Who said to give up on the Pack? Knowing Favre’s resiliency we all should have known better. At 2-7 the Packers are as just alive as the Vikings, Bears, and Lions. What other results or players over the weekend had you saying, you’ve got to be kidding me?

Quarterbacks

Jake Delhomme
John Fox has to be happy about one thing with Delhomme. The Panthers are winning. The formula hasn’t been due to Delhomme’s arm, and expecting a turn around season from him could make this team even better. Besides Delhomme’s consistency to hit Steve Smith, he has really struggled. Keary Colbert caught a touchdown against the Jets on Sunday, and will need to emerge even more for Delhomme.

Chris Simms
Simms was the slinger no one expected him to be on Sunday. He led the team to a fabulous comeback win, and celebrated like he was starting for the first time. The Redskins defense has been giving up big plays this season, but Simms exposed that to another level Sunday. He’ll need to carry over some of that confidence to keep the Buccaneers offense functioning.

Tommy Maddox
He has probably had the toughest stretch of a little over a year. Date it back to last year when he lost his job to rookie Ben Roethlisberger. Now when called upon he played so horrible that Bill Cowher designated Charlie Batch as the backup. For some reason Maddox can’t stay away from the picture, and even as the third stringer was called upon last week when Batch went down. Maddox is in a funk that even an NBA shooter wouldn’t be able to get out of. With the Steelers winning comfortably last weekend, they still ran their offense accordingly to try to get Maddox involved. It still didn’t work, and Bill Cowher is hoping that Roethlisberger will be able to go.

Kyle Boller
Brian Billick just admit you made a mistake in drafting Boller as your quarterback. The project will never make it to a satisfactory rating, and you just have to let it go. Boller has been a bust and will be a bust as long as he is in a Ravens uniform.

Running Backs

Ricky Williams
Besides a brief two game stretch where he looked decent, Williams has been getting licked. Asanti Samuel blew him up at the line of scrimmage last week, and his smaller size is proving to be too small. Williams needs to add ten to twelve pounds back so that he can take on the hits in between the tackles. No matter how fast he thinks he is, Williams made himself a runner by being a physical back before.

Marshall Faulk
The role Faulk was supposed to be given was backup. Not back up to the sideline for the entire season. Even Steven Jackson’s role was noticeable last year as Faulk’s backup. The Rams just aren’t using the veteran Faulk at all, and it makes you scratch your head. The only time he is even remotely seen is catching the ball, and that’s not acceptable for the Rams. They need to use his skills as much as possible.

Carnell Williams
Egh, the season that started so marvelous has turned into mush. Williams is no longer even close to the break away season he was off too. In fact in his last four games played he hasn’t had enough rushing yards combined to cross the century mark. If that trend continues, the Buccaneers can kiss their playoff chances goodbye.

Wide Receivers

Chris Chambers
Showing the talent as a great receiver is what Chambers career has been thus far. He’ll make the unreal highlight catches and burn cornerbacks for touchdowns. But then there is always the type of game that Chambers had on Sunday. Repeated dropped passes that hurt Miami big time. That’s the difference between a receiver with potential and one that’s there.

Isaac Bruce
The Rams are bringing him back slowly, but fantasy owners don’t care about that. His injury this season has hurt the Rams options at second receiver. Kevin Curtis has done well on given weeks, but isn’t the same threat as what Isaac Bruce can be.

Brandon Lloyd
Yes you deserved being blown up on by a coach on national tv. He didn’t sacrifice his body in a drive that could have helped the 49ers immensely if they scored a touchdown. Shame on Lloyd, as this has been a solid season for him.

Could it be such a drastic turn of events for Terrell Owens that he is suited up with Atlanta within the next two weeks? Based on Owens passion to get his way and play football, maybe. The NFL players association is already aggressively trying to get Terrell Owens suspension overturned by the Eagles. Philadelphia may not have a choice but to do that, as Owens case isn’t as severe as the Eagles have made it to be.

Just because Owens spoke out and answered questions from ESPN truthfully, doesn’t mean he should be banished by an organization that already despises Owens. If you viewed Owens interview that struck the last nerve of the Eagles, it wasn’t even close to being material to cost an athlete nine games.

