Don Banks of SI.com decided to re-do the 2008 NFL Draft after what we know now. (I.e. Matt Ryan is a freak.)

1. Miami Dolphins (Original Pick: Jake Long, OT, Michigan)
RE-DO PICK: MATT RYAN, QB, BOSTON COLLEGE
Chad Pennington has been superb, and Chad Henne is locked and loaded as the Dolphins quarterback of the future. But Ryan is in the midst of one of the greatest seasons ever by a rookie quarterback, and you don’t pass on that given a second chance. Just like Ben Roethlisberger in our inaugural re-draft of 2004, Ryan shoots to the top of the heap.

2. St. Louis Rams (Original Pick: Chris Long, DE, Virginia)
RE-DO PICK: JOE FLACCO, QB, DELAWARE
You think Flacco lingers to No. 18 on the board this time around? Uh, no. It’s a quarterbacks league, and while I’m not sure anyone could win in St. Louis about now, Marc Bulger sure isn’t getting it done. The list of teams that wished it had believed in Flacco last spring is getting longer all the time.

3. Atlanta Falcons (Original Pick: Matt Ryan, QB, Boston College)
RE-DO PICK: JAKE LONG, OT, MICHIGAN
Without the Falcons getting their quarterback in this slot, they would turn to their need at left offensive tackle, where they took USC’s Sam Baker after trading back into the first round at No. 21. Long, Ryan Clady and Duane Brown have all excelled at LT this year, but the ex-Wolverine has been a solid pro.

4. Oakland Raiders (Original Pick: Darren McFadden, RB, Arkansas)
RE-DO PICK: CHRIS JOHNSON, RB, EAST CAROLINA
We all know Al Davis loves speed, but in Johnson he gets speed that has actually produced as a rookie. McFadden has just one 100-yard rushing game, and that came in Week 2. Johnson has been a spectacular season-long contributor to Tennessee’s overwhelmingly successful running game.

5. Kansas City Chiefs (Original Pick: Glenn Dorsey, DT, LSU)
RE-DO PICK: CHRIS LONG, DE, VIRGINIA
The Chiefs have gotten virtually zero impact out of Dorsey, and they sure could have used some defensive line help to offset the loss of the traded Jared Allen. Long has modest statistics, but his four sacks are a good first step in the right direction. Don’t forget it took Mario Williams until year two to find his groove.

It’s always interesting to look back at the draft every year after most of the regular season has been played out. In April, Glenn Dorsey was arguably the best defender in the draft but as Banks points out, he’s made no impact for the Chiefs. Granted, these players are just 14 weeks into their young careers so a lot could change, but how wrong was everybody (myself included) who suggested the Falcons should have taken Dorsey over Matt Ryan? It would have looked like one of the biggest draft blunders of the year, assuming of course Dorsey was equally ineffective for Atlanta.

- For the second straight day, Colts’ wideout Reggie Wayne missed practice due to a knee injury. If he doesn’t practice Friday, there’s a good chance he won’t play against New England Sunday night. (Rotoworld.com)

- Steven Jackson’s status for Week 9 is still up in the air after being “limited� in practice on Thursday. Jackson is battling a quad injury. (Belleville News-Democrat)

- Cowboys’ TE Jason Witten will be a game-time decision this Sunday in New York. He did not practice on Thursday as he continues to nurse a rib injury. (DallasCowboys.com)

- Rookie Darren McFadden apparently has turf toe on both of his feet and isn’t expected to play Sunday against the Falcons. (ESPN)

- It might not be this week, but the Lions are expected to give Drew Stanton a shot at quarterback sometime this season according to beat writer Tom Kowalski. (Mlive.com)

The Chargers scored 18 25 fourth quarter points to beat the Raiders 21-18 28-18. San Diego was still able to win despite training 15-0 in the second half and turning the ball over four times.

LaDainian Tomlinson’s toe must be feeling better, because the back rushed for 106 yards and two touchdowns, including a 41-yard run to ice the game with just over a minute to play. LT essentially saved a poor passing day by Philip Rivers, who struggled to throw for only 180 yards and two picks.

Raiders’ second-year QB JaMarcus Russell looked better today, throwing for 223 yards and a touchdown, but once San Diego’s defense clamped down in the fourth quarter, Oakland could do nothing offensively. Michael Bush was their leading rusher, gaining only 48 yards on 14 carries. Rookie Darren McFadden did play, but was limited to only 20 yards on seven carries due to injury.

So what happens to head coach Lane Kiffin now? I’m sure by tonight a report will surface that he’ll be fired on Monday, but who knows what Al Davis will do. He obviously doesn’t have a replacement ready for Kiffin, so maybe this charade will go on for another week.

