The Scoop

By Dalton Del Don

This Titans defense is no joke. Cortland Finnegan is one of the league’s better players few know about…The Bengals have faced a seriously difficult early season schedule, but that can’t completely excuse such a disastrous line by Carson Palmer (49%, 4.5 YPA, 0:3 TD:INT ratio). Things will get better, but with two of the three upcoming games @NYG and @Dallas, it may not be for a while…Feel free to cut ties with Alge Crumpler, as there are plenty of more intriguing TE2 options.

No doubt about it, I got the Bills wrong this year – they look much better than I anticipated. It all starts with Trent Edwards, who looks like one of the NFL’s most improved players thus far…Of all the RB2s stashed on fantasy owners’ benches, it seems Fred Jackson is flying under the radar. He’s a big part of the team’s third down packages and would get the bulk of the work if Marshawn Lynch were to get injured…I’m not ready to give up on Jacksonville’s season, but the writing was on the wall for a disappointing 2008. Especially with all these injuries, they currently look like the worst team in their division…Matt Jones may yet become a useful NFL player after all…Fred Taylor is still a prime candidate to break down, but right now, Maurice Jones-Drew is almost unusable in fantasy leagues. He was previously able to get by on limited touches because he was so productive on a per play basis, but with a ravaged line on a declining team, he’s basically Tim Hightower.

I drafted Darren McFadden (often too high) in a bunch of leagues not because I didn’t like Justin Fargas as a RB, but because I doubted his ability to stay healthy and loved Tom Cable’s system. Anyone who saw Fargas’ injury Sunday won’t be expecting him back anytime soon. Of course, McFadden left with an injury of his own, and it was quite disappointing seeing him get caught from behind by a safety…Put a fork in Larry Johnson, he’s done. Meet the new Shaun Alexander, circa 2007. If you can get a Chris Johnson or Jonathan Stewart for LJ, consider yourself extremely lucky. Hell, at this point, Darren Sproles has more upside.

Peyton Manning’s knee injury is of definite concern – it takes him forever to get it loose and often prevents them from running their patented stretch plays on the ground. Still, let’s not write off the Colts just yet…I’m beginning to think Bernard Berrian may look a little overpaid at season’s end…Not having Dallas Clark in the lineup helped his stats Sunday, but Anthony Gonzalez looks like the far superior receiver than the current version of Marvin Harrison.

Well, that didn’t take long for Jonathan Stewart to gain more fantasy value than DeAngelo Williams. That’s a legit Bears’ front seven Stewart carved up Sunday…Jason McKie is quickly becoming Matt Forte owners’ worst nightmare…How about Greg Olsen losing a fumble on both of his two receptions? That’s not too good…Can’t wait to see what Carolina looks like with Steve Smith back in the lineup.

Jon Kitna can remain an effective fantasy QB either way, but those interceptions Sunday were brutal. It doesn’t matter that the OC changed, Detroit will have a similar philosophy because of the personnel. And that’s not good news for Kevin Smith owners…Greg Jennings is simply one of the best deep threats in the game. And in deeper leagues, rostering James Jones right now wouldn’t be a bad idea…If that’s the best Ryan Grant can do under his current condition, might as well rest him a week or two to get that hamstring healthy…The system helps for sure, but make no mistake, Aaron Rodgers is the real deal. Consider him a top-8 fantasy QB moving forward.

This Rams team is bad. Very, very bad. As in, the team has yet to run a single play in the red zone this season! Any Torry Holt owners should use this week’s miracle (lucky) 45-yard TD catch and shop him around like crazy. St. Louis is a must-start for opposing fantasy defenses…Brandon Jacobs is more likely to stay healthy if he’s continued to be used this way, and more touchdowns are sure to follow…Because of his activity in the passing game, Steven Jackson maintains fantasy value. However, it’s pretty limited surrounded by these teammates.

