Chiefs 14 @ Falcons 38
If the matchup is good, you have to get Michael Turner in your lineup. He posted 104 rushing yards and three TD against a bad Kansas City rush defense…Jerious Norwood turned 12 touches into 105 yards…Matt Ryan had an efficient day, throwing for 192 yards and a score…Roddy White (5-119-1) had his first big game of the season and looks startable again…The Falcons defense had three picks (and returned one for a score, registered two sacks, and looks like a good start against bad defenses, especially at home…Larry Johnson looked like his old self rumbling for 121 yards and a score, though he’s still (mysteriously) not involved in the passing game…Dwayne Bowe (4-43-1) continues to play well despite the Chiefs problems at QB…Tony Gonzalez (4-35) had a quiet game but was involved…Tyler Thigpen threw for just 128 yards and a score, and was picked off three times.
Raiders 23 @ Bills 24
The Buffalo defense struggled in a game where they shouldn’t have. They gave up 23 points, and only registered a single sack and a single turnover…Marshawn Lynch looked great, turning 27 touches into 115 yards and two TD…Trent Edwards continued his steady play, posting 279 yards, one TD and one pick…Lee Evans (4-65) and Josh Reed (6-72) led the Bills in receiving, though Roscoe Parrish (3-42-1) was the only Buffalo wideout to score…JaMarcus Russell threw for 156 yards, one TD and also had a 1-yard touchdown run…Darren McFadden only had 48 yards on 17 touches, while Michael Bush had 60 yards on 15 touches…Zach Miller and Ronald Curry each failed to catch a ball, but there was a Javon Walker sighting as the gimpy wideout caught two passes for 18 yards.
Bucs 27 @ Bears 24
Brian Griese surprised everyone with 407 yards and two TD. He also threw for three picks, but since the Bucs couldn’t run the ball (Dunn – 31 yards, Graham – 16 yards), Tampa Bay called 67 passes…Antonio Bryant (10-138) seems to be the main beneficiary of Joey Galloway’s absence and is worth a pickup as long as Galloway is out…Ike Hilliard (6-57-1) thrives underneath and Jerramy Stevens (5-61-1) finally capitalized on some of that physical talent he has…Even Michael Clayton (5-54) got into the act…Brutal day for Earnest Graham (16 yards rushing, no catches)…Matt Forte (27 carries, 89 yards; 7-66-1 receiving) is an every week starter…Brandon Lloyd stepped up with 6-124-1, and after 5-66 last week, he’s starting to look like a wideout to roster…Kyle Orton (268 passing yards, 2 TD, 2 INT) had a nice fantasy day.
Panthers 10 @ Vikings 20
Carolina was in control (10-3) until a sack and fumble return for a TD late in the first half…Jake Delhomme (191 passing yards) had a disappointing day, especially with Steve Smith (4-70) back, against a suspect Minnesota secondary…Predictably, the Panthers couldn’t run against the Vikings stout defensive line. Jonathan Stewart (7 touches, 15 yards, 1 TD) and DeAngelo Williams (12 touches, 44 yards) just couldn’t get anything going…Muhsin Muhammad (3-25) and Dante Rosario (2-18) suffered through Delhomme’s bad day…Gus Frerotte (204 passing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) had a solid if unspectacular day…The same goes for Adrian Peterson (17 carries, 77 yards)…Chester Taylor had 14 touches for 66 yards…Bernard Berrian (3-79) and Visanthe Shiancoe (2-38-1) seemed to benefit the most from Frerotte under center.
Dolphins 38 @ Patriots 13
This was a stunner…Fantasy owners ballsy (or desperate) enough to start Ronnie Brown against a normally stout Patriot rush defense were rewarded with one of the all-time best fantasy lines; he had 17 rushes for 113 rushing yards and four rush TD and also threw for a score…Anthony Fasano followed up last week’s goose egg with nice 3-66-1 day…Chad Pennington was solid (226 passing yards), but failed to throw for a score…Ricky Williams turned 18 touches into 119 yards, but didn’t score…Greg Camarillo (4-60) and Ted Ginn (5-49) led the WR corps…Matt Cassel might be in trouble as the starter if the best he can do against the Dolphins is 131 passing yards, one TD and a pick. He had a rushing TD that was called back because the ref thought he was in the grasp. Bad call…Wes Welker (6-55) led the Patriots in receiving and also had a 19-yard run…Jabar Gaffney (6-51-1) had a nice day but Randy Moss (4-25) did not. It looks like Cassel under center is really affecting Moss…Sammy Morris (10 touches, 27 yards) and LaMont Jordan (6 touches, 22 yards) filled in horribly for Laurence Maroney…The Patriots DT failed to register a sack and only forced one turnover. A horrible all-around day for New England.