The following edits were made to this post: In the first paragrah, the score was changed from 21-18 to the correct final score, 28-18. Also in the first pargraph, the number 18 was changed to 25.

Rian Lindell kicked a game-winning 38-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Bills a 24-23 win over the Oakland Raiders in Buffalo on Sunday.

It was over when …
Rian Lindell kicked a 38-yard field goal as time expired.

Game ball
Trailing 16-7 entering the fourth quarter, quarterback Trent Edwards led the Bills to 17 points, including two scoring drives in the final 6:23 to complete the comeback.

Key stat
The Bills held the Raiders to 2-of-12 on third-down conversions and only 10 first downs total.

Noteworthy
The Bills are 3-0 for the first time since 1992, when the team started 4-0. … Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell threw only three passes in the second half. One of them was an 84-yard touchdown to Johnnie Lee Higgins. … The Raiders had only 98 rushing yards after gaining 300 on the ground against the Chiefs in Week 2.

Some are going to look at this as a step back for Buffalo, but for a young team learning how to win, it was perfect. The Bills looked great the past two weeks, beating two former playoff teams. There was bound to be a drop off at some point. Oakland outplayed the Bills for three quarters, but Buffalo didn’t panic and finished with a monster fourth quarter. A win like this will do more for the Bills than had they won by a double-digit margin. It’ll keep them grounded and focused, especially with a trip to St. Louis coming up.

On Sunday morning, Lane Kiffin’s job was in jeopardy. By Sunday afternoon, Kiffin’s job may still be in jeopardy, but at least he guided his team to their first win of the season as the Oakland Raiders topped the Kansas City Chiefs 23-8.

Rookie Darren McFadden had a breakout game, rushing for 164 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. Thanks to McFadden’s performance, QB JaMarcus Russell didn’t have to do much as he attempted only 17 passes. He finished 6 of 17 for only 55 yards.

Defensively, Oakland game planned to stop Larry Johnson and that’s exactly what they did. Johnson finished with only 22 yards on 12 carries as the Chiefs struggled to move the ball all game. In a strange situation, Damon Huard (who only attmpeted four passes) was replaced by reserve wide receiver Marques Hagans. Later in the game, Tyler Thigpen took over under center for KC, and wound up throwing a touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Kiffin situation pans out. Rumor has it that even if Oakland won Sunday, Kiffin will be fired on Monday. Hmm…

After adding quarterback JaMarcus Russell with the first overall pick in the 2007 NFL Draft and explosive running back Darren McFadden in the first round this past April, many pundits were high on the Raiders entering the season. It also helped that the team re-signed DL Tommy Kelly and added Pro Bowl cornerback DeAngelo Hall and S Gibril Wilson.

But after Oakland was smacked 41-14 by division rival Denver on Monday night, it’s painfully obviously the Raiders are still a year or two away from competing.

Russell (17 of 26, 180 yards, 2 TDs) was under constant pressure and although his final numbers looked good, the Broncos never allowed him to get into a rhythm. McFadden chipped in with 46 yards on nine carries, but the Raiders fell behind so quickly that it was hard to stick with the run.

Perhaps the most staggering thing from the game was how bad Oakland’s defense looked. The front seven couldn’t generate any pass rush and Denver quarterback Jay Cutler completely picked apart the Raiders’ secondary, which was supposed to be a strength. Hall was absolutely abused by rookie receiver Eddie Royal, who amassed nine receptions for 146 yards and a touchdown. At one point Mike Dikta (who was in the announcers’ booth) said, “Hall wants no part of Eddie Royal,� and Da Coach was right. The Raiders gave up multiple draft picks in the offseason to acquire Hall and pair him with Pro Bowler Nnamdi Asomugha, but all the team got from him Monday night was multiple personal foul penalties and crap coverage.

While the Raiders still look a ways awhile, Cutler and the Broncos were outstanding. The defense was relentless, Royal and Cutler were outstanding and the running game was once again effective. Denver will get a great test next weekend when they host division rival San Diego. (A pissed off San Diego, that is.)

