FanHouse WarrickDunn

When Warrick Dunn entered the NFL in 1997, he decided he was going to spend a lot of his money on houses. But his goal wasn't to end up on MTV Cribs.

No, Dunn's goal was to spend money buying houses for families like his own, with a single parent struggling to keep a roof over the kids' heads. So Dunn started the Warrick Dunn Foundation, which purchases houses for single parents.

Dunn's foundation recently purchased a house for Shawn Palic and her three children. It's the 86th home his foundation has purchased.

While a lot of the NFL's big-name free agents have found homes for 2009, there are still some very recognizable talents lingering on the market. With that in mind, FanHouse's NFL team has picked out the best of the remaining crop. Six writers took part in a quick-fire poll, with each asked to rank their top-10 guys out of a group of 20-plus players still available in free agency. Players received 10 points for a first-place vote down to one point for a 10-place vote.

Check out the gallery after the jump to find out who FanHouse thinks could still make an impact next season.

Ole Miss offensive tackle Michael Oher might not be the best player available in next month's NFL draft, but he is the best story. After spending much of his young life on the streets and in foster homes, he began to blossom both as an athlete and a person when he was adopted as a teenager. That great story is the subject of the best-selling book The Blind Side.

But now it appears that Oher is also the subject of some of the most ridiculous over-thinking in this year's draft, with NFL teams somehow under the impression that his rough background is an indictment of his character.

While the rest of the NFL is taking part in a free agent spree, the Chicago Bears have been incredibly quiet. I'm not necessarily talking about signing guys, because sometimes that stuff is out of your control. I'm talking about the Bears not being mentioned in any rumors for any free agent or possible trade target.

It's not as though the team doesn't have needs, as I outlined five in the offseason roadmap. I unintentionally omitted another need, which was astutely pointed out by the first commenter -- that they need an able-bodied backup to Matt Forte in the backfield as well. So that makes six pretty important needs.

The Cardinals had been a great team at home this season, racking up a seemingly endless supply of passing yards. So when the Minnesota Vikings brought their below average -- as far as defensive rankings went -- pass defense to the desert, it should have been a fantasy paradise.

Instead, Kurt Warner was outscored by the likes of David Garrard, Chad Pennington and Matt Schaub.

Even worse, his one touchdown pass was to Jerheme Urban. Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, and even Steve Breaston were likely in fantasy lineups everywhere, only to be relative busts.

And this was the playoffs. Let's hope you rode other players or had a bye, because those guys warrant inclusion into the Brutus Boys at this point. That won't change this week, as the Cardinals visit New England. We've seen how well the Cards fare in the Eastern time zone, and I don't expect them to do anything different this time around. Not after this subpar performance.

Fool me once ...

The playoffs are either upon us or one week away in the majority of fantasy football leagues. With this in mind, Fantasy FanHouse is examining what you can expect from the fantasy relevant players on each team.

Atlanta Falcons

The opposing defenses: at NO (24th against pass, 19th against run), vs. TB (3rd against pass, 9th against run), at MIN (21st against pass, 2nd against run)
The skinny: The future is bright here, but we don't care about that just yet. The run defenses in the last two weeks pose tall orders, and those usually amount to a mediocre week for The Burner (Bears, Eagles, Bucs). Still, if you've gotten this far with him, you likely can't afford to sit him at this point -- especially with his touchdown potential. I do greatly trust the pass attack for Weeks 14 and 16.
The must-starts: Roddy White, Jason Elam
The likely starts: Michael Turner, Matt Ryan
The spot-start: Michael Jenkins
The no-starts: Jerious Norwood, Harry Douglas
The D/ST: The hills and valleys of performance here have been extreme. They were incredible in Weeks 9 and 10, while brutal in Weeks 4 and 11. Some good and some mediocre stat outputs lie in between. Facing the Saints is not advisable, and I don't like them in the Metrodome (Vikings). Facing the Bucs at home in Week 15, I could see them as a viable start. All things considered, though, I'd rather have a good amount of other teams heading into the playoffs. Check on the Redskins availability.

Despite the possibility of tornado's, and a steady monsoon-like rain throughout the day, the Buccaneers and Saints managed to score 43 points as Tampa Bay kept pace with Carolina in the NFC South, pulling out a huge 23-20 win.

The win improves Tampa Bay to 9-3 on the season, and sets up a huge contest with Carolina next Monday, in a game that very well could decide the NFC South title.

So, while Drew Brees finished the day 25-of-47 for 297 yards and a pair of scores, he also threw three interceptions, including a brutal pick over the middle, in a tie game, with just over two minutes to play in regulation. Jermaine Phillips picked off the Brees pass, returning it 13 yards to the New Orleans 17-yard line.

Three plays later, Matt Bryant booted a 37-yard field goal for the eventual game-winning score.

The Saints final possession ended when Brees threw his third pick of the day, this time when Phillip Buchanon stepped in front of a pass intended for Lance Moore.

While Brees was tossing interceptions, he received absolutely no help from his running game, as the Buccaneers dominant (and extremely underrated) run defense held the Saints to just 44 yards on 18 carries. Their longest run of the afternoon was nine yards.

Last Sunday in Detroit, Buccaneers running back Cadillac Williams finally returned to the football field, much to the delight of head coach Jon Gruden. The initial returns were about what you would expect for a guy that hadn't played in over a year -- he carried the ball 16 times for 27 yards against the worst run defense in the league, mainly in late-game mop-up duty.

According to Stephen F. Holder of the St. Petersburg Times, the performance was still a positive step for the 26-year-old Williams because, well, he was actually on the field. And even better, he's expected to be the first back off the bench on Sunday to relieve starter Warrick Dunn during the Buccaneers huge NFC South tilt with New Orleans.

"I think a lot of the offensive guys are probably disappointed that we didn't throw it (against Detroit), but we wanted to give (Williams) repeated runs," coach Jon Gruden said. "And they were hard looks, too. (The Lions) knew we were running it. ... But he was able to get 12 or 13 carries in a 15-play span, and I think he got confidence back from that performance."

For only the fifth time in Tampa Bay's past 28 games, Cadillac Williams will be in uniform and an active member of the Buccaneers offense, when they take on the winless Detroit Lions. Jon Gruden has been waiting for this moment for weeks, it seems, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

Earlier this week, Tampa Bay learned that its leading rusher, Earnest Graham, is going to miss the remainder of the season. Combine that with the release of Michael Bennett a few weeks ago -- when Williams was removed from the PUP list -- and the Buccaneers were down to only 33-year old Warrick Dunn, the recently signed Noah Herron, and fumble-prone Clifton Smith in their backfield.

Williams was listed as questionable this week with a hamstring injury.

It remains to be seen how effective he'll actually be, seeing as how he's hardly played the past two years, so it's nice that his first game back is against the worst rushing defense in the National Football League. So, at least he'll get to ease his way back into the grind.

(H/T PFT)