FantasyFootball Week 10 Studs & Duds
By: David Bachman
Fantasy Football Editor For WagerOnFootball.com

Here's a quick rundown of the NFL's week 10 fantasy football stars. These guys are the WagerOnFootball.com "ALL Week 10 STUD Team". After you check out these top performers surf over to our NFL sportsbooks page and see what great sponsors we have here at Wager On Football Sportsbook Review.

A quick look at the big fantasy performers from the weekend.

More Weeks 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9  .10 . 11 . 12 . 13 . 14 . 15 . 16 . 17

Sunday Notes I Scribbled Down

Peyton Manning, QB, Indianapolis: Dan Marino was the most impressive statistical quarterback to ever grace the gridiron, but one of his countless records is in real jeopardy. Manning threw five touchdown passes against the Texans, and is now on pace to compile 55 scores. That would demolish Marino's single-season record for touchdown passes (48), which is established back in 1984. Manning was impeccable against an overmatched Texans defense, throwing for 320 yards and touchdown strikes to WRs Brandon Stokley (2), Reggie Wayne and TE Dallas Clark (2). Even without the aide of WR Marvin Harrison -- who posted a mere two receptions for 22 yards -- Manning was still able to thrive in what has to be the most lethal offense in the entire NFL. With contests on the horizon against Detroit, Houston and San Diego, Manning could have the most productive season for a quarterback -- ever. This guy is a FLAT OUT STUD and if you drafted him most likely 8th-10th overall in your league consider yourself a genius.

Green Bay survived a scare when Ahman Green (21 car, 145 yds), who injured his kneecap, was able to return to the game and help the Packers finish off the rival Vikings. Green and Najeh Davenport (hamstring) both left the game in the first half. That made Fisher (67 total yards, 1 TD) the Packers' No. 1 running back for a brief period. Davenport didn't return to the game, so Fisher might move up the depth chart this week.
Dave's spin: Green appeared to be fine in the second half, meaning Fisher's fantasy value should remain low.

The events of Sunday's game didn't favor Minnesota's running backs. After falling behind early, the Vikings had to rely on the arm of Daunte Culpepper to get them back into the game. Michael Bennett and Smith (5 car, 21 yds) had identical stats, but they weren't the stats their owners expected.
Dave's Spin: Expect the Vikings' running game to be more effective next week at home against the Lions. Who will take advantage of it? As always, it's anyone's guess in Minnesota, but I like Smith's chances best.

We've yet to see the Cardinals' passing game really take off since the return of Boldin (5 rec, 31 yds), and that's not a big surprise. For Boldin, these past few games have been like the preseason as he works to tip-top shape after missing the first seven weeks with a knee injury. It could be that we'll never see the true Boldin this season, but the Cardinals' remaining schedule does lend hope that we'll see some flashes.
Dave's spin: Those flashes could start coming next week at Carolina, but it's up to Cardinals coaches to make Boldin a bigger part of the offensive game plan.

Notable Injuries

Key pregame deactivations: Priest Holmes, Andre Davis, Itula Mili, Duce Staley, Thomas Jones

Torry Holt, WR, Rams: He suffered a concussion early, which led to his off-game.

Ahman Green, RB, Packers: He left the game briefly with a leg injury, but returned in the second half to put up big stats.

John Kasay, K, Panthers: A calf injury knocked him out of the game, leaving the kicking duties to punter Todd Sauerbrun, who did hit a field goal and three extra points.

Chris Brown, RB, Titans: He re-aggravated a foot injury late in the loss to the Bears.

Az-Zahir Hakim, WR, Lions: A back injury knocked him out in the first half. He was already struggling with injuries heading into the game.

Man Am I Steamed

Can someone tell me when it became better to have Dallas Clark, Chicago's D and Blaylock than to have Marshall Faulk, Marvin Harrison and Torry Holt? I missed that shift. I mean Cmon…..

I also heard the pre game weather reports telling me that it was gale force winds picking up at gametime in Jacksonville, so I take Jimmy Smith out of one my lineups. Well dumbass move that becomes. He goes off of course. Sometimes I just overanalyze too much. Stop Thinking I tell myself every week.

