclear if he should.

FANTASY GAME OF THE WEEK: Washington at Carolina
Yes, you read that correctly. For starters, any game involving Cam Newton is now one that figures to feature its fair share of explosive plays. But the real draw will be the position battles in Washington. Will Ryan Torain place a stranglehold on the Redskins’ feature back duties by carving up Carolina’s pathetic run defense? Will John Beck quickly erase any and all memories of Rex Grossman? The Redskins are a team sorely in need of answers, and we should finally get some this weekend.

BUMMER BYE OF THE WEEK: New England.
There’s simply never a good time for the Patriots and their cavalcade of fantasy studs to be on vacation. If you’ve been winning matchups on the back of Tom Brady and his elite stable of pass catchers, the best you can hope for this weekend is a little bit of good luck and a whole lot of bad luck for your opponent.

WELL TIMED BYE OF THE WEEK: Buffalo
As the season has dragged on, Buffalo’s passing attack has grown stagnant. Ryan Fitzpatrick has struggled to hit throws downfield while averaging just 212 yards in his past three games. The bye gives him a chance to recalibrate while also giving Donald Jones (high-ankle sprain) a stress free week of recovery.

FOUR PICKS FOR SUNDAY
Big game: San Diego 31, New York Jets 10. Jets HC Rex Ryan did something for the Chargers during the week that they can rarely do themselves: get them motivated. Angered by Ryan’s backhanded remarks about HC Norv Turner and emboldened by an enormous talent gap on offense, the Bolts will whip a team playing on short rest.

Big game II: Atlanta 17, Detroit 14. Few teams showed more than the Falcons last weekend. At a time when the Dirty Birds seemed to be losing their identity, they rediscovered their running game while bullying a previously hot Cam Newton. Look for them to further humble a Lions team still learning how to deal with expectations.

Upset of the week: Denver 24, Miami 14. The Dolphins proved in Monday’s depressing loss to the Jets that they’re dead in the water. With the Broncos energized by Tim Tebow’s arrival in the starting lineup, they’ll win an ugly game in convincing fashion.

The I really don’t have a clue but will pretend I do game: Tampa Bay 24, Chicago 20. Both teams continue to be maddeningly hard to peg while staging another clunker of a game for our friends across the pond.

INJURY QUICK SLANTS
Vincent Jackson (hamstring) fully participated in Chargers practice Thursday. He should be near full health for Sunday’s showdown with Darrelle Revis. … Teammate Antonio Gates (foot) will not be, however. Wait another week before plugging him back into your starting lineup. … Sam Bradford (high ankle sprain) will be a game-time decision against the Cowboys. You need to look elsewhere for a bye week fill-in at quarterback. … Joseph Addai (hamstring) missed another practice Thursday. Look for another weekend of Donald Brown and Delone Carter from the Colts. … Mike Wallace (hamstring) returned to Steelers practice Thursday. He will be active for Week 7. … Demaryius Thomas (hand) and Eddie Royal (groin) have resumed practicing in full. Both are worth fliers if you’re thin at receiver in a deeper league. … Julio Jones (hamstring) missed another practice Thursday, and cannot be counted on for Sunday. … As expected, both Brandon Marshall (quad) and Reggie Bush (groin) returned to full practice Thursday.

 

[HacheMan]

Matchups: Just Start HIM

1:00PM ET Games

Denver @ Miami

In Tim Tebow's four career opportunities at meaningful playing time, the Broncos' rushing attack has 107 carries for 465 yards (4.35 YPC) and five touchdowns. Tebow has thrown 91 passes netting 730 yards (8.02 YPA) and five more scores. The yards-per-attempt average would rank eighth in the NFL today. These numbers compare favorably to Kyle Orton's last four appearances (4.21 YPC with just one touchdown for the running game, 6.19 YPA). Whereas Tom Brady has averaged 0.44 fantasy points per snap this year, Tebow averages 0.45 per play in his 12 career appearances. It won't always look pretty, but Tebow moves the chains, sets up his team to score, and absolutely lights up box scores. In this game, Tebow will have the entirety of Sun Life Stadium behind him in his return to Florida. There are only five QBs I'd play over Tebow in Week 7: Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton, Drew Brees, Matthew Stafford, and Tony Romo. ... The Broncos haven't exactly bent over backwards to position Tebow for success by trading away top receiver Brandon Lloyd, but Eric Decker owners ought to be thrilled. Decker was already averaging nine targets per start in an offense that ranked 26th in passing yards per game, and 25th in pass attempts. Decker is now Denver's No. 1 passing-game option. Expect every-week WR3 value the rest of the way.

Willis McGahee has the Broncos' backfield all to himself with Knowshon Moreno yet to exceed three touches in any game since Week 1. Just be wary of inevitable statistical regression. While McGahee deserves credit for his 7.35 YPC average in two games prior to the Week 6 bye, Tebow will vulture short-yardage scores as well as open-field carries on designed quarterback runs. The Dolphins' rush defense showed it's back in business by holding Jets backs to a combined 99 scoreless yards on 28 carries (3.53 average) last Monday night. McGahee should get the ball 18-20 times, but his recent per-play production is unsustainable, his scoring chances are sure to decline, and defenses will crowd the line of scrimmage to guard against both his and Tebow's run threat, daring the offense to beat them with the pass. In fantasy, McGahee will come crashing back to earth. ... Moreno is a clear backup and McGahee handcuff only. ... With Decker inheriting the lead role in Denver's pass-catching corps, Eddie Royal is left to "compete" for targets and snaps with Demaryius Thomas and Matt Willis. Thomas easily has the most talent of the group and is the only secondary wideout worth a fantasy flier. Just don't expect an immediate starting job, and be skeptical about Thomas' effectiveness eight months removed from an Achilles' tear.

It makes you wonder what the Dolphins ever saw in Matt Moore. After an atrocious performance in last Monday's loss to the Jets, Moore is now 112-of-203 passing (55.2%) for 1,228 yards (6.05 YPA), five touchdowns, and 13 interceptions with 17 sacks taken in his last eight appearances. Sage Rosenfels will be playing soon. ... On the bright side in fantasy is the fact that Moore got the ball to Brandon Marshall six times for 109 yards. Moore is absolutely force feeding the Fins' No. 1 receiver. Since replacing Chad Henne in the first quarter of Week 4, Moore's target distribution: Marshall 22, Brian Hartline 10, Davone Bess 7, Anthony Fasano 5. I'd say to be wary of Marshall because of Champ Bailey's likely "shadow" coverage, but he repeatedly beat Darrelle Revis one-on-one last week. Marshall is playing at an extremely high level, and for better or worse Moore isn't afraid to throw to him. According to Pro Football Focus, Moore targeted Revis a season-high 14 times last week. ... The theory that Moore's alleged check-down tendencies would rejuvenate Bess hasn't come to fruition, and the slot receiver's fantasy value is officially in the gutter as a part-time player behind Hartline. Bess has only played 60-of-122 snaps (49.2%) in the last two games.

Daniel Thomas has 61 touches for 298 yards (4.89 average) in his last three games, while Reggie Bush has 38 for 168 (4.42). The averages are similar, but the touch distribution is obviously in Thomas' favor. Moore is playing so poorly that the Fins have no choice but to approach this game with a decidedly run-first mindset. While Thomas struggled in last week's loss to the Jets, he's likely to get the rock 20 or more times against Denver's No. 23 run defense. I'd want Thomas in my lineup this week. ... Bush broke off a 36-yard run in Week 6, but remains a change-of-pace back only. His receptions are in decline because the Fins haven't figured out how to use him correctly.

Score Prediction: Broncos 31, Dolphins 20

San Diego @ NY Jets

A suddenly run-soft Jets defense enters this game on a short week after Monday night's win, while San Diego's offense is fresh off a bye. Since Week 1, tailbacks have gutted New York for five touchdowns and 686 yards on 148 carries (4.64 YPC). They're going to have problems with Ryan Mathews. A top-seven back in fantasy points per game, Mathews is averaging 135 total yards a week while leapfrogging Mike Tolbert for the feature back role. Whereas Tolbert managed 20 combined touches in Weeks 3-5, Mathews piled up 71. Off the injury report after a full practice week, Mathews is easily a top-ten running back play. ... Tolbert has settled in as San Diego's change-of-pace and goal-line runner, though he's reached pay dirt just once since the opener. He's a weak flex. ... The Jets haven't faced dangerous tight ends aside from Rob Gronkowski and Jason Witten, but are still surrendering five catches for nearly 60 yards per game to the position. New York's defensive strength is its press-man outside cornerback play, and 5-foot-8, 188-pound free safety Jim Leonhard is an obvious matchup liability against big, physical pass catchers. Antonio Gates is expected to play in this game, even if it's primarily in red-zone packages. He'll remain the best bet for a receiving touchdown on San Diego's roster. Don't hesitate to start him.

The Chargers and Jets last squared off on January 17, 2010 in the second round of the playoffs. New York didn't assign Darrelle Revis to Vincent Jackson in the game, and V-Jax went off for 111 yards on seven receptions, avoiding Revis' coverage for each and every catch. Brandon Marshall had success against Revis on Monday night, and the buzz in New York is that Revis will move around the formation again, seeing a balanced amount of action on Jackson, Gates, and Malcom Floyd. Lock in V-Jax as a rock-solid WR2. In terms of targets, he's sure to benefit in the open field if Gates only plays when the Chargers move inside the 20. ... In the aforementioned playoff game, Gates successfully complemented Jackson with eight catches for 93 yards, but Malcom Floyd was left with 30 scoreless yards on three grabs. With Gates and Jackson back, Floyd's fantasy appeal returns to the toilet. He'll be the No. 3 or 4 passing-game option (if you include running backs) as San Diego takes on a top-five pass defense. It's not a good situation. ... Philip Rivers has started slow because his entire receiver corps has been affected by injuries. Two weeks ago, Rivers would've been a recommended "sit" in this matchup. He's now more of a low-end QB1.

Including the 2009 playoffs, Shonn Greene averaged 5.21 yards per carry during his rookie year. He's at 3.88 in 21 regular season games since, and 3.38 this year. (Maybe Greene finds a second gear in postseasons? He averages 5.07 yards per rush in six career playoff games.) Regardless, Greene essentially hit rock bottom last week with a scoreless, 21-carry, 74-yard game against Miami that confirmed he's capable of only getting what's blocked, and sometimes not even that. Greene needs heavy volume for worthwhile production. At least this is a fairly favorable matchup on paper. The Jets' defense should limit San Diego's scoring to keep the game close and the rushing game alive, and the Chargers' defense is surrendering 4.62 yards per carry. ... Passing-game efficiency has picked up since the Jets reverted to a Ground & Pound offense two weeks ago, although Mark Sanchez has averaged just 25.5 attempts and 184 yards versus the Dolphins and Patriots' bottom-four pass defenses. San Diego ranks second in the league against the pass.

The philosophical shift on offense has affected Dustin Keller more than any Jets pass catcher. Whereas Keller averaged eight targets and 66 yards per game in Weeks 1-4, he's down to 3 1/2 targets for 29 yards in the last two. Keller has maintained a sturdy 83.8% snap rate, but he's now "competing" for possession route targets with Plaxico Burress, new slot man Jeremy Kerley, and passing-down specialist LaDainian Tomlinson in a decidedly run-heavy offense. It's a situation to avoid. ... Plax hasn't scored in the past three weeks and is averaging 29.2 yards in the last five. Ranked 49th among fantasy receivers, he's a WR5. ... Santonio Holmes, on the other hand, has capitalized on Ground & Pound as a big-play artist who benefits from more defenders in the box, distracting loaded pass coverage. Lined up in the slot, Holmes whipped the Patriots' secondary for a 21-yard touchdown on an out route in Week 5. Last Monday night, Holmes made four Dolphins defenders miss en route to a 38-yard score. Holmes is an every-week WR3 in fantasy football.

