Welcome back, Mr. Clark. It's been a while, but by no means did you ever fall off the radar. It's been a sweet and dandy type season for Dallas Clark. And during a week devoted to feasting, that's exactly what he's gonna do against the Texans. All Clark did was rope in 14 catches for 119 yards the last time he faced the Texans. Of course, the game plan will change, but the results won't ... start Clark with a confident smirk.
The rest of the usual suspects are back as the top options again this week. Vernon Davis responded from his bad week a few weeks back with a monster day at Green Bay. I'm banking that Kellen Winslow follows suit this week and responds like only a soldier can after his stinker last weekend. He draws a Falcons defense that just allowed Kevin Boss to shred them last week. What's not to like? As for the rest of the ranks...
Had you told the Baltimore Ravens they would win the turnover battle against Peyton Manning and the Colts on Sunday, I'm pretty sure they would have assumed the result would be a victory. Of course, getting into the end zone against Indy generally is a necessity in order to win the football game. The Ravens didn't do that and lost, 17-15.
Despite allowing 354 yards of total offense -- 135 to burgeoning star Ray Rice -- the Colts defense buckled down when in their own territory, forcing the Ravens to attempt six field goals and punt twice in their first eight possessions. The Ravens still had a chance to win the football game late, but Joe Flacco was intercepted by Gary Brackett with just over two minutes left at the Indianapolis 13.
Dallas Clark has somehow become the ultimate "hybrid" tight end -- he's really more of a wide receiver than anything else, what with his athleticism and everything.
He also has decent hands: Sunday against Baltimore, Clark made a one-handed touchdown grab that's absolutely silly. The announcers mention that Peyton Manning probably thought he overthrew Clark on this play, and that's almost certainly true.
It was hard not to feel a little burnt by Vernon Davis last week. He talks the good talk and it was impossible not to back him up in this space. Well, rest assured that last week was just a speed bump in the ways of fantasy football. Davis should return to his lofty position amongst the elite pass-catching tight end options this week. The 49ers will make sure Davis is involved early and often and a rebound seems to be in the cards.
One other guy known for his talking more so than most and hasn't been gaining a lot of talk in this space is Kellen Winlsow. Ah yes, it's time to acknowledge the solid season he is having. He's thriving on a pretty bad football team, but that doesn't matter to us fantasy owners. Show us the stats and talk all you want soldier, we like it that way. He's got a great rapport building with Josh Freeman and clearly is the best option for the Bucs. He draws the Saints this weekend and he'll be sniffing for the end zone and seeking to continue his ascension. And that's why he's leading us off this week. As for the rest of the ranks ...
The list of reliable, legit and valuable fantasy tight end options is shrinking with each injury. We still know who can and can't trust to an extent, but there is certainly a big plunge into uncertainty and inconsistency once we go past the usual suspects. In this odd year of ups and downs at the tight end position, it couldn't be more fitting that the once cast aside and left for dead Vernon Davis leads the way this week and perhaps for the remainder of the season.
Davis has shed the bust label and now he's even talking up a storm heading into Thursday night against the Bears. Surprisingly, I won't be shocked if he backs up all the smack. Yes, it's that kind of season.
INDIANAPOLIS -- You expect the Colts to throw, and throw a lot, but even for Peyton Manning and his band of merry, pass-happy men this was a little bit nuts. Indy ran nine plays -- eight of them passes -- in the first two minutes of the game, averaging one every 14 seconds, completely disregarding the play clock and leaving their star offensive players more than a little bit tuckered out.
"I wouldn't call it fun," said tight end Dallas Clark, who caught 11 passes in the first half and 14 -- for 119 yards -- in the game. "When you run 60 plays in the first half, you're going to feel that on Wednesday and Thursday. But the win makes it feel a lot better."
This weekend's AFC South showdown appeared, at the beginning of the week, to be one of those strength vs. strength matchups. The Colts have the NFL's seventh-ranked pass defense and they have only allowed three passing touchdowns all season (making them the stingiest in the NFL). The Houston Texans are the NFL's third-best passing team and have thrown 16 touchdown passes in eight games.
Talk about two tight ends headed in different directions -- Vernon Davis and John Carlson have similar situations with offensive lines that need help protecting the quarterback. But Davis isn't going to stick back and help protect Alex Smith. Carlson, on the other hand, is being asked to block a lot these days. If Carlson wasn't facing a Lions defense this week, he'd be ranked a lot lower than where he sits.
Colts quarterback Peyton Manning is near the top of every major statistical category that quarterbacks track. Even though Manning has always put up incredible numbers, Dallas Clark said this week, "You probably never thought he (Manning)could raise his level of play, but he has." Not that Manning needed another reason to target Clark, but I bet Clark gets an extra red zone look or two just as a debt of gratitude from the All-Pro quarterback.
Everyone knew it was coming, but I was happy to anoint Owen Daniels to the fantasy tight end elite in this very space last week and he made me look wise. Well, a day late and a dollar short, let's welcome Vernon Davis into the upper echelon. You should feel good using either Daniels or Davis this weekend as they will continue to prove they deserve the praise bestowed upon them.
Also, there's something about Antonio Gates loving to face the Raiders. These occasions tend to bring out the best of times in Gates, who has scored seven touchdowns in his last ten games versus the Raiders. That's usually a good measure that Gates will be looking for the end zone this Sunday. And he very well could find it multiple times. Thus, he must lead the way in our ranks this week.
There are plenty of solid options to be had this weekend at the tight end position. Sure, Dallas Clark, Jason Witten and Vernon Davis are all on the bye week. If you need to replace one of those guys this week, you'll be able to get by via playing the matchups correctly. (As a side note: it just feels right to have Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates back atop the fantasy tight end hierarchy)
Both Gonzo and Gates have prime-time favorable matchups that they should very well dominate. On the heels of his monster game against the Eagles,Kellen Winslow has caught our eye and deserves even more attention based upon the soft matchup against the Panthers. It hasn't hurt that Josh Johnson is locked in on Winslow as his new favorite target. Chris Cooley and Brent Celek are also eying down cupcake matchups. You're in good shape if you're starting any of these guys.
Welcome back, Mr. Clark. It's been a while, but by no means did you ever fall off the radar. It's been a sweet and dandy type season for Dallas Clark. And during a week devoted to feasting, that's exactly what he's gonna do against the Texans. All Clark did was rope in 14 catches for 119 yards the last time he faced the Texans. Of course, the game plan will change, but the results won't ... start Clark with a confident smirk. 
Had you told the 
It was hard not to feel a little burnt by 
The list of reliable, legit and valuable fantasy tight end options is shrinking with each injury. We still know who can and can't trust to an extent, but there is certainly a big plunge into uncertainty and inconsistency once we go past the usual suspects. In this odd year of ups and downs at the tight end position, it couldn't be more fitting that the once cast aside and left for dead 
INDIANAPOLIS -- You expect the Colts to throw, and throw a lot, but even for 
Talk about two tight ends headed in different directions -- 
Everyone knew it was coming, but I was happy to anoint 
There are plenty of solid options to be had this weekend at the tight end position. Sure, 