Ed Reed had an NFL record 106-yard interception return for a touchdown last week against the Browns and on Sunday, only seven days later, Lamont Jordan proved why he was not a quarterback when he threw a very ill-advised pass directly to Reed who was only four yards deep in the endzone this week. Reed dashed for the 104-yard return yet again but a defensive holding call on the return negated the score. Did you see that play??? Brutal !!!

R.W. McQuarters fielded a punt at his own 15 yard line and returned the ball the entire 85 yards for an apparent touchdown that would have made the score 21-7 in favor of the Bears. However, an illegal block above the waist kept the ball back on their own 20-yard line.

Remember - don't celebrate early.

Some More Notes

In fantasy football, it's the stats that count. Players don't get extra points for winning the "real" game. Look at this week: Daunte Culpepper outgained Brett Favre on the stat sheet, but it was Favre's Packers who won the game. A similar thing happened a couple of weeks ago as Peyton Manning outpointed Trent Green in fantasy circles, but the Chiefs won the game.

Many times losing quarterbacks put up the winning stats as they play catch-up, while the winning QB goes conservative in preserving a big lead. Sometimes it might be best to get quarterbacks (or receivers) from losing teams since you know they'll have to pass to try to catch up.

So going to this week, it's pretty easy to see why the Colts won, looking at Manning's numbers. However, you won't see Krenzel or Roethlisberger here, even though they finished with the same result on the scoreboard -- a victory.

Top 10 Fantasy Studs

1. Daunte Culpepper, QB, Vikings (27-44, 363 yards, 4 TDs; 3 carries, 19 yards): Just imagine what he might've done with Randy Moss in the lineup. Culpepper did his best to rally Minnesota from 14 down in the fourth quarter, although the Packers eventually won. Culpepper has found some nice targets in Nate Burleson and Jermaine Wiggins.

2. Peyton Manning, QB, Colts (18-27, 320 yards, 5 TDs, 2 INTs): It's pretty safe to say now that Manning is the early favorite for fantasy MVP. He has thrown for five TDs three times this season, just like Daunte Culpepper, but Manning has also passed for at least two TDs in every game this season, and only once has he dipped below 200 yards passing. Consistency and huge numbers -- that's why Manning is a fantasy stud.

3. Muhsin Muhammad, WR, Panthers (6 catches, 123 yards, 3 TDs): Every so often, Muhammad can have a game like this, and he seemed to thrive against a spotty 49ers defense. It's performances like this, though, that make fantasy football so intriguing -- why else would you watch a battle of two one-win games unless you're a fan of either team?

4. Derrick Blaylock, RB, Chiefs (33 carries, 186 yards, 1 TD; 3 carries, 38 yards): Priest Holmes may have been out, but Blaylock put up Priest-like stats in Kansas City's loss in New Orleans. It's good to see the Chiefs have a nice option in Holmes' absence. However, former first-round pick Larry Johnson had no touches.

5. Domanick Davis, RB, Texans (31 carries, 98 yards, 2 TDs; 7 catches, 54 yards): These are the types of games we remember from Davis, although it came in a losing effort. He can be a dangerous dual threat out of the backfield, especially if Houston needs to throw a lot in catch-up situations like this week. The one disturbing part of Davis' game, in general, is his low yards-per-rush.

6. Brett Favre, QB, Packers (20-29, 236 yards, 4 TDs): It was classic Favre early as he spread the ball all over the place for a bunch of touchdowns. Then it was classic Favre at the end of the game as he hit a couple of key passes to overcome the Vikings after Culpepper had rallied to tie it with less than two minutes remaining.

7. Brandon Stokley, WR, Colts (5 catches, 132 yards, 2 TDs): Has Stokley become Manning's favorite target? He had a huge game while stud Marvin Harrison had just two catches for 22 yards. For Indianapolis, it doesn't matter who gets the ball as long as the win is there. For fantasy owners, Stokley has provided tons more value than Harrison, and a little more than Reggie Wayne, who did have a TD on Sunday.

8. Jake Delhomme, QB, Panthers (19-34, 303 yards, 3 TDs): When your running game includes Nick Goings and Brad Hoover, you'll probably have to throw the ball a lot to win. Delhomme did that, taking advantage of the veteran Muhammad to beat the 49ers.

