- More ugliness from Jake Delhomme (325 yards, 3 INT). Anytime your fantasy defense faces him it’s a good thing.

- Matt Cassel (97 yards, TD, 3 INT) looked awful. Still worth rostering, but proceed with caution.

- Alex Smith (206 yards, 3 TD, INT) came off the bench to lead the 49ers’ comeback. Showed a great rapport with Vernon Davis.

- Carson Palmer (233 yards, 5 TD) was on fire against a normally decent Bears pass defense.

- Tony Romo (311 yards, 3 TD) played very well against a pretty good Falcons defense.

- Drew Brees (298 yards, TD, 3 INT) didn’t have the sharpest passing day, but he found the endzone twice on the ground.

- LaDainian Tomlinson (23 carries, 71 yards) has a disappointing day against the Chiefs. He failed to score on several goal line carries.

- Steve Slaton (22 touches, 89 yards, 2 TD) starting to perform up to first round expectations.

- Frank Gore (15 touches, 47 yards) had a surprisingly quiet day against an inconsistent Texans defense.

- Ryan Grant (27 carries, 148 yards, TD) had his first big fantasy day of the season.

- Laurence Maroney (13-43-1) was pretty bad in the first half, but bounced back in the second, scoring a TD.

- Rashard Mendenhall (10 carries, 69 yards) dominatee Willie Parker (1 carry, 2 yards) in carries.

- In a semi-surprise, Adrian Peterson (22 touches, 129 yards, TD) had a big day against the Steelers. Start your studs.

- The Bills couldn’t get Marshawn Lynch (17 carries, 40 yards, TD) going on the ground, which is pretty sad considering how bad the Panthers are at stopping the run.

- Justin Fargas (11 touches, 90 yards) and Michael Bush (9 toucches, 31 yards) split the OAK backfield work with McFadden sidelined. Fargas ran hard.

- Thomas Jones (26 carries, 121 yards, TD) got the Jets off to a good start, and Shonn Greene (19 carries, 144 yards, 2 TD) took over for the injured Leon Washington (1 carry, 6 yards). With Washington out for the year, Greene looks like a great pickup for the rest of the year.

- Cedric Benson (37 carries, 189 yards, TD) absolutely shredded his old team.

- Mike Bell (12 carries, 80 yards) got more touches and was more productive than Pierre Thomas (9 touches, 44 yards). Bell looks like the better start going forward.

Be sure to check back in a few minutes for the QB position.

- Vincent Jackson (5-142-1) is pretty much a must-start in most scoring formats.

- Dwayne Bowe (2-11-1) found the endzone, but otherwise had a quiet day against a sketchy Chargers secondary.

- The 49ers have a couple of good prospects in Josh Morgan (4-62) and Michael Crabtree (5-56).

- Andre Johnson (2-62) had one big catch but left the game with a chest injury. He’s not expected to miss any time.

- Sydney Rice (11-136) is really coming into his own. Is it maturity or the fact that he now has a QB who can deliver the ball?

- David Clowney (4-79-1) was good in place of Jerricho Cotchery. Braylon Edwards (1-14) was a non-factor.

- Devin Hester (8-101-1) has had three good games in his last four, averaging 5.0-66-0.5 during that span. Starting to look like an every week start in PPR leagues.

- Chad Ochocinco (10-118-2) looks like his old self. He’s on pace for a 89-1309-11 season.

- Miles Austin (6-171-2) isn’t a one-week wonder. He has good hands and is tough to bring down. Is he the new Dallas WR1?

Be sure to check back in a few minutes for the RB and QB positions.

- Vernon Davis (7-93-3) really started to get it going after Alex Smith entered the game.

- Jermichael Finley (1-16) injured his knee on his only catch, early in the first quarter. If he misses time, Donald Lee (3-39) becomes backup-caliber again.

- Jeremy Shockey (4-105) looks like his old self. His 66-yard catch and run was a thing of beauty.

Be sure to check back in a few minutes for the WR, RB and QB positions.

“I’ve been offered two trades: Steve Jackson for Rashard Mendenhall + Miles Austin or Brandon Jacobs for Kevin Smith + Miles Austin. my starting WRs are Fitzgerald, Colston, & Jennings (with Austin and Garcon on the bench.) my RBs are P. Thomas, Mendenhall, Smith, and Maroney. which one looks better to you? or do i just stand pat?”

My answer: I’d do the first deal for Jackson. Mendenhall is nice, but Jackson is having a top 10 or top 12 season and is an upgrade. I would NOT trade for Jacobs right now. I wouldn’t trade Smith for Jacobs straight up much less give up Austin in the deal as well.

It’s a little risky to trade Mendenhall away, because he could go on to have a great season, but Steven Jackson is a proven, every-week fantasy RB. He hasn’t scored a TD yet, but that won’t last with some nice matchups coming up. He’s on pace for 1789 total yards and is still having a top 10 or 12 season in PPR leagues. The downside is that the Rams are going to struggle to score on a weekly basis, but they have moved the ball a little better the last couple of weeks, so they should be able to give Jackson a few scoring opportunities in the near future. Since Indy is set at WR with Fitz, Colston and Jennings, Austin is expendable, so he might as well use him to upgrade at RB.

Things are looking up for Anquan Boldin. We’ll see if he practices today (Friday), but he went through a tough workout with the trainer and reportedly looked a lot better than he did on Wednesday. If he’s able to go, it’s a hit to Steve Breaston, who would be a nice play if Q sits.

