- Jake Delhomme (195 yards, 2 TD) was surprisingly solid, tossing two TD to Steve Smith in the first half. When the Panthers have their running game going, it takes the pressure off their QB.

- Matthew Stafford (224 yards, TD) should be pretty good down the stretch since the Lions will be playing from behind most weeks.

- Surprisingly, David Garrard (221 yards, TD, rush TD) had a pretty nice day against a good Jets pass defense.

- Vince Young (210 yards, TD, INT) continues to play well. He made several nice throws and also had 29 yards rushing.

- Philip Rivers (231 yards, 2 TD) continues to play well, even against good defenses like the Eagles’.

- Donovan McNabb (450 yards, 2 TD, INT) threw the ball 55 times. The Eagles ran the ball 13 times. Now that’s some balance.

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- Neither Brian Westbrook (6 carries, 28 yards) nor LeSean McCoy (3 carries, 5 yards) did much in the ground game against a suspect Chargers rush defense. Westbrook suffered his second concussion in as many games and it looks like he will be out for a prolonged period, and there is speculation that his career may even be over.

- Michael Turner (9 carries, 111 yards) had a great first half, but left the game with what was being described as a high ankle sprain. If that’s the case, he’ll be out a while and Jason Snelling (21 touches, 93 yards, TD) will fill in for the time being.

- Ronnie Brown (14 touches, 98 yards, TD) left the game with an ankle injury. Ricky Williams (22 touches, 107 yards) will get the lion’s share of the carries if Brown misses any time.

- Predictably, Adrian Peterson (18 carries, 133 yards, 2 TD) had a great day against Detroit.

- Maurice Jones-Drew (26 touches, 145 yards, TD) would have had another TD, but he took a knee on the two-yard line in order to set up a game-winning field goal for his team. It was a smart play, but frustrating for his fantasy owners.

- Cedric Benson (7 carries, 22 yards) left the game with a hip injury. Bernard Scott (14 touches, 54 yards) took over.

- Rashard Mendenhall (13 carries, 36 yards) struggled against a pretty good Bengals rush defense.

- Reggie Bush (8 touches, 98 yards, 2 TD) had a big game against the Saints. Pierre Thomas (12 touches, 38 yards) had a quiet day.

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- Roddy White (7-98) was questionable coming into the game, but finished with good PPR numbers.

- Steve Smith (4-34-2) was injured on his second TD catch and wasn’t targeted at all in the second half.

- Maurice Stovall (4-47-1) has caught seven passes for 93 yards and a TD in the last two weeks.

- Sidney Rice (7-201) absolutely destroyed the Lions.

- Jerricho Cotchery (6-68-1) looked good. It wasn’t clear what the pecking order would be with Braylon Edwards (3-79), but Cotch got 11 targets while Edwards had six.

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- Kellen Winslow (7-102) has gone for 11-159-1 in the last two weeks since Josh Freeman has taken over at QB.

- Dusin Keller (6-58) seems to be coming on. He has 14 catches for 134 yards and a TD in the last two games.

- Zach Miller (1-9) continues to have a very up and down fantasy season.

- Brent Celek (6-47-1) was quiet for most of the game but exploded late as the Eagles entered catch up mode.

Check back in a few minutes for the WR, RB and QB positions.

Every week, I pick one question from our Fantasy Football Q&A and post it on Sunday morning. This week’s question comes from Raj, who is wondering if he should trade Brett Favre away for Brandon Marshall.

“I have been offered a trade for Brett Favre. He is giving me Brandon Marshall for Brett Favre. I already own Tom Brady. If I take this trade, then I will have no back-up QB. Favre is on-fire this year….not sure what to do. It could hurt me in the finals to, especially If I end up playing him.”

My response: Raj — My first instinct is to say hell yes. Brady should be fine for the remainder of the year. Who’s available on the waiver wire at QB? I’m sure we can find someone that has a decent schedule during the fantasy playoffs.

After the bye weeks have passed, it’s usually wise to start looking to unload your depth at one position to shore up another. Raj didn’t break down his roster in his question, but from a value standpoint a Favre-for-Marshall deal favors the owner getting Marshall. This is due to the relative depth at QB compared to the WR position. Since Raj already has Brady, he is set at QB, so he might as well add a playmaker at WR. There are probably a few QBs on his waiver wire that could act as serviceable backups to Brady if he were to go down before the fantasy playoffs.

Besides, this 40-year-old version of Favre is an injury risk. It’s not like he’s guaranteed to be playing at a high level late in the season.

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Every week, I will highlight a few players to start and a few players to sit at each position. I’m a firm believer in starting your studs, so I won’t tell you about how Drew Brees or Adrian Peterson has a tough matchup – just go ahead and keep them in your lineup. Instead, I’ll focus on the borderline guys – players you’ll only start under the right circumstances. It’s important to note that depending on your roster and situation, you may not be able to follow these recommendations. For example, if I suggest you bench a solid starter like Tony Romo, only do so if you have a clearly better option on your bench.

The “love ‘em” players are listed in the order that I’d start them this week.

