FanHouse Pierre Thomas

With nine games in the books, Ricky Williams -- despite being behind Ronnie Brown on the Dolphins' depth chart -- sits at 13th in fantasy points among running backs. Brown is ninth, so the Dolphins have themselves a pretty dynamic duo. For Week 11, they get to feast on the Carolina Panthers' 25th-ranked run defense Thursday night.

And Ricky's left alone in the backfield. With Brown nursing a foot injury, Williams will shoulder the bulk of the Miami offense. He's quite capable, as we've seen in spurts this season. He had 20 carries for over 100 yards last week. This week, he's gonna get the ball more often and run wild. Only the new "big three" are better options.

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

Making the most of an opportunity is crucial for any athlete, no matter the sport. As Week 11 games approach, bumps and bruises have turned into full-blown, shut-down injuries -- thrusting backup players into starting roles. There are a few of these situations at the running back position this week. These can have major fantasy football implications. Just as in real sports, you need to take advantage of these opportunities to help your fantasy team.

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

Riser of the Week: With the help of Brett Favre's arm, Sidney Rice is becoming a star in the NFL. Favre's affinity for Rice isn't really difficult to figure, either. At 6-foot-4 and blessed with incredible athleticism, Rice is the rare breed of receiver that can play as both a deep threat and possession receiver, which has made him Favre's favorite target. With a 7-catch, 201-yard effort Sunday, Rice now has compiled 27 catches and 553 yards in the past four games. He still needs to score more touchdowns -- he only has two this season -- but he's gathering enough yardage to make up for it in the meantime. The Vikings' remaining schedule isn't especially tough, either, so don't even think about benching Rice.

The New Orleans Saints entered the game undefeated and the toast of the NFC. The St. Louis Rams entered the game with a 1-7 record. The Saints were favored by 14 1/2 points. The Saints also came loaded with their top-ranked offense to face off against the Rams' 28th-ranked defense. Simply put, this one had all the makings of a bloodbath.

Instead, the Saints escaped with a 28-23 victory by the skin of their teeth -- as the game was never clinched until Marc Bulger's hail mary fell incomplete as the clock struck 0:00. The fact that the Saints couldn't put the hapless Rams away earlier in the game is sure to lead to a bunch of "the Saints are overrated" talk this week. They didn't play well, but let's not go overboard.

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For this week's edition of the FanHouse fantasy football podcast, Tom Herrera and Matt Snyder went through an edition of Sink or Swim. Each team has at least eight games in the books, so we can start drawing conclusions about 2010. Which big names that were drafted in the first few rounds will continue to fail to meet expectations? Can Greg Jennings, Dwayne Bowe and a bevy of others start living up to their draft slot? Also, we come with our weekly Starting Six Pack (Pierre Thomas, anyone?) and Albatross (hello, Clinton). In closing, Mr. Herrera has a few more things to say about his beloved T.O. Take a listen after the jump.

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

There are two receivers on the Miami Dolphins roster who are barely owned in fantasy football leagues -- I think that they should be shown more love. FanHouse fantasy football guru R.J. White wrote a little about Davone Bess and Greg Camarillo earlier on Wednesday, I wanted to add a few more numbers to the mix.

These two guys just combined for 127 yards on 11 catches against the Patriots. Take a second to soak that in. Following the demotion of Ted Ginn, Bess and Camarillo saw a quick bump in fantasy value. Bess finds his way onto a roster in many more leagues than Camarillo, but they hold similar value. The Buccaneers will spend a good portion of practice prepping for the wildcat look, and the two Miami wideouts should benefit.

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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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.

It sure is nice to be Tom Mantzouranis these days. The FanHouse editor and unabashed Saints fan is witnessing what is probably the best New Orleans Saints team in history. And even though he showed a lot of homerism at our fantasy draft, the picks of Drew Brees, Pierre Thomas and the Saints defense are sure working out, even if a few of them may have seemed overdrafted at the time.

Mantzouranis (owner of My Soul Belongs To Breesus) is currently the only 6-2 team in the FanHouse league, so this may be a magical season for Tom in more ways than one.

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With attention spans dwindling, we forgo full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. We call it The Once-Over.

The Early Games

New England (4-2) at Tampa Bay (0-6): Tom Brady threw for six touchdown passes last week, five in one quarter alone. And to be honest, it gets easier for him this week in London against the Bucs. Expect fireworks from the Patriots offense, as Brady is beginning to click with Randy Moss, and he's extremely happy that Wes Welker is back in action.

On defense, the Buccaneers don't have the speed or skill at the cornerback position to defend against Brady and the Patriots' aerial attack. On offense, the Bucs are young and inexperienced -- especially at the quarterback position where Josh Johnson is already looking in the rear-view mirror at competition from Josh Freeman.

Pick: New England