Score Prediction: Chargers 24, Jets 17

Washington @ Carolina

With a quarterback making his first start in four years and his left tackle out indefinitely due to a high ankle sprain, Redskins coach Mike Shanahan has no choice but to enlist an extremely run-oriented Week 7 game plan. It can't hurt, of course, that Carolina ranks 31st against the run while allowing league highs in rushing scores (8), 20-yard runs (10), and 40-yard runs (3). While fantasy owners have every right to be disappointed in Ryan Torain's Week 6 effort (10-22), they have only Rex Grossman to blame for forcing Shanahan to abandon the run after an early two-TD deficit. The Skins finished with just 13 designed run plays. Torain remains the favorite for carries in D.C., and John Beck will be much more game manager to Grossman's pseudo-gunslinger. In what will be a closer game from the outset, Torain should flirt with 20-22 touches as a high-upside RB2. ... Tim Hightower didn't play a Week 6 snap and is expected to remain on the backburner until further notice. He didn't get it done with a 3.48 YPC average in the first month. ... The Redskins' back to watch in terms of long-range potential is rookie Roy Helu. Initially, Helu didn't receive feature back consideration because he struggled in training camp passing-game drills, but he played on all third downs against Philadelphia. Even if the touches aren't quite there yet, it's a sign that Helu's development as an NFL running back is going smoothly. His time is likely coming.

After Beck replaced Grossman in Week 6, he targeted Fred Davis a team-high four times. It's a small sample, of course, but Davis spent much of camp working with Beck, who rotated with the first- and second-team offenses throughout August. Beck and Davis were often on the field together in preseason games. The two should have a formidable rapport, and Chris Cooley's indefinite absence due to a shattered finger and possible further knee surgery will keep Davis in the mix as a TE1. ... Washington's likely run-heavy approach is a concern for Santana Moss, but shouldn't push him off the WR3 ledge. He's been steady with at least 70 yards and/or a touchdown in 4-of-5 games. Moss is still the QB's first read on the majority of passing plays. ... Jabar Gaffney ranks just 44th among receivers in fantasy scoring, and is droppable in 12-team leagues with the move to Beck. He's the clear-cut No. 3 option in a passing game that doesn't project to throw as often.

Cam Newton is the No. 3 fantasy quarterback through six starts, posting 17.5 points last week in his worst statistical game of the year. As has been said before in this space, Newton is consistent with an exceptionally high "floor." Though Newton threw three Week 6 interceptions, only the last was really his fault -- on a last-second Hail Mary attempt. The first pick was tipped by a leaping Falcons linebacker into CB Brent Grimes' hands, and the second came on a great play by Falcons DT Corey Peters to snuff out a screen-pass attempt. Newton is an every-week fantasy starter, and matchups don't matter. ... It is worth noting for the fantasy matchups of Newton's receivers, however, that the Redskins have a top-nine pass defense and have allowed the fewest passing TDs in the NFC. While Steve Smith figures to have his way with gambling CB DeAngelo Hall, Legedu Naanee and Brandon LaFell should be left on fantasy benches and/or waiver wires. www.rapsports.com
Washington is weaker in run than pass defense, surrendering 4.57 YPC and flashing susceptibility to long runs. The Panthers' backfield just doesn't provide enough volume for fantasy comfort, and last week's game reinforced that notion. While DeAngelo Williams started and equaled his season high with 13 touches, he managed 46 total yards without a score. Jonathan Stewart racked up 72 yards and a touchdown, but only got the ball ten times. J-Stew is clearly the more productive per-play back, averaging 6.46 yards per touch. Williams' average is 5.30, a clip that falls to 4.19 if you leave out his 69-yard Week 5 touchdown. It's Williams' lone score on the season. ... Over the past four weeks, the Skins have given up 17 catches for 155 yards and one touchdown to tight ends. Those aren't particularly favorable numbers for Greg Olsen, who is trying to play through turf toe. I don't like Olsen as much as usual this week, but he's scored plenty to stick with as a low-end TE1.

Score Prediction: Panthers 28, Redskins 24
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Seattle @ Cleveland

The Seahawks run defense is pounding opponents into submission, forcing offenses to resort to the pass to move the ball. Despite a 2-3 record and consistently playing from behind, Seattle is in the top ten in passing yards allowed per game. They're permitting just 3.13 yards per carry, and 330-pound big uglies Red Bryant and Alan Branch are fresh off a bye. While Montario Hardesty projects as Cleveland's feature back in this game with Peyton Hillis nursing a hamstring pull, Hardesty offers limited upside as a flex option only. On the year, Hardesty has proven a mediocre talent with 143 yards on 40 rushing attempts (3.57 YPC) and countless drops in the passing game. ... The Browns are hopeful that Hillis will be available for blitz-pickup situations against Seattle. Hillis didn't practice this week and should safely be on fantasy benches. Owners will just have to sit tight and hope Hillis gets healthy, because he doesn't have much trade value right now.

As expected, Greg Little took over as the Browns' featured pass catcher following his post-bye promotion into the starting lineup. Comfortably leading Cleveland with 12 targets in Week 6, Little secured a game-high six for 72 yards and narrowly missed a touchdown when he slipped at the Raiders' one after a first-quarter red-zone reception of 15 yards. Little played a season-high snap percentage (69-of-71), moving to the slot on every passing down. The Browns, of course, have a ton of passing downs because they 1) rank second in the NFL in pass attempts per game and 2) frequently play from behind. It's an excellent fantasy situation. In Week 7, Little will square off with oft-burned Seahawks RCB Brandon Browner on early downs and rookie Richard Sherman when Little kicks to the slot. Per Pro Football Focus, Browner has allowed 28 of the last 35 throws against him to be complete (80%) for 389 yards (11.1 YPA) and two touchdowns. Sherman is a fifth-round pick many NFL teams projected to safety coming out of Stanford. ... Colt McCoy and the rest of the Browns' receivers are simply hands off with Little dominating targets on offense. Mohamed Massaquoi is averaging 45 yards per game, Ben Watson 42, and Evan Moore 20.

A Browns pass defense that ranks in the NFL's top four to this point is suddenly incredibly banged up. Shutdown CB Joe Haden (knee) won't be 100 percent in the questionable-to-doubtful event he does face Seattle, and nickel back Buster Skrine suffered a hip injury in practice this week, jeopardizing his availability. The Haden factor shouldn't deter owners from using Sidney Rice as a WR3. ... The Seahawks are expected to start Charlie Whitehurst at quarterback with Tarvaris Jackson nursing a pectoral strain in his throwing arm. After replacing Jackson in Week 5 -- before Seattle's Week 6 bye -- Whitehurst looked to slot receiver Doug Baldwin early and often. The two hooked up on all six Whitehurst-to-Baldwin targets for 90 yards, including a 27-yard TD. Baldwin's matchup is also improved due to the state of Cleveland's secondary. ... Target distribution after Whitehurst replaced Jackson against the Giants: Baldwin 6, Rice 4, Ben Obomanu 3 (all incomplete), and Golden Tate 2. ... Obomanu played significant snaps recently only because Big Mike Williams was out with a concussion. "BMW" returns this week, eliminating both from fantasy consideration.

Before the bye week, Marshawn Lynch turned it on a bit against the Justin Tuck-less Giants, who've struggled mightily in run defense without their star end. In Lynch's other four games, he's failed to hit four yards a carry while adding next to nothing in the pass game. Lynch averaged a pathetic 35.2 rushing yards per week in the first month. Cleveland's No. 27 run defense ranking makes it look vulnerable on the surface, but it's permitting just 3.91 YPC with two rushing scores allowed through five games. The reason the Browns rank so low is because opponents grab early leads against them and take the air out of the football. Do you believe the Seahawks will put Cleveland in a first-half hole and run away with this game? If so, start Marshawn Lynch. I wouldn't.

Score Prediction: Browns 21, Seahawks 17

Houston @ Tennessee

Arian Foster has scuffled on the ground in his last two games, but elite every-down backs keep fantasy owners happy with receiving-saved stat lines. While Foster is averaging 3.16 yards per carry during that span, he's also come through with 285 total yards. The Titans boast a top-ten run defense, but Foster's "floor" is very high. He's an every-week starter. ... Andre Johnson (hamstring) will miss a third game, leaving Matt Schaub to fend for himself with weak weaponry and a likely run-first approach in a poor matchup. Only the defenses of Pittsburgh and Detroit have allowed fewer yards per pass attempt than the Titans, who are fresh coming off a bye. Having topped 230 yards in just 2-of-6 games so far, Schaub is no more than a high-end QB2. ... Jacoby Jones flashed his playmaking ability with 76 yards and a touchdown on four Week 6 catches, but history says Jones will follow up a big game with a clunker. Because Jones typically lines up on the left side of the offensive formation, he's likely to spend most of this game in Titans RCB Cortland Finnegan's coverage. A feisty, physical corner, Finnegan has been dynamite in pass defense all year. According to Pro Football Focus, he's allowing a stingy 9.6 yards per attempt against.

The Ravens' Week 6 double teaming of Owen Daniels opened up the field for Jones, but it's hard to bank on that continuing. Tennessee will have to be more concerned with Jones after watching the tape, and the Titans' shaky safety play routinely makes them vulnerable to tight ends. In their last three games, the Titans have allowed three touchdowns and 176 yards on 16 catches combined to tight ends of Denver, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland, none of which fields a particularly dangerous player at the position. If I'm a betting man, my money is still on Daniels leading the Texans in targets, catches, and receiving yardage in Week 7. ... Kevin Walter is never going to be more than a run-of-the-mill possession receiver, but he's put up quality numbers with Johnson out. On 14 targets in two games, Walter has 11 catches for 133 yards and a touchdown. Walter also had seven receptions for 79 yards and a score in his last game against Tennessee.

This projects as a low-scoring, defense-dominated game. Both the Titans and Texans have top-ten defenses in yards and points allowed, and each team has lost its best receiver to injury. A Kenny Britt-less Matt Hasselbeck will settle in as a mid-range QB2 the rest of the way, deferring to a balanced to run-heavy offense with a far less explosive supporting cast. Damian Williams is averaging just 10.4 yards per reception, while Nate Washington has commanded considerably more defensive attention since Britt went down. Williams is a low-end, low-upside WR3, while Washington is likely to draw plenty of Johnathan Joseph in coverage. ... Optimists can point to Jared Cook's three-game target increase as reason to believe his role may be growing, but it was discouraging to hear OC Chris Palmer say this week that Cook would continue to play only in passing sets. “I think when you say he is a tight end people think he is an every-down tight end. But he’s not," acknowledged Palmer. Cook defers to blockers Craig Stevens and Daniel Graham on the majority of snaps. His targets and playing time spiked in Week 5 -- before the bye -- only because the Titans were in pass-heavy comeback mode after falling behind the Steelers early. Cook's playmaking ability makes him a viable bye-week crunch option, but he's not a true fantasy starter.

The Titans undoubtedly spent their open date working to fix the running game. The unit currently ranks dead last in rushing yards per game, as well as yards per carry. Whether a remedy is even possible only time will tell, but glass-half-full fantasy owners can view Chris Johnson's first five games and subsequent bye as a substitute for his training camp and preseason. Johnson missed all of August due to a holdout. He's also got a favorable schedule the rest of the way. Here's a look: vs. HOU, vs. IND, vs. CIN, @ CAR, @ ATL, vs. TB, @ BUF, vs. NO, @ IND, vs. JAX. Johnson did average 4.11 YPC with a touchdown in his last two games preceding the bye. It's a healthy step up from Johnson's 2.13 average in Weeks 1-3, and perhaps a sign of things to come.

Score Prediction: Texans 20, Titans 17

Atlanta @ Detroit

Despite GM Thomas Dimitroff's best efforts, the Falcons' coaching staff is insistent on fielding a balanced to run-based offense. While it may not be in the team's best long-term interests to lean so heavily on a declining back like Michael Turner, the coaches' success in doing so during last week's division victory will give Mike Smith's staff even more incentive to stay with the approach. Facing the Panthers' pathetic, 31st-ranked run defense, the Falcons finished with a 1960s-style 35:22 run-to-pass ratio in the convincing 31-17 win. Detroit's vulnerability is run defense, ranking 26th against it and surrendering 5.21 yards per carry. The Lions struggle to hold the point of attack because coach Jim Schwartz's Wide-9 scheme spurns gap control in favor of up-field pass rush. Turner should receive 22-28 carries and have success in this matchup. ... On the flip side, Matt Ryan's fantasy value has taken a hit. We entered this season with high hopes for Ryan in large part because all of Atlanta's offseason personnel moves pointed toward a pass-first, no-huddle heavy offense. The Falcons' no-huddle has been highly productive in spots, but Smith refuses to make it a staple in weekly game plans. The Lions have a top-six pass defense, and their aggressive front four will get plenty of penetration against Atlanta's suspect offensive line. While a potential shootout could buoy Ryan in Week 7, he's just a low-end QB1 in this matchup.

