Fantasy football's top plays

Week 5 in the NFL will see football’s most controversial player, Terrell Owens, return to Philly and the Niners and the Raiders square off in the battle of the bay.

One thing of note, make sure you are staying top of the week’s injury report because last week lineups were burned when studs like Brian Westbrook (sorry Rob) and Ahman Green (sorry Phil) were late scratches.

So let that be your disclaimer, this week’s top plays are…

QB 1. P. Manning (IND) vs. TEN – Lookout Titans. 2. D. McNabb (PHI) vs. DAL – League’s MVP so far. 3. M. Bulger (STL) vs. GB – Starting to get hot and will only get hotter this here. 4. J. Delhomme (CAR) vs. CLE – Return of Superman helps him significantly. 5. E. Manning (NYG) vs. WAS – Should bounce back after bye. 6. D. Bledsoe (DAL) vs. PHI – Eagles D in for it. 7. T. Brady (NE) vs. MIA – Captain America has no trouble this weak against struggling Dolphins. 8. R. Grossman (CHI) vs. BUF – Bears will roll again. 9. M. Brunell (WAS) vs. NYG – Giants D can’t stop anyone this year. 10. B. Favre (GB) vs. STL – Looking like the old Favre. Honorable Mentions – B. Leftwich (JAC) vs. NYJ, A. Smith (SF) vs. OAK, C.Frye (CLE) vs. CAR, B. Johnson (MIN) vs. DET, D. Brees (NO) vs. TB, J. Kitna (DET) vs. MIN

RB 1. L. Johnson (KC) vs. ARI – LJ gets a huge day in the desert. 2. C. Portis (WAS) vs. NYG – Shoulder injury no longer an issue. 3. S. Jackson (STL) vs. GB – NFC leading rusher against a weak D. 4. T. Barber (NYG) vs. WAS – Should get a lot of touches and first TD in this shootout. 5. L. Tomlinson (SD) vs. PIT – Tough match-up for league’s best RB, but always a must start. 6. C. Taylor (MIN) vs. DET – Lions front is tough, but will usual 20+ carries. 7. F. Gore (SF) vs. OAK – Needs to quit fumbling, and not lose anymore touches. 8. L. Jordan (OAK) vs. SF – He is the Oakland offense, but that’s not saying much. 9. K. Jones (DET) vs. MIN – Mike Martz offense paying off for Jones. 10. B. Westbrook (PHI) vs. DAL – If he plays he’ll put up a lot of points, but that’s a big if. Honorable Mentions -- T. Jones (CHI) vs. BUF, D. Foster vs. (CLE), R. Brown (MIA) vs. NE, Parker (PIT) vs SD, J. Addai (IND) vs. TEN

WR 1. M. Harrison (IND) vs. TEN – Lack of running game has boosted his numbers this year. 2. T. Holt (STL) vs. GB – Things are clicking for the S-T-L. 3. S. Smith (CAR) vs. CLE – Superman is back. 4. S. Moss (WAS) vs. NYG – Giants D can’t stop top WRs like Moss. 5. R. Williams (DET) vs. MIN – Kitna is throwing it his way 10 times a game on average. 6. P. Burress (NYG) vs. WAS – Offensive shootouts bode well for Plaxxy. 7. T. Owens (DAL) vs. PHI – TO looking to make Eagles pay for trading him. 8. L. Fitzgerald (ARI) vs. KC – Leinhart starts, good news or bad news? 9. R. Wayne (IND) vs. TEN – Stokley is non-existent which is good news for Wayne. 10. T. Glenn (DAL) vs. PHI – TO commands a lot of attention and Glenn is taking full advantage. Honorable Mentions -- L. Coles (NYJ) vs. JAC, A. Boldin (ARI) vs. KC, A. Bryant (SF) vs. OAK, R. Moss (OAK) vs. SF, G. Jennings (GB) vs. STL, B. Berrian (CHI) vs. BUF, M. Colston (NO) vs. TB

TE 1. K. Winslow (CLE) vs. CAR, 2. L.J. Smith (PHI) vs. DAL 3. J. Shockey (NYG) vs. WAS, 4. T. Gonzalez (KC) vs. ARI, 5. E. Johnson (SF) vs. OAK, 6. A. Gates (SD) vs. PIT, 7. D. Clark (IND) vs. TEN, 8. D. Clark (CHI) vs. BUF, 9. B. Watson (NE) vs. MIA, 10. C. Cooley (WAS) vs. NYG

K 1. J. Wilkins (STL) vs. GB, 2. R. Gould (CHI) vs. BUF, 3. J. Carney (NO) vs TB, 4. R. Longwell (MIN) vs. DET, 5. J. Hall (WAS) vs. NYG, 6. A. Vinatieri (IND) vs. TEN, 7. N. Kaeding (SD) vs. PIT, 8. M. Stover (BAL) vs. DEN 9. J. Scobee (JAC) vs. NYJ, 10. Akers (PHI) vs. DAL

Defense/Special Teams 1. Chiefs vs. ARI, 2. Colts vs. TEN, 3. Patriots vs. MIA, 4. Bears vs. BUF, 5. Ravens vs. DEN, 6. Saints vs. NO, 7. Chargers vs. PIT, 8. Bills vs. CHI, 9. Steelers vs. SD, 10. Broncos vs. BAL

Waiver Wire/Free Agents 1. L. Maroney, NE (RB) 2. Kitna, DET (QB), 3. M. Jones-Drew, JAC (RB), 4. V. Morency, GB (RB), 5. M. Leinhart, ARI (QB), 6. M. Furrey, DET (WR), 7. L. White, TEN (RB), 8. E. Johnson, SF (TE), 9. V. Young, TEN (QB), 10. C. Perry, CIN (RB)

This is a good time to start making some trades as the free agents list is drying up. Keep the e-mails coming and always remember YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME!  johngus@csufresno.edu

Comment on this story in the Sports forum >>