Also, as early as next week, we may test out a live blog on Sunday and possibly Saturday. Nothing is set in stone, but we wanted to give you a heads up that it may happen.

Once again, we apologize for our absence. We will be back at full force again soon.

Just as I had thought, the Tennessee Titans announced earlier today that QB Vince Young will start this week agains the Jacksonville Jaguars.

I expect Young to impress this week against a weak Jags defense that is ranked second to last against the pass. Young is a sexy yet risky fantasy play. He may not be worth a fantasy start but stash him away on your bench for the time being.

This move doesn’t affect Chris Johnson at all, continue to use him as you normally would.

As for the Titans WR’s Nate Washington is a good flex play this week if he is healthy for the game. If Washington can’t go, Kenny Britt would be a good fantasy start because of the match up.

Also, if you need a tight end either because of a bye week or an injury Bo Scaife could vulture a few goal line touchdowns, against a weak pass defense.

Any of the above guys are decent fantasy starts. In a game featuring the worst two pass defenses in the NFL it’s likely to be a shootout with a lot of passing.

Injuries and bye-weeks can be killers to fantasy squads if you don’t have good depth. If you don’t, the waiver wire can be your best friend as there is gold to be found on it every week.

If you are in need for a decent one week replacement, look no farther. I’ve constructed the following list of four deep sleepers for you.

Marcedes Lewis

The first time the Jaguars played the Titans this season Marcedes Lewis posted season-high numbers catching four passes for 76 yards and one touchdown. The Titans are the worst team against the pass this year with 310 passing yards allowed per game on average.

Lewis is a big target for David Garrard to throw to making him a good red zone threat. Don’t be surprised if Marcedes Lewis vultures a touchdown or two near the goal line.

Lewis is only owned in 7.7 percent of ESPN Fantasy Football Leagues so chances are he’s available if you need him (I’m looking at you Chris Cooley owners).
Brian Hartline

With Ted Ginn reportedly back in Bill Parcels’ “dog house” head coach Tony Sparano has said that WR Brian Hartline can expect more playing time. It has also been reported that he was practicing with the first team offense earlier today.

Last week Hartline hauled in three passes totaling 94 yards. This week he is going to have to make an impact if he wants to keep his new starting job.

Hartline is owned in 0.4 percent of ESPN Fantasy Football Leagues, he is worth a flier at the least.
Jason Snelling

With Jerious Norwood out again this week (and probably a few more weeks) Jason Snelling’s fantasy value is as high as it’s going to get with Michael Turner healthy.

Snelling poses as a decent pass catching threat out of the backfield and can also break away with a few big runs here and there when he gets the carries. Last week he had seven carries totaling 68 yards (nearly ten YPC). Back in week two when Norwood missed his first game of the season, Snelling scored off a dump off pass near the goal line.

Other than that there isnt’ much of a chance at all he vultures any of Michael Turners goal line carries. He has sleeper potential but I wouldn’t recommend starting him unless you’re in a deeper league and need a flex play.

Snelling is owned in 0.3 percent of ESPN Fantasy Football Leagues.

James Jones

Jones can be a hit or miss guy because his value comes in his big play potential. But, the Vikings won’t have Antoine Winfield once again, most likely and Jordy Nelson is going to be out a few more weeks with a knee sprain. So that leaves James Jones as the number three WR.

Jones has had two touchdowns in the past two games with Jordy Nelson out. Aaron Rodgers spreads the ball out so being number three WR on the Packers doesn’t make you irrelevant whatsoever. My outlook for Jones this week is a good amount of yardage (50-60) and atleast one touchdown. Not bad numbers at all for a flex play.

Jones is owned in 0.7 percent of ESPN Fantasy Football Leagues.

That’s it for this weeks edition of deep sleepers, check back next week for more deep sleepers.

RotoWorld says:

“Brown is almost certainly going to miss this week’s game against the Niners, and it’s not looking good for next week either. Mike Hart will be active this week and is expected to handle backup duties over Chad Simpson. Joseph Addai could see a slight increase in carries as well.”

