Some may remember an article just last week where we predicted the 49ers would turn their season and their franchise around with a win in Mike Singletary’s coaching debut.

The score of that game: Seattle 34, San Francisco 13.

While we may have jumped the gun on that one, at least our heart, like Singletary’s, was in the right place. The Niners do appear doomed for this season, falling into last place in the miserable NFC West thanks to two losses to division foes and five straight defeats. San Francisco did not win a single game in October, and managed to give up more than 30 points in every game except one during that stretch (29 to the Giants, which is pretty close). Read more »

Between draft day busts, first half injuries, and bye weeks fantasy owners have had their work cut out so far in 2008. With the options listed below, many owners will have the opportunity to bolster their rosters before they have to struggle through the middle of the season.

Pay close attention to the matchups every week because often times a player’s opponent is more important than the player himself. Especially with D/ST’s, it may be easier to pick up a team playing an awful offense than it is to pick up a quality defense. Read more »

Short-term versus long-term thinking is the theme for free agents this week. Whose bandwagon do you hop on with expectations for future results, and whose best days are behind them? Blips on the radar are a dime a dozen in fantasy football, so we must consider all factors to predict who’s here to stay.

The big question for those seeking wide receiver help is, Ted Ginn Jr. or Donnie Avery with a waiver wire pick? Really, you can’t wrong with either one of these guys, but if you ask us, we like Ginn Jr.’s chances to out-produce Avery. The reason? Experience and learning on past mistakes. Read more »

With the half of the 2008 NFL season already passed, most teams will look to streak down the home stretch towards their goal of making the postseason. Getting the chance to play in January isn’t easy, and it looks to be a long, bitter journey for many bubble teams, which at this point, is just about everybody minus Tennessee and the Giants.

Look for some key matchups this week, including several that will have major implications on division races. Among the best of this week are big-time rivalries, like Baltimore-Cleveland and Buffalo-NY Jets. The Sunday night game should be incredible to watch with two AFC powers dueling inside Lucas Oil Stadium, along with an old-fashioned NFC East dogfight at the Meadowlands. Read more »

For those of you that weren’t watching a rainy Game 5 of the 2008 World Series, there was a football game on Monday night.

The Titans, in typical Tennessee fashion this season, won yet another game 31-21 over the Colts to extend their runaway lead to four games in the AFC South. The Indy loss gives Tennessee the largest lead over a second-place team in any division in football. Read more »

Week 8 is officially a closed chapter in the NFL saga of 2008. That means it’s time to dish out some Week 8 hardware.

Things are going right in Philly as running back Brian Westbrook returned from injury to take home MVP honors, while last week’s top star Steven Jackson sat this one out with an injury of his own. The circus that is the Dallas Cowboys continues to cause fantasy woes and Seahawks posted 35 points without John Carlson or Julius Jones finding the endzone. Read more »

Panic is setting isn’t quite setting into the New York Jets locker room, but it’s not far off. It was about 15 yards away - as in the winning TD toss to Laveranues Coles with a minute to play - on Sunday when New York went down to the wire against a hapless Chiefs team.

The Jets were able to overcome three Brett Favre interceptions and escape with a 28-24 home win.

With the win, New York improved to 4-3, but the moderate success has been more a product of the team’s schedule than its performance. The cushy schedule, which has included three wins over last-place teams Miami, Cincinnati and Kansas City, gives way to road contests against Buffalo, New England and Tennessee in the next four weeks. Read more »

Patriots fans and many fantasy owners saw their hopes and dreams for 2008 quickly erased as Tom Brady went down for the season in the first quarter of Week 1. Now, over two months later, those same Pats fans and the collective fantasy world are looking at the sincere possibility of having to limp through another season without New England’s golden boy.

Since having his knee repaired after the injury, it is speculated that Brady has undergone more surgeries due to the knee becoming infected. The Boston Herald reported that, “the fear is the patellar tendon graft used to replace Brady’s anterior cruciate ligament is in danger of becoming compromised.” If this does indeed become reality, the process of repairing his knee would go back to square one and his ‘09 season would be in serious jeopardy. Read more »

A putrid 4-10 Week 7 takes us under .500 for the first time this season. Think of it like the stock market.  After a huge downslide you have two choices. Cash in and take the loss, or hang on for the ride. I suggest everyone stays along for the ride. At the very least, you will see a grown man driven to the edge by point spreads. That’s entertaining no matter who you are. Read more »

Lots of commotion today from ESPN.com and Fox 31 TV in Denver, who are reporting that between “six to ten” players have violated the league’s steroids policy. Only two names have been released thus far - Saints DE Will Smith and RB Deuce McAllister.

Obviously, the name of consequence in fantasy is that of McAllister. He filled the vacancy of injured RB Reggie Bush for roughly five days, then tested positive for the diuretic Bumetanide, according to Fox 31. If reports are true and McAllister does not successfully appeal, league rules dictate a four-game suspension for his first positive test. Read more »