FanHouse SantonioHolmes

The plan was for Ben Roethlisberger to ride the pine as a rookie. That changed when Tommy Maddox went down two weeks into the 2004 season. Five years, two Super Bowl championships and one helmetless asphalt head-butt later, it's all worked out.

When the Steelers drafted Santonio Holmes three years ago, he was arrested twice before training camp. An inauspicious start for a player new to an organization with a history of avoiding guys with "character concerns."

Now, almost five months removed from his Super Bowl MVP performance (and, for the record, eight months removed from his last arrest, although the charges were later dropped), Holmes seems more focused than ever on his day job. Maybe he has matured, or maybe Hines Ward has rubbed off on him. Or maybe both, given his current physical state.

On Second Thought is Matt Snyder's look back at the initial FanHouse staff rankings, which were compiled nearly a month ago. As we all know, fantasy players' value changes frequently, even when no games are being played.

Formerly a relatively unpredictable position with just a small handful of reliable WR1-types, wide receiver now sports a solid upper-echelon. With the overemphasis on the pass game in the NFL, you must have one elite wideout to compete in fantasy football.

There is also good depth. It seems to me most of the shaky players here in terms of good value are in the teens. Meaning after the elite wideout, you should let everyone fill out their WR2 while waiting to stockpile good value guys in the seven and eight round range.

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I've often argued -- unoriginally -- that, in general, NFL teams should avoid using first-round picks on running backs. Salary-cap friendly alternatives can often be found later in the draft, and other, harder-to-address needs -- like offensive line or wide receiver -- can be targeted in the early rounds.

There are exceptions: most recently Adrian Peterson, Steven Jackson and LaDainian Tomlinson. But the NFL scrap heap is littered with former first-round backs who never panned out. It's too early to classify Laurence Maroney as such, but his three-year career has, so far, been underwhelming.

Everyone makes mistakes. But when those mistakes are magnified by intense scrutiny of the NFL draft, well, they become much more embarrassing than, say, my typical Friday morning, mustard-stain-on-khakis incident.

Which is why the NFL FanHouse braintrust got together to determine who is the biggest bust for each NFL team. They're not listed in terms of stupidity -- they're all stupid relative to a team's total draft performance. Meaning, of course, some teams "bust" is much different than another organization's; we did it this way to avoid just linking you to DetroitLions.com.

Instead, we're putting it in current draft order, sans trades, and allowing this list to serve as a reminder of each's team's ability to properly execute a fail. The "bust factor" was based primarily on three things: statistical production (or lack thereof), position in the draft and other available options during that year's draft.

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Santonio Holmes recently got tattooed by the NFL to the tune of $10,000 for his Super Bowl touchdown celebration that imitated LeBron James' powder-toss at the beginning of each game.

It was a logical penalty according to the NFL rules, but that doesn't make it any less annoying that amusing NFL celebrations get fined. James apparently agrees too, because when he was informed of the NFL's fine on the Super Bowl MVP, he wasn't very impressed.

Santonio Holmes recently got tattooed by the NFL to the tune of $10,000 for his Super Bowl touchdown celebration that imitated LeBron James' traditional pregame powder-toss.

It was a logical penalty according to the NFL rules, but that doesn't make it any less annoying that amusing NFL celebrations get fined. James apparently agrees too, because when he was informed of the NFL's fine on the Super Bowl MVP, he wasn't very impressed.

Santonio Holmes could have, in theory, cost the Pittsburgh Steelers a Super Bowl victory. After making an amazing catch against the Cardinals a few weeks ago, he imitated LeBron James in the celebratory aftermath.

He was not penalized (but probably could have been) and the Steelers ended up winning. The meaningless aftermath has been handed down from the NFL, and it will cost Holmes $10,000. (Update: LeBron calls the fine "disgusting.")

Well, not only is fantasy football long over, but, sadly, now too is the NFL season. However, that sure doesn't mean us diehards have nothing left to do but wait for next season. Nope, now more than ever, it's time to fine-tune those skills that got you a fantasy football trophy, or brought you darn near close to one. Yes, let your opponents settle into comfort, while you do your homework all offseason.

A bit drastic? Quite possibly, but during the slow stretch (a.k.a. the waiting game) we'll be here to give you little tidbits to take to heart and make note of for next season. The first order of business is evaluating the players who "elevated" their games in the NFL playoffs. Year in and year out, there are always guys who breakout in a way you could dream of, had it been the regular "fantasy" football season.