This sure does boosts Joseph Addai’s fantasy value a bit but Mike Hart is still irrelevant; leave him on the waiver wire.  Hart could a decent flier option in deep leagues, that is all for now.

Check back later in the week as more information becomes available regarding Brown’s playing status.

Cooley has already had successful surgery on his ankle and had three pins inserted. The foot specialist he had visited determined that the injury was not as serious as once thought.

Cooley will no longer be placed on the IR and should be stashed away your bench if you own him. Be sure to pick him up if he is dropped, as well.

This has all been confirmed by Chris Cooley via his twitter account.

This is a new idea for a series of mine. Definitely one that I would like to be able to keep up with also. The name of the article says it all, really. Each week I will showcase one player that is available on most leagues’ waiver wire that shouldn’t be there.

Here is my top pick-up for week eight.:

Jamaal Charles (owned in four percent of ESPN leagues)

With the Chiefs “banning” Larry Johnson from team activities, back-up RB Jamaal Charles is now practicing with the first team.  The Chiefs are in the process of of investigating Johnson’s comments which will most likely result in a suspension by the organization

Todd Haley was recently heard saying that Charles is “starting to get it” and Charles is “growing on him”. Charles is a speedy back that has good hands out of the backfield if he impresses the coaches he’s good for 15-20 touches a game and there is always the threat of a long touchdown with his big play potential.

He is worth a flier at the least, so if he is available in your league which he probably is, pick him up.

Check back next week to see week nine’s pick-up.

The injury requires six-to-eight weeks to heal but Zorn says he will place Cooley on injured reserve which would end his season.

With Cooley out, Fred Davis steps in to the first offense. Davis looked impressive last night against the Eagles catching eight passes for 78 yards including a touchdown. If you are in need of a tight end this week or even the rest of the season, Davis should be a nice play.

This is bad news for Clinton Portis owners. One of the main problems for the Skins thus far has been blocking and Cooley is a much better blocker than Davis.

Check back later in the week for more breaking news and fantasy tips.

During the first quarter of the Jets game in Oakland today, Leon Washington suffered a pretty bad leg injury. He was carted off the field and could not put weight on the injured leg.

A league source has reported that Leon fractured his fibula and will miss the remainder of the season. The bone reportedly broke the skin so he will have surgery in Oakland to avoid an infection.

The surgery will require a recovery time of 12 weeks, meaning he will be back at full strength next season. This gives rookie Shonn Greene a chance to make an impact.

After Washington left the game, Greene recorded 19 carries and made the most of his first real chance. He gained 144 yards on the ground and added two rushing touchdowns.

This was against a below-average team, but Greene could still be a nice play in deeper leagues for the remainder of the season.

Edwards might also miss week eight according to rotoworld. This is what they have to say:

Trent Edwards (concussion) has been ruled out for Week 7. Edwards never seemed close to practicing this week, indicating that he’s no sure thing to play in Week 8 either. The Bills then go on a bye in Week 9.

Ryan Fitzpatrick will get his first start of the season this week against the Panthers. Fitzpatrick is one of my deep sleepers for this week, snag him off the waiver wire in a deep league if you need a QB.

Check back later for more information regarding Trent Edwards and many other players’ week seven status.

With each week in the National Football League comes the usual surprises and disappointments. Whether it’s the powerhouse teams taking a fall or the bottom-feeders making a push, these week-to-week storylines are what make the sport so popular. The same goes for the players. One standout performance can eternally lift a player’s fantasy value from waiver-wire pick-up to possible flex starter (see Kevin Curtis), and vice versa. This week, we dig into the week four stat lines, analyze the best and worst showings from the weekend, and determine how they impact the player’s value.