Falcons LT Sam Baker's potential absence due to a bad back should give the coaches even more reservations about letting Ryan drop back. Former NFL Europe journeyman Will Svitek is Baker's backup. ... Roddy White ranks 18th in fantasy wideout scoring, a steep drop from last year's top-three finish. It's plenty to keep trotting out White on a weekly basis, though. Detroit's aggressive defense isn't likely to drape him in double teams, and White's Week 6 stat line was adversely affected by 53 yards and two would-be touchdowns worth of pass interference penalties. Both flags set up one-yard scores for Turner. It goes without saying that those touchdowns would have helped Ryan, too. ... The Lions have allowed four TDs to tight ends in their last four games, which should bode well for Tony Gonzalez. Gonzo leads Atlanta in touchdown catches this year. ... Julio Jones (hamstring) is likely to miss another game, setting up Harry Douglas for a second straight start. The Falcons' rekindled run-happy mentality just doesn't help the outlook for Atlanta's No. 3 receiving option. With Jones inactive for Week 6, Douglas was targeted only four times, securing two for 57 yards. Per Pro Football Focus, Douglas played 40-of-62 snaps, blocking on 17 of them.

Matthew Stafford's on-field performance has slipped since the start of the season, but he's still lighting up the box score. On pace for 40 TDs and 4,610 yards, Stafford is a top-five fantasy quarterback heading into a matchup with Atlanta's 27th-ranked pass defense. The Falcons are stifling the run and allowing 66.7% of the passes thrown against them to be complete, for an average of 7.97 yards per pass play. A throw-oriented game plan would be wise for Lions OC Scott Linehan considering both the matchup and absence of Jahvid Best (concussion). ... Calvin Johnson's touchdown roll has slowed, but he's remained dominant with back-to-back 100-plus yard games. Megatron will give Atlanta matchup fits because he has seven inches and 55 pounds on Falcons top corner Brent Grimes (5'10/181), and the rest of the secondary is a nightmare in coverage. ... Updated Lions targets over the past month: Brandon Pettigrew 41, Megatron 39, Titus Young 21, Nate Burleson 20. As the target leader for a Lions offense that ranks second in the NFL in pass attempts, there's no question that Pettigrew is an every-week fantasy starter.

Burleson showed signs of life with 10 targets in Week 6, scoring his first touchdown of the year. Unfortunately, he's averaging just over two catches for 17 yards in his last four games. While the matchup is right, Burleson simply hasn't been productive enough to be considered a worthwhile WR3. ... With Burleson getting more balls in Week 6, Young took a backseat with one catch for 14 yards. Young is a nice young player, but he's not a fantasy option yet. ... The Lions' running game is a situation to avoid in Week 7 because there's little clarity about who's going to get the football, and Atlanta is stymieing ground attacks. The Falcons rank eighth against the run and are allowing just 3.74 yards per carry to opposing tailbacks. With Best out, candidates for carries in the Detroit backfield are Maurice Morris, Keiland Williams, and newly acquired Eldra Buckley, probably in that order. None of the above will be a confident bet to exceed 15 touches on Sunday. While Morris is expected to start the game, keep in mind that he has only nine carries on the season. Williams has 19.

Score Prediction: Lions 27, Falcons 21
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Chicago vs. Tampa Bay

This game will be played in London, where weather has previously impacted scoring. As this is being written, however, the Wembley Stadium forecast calls for clear skies and temperatures in the 60s. The over-under is 43.5 points. ... Matt Forte is on pace for career bests in total yards (2,422), YPC (5.32), and receptions (96), which is saying something for a player who's finished as a top-ten fantasy back in two of the past three years. While a healthy Marion Barber poses a threat for goal-line work, last week's season-high 11 carries don't forecast a committee. Eight of Barber's attempts came late in the fourth quarter with Chicago up 39-10, including five with the backup offense when Caleb Hanie came in for garbage time. Ranked 18th against the run, the Bucs may or may not have top DT Gerald McCoy, who was limited in practice this week with a high ankle sprain. Playing like he wants more money, Forte is a shoo-in top-ten running back. He's the Bears' offensive centerpiece. ... Rookie Dane Sanzenbacher will get one more week to play the slot with Earl Bennett (chest) set to miss this game. Sanzenbacher remains a dicey WR3, playing only 50-55% of the Bears' offensive snaps and averaging just over three catches for 30 yards per game since Bennett went down.

Sparked by hard-hitting, playmaking FS Tanard Jackson's return, the Tampa pass defense came to play in Week 6 against the Saints, intercepting Drew Brees three times in the All-Pro's worst game of the season. It's reason for pause when thinking Jay Cutler might find a groove after his year-best game. The Bears enlisted frequent seven-man protections last Sunday night, holding the Vikings to one sack as Cutler passed for 267 yards, two scores, and no picks. Perhaps the best news for Cutler is that the Bucs rank 25th in sacks and have struggled to apply pressure all year. Cutler is a risky bye-week QB1, but should be used confidently in two-QB formats. ... The Bears re-promoted Roy Williams to the starting lineup versus Minnesota, but used a rotation at split end with Johnny Knox playing 27 snaps and Williams seeing 33. Knox finished with two receptions for 41 yards, while Williams had three grabs for 50. That'd be pretty good production if Knox and Williams were one player. In fantasy football, it's referred to as canceling each other out. ... Devin Hester caught five passes for 91 yards in Week 6, the majority of the production coming on a 48-yard first-quarter scoring bomb. The touchdown was Hester's first on offense this year, and he entered the game averaging just 34.2 receiving yards per week.

In a battle of quarterbacks coming off their best games of the year, Josh Freeman has the tougher matchup. The Bears have a better pass defense ranking than the Bucs, allow a full yard less per pass attempt, have yielded fewer touchdown passes, and generate noticeably more pass rush. Freeman's Week 6 success was largely attributable to New Orleans' inability to bring pressure, as the Saints didn't sack him once, and Freeman had all day to throw on both of his scoring tosses. On the year, Freeman has a 5:6 TD-to-INT ratio and ranks 18th in passing yards per game, just ahead of the likes of Colt McCoy and Sam Bradford, and behind Kevin Kolb and Joe Flacco. He's clearly a QB2. ... Owners can point to Mike Williams South's 9.5 target-per-game average over the past month as reason to believe he can turn it around. The opportunities certainly are there; Williams just needs to play better. He's got a league-high six drops over that span. As the Bucs' split end, Williams will spend the heavy majority of this game in LCB Charles Tillman's coverage.

Arrelious Benn continues to lose playing time to Dezmon Briscoe, with the former seeing 54.6% of the snaps and the latter 38.7%. While Benn caught a 65-yard TD pass on a badly blown coverage in Week 6, he's averaging a pedestrian 40.5 yards per game and ranks 39th in fantasy receiver points. He's a WR4/5. ... Freeman needs to show sustained production for his pass catchers to be confident fantasy plays. Kellen Winslow is scoreless on the season with a career-low 9.5 yards-per-catch average. ... Slot receiver Preston Parker only plays 41.6% of the snaps and therefore will never be a recommended fantasy start in this space. For Parker believers, it's worth noting that he's had his best games against zone defenses, and the Bears play a Cover-2 shell. In this system, inside receivers are often allowed to run free over the middle, virtually unguarded. Parker posted 6-98 and 5-70-1 lines against the similar schemes of Minnesota and Indianapolis earlier this year. He remains a low-end WR3 option. ... Earnest Graham will pick up another start with LeGarrette Blount (knee) out, and the 31 1/2-year-old earned an RB2 start by showing lively legs with 131 yards on 19 touches in Week 6. Graham looked very good, frequently pushing the pile and dominating the workload over Kregg Lumpkin. Opposing tailbacks are averaging 5.34 YPC on their last 104 rushing attempts against the Bears, so it's far from a prohibitive matchup.

Score Prediction: Bucs 20, Bears 17

4:05PM ET Games

Pittsburgh @ Arizona

The Steelers' offensive line is finally coming together. LT Max Starks has more than held his own after signing off the street two weeks ago, and LG Chris Kemoeatu (knee) is off the injury report after a three-game absence. It's a big plus for Rashard Mendenhall, who earned AFC Offensive Player of Week 6 honors with a slump-busting 146 yards and a touchdown versus Jacksonville. Mendenhall showed his old explosiveness on a 68-yard first-half run. The Jags entered the game with a top-ten run defense and left ranked 19th. The Cardinals are 20th against the run and tied for the NFL high in rushing scores allowed. ... Isaac Redman returned to a third-down role against the Jaguars, getting only five touches. Jonathan Dwyer was even less of a factor, playing three snaps and rushing twice for eight yards. ... We've previously discussed Arizona's vulnerability to tight ends in this space, a weakness sure to be exacerbated by FS Kerry Rhodes' foot surgery. The Cards have a weak pass rush, which could free up Heath Miller to run more pass routes. On a personal note, I'll be starting Miller in my own league in place of Vernon Davis, who is on a bye.

Fully expected to play through a "slight" hamstring pull, Mike Wallace will give Cards RCB Patrick Peterson fits in the intermediate and deep passing games. While it's too early to call Peterson a bust, early signs aren't promising for the rookie's chances of avoiding a position switch to safety. Per Pro Football Focus, Peterson has allowed 21-of-28 passes to be completed against him (75%) for 287 yards (10.25 YPA), and a pair of touchdowns. Wallace is the No. 3 overall receiver in fantasy, and this might be his most favorable matchup all season. ... Hines Ward confirmed his two-score Week 5 was a mirage with 47 scoreless yards on three catches last Sunday. He's averaging an explosion-less 10.3 yards per catch and isn't a fantasy option. ... Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders continue to rotate in the third receiver role. They'll need either a Wallace or Ward injury to matter. There's little to no separation between the two. ... After a slow start, Ben Roethlisberger has a 6:1 TD-to-INT in his last two games. I'd still use Tim Tebow over Big Ben this week (in case you're deciding between them), but Roethlisberger has a very favorable matchup against a Cardinals pass defense that ranked in the league's bottom dozen even before losing Rhodes.

Arizona's bust of a passing game couldn't have picked a tougher post-bye opponent. The Steelers' shutdown pass defense is allowing a league-low 157.7 yards per game, unthinkable 4.88 yards per attempt, and 56.7 completion rate against. Kevin Kolb is off both the standard- and two-QB league radars this week. ... The lone start-able member of the Cardinals' passing attack is Larry Fitzgerald. In two career matchups with Pittsburgh, Fitz has accumulated 17 catches for 247 yards and two touchdowns. ... Kolb revealed this week that the Cardinals "changed two to three different things that are going to help us" during the bye, one that may involve promoting Early Doucet into the starting lineup, over Andre Roberts. Doucet could be a WR3 candidate if that takes place, but it's not a bankable fantasy situation until we see it on the field. ... Run defense remains an issue for Pittsburgh, and probably will until NT Casey Hampton (shoulder) returns at full strength. With both Hampton and backup Chris Hoke (stinger) out this week, the Steelers are forced to turn to practice squad-type Steve McLendon. At 6-foot-4, 280, McLendon looks more like a tight end than a nose tackle. Over the past three weeks, the Steelers have allowed 359 yards and two TDs on 77 carries (4.66 YPC) to opposing tailbacks. His legs fresh off a bye, Beanie Wells has scored in every game he's played this season and "earned" at least an RB2 start, regardless of matchup.

