Fantasy Football Studs & Duds

QB Reports: Ok Payton Manning owners, you can all take a deep breath now. Some fantasy owners were actually considering benching Peyton Manning for this week after a two-game TD outage. But the "real" Manning returned at Tennessee to throw four TD passes. His kid brother was also on fire hooking up with Plaxico all over the damn field. Through four weeks of the season, Eli Manning is the more valuable fantasy quarterback than Peyton Manning. That seems hard to believe, especially after Peyton finally had another vintage performance in picking apart the Titans on Sunday. Brother Eli and brother Payton combined for eight TD passes on Sunday. With Eli already showing a nifty ability to carve up inferior secondaries when he faces them, he's put up amazing numbers in his last 2 games. He has thrown six TD passes and totaled 648 yards against the Chargers and Rams.

Donovan McNabb injured his chest and later was diagnosed with a painful sports hernia. In the three games since his health became an issue, he has thrown for 342, 365 and 369 yards with a total of 10 touchdowns in only three games. Perhaps the defensive game plans should remove all blitzes so McNabb can get healthy again and give the rest of the league a chance. For the second straight week, Jake Plummer has led the Broncos to a win despite so-so fantasy stats. He did throw two TD passes, both short ones to tight end Dwayne Carswell. David Carr played a little bit better this week, going for 174 yards and a TD, but he still hasn't developed a rapport with Andre Johnson. Finally my .02c on Aaron Brooks. Dude can play. Against a tough Buffalo D and without his top wideout Horn he put the game on his shoulders and played great. Don't dump him from your teams just yet.

Running Backs Report: Well the Pats D was no match for an emerging San Diego Offense this week. Losing for the first time in forever at Foxboro. LT rank like wild fire as the Bolts won for the 2nd week in a row, and their offense is coming alive. They kept pace with the Broncos who won on the road, and they pulled even with the Chiefs in the AFC West. Even the raiders won behind a strong rushing performance by Lamont Jordan. His 148yds was definatly needed to hold off a tough Cowboys team. He showed he can carry the Raiders offense if needed, which is a plus for fantasy owners.

Corey Dillon had a better yards-per-carry average this week and scored a TD, but he didn't have many chances to carry the ball with the Patriots playing from behind late. Another something of note, for you TD league guys, T.J. Duckett has scored a touchdown in all four games this season. Tiki Barber continues to do well in the revamped NYG offense. With Shockey and Burress occupying the safeties Barber is showing good burst getting by the front 4. If this keeps up Barber should continue to run for 100 yards and a touchdown most weeks.

For Denver Mike Anderson notched a 115 yard effort here but Tatum Bell had 60 yards as well to prove that you cannot rely on any Denver back being the full-time runner this year. In Minnesota Culpepper's best receiving target seems to be Mewelde Moore (six catches for 63 yards on Sunday), and that has to change in a major way before the Week 6 game at Chicago. Moore will be OK in leagues that award points for catches. You must know your leagues point scoring though. If you don't, well, you should find another hobby. As for the 3 hour piece of boring football that is the Ravens vs Jets, well, Jamal Lewis faced a Jets defense that was geared to stop him, yet he still finished with a respectable 81 yards overall and did score on a one-yard run. Lewis averaged only 2.8 yards per carry, but he ran with more of a burst than he did in the first two games, and looked healthier with more time to rest from early-season ankle and finger problems.

Wideouts Report: There's a new WEEKLY must play stud emerging in New York. Yes the town that hasn't had a STUD wideout since, well Mark Bavaro. Now the G-Men are throwing Shockey, Toomer, and the 200 yd STUD Plaxico Burress at opposing D-Backs. This trend should continue with the emergence of Eli Manning in his 2nd year. Do NOT bench Plaxico from here on out, regardless of matchup. Toomer's TD on Sunday was his first in 19 regular season games – he last scored in Week 17 of 2003. Did you start Marvin this week? Marvin Harrison had 109 yards and two scores on 9 catches. While Reggie Wayne and Edgerrin James also caught touchdowns, from the other Manning. People who have been doubting Harrison before this week are surely back on his bandwagon again.

The extra emphasis on stopping the run allowed Brian Griese to burn the Lions via the pass. He threw 39 times and connected with Joey Galloway seven times for a healthy 166 yards and a TD. Last week Joey scored two TDs against Green Bay so I'm sure you scooped him up in your weekly waivers, but I still feel inclined to mention that this guy can flat-out fly. T.O. was being covered man to man by a cocky Chiefs D and he was open all day. On a couple passes there wasn't a Chiefs d-back within 5 yards of him. How does the Eagles biggest weapon on offense get that open? A: Gunther Cunningham is overrated as a coach. In just 2 weeks we see the hype that is the Chiefs is starting to faid yet again. Denver and San Diego once again are the top teams in the AFC West. It's funny how Kevin Curtis finally gets a start – filling in for the injured Isaac Bruce – and three of his fellow receivers end up with more receptions and yards. Curtis did catch a respectable six passes for 78 yards, but Torry Holt, Shaun McDonald and Dane Looker all wound up as better fantasy plays. Damn You Martz!!!! Play Rams WR's vs the Hawks next week.