Studs

We begin in Pittsburgh with second-year runningback Rashad Mendenhall. The Illinios alum racked up the best rushing performance of his young career when he exploded for 165 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries. Coming into the week, the most carries Mendenhall had received in a single game was 10. Willie Parker’s toe injury (a blessing in disguise)  gave Mendy the opportunity he needed to burst onto the fantasy scene. So how will this breakout game affect his fantasy status? Well, he is certainly worth picking up during waivers (owned in just 37.3% of ESPN leagues), but is he worth a starting spot? Not yet. Give him another week. If Willie Parker misses even more time against the Detroit Lions this week and Mendenhall goes off for another 100+ yard performance, he may be worth some consideration for a start in the flex slot. In deep leagues, he may be worth a start as early as this week if Parker doesn’t play.

David Garrard is our number two stud of week four. After passing for just two touchdowns and failing to pass for more than 300 yards in his first three games, Garrard threw for 323 yards and three touchdowns in a 37-17 drubbing of the Tennessee Titans. It’s difficult to expect above average numbers from Garrard on a game-to-game basis, considering the lack of overpowering receivers, but he is still a talented quarterback, nonetheless. Like most, he will have his fair share of standout performances, but that doesn’t change his fantasy value. We see the same thing from Garrard every year–consistently average production with a few great games sprinkled in–and that shouldn’t change anytime soon. He remains a solid back-up and a starter in deeper leagues.

Our final stud this week is the one and only, Brett Favre. When looking around the rest of the league, it becomes clear that Favre didn’t exactly have an amazing week. He only passed for 271 yards, which was good for eighth in the league (his counterpart, Aaron Rodgers, threw for 384 yards). Yet, he appears on this list because nearly everyone thinks he had such a terrific week. The largest regular season cable audience in NFL history was stuck listening to the constant love and admiration for Favre from Jon Gruden and Ron Jaworski. They even called Favre’s night “one of the best of his career” at one point in the broadcast. I doubt that , but let’s move on. What does this career highlighting performance mean for Favre’s fantasy worth? Not much. He didn’t score many more points than he did in week three, and even then his stock didn’t rise. He remains a fantasy starter on most teams, but still not what I consider to be a top-five option each week.

Duds

Tony Romo leads off our “Duds” of week four. December came early this year for Romo, who again failed to produce when it mattered most–late in the game in the redzone. While he did pass for 255 yards, Mr. Clutch failed to throw a touchdown pass, was intercepted once, and fumbled the ball twice. Most years, this wouldn’t mean much in regards to his fantasy value. Yet, this is the second straight week in which he has failed to throw a touchdown, and he only threw one in week two (when he also threw three interceptions). Three lackluster performances in a row warrant cause for concern for Romo owners. If Romo isn’t able to give you his usual top-ten production from months September-November, then what is he good for? We already know that you can’t rely on him during your fantasy playoffs, so the regular season is all he has. Give him a few more weeks to get it together. If he doesn’t, consider benching him for a safer, more consistent quarterback.

Julius Jones finds himself on this list after rushing for a measly 25 yards on 11 carries. After putting together two very solid games in weeks one and three, Jones gave his owners a reason to believe that he isn’t completely worthless. His poor week four performance doesn’t change that, but it does give his owners less confidence when inserting Jones into their starting lineups. In deeper leagues, he is still worth a start on most teams. For the rest of you, wait to see how he does against an average Jacksonville team before placing him back in your lineup.

We end our journey in New Orleans with Marques Colston. With Drew Brees at the helm, you expect more than two catches for 33 yards, especially since he was targeted six times. But this isn’t the first week we see Marques failing to produce. The closest he has been to 100 yards was 98 in week 2. In weeks one, three, and four, he accumulated just 30, 67, and 33 yards, respectively. Even more alarming is the lack of receptions for Colston (3 in week one, 4 in week three, and 2 in week four). Is there too many weapons in New Orleans for him to succeed week in and week out? That’s what it looks like. It’s not like Marques Colston is no longer a top-15 fantasy receiver. But, we may not see those top-15 results as much as we expected coming into the season. For now, leave Colston in your lineup unless you have a more reliable, consistent receiver.