Well, that was quick… I don’t think the Broncos’ faithful will be buying anymore billboards extolling the virtues of The Tebow anymore after the Chosen One laid an ostrich egg against the visiting Lions.  Tebow is showing that he can compete with the winless teams in the league, but against a team that has a few wins, he’s a disaster.  In fact, he’s one of those rare quarterbacks who actually is not terrible for fantasy teams, as his end statline is usually pretty decent; instead, he’s a terrible real-life QB, since the ball slips out of his grasp like he’s loaded it up Gaylord Perry style, and he gets sacked more than a Vegas escort on a busy convention weekend.  Luckily, the Raiders aren’t all that great themselves, as they are only ranked 25^th in defending the pass; so Tebow probably will be able to keep up enough to make this one semi-interesting.  Still, this has the makings of a likely double digit road loss for the Broncos.

In fact, you know it’s bad when the opposition doesn’t want to risk prized RB Darren McFadden, so they’re in no particular hurry to rush him back into action as they fully believe they can beat the Denver Tebows without him. In fact, the Raiders probably think they can beat the Broncos without half their starters, and that probably wouldn’t be too far off the truth.  Unfortunately for fantasy owners, this isn’t what they wanted to hear, as Run DMC will most likely be Sitting DMC for at least this game; right in time for the fantasy playoff push, of course.

The only thing working against the Raiders plans for an easy win is their quarterback play, as both Kyle Boller and presumed Week 9 starter Carson Palmer were busy throwing more passes to the Chiefs defenders in Week 7 than to their own receivers.  Come to think of it, I think Palmer threw one INT for each draft pick they gave up for him… nice.  You know you’ve made a bad trade when Mike Brown is laughing at you.  Unfortunately for Palmer, the Broncos have a pretty good pass rush and Champ Bailey is still good enough to put the clamps on Darrius Heyward-Bey, so in order to win they’ll probably have to count on Michael Bush slugging his way through the defense and Tim Tebow to give them enough chances via turnovers to grab the win.

The Raiders will probably take this one by 10 or more points, but the fantasy stats might not be too impressive.  Bush is probably a good start here, and surprisingly Tebow will probably have useful fantasy stats as well.  Other than that though, useful fantasy starters will probably be few and far between.

Good Start: RB Michael Bush (if McFadden doesn’t play), QB Tim Tebow
Middle of the Road: WR Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR Eric Decker, RB Knowshon Moreno
Bad Start:  QB Carson Palmer, WR Jacoby Ford, WR Denarius Moore, WR Eddie Royal, WR Demariyus Thomas, TE Daniel Fells
  It’s about time that we all become believers of the Bengals.  I know what you’re thinking; no one’s believed in the Bengals since the Ickey Shuffle was the epitome of endzone celebrations.  You know, it’s sad to think about, but I do believe poor Ickey Woods would be flagged by the No Fun League officials every time he did the Ickey Shuffle; but I digress.  The Andy Dalton to AJ Green connection is for real, and hopefully you were the smart one in your league and made the move to snag Green while his price was still relatively low early in the year.  Also don’t sleep on TE Jermaine Gresham; he might be nursing a sore hammy this week, but in the long term (especially keeper leagues) this guy will be golden as long as Dalton continues along the development path he’s on.  In fact, if Gresham does go this week, he may very well be a good play as Green will undoubtedly be shadowed by outstanding Titans DB, Cortland Finnegan.

Of course, the Bengals offense isn’t the top reason they’re sitting pretty at 5-2, tied with the Ravens for second place in the AFC North, as the offense is only ranked 22^nd in the league.  Instead, it’s a suffocating defense, allowing just 17.6 points per game and 297 total yards per game, good for 4^th in the league.  That defense is yet another reason why Chris Johnson, or CJ0K as he should be known from now on, is not a someone you should even think about putting in your fantasy lineup.  Johnson had his top gimme game last week against the 32^nd rush defense of the Colts, and he stunk it up so bad (to the tune of 14 carries for 34 yards), that now he’ll be in a time share with Javon Ringer.  Coach Munchak said that playing time will be determined by the flow of the game… ok, I get it.  So if he wants to pick up 4 or 5 yards a clip, he’ll play Ringer.  If he wants to pick up 1 or 2 yards, he’ll put in CJ0K.  Hmmm… well, I wonder what situations will come up where 1 or 2 yards is preferable to 4 or 5?  That’s right, none.  So if CJ0K is ever in the game, you know Munchak is just lying to himself.

