With Week 14 in the books, the fantasy season is officially winding down. Top performances down the stretch prove crucial when playoff spots and championships come into play. For the second straight week Westbrook owners rejoiced as he turned in an MVP-worthy showing against the Giants in a rivalry game.

The Colts looked like the Colts of seasons past as they routed Cincinnati, and Brett Favre and the Jets fired a blank in a Week 14 loss to Mike Singletary’s revitalized 49ers. Read more »

Week 10 has come and gone. The Lions couldn’t pick up a win for the tenth straight week. We saw the return of Thursday Night Football with a primetime slugfest between the arms of Cutler and Quinn and the verbal diarrhea exhibited by Cutler, Brandon Marshall, and Cleveland’s Kellen Winslow.

Then, in another exciting rendition of NFL action on Sunday, Green Bay vs. Minnesota went down to the wire, two second-tier backs found paydirt thrice, and a one Tyler Thigpen played like he actually belonged in the NFL. Jake Delhomme did not however. Read more »

The free fall continues. I ended Week 8 with a 4-8-2 record. At 51-61-4 on the year, my goal of a .700 win percentage may seem like a pipe dream, but I wouldn’t go away just yet. 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 »

Last week we told you to expect big days from players like RB Julius Jones, RB Fred Taylor, RB Frank Gore and TE Jeremy Shockey and they all rewarded their owners. We also told you to lessen your expectations or sit players like RB Earnest Graham, RB Ryan Grant, RB Jonathan Stewart, WR DeSean Jackson and the Packers defense and all these players had below average games. How did we know this you ask? Playing the matchups.

Here is a look at some of the most intriguing Week 3 matchups. It’s all about starting quality players when they have favorable matchups, and the most savvy owners know when it’s time to take a chance on lesser players facing softer defenses. Take the first step here – in the third edition of The Good, Bad and Ugly.
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Three weeks is plenty of time to see monumental changes in the ever-evolving National Football League. Of course, Tom Brady’s injury was a huge blow, in fantasy and reality alike, but a multitude of other changes can and will take place for the remainder of the year. Gus Frerotte, Ronnie Brown and Rudi Johnson were some of the biggest beneficiaries of Sunday’s changes, as all three saw their fantasy stocks soar.

Injuries open doors immediately for opportunities in fantasy, but ineffecitiveness can do the same, albeit at a much slower pace. With a little projection, one can see backup Brady Quinn taking the reins of Cleveland’s offense by the end of September, Drew Stanton doing the same in Detroit, or New York’s Steve Smith emerging in the face of constant double teams on star wideout Plaxico Burress. Read more »

Week 3 could feature several games that produce shootouts like last week’s San Diego-Denver clash or Philadelphia-Dallas on Monday night.

Jay Cutler leads the NFL in passing yards after brilliant performances against Oakland and San Diego and gets another favorable matchup with the Saints in town this week. For anyone not convinced on starting Cutler, search our tag for Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal, Cutler’s top two targets.

49ers QB J.T. O’Sullivan surprised everyone with a gutsy performance in Seattle. Look out for a HUGE fantasy day at home against Detroit. He’s almost guaranteed to put up numbers, although if the Niners grab a big lead early the Lions may see San Francisco’s backups.

This week is also about quarterbacks who need to prove something. Matt Hasselbeck’s sqaud is 0-2 after two subpar performances, and the veteran needs to bounce back with a strong outing against St. Louis. Philip Rivers and company are also 0-2, and they need nothing more than a convincing win on Monday Night Football vs. the Jets.

Baltimore’s Joe Flacco can prove that Week 1 was no fluke, Donovan McNabb can knock off his toughest test this year, and Aaron Rodgers can finally prove himself against a team that actually has a victory.

Here are the top quarterbacks for Week 3:

Time to shake things up in our Week 3 rankings, especially at the top where the unthinkable happened - LaDainian Tomlinson lost his weekly home at No. 1 to Adrian Peterson. More struggling backs were bumped from the top five, as we try and let go of our preseason draft stocks and start seeing reality for what it is.

Reality is, Steven Jackson and Joseph Addai are no longer more desirable than Clinton Portis and Marion Barber. Ditto for Randy Moss, who was passed by Terrell Owens as our No. 1 wide receiver after seeing New England’s revamped offense with Matt Cassel at the helm. Read more »

We like to consider the needs of fantasy owners before our own here at ImaginaryGridiron.com. Your fantasy needs are important, yes, but we also care a great deal about your emotional well-being and stability during a rollercoaster ride of a season. Tom Brady and Marques Colston owners are especially in need of a hug this week, and we’re here to lie and tell them that everything will be OK.

We’re also here to set your sights on the proper things this weekend. First, Sunday’s must-see games, the ones that should be watched and/or recorded, if at all possible. Next, we’ll optimistically tackle the players who got out of the gates strong and look to have the staying power to go well beyond preseason expectations. And lastly, we’ll talk about 10 not-so-fortunate players who could prove to be 2008 busts. Read more »