FanHouse PatrickWillis

Sunday Evening Wrap checks out players who increased or decreased their value during the Sunday afternoon games.

Faller of the Week: Everyone on the Oakland Raiders. The Houston Texans entered the game as one of the league's worst defenses. They were the worst in the NFL against the run. Sunday, the Raiders gained just 165 yards and only a single first down on the ground against those same Texans. I'm done with Darren McFadden. Michael Bush and Justin Fargas shouldn't be considered viable fantasy contributors in any format, and I'd even give up on Zach Miller (which isn't his fault, but he's not going to put up stats for this embarrassingly inept offense). This team is dead to me, and they should be to you, too.

With Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet the ...
Perennial sleepers. It seems like almost every season, people are discussing the fact that the 49ers are ready to break out and surprise people and win the NFC West. And then, almost every season, they suck. They might not be great this year either. Mike Singletary brings a more disciplined approach than even Mike Nolan, but you can't possibly expect Shaun Hill or Alex Smith to lead a team to the playoffs. Or can you? Well, actually, for fantasy purposes, who cares? There's going to be a lot of running and a lot of surprises on defense in San Fran this year, and that's going to be where you pick up the value.

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Word for the week: smokescreen. Expect to hear it roughly four million times between now and Saturday afternoon. Yesterday, FanHouse draft analyst Bruce Ciskie pointed out that the Lions -- at least to hear Mlive.com's Tom Kowalski tell it -- had a deal in place with linebacker Aaron Curry just in case negotiations fell through with quarterback Matthew Stafford.

That's certainly believable, even amid all the pre-draft misdirection. What's harder to fathom, though, is the idea that Curry, should the Lions pass on him, might not be a top-10 pick or the first defensive player drafted. If Detroit takes Stafford, NFLDraftScout.com's Rob Rang has a theory:

Parys Haralson may not be a household name across the NFL, but that doesn't mean he can't become one. After a strong season as a part-time player in 2008 with the 49ers, the 25-year-old linebacker signed a four-year contract extension Thursday, originally reported by Aaron Wilson at Pro Football Talk.

Per Wilson, the deal is worth $15 million total, while $6.5 million is guaranteed.

If you look hard enough, every team around the NFL has a player on its roster that should have received an invite to the Pro Bowl. The St. Louis Rams, for example, are livid that their punter isn't going. Some guys, like Atlanta's John Abraham, simply brush it off as no big deal, while others, like Tampa Bay's Barrett Ruud talk about how they got the shaft.

Ruud, a fourth-year middle linebacker out of Nebraska, is currently leading the Buccaneers with 117 tackles, while also registering three sacks, six pass defenses and two interceptions for playoff-hopeful Tampa Bay. He's obviously having a great season, though, not great enough to receive an invite to Hawaii. Predictably, he's not exactly thrilled with decision.

From Rick Stroud and Stephen F. Holder of the St. Petersburg Times:

"I got the shaft," Ruud said. "Somebody's got to get it, though." "The old saying is usually you go a couple years after you're supposed to and you stay a couple years longer. I'm not going to throw a tantrum or anything. I would've liked to have gone. Everybody wants to have that tag as a Pro Bowler, but unfortunately it didn't happen. All I can do is keep playing to get into the playoffs now."

The AFC and NFC Pro Bowlers were announced a short while ago, and why make some pointless comment you are sure not to laugh at when we can just give you the rosters instead? Here goes.

FanHouse fantasy positional rankings are compiled weekly by the staff in order to provide answers to possible lineup questions. These are assuming most leagues use Fleaflicker's standard scoring structure. If you need clarification, you need more players ranked, or have funky league rules, feel free to shoot us an email question.

Each week when I rank fantasy D/STs, the first thing I do is start from the back. I simply go through and find the awful defenses playing high-scoring offenses. It's much easier to find who not to start. If you don't believe me, go through the bottom six listed here and tell me you'd like to start one of them in fantasy.

Anyway, I noticed something this week as I scrolled through the matchups ... there are going to be a lot of points scored in the NFL's 11th week. Some of the most stout defenses are facing offenses that can probably handle them (Chargers against Steelers and Giants against Ravens, for two examples).

In light of this, I also noticed the Niners didn't embarrass themselves Monday night against the high-octane Arizona offense ... and now they are playing a Rams team who made the Jets look like the 2000 Ravens this past weekend.

So yeah, you can feel free to use the Niners this week as a desperation sleeper. Patrick Willis told me to tell you.

More analysis after the rankings.

1. Panthers, vs. DET
2. Dolphins, vs. OAK
3. Titans, at JAX
4. Eagles, at CIN
5. Giants, vs. BAL

Entering Sunday's game in San Francisco, New England had never won a game on the road against the 49ers, while the Patriots had gone four consecutive games scoring fewer than 20 points. Both streaks would come to an end, as New England came from behind on two separate occasions to pull out a 30-21 win on the road, keeping pace in a suddenly competitive AFC East division.

In the process, backup quarterback Matt Cassel had his best game as a pro, completing 22 of 32 passes for 259 yards and a score. He did a throw a pair of picks in the first half, but helped to overcome those mistakes by throwing a 66-yard strike to Randy Moss for the teams first score, and averaging over eight-yards per pass attempt in the win.

49ers Quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan threw two touchdowns in the first quarter -- one to Frank Gore, the other to Isaac Bruce -- giving San Francisco a pair of seven point leads, only to see the Patriots quickly respond and erase each deficit.

The 49ers are one of those teams that seem like they could hold it together long enough to qualify for the playoffs, but no one's confident enough to actually put money on it happening. Kinda like the annual preseason predictions about the Arizona Cardinals.

San Francisco's defense was good but not great last year, and compared to the offense, it was otherworldly. There's always room for improvement, of course, and with Mike Martz now on staff to salvage the offense -- and save Mike Nolan's job -- the club is looking to fill the few remaining holes.

Linebacker Takeo Spikes, released by the Eagles earlier this spring, is a possibility, but the 31-year-old two-time Pro Bowler currently thinks a little too highly of his deteriorated skills:

Veteran free-agent linebacker Takeo Spikes, who visited the 49ers on March 13, is seeking a contract that will pay him $2.5 million annually, a league source said. Apparently, the 49ers are not willing to go that high.

According to the Press Democrat's Matt Maiocco, Nolan says the defense lacks a linebacker who can take on blockers and keep things uncluttered for 2007 Defensive Rookie of the Year Patrick Willis. Apparently, nobody knows if Spikes could fill the role -- he played on the weakside in Philly's 4-3 scheme (the 49ers are a 3-4 team) -- but San Francisco remains interested if he lowers his price to, say, something much closer to the veteran minimum.