The Thursday night game between the Patriots and Jets was a quarterback-friendly, overtime shootout. The kind of game fantasy owners dream of, unless of course they were part of the faction that watched New England quarterback Matt Cassel’s 400 yards and three touchdowns waste away on their bench. Brett Favre, meanwhile, had the far better game in reality, efficiently completing 26-of-33 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-31 overtime win.

For football fans and Bill Belichick bashers, there was more joy in reality than in fantasy Thursday night. For fantasy owners with enough reason to put Cassel in their starting lineups, there was plenty of joy in a breakout performance that went into the NFL record books. In addition to monster passing numbers, Cassel rushed for 62 yards and became the first quarterback in league history to accumulate 400 passing yards and 60 rushing yards in a game. Read more »

Avid football viewers can rejoice over the NFL’s addition of the Thursday Night Football game. Last week’s Broncos-Browns mid-week special did everything to complete the tri-fecta of fantastic night games last week. This time around, two big-time AFC East rivals will look to continue the primetime drama from Foxboro.

On top of that, two of the best cold-weather teams battle in Buffalo, the NFL’s oldest rivalry unfolds in “the definitive” football stadium, and the ‘Boys and ‘Skins hit it off again from our nation’s capitol. Read more »

The NFL is preparing for Week 11 as the weekend approaches. Festivities will, for the second straight week, be kicked off a little early with the NFL network’s broadcast of the Jets-Patriots contest on Thursday.

Besides the usual division rivalry/Man-genius vs. Belichick/student vs. master plot lines billed for this game, the comeback angle is now in play as well. As is the case with a few other games this week, the Thursday nighter will allow a former impact player to return to prominence in 2008. 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 »

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 »

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:

Any good fantasy owner looks at and analyzes his team on a week-by-week basis. What happens the week before can, and most often will, dramatically affect what happens the following week. So, on the eve of Week 2, don’t forget what happened last Sunday, and then apply that information to your lineups.

Injuries to Tom Brady and Marques Colston certainly will have an impact on their respective teams. Also, as we take a look ahead to Week 2, while we expect big things from Julius Jones and Jerricho Cotchery, we can’t say the same about Donovan McNabb.
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Week 2 is no time to get antsy, but there is still work to do in filling out the depth of a fantasy roster. Waiver wire selections may not be for immediate benefit, but they can certainly pay dividends if an owner makes good, speculative picks.

Backup quarterbacks are good examples because they rarely make the jump from free agent to fantasy starter. But, with at least one fill-in needed for a bye week and no guarantees of pristine health, their presence on a roster is vital.

In most leagues, running backs and wide receivers are scarce commodities. Free agents at both positions are either limited in their abilities or not going to produce immediate results. Read more »

Word is out that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will miss the rest of the 2008 season with a knee injury suffered in a 17-10 win over the Chiefs on Sunday. Now, nothing is official yet, as the early diagnosis is mainly based on the reaction of Brady’s teammates, who seem convinced that the quarterback has taken his last snap of the year.

We should hear something more concrete on Monday when Brady has an MRI on his ailing left knee.

Obviously, this is terrible, terrible news for the Patriots, and just as terrible for fantasy owners who invested first-round draft picks in last season’s league MVP. If Brady’s season is over, backup Matt Cassel won’t replace his production or have nearly the same positive effect on that offense, specifically wide receivers Randy Moss and Wes Welker. As good as the supporting cast is, Brady’s confidence, poise and accuracy made the whole thing go. Read more »