Score Prediction: Steelers 27, Cardinals 16

Kansas City @ Oakland

Raiders coach Hue Jackson tried to keep us guessing about his Week 7 quarterback, but ESPN's Adam Schefter broke the news on Wednesday: It will be Carson Palmer. With just three practices under Palmer's belt, it's a safe bet that Jackson devised an exceptionally run-dominated game plan. In a potentially momentum-grabbing division game leading into a bye, Jackson can't put his team's fate in the hands of a rushed, untried passer, much as he couldn't trust Kyle Boller to start a game. It would be unfair to expect Palmer to throw more than 18-24 times. ... Oakland wideouts should eventually capitalize on the quarterback upgrade, but need to be on fantasy benches this week. Palmer missed the offseason, camp, and first six games, and hasn't so much as performed a "football activity" in 9 1/2 months. I'd be surprised if any one of Darrius Heyward-Bey, Denarius Moore, or Jacoby Ford exceeded six targets. ... Darren McFadden rediscovered the end zone in Week 6 and ranks third in fantasy scoring among tailbacks. He should anticipate 30 touches against the Chiefs, with Michael Bush quite possibly being saddled up for 8-10 more. There is little doubt that the Raiders will try to run it down the throat of Kansas City's 21st-ranked rush defense.

UPDATE: Schefter and NFL.com are now both reporting that Palmer is NOT expected to start, although "no final decision has been made." The Raiders are certain to go extremely run-heavy against the Chiefs regardless of the quarterback, severely curtailing the appeal of Heyward-Bey, Moore, and Ford in fantasy leagues. Boller is 2-11 in his last 13 NFL starts.

Predicting the Chiefs' Week 7 game plan isn't quite as simple because coach Todd Haley fancies his offense as a potentially successful passing unit. Haley and GM Scott Pioli duped themselves into believing Steve Breaston and Jonathan Baldwin could cover up for OC Charlie Weis' loss, when in actuality it was Weis' schemes -- and not any matter of supporting cast -- that papered over their quarterback's flaws. Matt Cassel's pre-bye success may refuel Haley's unrealistic line of thought. In his last three games, Cassel has completed 56-of-82 throws (68.3%) for 693 yards (8.45 YPA), seven touchdowns, and one interception, although those numbers have come in matchups with the bottom-15 pass defenses of Minnesota and Indianapolis, and a San Diego team that lost top CB Quentin Jammer to early-game injury. The Raiders do rank 28th against the pass, but have a top-ten defense in terms of sacks, yards-per-attempt against, and completion rate allowed (53.4). A pass-first approach would certainly bode well for Dwayne Bowe and Breaston, but it could easily backfire on Cassel and Haley. Cassel isn't a good fantasy option this week, or ever.

Bowe's numbers have taken off with Cassel picking it up. The No. 7 receiver in fantasy points per game, Bowe has four TDs and a six-catch, 101-yard average since Week 1. ... Breaston has put up good-looking box-score stats with 91 yards in Week 4 and two Week 5 scores. Unfortunately, he hasn't exceeded six targets in any game so far. Breaston can make up for it somewhat with efficiency, but simply doesn't project as a heavily targeted receiver. He's a dicey WR3, and not a recommended fantasy start. ... Jackie Battle owners should feel good about playing him against a Raiders run defense serving up 4.92 yards per carry, but they need to be aware of Battle's skill-set limitations. While he runs with power and purpose, the 28-year-old career special teamer has no wiggle to his game and won't catch defenses by surprise going forward. He'll also be removed on the majority of passing downs. Battle is a poor man's LeGarrette Blount. ... His role in decline with no touchdowns on the season, 33-year-old Thomas Jones isn't worth a roster spot in 12-team fantasy leagues. ... Dexter McCluster's amount of touches has dropped in three straight games, and he bottomed out with 18 total yards just before the open date. Like Jones, McCluster hasn't found the end zone all year. He's an RB5 in PPR leagues and off the radar in standard settings.

Score Prediction: Raiders 21, Chiefs 17
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4:15PM ET Games

Green Bay @ Minnesota

Aaron Rodgers is the No. 1 player in fantasy football, leading the NFL in completion rate (70.2%), passing scores (17), touchdown rate (TDs/pass attempts), yards per attempt (9.8), and adjusted YPA (factoring in interceptions). This is the league's best quarterback, and Minnesota's No. 24 pass defense won't slow his roll. ... Top Vikings CB Antoine Winfield is due back from his neck injury this week. Winfield guards the slot when opponents go three-wide, so he'll go to waste on Donald Driver and/or Randall Cobb. ... Greg Jennings has a ridiculous seven-catch, 105-yard average and five touchdowns in his last three meetings with the Vikings. Jennings plays most of his snaps outside and should mostly avoid Winfield's coverage. ... Looking for Jermichael Finley to get back on track? Minnesota's Cover 2 may be just what the doctor ordered. Finley lit up Chicago's similar scheme for 85 yards and three TDs on seven catches in Week 3, and in Finley's last meeting with Minnesota he had six catches for 128 yards and a score. ... Jordy Nelson is the No. 11 fantasy receiver, killing single teams en route to an 11-touchdown pace and 69 yards a game. Expect Nelson to face off with burnable Vikings CB Cedric Griffin for most of this one.

UPDATE: Winfield is listed as doubtful on the final injury report. The Vikings will be without two starters in the secondary, as SS Jamarca Sanford (concussion) is also expected to miss the game. They have little prayer of containing the Green Bay passing game.

James Jones reached pay dirt for a third straight game in Week 6, but saw just one target. Again, Rodgers will continue to throw to Jones if he's open, but he's always a dicey play as Green Bay's No. 4 passing-game option. ... James Starks led the backfield in touches for a fourth time in five games last week, but failed to capitalize on a mouth-watering matchup against St. Louis' last-ranked run defense. With no end in sight to Green Bay's hot-hand committee, it's a situation to avoid in Week 7. The Vikings have a top-five run defense, permitting 3.45 yards per carry. Starks remains the better bet if you're deciding between him and Ryan Grant. The possibility of a blowout win over a team letting a rookie QB make his first start is realistic and even probable, potentially increasing rushing chances. Starks just hasn't played well enough to truly justify using in such a difficult matchup. ... Grant is essentially waiver-wire material at this point. Not only is he getting the ball less than Starks, Grant has averaged 2.69 yards a carry in his last two games, and wouldn't even be assured the feature back role were Starks to get injured. In that scenario, the Packers would likely turn to Alex Green and/or John Kuhn to handle Starks' role. Grant doesn't have much left.

The Vikings will throw Christian Ponder to the wolves in his first start, facing off with the defending Super Bowl champs. The Packers lead the NFC in interceptions and have shut down the last two passing games they've faced. Minnesota's combo of dead-legged wideouts and porous O-Line was a disastrous recipe for a veteran quarterback, and it's difficult to envision a debuting rookie having any more success. While Ponder has athleticism Donovan McNabb no longer does, it's likely the only way this year's biggest draft reach could accumulate substantive fantasy production would come in throw-happy comeback mode. I can't imagine starting Ponder, Michael Jenkins, or even Percy Harvin, who played a neck-wringing 29-of-66 Week 6 snaps (43.9%). ... After Ponder replaced McNabb, he targeted Jenkins four times, Berrian twice, and Harvin twice. So as of yet, there is no evidence that suggests Ponder's insertion will save Minnesota's slot receiver. ... The Packers will surely gear up to stop Adrian Peterson, but that's gone on for years and Peterson hasn't finished outside the top-three fantasy backs in his career. Peterson leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns and carries, and is sure to remain the offensive focal point in Ponder's first start. All Day is averaging 121.5 total yards per game in eight career meetings with the Pack.

Score Prediction: Packers 38, Vikings 13

St. Louis @ Dallas

The Rams' defense ranks 32nd versus the run, but opportunistic offenses prefer attacking it with the pass. It makes sense with St. Louis' top three corners on I.R. A comedy of errors occurred in the injury-ruined secondary on Jordy Nelson's 93-yard Week 6 touchdown catch, as SS Darian Stewart blew a tackle before losing his footing to trip nearby CB Al Harris out of the play. Nelson ran untouched to pay dirt. The Cowboys are without Felix Jones (high ankle sprain), and their best talent was always in the passing game, so a throw-happy approach seems likely. Tony Romo has at least 300 yards in four of his first five games, and among NFC teams only New Orleans has allowed more passing scores than St. Louis. ... Dez Bryant has oddly gone reception-less in 3-of-5 second halves this season, but should have a field day against washed-up Harris in coverage. The former Packer turns 37 in two months. ... Miles Austin played 66-of-74 snaps (89.2%) in his Week 6 return from a hamstring injury. He has an even more favorable matchup than Bryant, squaring off with oft-burned CB Justin King. King plays left cornerback in St. Louis' base defense and moves to the slot on passing downs, so he'll essentially follow Austin around the formation. According to Pro Football Focus, King has allowed five touchdown passes in the last three games.

The above scenario would bode well for fill-in tailback DeMarco Murray, whose college strength was the passing game with 157 receptions at Oklahoma, more than any running back drafted in April. Murray saw extensive action with Dallas' first-team offense when Jones was healthy last week, and received six of the backfield's ensuing seven touches following Felix's injury. All told, Murray amassed 12 touches compared to Tashard Choice's six after Jones went down. While this is going to be a rotation, Murray is Dallas' clear favorite for carries and catches, making him a worthwhile flex against St. Louis' soft front seven. In addition to ranking last in the league in run defense, the Rams are serving up a healthy 4.85 yards per carry. ... Choice did receive three red-zone touches to Murray's two last week, although the former isn't a good bet for more than 7-10 carries and 3-5 receptions in this game. Dating back to Week 14 last year, Choice is averaging a lowly 2.92 yards per rushing attempt. ... Jason Witten ranks second in the NFL in targets per game among tight ends, behind only Jimmy Graham. He's the No. 4 tight end in fantasy football.

The start-ability of every Rams skill player will be heavily impacted by the status of Sam Bradford (high ankle sprain). ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Wednesday that the Rams expect Bradford to play, but multiple national insiders have since either speculated or reported otherwise. St. Louis would simply be unlikely to stay competitive with A.J. Feeley at quarterback. The 34-year-old journeyman has well below league-average talent and no experience in Josh McDaniels' offense aside from practice. Feeley would also be facing a top-five defense. ... The Cowboys rank first against the run, allowing 3.35 YPC and a single rushing score in five games. Steven Jackson needs to be benched if Feeley starts. St. Louis-Dallas is a 4:15ET game, so we may not have a good feel for Bradford's availability until late afternoon Sunday. ... Feeley doesn't have arm power to consistently deliver the football outside the numbers. It's why he's only had previous success in West Coast offenses. Brandon Lloyd goes from high-upside WR2 with Bradford to bottom-barrel WR3 with Feeley. ... The Rams' No. 2 receiver job is up for grabs, and it's a week to wait and see for that situation. Danario Alexander and Brandon Gibson are in the mix. Greg Salas is expected to man the slot. ... Lance Kendricks has had an awful start to his rookie season. He's averaging just 35 yards a game and leads all NFL tight ends in drops despite ranking 22nd in targets.

UPDATE: Bradford missed a third straight day of practice, and ESPN's John Clayton is reporting that he's "doubtful" to play against the Cowboys. The Rams, officially, consider Bradford a game-time decision. The smart money still says he won't play.

Score Prediction: Cowboys 34, Rams 16

Sunday Night Football

Indianapolis @ New Orleans

Colts-Saints has Week 7's highest over/under. Start your studs. ... No defense in football fields a smaller cornerback trio than the Colts, with LCB Jacob Lacey (5'10/177), RCB Jerraud Powers (5'10/192), and slot CB Terrence Johnson (5'9/190) comprising the nickel lineup. It comes as little surprise that they've been exposed by big wideouts Jerome Simpson (6-101), Dwayne Bowe (7-128-2), and A.J. Green (5-51-1) over the past two weeks. All three are 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds or better. At full health and a full-time player again, Marques Colston goes 6'4/225 and is coming off his best game of 2011. ... On Sunday, Jimmy Graham will look to break Tony Gonzalez's NFL tight end record for most consecutive 100-yard receiving games. Graham has four in a row and leads his position in fantasy points by a margin that grows by the week. He may quietly be the league's most dominant pass catcher. ... Here are the target and snap counts for Saints wide receivers from Week 6: Colston 11 and 52, Lance Moore 3 and 40, Devery Henderson 2 and 29, and Robert Meachem 2 and 21. It's become a pick-your-poison kind of situation behind Colston.