Working out something behind closed doors has never worked with Terrell Owens. Because he is animated in front of the camera, Philadelphia wanted to take the control of Owens mouth with their own hands. If Owens were to hang around he would make the Eagles a playoff wild card team. Without him the Eagles are going to be lucky to go 6-10. They just lost a game that would have been a win if they had Terrell Owens, in Sunday’s lost to Washington.

Back to Owens comments that brought down the ultimate punishment from the Eagles. When questioned if Brett Favre would have this team at an undefeated record, all Owens said is that he believed that was a fair assessment. Look at what Brett Favre has done every week without any athletes. Donovan McNabb has been playing hurt every week with countless injuries, and should probably not be playing.

Owens knock on the Eagles organization not to recognize his 100th touchdown catch is also not a horrible thing. What organization has skipped past such a mark for an athlete? Almost any franchise has a planned course of action to stop play for a minute and let an athlete soak in a milestone moment. The Eagles organization did act poorly in that matter. For a receiver to reach that plateau is an unbelievable accomplishment. Deep down Owens was likely hurt and frustrated more than anything.

Then came the locker room fight versus team spokesman Hugh Douglas. Not once did Owens voice of the matter. Locker room fights happen all over the country, but because it involved Owens it somehow leaked out to make Owens look like the bad guy. No one knows how the jarring or exchange between Owens and Douglas went or started. It happened and obviously didn’t effect either.

Owens looked perfectly fine when he tried to apologize in a sincere manner to the entire Philadelphia organization and city. The media is trying to compare this situation to Keyshawn Johnson a few years ago. In no way should that happen. Johnson criticized his coach and believed 100 percent in his statements. He wasn’t given indirect answers from questions trying to trap him. He voiced his opinion 100 percent. When suspended he just went home for the rest of the season and had no intention of trying for a rebuttal with the NFL players association.

Owens wants to play football and should be able to. There will be plenty of teams willing to go after Owens because they would have the advantage. Owens wants to play and any team could bait Owens into a deal that doesn’t go into affect unless he lives up to certain standards for the rest of the season.

You can bet Drew Rosenhaus will believe in his athlete being able to reach a certain goal, and get him a great deal. Another area that Rosenhaus and Owens agree on is being placed on a winning team. That’d make Atlanta a top prospective situation. Owens already showed over the summer that he wouldn’t mind playing in Atlanta by running drills with some of the Falcons receivers.

Rosenhaus is the ultimate negotiator, and Owens may have the most drive of any athlete in the NFL. The story with Owens isn’t over, and he may get his Super Bowl wish after all this season.

Stay away from the desperation trades. The panicking of teams trying to get into fantasy football playoffs is causing plenty of athletes to be dropped everyday on the waiver wire. We recently heard from a reader that they scooped up Larry Johnson last week on the waiver wire. The owner that dropped Johnson was either the worst team in the league or an owner overanalyzing their week to week match ups. Keep your poise and you’ll catch the right breaks to get your team in he playoffs.

Quarterbacks

Marc Bulger
Bulger is about a week away from returning to the lineup. Since he has been away the Rams have incorporated a running game. That’ll alleviate the extra hits and even give Bulger extra time in the pocket to hit his big play receivers. The Rams are getting healthy just in time to try to make a run for a wild card. Bulger will have weapons Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce, as they’re coming back this week.

Brooks Bollinger
The Jets will take their chances with Bollinger. After Vinny Testaverde showed that he isn’t capable of leading the Jets anymore. Bollinger’s value in fantasy leagues is merely a bench roster spot. Every league should have a solid quarterback and since byes are over after this week, you should be able to ride your starter the rest of the year. The only time Bollinger may have value is toward the fantasy playoffs. The Jets will likely be out of contention and want to test Bollinger completely. That means lots of passes against teams in the AFC that’ll be resting their starters if they’ve clinched a playoff birth.

Billy Volek
The time has come for the Titans to move on from McNair. McNair is the type of veteran quarterback stuck on a team that he can’t help because they’re too far away from being a contender. The Titans need to ride Volek and build their youth towards the future. Head coach Jeff Fisher won’t pull his starter since 1995, but the front office will. Don’t expect Jeff Fisher or Steve McNair to be on the Titans sideline next season. Their great careers with their organization has timed out.

