Andre Johnson has a great matchup to have another monster week.- Rankings: ESPN, Rotoworld, CBS Sports, NFL.Com, Bruno Boys, Mac Bros., KFFL, Junkyard Jake, Yahoo.
- Projections: ESPN, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, Sports Illustrated, Draftmix, Fantasy Sharks, Fantasy Football Xtreme.
- Injuries To Watch: Brian Westbrook(Update: Active), Steven Jackson(Update: OUT), Willie Parker(Update: OUT), Joseph Addai(Update: OUT), Warrick Dunn(Update: Active), Darren McFadden(Update: OUT), LaMont Jordan(Update: OUT), Plaxico Burress(Update: Won't Start, May Not Play. Disciplinary), Anquan Boldin(Update: Active), Laveranues Coles(Update: Active), Jerricho Cotchery(Update: Active), Deion Branch(Update: OUT), Reggie Brown(Update: OUT), Joey Galloway(Update: Active), Chris Chambers(Update: Active), Jeremy Shockey(Update: Active), Derrick Mason(Update: Active).
- Roger Rotter has his "Top 10 Sleepers" for week 8 at Fox Sports. He also wrote an article for the "Top 10 Moves You Must Make" for this week.
- Imaginary Gridiron has week 8 free agent profiles for QB, RB, and WR.
- Matt Pitzer's "Studs, duds, and sleepers" at USA Today.
- "Bringin' The Noise" from Brad Evans of Yahoo.
- If you don't like reading, and if so you won't see this, The Scores Report has a week 8 podcast.
- Matthew Berry's week 8 "Love/Hate" from ESPN.
- SportsRoids has their "Free Agent Strategy".
- Last minute decisions?
Week 8's Best...
QB: Drew Brees. 12 TD in the first 6 games, 0 last week. Look for him to get back on track against the Chargers, who currently have the league's worst-ranked pass defense.
RB: Clinton Portis. The Redskins' RB has 20+ fantasy points in each of his last 3 games. Oh, and he's facing the Lions. This is the no-brainer play of the week.
WR: Andre Johnson. I love watching this guy play. He's a beast and maybe the most underrated wideout in the game. In receptions leagues, he's tearing it up, with 3 straight games of at least 9 catches. He also has 3 straight games over 130 yards receiving. Now he'll be facing a crappy Bengals defense, so his success should continue.
TE: Antonio Gates. Although he has 4 TD's on the year, he's yet to have the Antonio Gates blow-up games that we usually see a few times a year. I predict he has one this week, in a game that should be a shootout at New Orleans.
K: Matt Bryant. Bryant has at least 2 field goals in all but 1 game this season. Add in that his Bucs will be facing a banged up Dallas defense, and he should get at least a few extra point opportunities as well.
D/ST: Baltimore Ravens. Arguably the best defense in the league, at home against a 23rd ranked Raiders offense with a young quarterback.
Sleeper Picks...
QB: Jeff Garcia. Threw for 310 yards last week, and now faces the Dallas secondary full of injuries. Maybe he doesn't throw for 310 yards again, but should be a solid play at least. Remember, he was just starting to get into the groove of his offense last week after being behind Brian Griese on the depth chart for a few weeks. Now he should feel better and better each game out.
RB: BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Who? Trust me, I said the same thing. Well he had a touchdown Monday night, and it appears he could be starting for the Patriots this week with Sammy Morris and LaMont Jordan both likely out. It sounds like Belichick wants to use Kevin Faulk in the same role he's always used, so this dude could be the feature back at least this week. If you need a running back, this guy should get some touches this week, although it's unknown how well he'll do.
WR: Josh Morgan. The rookie out of Virginia Tech had 5 catches, 86 yards, and his first-career TD Sunday at the Giants. Now he has a great matchup against the Seahawks at home, and should be starting.
TE: Billy Miller. Jeremy Shockey's status is up in the air for Sunday's game against the Chargers, but Miller should still have a solid game regardless. Miller has at least 3 catches in each of the last 4 games, and as I mentioned earlier, the Chargers are ranked last in the NFL in pass defense.
K: Joe Nedney. The 49ers' kicker has attempted 17 field goals on the year already, converting 15 of them. Look for at least a few more attempts this week, as the 49ers should move the ball well on the Seahawks.
D/ST: Patriots. The Patriots defense appears to be getting their swagger back, and dominated a powerful Broncos offense Monday night. Now they take on a St. Louis offense that is finally showing some signs of life, but I definitely like the Patriots in that matchup, especially at home. If Steven Jackson is out, they're a top-5 defense this week.
Shit Picks...
QB: Matt Ryan. Going into a hostile Philadelphia environment, against a defense ranked 10th in the league versus the pass... I just don't see him doing much. Then again, I didn't expect him to tear apart the Bears defense like he did.
RB: Dominic Rhodes. The coverboy of the Week 7 Fantasy Football Roundup doesn't appear to be a good play this week. Tennessee has a terrific run defense, and they'll be pumped up to try and really separate themselves from the Colts in the AFC South, in front of their home crowd.
WR: Bobby Engram. A solid receiver without a quarterback. Normally he's a safe play that will get you a handful of catches and maybe a TD. With Seneca Wallace at QB, I'm not going to even predict a catch.
TE: Marcedes Lewis. He has touchdowns in each of the last two games, so he's due for a turdly showing.
K: Adam Vinatieri. Not expecting the Colts to get many scoring opportunities this week. I'm even benching Peyton Manning.
D/ST: Chargers. As I've already explained a couple times... worst-ranked pass D, against Drew Brees and the top-ranked pass O.
As always, I'll add any good links as they show up on the web. E-mail me at sharapovasthigh@gmail.com if you have an article I should link. Also, feel free to critique any of my picks or rip on my awful picks from previous weeks.
