FanHouse Beanie Wells

Though most had the Minnesota Vikings as the favorites to win the NFC North heading into the season, nearly everyone agreed that either the Chicago Bears or Green Bay Packers -- or both -- would at least pose a challenge to the Vikes' second straight division crown. Instead, we're taking this division race off life support and putting it to rest after Week 9. The 2009 NFC North champions will be the Vikings. They can now focus on securing home-field advantage in the playoffs.

The reason for the above sentiment is that both the Bears and Packers were abysmal, in different circumstances, Sunday afternoon. The Pack went into Tampa Bay and lost to the formerly winless Buccaneers, while the Bears were absolutely manhandled for the majority of the afternoon by a fickle Arizona squad.

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We're back, albeit a few days late. Matt Snyder and Tom Herrera bring you the weekly FanHouse fantasy football podcast on a Saturday this week, for various administrative reasons -- none of which have anything to do with fantasy football. We will discuss the return of Brian Westbrook and Calvin Johnson. Snyder defends his love of Steve Slaton, even in the face of adversity, we talk about how Austin Collie is who everyone thought Anthony Gonzalez would be and, finally, why Herrera recently had a Seinfeldian experience in New York (not really, but Snyder is Seinfeld obsessed). Take a listen after the jump.

Am I scared about the prospects of Steve Slaton losing carries to Ryan Moats (and even Chris Brown)? Absolutely. I'm more concerned about the overreactions from across the fantasy football world. Sure, I took it on the chin with Slaton in one league, but last week was hardly indicative of what will transpire from here on out.

Consider the following:
- If Gary Kubiak was going to send a message to his second-year running back with problems holding onto the football, what better opponent than the league's worst run defense?

- Slaton shredded the Colts in Indy last year, and that was without Matt Schaub at the helm to take pressure off him.

- Frank Gore got loose for a 64-yard touchdown against the Colts and added 43 receiving yards. Slaton is faster, more elusive and a better pass-catcher than Gore.

So, yeah, of course last week made me worried about Slaton. But I live by the "no guts, no glory" credo. You'll find Slaton in my top 15. You can have Ryan Moats.

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

Faller of the Week: Steve Slaton was most likely a first-round pick, the centerpiece of your fantasy football squad. Obviously, his being benched after just three touches and a lost fumble had a huge impact on your fantasy game this week, but looking to the future, it's much more scary. Ryan Moats was impressive with Slaton out, which does not bode well for Slaton's future. The Texans are in the midst of chasing their first-ever playoff berth, so they aren't going to run someone out there who repeatedly gives the ball away. It's entirely possible Slaton loses his job at some point this season. Thus, he easily takes the biggest hit in fantasy value for this week.

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The Rams-Lions contest this weekend has the potential to be one of the most unwatchable games in years. The Lions have only won once in the past two seasons and the Rams are 2-21 in that span. Remember, though, in fantasy football every game is exciting to some extent. In FanHouse's latest fantasy football podcast, Tom Herrera and Matt Snyder explain why they like both running backs -- Kevin Smith and Steven Jackson -- to have a good game Sunday. We also tackle why T.O. reminds Herrera of a smelly homeless guy on the subway this week, reveal our Starting Six Pack and discuss several deep league plug-n-play options (like Brian Hartline).

Steven Jackson has had a rough year, as long as you don't include rushing yards. He hasn't scored a touchdown and his team is winless. That's bad enough, but the games aren't even close most of the time. That makes it even more difficult for the Rams to justify giving the dynamic Jackson carries. Yet he's still managed to rack up 90.7 yards per game on the ground, his highest mark in that stat since his career year in 2006.

This week, things will be different for SJax. It will be a one-week hiatus from his awful fortunes, as the Rams face the slightly-less-hapless Lions. They allow 4.6 yards per carry and were porous enough to make the 2009 version of Matt Forte look like it was 2008. And they'll make Jackson look like he did in 2006.

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Fantasy FanHouse's "Bust a Move" segment provides quick-hitting insight on the most popular adds and drops across Fleaflicker fantasy leagues between Tuesday and Wednesday of each week. Knowing who is on the move during this 24-hour period often provides a valuable edge with regard to outperforming or underperforming players, injuries and depth chart shifts. So do as the man says, "Don't just stand there..."

The Adds

Shonn Greene (RB, Jets, 3,866 adds) - No secret here as the Irish eyes smiled upon Shonn Greene this past weekend. Just as it looked like Greene's odds at making an impact in his rookie season were getting close to nil, Leon Washington suffered a broken leg and headed off to the old sawbones. Given his chance, Greene earned his keep with 144 yards and two touchdowns in a rout of the hapless Raiders. Miami should prove a better test in Week 8 as to Greene's real worth, but for now he represents a must-add in all formats.

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Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.

The season-ending injury to Jets running back Leon Washington is devastating for a number of reasons.

His change-of-pace running style will be sorely missed as will his 4.6 yards-per-carry average. The kick return team will also struggle to find a replacement. In fact, coach Rex Ryan says it will take many players to fill in for Washington.

Each Monday of the fantasy football season, we'll cut through the fantasy numbers put up by individuals and tell you what they really mean.

A few years ago, I used to swear by the draft-day method of avoiding all wide receivers for at least the first three rounds -- and sometimes up to the fifth in leagues with multiple flex positions. The reasoning was simple: the incredibly fickle nature of receivers. Not only is there more turnover from season to season in terms of production than at any other position, there is week-to-week turnover. Maybe it's time to get back to that theory. Witness, Miles Austin has accrued 16 catches for 421 yards and four touchdowns over his last two games. Anquan Boldin, an upper-tier wideout before the season, entered Week 7 with 306 yards and one touchdown for the entire season.

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- They flew all over the field all night, racing to the ball, harassing the opposing quarterback with a variety of aggressive blitzes. The defense was disruptive, deep and energetic, and the main reason its team won the game. All of this was to be expected, of course...just not from this particular team.

On this night, it was the Arizona Cardinals beating the New York Giants at the latter's own game, forcing four turnovers and out-muscling Big Blue 24-17 on national TV in the swamps of Jersey.

"We definitely fed off our defense tonight," Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner said.

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