Bengals 23 @ Giants 26
Eli Manning got off to a slow start but finished with 286 yards passing and a TD…Plaxico Burress (3-45) wasn’t much of a factor. Amani Toomer (5-64) led the Giants in receiving yards, while Steve Smith (7-60) and Kevin Boss (3-51-1) picked up Burress’ slack…Brandon Jacobs (14 carries, 35 yards, TD) was largely ineffective, while Derrick Ward (12 touches, 106 yards) was the Giants’ best RB on the day…Ahmad Bradshaw only saw three touches on the day…Carson Palmer broke out of his slump with 286 yards and a TD, and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (12-146-1) had a monster day…Chad Johnson (3-29) was quiet…Chris Perry (22 touches, 93 yards and a TD) looks like he’s startable under certain circumstances…Shayne Graham looks like a decent option now that the Bengals offense looks like it’s back on track.
Texans 12 @ Titans 31
LenDale White was the Tennessee RB to shine this week with 49 yards and two TD. Chris Johnson turned 18 touches into 79 yards…With Justin Gage out, Kerry Collins (189 passing yards, TD, INT) focused on Justin McCareins (4-90) and Bo Scaife (3-26-1), who continues to be a better fantasy TE than Alge Crumpler (2-26)…Matt Schaub (188 passing yards, no TD, 3 INT) had a horrible day, and Andre Johnson (2-29) suffered as a result…Owen Daniels (4-71) posted nice numbers, but it was Steve Slaton (22 touches for 124 total yards and a TD) that was the Texans’ offensive star.
Cardinals 17 @ Redskins 24
Things are looking pretty good for Washington’s new West Coast Offense, as Jason Campbell threw for 193 yards and two TD…Clinton Portis (23 touches, 86 yards, TD) had a solid day…Santana Moss (7-75-1) continued his strong play, while Chris Cooley (7-72) had nice numbers for a TE…Antwaan Randle El (3-23) was quiet…Kurt Warner (192 yards, 2 TD, INT) put up nice stats and Larry Fitzgerald (7-109-1) was the main beneficiary…Anquan Boldin (3-25-1) had a quiet day but did score…Edgerrin James (20 touches, 108 yards) didn’t score for the third consecutive week.
Saints 32 @ Broncos 34
Jay Cutler threw for 264 yards, 2 TD and was picked off once in another nice game…Brandon Marshall (6-155-1) had another huge game, but Eddie Royal (4-11) wasn’t very involved…Tony Scheffler (4-32) followed up last week’s huge game with a quiet one…Selvin Young turned 12 touches into 72 yards, but was once again pulled around the goal line. Michael Pittman (5 carries, 2 yards, TD) scored again…Drew Brees (421 yards, TD) had a monster day throwing to Reggie Bush (11-75-1), Jeremy Shockey (8-75), Lance Moore (7-78) and six other receivers…Bush also carried the ball 18 times for 73 yards and a TD, but was pulled at the goal line for Pierre Thomas (9 touches, 23 yards, 2 TD)…Still no sign of Deuce McAllister.
Lions 13 @ 49ers 31
J.T. O’Sullivan (189 passing yards, 2 TD, 32 rushing yards) is turning into a good start against certain competition…Frank Gore (31 touches, 162 yards, TD) continues to play like a beast…Bryant Johnson (1-25) was a disappointment, while Delanie Walker (3-44-1) turned in a nice game…Isaac Bruce (2-19-1) also caught a TD, while Vernon Davis (1-17) had another disappointing game. For some reason, Mike Martz does not like using Davis…Jon Kitna (146 yards, TD, INT) struggled, and Calvin Johnson (4-40) and Roy Williams (2-18) posted bad numbers as a result…Rudi Johnson (17 touches, 131 yards, TD) capitalized on the mysterious disappearance of Kevin Smith from the Lions’ gameplan. Rudi looked spry and should be owned in all leagues pending word of Smith’s status.