While the Bengals are at their best when defending the run, they’re also pretty good at defending the pass, which means Matt Hasselbeck might be in for a tougher than usual fantasy day, especially with Johnson providing zero help as a viable running threat.  Hass has been a decent start for most of the season, but if you’re looking to him to help cover a bye week, you might want to grab a different signal caller off of your waiver wire this week.  This will probably end up being a decent game for Dalton, Green, Gresham (if he plays), and Jerome Simpson; while the other side of the ball might hold promise for Nate Washington and/or Damian Williams.  The Bengals will likely win this game on the strength of their defense and good ball control on offense, sending them to a 6-2 record, which seemed inconceivable when the season started.

Good Start:  WR AJ Green, WR Nate Washington
Middle of the Road:  QB Andy Dalton, WR Jerome Simpson, TE Jermaine Gresham (if he plays), RB Cedric Benson, QB Matt Hasselbeck, WR Damian Williams, RB Javon Ringer
Bad Start:  WR Andre Caldwell, RB Bernard Scott, TE Jared Cook, RB CJ0K
  One thing I love about fantasy football; with fantasy football, games like the 1-6 Rams visiting the 1-6 Cardinals suddenly become important and interesting.  Ok, well maybe interesting is a strong word, but important at least as players like Beanie Wells, Larry Fitzgerald, Brandon Lloyd, and Steven Jackson all are players that are very likely being played in virtually all fantasy leagues.  Luckily for those who enjoy lots of scoring, this game pits the 27^th ranked Cardinals defense against the 31^st ranked Rams defense, which means we should see somewhat of a shootout.  Of course, in this bizarro world season, this game will probably be a 16-13 snoozer since we’re expecting a 31-30 shootout.

The big question is who will be the signal callers in this matchup.  Right now, it’s very possible that headliners Sam Bradford and Kevin Kolb might be comparing notes on walking boots on the sidelines, while understudies AJ Feeley and John Skelton duke it out… with those two playing QB, that makes it much more likely this game doesn’t meet the scoring expectations their sieve-like defenses will present.  Brandon Lloyd has done pretty well in the last two weeks since coming over to the Rams even with Feeley at the helm; and really, could Skelton be that much worse for Fitzgerald than the 3-5 catches he’s averaging right now with Kolb?  Ok, don’t answer that one.

Another question for this game is whether or not Beanie Wells’ knee will hold up enough to let him play.  He did gut it out against the Ravens, picking up over 80 yards and scoring yet another TD on the year.  That gritty performance does win kudos for Wells and does go a long way in erasing his reputation as being a soft player who always misses time with one malady or another.  The alarming thing is that Wells admitted that his knee isn’t right, and will probably be an issue for the rest of the season.  That confession doesn’t instill a lot of confidence, and owners will probably have to pay close attention each week and have a backup plan ready at all times in case he’s a game day scratch.

Speaking of gutty performances, the Rams fed off the energy of Steven Jackson, who ran like a man possessed against the Saints.  This was the type of throwback performance owners used to get from Jackson a few years ago, and everyone is probably crossing their fingers and rubbing their rabbit feet in hopes that Jackson can stay healthy enough to use last week’s performance to get on a roll going into the fantasy playoffs.

Good Start:  RB Steven Jackson, WR Brandon Lloyd, RB Beanie Wells (if he plays), WR Larry Fitzgerald
Middle of the Road:  QB AJ Feeley (if Bradford doesn’t play), WR Greg Salas, WR Early Doucet
Bad Start:  WR Danario Alexander, TE Lance Kendricks, QB John Skelton (if Kolb doesn’t play), WR Andre Roberts
The Dolphins lost a hard-fought game to the Giants while the Chiefs’ resurgence continued with a stirring win over San Diego on Monday Night Football.
 