All right, I’m applying a five-year (or maybe a ten-year) moratorium on myself – I’m not going to draft any Denver running backs in the first eight rounds. I’ve been touting Selvin Young all summer, and even though Andre Hall’s emergence started to worry me, I stuck with my recommendation to draft Young in the 5th or 6th round. As always, Mike Shanahan (a.k.a. “Skeletor”) found a way to screw me. While Young did start, and he did score a touchdown, Denver is clearly…CLEARLY…a RBBC. Young had four carries through three quarters, and finally got the rock regularly on a fourth quarter drive, which he punctuated with a 5-yard score. Andre Hall led the team in carries (10) and yards (61), while Michael Pittman…MICHAEL PITTMAN…is the team’s goal line back; he scored twice. Unless Hall goes down with an injury, I think Young owners are in for a long, frustrating year…As you can see, I’m not afraid to skewer myself when I’m wrong. But I’m not afraid to break my arm patting myself on the back, either. I’ve been touting Jay Cutler and Eddie Royal too (and maybe more), and they both delivered in a big way. Cutler threw for 299 yards and two scores, while Royal one-upped DeSean Jackson’s NFL debut by posting nine catches for 146 yards and a TD. Mike Ditka was impressed with his route running, which is especially laudable considering he was going up against two very good cornerbacks in Nnamdi Asomugha and DeAngelo Hall. Simply stated, Royal filleted them. Brandon Marshall will be Denver’s WR1, but it wouldn’t surprise me at all if Royal finished with 75-80 catches for 1200 yards. He’s that good. As for Cutler, he looked awesome. He was cool, calm and collected, and in complete control of the Denver offense. He has a gun and he’s accurate as well. I think he’s in for a big year…Tony Scheffler had one big reception for 72 yards and Darrell Jackson had a 48-yard TD catch…The Denver offense as a whole looked great, so Matt Prater would be a good pickup at kicker…JaMarcus Russell finished with good numbers (180 passing yards, 2 TD), but he was shaky at the start. He had a couple of near-misses with Ronald Curry (2-18-1), but finally settled in during the second half and started hitting his receivers…Ashley Lelie (3-37-1) could have value if Javon Walker continues to miss time with a “bad hammyâ€� and Zach Miller (4-34) will probably put up better numbers as the season wears on…Justin Fargas turned 20 touches into 109 yards while Darren McFadden had 10 touches for 57 yards. It’s not clear if this was by design or if the coaching staff decided to rein in McFadden once the game got out of control to avoid making the night any worse by risking a potential injury to their prized draft pick.

Tuesday Morning Update: McFadden apparently left the game with a shoulder injury. If he misses any time, Justin Fargas becomes a legitimate fantasy RB2.

Adrian Peterson certainly made it easy on voters last year. After rushing for 1,341 yards, 12 touchdowns and a 5.6-yard per carry average, Peterson was an easy choice for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.

So who is this year’s Adrian Peterson? Despite popular belief, the OROY doesn’t have to lead his team to the playoffs, as Peterson proved last year. He just has to stand out from the rest of the pack – easy, right?

Below is a look at the OROY candidates for the 2008 NFL Season. I’ve ranked the top 10 candidates based on their chances along with reasons why (and why they won’t) win the award.

1. Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons
Ryan earned the starting quarterback job after a solid preseason, including completing 15 of 21 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown in the Falcons’ 17-3 win over Tennessee. Forget the huge contract and the fact that Atlanta wants to erase the thought of Michael Vick – Ryan can play. He looked comfortable, poised and completely in control running the Falcons’ offense and has enough weapons in Michael Turner, Jerious Norwood and Roddy White to be effective. As long as the offensive line gives him protection like it did this preseason, Ryan might be the best bet to win OROY honors. It also doesn’t hurt that he plays the quarterback position and will likely receive a ton of media attention.

2. Jonathan Stewart, RB, Carolina Panthers
Stewart has run very well so far in preseason. He rushed 10 times for 100 yards in the Panthers’ third exhibition game and even had a fantastic 50-yard touchdown run that highlighted both his power and breakaway speed. Defenses contained Carolina’s ground attack last year, but that was largely due to ineffective quarterback play. Teams knew that the Panthers were going to try and run the football and often played with eight men in the box. But now that QB Jake Delhomme is healthy again, the Panthers’ offense should be more balanced and thus defenses will have to respect both the run and the pass. He’ll split time with DeAngelo Williams, but Stewart is going to get plenty of opportunities to make plays this season. Not only that, but he looks like a solid overall player.

3. Matt Forte, RB, Chicago Bears
The Bears parted with twinkle-toes Cedric Benson this offseason after multiple off-field incidents. The team drafted Forte in the second round and after Benson was released, and the rookie immediately became the starter. Forte has good size, runs hard between the tackles and shows some decent burst when he gets into the open field. But Chicago’s line has to hold up. Center Olin Kreutz, right guard Roberto Garza and right tackle John St. Clair are all decent run blockers, but there are major question marks on the left side of the line. Even so, Forte is going to have plenty of opportunities to make plays this season, especially if backup Kevin Jones can’t stay healthy.