Brett Favre is coming off a bye week and is facing Detroit’s 31st-ranked pass defense at home. This is not a good combination for the Lions, but it’s an excellent situation for his fantasy owners…The Bears are really struggling against the pass, so Alex Smith should be able to post a nice fantasy line on Thursday night. He has averaged 230 pass yards and 2.0 TD per game since taking over in Week 7…Matt Hasselbeck looks like a good start against the Cards’ 29th-ranked pass defense…Mark Sanchez is startable this week against the Jags, who are ranked 26th against the pass. Jacksonville is giving up an average of 242 yards and 1.9 TD through the air this season.

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The strategy behind DTBWW is that each week, you pick up a defense, preferably one playing at home against a bad offense. And each week, you get pretty good numbers out of your DT position. To see how this approach performed last season, click here.

Last week, I recommended three DTBWW picks. Let’s see how they fared…

#1 Seahawks: 20 PA (0) + 2 SK + 5 INT + RET TD = 13 fantasy points
#2 Falcons: 17 PA (2) + 5 SK + 1 INT + RET TD = 14 fp
#3 49ers: 34 PA (0) + 1 SK = 1 fp

Seattle and Atlanta both played well against bad competition (Detroit and Washington, respectively). Clearly, the 49ers were a disappointment. I was a little worried about this matchup because Tennessee looked pretty good the previous week with Vince Young under center, and they really have the running game going now. San Francisco’s defense isn’t as good as we thought it was, but that doesn’t mean we’ll abandon it.

For the season, my #1 pick is averaging 10.7 fantasy points per game, my #2 pick is averaging 9.9 fp and my #3 pick is averaging 6.9 fp. Combined, DTBWW is averaging 9.1 fppg, which equates to about 82 points, or DT4 numbers. Not bad.

Let’s take a look at this week’s picks. Keep in mind that to be eligible for DTBWW, a defense must be available in at least 40% of ESPN fantasy leagues.

Pick #1: Miami Dolphins (vs. TB)
Josh Freeman looked pretty good last week against the Packers, but he’s still a rookie and he has to face a capable defense on the road. Miami has been pretty spotty defensively, but they have proven they can post a nice fantasy day when given a good matchup.

Pick #2: Tennessee Titans (vs. BUF)
Boy, I didn’t think that I’d be using the Titans in DTBWW anytime soon, but after a couple of double digit performances the last two weeks and a tasty matchup at home against a struggling Bills team, I’ve changed my tune.

Pick #3: Arizona Cardinals (vs. SEA)
The Cards’ defense has been a little spotty at times, but the Seahawks are a nice matchup. Arizona has a chance to jump out on Seattle, and that will put Matt Hasselbeck in a tough spot.

Bonus pick: Atlanta (@ CAR). I’m a little worried about the Carolina running game, but the Falcons should be able to build a lead. The more Jake Delhomme pass attempts, the better.

Be sure to check out Week 9′s Fantasy Fallout and our Waiver Wire Watch. Still have questions? Fire away, but be sure to tell me about your league’s roster requirements and whether or not you’re in a PPR league.

Every week, I highlight a few players that you should target in waivers. I use the ESPN league data when filtering players, so the only players eligible for discussion here are those that are available on the waiver wire in at least 50% of ESPN’s leagues. I’ll list each player’s percentage-owned after their name so you have an idea of how available they are in leagues around the country. I’ll always try to mention a few players that are available in 90% of leagues for those of you in 12-team leagues or leagues with big rosters. I’ll rank them in the order I’d pick them up in a league with a high-performance, PPR scoring system.

Please note that these rankings are for total value through the end of the year. Players with particularly good matchups this week are in bold.

I’d grab Matt Hasselbeck (73.2) and Matt Cassel (68.0) before moving onto this list. I’d take Smith over David Garrard (78.2) right now.

Alex Smith (16.5)
Since taking over in Week 7, Smith is averaging 230 yards and 2.0 TD per game, and has a pretty nice schedule going forward.
Mark Sanchez (44.3)
He’s not going to put up consistently good numbers, but nice matchups in Week 10 (JAX) and Week 14 (TB) make him worth rostering in deep leagues.
Vince Young (6.0)
Young has been solid if unspectacular. He’s not going to rack up a ton of passing yards, but he’s a threat to score on the ground.
Jason Campbell (20.6)
Trent Edwards (29.4)
Matthew Stafford (5.9)
Josh Freeman (0.7)
Chad Henne (4.2)

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The Chiefs waive Larry Johnson. It’s interesting timing. Maybe KC saw enough out of Jamaal Charles (6 rushes, 36 yards) and Kolby Smith (4 rushes, 17 yards) to make them confident enough to cut LJ loose. The Chiefs have some nice rushing matchups coming up, but if Charles is only going to get nine touches, he’s not worth starting. His 6.0 ypc was encouraging, however.

Portis doubtful for Week 10. Ladell Betts will get most of the work in the Redskins’ backfield, but Rock Cartwright might be involved around the goal line. Neither is a strong play in a bad matchup against the Broncos.

Chris Henry out for the rest of the season. Henry was a popular breakout pick back in August, but never truly made a significant fantasy impact on the field. Had Andre Caldwell not proved to be such a dependable third option in the passing game, Henry might have had a bigger season.

Westbrook out as long as he has headaches. Apparently, he was ready to play, but a headache on Sunday caused the Eagles to think twice. Concussions are dicey, but keep an eye on him this week. If he’s practicing, then he’s probably a go unless he gets another headache next Sunday. The game is in San Diego, so whether or not he makes the flight will be a good indicator of his status.

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