Week 3 fantasy football thoughts

Did your fantasy football team get destroyed by the one-man wrecking crew known as Wes Welker? Luckily for me, I only went against Welker in one league and was able to enjoy him doing the wrecking on opponents in several others.

Wes Welker was a one-man wrecking crew in Week 3

Another week of NFL action is largely in the books, and what a weekend it was. The New York Jets forgot how to play run defense, the Minnesota Vikings gave up their third consecutive first-half lead to fall to 0-3, the Buffalo Bills stunned the New England Patriots and Tom Brady threw as many picks (four) as he did in 16 games last season! And those are just a few of Sunday's highlights. Oh, league parity ... you evil, yet delightful weekly occurrence.

The fantasy football season remains young, but each passing week becomes more and more critical in the W column. If you are likely to start 0-3, don't become too discouraged. There is still time to turn the season around! On the flip side, if you're 3-0, don't start becoming so comfortable you're not paying close attention to your league's waiver wire each week.

Gut Feeling

San Diego Chargers running back Ryan Mathews has quietly taken over as the feature back in the San Diego system. While Mike Tolbert will still steal some touches and work on third down, the team seems to be comfortable enough with Mathews to rely on him during most situations. He even saw work at the goal line against the Chiefs, which is a major positive if it continues. In Week 1, Tolbert had the 21-15 advantage on touches, but Mathews has started to separate himself since. Mathews had 25 touches to Tolbert's seven in Week 3, and has a plus-20 touch advantage over the last two weeks. Tap your mouse here for more »

Week 2 fantasy football thoughts

I watch a lot of football; maybe to the point where it's unhealthy (so what if I forgot to eat or feed the dogs). Not only do I have several games going on TV and the various Red Zone channels flashing all of the teams in scoring range, I also have Sirius radio going in the background. Now I've advanced to the point where I'm watching DirecTV's NFL Ticket on my iPad, too. It is almost information overload, so you'll have to forgive me if I'm still twitching on Monday and Tuesday.

Newton has posted monster stats through two games

There have been some good games already this year, but I have to say it may take awhile for one to top the Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders battle during Week 2. The game was fantastic. It's almost as if the Bills knew I picked them to win in my pick 'em challenges and didn't want to let me down. It was an exciting, on the edge of your seat kind of game; a very positive showing from two less than dominating teams.

Gut Feel

It was another unbelievable showing by Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Cam Newton. Throw out the interceptions today against the Green Bay Packers, Newton is showing the poise and leadership of a player years beyond his freshman experience. Throw out everything you thought entering the season, Newton is one of those players who elevate his level of play -- and those of everyone around him -- on game day. I have just as a hard time writing it as you do buying it. Tap your mouse here for more »

Week 1 fantasy football thoughts

It is a damn good feeling to have football back in full swing. Sunday was spent with multiple televisions, every football game, thousands of plays, lots of cursing and more hamburgers than my diet should ever allow.

Will Ryan Mathews be given more opportunities to shine?

Week 1 is almost in the books, and it was an exciting start to the 2011 season. The Green Bay Packersand New Orleans Saints kicked it all off with a bang. Unfortunately, I have yet to see the game outside of highlights due to a power outage that Southern California dealt with just a few hours before kickoff. The Bonini Cloud strikes again!

Speaking of the Bonini Cloud, I was reminded tonight of how frustrating it is to outscore all of the teams in your league except the one you're playing against. Oh, how I despise head-to-head league formats.

It may have been a costly Week 1 for fantasy football teams, too. Sam Bradford (finger/hand), Steven Jackson (thigh), Marques Colston (collarbone) and Danny Amendola (dislocated elbow) are just a few of the players who may miss some time. Be sure to keep an eye on Hot off the Wire for the latest on the injury front heading into Week 2.

Gut Feel

Mike Tolbert had a career day during Week 1, rushing for a touchdown and catching two others, but second-year running back Ryan Mathewsisn't far away from getting his chance to shine. Both backs had 12 rushing attempts, and Mathews made good on his for 45 yards rushing while Tolbert had 35. In the receiving game, Tolbert led the Chargerswith nine receptions. It just looks funny seeing such a big, bruising back being a finesse, third-down option out of the backfield ... but he is doing a good job with it. Mathews, however, also chipped in as a receiver, catching three balls for 73 yards. Mathews has a much higher ceiling, he just needs to play his way into the trust of the coaching staff to be given some opportunities to get into the end zone. Either way, I'm not unhappy with 108 yards of offense on 15 touches -- the lack of touchdowns hurts so don't think I'm ignoring it. Tolbert suffered a knee injury, so the Chargers might be pressed into giving Mathews the bulk of the touches soon.  When/if they do, he needs to stay healthy and hold onto the football to win them over. Stay tuned. Tap your mouse here for more »

High-upside fantasy football wide receivers

The final fantasy football drafts of the preseason are going down in the next couple of days. Now is the time to take some chances.

Jacoby Jones ready to break out

Winning in fantasy football leagues is never an easy task. You need to be informed, you need to have a strong draft and having lady luck on your side never hurts. You also need to target players late in your draft -- call them deep sleepers, if you will -- that have the potential to far exceed potential.

A year ago, had you drafted quarterback Michael Vick, running back LeGarrette Blount, and wide receiver Stevie Johnson in the final rounds of your draft, you probably would had a successful fantasy season. All three players were high-upside options, yet all three options were very low risk based off of where you could have selected them in your fantasy football draft.

Which wide receivers should you take late-round fliers on in 2011? The following list of players has low average draft positions and should strongly be considered for back-end spots on your fantasy roster -- I'm talking No. 5, No. 6, No. 7 receiver types. Tap your mouse here for more »