So you waited too long and didn’t snatch a Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, or Carson Palmer. Shame on you. Ron Jaworksi told us all repeatedly who the top three quarterbacks in the league are, and you didn’t follow suit. Those players haven’t slipped on our quarterback rankings, but your fantasy starting quarterback has.

1. Peyton Manning
He’ll hold this spot for the next six years.

2. Carson Palmer
This offense is looking a lot like the best show on turf years ago. The similarity doesn’t end on the defensive side either, where the Bengals look like they’re going to have to score a lot to win.

3. Tom Brady
Effortless in the way he is running the Patriots offense. Now that he has talented receivers the best is ahead for him. His interceptions might end up being a career low this season.

4. Marc Bulger
The Rams haven’t let go of Mike Martz’s old ways just yet. Bulger shook off a down week one to torch the 49ers secondary. Isaac Bruce even came back to life. What will be nice is more touchdowns from their offense.

5. Drew Brees
No one knows the root cause of the Saints early struggles, but we do know that Brees is a part of it. For whatever reason this team is just not clicking. Brees has been a Pro Bowler on two different teams, so there are no worries here.

6. Eli Manning
Tiki lit the right fire for Manning. The Giants may be 0-2 but the demonstrations of Manning’s first two games have been fantastic. We’ll he keep it rolling or will he go through his predictable slumps?

7. Tony Romo
The Cowboys started the year playing two below par secondaries, and Romo has proven that even more. His quarterback rating is near 120 and he has thrown for multiple touchdown passes each game.

8. Matt Schaub
Schaub has probably faced the toughest of defenses of any two games yet for a quarterback. In those contests he has stayed away from mistakes, and found a friend quicker than a new kid arriving at school. Schaub hopes Johnson isn’t out too long, and so do fantasy owners.

9. Donovan McNabb
Under scrutiny McNabb has bounced back countless times. This time we are not as sure, but he has more to do with McNabb’s team than him. Sure, McNabb missed fired on a few balls, but no receiver could get open consistently.

10. Vince Young
Young is sort of like an iffy fantasy starting quarterback. Certainly, no one would start him based on his passing statistics. The only reason he cracks the top ten is because of his legs. He is almost guaranteed to get you around five rushing points, and possibly an extra six with a rushing touchdown.

11. Jon Kitna
His Lions are 2-0, and Kitna has this offense running smoothly. He has been hitting all of his targets in Roy Williams, Shaun McDonald, Calvin Johnson, and Mike Furrey. One thing that is scary though is he is dropping back way too much. He threw 33 pass attempts against the Vikings even though he left the game in the second quarter and didn’t come back until the overtime period. Kevin Jones coming back should change things up a bit.

12. Brett Favre
His throws are crisp with accurate zip. Favre seems so comfortable out there that talks of him retiring aren’t even being brought up. He looks like he can play another two solid seasons.

13. Jeff Garcia
Jon Gruden couldn’t have expected any more than what he is getting from Garcia. He is making some great reads and might be able to get this team a divisional title with the rest of the teams in the division looking shaky.

14. Matt Hasselbeck
He’ll move up a few spots if he can deliver more touchdowns.

15. Philip Rivers
The struggles he should have experienced a year ago didn’t happen because of LT’s tremendous year. Defensive coordinators finally clicked and figured out Rivers weaknesses. He doesn’t handle the blitz very well, and has poor receivers. Rivers has to make a read and let it go, or the Chargers could be in for a disappointing year.

16. Jay Cutler
He has been able to make the quick reads and has leaned on the great running game of the Broncos to open up the pass.

17. Jake Delhomme
We don’t want to imagine how Delhomme would be without Steve Smith.

18. Ben Roethlisberger
He wowed fantasy owners week one with his three touchdown passes. Nothing has changed in Pittsburgh though. This teams first option is too run the ball.

19. Matt Leinart
Put on a nice show against the Seahawks. Now he just needs to keep that up.

20. Jason Campbell
A year from now he’ll be fantasy ready.

The rest

21. Trent Green
22. David Garrad
23. Derek Anderson
24. JP Losman
25. Steve McNair
26. Chad Pennington
27. Alex Smith
28. Byron Leftwich
29. Josh McCown
30. Damon Huard
31. Rex Grossman
32. Tarvaris Jackson

The field to find some waiver wire pickups on a scale of 1 to 10, is about a 1.5 or 2. Very slim pickings, but who couldn’t use an addition or two over some busts? Here are some players that can entertain your waiver wire bids of this week.

Quarterbacks

Derek Anderson
He’ll be on every list this week. One week wonder, future bust, whatever the article is called. What you can’t take away from him is the fact that he outdid Carson Palmer and the Bengals offense. The Bengals thought they could blitz the crap out of the Browns like they did on MNF against the Ravens. Except the Browns adjusted in a quarter of time and ripped them apart the rest of the game. Anderson showed he can make quick reads and deliver the football from a shotgun formation. Picking up Anderson should only be a thought if you happened to draft Alex Smith or JP Losman as your starting quarterback.

