FanHouse FantasyFootball

Brad Lidge struck out Eric Hinske to record the final out in the World Series last night. Maybe he wasn't concentrating enough at the plate because he was worrying whether or not to start Ryan Grant this week. Grant did just finally have a productive fantasy game and is coming off a bye week, but they are facing the vaunted Tennessee run defense. Man, what should I - STRIKE THREE!

No, seriously -- CBS Sports is running a fantasy football league with with 13 major league players. B.J. Ryan is apparently dominating right now, running his record to a spotless 8-0 thus far. Hinske, who is said to be a "fantasy football addict", is facing off against Lidge this weekend, coincidentally. Both sport 3-5 records and need the win badly to stay relevant.

Just for what it's worth, the other league members are Jarrod Washburn, Mark Buehrle, Michael Cuddyer, Travis Hafner, Matt Clement, David Wright, Greg Maddux, Aaron Rowand, Ben Sheets, and Doug Mientkiewicz.

No word on if Maddux plays mind games with opponents, or if Hafner drafted a bunch of guys who ended up injured. I am sure Wright's 5-3 record is bound to get worse as the playoffs approach, though (zing!).

Brad Lidge struck out Eric Hinske to record the final out in the World Series last night. Maybe he wasn't concentrating enough at the plate because he was worrying whether or not to start Ryan Grant this week. Grant did just finally have a productive fantasy game and is coming off a bye week, but they are facing the vaunted Tennessee run defense. Man, what should I - STRIKE THREE!

No, seriously -- CBS Sports is running a fantasy football league with with 13 major league players. B.J. Ryan is apparently dominating right now, running his record to a spotless 8-0 thus far. Hinske, who is said to be a "fantasy football addict", is facing off against Lidge this weekend, coincidentally. Both sport 3-5 records and need the win badly to stay relevant.

Just for what it's worth, the other league members are Jarrod Washburn, Mark Buehrle, Michael Cuddyer, Travis Hafner, Matt Clement, David Wright, Greg Maddux, Aaron Rowand, Ben Sheets, and Doug Mientkiewicz.

No word on if Maddux plays mind games with opponents, or if Hafner drafted a bunch of guys who ended up injured. I am sure Wright's 5-3 record is bound to get worse as the playoffs approach, though (zing!).

We've got all the positional rankings raining down upon you today (just scroll down the page below this post, ok?), we love the stash of Ryan Torain, and we most certainly love the deep sleepers who could break out in the second half of the season.

Who do you want from the Arizona backfield?

Or an even better question, what are we not covering? You have questions, let's hear 'em ... just come visit us at 1:00 pm EST on Thursday afternoon, and pick our collective fantasy-lovin' brains.

Seriously, Week 9 is a pivotal time in the fantasy football season. If you are 5-3, you need to close out this playoff season. If you sit 4-4 or 3-5, you still have time for a late-season run. Many leagues have set trade deadlines which are rapidly approaching. The time is now, my friends, to get those teams ready for the stretch run. We're just here to help ... plus, Clinton told you to take part. You wanna mess with the best player in fantasy?

Sure, you can wait to set your lineup until Sunday morning -- when we tailgate -- but there are other things to be done in the middle of the fantasy week.

Need advice on any trades in the works?

Are bye weeks killing your roster, meaning you're in need of a desperation sleeper option?

We will also accept lineup questions, but there is so much more going on in the world of fantasy. You can even come check in if you just want to argue with us. You'll be wrong, but it's cool to try and stuff. We've got no problem with that.

No matter the reason, stop on in and check us out.

By the way, Larry (above right) wants me to tell you he's a must-start every week. Please don't ask about him.

You may or may not hear a few storylines about this Peyton Manning guy having grown up in New Orleans, or maybe a fresh little tidbit about how his dad, Archie, was once their quarterback. I think. You may also hear about how this Brees fella with the mess on his face led this team back in the face of a natural disaster last year. I could be wrong though, and there's a chance that during the first NFL game of the season, such layup sub-plots don't get beaten into the ground. This stuff's so fresh and new that nobody really knows how it will be used. Anyway, aside from all that, we are looking at one of the most bona-fide fantasy point bonanzas of the season. Yes, teams will emerge as offensive threats, and some teams will emerge as unlikely defensive stoppers. But I will tell you one thing: none of that defense business tonight. If you are for some reason starting either the Colts or Saints defensive units, you need to set down the shovel, step out of the hole and go make a free agent acquisition.

