Fantasy Football Collective

I’ll point out also that I am not including the most obvious players. Clearly, Drew Brees is rising and will be one of the top quarterbacks the rest of the season. I'm not here to insult your intelligence.

 I’m a Believer

These are the guys who are headed up the rankings and deserve to be there.

 Chris Johnson The uber-speedy back is establishing himself as the guy you want from the Titans’ backfield. He has picked up big yards all year on the ground and receiving, and this week he scored his first two TD’s of the year against Minnesota’s tough run defense. Add to that his platoon partner LenDale White had just 13 yards on 11 carries and you can see why this rookie is on his way up.

 Jake Delhomme He’s got Steve Smith back. Muhsin Muhammad is looking more like the 2004 version of himself. He shredded the Falcons defense to the tune of 294 yds and two tds, and check out the matchups Delhomme has coming up. Six of Carolina’s next 7 opponents are: Chiefs, Saints, Cardinals, Raiders, Lions, and Falcons again.

Steve Slaton He has a lot in common with Chris Johnson. Rookie. Fast. Plays in the NFC South . And is establishing himself as one of the top 15 running backs in fantasy football. An added bonus with Slaton is he has been lethal catching passes. Titans fans may want to point out Johnson’s team is 4-0 while Slaton’s is 0-4, but that doesn’t matter to fantasy owners.

 Laveranues Coles Ok, the Jets aren’t going to be scoring 56 points again anytime soon this season, and Coles probably won’t have too many more three td games. However, Coles has emerged as Favre’s favorite target in New York. He will be a dependable fantasy receiver the rest of this season, with at least one more huge game.

Santana Moss  I’m not quite ready to buy Jason Campbell as an every week starting fantasy QB, but his improvement is definitely good for Moss owners. Campbell looks confident and cool in Jim Zorn’s west coast offense, and he is not shy about looking to Santana. Moss has big play ability and seems to be on track for a huge season.

 Matt Hasselbeck It is rare to be on the rise after a bye week, but Hasselbeck couldn’t have asked for much more in his week off. Deion Branch and Bobby Engram are both expected to return to practice this week, finally giving some options for Hasselbeck to throw to. It may take some time for those receivers to get up to speed and back in the flow, but when they do, Hasselbeck will be a reliable QB.

 I’m not sold

These guys are have impressed recently, but don’t expect them to continue. If you own one of these players, your best option may be to trade them away while their value is so high.

 Larry Johnson LJ caught a lot of people’s attention with his 198 yard 2 touchdown outburst this week. I’m not saying he’s not a guy you want in your lineup, but his value is probably higher now than it will be at any point in the season. He could bring a big return in a trade, as some may believe he’s back to being the superstar he was a few seasons ago. I don’t trust him or the Chiefs offense.

 Kyle Orton Probably worth picking up if you have bye week issues at quarterback since he’s playing against the Lions this week. However, Orton is no long term solution for your team. His 3 td’s in a victory against the Eagles were impressive, but he’s still not very good and doesn’t have a lot of weapons to throw to.

Deuce McAllister   I like Deuce. He’s still available in some leagues and if that is the case, by all means, snatch him up. I have him in this list because I don’t think he’ll be a consistent producer from week to week. And with two reconstructed knees he is injury prone. His value may be higher now than it will ever be, and may also be a good sell-high possibility.

 Lee Evans He seems tempting after 88 yards and a TD this week. But most of that came on a 49 yard touchdown. The Bills are committed to the run and are far from an explosive offense. He should be no better than a #3 receiver on your team.

Falling

 J.T. O’Sullivan I have to admit, I was ready to hop on JT’s bandwagon coming into this week. He had a gutty performance at Seattle two weeks ago. Then was solid against the Rams last week, and seemed to have a handle on Mike Martz’s quarterback-stat-friendly offense (yes, I just made that term up). The problem is, he is not being protected. The Saints came after him all day Sunday, and the result was a lot of sacks and turnovers. I’d expect to see more teams doing the same to the 49ers and O’Sullivan having some good weeks but also some really rough ones.

 All Bengals Palmer, Ocho Cinco, Chris Perry and even Housh. With Palmer’s elbow in question, and this offense showing no signs of life against a poor Browns defense, these guys are all falling. The only one I would want in my lineup is Houshmandzadeh, and I don’t expect numbers at all resembling last year’s from him.

 Ryan Grant When Favre left the Pack, Grant was supposed to raise his level of play. Instead he is averaging 3.4 yards per carry and has less than 100 yards rushing in his last 3 games combined. Brandon Jackson should start taking playing time from Grant.

 Thomas Jones When your team scores 56 points and you only put up 69 yards on 20 touches without a score that is not a good sign. Jones is starting to share running back duties with Leon Washington, and with the Jets opening up the passing game, Washington may be a better fit.

 New York Mets  Sorry. I couldn’t resist.

Good Pickups

Scan the free agent market for these guys.

Deion Branch, Bobby Engram, Steve Breaston, Mewelde Moore, Lance Moore, Kyle Orton, Kevin Walter

Author:   Micky Deming