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 »

Current and former Bears are among the most desirable players on waiver wires this week, with quarterback Kyle Orton generating major buzz with a second straight career day. One of the beneficiaries of Orton’s stellar play has been punt-returner-turned-receiver Devin Hester, who has found paydirt in each of the last two weeks. Meanwhile, former teammate Cedric Benson finds himself in a good situation in the Cincinnati Bengals backfield.

Orton is surprisingly the most explosive quarterback available in most fantasy leagues. Few would have predicted that he would throw seven touchdown passes over any three-game stretch during the season, but he has over Chicago’s last three.

Reclamation project Marc Bulger is also a good pickup after being announced as the Rams starter for the rest of ‘08. JaMarcus Russell has quietly been better than expected, making the former No. 1 pick an intriguing pick as a bye-week fill-in. Read more »

The good news for Week 3 is that fewer injuries have been cause for fantasy owners to make mad dashes to the waiver wire. Bad news is, fewer sound options exist in free agency, meaning fewer chances to address weak links in your lineups.

The two players most heavily pursued this week are sure to be running back Darren Sproles, who suddenly has handcuff value for LaDainian Tomlinson owners, and San Francisco quarterback J.T. O’Sullivan, who registered his first career 300-yard game last week. Lots of speculative picks remain, but few fantasy teams can afford to look beyond their present issues and focus on the future. Read more »