Trent Green
How long can his arm hold up? He has been throwing the ball a lot and taking a beating for it as well. Miami thought they had their offensive line problems figured out. Guess that is not true. Things could get ugly in Miami, but to keep them even close in games, Green will be throwing it over 30 times a game. The yards and a few touchdowns will be there, but so could four interceptions like last week.

Brooks Bollinger
The Vikings have too talented of a defense to lose games like they did last week. Bollinger came in the overtime period and fumbled a snap that cost the Vikings the game. Maybe he should have practiced a few snaps on the sideline during the OT coin toss. Tarvaris Jackson put on a horrific show that will not go on much longer. Bollinger is next in line, and Kelly Holcomb is right there as well.

Running Backs

Deshawn Wynn
The Packers may have a time share with Wynn and Jackson, but it seems like they found their favorite red zone goal line threat. Wynn got the carries that mean the most to fantasy owners, and that resulted in two touchdowns. Unless Brandon Jackson starts separating himself by posting a crazy yards per carry average, this will keep up.

Selvin Young
Mike Shanahan just always has to use some sort of undrafted rookie in his formula scheme of running backs. Travis Henry has been having great games, but little by little Young is showing signs as well. You never know what could happen with a star back that carries the load like Henry. Any owner that hasn’t handcuffed Henry with Young better do so quickly.

Wide Receivers

Dennis Northcutt
He has passed up Matt Jones and Reggie Williams as the Jaguars number one receiver on the depth chart. Additionally, offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter loves to utilize the deep threat. Even though the Jaguars offense has sputtered thus far, sooner or later they’ll get things going. When they do, Northcutt will be the likely beneficiary.

Joe Jurevicious
Yes he is still around. Jurevicious was part of the offensive show of the Browns vs. Bengals, Sunday. He has a solid track record at times, but injuries and being a part of the Browns terrible offense held him down the past few seasons. Things are looking up and with his size and speed, Jurevicious could help you in the touchdown department.

Brandon Stokely
As the third receiver Stokely has shown before he can be a fantasy worthy starter. That was with the Colts, but he is showing that again with the Broncos. Jay Cutler is doing a good job in spreading the football around to Walker, Marshall, and Stokely. The key here is to leave Stokely on your bench in wait and see how his role excels or declines as the season goes on.

Marty Booker
Hey, the Dolphins receivers are getting fantasy points all across the board. Chris Chambers has had two solid weeks, and Booker got a touchdown and decent receiving numbers week two. All of this of course has everything to do with Miami’s pathetic running game. Ronnie Brown isn’t getting any help from his offensive line. Before you know it, Green has 40 pass attempts. On top of that Miami’s defense looks to be too old, a few years earlier than expected. They’ll be airing it out, and Booker is a sure handed receiver that could actually start for a fantasy team.

Roydell Williams
He had a key drop against the Colts, but dropped balls don’t count as negative points for fantasy owners. Vince Young isn’t throwing for a lot of yards but Williams seems to be his top target. That could be a good or bad thing, but you have to figure Young’s passing yards can’t stay this low.

Browsing ten televisions at once and watching player after player have career days was something special. For owners that drafted LT, Drew Brees, and a few other high profiled players, you just wanted to throw up. This week was truly a magnificent fantasy football week. Owners that didn’t get over 100 points, something went terribly wrong with players you started below.

Glancing at games and stats you had to of been jumping out of your seat or saying to your buddies, You’ve Got To Be Kidding Me. First and foremost, everyone would like to thank the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns defense. A great performance that brought tears of joy to owners of almost ten different players.

Quarterbacks

Derek Anderson
Nothing to take away from Derek Anderson, but can he match these stats overall in his next three starts combined? You talk about a wonder week. This was the ultimate. At least the Browns have something working and too build forward with. They may not light up the scoreboard or have an offensive display like this in the next twenty years. Having a solid young team with players such as Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow is enough to raise fantasy owners interests.

Josh McCown
Maybe you shouldn’t have started. What should have happened was him being yanked. How that didn’t happen is stupefying. This has happened to the Raiders defense before, and has to change. They did to good of a job to have that little of support from the quarterback position. No one expected McCown to put up crazy numbers but that performance was ugly.

Donovan McNabb
It’s sad to see this day from McNabb. He has performed so well for a long time. The days when he could carry a team on his sole shoulders with poor receivers is gone. He needs some receivers and Philly doesn’t have them. Brian Westbrook is the only threat on this team. A good one but if has to be overworked injuries occur frequently. If McNabb has the hold the fort without Westbrook, McNabb might as well decide to bench himself.

Rex Grossman
How dare he make the pathetic throws he does. Whatever trail Grossman went down towards the second half of last season he has gone further on that road. Heading back to the early games of last year does not seem a possibility ever again. It’s almost getting so bad that the Bears would have to think about bringing in Kyle Orton. At least Orton didn’t throw games away. The Bears had to get an interception in the end zone and block a field goal to keep this game from getting too close.

Alex Smith
Where did his preseason performances go? He has been a non factor thus far and after week two he has no excuse. Hopefully this adjustment is just an early rust phase. If winning ugly has never been seen before the eyes two weeks in a row, it has now.