Finally, Viva La Mexico!!!!! Josh McCown found his rythym and found an open Fitzgerald and Bolden all night. The 2 stud Wideouts both had great games but don't read to much into this. They were playing against a PopWarner defensive backfield banged up by injuries and missing 3 out of 4 starters.

Tight Ends Report - All I have to say is where is Tony Gonzalez. 1 catch 1 yard, till the 4th qtr? What is up with that? He had 100+ catches last year. Trent Green pull your head out of your A$$ and find your best playmaker. Chiefs should consider bringing back Johnnie Morton, because Sammie Parker flat out sucks. Is Freddie Mitchell stilla around? LJ Smith was once again a big target for McNabb and is now a weekly TE starter. Shockey caught a TD, as did Crumpler, but as for Heap and Gonzo....oh my. A bunch of other TE's had decent weeks, but they are all no-names and probably won't do what they did this weekend ever again.

Promotions For Our Top Online Sportsbooks Nine.com Click the image to check out our Football Sportsbooks Online football promotions. Then check back often to take advantage of the many new promotions to come! In order to begin wagering, you need to make a deposit with them.

Fantasy Dud News: J.P. Losman was benched late in the game in favor of Kelly Holcomb, who didn't do a whole lot during his stint. That means Losman is still the starter, but at this point, you don't want him, Holcomb or the Bills receivers. The Brooks Bollinger era started in expected fashion (14-28, 149 yards in a loss to the Ravens). It also wasn't surprising that Baltimore was able to shut down Curtis Martin, who hasn't done much this year but was expected to carry more of the load. With the Bucs up next, it's best to avoid starting your Jets as much as possible. Deion Branch remarkably had no catches and no Patriot wideout managed more than the 66 yards by Givens. Playing at home, the Patriots had little offense or defense.

Drew Bledoe is decent but overrated: On the final Dallas play, Bledsoe threw an incompletion to Terry Glenn and did not notice that Jason Witten was standing wide open - in the endzone.

The Detroit defense decided to show up this week and sadly gave Cadillac Williams a hamstring strain that ended the historic start to his career. Williams only had 13 yards on 11 carries and Michael Pittman made the most of his playing time when he gained 30 yards on five carries and added six catches for 96 yards and one score from 41 yards out.

Other Week 4 Fantasy Football Duds

Carnell Williams, RB, Buccaneers 11 carries, 13 yards
Joey Harrington, Lions: 15-27, 137 yards
J.P. Losman, Bills: 7-15, 75 yards, 1 INT; 4 carries, 38 yards
Chris Brown, Titans: 10 carries, 31 yards; 2 catches, 17 yards
Curtis Martin, Jets: 13 carries, 30 yards; 3 catches, 15 yards
Fred Taylor, Jaguars: 8 carries, 14 yards; 1 catch, 13 yards
Drew Bennett, Titans: 2 catches, 20 yards
Deion Branch, Patriots: 1 catch, 6 yards
Michael Clayton, Buccaneers: 2 catches, 11 yards
Laveranues Coles, Jets: 1 catch, 16 yards
Tony Gonzalez, Chiefs: 2 catches, 5 yards
Andre Johnson, Texans: 3 catches, 38 yards
Keyshawn Johnson, Cowboys: 1 catch, 16 yards
Eric Moulds, Bills: 2 catches, 17 yards
Charles Rogers, Lions: 1 catch, 15 yards
Rod Smith, Broncos: 4 catches, 33 yards

Reasons to watch the Monday Night Game:

1. Steve Smith - This guy has all the talent to be a top 5 fantasy wideout, and should put up big numbers on the Packs weak D.

2. Brett Favre - What can boy wonder do to bring his team back to respectability. An 0-4 start wouldn't be good at all. 1-3 is not much better, but, it is a little.

3. Jake Delhomme - With a balanced attack featuring the 2 headed monster of Stephen Davis and Deshaun Foster, and decent wideouts after Steve Smith like Gardner and Colbert Jake should have a great game.

4. Matchup - The Packers have spent the vast majority of their three games playing catch-up, which has led to seven interceptions from QB Brett Favre . A big problem has been the sputtering run game, but look for the Packers to use 6-foot-4, 330-pound OT Kevin Barry lining up as an extra blocking tight end to attempt to recreate the 47-carry, 152-yard rushing performance they produced against Carolina last season. The Panthers have offensive balance that will pose serious problems for the Packers, so it's vital for Green Bay to control the clock. The Panthers have yet to get WRs Steve Smith and Keary Colbert untracked in the same game, but QB Jake Delhomme will no doubt attack struggling CBs Joey Thomas and/or Ahmad Carroll when they're in the game. Still, the game could hinge on Panthers RB Stephen Davis , who is off to a strong start, going against a Packers run defense allowing just 3.3 yards per carry.

FAST FACTS: Packers: Have started 0-3 seven previous times and rebounded to finish with a winning record just once (1922). ... Lead the series 6-2 and are 4-1 at Carolina. ... 24-20-1 on Monday nights. Panthers: 2-2 on Monday nights. ... Delhomme needs 241 passing yards to become the fastest player in franchise history to 8,000.