Week 11 has concluded and the headlines are as follows:

First tie in the NFL since 2002 … first 11-10 final score in league history … Tampa Bay beats Minnesota 19-13 … Miami edges Oakland 17-15 … Dallas beats Washington 14-10 in Romo’s return.

With games like these, how is someone supposed to get excited about heading into playoff football? Weeks like this make me plead with the NFL to abolish the field goal. Seriously, what a boring week of NFL “action”. Read more »

Arizona Cardinals rookie running back Tim Hightower suddenly elevated from goal-line vulture to starting running back, to the surprise and delight of many. Veteran Edgerrin James took a backseat to the first-year back from Richmond and didn’t log a carry in Arizona’s 34-13 win over St. Louis.

This is a promotion that will stick for the rest of the season, and as James told the Arizona Republic, has been “brewing for a while.” Hightower is in, James is out. 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 »

As their inaugural campaign progresses, many of the NFL’s top young talents are beginning to feel the wear and tear of a 16-game professional season. Eddie Royal of the Broncos missed Week 6 action with an ankle injury and Dallas’ Felix Jones left the Cowboys loss at Arizona with a hamstring problem.

Many of those who were healty enough to play, however, contributed greatly to their teams’ success. Matt Ryan didn’t turn the ball over and threw a beautiful 26-yard out pattern to set his team up for the game-winning field goal. He also hit fellow top-rookie Harry Douglas for 96 yards on the day. Even St. Louis had a good weekend as rookie Donny Avery led the team in receiving during their first win of 2008. Read more »

Last week we told you to start regular bench players Felix Jones (96 yards, TD) and Steve Breaston (seven catches, 77 yards) and they both performed like starters in the flex spot. However, the biggest piece of advice we gave you was telling you to start DeAngelo Williams, who broke out against KC for 148 total yards and three TDs. As a rule, players that have good matchups, 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.

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 Willis McGahee facing the awful Colts run defense or WRs Bobby Engram and Reggie Brown who are starting to hit their strides after coming back from injury, feel comfortable putting them, among the eight others below, into the flex slot in Week 6.
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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 »

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 »

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 ebb and flow of the waiver wire always leaves viable options for managers in need of bye week help, but this is a week where no players will act as saviors for your floundering playoff hopes. Three distinct concepts can summarize the quarterback, running back and wide receiver positions, as owners must ponder the good and bad in potential bye-week fill-ins.

For the quarterbacks, “young vs. old” can sum up your available options. Brady Quinn, JaMarcus Russell and Joe Flacco all present some sort of upside, but their merits must be weighed against veterans lower-ceiling, more reliable veterans Brian Griese, Kerry Collins and Gus Frerotte. Chicago’s Kyle Orton falls right in the middle of the age spectrum and may just be the best, most trustworthy signal caller available after throwing three touchdown passes in Week 4. Read more »

Welcome to the first edition of our weekly rookie rankings, where Oakland’s Darren McFadden and Chicago’s Matt Forte lead a group of 20 fantasy stars and would-be producers.

Just as the NFL Draft in April told us when no wide receivers were taken in the first round, this year’s group of fantasy wideouts is pretty thin. Only two receivers - Denver’s Eddie Royal and Philadelphia’s DeSean Jackson - are worthy of starter status, but both have gone well beyond expectations. Read more »