Miami QB Matt Moore is still not worth Fantasy starting consideration even in the deepest of leagues, and his 138-yard, no-TD outing against New York is further proof. He has only 1 passing TD and 4 interceptions since taking over for the injured Chad Henne. If you’re banking on him to keep scoring rushing TDs, you might as well start planning for next season. Reggie Bush came out of nowhere to post a 100-yard rushing game and we also had a Steve Slaton (7 yards, 1 TD) sighting. Brandon Marshall is probably wondering why he ever decided to join the Dolphins. He’s scored 1 TD and had only one 100-yard receiving game this season.
 
The Chiefs are officially relevant after their win over San Diego. Matt Cassel is still only worth a start in deeper leagues (in most weeks, that is), but he is at least showing signs of a pulse. He had 261 yards and a TD against the Chargers, but he also turned the ball over three times. Jackie Battle, however, is on the verge of becoming a legitimate Fantasy starter. He had 70 yards and a score. He’s averaged 88 yards in his last three games. Jonathon Baldwin had a fantastic debut, catching 6 passes for 96 yards and a TD. His presence may eventually open things up for not only Dwayne Bowe but Steve Breaston as well.
 
Miami remains a sieve against the pass, allowing 271 yards per game and 14 TDs. The TD total is tied for second-worst in the league. So this is one of the few weeks were Cassel could be worth a start if you have QB bye week problems. The Dolphins give up quite a few yards per game against the run (110) but they’ve also only given up 3 TDs on the ground. The Chiefs just gave up 369 yards to Philip Rivers, and on the season have surrendered 251 YPG and 12 TDs. That still doesn’t make me want to recommend Moore as a starter. And although Kansas City (122 YPG, 7 TDs) is pretty generous against the run, there’s a lot of uncertainty as to whether Bush or Daniel Thomas will carry the load. If you know Thomas will not be able to return from his hamstring or will be limited, and you have no better RB options, then Bush might be a decent start.
 
GOOD STARTS: QB Matt Cassel, RB Reggie Bush (if Daniel Thomas does not play or is limited), WR Dwayne Bowe, WR Jonathan Baldwin
 
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD STARTS: WR Brandon Marshall, WR Davone Bess,
 
BAD STARTS: QB Matt Moore, RB Thomas Jones, RB Dexter McCluster
  Atlanta took the week off while the Colts lost yet again, this time to Tennessee.
 
There’s probably not a whole lot that needs to be said about this one. Curtis Painter has only thrown 1 TD versus 4 interceptions in his last three games. Joseph Addai will likely be back, making no Colt running back worth starting consideration. Dallas Clark (6 rec., 77 yards against the Titans) might be showing signs of life, but Reggie Wayne and Pierre Garcon have become far too inconsistent to be relied on from a Fantasy perspective.
 
Atlanta similarly doesn’t warrant a whole lot of discussion for this one. The Colts are horrible against the pass (259 YPG, 15 TDs) and the run (144 YPG, 10 TDs) so you’ll run your Falcons and get ready to feast. Roddy White might even have his second 100-yard game of the season, if you can believe that. There’s a decent chance that Julio Jones will be back, so that should give White more room to operate. Start ‘em all and you should be able to sit back and watch the points roll in. It’s too bad this one isn’t in Atlanta, but the Falcons should still put up a boatload of points.
 
GOOD STARTS: QB Matt Ryan, RB Michael Turner, WR Roddy White, WR Julio Jones, TE Tony Gonzalex
 
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD STARTS: WR Reggie Wayne, WR Pierre Garcon, TE Dallas Clark
 
BAD STARTS: QB Curtis Painter, RB Delone Carter, RB Joe Addai
  The Buccaneers took time off to recover from their trip to London while the Saints suffered a shocking loss to the Rams. Think they’ll be a little keyed up for this one, considering their loss last week and the fact that Tampa Bay beat them in Week 6?
 