We're talking about number one and number two in passing yards per game last year, with the Saints registering in at 281.4 yards per game and the Colts at 269.3 per. Even the numbers scream heavyweight slugfest. And you'll want to be involved in some of the point getting tonight if you know what's good for you. After the jump, we'll run through who should be starting from a fantasy standpoint, who to avoid and list some, if any, sleeper-style guys to use, plus give a run-through of any key injuries to be looking out for tonight.

Randy Moss wasn't on the injury report Wednesday afternoon, which prompts some serious questions in the fantasy world as to his health and inherent value.

First, Moss' exclusion is particularly bizarre since rumors, as recently as early this week, had him heading to the PUP (Physically Unable to Perform) list, where he would miss the first six weeks of the season.

Secondly, why would Bill Belichick not put him on the injury report? This is the same coach who's been known to log half his team as being at least somewhat hurt, just to mess with the head of his upcoming opponent. And suddenly, Moss isn't there? Or maybe he's pulling the ultimate head game, painting an image of Moss as being practically crippled when he's secretly in superb shape and running crisp routes. Or maybe he's barely able to play, he won't see any action, but Belichick wants to put the screws on Mangini's practice schedule. Seriously. Who knows.

What I do know is that if you drafted Randy Moss this year, you probably overpaid for him and he's likely your second wide receiver, at best. (If he's your number three, well, nicely done.) Would I play him this week? If I'm in a league that's going to lock lineups tonight before the Saints-Colts game, probably not, assuming I had a worthwhile wide receiver to take his place like Devery Henderson, Jacoby Jacobs or Greg Jennings, to name a few. What's the risk-reward here? A lot of risk, namely that Moss doesn't play at all. Reward? I think he maxes out at 60 yards and a touchdown in a game where Maroney is going to be toting the rock a lot and Donte Stallworth, Wes Welker and Ben Watson are involved in the passing game too.

On the other hand, would I bench Moss for a Calvin Johnson type who has his own issues about playing time and a tough secondary? Probably not. But I'd definitely be keeping a close eye on what was going on in the situation (primarily by constantly refreshing Fanhouse) up until kickoff if I'm allowed to make lineup changes.

In terms of other players, let's assume Moss does play on Sunday, since any previous value was attached to his likely absence. Wes Welker takes a big hit, as he won't see as many balls and is now the third wide receiver for New England. Ben Watson and Laurence Maroney lose a little value too, since Moss' height and leaping ability make him a dangerous goalline alternative. Donte Stallworth actually sees his value rise, I think, since Moss' presence on the other side of the field will only make him less of a focus for the Jets defensive backs. Tom Brady, clearly, sees a kick up in value.

Look, Moss may or may not play Sunday. At least Belichick is being honest with us. Prabs.

It would probably just be easier to call this feature "The Ruvell Martin Files", since the third wide receiver out of cheese country is one of my favorite fliers to take this year. Banking of course, that one of the guys in front of him on the depth chart, Donald Driver or Greg Jennings, get injured at some point in the year. Which isn't too far fetched of a notion when grown men start dressing up in helmets and running into each other at full speed. Which is why once a week we're going to be (un)covering some "sleepers" - that phrase has been thrown around so much it's almost lost all sex appeal at this point - that teams dealing with injuries or bye weeks can use for the upcoming week. But, since it's only week one and it's a little tougher to let the natural affects of the game help us out, we'll take a look at some guys who are getting virtually no love from fantasy players. Yet.

Quarterbacks

- Joey Harrington, ATL, @ MIN. You're lucky I'm still alive after realizing that I'd pimped Joey! twice over the span of something as short as 48 hours. But fact of the matter is, he gets a Vikings defense that allowed a historically skimpy 61.6 rushing yards last year. Of course, they also coughed up a league worst 238.6 passing yards per game, and it reached a point in the season (Thursday night, December 21st, against Green Bay, I believe) where teams just gave up on running at all. Hence Favre's 50 attempts in that game. You better believe that Bobby Petrinio knows that too, and will be building Harrington's confidence as much as he can by giving him high percentage passes, and plenty of them. Fortunately for Joey!, Joe Horn got the call this season (get it!) to give the Falcons a receiver with some semblance of hands.

- Tavaris Jackson, MIN, v. ATL. Well, look who else was bottom five in passing defense? And that was before the Dirty Birds let Patrick Kerney walk. Kerney's absence should actually make the Falcons softer against the run, meaning Peterson and Chuck Taylor will get to soften up the defense, bring in the safties and open up the deep ball for Minny's speedy wideouts. Tavaris should backdoor some rushing yards and a TD if you're really lucky too.