9. Curtis Martin, RB, Jets (28 carries, 119 yards, 2 TDs): It's hard to believe he's having a "breakout" season in his 10th NFL season, but that seems to be the case. He surprisingly put up big stats against a tough Ravens defense, but it still wasn't enough to beat Baltimore.

10. Joe Horn, WR, Saints (5 catches, 167 yards, 1 TD): Yes, we can hear you now, Joe. After a relatively disappointing season, Horn had his biggest output of the season, including scoring the go-ahead TD. New Orleans is an enigmatic team, but when it's on, Horn can be a fantasy beast.

Other top performers: Jerome Bettis, RB, Steelers (29 carries, 103 yards, 2 TDs; 1 catch, 7 yards); Dallas Clark, TE, Colts (3 catches, 102 yards, 2 TDs); Billy Volek, QB, Titans (27-44, 334 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT; 1 carry, 5 yards); T.J. Duckett, RB, Falcons (12 carries, 53 yards, 2 TDs); Alge Crumpler, TE, Falcons (4 catches, 118 yards, 1 TD); Eddie Kennison, WR, Chiefs (7 catches, 121 yards, 1 TD); Trent Green, QB, Chiefs (22-33, 311 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs; 1 carry, 13 yards, 1 fumble); Jimmy Smith, WR, Jaguars (7 catches, 109 yards, 1 TD); Marshall Faulk, RB, Rams (18 carries, 139 yards, 5 catches, 21 yards); Drew Bennett, WR, Titans (6 catches, 148 yards, 1 TD); Deuce McAllister, RB, Saints (16 carries, 127 yards, 1 TD); Aaron Brooks, QB, Saints (15-27, 259 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 4 carries, 1 yard, 1 TD); Tiki Barber, RB, Giants (21 carries, 108 yards, 1 TD; 5 catches, 52 yards); Kevan Barlow, RB, 49ers (21 carries, 47 yards, 2 TDs; 2 catches, 14 yards); Nate Burleson, WR, Vikings (11 catches, 141 yards, 1 TD; 1 carry, 11 yards); Emmitt Smith, RB, Cardinals (19 carries, 67 yards, 2 TDs); Tom Brady, QB, Patriots (19-35, 233 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT);

Duds

Marvin Harrison, WR, Colts (2 catches, 22 yards): Another huge game for Manning, but Harrison didn't benefit.

Hines Ward, WR, Steelers (3 catches, 42 yards; 2 carries, -7 yards): Plaxico Burress (5 catches, 66 yards) is Big Ben's favorite target. Even worse, Pittsburgh is running the ball even more, limiting the number of catches going Ward's way.
Torry Holt, WR, Rams (2 catches, 32 yards): It wasn't the greatest of days for stud receivers, was it?

Darrell Jackson, WR, Seahawks (3 catches, 30 yards): Now he has the bad game when I know he'll play.

Donte Stallworth, WR, Saints (3 catches, 11 yards; 1 carry, 6 yards): He's way too inconsistent to make him a sure bet.

Drew Bledsoe, QB, Bills (8-19, 76 yards, 3 INTs; 1 carry, 8 yards): His old mates really burned him again, to the point that wideout Troy Brown, playing defensive back, picked him off. It was a bad night in general for Buffalo's offense.

David Carr, QB, Texans (22-41, 215 yards, 3 INTs; 3 carries, 10 yards, 1 lost fumble): You'd think he'd put up better numbers against the Colts' defense, but Indy was prepared for him.

Lee Suggs, RB, Browns (18 carries, 38 yards): The good news is that he got all the carries, with William Green getting tossed for a pregame fight. The bad news is that the Steelers shut down Suggs when he was in.

Craig Krenzel, QB, Bears (10-28, 116 yards, 2 INTs; 1 carry, 9 yards, 1 lost fumble): Chicago keeps on winning with his leadership and game management abilities -- two qualities that aren't measured in fantasy football. Not sure why you'd start him, though, unless you're desperate.