Drew Brees. Moving on. The running game will offer some intrigue, seeing that Mark Ingram still had not practiced as of mid week as he continues to fight a heel injury. Darren Sproles, Pierre Thomas and Chris Ivory didn’t exactly light it up against a lousy St. Louis run D, combining for a measly 57 yards on 19 carries. At least Thomas scored a TD. Of the three, judging from what we saw last week, Thomas might be good for a goal line TD. Sproles is obviously a must-start because of his involvement in the passing game. Receiver-wise it had looked going into Week 8 that Marques Colston had reclaimed his spot as the No. 1 receiver, but Lance Moore had more catches and yards, and also had Drew Brees’ only TD pass. Jimmy Graham only had 4 receptions for 39 yards, but you’ve got to expect him to get back on track at home this week.
 
Josh Freeman has been a disappointment for most of the season, but he does have 2 TDs in each of his last two starts – one of which came in his best game of the season, which just happened to be against the Saints (303 yds., 2 TDs). New Orleans will undoubtedly make adjustments to contain Freeman, but the Saints’ pass D has allowed 13 TDs this season even though they’ve only given up an average of 222 YPG. LeGarrette Blount is expected to return from a knee injury and will have to carry even more of the load with Earnest Graham being out for the year with an Achilles’ tear. Preston Parker could be worth sleeper consideration this week. He has only 7 fewer yards than Mike Williams on 8 fewer receptions, and he’s scored twice compared to 1 TD for Williams.
 
GOOD STARTS: QB Drew Brees, QB Josh Freeman, RB Darren Sproles, RB LeGarrette Blount, WR Mike Williams, WR Marques Colston, WR Lance Moore, TE Jimmy Graham
 
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD STARTS: RB Pierre Thomas, WR Preston Parker, TE Kellen Winslow, WR Arrelious Benn
 
BAD STARTS: RB Chris Ivory
 
  The Jets were off while the Bills rolled the Redskins.
 
Mark Sanchez is coming off a 3-TD outing against San Diego, giving him 6 TD passes in his last three games – but mixed in there was a 1-TD, 201-yard clunker against the Dolphins that was only saved by a rushing TD. Shonn Greene had his first 100-yard game of the season against the Chargers, while Plaxico Burress blew up against San Diego, with 3 TDs even though he only had 25 yards.
 
Ryan Fitzpatrick is finding himself back in the good graces of Fantasy owners after averaging 250 yards and 2 TDs in each of his last two. Fred Jackson is simply a stud. Steve Johnson has only scored once and has not cracked the 60-yard mark in his last four.
 
The Jets have given the fewest passing TDs in the league, however (4) and allow only 197 YPG, so temper your Fitzpatrick expectations this week. Johnson could be nothing but a rumor if he takes a trip to Revis Island. Jackson should once again be good to go, however, since New York has surrendered 127 yards and 9 TDs on the ground.
 
Buffalo put the clamps down on Washington in a 23-0 win, but we’ll view that as an aberration for now. The Bills had given up an average of 302 YPG in their last three before Washington, so Sanchez looks like a safe start if you have Matthew Stafford or Cam Newton on bye this week. Greene could be worth a start as well, since Buffalo is giving up 120 YPG and has allowed 8 TDs on the ground. As far as Burress and Santonio Holmes are concerned, however, flip a coin as to who is going to have the better game. Both of them look like solid starts, though.
 
GOOD STARTS: QB Mark Sanchez, RB Fred Jackson, RB Shonn Greene, WR Plaxico Burress, WR Santonio Holmes
 
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD STARTS: QB Ryan Fitzpatrick
 
BAD STARTS: WR Steve Johnson, WR David Nelson, TE Scott Chandler
  The Seahawks fell to Cincinnati while the Cowboys were smoked by Philadelphia.
 
Tarvaris Jackson is about as under the radar as it gets from a Fantasy perspective, but it is worth noting that in his last three games he does have two 300-yard outings and 4 TD passes. Are you going to start him this week? No, unless you have serious QB bye week issues or you are desperate. The Cowboy D should be lathered up after being completely embarrassed by the Eagles and they’re at home – this is a must-win for Dallas and it’s hard to envision Jackson having much of a day. The same holds for Marshawn Lynch. He did have a TD against the Bengals but otherwise could manage only 24 yards on 16 carries. Ben Obomanu and Sidney Rice each had 100-yard days against Cincinnati, but again, it’s hard to see them having big days against Dallas. Are they automatically bad starts? Not at all. They just don’t scream out “start me” this week.
 