Updated Saints red-zone touches (season totals): Mark Ingram 20, Darren Sproles 12, Pierre Thomas 7. ... Thomas is averaging 2.07 yards per carry in his last two games. If that continues, he'll eventually be weeded out of the offense in favor of Ingram. Thomas lost a fumble and didn't touch the football in the red zone last week, while previous surprise goal-line vulture Jed Collins didn't carry the ball at all. ... With Thomas struggling and touchdowns in three of his past four games, the winds may be blowing toward Ingram's breakout week. Indy's defense ranks 30th against the run and has allowed seven rushing scores through six games. Over the past three weeks, Chiefs, Bucs, and Bengals backs have racked up 428 yards and two touchdowns on 89 carries (4.81 YPC) against the Colts. This is a favorable matchup for Ingram, and the sudden retirement of C Olin Kreutz helps his cause. Kreutz was getting manhandled on the interior; it looked like he retired last offseason. I’m guessing he was playing at 245 pounds. ... The sample size is admittedly small, but Drew Brees has six TD passes, a 320-yard average, and 70.4 completion rate in two home games this season. Brees is a top-four fantasy quarterback on the year.

Curtis Painter is a sneaky desperation bye-week QB1. He has a 5:1 TD-to-INT ratio through three starts, and the Colts' pass protection has improved since Peyton Manning began chipping in with playcalls. Painter has taken one sack in the last two games. The Saints' defense is generating an embarrassing lack of pressure despite blitzing on over 70% of plays, and last week didn't sack Josh Freeman once while serving up his season-best game. In a projected shootout against a defense that's yielded the NFL's most passing TDs, I'd feel good about Painter as a two-QB league starter at worst. ... This is also a good week to use Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon as WR3s. Wayne has the superior matchup against struggling RCB Tracy Porter. Garcon leads Indy in targets by a healthy margin since Painter took over. Here's the distribution from Painter so far: Garcon 27, Wayne 21, Dallas Clark 16, Austin Collie 15. ... Clark finally had a productive game in Week 6 (6-53-1), but may be kept in to block against Saints DC Gregg Williams' blitz-happy defense. Clark just isn't trustworthy. ... The Saints allow the third highest yards-per-carry average against (5.12 YPC) in football, which perhaps is a factor that could help jumpstart sluggish-moving Delone Carter. Carter received 14 touches in Week 6, compared to Donald Brown's seven. Brown scored an 18-yard touchdown and remains the better runner, but isn't getting the rock enough.

UPDATE: Addai made a borderline-shocking return to practice Friday, participating in full. The Indianapolis Star now expects Addai to play against the Saints, killing the fantasy appeal of both Carter and Brown. Addai also isn't a recommended option, despite the game's high-scoring projection. There's no way to tell Addai's game-day role, or whether he'll be effective coming off what was supposed to be a multi-week injury. He's only missed one game.

Score Prediction: Saints 35, Colts 23

Monday Night Football

Baltimore @ Jacksonville

"They are the best defense I've seen in years," ESPN's Ron Jaworski said of the Ravens this week. "This year, they've taken it to another level." Jaws went so far as to suggest that the 2011 Ravens defense has approached the level of 2000, when Baltimore won the Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer at quarterback. The Ravens field a top-seven unit versus both the run and pass, presenting Week 7's biggest mismatch against Jacksonville's 32nd-ranked offense. Baltimore should control this game from start to finish, dominating time of possession and limiting the impact of all Jacksonville skill-position players. Maurice Jones-Drew is the only Jaguar worth a serious look, and even he's risky. MJD's passing-game contributions are way down this year, and the Ravens have already kept Arian Foster (15-49-0), Chris Johnson (24-53-0), Rashard Mendenhall (12-45-0), and Shonn Greene (10-23-0) all out of the end zone. If you're keeping score at home, those backs have a combined 2.79 yards-per-carry average against Baltimore.

This game has Week 7's lowest over-under at a paltry 39 points. If Baltimore's shutdown defense wasn't reason enough to sit your Jaguars, the low-scoring projection should be. ... Mike Thomas is the No. 41 fantasy receiver, struggling in his conversion from slot to featured wideout. Thomas' yards-per-catch average has dropped from 2010, he has one touchdown in five games, and his yardage has slipped in three straight weeks. ... Contending with Dallas Clark to be this year's top tight end bust, Marcedes Lewis figures to spend this game on the line blocking Terrell Suggs. Lewis is averaging 23.2 yards per game, hasn't scored yet this season, and has no chemistry with Blaine Gabbert. Gabbert targeted Lewis a team-high eight times in Week 6, but the duo hooked up just twice for 29 yards. ... The Jags brought back Mike Sims-Walker this week after he was cut by the Rams. Over the past two years, Sims-Walker has been exposed as a JAG ("Just a Guy"). He may replace Jason Hill as a starter, but won't save this putrid passing offense. ... Gabbert has done well to avoid turnovers for the most part, but the coaching staff has shown little confidence in him. They were still calling run plays down by two touchdowns against the Steelers last week.

The Jaguars opened the year defending the run well, but this is hardly an imposing matchup for Ray Rice. Over the past three weeks, Jacksonville has surrendered 439 yards and three rushing touchdowns on 97 carries (4.53 YPC). Even if the per-play average were still low, the Jaguars are falling behind early in games, letting opponents take the air out of the ball, and watching them rack up rushing attempts. Rice is the No. 4 overall back in fantasy points per game and an elite RB1. ... Anquan Boldin racked up season bests in receptions (8) and yards (132) last week and figures to give the Jags fits because he works the middle of the field, where Jacksonville's Cover 2 is most vulnerable. Boldin has continued to see significant playing time in the slot this season. ... The Jaguars are allowing an average of over 80 yards per game to tight ends, the most in football. If I'm picking between tight ends in this game, I'm going with Ed Dickson over Marcedes Lewis.

The Jags have a top-eight pass defense, allowing just 6.6 yards per pass attempt and the NFL's third fewest 20-plus yard completions among teams that have played six games. It's a scheme thing; the defense is designed to limit long passing plays. This all adds up to a poor matchup for one-trick pony deep threat Torrey Smith. While Smith is a full-time player and did earn himself some credibility with 84 yards in Week 6, keep in mind that he only saw five targets, catching three, and got 61% of the yardage on a 51-yard bomb against easily-beaten Texans CB Kareem Jackson. Smith isn't going to be a heavily targeted player in the Ravens' offense, so he'll require big plays to maintain respectable production. ... Joe Flacco has topped 225 passing yards in two games so far. While there are worse fantasy options out there, Flacco just doesn't offer a high ceiling on a weekly basis. Hopefully, you find a quarterback with more upside in Sunday's games.

Score Prediction: Ravens 24, Jaguars 10

 

[HacheMan]

Week 7 Injury Questions

Not all injured players are created equal.

Some players, like Beanie Wells and Felix Jones, do not play well through injuries. Others, like Antonio Gates and Ben Roethlisberger, can still dominate. That's why owners that have been holding Gates need to get him in lineups this week. He has elite upside even though we know he's at less than 100 percent.

As we get set for Week 7, we'll have a close eye on Gates' foot as well as all the other players battling through pain.

Of course, the Rotoworld News Page will be humming all Sunday morning to bring you official word on all your injured players ahead of kickoff. And to make sure you're prepared, read every word of these rankings from Gregg Rosenthal/Chris Wesseling in combination with Evan Silva's unprecedented Matchup Column.

If you want to draft a new team just for this week, check out SnapDraft here.

OK, let's get to the hurt folks:

1 PM GAMES
BRONCOS at DOLPHINS
* Eddie Royal (groin) is ready to make his return. He'll start across from Eric Decker.
* Demaryius Thomas (finger) is healthy but a mere stash for now.
* Willis McGahee dealt with a sore back this week but is a full go. Knowshon Moreno will merely handle third downs.
* Reggie Bush (neck), Daniel Thomas (hamstring) and Brandon Marshall (quad) are all full gos on a short week.

CHARGERS at JETS
* Antonio Gates (foot) is fully expected to be active despite a questionable tag. See above for more.
* Mike Tolbert (concussion) and Ryan Mathews (calf) both are 100 percent coming out of the bye.
* Vincent Jackson (hamstring) practiced fully on Thursday and Friday, leading to a probable tag. It's unclear if he'll be on Revis Island.

TEXANS at TITANS
* Andre Johnson (hamstring) is out again. Jacoby Jones gets another start.
* Jacoby Jones will play through a minor groin tweak, but it's never good for a wildly inconsistent player to be at less than 100 percent.

FALCONS at LIONS
* Julio Jones (hamstring) is still not close to being ready. Harry Douglas gets another shot on the outside.
* Jahvid Best (concussion) is out indefinitely. Maurice Morris will start, with Keiland Williams getting mixed in as well.

REDSKINS at PANTHERS
* Tim Hightower (shoulder) is ready to play but appears third on the totem pole in Washington's backfield.
* Chris Cooley (finger) is out at least six weeks. Fred Davis has an up arrow.
* Greg Olsen's turf toe issue is minor. He's a go.

BEARS vs. BUCS
* LeGarrette Blount (knee) is out. Earnest Graham will carry the load.
* Earl Bennett (chest) is not expected to return despite a questionable tag. That leaves Dane Sanzenbacher in the slot one more week.
* Devin Hester (chest) is fine, but owners chasing his stats from last week will likely end up disappointed.

SEAHAWKS at BROWNS
* Peyton Hillis (hamstring) didn't practice all week. The Browns haven't ruled him out, but we'd be stunned to see him have a real role even if active. Montario Hardesty is a desperation play.
* Charlie Whitehurst is starting in place of Tarvaris Jackson (pectoral). Good news for slot man Doug Baldwin.
* Mike Williams (concussion) is back, but his role is unclear. Ben Obomanu has earned snaps opposite Sidney Rice. Move on.
* Zach Miller (concussion) is out.

4 PM GAMES
STEELERS at CARDINALS
* Mike Wallace (hamstring) and Rashard Mendenhall (knee) are both fine despite an early-week scares. Get them going.
* Todd Heap (hamstring) is headed for a game-time decision and is off the fantasy radar.

CHIEFS at RAIDERS
* Carson Palmer is not expected to make his Raiders debut this week. If Kyle Boller does indeed start, all Oakland's wideouts get a downgrade.
*Jackie Battle (neck) is a full go coming out of the bye.
* Sebastian Janikowski (hamstring) is banged up. Find another option.

RAMS at COWBOYS
* Sam Bradford (ankle) has been declared out, forcing the Rams to go with A.J. Feeley under center. It's a huge downgrade for the entire Rams' receiver corps. Only Brandon Lloyd is worth starting in 10-to-12 team standard leagues.
* Felix Jones (ankle) is out. DeMarco Murray and Tashard Choice will carry the load.

PACKERS at VIKINGS
* Percy Harvin (ribs) is a high-risk play as his snaps have been limited.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
COLTS at SAINTS
* Joseph Addai (hamstring) is questionable, although speculation out of Indy has him likely to play. It's impossible to trust any member of this backfield.
* Jimmy Graham (ankle) took a day off this week but is fine.

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
RAVENS at JAGUARS
* Lee Evans' ankle just isn't healing. Torrey Smith gets another start.
* Mike Sims-Walker should step right back in as he returns to the Jags, but isn't a fantasy option.

SURVIVOR PICK OF THE WEEK
Even though I am busted from my pool, we hit last week with the Packers, Steelers or Bears.

This week's most likely winner is the Cowboys. With Sam Bradford hobbled and the Rams secondary down to third-stringers, it's as safe as it gets. Just note that the Cowboys still have home games against the Seahawks and Dolphins remaining.

If you want to save the Cowboys, the Saints (vs. Colts) are the only other strong option. The Ravens' defense is a strong bet to eat up Blaine Gabbert, but avioding road teams whenever possible is a long-term winning strategy.

One spot I would avoid is the Steelers. Arizona's coaching staff knows the ins and outs of their former team's system and had a bye week to get ready for them. Pittsburgh is traveling across the country and there's reason to believe they are overrated this this season. Oakland also scares me as no one realistically knows what to expect from Carson Palmer considering he hasn't practiced or played in 10 months.

MY TOUGHEST DECISION OF THE WEEK
In a 10-team non-PPR league with bloated starting lineups, my flex spot came down to Santonio Holmes or Maurice Morris. I know our rankings and conventional wisdom say it's an easy call for Holmes, but I've decided to roll with Morris.