Rams 13 @ Seahawks 37
Despite Seattle’s decimated receiving corps, Matt Hasselbeck (172 passing yards, TD) still had a decent day. With Bobby Engram and Deion Brach supposedly back in Week 5, Hass is a guy to try to buy low, especially if his current owner has another good QB to lean on…Julius Jones had another huge day (140 yards rushing, TD) and looks like a good start as long as Maurice Morris remains out…T.J. Duckett (19 carries, 79 yards, 2 TD) was a big factor as well…In the receiving game, it was Billy McMullen (4-75), TE John Carlson (2-38) and Michael Bumpus (2-29-1)…Marc Bulger struggled (184 yards, TD, INT) and Torry Holt (4-37) continues his relatively quiet season…Steven Jackson had 128 total yards on 28 touches, but failed to score.
Browns 10 @ Ravens 28
The Ravens defense racked up four sacks, one fumble recovery and picked off three passes (including an Ed Reed return TD)…Joe Flacco struggled (129 passing yards, 2 INT), but it didn’t matter…Willis McGahee returned to carry the ball 15 times for 64 yards and a score, while Le”Ron McClain carried the ball 17 times for 66 yards and two TD…Ray Rice was a non-factor (5 carries, 21 yards)…Derrick Mason led all Baltimore receivers with 4-42, while Todd Heap chipped in with 2-32…Mark Clayton (2-14) wasn’t very involved…Derek Anderson (125 yards, TD, 3 INT) and Jamal Lewis (15 touches, 77 yards) struggled, as did Braylon Edwards (3-27) and Kellen Winslow (2-14). I wonder when the Brady Quinn talk will start.
Jaguars 23 @ Colts 21
Fred Taylor (26 carries, 121 yards) and Maurice Jones-Drew (19 carries, 107 yards, TD) took advantage of a very bad Colts rush defense that was missing Bob Sanders. Jones-Drew also had 4-59 in the passing game…Despite the win, David Garrard (167 yards, INT) continued his disappointing season…Matt Jones (4-32) should be rostered in bigger PPR leagues…Peyton Manning (216 yards, TD, 2 INT) wasn’t particularly sharp and Reggie Wayne (3-72) and Marvin Harrison (4-40-1) had quiet games as a result…Anthony Gonzalez (2-37) came back to Earth after a huge game last week…Joseph Addai turned 17 touches into 88 yards and two scores.
Steelers 6 @ Eagles 15
This was an all-around ugly game…Donovan McNabb (196 passing yards, TD, INT) finished with decent numbers…Brian Westbrook (five carries, 12 yards) was knocked out of the game with an ankle injury and is iffy for Week 4. The guy to pick up is Correll Buckhalter, who turned 16 touches into 87 yards and a TD…Hank Baskett (8-84) had a nice game, while DeSean Jackson (5-40) was a mild disappointment…The Eagles DT posted nine sacks, two fumble recoveries and an interception and should be owned in most leagues…The Steelers struggled offensively…Ben Roethlisberger (131 yards, 2 INT, 2 fumbles) had an awful game and was knocked out after a wrist injury…Willie Parker (13 carries, 20 yards) was also a disappointment, as was Hines Ward (4-34) and Santonio Holmes (3-32)…The only real bright spot was Heath Miller (4-63).
Cowboys 27 @ Packers 16
The Packers limited Terrell Owens to just 2-17, but Miles Austin (2-115-1) and Jason Witten (7-67) had big days…Patrick Crayton failed to catch a pass, and probably isn’t worth starting unless he can get on track…Tony Romo (260 pass yards, TD, INT) finished with decent numbers…Marion Barber (31 touches, 157 yards, TD) was the star…Felix Jones also contributed with seven carries for 76 yards, which included a 60-yard TD run…Aaron Rodgers (290 yards, rush TD) finished with good numbers but he didn’t have a great game…Greg Jennings (8-115) continues to shine while Donald Driver (4-76) is taking more of a complementary role…Jordy Nelson (4-42) seems to be the team’s WR, while Donald Lee (5-41) is simply a solid backup fantasy TE…Ryan Grant looked a lot better, but only finished with 54 yards on 13 carries. Still the ypc (4.2) is respectable and it looked like he had his burst back. I expect him to pick it up over the next month as long as he doesn’t tweak that hammy.
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 of 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.
Every week, I 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 LaDainian Tomlinson has a tough matchup – just go ahead and start them. 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.