Week 2 Recap, Part I: How 'bout them Cowboys?

- The Cowboys are a mess. The only ones who should undoubtedly be in your lineup each week right now are Miles Austin and probably Jason Witten. Tony Romo's got just 2 TDs in two weeks, and Marion Barber and Felix Jones are afterthoughts behind a shaky offensive line.

- Michael Turner was off to a fine start against Arizona (75 yards on 8 carries) before exiting against with a groin injury. Jason Snelling (129 rushing yards, 57 receiving yards, 2 TDs) got to reap the benefits of injuries to turner and second-stringer Jerious Norwood - but I'll give you a dollar if you actually started him.

- Two games and we're still waiting for top-five pick Ray Rice to find the end zone. Problem is, the Ravens have faced two very good Ds in the Jets and Bengals. Figure Rice will have his best day so far in Week 3 vs. Cleveland.

- Todd Haley is messing with us. The Chiefs coach gave Thomas Jones and Jamaal Charles an equal number of carries in Week 1, then Jones gets twice as many (22 to Charles' 11) in Week 2. That makes both of those guys a questionable play this week against San Francisco, unfortunately.

- Michael Vick bailed out those who picked him up this week with 284 yards passing and 2 TDs. Unfortunately it's now back to the bench with Kevin Kolb returning to starting duty for the Eagles. You may want to keep Vick on your bench, too, if Kolb should falter.

- Packers TE Jermichael Finley is a big play waiting to happen. Four catches for 103 yards for the big fella on Sunday, and he had one more target than both Greg Jennings and Donald Driver.

- You may want to think twice about starting your RBs against the Steelers defense after they limited both Turner (42 yards) and Chris Johnson (34 yards) in consecutive weeks. The Bucs' Cadillac Williams is up next - good luck with that.

- Just when you were about to declare Brett Favre (1 TD, 4 INTs in 2010) a bust, he gets a crack at the Lions in Week 3.


Photo by The Associated Press

Week 8 Recap

Some random fantasy thoughts while tuning into the Fox Favre Cam ....

- Could be a great time to trade Brett Favre if you drafted him as your backup and have a capable No. 1 guy. I think his 4-TD game against his old team Sunday may end up being his high-water mark, stats-wise, this year, and he'll inevitably slow down and cool off as the season wears on.

- Hard to believe Maurice Jones-Drew rushed for 177 yards and two TDs and wasn't the best running back on the field Sunday in Tennessee. Chris Johnson laid the hammer down with 228 rushing yards and two TDs of his own. Those who drafted Matt Forte ahead of either of these guys could only watch with tears in their eyes.

- Speaking of Forte, the Bears RB justified his presence on your roster for another week (90 yards, 2 TDs vs. Cleveland), but he'll be hard-pressed for an encore against the Cardinals' run D this week.

- Michael Turner has now scored in six straight games (8 TDs total). The streak will continue in Week 9 against Washington.

- Did Ryan Moats (126 yards, 3 TDs vs. Buffalo) just kill Steve Slaton's fantasy value? It's very possible ... see this week's Hot Pickups for more.

- Tony Romo (3 TDs) appears to have gotten back on track, mostly thanks to the emergence of Miles Austin as a fantasy star. The real litmus test for the boy wonder comes in the next two weeks on the road against Philly and Green Bay.

- Your allegiance to Steven Jackson hopefully paid off with 145 yards and his first rushing TD of the year Sunday against Detroit. Give the guy credit for playing hard and churning out the yardage despite the Rams' ineptitude.

- Joseph Addai threw more TD passes than Peyton Manning in Week 8. No need to worry about Peyton though - he's usually good for 1 or 2 of these TD-free games in a season, but you'll get more than your money's worth from him for the rest of the year. He could throw 4 against Houston this week.

- Eli Manning seems to be in one of his annual slumps, but he's probably worth sticking with as your No. 2 (he's thrown at least 1 TD every week) unless there's a more attractive free-agent option.

-Ray Rice has scored a TD or rushed for 100 yards in each of the past 5 weeks.

- DeAngelo Williams rushes for 158 yards, Jonathan Stewart scores two TDs. Can't have your cake and eat it too if you drafted a Panthers running back.

Week 6 Recap

Random thoughts from another week of gridiron goodness:

- Take a bow, Tom Brady (380 yards, 6 TDs). You've got to be licking your chops thinking about Sunday's game against the Bucs in London.

- Do Drew Brees' 4 TD passes make up for not him not throwing one in the two games before that? Probably. But it'd be nice to see a little more consistency.

- I knew Visanthe Shiancoe (5 TDs in 6 games) and Brett Favre would be a great team.

- Remember when Willis McGahee was a hot pickup? After three consecutive dreadful weeks (5 carries, 11 yards; 1 carry, -2 yards; 7 carries, 3 yards), I'm extremely glad I didn't jump on that bandwagon and stuck with Ray Rice (194 total yards, 2 TDs) as the Raven runner to own.

- I'm surprised Ben Roethlisberger has thrown the ball so much this year - at least 30 attempts in every game this season - but the results have been great the past few weeks. I'm afraid they might not be the next two weeks (vs. Minnesota, at Denver), however.

- Jake Delhomme (9-for-17, 65 yards) is killing Steve Smith's value. So is the Panthers' rejuvenated running game. But I still don't think I can resist starting Smith this week against Buffalo.

- Clinton Portis registered his first 100-yard rushing game of the year Sunday. Too bad his upcoming schedule (Philly, at Atlanta, Denver, at Dallas, at Philly, New Orleans) and the Redskins' offensive turmoil (in other words, they suck) will make it hard for him to repeat it any time soon.