Who was that wearing #17 for Washington Sunday, and what did you do with Jason Campbell?…When healthy, Santana Moss is a very good wide receiver. He could be in store for a big bounce back year…The Giants are the only team in the NFL that doesn’t have a tight end with a catch this season…Whoever made the when to and when not to go for a two-point conversion chart is an idiot. And Jim Zorn got in line with the rest of the followers and mistakenly used it Sunday.

I understand they were playing from behind, but Mike Smith really abandoned the run prematurely Sunday…Roddy White owners, be patient. Good things are to come…If I own Earnest Graham, I might actually try selling high this week. He’s had back-to-back nice games, but both have been predicated by one huge gain, something that can’t be counted on. They’ve also come against soft defenses. Don’t get me wrong, I really like Graham as a player, but if Jon Gruden continues to give Warrick Dunn 45 percent of the carries, there’s just no way he can be a consistent RB2…Something tells me this Brian Griese era is not going to end well.

What a day for J.T. O’Sullivan. It’s hard not to commit a single turnover while taking eight sacks. Mike Martz’s magic has officially returned. A 9.9 YPA mark after two games suggests more TD passes to come. Right now, I’d much rather JTO than Matt Hasselbeck for fantasy purposes. I might even prefer him to Carson Palmer…Run, don’t walk to pick up Bryant Johnson if he’s somehow available on your waiver wire…Patrick Willis’ 86-yard interception return for a TD was a thing of beauty…Julius Jones is someone to be shopped this week. Sell.

Looks like the Jets better not start printing those playoff tickets, after all. I’d still take the Pats and you can have the AFC East field…I’m so over you Larry Maroney. So very over you…So maybe Wes Welker can retain some value after all…Where are you, David Harris?

And on the eighth day, God created Jay Cutler…Philip Rivers sure looks like a top-10 fantasy QB to me…Got to give Mike Shanahan credit for having the guts to go for two there. Love it when a coach goes against the grain for once. In a game that featured 942 total yards of offense, the move made plenty of sense…Don’t worry San Diego, the Chargers will be just fine. They’ll make the playoffs…If I had the option to own any Bronco running back, Ryan Torain would be my first choice…I’m really trying hard not to say I told you so about LaDainian Tomlinson, but let’s just say I’d use my No. 1 waiver priority to acquire Darren Sproles this week.

Tim Hightower’s YPC is a bit misleading since so many of his carries come in short-yardage situations, but he’s the back to own in Arizona…Boy Ted Ginn sure has disappeared since the real bullets started to fly…I’d target Ronnie Brown as a buy-low guy right now…Ugh, my Miami ahead of Buffalo prediction looks horrible, but I’m feeling “pretty, pretty good” about my Cardinals as NFC West champs pick…Kurt Warner has 25 touchdown passes over his last 10 games. If the big three can somehow remain healthy, this offense is an absolute force, and because they finally have sound coaching, it’s a team with potential.

How weird was Ben Roethlisberger’s postgame interview Sunday night?…This Cleveland team isn’t making the playoffs or anything, but they have had quite a rough schedule so far. Expect another subpar offensive performance in Week 3, and then go target Braylon Edwards in trade talks…Like last year before the season-ending injury, Willie Parker is getting worked awfully hard…I loved Romeo Crennel’s mind-blowing choice to kick a field goal down seven with three minutes left because he gave me a win ATS, but it had to be one of the most illogical decisions ever made.

The Broncos/Chargers matchup was quite good, but the Cowboys/Eagles Monday nighter qualifies as early season favorite for barnburner of the year. As someone who picked Dallas in his survivor pool this week, I was sweating bullets…Jason Witten is an animal. He won’t let a little separated shoulder get in the way of playing football…Did anyone even notice Tony Kornheiser made a possibly insensitive comment until he apologized for it?…First Brian Westbrook willingly kneeled down at the 1-yard line last year, and now DeSean Jackson nullifies a would be 61-yard TD by prematurely celebrating. The Eagles have officially become fantasy football’s most aggravating team…That said, Philadelphia is legit. Donovan McNabb looks simply terrific. The one more year removed from knee surgery has made a huge difference…Marion Barber might score a few touchdowns this season…And now, I’m off to go pay Bruce Bochy a visit.