In the realm of fantasy football, using early picks on rookies is usually a dicey proposition. It’s not often that a rookie comes into the league and is able to quickly establish fantasy relevance, though a few players do break through every season. Typically, a few running backs make an immediate impact, as that is the easiest position to transition to from college. In 2007, Adrian Peterson and Marshawn Lynch were drafted for the sole purpose of taking over their team’s running game, and they both went on to have successful seasons. Even an undrafted rookie like Ryan Grant can have an impact if he finds the right situation. (I was lucky enough to snatch him off the waiver wire before he went on his 10-game train ride to fantasy stardom. I went on to win the title in that league despite disappointing performances from two of my keepers – Shaun Alexander and Marvin Harrison.)

Last year’s wide receiver crop was a bit thinner. Dwayne Bowe was the top rookie, finishing in the top 20 in most scoring formats. This was an upset considering all the fantasy owners that were drooling over Calvin Johnson’s intangibles before the season started. James Jones and Anthony Gonzalez flirted with fantasy relevance, but otherwise rookie wideouts didn’t make much of an impact in 2007. But every year, it seems like there’s one or two that become starter-worthy. (Who can forget Marques Colston’s 2006 campagin?)

So let’s take a look at this year’s top fantasy rookies and see who’s likely to make an impact.

RUNNING BACKS

1. Jonathan Stewart, Panthers (pictured)
Stewart is a power back and that’s the Panthers’ style. DeAngelo Williams has been something of a disappointment, so if Stewart runs well during the rest of the preseason, it’s not inconceivable that he could earn a starting role. However, durability is a concern with Stewart, so it is more likely that the Panthers will split carries to keep him fresh and injury-free.

2. Darren McFadden, Raiders
Due to his combination of strength and speed, some compare the #4 overall pick to Adrian Peterson. McFadden joins Justin Fargas and Michael Bush in the Raider backfield. Fargas had something of a breakout season in 2007 and Bush is running very well in camp, but McFadden will still get his touches. The team has said they’d like to use McFadden like the Saints used Reggie Bush in his rookie season. Oakland won’t want to wear him out, so this looks like a RBBC for the time being.

3. Matt Forte, Bears
The Bears drafted Forte in the second round to shore up a struggling running game. Cedric Benson was a bust, but the offensive line has been suspect for a couple of years now, so there’s no telling just how much Forte will help Chicago’s ground game. He has looked solid in the preseason, and should be a solid RB3 in most fantasy leagues.

4. Kevin Smith, Lions
Smith is one of the more promising rookies simply because the Lions don’t have any other good options at tailback. Tatum Bell and Brian Calhoun haven’t made their mark, so it’s Smith’s job to lose. He has had durability and character issues during his career, so there is some question as to whether or not he can hold up to the wear-and-tear of a 16-game season. Still, given the lack of competition, he’s an intriguing middle-round fantasy pick.

5. Chris Johnson, Titans
The diminutive speedster seems to be earning a bigger and bigger role as the preseason wears on. LenDale White will get most of the work between the tackles (and, presumably, around the goal line), but Johnson will see a lot of work in the passing game and as a change-of-pace back.

6. Ray Rice, Ravens (pictured)
With Willis McGahee coming off of knee surgery, and Rice impressing in camp, there’s a real possibility that the rookie starts at tailback in Week 1. There are rumblings that the team is none too happy with McGahee’s (lack of a) work ethic, so Rice’s value is enhanced in keeper or dynasty leagues.

7. Rashard Mendenhall, Steelers
The Steelers raised some eyebrows (including Willie Parker’s) when they drafted Mendenhall in the first round. For now, they see him as a complement to “Fast” Willie, but he should eventually turn into an every-down back. The writing is on the wall for Parker; it’s just a matter of time before Mendenhall takes over as the Steelers’ feature back.

8. Steve Slaton, Texans
Ahman Green is hurt. Big surprise. Chris Brown is hurt. Big surprise. Somebody has to carry the ball in Houston and Slaton is second in line after Chris Taylor. Slaton has better speed, but Taylor is a little more physical. If Green and Brown continue to miss time, we might be looking at a Taylor/Slaton RBBC in Houston.

9. Felix Jones, Cowboys
Jones is the “lightning� to Marion Barber’s “thunder,� but this isn’t a timeshare. Barber is the main back, and Jones will be used to spell him and to add some punch out of the backfield in the passing game. Barber owners should definitely target Jones as a handcuff in the late-middle rounds.