Holmes hasn't had a 100-yard game since Week 11 of last season, a 15-game span (including the playoffs). During that stretch, he's averaging 47.5 yards per game. We know he has elite, top-10 kind of talent. But the Mark Sanchez and the Jets' offense holds him back. I'll gamble that this isn't the week he busts out, especially with the Chargers' pass defense ranked second in the league (179.6 yards allowed per game).

Meanwhile, Morris has had a 100-yard game in each of the previous two seasons. This Lions' regime has shown a ton of confidence in him, using the former second-round pick as the goal-line back and featured runner during their four-game winning streak to close last season. So even though Morris is 31, the Falcons' defense is solid against the run and Keiland Williams will vulture some carries, he's my guy. He's a good bet for 13-16 touches, while anything more than 3-5 for Holmes would be a shocker.

 

[HacheMan]

Does Carson Palmer fit with Raiders?

By Christopher Harris
ESPN.com


Five in depth

1. Is Carson Palmer a good fit for the Oakland Raiders? Having watched every throw Palmer has made for the past few seasons, I have a knee-jerk reaction to the Raiders acquiring him: It's a shaky fit. It's incorrect to contend that Palmer can't make great throws any longer. He can and did on several occasions last year: Lasers that made you think his old throwing prowess was back. But he also failed on numerous occasions, launching wobblers destined to be easy interceptions when a wideout was open but he just couldn't get the ball there. The Raiders famously (or apocryphally?) want to go vertical when they throw the ball. Will Palmer fill that bill the way strong-armed Jason Campbell (for all his faults) did? After all, the Raiders are averaging 7.25 yards per attempt this season, and last year Campbell averaged 7.26. Meanwhile, Palmer was 22nd in the league with a 6.77 yard average last season.


But to be truthful, 7.25 isn't a high number. It currently ranks 17th in the NFL. Maybe the Raiders don't go down the field as much as we all think in this supposedly vertical offense? Frankly, though, yards per attempt is kind of a lazy benchmark for such things. Let's take a look at where the Raiders actually rank in terms of pass attempts that travel various distances in the air so far in 2011:


Raiders pass attempts, this season

<TABLE><THEAD><TR><TH>Attempt travels </TH><TH>Attempts per game </TH><TH>NFL rank </TH></TR><TBODY><TR class=last><TD>41+ yards </TD><TD>1.5 </TD><TD>2 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>31-40 yards </TD><TD>1.3 </TD><TD>5 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>21-30 yards </TD><TD>1.5 </TD><TD>29 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>11-20 yards </TD><TD>5.5 </TD><TD>29 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>1-10 yards </TD><TD>14.7 </TD><TD>26 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Behind line </TD><TD>5.5 </TD><TD>27 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Source: Stats Inc.



As you can see, the Raiders still do wing it deep more than most teams. It's just that they're so run-based, in general; they're one of only three NFL teams to have called more running plays than passing plays so far in '11. Anyway, Palmer might be asked to take five shots of 21 yards or longer per game, where most QBs average two or three. Obviously, five plays don't make an entire game; it's possible for Palmer to be successful in Oakland without being amazing on those five throws. It would be nice, however, for him to be able to take advantage of such opportunities, and last year in Cincinnati his results were variable: 14-of-47 for 574 yards, 6 TDs and 4 INTs. Those numbers are probably about as good as anything Campbell can do deep, but they're not appreciably better. Given how run-heavy the Raiders are, a QB of theirs really needs to consistently hit home runs to be a fantasy starter. I'm skeptical Palmer can.


2. What in the name of Ndamukong Suh is going on here? Listen to the talk-radio jockeys these days and you'd believe the Detroit Lions' defensive line is the second coming of the Purple People Eaters. Suh! Kyle Vanden Bosch! Corey Williams! Cliff Avril! To hear some folks tell it, Nick Fairley's return from an injured foot was the final piece of a domination puzzle. But a funny thing happened on the way to Canton. The Lions' run defense stinks.


Frank Gore lit 'em up for 141 yards on 15 carries last week, including a 47-yard first-quarter run and a 55-yard third-quarter scamper (albeit one that ended in a phantom horse-collar tackle). Matt Forte had 116 yards on 23 carries on "Monday Night Football" in Week 4. The Cowboys managed 113 combined rush yards in Week 3. On average, this Lions D is allowing 5.2 yards per carry, second worst in the NFL. So ignore this page, which claims Detroit is fourth stingiest against fantasy running backs. They simply happen not to have given up many rushing TDs yet. Everything else, though, they seem to allow in droves, including big plays.


Chris Brown over at Grantland has a nice breakdown of the play San Francisco used twice to great effect last Sunday. Essentially, Suh was undisciplined on both occasions, roaring upfield heedless of a blocker coming from the other side, who "whammed" him, opening a Goliath hole for Gore. In truth, though, it isn't up the middle where the Lions are struggling. Even with Gore's 47-yarder right up the gut factored in, opposing backs are averaging just 3.9 yards per carry on such runs. It's toward the edges where you can see a problem:


Opponents vs. Lions run defense, this season

<TABLE><THEAD><TR><TH></TH><TH>Attempts </TH><TH>Yards </TH><TH>Avg. </TH></TR><TBODY><TR class=last><TD>Left Sideline </TD><TD>39 </TD><TD>192 </TD><TD>4.9 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Left </TD><TD>5 </TD><TD>22 </TD><TD>4.4 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Middle </TD><TD>48 </TD><TD>185 </TD><TD>3.9 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Right </TD><TD>7 </TD><TD>31 </TD><TD>4.4 </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>Right Sideline </TD><TD>50 </TD><TD>347 </TD><TD>6.9 </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Source: Stats Inc.



Michael Turner isn't exactly a candidate to run reverses directly around the edge of a defense, but he's adept at cutting upfield and toward outside linebackers; in "sideline" carries this year, Turner has 64 totes for 309 yards, a 4.8 yard average. Certainly the Lions will be attuned to the "wham" play that Brown so adeptly detailed, and perhaps Suh's aggression will be mildly chastened. But Suh and Avril, in particular, have to show that they're ready to be complete players, and not just pass-rushing behemoths. This week's matchup for Turner isn't as scary as you might initially fear.


3. Will the Brandon Lloyd magic return in St. Louis? I think the Broncos did well to get anything for Lloyd, an impending free agent. Is a sixth-rounder much? It is not. But for 10 weeks' worth of rental? I think it's probably about fair. Why the winless Rams decided to give up a pick for a receiver they probably shouldn't keep next season (Lloyd is 30 and will likely try to break the bank with one final contract) is another question entirely. Maybe the incumbent coaching staff in St. Louis has some concern about job security. Regardless, it's hard not to argue that the move east is a big boon to Lloyd. He gets away from Tim Tebow's accuracy questions, and jumps right into a Josh McDaniels offense with which he's eminently familiar. There's some OK potential in that Rams receiving corps, but Lloyd is instantly entrenched as a No. 1 option who'll get the most targets -- and the most defensive attention -- many weeks.


But even if Sam Bradford can play with his high ankle sprain (as of this writing, there were conflicting reports regarding Bradford's status), how excited should we be? I mean, obviously, Lloyd has the upside to lead the NFL in receiving yards. Will he break free from his awful beginning (he's currently 42nd among WRs in fantasy points per game) and become a must-start once again? I have hopes. But the answer to that question really comes down to the Rams' offensive line.


Let's run through the carnage. Left tackle Rodger Saffold suffered a leg injury last week, and while the problem isn't as severe as initially feared, he could be limited Sunday versus the Cowboys. Left guard Jacob Bell has hobbled around with a bad hammy for a couple of weeks. Center Jason Brown has been a disappointment since signing for $20 million guaranteed a couple of years back. Right guard Harvey Dahl is a good player, but right tackle Jason Smith, a former No. 2 overall pick, has been a pretty major bust and has been benched at times this year. Bradford has been sacked 21 times, most of any QB in the league, and he's played only five contests. If you're looking for a reason for Bradford's 53.1 percent completion rate, look no further.


I'm not sure Lloyd really addresses what's wrong here, but he doesn't hurt. I'll be interested to see whether Danario Alexander or Brandon Gibson lines up opposite Lloyd in two-receiver sets; I hope it'll be Alexander, because I felt he had something of a breakout contest last week versus the Packers, looking big, fast and physical for much of the afternoon. But obviously, if you're starting any Rams pass-catcher and crossing your fingers, it's Lloyd.


4. Carson's new crew. Palmer's trade to Oakland is great news for Darrius Heyward-Bey, Denarius Moore and Jacoby Ford, if only because they were staring at 10 games with Kyle Boller as their starting QB. Fortunately, that won't happen now. DHB is riding a three-game streak in which he's led the Raiders in targets and been the clear preferred outside threat, mustering 17 grabs for 296 yards and a score in that span. There are many interesting-if-imperfect speed weapons on the roster, so I'm not ready to proclaim Heyward-Bey "The Man" for the rest of the year. But it would be shortsighted not to rank him as the best fantasy option this week.


But who comes next? The other ESPN.com rankers say it's Ford, presumably based on the strength of his 10-fantasy-point effort in Week 6 against the Browns. Ford's world-class sprinter's speed led to a 101-yard kickoff return for a TD, the fourth such scoring play of his 20-game NFL career. He also had four targets in the passing game, the same total as Moore, and while Moore grabbed only one of his looks for a paltry 9 yards, Ford had three catches for 43 yards. (Moore also had a carry on a reverse, for minus-3 yards, but Ford is often used thusly, as well.) I like Ford, and was frankly fooled into thinking that when his hamstring got right, he would be the best Oakland receiver to own. But as DHB has emerged, Ford's playing time has diminished; he's typically the slot receiver, and Moore plays in two-wideout sets. As you can see, the Raiders have gone two-wide (or fewer) quite a bit in their past three games:


Raiders offensive breakdown, this season

<TABLE><THEAD><TR><TH>Formation </TH><TH>Plays </TH><TH>Pct. </TH></TR><TBODY><TR class=last><TD>0 or 1 WR </TD><TD>26 </TD><TD>13.9% </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>2 WR </TD><TD>86 </TD><TD>46.0% </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>3 WR </TD><TD>42 </TD><TD>22.5% </TD></TR><TR class=last><TD>4+ WR </TD><TD>33 </TD><TD>17.7% </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Source: Stats Inc.

Hey, I'm not trying to sell you on Moore as an every-week starter; for the moment, DHB appears to be ahead of him in the pecking order. But I am telling you that outside of return-yards leagues, Moore should be considered a better starting option than Ford, last week's results notwithstanding. Clearly, if you're in a return-yards league, Ford is more valuable. But given how often they're out on the field, Moore is the likelier high-upside guy to break out in any given week. He's No. 34 in my WR ranks this week; Ford, who doesn't play on more than half the Raiders' offensive snaps at the moment, is 42nd.


5. Are we really supposed to trust Matt Cassel again? On the heels of a four-TD effort from Cassel against the Colts a couple of weeks back -- which was followed by a bye -- our ESPN rankers seem to believe in the Chiefs QB. As a group, we rate Cassel our No. 15 QB of the week, but one of our guys has him at No. 10, while I have him at No. 19. Granted, players such as Tom Brady, Michael Vick, Eli Manning and Ryan Fitzpatrick are out this week, and granted, the Raiders are allowing an average of 18.8 fantasy points per game to opposing QBs, third most in the NFL. But to rate Cassel as highly as we've done is to consider him roughly a league-average fantasy signal-caller, and I'm not ready to go there again.


Even with Jamaal Charles gone, Cassel and the Chiefs' passing game have crawled into a shell. This wasn't a downfield passing team last year, averaging just 5.8 yards at the catch, but back then they had an excuse: Charles was setting the league ablaze, and as a whole the offense was the run-heaviest in the entire league, calling running plays on 53.9 percent of their snaps. This year, they're down to 49.8 percent (still high, but not the highest), yet Cassel's yards-at-the-catch average is down to 5.3 even as his completion rate has risen to a nice-looking 66.4 percent. Dinky. Dunky. Doo. Nobody in the NFL has made fewer first downs via the pass this season than Kansas City, and the Chiefs are 25th in pass plays of 25 yards or more. Until Week 5, Cassel had just four touchdowns and five interceptions.


