FanHouse TonyScheffler

We know over the course of the season, it appears tight end is going to be a deep position, and this week there seem to be a lot of good plays. Sure, it's top-heavy, as the top four form the proverbial "Big Four," but take a look in the teens. There are plenty of viable options this week with a chance to put up numbers rivaling anyone in the top 10.

Of course, we're pretty confident Dallas Clark goes nuts against the Jags at home.

1. Dallas Clark, IND vs. JAX
2. Antonio Gates, SD at OAK
3. Jason Witten, DAL at TB
4. Tony Gonzalez, ATL vs. MIA
5. Greg Olsen, CHI at GB

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Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's daily gathering of links from around the web, covering the goings-on in NFL Training Camp which have an impact on fantasy value.

Keep a close eye on this Saturday's preseason game as Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt expects rookie running back Chris "Beanie" Wells to get some reps against San Diego, but his time to shine appears to be dwindling fast. The Arizona Repbulic reported that Beanie Wells twisted his already sore ankle on Wednesday night at practice. With Tim Hightower moving well ahead Wells as the favorite for the starting job, this could be one of Wells' last chances to make a bid for the starting spot.

The rookie out of Ohio State seemed like a perfect fit to take the reigns in the backfield and raised a lot of fantasy eyebrows as a favorite choice for a 2009 sleeper. Now his ADP is slipping fast and his value as a fantasy threat for the early part of the season appear to be slim to none. Never say never, but this is looking like an uphill battle for Wells.

Let's take a look around the rest of the league to see what other fantasy relevant news is breaking.

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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 ...
Kyle Orton Dead Arm Syndrome: a condition characterized by a complete lack of strength in the upper arm. Despite hosting the NFL's second most productive offense in 2008, averaging just shy of 400 yards per game, and the third best passing offense in the league, the introduction of Orton as the starting quarterback puts the kibosh on the productivity. Orton has a weak arm, relies heavily on check-down passes and makes bad decisions. In terms of supporting cast, the receivers are a huge upgrade from his days in Chicago with Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal, but Marshall wants out so be sure to keep a close eye on this situation. Also, new head coach and signal-caller Josh McDaniels runs a spread offense, so he'll need to rely on Orton probably more than anyone would ever want. I don't expect the offense to suffer immensely with a solid new batch of runners, but it definitely takes a dive from last season.

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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.

After the big three positions in fantasy football, tight end is next in importance. Since you only play one tight end, though, we'll also fill this entry out by discussing some fantasy defenses as well.

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Kyle Orton doesn't have Jay Cutler's franchise quarterback pedigree. He was taken in the fourth round of the 2005 draft, two years after the Bears had invested a first-round pick in Rex Grossman. And, from the beginning, his role was clear: a raw, strong-armed talent, who would spend the first few seasons on the bench learning the nuances of what it means to be an NFL quarterback.

That lasted up till the moment Grossman broke his ankle in a 2005 preseason game. At the time, head coach Lovie Smith told the AP that "I don't know exactly who there is out there but we like the guys we have right now ... Chad Hutchinson is a good player, we feel comfortable starting him, and Kyle Orton continues to shine as far as we're concerned."

Despite not being a great real football team in 2008, we always knew one thing about the Denver Broncos: They really matter in fantasy football. You're talking about a team who amassed the second most yards in the league. Only two teams passed for more yards, and -- despite the neverending assembly line of running backs -- they managed to average 4.8 yards per carry on the ground.

Heading into 2009, the team will have a different look. For of all, for the first time since I began playing fantasy football, their head coach will not be notorious alleged fantasy-hater, Mike Shanahan.

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

It's a brave new world in Denver, where the Broncos will take the field without Mike Shanahan on the sideline for the first time since 1995. Josh McDaniels, their new coach, was 19 back then, and has one of the shortest resumes of any head coach in NFL history. That could be a good thing or a bad thing, but it was clear that Shanahan's system was no longer bearing fruit and the team may benefit just from the change of voice on the sideline.

It's playoff time! FanHouse fantasy positional rankings are compiled in order to provide answers to 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.

Not much shakeup at the top, except for one surprise. Yes, it's time to bump Antonio Gates down just a peg. Let's face it, anytime your star tight end puts up a goose egg as he did against Oakland in a critical game, something must give.

The great Tony Gonzalez continues to ride out the hot streak, and he just loves playing the Chargers. Look for Jason Witten and Tony Romo to get back on the same page this weekend after they both took blame for the collapse in Pittsburgh last week.

Climbing up the tight end ladder this week is an old familiar face in Jeremy Shockey. Let me explain. Since he took the scolding from Drew Brees on the sideline against Atlanta, here are his averages in the past four games; five receptions per game and 53 yards per game. Yup, he hasn't scored a TD yet this season, but it could be coming Thursday night against Chicago.

Welcome back to earth Dustin Keller. You can thank your QB for the slippage this week. And now let's tap into the rest of the rankings.

1. Tony Gonzalez, SD
2. Jason Witten, NYG
3. Chris Cooley, @ CIN
4. Dallas Clark, DET
5. Tony Scheffler, @ CAR

The Kansas City Chiefs had to be feeling pretty good about themselves nine minutes into Sunday's game with the Broncos. Jay Cutler had just gifted them a touchdown with a pass into coverage which Maurice Leggett picked off and took for six points. That made it 10-0 Chiefs and a replay of Week Four's 33-19 win looked like it was in the cards.

Cutler wouldn't let it happen, though. He was 30-of-36 with 270 yards and two touchdowns after that interception and did most of his best work late in the game when an injury to Peyton Hillis cost the Broncos any semblance of a running game. Cutler completed eight passes, including the winning touchdown to Brandon Marshall, on a 12-play, 95-yard drive that bridged the end of the third and start of the fourth quarters.

Then, backed up on their own one-yard line on third-and-10 with just under four minutes to play, Cutler hit Marshall for 19 yards for a first down. He followed that with an 11-yard strike to Tony Scheffler on another third down to ice the game and, barring a complete collapse, the AFC West for the Broncos.

Cutler is the reason why. Hillis was the sixth Bronco back to go down to injury this season and that's put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. He's inconsistent and brasher than he has any reason to be, but Cutler's put up strong performances often enough to keep a poor defense and mediocre running game from stopping the Broncos run to the playoffs.

I guess we can slow down on all that New York-New York Super Bowl talk, huh? A week after getting manhandled by the Raiders, the Broncos came east and did the same to the Jets, ending the New York side's five-game winning streak and putting a cap into the premature notion of the Big Apple relocating to Tampa come February.

It was a disturbing return to the early part of the season for the Jets. Abysmal play calling by offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer marked those rougher times and returned for an unwanted encore at the Meadowlands today. Thomas Jones carved up the Bronco defense in the first half but Schottenheimer insisted on calling empty backfields, passes on short yardage plays and, disastrously, a pitched reverse to Jerricho Cotchery. That final one led to a fumble and touchdown for the Broncos in the first quarter and set the tone for a frustrating day.

Even more troubling than the return of evil Schottenheimer, though, was the complete no-show by the Jets defense. Peyton Hillis gashed the normally stout Jets for nearly six yards a carry and Jay Cutler continued to expose the Jets secondary as Darrelle Revis and a band of clowns masquerading as NFL defensive backs. Brandon Marshall was held to five catches for 55 yards, but Eddie Royal, Brandon Stokely, Tony Scheffler and Daniel Graham combined for 20 catches, 277 yards and two touchdowns.