FanHouse Mohamed Massaquoi

Weeding through those unwieldy waiver wires requires a keen eye and a quick trigger. Thus, Waiver Wire Wonders provides a weekly snapshot of players worthy of consideration who should be available on a good portion of league waiver wires.

Just because those trade deadlines passed doesn't mean it is time to rest on your laurels and ride out the rest of the season with the team you currently hold. On the contrary, the unavailability of the trade option makes the waiver wire all that much more important. And while we likely will not see another week with the potential fantasy impact of last week yet again this season, there is still plenty to do before playoff time.

This week, the biggest waiver wire benefactors came as a result of some huge passing efforts. Among others, we witnessed two scoops for scores from a tight end, a two-catch, two-touchdown effort by a repeat waiver wire wonder, and a rookie play-maker with a solid performance.

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

Riser of the Week: Terrell Owens came into Sunday with just 26 catches for 366 yards and a single touchdown -- in nine games. Considering the Bills were switching back to Ryan Fitzpatrick, who did no favors for T.O. when at the helm earlier this season, there was very little reason to start Owens in many fantasy leagues. Instead, T.O. reminded us how cruel a mistress fantasy football can be. He's still alive and kicking, as he ushered forth a vintage stat line. Nine catches for 197 yards and a touchdown. Is this 2007? I'm not buying any sort of extended rejuvenation moving forward, but it probably felt good for T.O. -- if only for one Sunday in 2009.

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

Risers of the Week: Alex Smith and Vernon Davis were first-round picks of the 49ers in consecutive seasons (Smith was first overall in 2005, Davis went sixth overall in 2006). They were supposed to be the main building blocks of a highly successful passing attack in the Bay Area for years to come. Instead, each was a colossal bust for several years. Sunday, 49ers fans -- and fantasy owners of Davis -- were treated with a much-belated version of what was originally planned.

Once Smith took over for the struggling Shaun Hill, he threw three touchdown passes, all to his dreadlocked tight end. Davis is clearly a must-start every week at this point. Smith wouldn't be a QB1, but would certainly be worth owning if handed the keys. Wait and see.

Weeding through those unwieldy waiver wires requires a keen eye and a quick trigger. Thus, Waiver Wire Wonders provides a weekly snapshot of players worthy of consideration who should be available on a good portion of league waiver wires.

Not a whole lot to report on the wires, as the bulk of the action came from repeat appearances by players solidifying their values and abating consistency concerns. For the third week in a row, the wide receiver position provided the most compelling action, so check the waivers to see if you can still catch these trains or if you waited too long at the newsstand flipping through the US Weekly and missed them.

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Every week, NFL FanHouse hits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.

Derek Anderson is by no means Tom Brady. Matter of fact, as far as quarterbacking skills go, he's probably just a notch above Kyle Brady. And when you lead your unit in posting such a pitiful day -- six points, 193 yards, 3.3 yards per play, 22 net passing yards on a 2-for-17 performance -- you're at least partially to blame.

That being said, in the Browns' 6-3 win over the Bills, Anderson got by with no help from his friends. He sang out a tune, and his pass-catchers stood up and walked out on him.

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

Faller of the Week: All Buffalo Bills. Three points against the Cleveland Browns? The same Browns who ranked dead last in the NFL in total defense, 31st in scoring defense, 22nd in passing defense and 31st in run defense? Abandon ship. Everyone except Terrell Owens and the two running backs (Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson) can be dropped. No one can safely be started in any league at this point. This is just a mess. Lee Evans and Trent Edwards are owned in far too many leagues. Drop the dead weight.

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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

Rashard Mendenhall (RB, Steelers, 3,178 adds) - Enough already about the Steelers moving away from their longtime pound-the-rock mantra and relying on the pass. Mendenhall finally showed up and put the backfield debates as to who should tote the ball to bed. Willie Parker's inability to get the ground game moving (3.1 yards per carry) coupled with an inability to overcome injuries finally got the best of him as Mendenhall should see the bulk of the touches going forward with Parker playing second fiddle. It's hard to argue with 165 and two touchdowns -- so why try?

With the announcement earlier Wednesday morning that Braylon Edwards had been traded to the New York Jets, we figured we'd fire up a mini-version of the value machine. We'll take a look at the shift in value for all fantasy relevant players on both the Jets and Braylon's former team, the Cleveland Browns, who is effected.

Braylon Edwards - Tough choice here (please note sarcasm). It wasn't possible for his value to fall any further. I do think this trade really helps him, due to his attitude. He's a selfish player who wants to be in the spotlight and there's no bigger spotlight than New York. I believe he falls in line due to the fact that he's out of Cleveland, in New York and playing for a winning team. We'll place him in WR3 territory for now, with the chance to move up to WR2 by season's end.

Every Tuesday night, we'll give you an update on our FanHouse fantasy football league. Who hit on their sleepers? Who made the shrewd pickups? Who's practicing what they preach? In 'House Check, you'll find out.

Ryan Dembinsky made the absolute pickup of the year this week, claiming the 49ers defense off waivers in preparation for their Week 4 game against St. Louis. I was lucky enough to make the same add just minutes before game time in another of my leagues, and I can attest to the sheer dominance of the San Francisco D this week.

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.

Question: Who has been the best and most consistent wide receiver this year in fantasy football? Answer: Steve Smith ... of the New York Giants, not of the Carolina Panthers. We used to make jokes about how much it would suck to accidentally click on the name of the "wrong" Steve Smith in an online fantasy draft, but no one would laugh now. The Giants' version is a better and much more reliable fantasy version than the Panthers' incarnation. Our Smith is definitely a WR1 in all formats moving forward, as this doesn't look to be fluky in any way.