As we near the half-way mark of the ‘08 season, NFL action continues to startle and excite each and every Sunday. This week, the Titans steamrolled the Chiefs with a versatile ground attack, and two quarterbacks in the Big Apple found their way onto our list for disappointing performances.

Mewelde Moore makes Steelers fans think “Willie Who?” and an MVP day for what seemed to be an ‘08 bust in Steven Jackson as his Rams put a hurtin’ on America’s Team. Willis McGahee and Ryan Grant also show up big in Week 7, as this could be deemed the week of redemption for guys struggling to get on track.

Be sure to check out this week’s Bonus Hardware after the Highlight Reel. Some performances were so bad they didn’t fit into our standard list of awards. Read more »

It’s official, nothing makes sense in the NFL anymore. The previously undefeated Giants fell to the hapless Browns, the winless Rams topped the surging Redskins, and the only thing you can expect is the unexpected. The same can be held true for individual matchups, but here we try to make some sense of what should happen.

Here is a look at some of the most intriguing Week 7 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 sixth edition of The Good, Bad and Ugly. Read more »

Some new faces crack our top 101 rankings, but the list has the same distinct look to it with a virtually unaltered top 10. That could change next week, though, because Vikings running back Adrian Peterson is officially on probation as our top-ranked player. The only question standing in the way of a Week 6 demotion is, who else deserves the top spot?

LaDainian Tomlinson has issues of his own and comes off a lackluster Week 5 effort. Frank Gore is having a fine, fine season, but his game just doesn’t scream “best player in fantasy football.” Clinton Portis is ever-so-slowly inching his way there, but doesn’t have half the big-game explosion of Peterson. We knew going in that Peterson would be inconsistent, so he gets at least one more week to prove just how good he can be. Read more »

Last week we told you to expect big things from RBs Steve Slaton, Michael Turner and Matt Forte. They all delivered. We also told you not to start RBs Julius Jones, Rudi Johnson, WR Anthony Gonzalez and QB Matt Hasselbeck. You guessed it, they all floundered in Week 5. How did we know this? Playing the matchups.

Here is a look at some of the most intriguing Week 6 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 fifth edition of The Good, Bad and Ugly.
Read more »

Consider player rankings in the same light as your typical college basketball or football rankings. Once the early adjustments are made to take care of teams and players we underestimated and overestimated, only big events should spur big changes. While a multitude of upsets took place last week in college football, there were far fewer landscape-altering events in fantasy football.

Brett Favre’s six-touchdown effort against Arizona was the closest thing to Oregon State’s shocking upset of USC last Thursday. With that outburst, Favre surged to the top of fantasy quarterback rankings and took the NFL lead with 12 touchdown passes. The big boys in our top 10 held down the fort, even Philadelphia’s Brian Westbrook, who has caused owners headaches with a nagging right ankle injury, and Dallas’ Marion Barber, who carried just eight times in a loss to the Redskins. Read more »

Youth movement has been a good theme for 2008, with an influx of rookie running backs, dominant performances by young quarterbacks Jay Cutler and Philip Rivers, and lost confidence in some of the game’s best veterans LaDainian Tomlinson, Randy Moss and Peyton Manning. There are no signs of halting the movement, so youth have continued their invasion of our pre-Week 4 edition of the Fantasy NFL 101.

Second-year back Adrian Peterson narrowly fended off a healthy-looking Tomlinson for No. 1 honors, while Frank Gore and Marion Barber jumped Brian Westbrook, who is questionable this week with an ankle strain. Two more young backs are waiting in the wings in Marshawn Lynch (No. 6) and Joseph Addai (No. 8). Read more »

Just because there’s one more game left on the Week 3 schedule, it doesn’t mean we’re not allowed to hand our Week 3 fantasy hardware. After some of the performances - the unbelievable and unbelievably lousy alilke - we couldn’t wait to get to our awards column.

Any football fan took note of Miami’s unfathomable 38-13 win over New England, and it was impossible not to attribute the victory to running back Ronnie Brown, who found the end zone five times (four rush, one pass). The huge performance prevented Falcons’ running back Michael Turner from twice being named our Most Valuable Player, as the first-year starter accumulated a measly three scores. Read more »

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 »