FanHouse Vincent Jackson

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.

Here's how it works. We throw some intriguing matchups at the FanHouse staff and ask whether each player will be over or under a certain point total. The result? Fantasy Football Over/Under. Makes sense, right?

Let's review my picks from last week and see how awful I did ...

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.

---

---

Where do breakout receivers like Mike Sims-Walker, Miles Austin and Hakeem Nicks rank in this week's edition?

Going by Austin's last two games, he should be at the top, but it's not a stretch to think his 150-yard, two-TD per game stretch will come to an end this week. Sooner or later, Nicks will have a game where he doesn't catch a long TD; it would have come in Week 7 if not for a lucky bounce off Steve Smith's hands.

I have nothing bad to say about Sims-Walker, except that he'd better make curfew this week!

---

---

Go to your league's ranking page and sort the wide receivers by average production per game. It's probably not a shock to see two Patriots in the top six, but did you realize that there were three Giants receivers in the top 15? Steve Smith has obviously caught our attention, and Mario Manningham has caught TDs in back-to-back weeks to remain fantasy relevant. Coming up in a blaze of points is Hakeem Nicks, who has scored over 10 points in each of his last three contests by catching long touchdown after long touchdown -- in fact, he only had one catch in Week 4 and took it 54 yards for a score for an 11.4-point game. Are all three starter-worthy this week?

---

---

Last week we called Santana Moss a must-start fantasy option, both in the rankings column and during our weekly Sunday Tailgate chat (which we have every Sunday morning starting at 10:30 AM ET). The Redskins receiver sure did his part to make us look good.

Moss finished the Lions game with 178 yards and a touchdown on 10 catches, which was easily the best WR performance of the week. The major question, as it always is with Moss, is whether this will be the start of something good, or just another peak on the chart before disappearing again for a few more weeks. Fortunately for Moss, this week's matchup against the Buccaneers isn't any tougher. Feel confident rolling with him for another week, as he's a must-start option again.

---

---

As the season nears, FanHouse's fantasy football team decided to put our heads together for another set of updated positional rankings. In this installment, the prima donnas take their turn.

We've flipped again -- after Larry Fitzgerald made an appearance atop of the 2.0 rankings, Andre Johnson is back at No. 1 here. We also see the effects of injuries to Steve Smith, Antonio Bryant and Donnie Avery. Remember to use these rankings as a tool, not as the be-all, end-all of your draft preparation. As news breaks, we'll keep you updated on the fantasy ramifications of it all. Enough talk, let's rank!
(Last Updated: 8/29/09)

---

---

I generally hate singling out an entire group of players and branding the list a group of must-have fantasy options. You know, something like "hey, go draft all the 27-year-olds in fantasy baseball," or "third-year receivers always bust out." It's just too lazy of any fantasy analyst to blanket generalize an entire group without considering the circumstances to each individual situation.

Thus, many people out there believe there is one tried and true reality in sports: Players want to get paid. Well, of course players want to get paid. In the NFL, though, players are constantly under the microscope and don't have guaranteed contracts. More matters than just being in a walk year. What we'll do, then, is take a look at the contract-year players and examine how their motivation will translate into fantasy football success.

---

---

It's been over a month since we last posted positional fantasy football rankings, so it's time to run our second version. Plus, we added some staff. This is now an average ranking from eight Fantasy FanHouse writers. To view the early version of our wide receiver rankings, click here.

Unlike the second version of quarterback or running back rankings, the receivers have seen a change at the top. In this second installment, Larry Fitzgerald has surpassed Andre Johnson as our collective No. 1 wideout; it wasn't unanimous, as I still personally like 'Dre for a better year.

---

---