Mark Brunell, QB, Redskins (1-8, 6 yards, 1 INT; 2 carries, 3 yards): It's about time he got pulled for Patrick Ramsey, which is exactly what happened Sunday.
Anquan Boldin (5 catches, 31 yards)/Larry Fitzgerald (1 catch, 2 yards), WRs, Cardinals: What did I say about bad passing numbers but still winning? Josh McCown passed for just 90 yards to beat the Giants.

Waiver Wire Possibilities??

David Garrard, QB, Jaguars (19-36, 198 yards, 2 TDs; 7 carries, 42 yards): Like Byron Leftwich, he has a flair for the dramatic, throwing a long TD in overtime to beat the Lions. It looks like Jacksonville won't miss a beat with him under center.
Patrick Ramsey, QB, Redskins (18-37, 210 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs; 1 carry, 3 yards): Mark Brunell wasn't doing it in Washington, but if you'd like to take a risk on Ramsey, by all means go ahead. Just don't expect big stats, despite a couple of decent receivers.

Kyle Boller, QB, Ravens (19-33, 213 yards, 2 TDs): It's not just about Jamal Lewis and the defense. Boller had a sharp game, spreading the ball around to eight receivers, but hitting Clarence Moore for two TDs.

Clarence Moore, WR, Ravens (5 catches, 45 yards, 2 TDs): Could he become Boller's main target? In addition to Sunday's big game, he had 82 yards against the Eagles a couple of weeks ago.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR, Bengals (7 catches, 59 yards): With Peter Warrick done for the year, Chad Johnson's running mate at Oregon State is a decent bet if you're stuck.

Game Rundowns

The New Orleans Saints have the worst defense in the NFL, hell, I'll take some high school defenses over these bums. They couldn't stop the anorexic crackhead Olsen twins from running all over them. Now here's an excellent reason why you just never know, until you know. The Chiefs had not scored less than 31 points in the last three games and appeared to be back to their obscene scoring ways with an average of 45 points the last three weeks. The Saints had been giving up about 37 points a game during that time and are currently beleaguered with speculation that Jim Haslett will just suddenly be "no longer with the company". Priest Holmes was out this week but Derrick Blaylock did a wonderful impression of him by gaining 224 total yards and one touchdown to lead all NFL running backs yesterday.

Peyton Manning threw 5 touchdowns today...yawwwwn. He is on pace for 55 touchdowns, and it really isn't going to shock anyone if he gets that. They pass the damn ball all the time. Inside the 5, on the 1, fromt he 50, pass...pass...pass. Edge owners have to be frustrated. Peyton owners are the happiest campers around. Here was one game yesterday with the least amount of drama and intrigue, thanks to David Carr's four turnovers that could best be described as a Carr wreck that just continued to bash into things for the entire game. Carr threw three interceptions with one being returned 77-yards for a touchdown. He lost one fumble that was also returned for a 37-yard touchdown. Despite trailing for the final 53 minutes of the game, the Texans still decided that running Domanick Davis 31 times was the ticket for a comeback in spite of the fact he never gained more than 12 yards on any run.

Not unlike several other games yesterday, most of the scoring happened in the second quarter when the Jets took a 14-7 lead thanks to Curtis Martin's two touchdowns against Clarence Moore's first ever touchdown as an NFL receiver.The Jets squandered a chance for an even bigger lead when they reached the BAL 17-yard line after Santana Moss had caught a 47 yard pass. On the next play, Lamont Jordan was given a trick play where he rolled right and threw the ball but in his excitement, he forgot to actually throw it at any player wearing green. He just chunked it into the endzone where Ed Reed came up with the interception and almost a 104-yard return for a score were it not for a penalty during the return. The best play in the entire game was one that never happened officially thanks to a penalty.Two solid D's and two safe offenses just battling it out to the very end. Curtis Martin continues to do his Energizer Bunny imitation, even on the tough D's like Baltimore's. He went near 100 yards and chipped in two touchdowns. Baltimore got a surprisingly solid day from Kyle Boller.