Heck, I'll give Cassel his big fantasy day in Indy. Even including that (I say) anomalous output, Cassel's stats in his past 10 starts have been far shy of glorious: 13 TDs, 11 INTs and an average of 182.4 passing yards per game. What you have to ask yourself is whether Cassel's hot start last year (remember, he was inside the fantasy top 10 for QBs for much of the season) was the exception or the rule. Until I see more risk-taking and more aerial weaponry out of the Chiefs, I'm going to say "Exception."


Five in brief



6. Who's Jackie Battle again? We fantasy owners are like dogs: We really only remember what's been in front of us most recently. The Chiefs were on a bye last week, so many of us have forgotten that Battle torched the Colts for 19 carries and 119 yards out of nowhere the previous week, seemingly wresting the starting RB job from Thomas Jones. While I'm not a big fan of Cassel this week, I ranked Battle 16th, because I think Todd Haley truly wants to find out whether he's got a new full-time No. 1 back this week against the Raiders. (And Oakland may statistically be a good team for fantasy QBs to face, but it is definitely a bad team stopping the run.) If KC had had a game in Week 6, Battle would've been added in many more leagues, but because of the schedule quirk, he's still owned in only 39.1 percent of leagues. He should be picked up in many more than that before Sunday. At 6-foot-2 and 238 pounds, Battle ran a 4.42 40, which wasn't enough to get him drafted out of the run 'n' shoot at the University of Houston, but which does indicate the kind of measurables we're dealing with. I've never seen Battle run and thought, "Wow, that's an explosive NFL player." But beggars can't be choosers, and the man could get the ball 20 times Sunday.

7. Speaking of undrafted rookies, um, who's Doug Baldwin exactly? No, he's not the missing Baldwin brother. This Baldwin is a kid who caught 58 passes and nine TDs from Andrew Luck at Stanford last year, and who snuck onto the Seahawks' roster as a free-agent invitee this summer. In the two games before Seattle's bye, Baldwin had 13 catches for 220 yards and a score, plus in the season opener he added four grabs for 83 yards and another TD. Heck, he's fantasy's No. 24 WR on a per-game basis so far this year. He's also owned in only 24.3 percent of ESPN fantasy leagues. Should we all be buying? Well, I don't mind him as a flyer, but I have to say the fact the other rankers put him as a top-30 WR this week piques my interest. (I listed him at No. 40.) Baldwin is a respectable 30th in yards-at-the-catch among WRs this year (10.6). But while I hate to be dogmatic or stubborn about labels, this is still a very small player who lines up in the slot. How many pure slot receivers outside of Wes Welker are consistent fantasy threats in standard leagues? Victor Cruz has had a couple of big games. But how'd he produce last week? (Hint: two catches for 12 yards). David Nelson has been OK, too, but that's the level of player I think we're talking about here. I'm willing to watch Baldwin closely. I'm just not ready to start him in fantasy leagues.


8. But as for this Greg Little fellow … I wrote at length about Little in last week's Hard Count, and concluded that Little was in a perfect sweet spot to finally help make a Browns wideout relevant for fantasy football again. Versus the Raiders last week, he started in two-receiver sets and mostly did bump inside to the slot on third downs, and it worked out exceedingly well: Little had 12 targets (no other Cleveland receiver had more than seven) and six grabs for 72 yards. Plus, he should've scored a touchdown, but fell down untouched within inches of the Oakland end zone. Little is still owned in only 7.8 percent of ESPN.com leagues, probably because of that ugly orange helmet he wears, but I'm telling you: This guy is legit. He'll be out there for every snap Sunday against a depleted Seahawks secondary (which will be missing Marcus Trufant for the rest of the year) and he's at the perfect confluence of Colt McCoy's middling arm strength and Pat Shurmur's conservative play-calling. I ranked Little as a top-30 fantasy wideout this week, and he's got the potential to be even more than that in PPR leagues.


9. Who's the right guy to play in the absence of Jahvid Best? Best will almost certainly miss this week's tilt against the Falcons because of a concussion; injuries were always the reason to be suspicious of Best, and here he is, falling prey to those suspicions. It's a shame, too, because while he hasn't been great on the ground (65 yards per game), he's been a monster catching the ball (27 grabs for 287 yards receiving). In fact, Best is one of only 11 RBs averaging more than 100 yards from scrimmage per game. With him gone for now, Maurice Morris looks like a good bet to lead the Lions in RB touches. Detroit is currently first in the NFL in passes thrown behind the line of scrimmage, which reflects how important the screen game is to Scott Linehan's offense, and they run a whopping 68.8 percent of their plays out of the shotgun formation, easily the highest such rate in the NFL (the Carolina Panthers are second with 57.6 percent). Morris is a good pass-catcher who knows Linehan's system quite well, having worked in it for two-plus seasons now, and he produced a few fine efforts with Best hobbled last year (including scoring a TD in each of the season's final three games). Keiland Williams is also a good pass-catcher and weighs 20 pounds more, so he might wind up the goal-line back, but he's newer to the system. I have Morris rated No. 27 among RBs this week and Williams rated 37th.


10. While we're at it, who's the best bet to replace Felix Jones? Jones is out with a high ankle sprain and once he left last week's game against the Patriots, DeMarco Murray had nine carries for 30 yards while Tashard Choice (who'd lost a fumble deep in New England territory earlier in the game) had three carries for 17 yards (eight of which came on a "give-up-the-ghost" third-and-long run). I don't think we truly know how Jason Garrett will dole out the work versus the Rams this week, and it's fair to say he could change his plans based on who looks better once the game begins. But remember how I just said the Lions have thrown the most passes behind the line of scrimmage so far this season? The Cowboys have thrown the third most. Felix Jones may have caught only 14 balls so far this year, but he, Choice, Murray, Martellus Bennett, Jason Witten, Dez Bryant, Kevin Ogletree, John Phillips and Laurent Robinson have all seen multiple screen targets over the course of five games. And of that group, nobody is better suited to be a demon in the short-passing game than Murray. His senior year at Oklahoma, Murray had 71 catches and 594 receiving yards, and is a very dangerous player in space. That potential prowess in the screen game and his 3-to-1 carry advantage over Choice late last week led me to rank Murray No. 18 among fantasy RBs this week, while Choice is 30th on my list.

 

[HacheMan]

Out of my league

By Matthew Berry
ESPN.com

"Whatever you do, don't try to be funny!"

I was on the phone with my younger brother. He's one of those high-powered Hollywood managers who understands everything about show business -- and about me. All the negatives about me and whatever positives there might be. He is also, like me, a huge fan of "The League," the comedy about fantasy football that airs on FX on Thursday nights at 10:30 ET.


Episode 3 of Season 3 airs tonight, and I'm in it, playing a (hopefully!) slightly less awkward version of myself. It was filmed in August, and, as I was getting ready to leave my hotel room to go to the set, I was talking with my brother about it. And he had some advice.


"Look, these are some of the best comedians and improv actors in the business. They are all hilarious. Truly brilliant. You won't be able to keep up with them. I've seen you act. You're not a good actor. So just promise me, whatever you do, don't try to be funny!"


The reason he was saying that, other than, ahem, the obvious, was that the show is not scripted. The creators of the show are Jeff and Jackie Schaffer. The spouses have many famous credits, but among them, Jeff was a writer on "Seinfeld" for many seasons and an executive producer on the final two seasons. He's also an executive producer on "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and this show is shot in much the same way.


There is an outline of the plot of the show and what is supposed to happen in each scene. There might be a few lines of key dialogue, but much of it is improvised. Only the basic beats (plot points) of each scene are laid out.


Like, I'm making this scenario up, but you might be handed a script that reads: Pete and Ruxin are talking. Taco enters the bar and invites them to a party. They leave, but, as they are paying the bill, Ruxin decides to not leave a tip.


That's all there would be. The only important things to accomplish in that scene are the invite to the party (where a future scene will be) and the not leaving a tip (I'm guessing Ruxin will meet up with the waitress again at a very inopportune time).


So although I had the basic beats, all the dialogue was improvised. By some of the funniest improv comics in Los Angeles. And, gulp, me. So you understand my brother's trepidation.

It's one thing to memorize lines; it's another to go toe to toe with folks as you're making stuff up. I'll see it for the first time along with the rest of America, so I have no idea how it turned out, but hopefully I didn't totally embarrass myself. I do know that the rest of the cast was hilarious around me, so even if I am a total train wreck, I hope folks will be laughing hard enough not to notice.

One reason I was so excited to do the show, and the thing I like most about it, is "the league" itself. It's about an eight-team fantasy league (I've heard of many, incidentally, stop being so snobbish) and only six of the people in the league are featured characters (two live out of town). It's a 30-minute show; you can't do a live-action sitcom (a good one, anyway) focusing on 10 different people. So although some might quibble with the league size, no one will argue about the fantastic spirit of the league, which is very true to fantasy football.


There is epic trash-talking. Outrageous bets. Lopsided trade offers, angry emails, people too in love with their own roster, rampant overthinking about roster moves and a true desperation to win at all costs. Like every league I've ever been in, but so much better.


They compete for the "The Shiva," named after an awkward girl they went to high school with. The show is very funny adult humor, but it's not politically correct. Not even close. The last-place finisher in the league -- "The Sacko" -- has to perform humiliating feats. The show captures everything that is special, fun and unique about fantasy football. This season's opening "Shiva Bowl Shuffle" is one of the funniest things I have ever seen.

I've written about my personal favorite league before, but I wondered about other people's leagues. So I asked my friends on Facebook and those who follow me on Twitter what was the best thing about their league. Got some great responses.


Many leagues force the losers to wear a dress somewhere public. I've heard about leagues where every team name has to be a weird kid from high school or the last-place finisher in the league has to wear some sort of toilet seat and/or pay for everything at next year's draft. Many leagues have weekly write-ups, podcasts devoted to their league and online videos. The members of the "Ducal League" all have secret identities on Twitter and follow each other, just to trash talk to each other but not fill anyone else's timeline.


Lots of folks suggested that the winner of the each week's matchup gets to choose the avatar of the losing team for the next week and that draft infractions are punished by getting beer in the face (YouTube "Duff Beers in the face"). All great stuff. Here are some more I liked. First from Twitter.

@WillReiter: loser of the league each year has to take the SATs again with high school students. Score is then etched onto trophy.


@patfrank If your guy gets fined for a hit or something, you pay too! $25k = $25 to the league.


@ZachPrieston Started a tradition where Champion of previous year chooses what the last place owner has to wear at the next year's draft.


@RogerRogerPow: Draft order is determined by simulating a NCAA '06 season with all of us having colleges named after us.


@smerta13: At the draft if you try to pick some one who was already drafted, you do a shot of something gross.


@CollinCampbell5: The Ring of Shame! Lowest week score in our 12 team league must shave a visible ring around either arm or leg and post pic!


@ftank47: My league's "thing" is the loser of toilet bowl has to eat a stick of butter. Solid.


@RonCoobie: loser of the Star Spangled Banner game has to sing the national anthem to start the following year's draft.


@jdgriff4: We say the pledge of allegiance before every draft. Standing up, hands over hearts.


@BenBenJammin: ýFive guys living in a college apartment. Lowest amount of points cleans the bathroom.


And now from Facebook.


Jeremy Vetterkind: Photoshopping pics of the opponent.


Austin Trupp: We have 4 columns a week: one modeled after TMR columns, one modeled after MMQB by Peter King, one modeled after Bill Simmons, and one original concept rating smack talk. Columns average 5,000 words a week.


Nick Barnard: Always pre-draft QB challenge and Texas Hold 'Em. But we make wagers in head-to-head match ups. We've had a guy wear a diaper to the Super Bowl party, another guy shave his eyebrows off, and 3 of us last year had to do a polar plunge at the super bowl party. There was 16 or so inches of snow on the ground and we had to axe a hole in the pond.


Norman MacFarland: Each week we have a new smokeshow with a picture of an ex or current girlfriend of someone in the league. At the end of the year we have a bracket-style tournament of all the smokeshows to decide a winner. Next week, the smokeshow is going to include someone's mom.


Matt Franklin: Each week the winning team can steal a player from whom they beat in exchange for someone they started at the same position. Slow starts makes it rough.