Running Backs

Duce Staley
Staley averaged over five yards a carry last week. When he first appeared on the field we thought that he was Jerome Bettis for a minute. Staley has gained obvious weight. His time off from injury doesn’t appear to be hurting him. Staley has fresh legs and at his size will be able to be more nimbler than Bettis, even with the weight. The crowded backfield is Staley’s for the time being, as Willie Parker and Jerome Bettis try to get back to 100 percent.

Greg Jones or Alvin Pearman
Fred Taylor’s season may be in jeopardy. Even if it isn’t, Taylor’s injury woes won’t go anywhere. A lot of people like to rag on Taylor for his constant attraction to injuries, but give the guy credit. Year in and year out he plays. This season he probably shouldn’t have came back so quickly from his off-season knee surgery. He played through the pain though and had a few big games. Now the Jaguars will use both Greg Jones and Alvin Pearman in selective spots. It’ll be hard to tell who will get more carries, but look for Jones to have more value because the Jaguars will bring him in around the goal line.

Julius Jones
Jones has practiced two weeks in a row, and will try to get back in the thick of things. The Cowboys have been fine without him, and may take it easy with him the rest of the season to prevent further injury. It seems every time the Cowboys bulk up on his carries he gets hurt. With Marion Barber and Tyson Thompson playing above anticipated, the Cowboys will likely share the load with everyone. Why risk the durability of Jones when there is no need to? That’ll hurt Jones value a bit, but add to his big play ability. He gets chunks of yards whenever he wants, and being fresh all the time will help him in that phase.

Sam Gado
The Packers have dropped running backs worse than Pee Wee Herman with pants. Gado now is living the life of a starter. Brett Favre needs something from Gado to get the Packers some life. Their team isn’t that bad. Even though they keep losing they’re staying in every game. The division may be a game away from being out of reach, but don’t count them out yet. Detroit and Minnesota aren’t better than Green Bay, and who can trust Chicago?

Michael Bennett
It’s a mystery to why the Vikings use Bennett so rarely. Every time he gets touches he has a nice game. After last week maybe the Vikings will finally pay attention to what Bennett can bring compared to the rest of the Vikings backs. He is a great back for a quarterback like Brad Johnson to have. A solid screen alternative and a back who will keep the defense honest.

Wide Receivers

Terrell Owens
His season is presumably over at this state. His back and forth saga with Philadelphia may have come to an end, but the Eagles have no right to end his season. He’ll likely win his case and the Eagles with either deal with him or cut him. So if he is on any waiver wire pick him up immediately.

Isaac Bruce
It’s been rocky for Bruce this season. People will question if he still has it, and that won’t last for long. He just suffered a bit from an injury. Due to the great play of Kevin Curtis and other St. Louis receivers he didn’t have to rush back. That will help Bruce in the immediate future and allow the Rams to spread teams out in four wide receiver sets.

Robert Ferguson
Favre could use Ferguson. He gets open a lot, and Favre needs that presence on the field. The two things that have prevented Ferguson from getting noticed in the league are dropped passes and injuries.

Mike Williams
He may be another week or even two from returning. Detroit is going to expand the offense in the second half of the season. They need to spring Kevin Jones loose, and that’s not going to happen until the passing game opens up. They’ll try again to get their young receivers involved. The question is who will be the quarterback?

Darrell Jackson
Surprisingly the Seahawks have been able to live off of Joe Jurevicious. The drawing board of the Seahawks offense is back to the old form of running away with Shaun Alexander. That’s been working to plan, but the Seahawks will slump soon if they can’t get the air attack going. Jackson’s return in the next week or two should keep that from happening.

Tight Ends

Michael Gaines
With Kris Magnum banged up, Gaines steps into Jake Delhomme’s target zone. We all know that Delhomme has been struck with hypnotism in Steve Smith’s direction, but Gaines should be able to draw Delhomme’s attention on five to seven plays.

Week nine’s look at you’ve got to be kidding me.