- Good to see the Jaguars' coaching staff took Maurice Jones-Drew's (33 carries, 133 yards, 3 TDs, plus 45 receiving yards) complaints to heart. Now let's see the same thing against Tennessee and Kansas City, OK?

- Matt Schaub now has 4 outstanding fantasy performances and two busts. Hopefully the Texans will keep airing it out and Schaub can be penciled in as a no-doubt, every-week starter.

- Aaron Rodgers still put together a good day (358 yards, 2 TDs) despite getting sacked 5 times. You can do that against Detroit (and Cleveland next week), but the Packers' protection problems have me very nervous about Rodgers in some of the tougher matchups he'll face later on.

- So much for Matt Hasselback (10-for-29, 112 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT) being back to fantasy starter status. That was painful.

Week 3 Recap

Random fantasy thoughts while watching the Giants flat out dominate the Bucs on Sunday at Tampa's Raymond James Stadium ...


- Steve Smith (7 catches, 63 yards, TD) is Eli Manning's go-to receiver, no doubt about it. He's a must-own in all leagues at this point.

- Josh Johnson is the new Bucs starting QB, replacing Byron Leftwich. He's about the only Buc who showed a pulse on Sunday and deserves the start against Washington. But I want him nowhere near my fantasy team right now.

-Frank Gore's ankle injury is a huge letdown a week after his 200-yard game. Expect him to be out at least this week, and possibly two more after that (including a bye in Week 6). Preseason standout Glen Coffee will be a good waiver pickup this week and a sneaky play against the Rams next Sunday.

- Welcome to fantasy relevance, Vernon Davis (7 catches, 96 yards, TD). We've been waiting for you, man.

- Percy Harvin (101-yard kickoff return for a TD) continues to make an impact every week.

- Do the Patriots finally have a clear No. 1 tailback in Fred Taylor (21 carries, 105 yards, TD)? Maybe. Too bad he's got to face Baltimore next week, and then the Pats will probably reshuffle the whole rotation after that.

- Donovan McNabb has to be champing at the bit seeing the damage Kevin Kolb (327 yards, 2 TDs Sunday) is doing and looking forward to a possible Week 5 return against the Bucs after the Eagles' bye.

- Willis McGahee (7 carries, 67 yards, 2 TDs) apparently can't be stopped, but Ray Rice (11 carries, 48 yards, TD) is still getting the most work in the Ravens backfield. Le'Ron McClain (2 carries, 7 yards) is pretty much out of the picture at this point.

- Welcome, Pierre Thomas (14 carries, 126 yards, 2 TDs - all in the second half). It's now safe to use him, in case you were wondering.

- Speaking of Pierres, WR Pierre Garcon now has a place in the Colts lineup and should have a place on your roster after scoring for the second straight week.

Start 'Em: Week 2

-WR PERCY HARVIN vs. Lions: I've been harsh on the young dude, but if there was ever a week to pencil him in as your flex player or No. 2 WR, this is it.

-WR ANTWAAN RANDLE EL vs. Rams: He was more effective than No. 1 WR Santana Moss in Week 1 (7 catches, 98 yards). I'll take a gamble that he'll find the end zone against the Rams, victimized for 3 TDs through the air last Sunday.

-RB CORRELL BUCKHALTER vs. Browns: I'm not a fan of Buckhalter's long-term, mostly because Knowshon Moreno is the future. But those two are splitting carries right now (8 apiece in Week 1), and Buckhalter was the more effective runner. He's also playing the Browns, who were abused by Adrian Peterson last week.

LAST WEEK'S PICKS:

- Ray Rice ran for 108 yards on 19 carries - almost twice as many as Ravens backfield mate Willis McGahee (10). Unfortunately, both McGahee and fullback Le'Ron McClain found the end zone against the Chiefs, and Rice did not. Rice also had 2 catches for 12 yards.

- Shaun Hill was 18-of-31 for 209 yards, 1 TD and 0 INTs against Arizona. Effective, but not as good as I'd hoped. But he did win the game, if that means anything. Which it doesn’t.

- Julius Jones ran 19 times for 119 yards and a TD vs. the Rams. Jackpot.

Start 'Em: Week 1

RB RAY RICE vs. Chiefs: You may have drafted him as a backup, but expect No. 1-type numbers against a K.C. D that finished in the league's bottom three last year against the run.

QB SHAUN HILL at Cardinals: He managed two TDs against Arizona in Week 10 last year. Not a terrible spot starter this week if you're worried about your top guy's health (Matt Schaub, Matt Cassel).

RB JULIUS JONES vs. Rams: This could be one of the few weeks Jones is start-worthy. He rushed for 140 yards and one of his two TDs of 2008 in a Week 3 matchup with St. Louis.

Breaking down a fantasy trade

First trade of the season:

I give up:

WR DeSean Jackson
RB Donald Brown

I get back:

WR Steve Breaston
RB Ray Rice

I like both of the guys I'm giving up. The deal was prompted by my trade partner, who's a big Eagles fan and wants a Philly player (Jackson) on his team. Jackson's my third WR behind Greg Jennings and Roy Williams (I also have Ted Ginn Jr. and Hakeem Nicks). Breaston would be a downgrade from Jackson obviously, but I feel I'm upgrading by replacing the rookie Brown with Rice, a guy I look and who I was targeteting in the draft.

I'm a little thin at WR overall but now I'm stacked at RB (Michael Turner, Marion Barber, LenDale White, Rashard Mendenhall, James Davis, plus Rice). And in this league's format I can start three RBs in a week if I choose, with Rice perhaps being a better every-week fit than White in that flex spot.

Thoughts?