The entire country, or at least those with the NFL network in their cable package, tuned in to the beginning of Thursday Night Football this week to watch former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn make his first professional start. What they got was a front row seat to watch one of the most disappointing offenses in the league break out of its funk and light up the scoreboard.

The Denver Broncos came out of the gates hot to start 2008. They weren’t held to under 34 points until they suffered their first loss in Week 4 to the Chiefs. In their first five games Denver’s quarterback Jay Cutler eclipsed 300 yards passing on three occasions, including games of 350 and 361.

Rookie wide receiver Eddie Royal blew up in his pro debut by receiving for 146 yards and a touchdown. The next week, in his first game of 2008, wideout Brandon Marshall followed Royal’s example and hauled in 18 passes for 166 yards and a score against division rival San Diego. Sitting at 4-1 during an AFC power-shift, Mike Shanahan and company seemed poise to grab the reins and ride the wave of success to a playoff berth and then some. Read more »

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 »

Seven Weeks down; ten to go. And the NFL class of 2008 is making its presence felt on Sundays (and Mondays for that matter). Big Week 7 performances from Chris Johnson and Matt Forte showed the fantasy world that these first year guys mean business.

John Carlson caught one for a score for the second straight game and Darren McFadden is still vying to touch the ball in Oakland. The Rams offense woke up in Week 7’s upset over Dallasm which could translate into good numbers for Donnie Avery, while the Jets demise to the Raiders in OT may mean it’s time to give up on Dustin Keller for the rest of ‘08. Read more »

Finally, a lopsided game on Monday Night Football in 2008. However, it was the team not expected to prevail that was on the winning side of a 41-7 rout.

The host New England Patriots spanked the Denver Broncos in a game that left Patriots fantasy owners smiling. Oppositely, the blowout also left us wondering where in the heck has Denver’s high-powered offense gone over the past few weeks?

In what was billed to be a clash of AFC powers, it seemed that only one contender showed up to play; likewise, the quarterback in white expected to shine on the national level was upstaged by a no-name fill-in not named Brady. Read more »

The NFL’s class of 2008 has made its presence felt through the first quarter of the season. Week 5 proved to be no different as many rookies found their way into the endzones and impacted fantasy games everywhere during a time when depth was huge due to bye weeks and injuries.

For the third straight week, Houston’s Steve Slaton looked great. It certainly doesn’t seem like he’s only started three games as a pro. And in Dallas, Felix Jones taught the Cowboys a valuable lesson by following up his zero-touch effort in Week 4 with an impressive showing of 96 yards on nine carries including a 33-yard touchdown scamper. Read more »

We cannot understate the impact of getting team-specific news from local newspapers. While reading blogs like this one certainly can paint a big picture of what’s happening around the National Football League, questions about players and teams can best be answered by local beat writers. These are true journalists who cover a team all week, have locker room access and get a much better feel for all of the developing storylines - big and small.

There are two difficult things for a fantasy owner in their plight to find this kind of information. First, locating hometown news sites online can be time-consuming and difficult. Second, once you find the news you need, what do you do with it? How do you put it into the perspective of YOUR fantasy team? Read more »

Last week we told you to start players like Steve Slaton, Corell Buckhalter, Isaac Bruce and Roddy White in the flex position. Those players, among others, rewarded their fantasy owners with good results. Players that are hot, getting a chance because of injury, or at least assured touches are always useful for the flex spot and as bye-week or injury replacements.

Regardless, every week owners are put to the test with the critical decisions in the flex spot that can determine the outcome of your game. If you have guys like RB DeAngelo Williams going against a struggling Chiefs run defense or WR Amani Toomer, who is stepping up as New York’s primary receiver, feel comfortable putting them, among the eight others below, into the flex slot in Week 5.

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At the quarter-point of the season, we have started to learn some things about many of the young players making their professional debuts. And with major injuries and plenty of scores to be had, the rookies were busy in Week 4.

Sunday proved to be full of surprises, as Felix Jones got zero touches in the Cowboys loss to Washington, and Darren McFadden took a back seat to Michael Bush as he attempted to play through a case of turf toe. Facing one of the league’s great run defenses, Chris Johnson managed to score his first and second career rushing touchdowns. Read more »

The ever-important “Flex” position doesn’t even exist in real life, but then again, that’s why they call it fantasy football. If lineup decisions weren’t hard enough between just one position, the flex option is even harder because it forces you to choose from your secondary options at RB and WR.

Every week, owners are put to the test with the critical decisions that can determine the outcome of your game. This week, if you have guys like Fred Taylor going against the Colts’ suspect run defense or Roddy White facing Kansas City’s inexperienced secondary, feel comfortable putting them, among others, into the flex slot.
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Heading into Week 3, the difference between 2-0 and 0-2 is catastrophic. Has your team survived the inevitable crapshoot that is the first few weeks, or has it succumb the unpredictable nature of fantasy football? Either way you’ll be looking forward to a successful Week 3, and it all starts with who you put in the starting lineup

Here is a look at some of the most intriguing Week 3 matchups. It’s all about starting quality players when they have a favorable matchup, 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 second edition of The Good, Bad and Ugly

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