And finally, I'll give a shout-out to one of my own leagues. This year, I got invited into a league with a bunch of the guys who work on the Howard Stern show and, as you might imagine, it is both very funny and not-safe-for-work for me to print much of it. They have one rule I really like: It's a 10-team league, and two sets of wins are awarded every week. The five teams that win their head-to-head matchup get a win, and the top five highest-scoring teams also get a win. Helps mitigate those weeks when you have the third-highest score but were playing one of the two highest-scoring teams. Or, conversely, penalizes those who squeak by with a less-than-stellar week. I lost Jamaal Charles in that league and am still top four, partially thanks to this rule.


I'm sure there are other great league ideas; let me hear them on Facebook, Twitter and here in the comments on this piece. In the meantime, let's get to this week's Love/Hate. As you might have noticed, I did not do rankings Wednesday and missed the podcast. Some personal life stuff came up, but all is good now and I expect to have ranks up Friday. But because I didn't have my own ranks to go off of for this column, this is still based on where my fellow rankers ranked these guys. As always, this is not a pure start/sit but rather is about guys I like more or less than my fellow rankers do for this week. Let's get to it.



Week 7 Players I Love

Tim Tebow, QB, Broncos: As seen in last week's "Love/ Hate"!

Jay Cutler, QB, Bears: Psst. Come close. I don't want him to hear. (Looks around). OK, so, don't tell anyone, but when Cutler actually has time to throw, he's not a terrible quarterback. I liked the protection adjustments Chicago made last week against the Vikings, and now the Bears get the Buccaneers. Only eight teams have fewer sacks than the Bucs. Dump-off passes to Matt Forte that he runs for 12 yards each? They count, and they add up, don't you know.


Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Steelers: Is it daylight saving time, is it not daylight saving time; I can never figure out what time it is in Arizona, except now. You know what time it is? Time to start Big Ben! It's also time for hacky segues. What do want from me? I'm on three hours of sleep. Anyway, the Cardinals give up the ninth most fantasy points per game, and that includes games against Donovan McNabb and Tarvaris Jackson. Against, shall we say, more accomplished quarterbacks, they give up an average of 21 fantasy points a game, which is a lot, even in Arizona.


Matt Hasselbeck, QB, Titans: Just like reduced-fat Wheat Thins and the new "90210" TV show, Hasselbeck is better than you think at first blush. More fantasy points this year than Tony Romo or Philip Rivers, to name a few, and he's at home and coming off a bye, which -- for quarterbacks not named Rex -- I tend to like. Extra week to prepare, all that. But more importantly, Pierre, can I get an ESPN Next Level sound effect? (Waits, hears it). Great, thank you. When Hasselbeck faces five or more rushers, he has a completion percentage of 67.2 percent and is top five in the NFL in that category along with yards per attempt, 30-yard passes and Total QBR. Meanwhile, the Texans send five or more rushers on 56.5 percent of dropbacks, the second-highest rate in the NFL. Among those five rushers? Not Mario Williams.


Ryan Mathews, RB, Chargers: Remember when people used to be scared of the Jets' run defense? Me neither. Another ESPN Next Level stat for you: Mathews is top six in the NFL in yards per rush, yards after contact per rush and 20-yard rushes when running up the middle. The Jets are allowing 4.2 yards per carry up the middle.


Ryan Torain, RB, Redskins: You might feel gun shy. I don't blame you. You might hate Mike Shanahan. You would not be alone. You might say "I've played with that fire, Berry, and have the burnt fingers to prove it," and I would say "I am sure you do." So, as I said last week on Fantasy Football Now and on Twitter, you play with a Redskins running back, you play with fire. But with this being on the road, John Beck's first start, etc., I think the Redskins will run the ball more than normal and Torain will get the bulk of that work. The Panthers allow the most fantasy points to opposing running backs and have allowed them to score eight times in the past three weeks.


Earnest Graham, RB, Buccaneers: As a flex option this week, you could do a lot worse. I am assuming LeGarrette Blount is not playing in this game, of course. Graham ran well last week (109 total yards), and, against the Bears and that Cover 2, I think you'll see a lot of dump-off passes and checkdowns. Graham is fifth in the NFL among running backs in terms of receptions. Chicago gives up a surprising 5.4 yards per carry.


Maurice Morris, RB, Lions: Ugh. I know. I feel like dirty Randy just writing it. But assuming Jahvid Best does not play, I expect Morris to get the majority of playing time and, in a bye week with a lot of good running backs out, you could do worse and probably already are. Detroit can't run the ball, but the Lions do involve their running back in the pass attack (Best already has 27 receptions on 40 targets this year) and only three teams have allowed more receiving yards to opposing running backs than the Atlanta Falcons.


Mark Ingram, RB, Saints: He has scored a touchdown in back-to-back games and in three of his past four. No team in the NFL has allowed more rushing touchdowns than the Indianapolis Colts. Just because it's obvious doesn't make it any less true. He won't get a ton of touches, limiting his upside, but Ingram is a good flex play this week.


LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, Jets: Think they get him a touchdown against his former team? Me, too. If you're down in the low 30s of our rankings looking for a running back, here's one with as good a shot at a score as anyone.

Eric Decker (right now) and Demaryius Thomas (in the long run), WRs, Broncos: At some point, Tebow is going to have to throw it. And these are the guys who are gonna catch it. Decker needs no introduction, as he leads the Broncos in targets, receptions and receiving touchdowns despite Brandon Lloyd's having been there the first six weeks (LLoyd did miss one game). Now that Lloyd has left, I expect fantasy goodness to ooze from Decker as Tebow will throw more than folks think. And, if you feel like speculating a bit, grab Thomas off the waiver wire. He is a physical beast with all the skills who just can't stay healthy. I would not start Thomas this week until we see him on the field, but, if you have room, I would stash him. He has the tools and opportunity to be a stud this year.


Brandon Lloyd, WR, Rams: "I love you. … No, I love you more. … No, I love you more. … I love you times infinity. … I love you times infinity plus two! … Awww. … You say good night first. … No, silly billy, you say good night first. … No, you first. … No, you go. … OK, we'll hang up at the same time. … OK. … 1, 2, 3, hang up! … You didn't hang up! … Because I knew you wouldn't hang up! … Oh, silly billy, I missed you. … No, I missed you more." …

And that, kids, is an excerpt from the official transcript of one side of the conversation during the first phone call between Brandon Lloyd and Josh McDaniels after Lloyd had been traded to the Rams. Whose side was it? Does it matter? I don't care who is throwing the ball; it's coming Lloyd's way this week.


Mike Williams, TB, Buccaneers: Thirteen targets last week -- he can't be this bad. Can he? No. I've decided. He can't be. The fact that they are not throwing to him deep actually helps in this game as I feel he'll get a bunch of stuff underneath. The Bears have struggled with no-huddle offenses this year, and I expect Tampa to use that some, which means Freeman will be looking for the familiar. Mike Williams South has been brutal this year. I get it. But as a flex play/No. 3 wide receiver from outside the top 20 this week, I think he could be OK.


Greg Little, WR, Browns: Becoming more involved in the passing offense, and (spoiler alert!) the Browns will struggle to run the ball in this game. They'll need to throw, and, when they do, Little (20 targets the past two games) will be the beneficiary.


Fred Davis, TE, Redskins: Leads the Redskins in receiving yards, is second in receptions and his 15.6 yards per catch not only leads Washington but is second in the NFL among tight ends with at least 20 attempts. He'll probably need to block more with the injuries to Washington's offensive line, but I also see Beck not finding anyone open, Davis releasing and catching a lot of checkdowns. With Chris Cooley banged up, Davis is clearly the guy but has a boring name. We need to jazz this up. How about Funky Fred Davis? Yes? Maybe? We'll work on it.


Dustin Keller, TE, Jets: He definitely has disappointed recently, but he was wide open in the end zone Monday night and Sanchez just completely missed seeing him. Given that the Chargers allow the third fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers and are tied for the eighth most fantasy points allowed to opposing tight ends, I think it's fairly obvious where the Jets will need to attack San Diego. Keller is second on the Jets in red zone targets, and the Chargers are actually tied for the 11th most red zone passing touchdowns allowed despite already having had their bye and having faced teams such as Miami, Minnesota, Kansas City and Denver. I'm keeping the faith with Keller one more week.


Dallas Cowboys D/ST: Available in 45 percent of leagues, Dallas has double-digit fantasy points in three of the past four, including this past week against the Patriots. Another spoiler alert: The Rams, with A.J. Feeley potentially at quarterback, are not the Patriots.


Washington Redskins D/ST: If you are in a deeper league and need a bye-week defense from outside the top 10, the Panthers have 10 turnovers this year and Washington is, believe it or not, tied for ninth in D/ST scoring with the Eagles and Giants, all just ahead of the Cowboys for an all-NFC East block.



Week 7 Players I Hate:

Carson Palmer, QB, Raiders: He's been retired for almost a year; he's been in the offense for three days; the Raiders have a higher percentage of running plays than any other team in the NFL. … He's a big name and it's a big news story, but don't let that fool you into starting him this week. Way too risky for me to have as a top-20 play this week, which is where he's currently ranked.


Matt Ryan, QB, Falcons: The Lions, at home, allow an average of just five fantasy points a game to opposing quarterbacks and allow the fourth fewest fantasy points to them overall. Probably no Julio Jones in this game, and, according to the New York Life Protection Index, the Falcons have allowed a combined 61 quarterback sacks, hurries and knockdowns. That's a lot. Especially considering they are about to face an angry Lions front line. One more on Ryan, as we go ESPN Next Level: Ryan has thrown five of his picks and been sacked 13 times when facing four or fewer rushers. No team has pass-rushed four or fewer this year more than the Lions, who do it on 83.3 percent of all opponent drop-backs.


Curtis Painter, QB, Colts: Said it last week, will say it again this week: When faced with pressure, Painter is not a good quarterback. Saints blitz on 71 percent of opponent pass plays. Not even if you're desperate.


Steven Jackson, RB, Rams: The Cowboys have the No. 1 run defense in the NFL; they allow the second-fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs; and Jackson has not had more than 11 points in any game this year. Even in a bye week, I have a tough time making him top 12, where he is currently ranked. More of a midtier No. 2 guy this week.


Montario Hardesty, RB, Browns: I'm assuming Peyton Hillis won't play. But wanna win a bar bet? Ask someone which run defense allows just 3.1 yards per rush, lowest in the NFL. The answer is the Seattle Seahawks. I have Hardesty outside my top 20 and as a low-end flex play at best. Drink up.

Shonn Greene, RB, Jets: To own Shonn Greene is to hate him. You already know I think that, if there is a rushing touchdown to be had here, it goes to Tomlinson, plus, Greene had 38 of his 74 yards rushing in the fourth quarter last week against a Miami team that was essentially out of it. I don't expect a run-out-the-clock fourth quarter against the Chargers this week.


James Starks, RB, Packers: Single-digit fantasy points in four straight including one negative point game. The Vikings aren't a good football team, but they can stop the run. And just because the Packers are up big doesn't mean they'll stop throwing. Ask the Rams.


Pierre Garcon and Reggie Wayne, WRs, Colts: Like Garcon more than Wayne but not crazy about either. See Painter, Curtis.


Robert Meachem and Lance Moore, WRs, Saints: It's obviously a good matchup, and one of these guys could easily have a good game here. But Brees spreads it around so much and you know Jimmy Graham, Darren Sproles and Marques Colston will get theirs in the passing game, leaving not a ton for the rest of the receivers.


Plaxico Burress, WR, Jets: Seriously. Welcome to Dumpsville.


Jermichael Finley, TE, Packers: Look, if you have him, you gotta play him. I can't imagine you have better options. But the Vikings have yet to allow a touchdown to an opposing tight end and give up the eighth fewest fantasy points to opposing tight ends. And, for all of Green Bay's prolific scoring, Finley has six or fewer points in every game this year but one; the crazy three-touchdown game against Chicago. He has that potential any game he plays, of course, given his skills and the offense he plays in, but I'm not feeling it this game.


Jared Cook, TE, Titans: Texans (third fewest points to tight ends) are a bad matchup for Cook, who has yet to become fully integrated into the Titans' offense.
That's all I've got this week. Good luck in your most important league, whatever it is. Here's hoping you don't have to shave anything into yourself come Tuesday.