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 »

Fantasy football is truly a humbling pastime. Just when you think you’ve mastered your draft and are set up to dominate your league, Bernard Pollard lands on Tom Brady’s leg and your chances are shot. And just after you go unbeaten during the regular season, fantasy playoffs come and a team that limped in with a .500 record knocks you off. You never know what will happen, but you can always make good, educated guesses.

It’s important to consider the context in which things occur and notice the bigger trends behind a player’s week-by-week performance.

Start with the Brady situation, where Matt Cassel started in his place and led the Patriots to a 19-10 win over their division rival New York Jets. How did the team’s passing game change? Who benefited? Did they run more? Keep your eyes on these big picture developments, and fewer things will come as surprises. Read more »