Hardly any Cowboy did anything much of note against Philly, which is to be expected when you get pasted, 34-7. Laurent Robinson did have 103 yards and a score, 70 of which came on a garbage time TD pass. DeMarco Murray put up 74 yards on only 8 carries, however. Miles Austin continues to be a huge source of concern for his owners. Since coming back from his hamstring injury he has managed only 12 catches for 117 yards and no TDs in three games.
 
Seattle has only given up 8 TDs passing on the season, so this might not be the week Austin or any other Cowboy wideout posts big numbers. Solid, maybe, but more than likely not big. The Seahawks have been somewhat generous against the run, however (103 YPG, 5 TDs) so Murray could be in line for a pretty good game.
 
No Seahawk jumps out as being a great start, but you could still possibly get some production from Obamanu, Rice or Doug Baldwin if you’re in a pinch. Again, they don’t look like “bad starts,” necessarily, but even though Dallas has not been great against the pass (234 YPG, 11 TDs) something tells me that it will be very hard for Seattle to do a whole lot this week. The Cowboys were completely embarrassed on national television, and this is a must-win as stated previously. If they can’t find a way to put the clamps on Seattle their season could be over.
 
GOOD STARTS: QB Tony Romo, WR Miles Austin, RB DeMarco Murray, TE Jason Witten
 
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD STARTS: QB Tarvaris Jackson, WR Dez Bryant, WR Ben Obamanu, WR Sidney Rice, WR Doug Baldwin
 
BAD STARTS: RB Marshawn Lynch
 
  The Browns lost by 10 to San Francisco, but it should have been a lot more, while the Texans had a workman-like win over the Jaguars.
 
Former Longhorn legend Colt McCoy will more than likely get a warm reception in Houston, but he won’t be so warmly greeted by the Texan D. McCoy hasn’t exactly been horrible this season, but he also hasn’t been great. Befitting a guy who wears a brown and white uniform, he’s basically been stuck in neutral all season. Montario Hardesty will probably be out for quite a while with a torn calf muscle, and Peyton Hillis remains maybe the worst victim yet of the Madden cover jinx. He’s not making any friends in Cleveland by sucking on the field and skipping a kids’ Halloween party off of it, and his hamstring is still an issue. If he can’t play – and as of this writing he was extremely iffy – Chris Ogbonnaya would get the vast majority of carries. If you’re hurting at RB this week, Ogbonnaya might be worth a waiver wire pickup because he should get a ton of work, even if the Texans (97 YPG, 6 TDs) have been solid against the run. No Browns wideout looks like anything special this week against Houston’s strong (189 YPG, 9 TDs) pass D.
 
Matt Schaub did not light up the Jaguars like he did the Raiders and Titans in recent weeks, but his rushing TD made his line of 225 yards and 1 TD much more palatable to his owners. And it looks like Andre Johnson will be returning. Even though the Browns have been solid against the pass (172 YPG, 9 TDs), when you combine the fact that Schaub had a very solid October without Johnson, and now he’s getting him back, this might be a case where you start Schaub even against a strong pass defense. Of course, now watch Arian Foster run wild over the Browns like just about everyone else has. Even though Cleveland has allowed only three rushing TDs, they’re being gashed for an average of 127 yards a game. Still, if you have someone like Matthew Stafford on bye, Schaub could still be a solid starting option.
 
GOOD STARTS: QB Matt Schaub, RB Arian Foster, TE Owen Daniels
 
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD STARTS: RB Chris Ogbonnaya, WR Kevin Walter, WR Jacoby Jones, TE Ben Watson, TE Evan Moore
 
BAD STARTS: QB Colt McCoy, WR Greg Little
 
  San Francisco kept rolling with a win over the Browns, while the Redskins have cratered after a 3-0 start, with the low point being last week’s shutout loss to the Bills.
 