Everything but kickers after the jump. Let me know in the comments if you're planning on taking a gamble with one of these guys this week.

Longest. Humpday. Ever. Knowing good and well that we have our last push of fantasy drafts before the season kicks off today, it's been one slow, torturous and drawn out 48 hours since we got any football coursing through the system. And while college football is amazing, spectacular, upset filled and an ideal soundtrack to a Saturday of tailgating...well, it's not the NFL.

No offense, college. You know I loved you long time.

And with the NFL comes our good friend, Mr. Fantasy, meaning it's time to unveil Fantasy Fanhouse's first rankings of the year. We're going to run through all the positions you need to know for the first week, but first, some basic information. Please bear in mind that if you see someone who's higher on the list than you really think he should be (like say, hypothetically, a certain piano playing quarterback who can't choose between Elton John and Billy Joel) that's not the crazy pills talking. I like to gamble and, especially in larger leagues, will run some risks.

The list is arranged in an order that I, in my as-you-will-be-led-to-believe-expert opinion, think the quarterbacks will score, highest to lowest, from Thursday to Monday. Seems simple, right? I mean, it is. But this is just the list for this particular week. In no way do I think Matt Leinart is a better quarterback than Donovan McNabb (yet). I do think that people will get swayed by the Packers allowing 25 passing TD's last year and rank McNabb too high against what is an undervalued defense. In other words, I think Leinart outscores him this week only. I've also bolded and italicized some people. Bold means I think they could really blow up bigger than list location but maybe certain circumstances (a strong rushing attack against a weak rush defense) scares me a little, while italics means I think they could lay a huge egg, even though I've already got that particular player a little supressed.

Get your rank on after the jump, and, of course, comment away, pro or con.

Do you have a Colts player on your fantasy football roster? Here is how they are stacking up so far this year. (Stats are based on 6 points for TD, 1 point for 50 passing yards, and 1 point for 20 rushing/receiving yards)

QB
Peyton Manning: 1278 yards, 8 TD's, 2 INT's, 2 rush TD's 80 FP

WR
Reggie Wayne: 382 Yards, 1 TD 23 FP
Marvin Harrison: 442 Yards, 1 TD 25 FP
Brandon Stokley: 67 Yards, 1 TD 8 FP

TE
Dallas Clark: 124 Yards, 2 TD 15 FP

DEF
Colts: 100 Pts Allowed, 5 INT, 5 FUM 24 FP

Hopefully you didn't base your draft on Colts players because besides Manning, the others are struggling fantasy wise.

Larry Johnson hasn't disappointed too many fantasy football owners this season. Still, he hasn't performed to nearly the same level as most people expected him to. Larry Johnson owners, you now have permission to drool, because he is ready to explode for your fantasy team.

The evidence: the Chiefs' recent game against the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers attempted to stop Larry Johnson by going into a 4-4 alignment, throwing all their defenders in a box to stop him. The strategy worked: they held LJ to roughly 2 yards per carry in the first half. However, the 49ers' strategy was to have every single defender on the field account for LJ at all times. They essentially forced Huard to beat them with his arm. They couldn't get to the quarterback because their pass rushers were thinking run on every down. They were getting beat downfield because they threw their defensive backs on an island. You'd have to imagine that the Arizona Cardinals will not make that same mistake. Damon Huard has skyrocketed Larry Johnson's fantasy value. Yes, defenses will steal key in on the run first, but you likely will not see a defensive alignment as loaded up against the run as everyone saw in San Francisco. I'm still not completely convinced that his improved performance will translate into a whopping amount of touchdowns, but if the Chiefs' offensive gameplan continues to improve week after week, they should get a few more trips to the red zone and he will at least have his shots at the end zone.

Of course, let's not pretend that last week's performance makes Damon Huard a fantasy play. I wouldn't even say it makes Kennison a big fantasy play just yet, even though Phil thinks it does. However, Huard's performance against San Francisco showed that he can beat your team if you allow him to. Defenses will still key in on the run, but not to nearly the extreme extent that the 49ers did last Sunday. Furthermore, Jordan Black starting at left tackle should help LJ's fantasy value. While he hasn't been fully tested in pass protection, Black has always been a very good run blocker. If Black can buy more time for Huard to go vertical and open up bigger lanes for LJ to run through, LJ will continue to improve. This Chiefs' offense is nothing like the Baltimore Ravens' offense of old, which couldn't establish any passing game with Kyle Boller even when every defender was keying in on the run on every play.