OK, who the heck is Eddie Drummond? Not one, but two punt returns for touchdowns? If the Detroit offense had decided to join the party, they may have won this game. Joey Harrington pretty much sucked again this week and it cost the Lions this game. Kevin Jones actually had a decent game rushing for 81 yards on 19 carries...there is still hope. If not for their special teams however, the Lions would have been destroyed in this game. This was clearly one of the strangest games of the year. The Jaguars led 17-0 and were just attempting a simple punt from their own 29-yard line with about 13 minutes left to play. The punt was shanked to the right and only went 26 yards when a Jaguar player attempted to down it and all of a sudden Eddie Drummond appeared from nowhere to snatch the ball and run fairly unhindered and very quickly for 55 yards and a touchdown to make the score 17-7. So big deal. Lucky score. The Jaguars won the coin flip in overtime and then marched down to the DET 36-yard line where Garrard hit the streaking Jimmy Smith for the touchdown. The Lions had forced overtime with one 46 yard completion that led to a field goal and two returned punts for scores. Otherwise, the Lions only had 81 yards rushing and 75 yards passing in the entire game.

I give up on Michael Vick. I simply cannot pick the week to start him. The weeks I put him in, he gets 3 points and looks horrible. The weeks I sit him (this one) he throws deep touchdowns and runs all over a good defense. I give up. Vick looked great today as he hooked up with Alge Crumpler on a deep score and rushed for 73 yards. Crumpler went well over a C-note, and that should be a weekly thing. Crumpler is the one true receiving weapon Vick can count on...use him! The Bucs looked lost today. The interesting aspect of watching the Falcons play is not if they will score, but exactly how they will and yet still not offer up much fantasy value that you could count on happening. Although Warrick Dunn had 81 total yards, he never scored. Instead, T.J. Duckett scored twice and gained 53 yards on only 12 carries as the much more effective yet less-used runner in the game. The entire Falcon wideout crew managed three catches for 24 yards. Michael Clayton had 90 yards and one touchdown but the rest of the Bucs wideouts had only two catches for seven yards in a game they trailed for the final 55 minutes against a secondary that had allowed Plummer to throw for 499 in the previous game. Dilger scored a 22-yard touchdown though he had no catches in the previous game.

Nothing like a scrum before kickoff to get the announcers ready to work. William Green missed the game (though possibly picked up some promotional opportunities for smokeless tobacco) and Lee Suggs only gained 38 yards on 18 carries. Jerome Bettis scored twice and gained 103 yards on 29 carries to basically ensure the Browns' would spend little time with the ball. The biggest news to come out of this slugfest was that Ben Roethlisberger did not throw for many yards (134) and he never scored and he had an interception. The Steelers are the hottest team going right now and the Brownies are not. The Steelers were without Duce again this week, but no matter, the Bus has a new engine and he was able to roll up another C-note with a couple of scores today. Why would you start a fight before a game? Why does it always seem to be Willie when trouble is around?

St. Louis got a great game from Marshall Faulk, and Bulger was on point early. The Rams seem to have the Seasqwaks' number. Isaac Bruce hung a C-note, Faulk rushed for 139 yards and Bulger threw for 262 and a score...that was all they needed. Can someone explain how Shaun Alexander can rush for 176 yards and not get in the endzone? That's just wrong. The Seahawks are openly embracing mediocrity in spite of starting the season as one of the favored teams for January play. Against the Rams, Hasselbeck only completed 15 of 36 passes for 172 yards and one interception mainly because the receivers apparently are practicing for offseason volleyball. Torry Holt - two catches for 32 yards and both he and 30,000 fantasy owners were woozy after that knock-out route over the middle. Let's hope this nonsense ends before fantasy playoffs.

My how the Titans have fallen. They can't even beat the Craig Krenzel led Bears in a home game? That is just sad. To the Bears credit, they keep winning these games someway somehow every week. Today it was defensive and special teams scores. They shut Chris Brown down cold, ran back an interception for a score and then ended the game in overtime with a safety! Now that's something you never see (only the 2nd time to happen in NFL history). Now on to OT. The bad part here was that Chris Brown was out and with no confidence in Antowain Smith, the Titans threw an incompletion and then on second down, Volek went back to pass again - FROM THEIR OWN NINE YARD LINE - and was hit, fumbled and the Titans recovered in the endzone so that they could lose 19-17 instead of giving up their third score to the Bears defense/special teams. It doesn't matter how it gets there, the scoreboard is the thing. Just ask Krenzel.

