So, what to do with Randy Moss?
This answer is pretty easy for fantasy owners: Stay away. Vikings coach Brad Childress announced he'd be putting Moss on waivers sometime this week. With the Vikings, Moss' stats in four games: 13 catches, 174 yards, two touchdowns. While with the Patriots earlier this year, Moss caught nine passes for 134 yards and three scores.
The touchdowns are good. The problem is Moss hasn't been getting enough targets (just two Sunday in his one-catch effort) to be in your starting fantasy lineup now. Unless he's going to sign with a UFL team, you have to bench him. There's a chance he turns it around with his third team of the season, but right now he's just too much of a risk to get single-digit points in any given week. You probably have someone better.
There are other fantasy implications with Childress' decision. Although the Moss move had nothing to do with his fitness, Sidney Rice could be returning to the lineup sometime in the next few weeks.
Some owners have been stashing Rice the entire season; he might not be available in your league. If he is, though, it might be a good time to stash him now before someone else gets the idea. He had a good rapport with Brett Favre last year and could be your difference-maker come playoff time.
Quarterback
So much for being rusty after a layoff. Matthew Stafford returned to the starting lineup for the Detroit Lions and threw four touchdowns in a 37-25 comeback win over Washington. He went 26-for-45 for 212 yards and a pick in his return.
Stafford's an intriguing pickup option: He faces the Jets this next Sunday, then gets two bad pass defenses in Buffalo and Dallas in Weeks 10 and 11. If you're still scrambling for a QB this late in the year, Stafford is probably your best option.
• Ryan Fitzpatrick, Bills (24-for-48, 223 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 6 rush, 43 yards): Nothing spectacular, but it's a good sign that Fitzpatrick put up decent fantasy points when the Bills scored just 10 points. Some weeks he might even pick up points on the ground. Fitzpatrick keeps looking like a better fantasy option each week.
• Jon Kitna, Cowboys (34-for-49, 379 yards, 1 TD, 4 INT): Uh, maybe. Kitna played poorly in his first start, but the Cowboys' running game is so bad he may throw enough times to be valuable in leagues that give a lot of points for passing yardage. Dallas is a mess, of course, but Kitna could pile up nice garbage-time points.
On the hot seat: Donovan McNabb. Is it his fitness? Is it his lack of two-minute drill capability? Will Mike Shanahan have a new explanation for benching McNabb later in the week? Either way, yikes. McNabb's thrown for a ton of yards this season, but he has more picks than touchdowns (8 to 7) and is now in limbo. You need to see if there's a better option.
Running back
The Lions' Kevin Smith vultured carries from Jahvid Best on Sunday against the Redskins, rushing 11 times for 51 yards. He also caught two passes for 16 yards. Best had 12 carries for 48 yards. While this is largely bad news for Best owners, Smith isn't a fantasy option right now.
But Smith could be an intriguing possibility later in the season. The two backs split carries evenly in Week 8, each getting five in the first half and seven in the second. If Best tires -- or his toe injury comes back -- Smith could end up carrying the ball more in the second half of the season. Smith isn't 100 percent, either; he tore his ACL nine months ago. Still, at this point in the year, desperation rules with running backs.
• Fred Jackson, Bills (20 carries, 64 yards): Buffalo's running game is still fairly anemic, but Jackson is getting a majority of the carries. He still only has the one touchdown this year, but if teams concentrate on stopping the Bills' passing game he could end up getting more yardage.
• Ricky Williams, Dolphins (9 carries, 47 yards, 1 TD): He still doesn't get many carries -- right around 10 a game -- but he occasionally gets involved in the passing game and is an option down the road.
• LeGarrette Blount, Bucs (22 carries, 120 yards, 2 TD; 2 receptions, 9 yards): If Blount went unclaimed on your league's waiver wire last week, he won't last another one. With Cadillac Williams struggling, it was only a matter of time before Blount had a breakout game with the Bucs. Williams had been getting the bulk of the carries, but had only four on Sunday. Look for Blount to continue to get a majority of the touches.
On the hot seat: Jonathan Stewart, Panthers. With DeAngelo Williams inactive, Stewart started -- and rushed 14 times for just 30 yards. He's had double-digit fantasy points in only one game this season and probably shouldn't be in your starting lineup anymore.
Wide receiver
A lot of owners probably gave up on Steve Breaston due to injuries (he missed three straight games) and the Cardinals' horrific quarterback situation. Even with Max Hall and Derek Anderson combining for four interceptions, Breaston still caught 8 passes (on 11 targets) for 147 yards in his return to the lineup Sunday.
While Larry Fitzgerald is going to get the majority of QB attention (he was targeted 12 times Sunday) he also gets the majority of secondary attention, leaving Breaston open for easier catches (Fitzgerald only had six receptions). Breaston is available in about 60 percent of leagues and is worth grabbing if you're in need of wideout help.
• Brandon Tate, Patriots (3 rec, 101 yards, 1 TD): Tate isn't going to be targeted enough (just four times) to put up huge numbers, but he's becoming a threat to break a long one, as he did on a 65-yard touchdown catch from Tom Brady on Sunday. It's getting late in the season, and free-agent talent is getting slim; if Tate continues to get a chance at a long pass each game he could be serviceable down the stretch.
• Anthony Armstrong, Redskins (3 rec, 92 yards): Armstrong is in the same situation as Tate; he's not going to get that many looks, but he's going to be a deep threat who could possibly score or at least put up huge yardage totals on a small number of catches.
• Brandon Gibson, Rams (6 rec, 67 yards): With Danny Amendola -- St. Louis' No. 1 target -- probably already on someone's roster, you might want to look at Gibson. Amendola reached the end zone Sunday, but Gibson was targeted the same number of times and had more yardage. He's worth a look in deep leagues.
On the hot seat: Hines Ward, Steelers. He's had some solid games but he's also disappeared in a few other times and only has two games over 100 yards this year. He has scored in three of his last five contests, but if you have more promising options Ward should be on your bench.
Tight end
If Jacob Tamme wasn't picked up in your league before, he will be now. Filling in for Dallas Clark, who's out for the year, the Colts' TE caught 6 passes for 64 yards and a touchdown on Monday night. He was targeted nine times. This is a no-brainer. The Colts throw a ton, and that throwing is done by Peyton Manning. Tamme could be a solid starting tight end for the rest of the season.
• Todd Heap, Ravens: His numbers haven't been bad so far this year and he's had a week off to rest up and get healthy. He's available in over 50 percent of leagues and is playing Miami this week, and the Dolphins don't cover tight ends well; if you're in need of a tight end he could put up solid-if-unspectacular numbers.
On the hot seat: Brent Celek, Eagles. Michael Vick didn't look for Celek often as the Eagles' starting quarterback; now that he returns to the lineup this week, it'll be interesting to see how many passes are thrown in Celek's direction. If you're stuck you can start him, but it'd be nice to see production with Vick at QB before he's your every week starter at tight end.
Kicker
Dan Carpenter hasn't missed a field goal since Week 4 -- and that was a 63-yarder -- and he connected on five on Sunday. And he's still out there in 40 percent of leagues. With Miami continuing to struggle to get it into the end zone, Carpenter should be starting in every league. Grab him if you can.
Defense
Oakland is currently one of the top five fantasy defenses and is unowned in most leagues. The Raiders held Seattle to just three points on Sunday. They haven't had a truly bad performance since Week 1 against Tennessee. It's the Raiders, who haven't had many fantasy relevant players in a while, but pick them up if you need bye week help or have an underperforming D.
source: sportsillustrated.cnn.com
author: Daniel McQuade
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