HC Caldwell: A. Gonzalez “feeling really good.” Finally, there’s some sort of update on his status. The Colts’ coach was still pretty vague, not setting a timeline for Gonzalez’s return. Rotoworld suggests that Gonzalez would start on the outside with Austin Collie in the slot, so Pierre Garcon’s value would take the biggest hit. But Collie and Gonzalez are pretty similar players, so the Colts are more likely to rotate Collie and Garcon depending on the situation. Garcon is a deep threat while Collie is a possession receiver.

Sammy Morris won’t play in Week 7. He apparently wasn’t on the flight to London. What’s funny is that if this were a home game, the Patriots would be playing coy all the way up until kickoff. As it stands, Laurence Maroney has a very nice matchup against the Bucs. He looks like a solid RB2/flex play this week.

Greg Jennings practices and is expected to play. The Browns give up a ton of big plays, so Jennings is a nice start this week. In other news, James Jones is the full-time WR3, so if Jennings or Donald Driver were to miss anytime, his stock would likely jump the most. He’s worth rostering in deep leagues.

Jerricho Cotchery ruled out for Week 7. He wasn’t a particularly good start to begin with. His role opposite Braylon Edwards isn’t defined and the Jets face a tough Oakland pass defense. I’d avoid Edwards as well, though he should see enough targets to make him startable in bigger leagues.

Roy Williams might sit out Week 7. HC Wade Phillips says that Williams is in pain when he catches the ball, but that it has gotten better through the week. Miles Austin is a nice start even if Williams plays, but if he sits out, Patrick Crayton becomes pretty startable against the Falcons. (Austin usurped Crayton as the starter opposite Williams during the Cowboys’ bye week.)

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 Ben Roethlisberger, 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.

Three of the four worst pass defenses (TEN, JAX and DET) are on bye this week, so pickings are slim in terms of finding mediocre fantasy QBs with good matchups for Week 7. Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Phillip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Jay Cutler and Matt Ryan all have very good matchups and should be in starting lineups this week…If you’re looking for a bye week fill-in, give Shaun Hill a try. He faces the Texans, who have been inconsistent on defense. There’s a pretty good chance that he’ll have to throw quite a bit to stay in the game if the Texans’ offense gets going.

Both the Bills and Panthers are in the bottom four in rush defense, so DeAngelo Williams and Marshawn Lynch look like great starts this week. Jonathan Stewart and Fred Jackson aren’t bad as flex plays, either…Frank Gore is back and faces a Houston defense that has been uneven against the run. The Texans have been pretty good over the last three weeks, but the 49ers have a strong rushing attack…Both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington should be pretty good starts against the Raiders, who are much better against the pass than they are against the run. They have given up an average of 145 yards and 1.2 rush TD per game…Ryan Grant isn’t really tearing it up, but he has a very good matchup with the 30th-ranked Cleveland defense this week…Joseph Addai should be a strong start against the Rams, who have given up nine rushing TD in six games…Laurence Maroney is a waiver wire pickup who could pay big dividends this week as he faces a Bucs defense that has yielded 171 rushing yards per game through six games…Desperate? Larry Johnson looked pretty good last week and faces the Chargers this week. San Diego is ranked 27th against the run.

Wes Welker, Randy Moss, Roddy White and Vincent Jackson are studs that have great matchups this week. Don’t make the mistake of benching any of these guys…The Giants’ passing game has a nice matchup with the Cardinals, who were better last week but have struggled against the pass. Steve Smith 2.0, Mario Manningham and Hakeem Nicks are all startable, depending on the format…Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes should both be productive against the Vikings, who are strong against the run, but not so strong against the pass. Holmes especially thrives in these situations…Both Green Bay WRs — Greg Jennings and Donald Driver — look like strong starts against the Browns, who are 23rd against the pass…Austin Collie has been hot the last couple of weeks and looks like a nice start against the Rams. Of course, Reggie Wayne should be in all lineups.

This usually goes without saying, but stay away from JaMarcus Russell, Matt Sanchez, Ryan Fitzpatrick (assuming he starts), Chad Henne, Marc Bulger, Jake Delhomme and Josh Johnson this week. These are bad fantasy quarterbacks with bad matchups…One good QB with kind of a tough matchup is Donovan McNabb. He’s good enough to be startable, but the Redskins are 3rd in the league against the pass and have only allowed five pass TD all year.

If you were thinking about starting Jamal Lewis this week, don’t. The Packers have been pretty stingy on the ground, yielding just two rush TD in five games…The Cards have been pretty stout against the rush, so Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw aren’t great starts this week. I’d rather have Bradshaw going than Jacobs these days…Even after Ray Rice’s big day in Week 6, I wouldn’t expect much out of Rashard Mendenhall or Willie Parker against the Vikings this week. The Steelers don’t have nearly as good of a running game as the Ravens do.

Steve Smith 1.0 is usually too talented to bench, but if you have a great option, you may want to go with it because he has a tough matchup with the Bills, who have the 4th-best pass defense in the league despite facing some pretty good offenses (NE, NO, NYJ) this season…Terrell Owens has been dreadful this season, and with an unfavorable matchup against the Panthers, it’s not too likely that this is the week he breaks out. Lee Evans probably should be avoided as well…The Jets have to fly cross country to face an Oakland pass defense that held down a pretty potent Philly passing attack, so Braylon Edwards and Jerricho Cotchery (if he even plays) should be avoided this week…Antonio Bryant faces a New England defense that is 6th against the pass. That, coupled with the struggles that the Bucs are going through at QB, means he should be avoided this week…Santana Moss has a rough matchup with the Eagles, who are coming off an embarrassing loss to the Raiders in Week 6. Philly is 5th in the league against the pass and Moss has been inconsistent this season.