The only certainty in San Francisco is that no 49er dares utter "it can't get any worse". The Panthers came to town without Steve Smith or Stephen Davis. The only healthy runner was the fullback Nick Goings. They lost their kicker during the game. The Panthers were only 1-7 on the season and the only win for the 49ers all year was at home. So, then, of course Jake Delhomme has his best game of the season throwing for 303 yards, three touchdowns (all to Muhammad in the second half) and no interceptions. This team still has “it”. They don’t have a lot of “it. But they still have “it”. Mushy Muhammad is becoming the man in the Carolina offense. They have ZOT for a running game so they have to throw. They have ZOT at WR other than a rookie (Colbert) and Mushy. All this adds up to a lot of balls being thrown Mushy's way. Kevan Barlow made a rare appearance in the endzone today, in fact he did it twice. Of course he only managed 47 yards rushing with those scores, so nothing to get all yippy about.

The Pats absolutely dominated the Bills in every facet of the game. The only score the Bills could muster was a kick return. Drew Bledsoe sucks on a normal basis, but when he plays the Patriots, he pulls out his magic sucky suit and takes the word suck to a whole new level. the Patriots remain 8-1 and tied for the best record in the NFL even though their team has been decimated by injuries and they ran out of cornerbacks last week. Relying on the "it takes one to know one" axiom, they lined up Troy Brown to cover Eric Moulds yesterday. Troy Brown now has his first NFL interception. When this is happening you might want to just hang em up.

The Giants couldn't block, couldn't tackle, couldn't pass, and couldn't manage the game. The Cards couldn't tackle Tiki, couldn't pass the rock to save their lives, and ...well, that's only 2 things they really sucked at, so that's why they won. Emmitt Smith scored 2 touchdowns today in another solid performance...defying age. This was like a close game that just did not want to happen. The Giants rolled up to a 14-3 lead during the second quarter with scores by Tiki Barber and Jeremy Shockey. Emmitt Smith scored a touchdown with only 44 seconds left in the first half and then again at the end of the third quarter to take the lead 17-14. And then neither team crossed midfield for the fourth quarter. The Giants lost in spite of having no turnovers, out passing the Cards 193 to 91 yards and out running them 147 to 104 yards.

If you thought the Rams-Seahawks game was hard to watch, this matchup was about the same only without the field goals. The Bengals scored two touchdowns by two minutes into the second quarter and then only one field goal the following 43 minutes which was, as it ended up, plenty enough to win. It finally happened though. After Mark Brunell had completed 1 of 8 passes for six yards and one interception, Patrick Ramsey was finally called into play mid-way into the second quarter. This was the sleeper game of the week...not sleeper as in surprise pick, but sleeper as in that was what you wished you were doing instead of watching it. Carson Palmer managed 1 short little flip to Tony Stewart and that was about it. Rudi Johnson had a solid game hanging 100 yards and a score on the board. Clinton Portis was beyond disappointing only totaling 81 yards rushing against one of the worst run D's in the league.

Green Bay Vs Minnesota Wins Game of The Week – Hands Down. Tons of offense, last minute drama and finally, the team I wanted to win, won. Favre and the Packers jumped out in this game like they were going to absolutely stomp the Vikes. Favre connected with Javon Walker on a sweet 50 yard touchdown grab. (Note to self: Javon Walker is now officially an elite WR in the NFL). Ahman Green was ripping through the Vikes with ease and Favre had 3 td's by the half. Of course at home, Favre needed to make amends to the fans after dropping three games at Lambeau Field this season. On the kickoff with the game tied in the fourth quarter, Robert Ferguson blazed upfield until reaching the 46-yard line where he was stripped of the ball. Replay indicated that a Viking player was on top of the ball when it was last sighted. The next time it appeared was when the referee took it from rookie tight end/special teamer Ben "I Have a great name" Steele and awarded the ball to the Packers. One pass went to Tony Fisher for 25 yards to the MIN 29-yard line. After bleeding the clock to 37 seconds, Favre hit Bubba Franks for 7 yards and then Green ran for seven more to the MIN 15-yard line where Longwell split the uprights as time expired.

Now get back to work!!!

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