FanHouse Mark Sanchez

After starting the season 3-0, including impressive victories at Houston and against New England, the Jets have fallen flat on their collective faces. With a home loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars Sunday -- a team that was previously 1-3 on the road -- the Jets have now lost four of their last five games. They've also lost their last three games at home, against the Bills, Dolphins and Jags.

Sunday, the Jets' problems emanated from losing the turnover battle (3-to-1), and their inability to stop Maurice Jones-Drew. MJD gained 123 yards on 24 carries and also threw in 22 receiving yards for good measure.

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With attention spans dwindling, we forgo full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. We call it The Once-Over.

The Early Games

Denver (6-2) at Washington (2-6): Denver has lost its last two games and has shown an inability to score against good defenses. Washington's defense is ranked fifthh in the NFL, and that spells a much closer matchup than two teams with such opposite records should be involved in. It's extremely tough to throw against Washington, so Knowshon Moreno becomes a very important factor on Sunday. If he does well, Denver wins -- If Moreno falters, Denver loses.

Everyone loves fantasy football sleepers, but they change depending on league size and availability. We're here each and every week to give you a look at good plays for all types of leagues.

Week 9 brought us big games for POaYD sleepers Matt Cassel (262 yards, 2 TD, 0 INT), Bryant Johnson (35 yards and a TD) and the Falcons defense, as well as great games from deep-league 4th and 26 players Rashad Jennings (29 yards and a TD) and Josh Freeman (205 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT). I liked those guys so much, I decided to reach back into last week and bring forth a few sleepers (from both columns) that didn't quite get it going last week.

Weeding through those unwieldy waiver wires requires a keen eye and a quick trigger. Thus, Waiver Wire Wonders provides a weekly snapshot of players worthy of consideration who should be available on a good portion of league waiver wires.

We're halfway home, folks, and if history has taught us anything, the second half of the season is when fantasy football requires the keenest attention. At this point, draft day means nothing. First-round draft picks mean nothing. It's the waiver wire that wins championships.

With that in mind, Week 8 leads us into the home stretch with a nice batch to consider. The key to note for this week's waiver wire action is that pickups will likely depend more on roster needs, as we did not see any glaring adds for those who are quick on the trigger. Still, consider a breakout running back performance by a backup including three touchdowns, the solidifying of a hot rookie prospect, and a good sign from one of the league's most popular rookie quarterbacks. Plenty to do, so don't get caught on your heels.

The Early Games

New York Giants (5-2) at Philadelphia (4-2): The Giants are supposed to have one of the best pass rushes in the league, but they just haven't shown up in the past two games, with zero sacks over that time. They must get pressure on Donovan McNabb to have a chance on Sunday. Eli Manning also must figure out how to rebound from his four interceptions over the past two games.

Mark Sanchez caught a ton of grief recently when he decided to eat a hot dog on the sideline late in a blowout win over the Raiders. And I mean that -- people kind of freaked on the Jets quarterback, for no apparent reason other than the fact that the dude was hungry and pounded a dog.

Fortunately for everyone's sake, Sanchez was poised (!) enough to offer an apology after the game. But he wasn't done there; on Wednesday, the Jets announced (via Twitter) that Sanchez was going to get his charitable grub on for a local food shelter.

Each week in the NFL, there are players that impress and players that distress. One week a certain quarterback might toss four touchdowns and run around pointing skyward, while the next he's laying on his back, holding his facemask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's Studs and Duds.

Studs

Carson Palmer, QB Cincinnati (20-24, 233 yards, 5 TDs) -- There was an interesting moment during "Hard Knocks" on HBO this year when Palmer was giving his center, Kyle Cook, a little bit of grief about the smell that Carson had on his hand after taking snaps. It was essentially boys being boys, but Palmer played it well and had some fun at the expense of Cook.

Mark Sanchez had a rough couple weeks. After earning the Jets starting quarterback gig in training camp, and leading the team to 3-0 out of the gate, his rookie season hit a rough patch in October. In a loss to the Saints, Sanchez had a 27.0 passer rating, and last week against the Bills he mustered a JaMarcian 8.3.

The remedy: play Oakland. Sunday, the Jets hung 38 on the Raiders and JaMarcus Russell was benched for Bruce Gradkowski. Sanchez, meanwhile, completed 9 of 15 throws for 143 yards, including a touchdown. Things were going so well that Kellen Clemens got a few late-game snaps allowing Sanchez to take it easy on the bench and enjoy a ballpark frank.

Sideline picnic after the jump.

With attention spans dwindling, we forgo full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. We call it The Once-Over.

The Early Games

New England (4-2) at Tampa Bay (0-6): Tom Brady threw for six touchdown passes last week, five in one quarter alone. And to be honest, it gets easier for him this week in London against the Bucs. Expect fireworks from the Patriots offense, as Brady is beginning to click with Randy Moss, and he's extremely happy that Wes Welker is back in action.

On defense, the Buccaneers don't have the speed or skill at the cornerback position to defend against Brady and the Patriots' aerial attack. On offense, the Bucs are young and inexperienced -- especially at the quarterback position where Josh Johnson is already looking in the rear-view mirror at competition from Josh Freeman.

Pick: New England

Fans of the New York Jets don't need any more angst, especially after the abysmal performance by rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez on Sunday.

So, Jets fans, stop reading now because Brooks Bollinger, a former starter for Gang Green in 2005, has been a standout signal caller in the UFL.

Check Bollinger's numbers in two season-opening wins for the Florida Tuskers: 44-of-58, 535 yards, 7 TDs and 1 INT. Thanks in part to Bollinger, the Tuskers have scored 64 points and amassed 792 yards of total offense in those contests.

OK, masters of the obvious, success in the UFL doesn't equate to similar prowess in the NFL. It's the irony, however, that strikes us, as well as the opportunity for a social experiment.

Will New York fans second-guess anything, even if they are, in effect, second-guessing themselves?