Alex Smith keeps winning even though he has been OK at best from a Fantasy standpoint. In his last two games he has not cracked the 200-yard mark and has thrown 2 TDs. He’s only worth a start in the deepest of leagues. Frank Gore has regained his stud status, totaling 527 yards and 4 TDs in his last four games. There should be no reason for the 49ers to stray from their winning model – feeding the ball to Gore early and often – this week. If you’re going to count on a 49er WR you might lean toward Michael Crabtree, who caught his first TD of the season last week.
 
There’s no real need to dwell on whatever that was the Redskins threw out there last week in Toronto. They have lost four in a row after a 3-0 start and simply cannot afford to stumble at home. But they picked a bad opponent for a must-win situation in the 49ers, who have been stout against both the run (73 YPG, 0 TDs) and at least decent against the pass (255 YPG, 10 TDs). Steer clear of any Redskin back and only rely on John Beck if you are absolutely desperate.
 
GOOD STARTS: RB Frank Gore
 
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD STARTS: QB Alex Smith, WR Michael Crabtree, TE Vernon Davis
 
BAD STARTS: QB John Beck, RB Roy Helu, RB Ryan Torain


  A few weeks ago this looked like yet another opportunity for the vaunted Eagles team to mess the bed in what would be a nationally televised embarrassment, and possibly even the death knell for Andy Reid’s coaching career in Philly.  But now, the Eagles finally… finally… look like the team everyone was expecting them to be, coming off a pasting of the Dallas Cowboys that didn’t even look as close as the 34-7 score would indicate.  The Cowboys are a talented team and really aren’t a slouch, considering they did take the Patriots down to the wire in Foxboro just a couple of weeks before.  Still aren’t deserving of the “Dream Team” mantra that they were shackled with at the beginning of the season, but they also aren’t a laughing stock anymore either… so that’s progress.

Michael Vick and the Eagles can make another step toward asserting their NFC dominance by dispatching a decent but not inspiring Bears team, who might be able to hand with the Eagles for a quarter or two, but don’t have near the talent to stay with them in the long haul.  Vick will probably get hit often in this one, and not because he isn’t Tom Brady or Drew Brees, but because the Bears just like to put the screws to QBs that like to run around outside the pocket.  Unfortunately getting hits on the quarterback doesn’t translate to passing game success, as the Bears rank a pretty sad 27^th against the pass, which means Vick should be able to get the ball down the field early and often to Desean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin.  The Bears are strong against the rush tough (10^th overall), so don’t expect huge yardage totals by Lesean McCoy, and this could very well be the week he doesn’t get a score… which would be a first this year.  McCoy is a monster for fantasy though, especially in PPR leagues, so don’t be scared to start him here… while 120 and 2 TDs probably isn’t going to happen, getting 90 total and a touch isn’t too shabby.

While the Bears haven’t been very good at all with the passing game, with Jay Cutler being hit more times than a Pinata on Cinco de Mayo, they have been good in the running game, which is where the Eagles have been weak this season.  While the Eagles have shored things up by closing up their “wide-9” defense, they are still susceptible to getting up the field too quickly, which means lots of screen passes to Matt Forte being dropped in behind him.  While Forte might struggle to get to 100 yards rushing against this new version of the Eagles defense, he could very well have close to 150 total yards due to his ability to catch out of the backfield.  Forte has a good chance of getting a score, but Marion Barber has been vulturing a few TDs of late, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if Forte just got the yards while Barber got the score.

Good Start:  QB Michael Vick, RB Lesean McCoy, WR Desean Jackson, WR Jeremy Maclin, RB Matt Forte
Middle of the Road:  TE Brent Celek, WR Jason Avant
Bad Start:  QB Jay Cutler, any and all Bears WRs

Follow Scott Boyter on Twitter: @FFChamps_Scott


Follow @FFChamps on Twitter

The views and content in this article are not necessarily the opinion of Fantasy Football Champs, www.FFChamps.com, and its in-house experts.