Running Backs

LT
Number one pick in every draft and he is being shut down. Good for the owners that were able to face him the past two weeks, and bad for the rest of the season for all other opponents.

Jamal Lewis
Where did this come from? Lewis has been nonexistent for quite some time. No, he doesn’t creep back on the fantasy radar with a good stretch of games. He blasts in your face with a 200 yard day.

Reggie Bush
Looking like another player that should have been drafted a few rounds later. Everything in New Orleans is on a slide that should get back in gear. Sean Payton will figure things out, and it starts with getting Deuce more carries.

Maurice Jones-Drew
The tease of touchdowns galore last season is losing the battle on repeating his success. Jacksonville is under new offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter’s system, and they’re obviously struggling to adjust under it as a whole. If this lingers much more, Koetter may end up being the shortest tenure of a coordinator.

Wide Receivers

It was the week of receivers but one made the list.

Lee Evans
As long as Losman doesn’t want to throw the ball, then Lee Evans will continue to suffer. The big play threat of last year has had few balls his way. The lone ball that was almost a clinching touchdown against the Broncos in week one, was over thrown. It’s frustrating but Evans and Losman have a knack for connecting in bunches. Lets hope it’s soon.

Fantasy owners have to be alarmed as the week one big shots busted. We all know not to over react but starting off 0-2 in a tough fantasy league can not happen. In order to protect that from happening, the waiver wire must be utilized. Even if you’re not going to insert these guys in your starting lineups, they’ll provide some function ability and stability for your team.

Quarterbacks

Josh McCown
His injury is questionable as the Raiders won’t release specific details on it. McCown had a great statistical week against the Lions but seemed to settle with the short passing game too much. That led to a costly interception when the Raiders had regained a lead at 21-20. Dropping back 40 times is something that shouldn’t happen regularly, but it’s a bonus to look forward to for fantasy owners.

Daunte Culpepper
With Josh McCown likely out due to injury, Culpepper gets his month or so to shine. The pressure is on him though, but he has also been waiting a long time for this. This is his window to show that he can be a starting quarterback for another team next season. With Jamarcus Russell just being signed this could be a two month showcase for Culpepper.

Kellon Clemens
It’s unfortunate to see Pennington ‘s injury woes, and Jets fans should be ashamed of their applause last week. Clemens will get the chance several backups have had for the Jets when Pennington has went down. Since, Pennington still remains the starter obviously backups have not fared well.

Running Backs

Chris Brown
Really no need to write this. Brown had an incredible week against the Jaguars defense and has the Titans looking like geniuses for letting Travis Henry go. This has been a story before from Brown and then he fades away to injury. Expect the Titans to keep the share load at a solid enough level to keep Chris Brown healthy. With that in mind if you have the bench spots add Lendale White.

Kenton Keith
Addai is only going to get around twenty carries a week. The Colts realize they can not over work Addai and will utilize Keith as they did Dominic Rhodes last season. Keith only had five carries week one but expect that to get to around eight or nine a week. Especially if the Colts roll over teams like they should.

Michael Pittman
His role has decreased significantly over the past few years, but he still lies in the wings of Cadillac Williams. Cadillac left last weeks game against the Seahawks with an injury and the Buccaneers other backup Earnest Graham had a costly fumble shortly after. Pittman is the veteran that can stay healthy and can rush and pass catch which is what Jeff Garcia loves out of his running backs.

Derrick Ward
With Jacobs knee injury Ward is just a desperate fill in if you absolutely need a running back. He did a good job but that was against a no defense allowed game. The Giants also have Reuben Droughns who is a previous 1,000 yard rusher.

Lawrence Vickers
The Browns running game may be non existent but they’re going to keep running the ball. Jamal Lewis got off to a shaky start and Vickers was the one who go the Browns lone score. Vickers is more of a keep your eye on guy, as the Browns will not be patient with Jamal Lewis. They’ve ran through more running backs over the last four years then Denver has.

Wide Receiver

Brandon Marshall
Marshall looked comfortable in the second receiver spot opposite Javon Walker. He is a tall big play receiver, that made a heck of a catch in the end zone for the Broncos only touchdown. Rod Smith’s role if he plays will be limited so snatch up Marshall while you can.

Shaun McDonald
McDonald followed up his stellar preseason with a great regular season debut. The Martz transfer from St. Louis knows the system and is going to stay involved with the Lions spread attack. If Furrey, Johnson, or Williams go down, McDonald could be an even deeper sleeper.

Antwaan Randle El
He has surpassed Brandon Lloyd officially on the depth chart. Something that he wasn’t able to do last year, as neither was able to be consistent. Randle El maybe just teased us with his week one performance. Scoop him up just for his big play abilities.

Patrick Crayton
He had a quiet week one as all the pass completions from Romo went to Jason Witten or Terrell Owens. With Terry Glenn’s time table of injury in the air, Crayton will figure to have some big games ahead of him.

Samie Parker
Showed enough week one to think that he may finally be able to outdo Eddie Kennison. Parker has been around for a few seasons and it looks like Parker and rookie Bowe should emerge as the youth receivers of this team.