Small sample sizes can often mask what players are actually capable of doing, for better or worse. If a guy plays over his head for three games, fantasy owners go nuts and start drinking his Kool-Aid. If he struggles for three games, owners cut bait and offer him in trades for 50 cents on the dollar. After nine weeks of the NFL season, season numbers are starting to weed out imposters and exposing players for what they really are.

Just like in baseball, hot streaks don’t change who a player fundamentally is. DeAngelo Williams came out of nowhere to score three touchdowns in Week 5, but does that change a fact that he is undersized and incapable of shouldering a heavy work load? Willie Parker found paydirt three times in Week 1, but does that mean his touchdown-scoring woes are officially behind him? Read more »

It was nearly a decade ago when avid NFL followers bared witness to one of the most high-powered and unstoppable duos the league has ever seen. Randy Moss, a young kid out of Marshall with the 6-foot-4 inch stature and blazing 40 speed, and Daunte Culpepper, a towering quarterback with a good track record of team loyalty, self-discipline, and a cannon for an arm. The Vikings organization put the two in the same offense to start the 2000 season and awed the football world.

For the next five seasons, Culpepper and Moss were perennial picks in the first round of nearly every fantasy league. Culpepper threw for 129 touchdowns by the end of the 2004 season, and Moss was on the receiving end of 72 scores of his own. Read more »

Something happened as we crossed the halfway point of the 2008 season. After weeks of scavenging for boring, low-impact bye-week and injury replacements, opportunities were served up on golden platters for Week 10. Brady Quinn, Ryan Torain and Jamaal Charles are just a few of the high-ceiling players getting their first chances to start, giving fantasy owners more meaningful transactions to ponder on a shortened week.

Quinn may be the next big thing in Cleveland. He may fall flat on his face and lose the job to Derek Anderson once again. The unknown is exciting and sure to draw attention from owners in most leagues, likely making him the object of most of their affection. He has a strong matchup against Denver on Thursday, but only three days to prepare for his first career start. Read more »