Quarterbacks

Mike Vick
Wow, Vick crossed the 200 yard mark in passing. Could this be a legitimate step forward for Vick? We doubt it. He’ll do this occasionally, but his erratic style isn’t going to go anywhere. It’s the nature of Vick that makes him who he is. With Brian Finneran and developing youngsters as his go to guys, it’ll take Terrell Owens landing in Atlanta for any numbers to accumulate for Vick.

Brooks Bollinger
The fill in job Bollinger did wowed people. Bollinger has a nice command as a Jets signal caller. Each time he has seen action though, it has been in the second half. Teams will now game plan for him and expose his weaknesses.

Kurt Warner
Forget about Warner’s 300 plus yards. He had three interceptions and failed on numerous occasions to punch the football in the end zone. Neil Rackers is loving all the extra kicks he is getting, as he leads the league in that department. Warner can complain about the running backs and his offensive line all he wants. When a team can’t score after driving the football than there is something wrong with the quarterback.

Running Backs

Kevin Jones
The potential 2,000 yard season John Clayton thought could be a possibility with Jones is not going to even come close. The Lions offense is in a stale state. Every week they seem to not have a true game plan, and that’s hurt Jones entirely. Against the Vikings you have to produce in some sort of matter, and Jones failed to do that.

Priest Holmes
He didn’t play but his return looks to be set for 2006. Holmes has been infected with the Fred Taylor syndrome every year now. From this stage on, Holmes will likely never be the featured back in Kansas City. It was only a matter of time, but now the Chiefs have definite reason to lower the carries of Holmes when he is back next season. The way Johnson finishes the season as a starter will predicate that strategy.

Antowain Smith
The Saints will be looking at a top five pick come April. They’re always in games but lack the focus on both sides of the ball to win in the end. Antowain Smith’s days as a viable starting running back have been long gone. New England tried him and it didn’t work out. The role just isn’t his to fill anymore. So don’t expect another 100 yard game from him.

Cadillac Williams
The Cadillac has been downgraded Buick lately. He seems to not have recovered from his injury, or is just struggling to get acclimated. He gave fantasy owners too much of a great taste early on in the season. That wasn’t expected from the outgo, and now that perception is becoming reality. He’ll be a high octane back from a week to week basis, just not this season.

Wide Receivers

Scotty Vines
He received some garbage yards, but did make a heck of a catch against the Vikings. The bad news for Vines is that the Lions have been horrible in passing, and Charles Rogers is due back from suspension.
Michael Clayton
Sophomore woes have continued for Clayton. It’s been awhile since a player has had a reversal of fortune like Clayton. The season is only halfway done though, so don’t give up on him.

Joe Horn
The horn has been silent. Aaron Brooks hasn’t been leaning his way as much as years past. Other receivers are getting open, and Horn has been just another amongst the crowd of Saints. Horn may still be recovering from his injury and playing at eighty percent. Whatever is the problem, Horn is a top ten receiver still and will get his numbers.

Another star quarterback is out for the year. Not just an ordinary star. A quarterback many of you wasted a first round pick on. What can you do to scramble your season back together?

Quarterbacks

Brad Johnson
Off the field goes Culpepper and in comes Johnson. Johnson has had a tough career. From being a backup before to starting for quite some time, including a Pro Bowl Super Bowl year. He fell off with Tampa Bay, and was settling as a Vikings backup. This is his chance to show something once again. The Vikings are buried deep in their division, but it would only take one hot streak to start for that to disappear. If Johnson can be a leader than there is no doubt this team should sneak into the playoffs.

Kurt Warner
Another bad performance by McCown seemingly leaves the door wide open for Warner to step in. Warner is a veteran and fully capable of performing better than McCown. The only downside is the Cardinals have no running game whatsoever.

Kyle Orton
Orton is the type of quarterback that doesn’t make mistakes. He plays within what the Bears tell him to do, and that has allowed his confidence to soar. While Orton may never be a huge fantasy guy, he may become steady enough to start. Just take a look at how Orton plays over the next few weeks. For now though snatch him up as your fantasy backup.

Running Backs

Ricky Williams
Williams finally showed something more than hype to build upon. Both Williams and Brown had great days. Expecting more of that is the only way Miami can get themselves in playoff position. Williams has ran tough and the carries are coming his way.

Travis Henry
He is back and maybe he can use some of his talent on the field. After becoming a Pro Bowl caliber back a few years ago, Henry has came down quicker than a brick tossed from a building. We’ll all see if his mind and devotion to football is still there as the rest of the season goes on.

Derrick Ward
Ward got thirteen carries for the Giants last week against the skins. The Giants run the ball a lot, and of course are centered around Tiki Barber. Brandon Jacobs is the physical goal line back, while Ward is just the change of pace resting back for Tiki.

Wide Receivers

Matt Jones
Jones is getting the looks from Leftwich. For once it looks like there will be more than one receiver on the Jaguars roster. Jones has made the conversion over to receiver better than most expected. He’ll gradually get better. Before we know it he’ll be Leftwich’s main target once Jimmy Smith exits the game.

Brandon Lloyd
We’re sure plenty of owners have let Lloyd go because of the 49ers passing woes. In the first four games of the season (before Rattay was benched), Lloyd was off to a great year. It once again shows that without a solid quarterback a whole team will suffer. Hopefully the 49ers can get something going with their passing game, as their running game and defense has stepped up. If that can happen Lloyd would be a steal of the waiver wire.

Justin Gage
Gage’s value is boosting up every week. As Orton’s confidence grows, more coverage will be put on big play receiver Mushin Muhammed. That leaves Gage open to find holes in the secondary, and an easy target for Orton.

Which athletes got under your skin this week with horrible play? Notjustagame breaks it down.

Quarterbacks

Daunte Culpepper
An already horrible year for fantasy owners turned into a knife in the back. All of the owners that drafted Culpepper with their first overall pick are in disbelief. Now owners will have to pick up Brad Johnson; or rely on a backup that they drafted late because they thought they could start Culpepper for fifteen games.

Brett Favre
Five interceptions is not misleading in this scenario. Favre somehow didn’t care about his interceptions, and still played with the same guts. At least any funk Favre will be in won’t have week to week symptoms. He will always give it his all. Even when it looks like he should give up, his drive deep puts Green Bay in range to almost overcome his interceptions.

Josh McCown
Dennis Green never declared McCown starter for the remainder of the season. His last two weeks have been reason enough to bring Kurt Warner back. This past week against Dallas, McCown was off on almost every throw. At one point it seemed like the Cardinals would close the gap of a 24-13 deficit. Then McCown threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown, and that was it. McCown is down to one more quarter to prove himself, if that.

Mark Brunell
Just when fantasy owners were deciding to give Brunell a chance, the Redskins and Brunell faltered completely. Brunell only had 65 yards and the offense was on complete inoperative mode. The offense can’t get any worse, but the disappointment of this game will be instilled in the Redskins mind until they get another chance against the Giants.

Running Backs

Clinton Portis
One fantasy point deserves no more attention.

Carnell Williams
Returning to action against the 49ers was expected to be a fabulous return for Williams. Instead he was shut down and looks like he isn’t 100 percent just yet. Williams needs to get somewhere back to his previous level but Tampa Bay may continue to limit his carries for the next couple of weeks.

Brian Westbrook
His involvement in the Eagles offense is at an all time low. Last week the Eagles didn’t use him much because they were getting blown out. He did have 100 all purpose yards against the Broncos. Still, he hasn’t been used that much and the grumblings he has done haven’t helped. The Eagles need to get rebalanced with the element of Westbrook getting more touches added.

Wide Receivers

Michael Clayton
Clayton’s disappearance in the Buccaneers offense is the biggest mystery this season. Every week he is missing, and Joey Galloway is the one reaping the benefits. Clayton’s rookie year was definitely overachieving. After this season there will be more of a figure to look at to expect from Clayton.

Lee Evans
Just like his former rookie buddy above, Evans has been overshadowed by veteran Eric Moulds. Evans is not having solid week to week performances but should recoup before the end of the season.

Steve Smith
For Smith to keep up with these career day performances is unbelievable. He has been the best receiver this season, and looks unstoppable. His level of play is reminiscent of what Moss was doing when he first entered the league.