For all the critics that were worried about what the Falcons were doing breaking up the DVD (Dunn, Vick, and Duckett), have piped down quite a bit. The Falcons knew they had the player they wanted in Norwood to compliment Dunn. Something TJ Duckett was unable to do.

Out in New York there may have not been a more impressive back then Brandon Jacobs for week one. Anyone that watched the Giants preseason games knew this was coming. He dominated the preseason action and is crucial to maintaining the Giants a healthy Tiki Barber. Barber as well as anyone has said he loves the idea of Jacobs spelling him on a few series a game. That will keep him healthy, and let him progress each and every series.

With Jacobs out on the field he bruises teams. John Madden was saying that Jacobs reminds him a lot of Jerome Bettis with his agility, size, and foot speed. Jacobs looks even better than that comparison, with a lot more foot speed and power then Bettis had at least over his last eight years in the NFL.

For fantasy purposes owners with Tiki Barber better start worrying at the high cost of attaining Barber in past drafts. We warned not to expect the same numbers from Barber especially in the touchdown department. Jacobs is going to be the main guy inside the five yard line, and in any short yardage situation.

Based on Tiki Barber’s overall friendliness outlook to the game of football, he’ll likely be fine with that. Did anyone else notice how friendly Barber and the Colts defensive players were acting after he ran the ball? Each burst by Barber the Colts would help him up, and Barber would tap them on the helmet. It has been a long time since we’ve seen that going on in football, especially when every run was seven yards or more.

Hopefully you already have Jacobs on your roster if you drafted Barber. If not it may not be too early to try and acquire Jacobs. Sure his value may be a bit too high for trade sake, but at least begin negotiating. Get in that owner’s head for a week or two until he realizes he needs to unleash Jacobs. We all know that no one is going to start Jacobs unless Barber goes down, so any owner will be willing to trade him.

The Giants should have beat the Colts if they would have kept plugging away at the running game. How does a team stop rushing the football in key stretches of the game? They were averaging over seven yards a carry but would halt their own progress on a drive by putting the ball in Eli’s hands or unforced penalties. For Tiki to only have 18 carries and Jacobs 8, cost the Giants that football game.

On the flipside, the Falcons did what winning teams do. They ran the football down the Panthers throats and it eventually paid off. Their team controlled and dominated the running game with 48 rushing attempts. Dunn had 29, Norwood 10, Vick 7, and Griffith one. They had the running game going and stuck to it for the entire game. It’s going to be very tough for any defense to stop the assault that the Falcons have planned this season. Dunn was the main factor last season and now defenses can’t rest a bit like they when Duckett would spell Dunn. Norwood has that explosiveness and speed that Duckett lacked, and for now Vick is running freely like he did in the past. That’ll likely tone down a bit as Vick was taken quite a few hard hits on some of his scrambles out of the pocket.

Clearly when you’re looking at having an effective running game, you need two strong backs. The Giants and Falcons look to be the leading runners in that category, and that gives them a tremendous edge to get a few extra wins. The type of wins that come down to having that fourth quarter ability to drowned seven to eight minutes off the clock. There are lots of teams that think they have the right duo but none are the staggeringly different runners like the Falcons and Giants can throw at you.

The Jets were in desperation mode, as news has been getting worse on Curtis Martin’s chances of playing in 2006. Last week they tried to acquire Cleveland Browns running back Lee Suggs, only to see the trade fall because of a failed physical. More rumors began swirling of other possible backs including TJ Duckett. Well, the back the Jets ended up with happens to be another Pittsburgh Panthers product. How will Kevan Barlow factor as a fantasy impact player in 2006?

Barlow is the type of back that for the last two years has been nothing but a player you could find on the waiver wire. Due to his inconsistencies and struggles with injuries he really has not had many carries over the past few seasons. In fact, even in his lone 1,000 yard season he only carried the football 201 times. So even though he has been in the league for awhile, he has never really taken on a full time load.

So his legs are fresh and he’ll be in a much better environment. Even though Frank Gore ousted him for the starting job in San Francisco, Barlow is a capable back. He is big, and shifty, sort of like an Eddie George. The New York Jets will split carries with Derrick Blaylock and potentially Cedric Houston. Where the impact of Kevan Barlow comes in, is that he’ll definitely be their short yardage and goal line back.

This will be huge for Bettis type touchdown numbers if Chad Pennington can hold onto the starting quarterback position. Already having a weak arm combined with two straight seasons of shoulder injuries, means the Jets would use a ball control style offense. Short and median passes that once inside the opponents fifty would almost always lead to red zone opportunities, instead of the big play at midfield.

Someone has to fill the void of the spectacular numbers Martin has put up in all his years with the Jets. Kevan Barlow will be given every opportunity to do so, and should take firm control of the Jets starting job. Expect Barlow to start off with ten to twelve carries, and soon reach fifteen to seventeen a game. The Jets will run a lot as they always have, and Barlow should get his yards per carry average back up in the four to five yard range.

Easily expect eight to ten rushing touchdowns, and seven to eight hundred yards rushing. This is a situation Barlow has been dying to get into for years. Now with a much better team and his experience, he should be a fantasy steal for touchdowns.

Pack your bags and board a plane. It is suppose to only happen for sixteen games a season in terms of wins and losses for an athlete. They forget to tell you that there is more to the travel side of the NFL than the game. Attending and participating in charity events could be on the menu all the way to searching for a new job. These NFL stars along with their agents will spend sometimes up to a month flying from city to city as a free agent trying to lure the best dollars out of teams. Often times those dollars turn into over spent money, but whose fault is that.

There was a time in years past where the thought of free agency was new, fresh, and fun to look forward to. Now it has become a whirlwind event that is becoming an unexpected shift of changes. Add fantasy football to the mix and you could be stuck on missing out on shifting athletes that slip through the cracks of your draft. Take for example last years free agency marvel stud Santana Moss. He was perceived as a weak option as a fantasy second wide receiver and a possible filler in the third spot. This was just after having a mediocre campaign that was not his fault with the Jets in 2004, but not far removed from a fabulous campaign in 2003. Negative opinions on Moss were abound and even more were out on Washington’s offensive capabilities. Well that was all squashed a few weeks in the season, and Moss draftees were much happier with the product of Santana than Randy.

Focus has to be on the wide receivers, were change was amuck and frequent this off-season in the NFL

Quarterbacks are always moved around but like usual, not as much for immediate participation. They are brought in to add depth and perhaps be a reliever if the opportunity presents itself. So here is an extensive look at which athletes on new teams will be worth a valuable look at when your fantasy draft comes.

1. Terrell Owens
The former disgruntled wide receiver is happy to move on and have a chance to end his career in the Big D. Yet, he is 33 years old and has been dinged up over the past few seasons. The vengeance on his mind and his overall work ethic skills just make him too good to pass up as a late second or early third round pick taken in leagues. No receiver in the league competes with his physical presence, and he will also be playing with a quarterback that is a sharp veteran. To gauge his season is rough to do considering the new environment, but stars shine everywhere.

2. Edgerrin James
Athletes just get tired of hearing they are on their way out. Edgerrin James has been hearing that he is not worth his value, and that the Colts need to use his salary to build up the rest of the team. Well, the Colts are about to see how valuable James was and the Cardinals are about to improve in terms of steps to their goal as a yearly playoff team. James is a dynamic back that fits the Cardinals offense about as best as any team he could have went to. The receivers with the Cardinals are better and Kurt Warner is a winner that will have this offense functioning forward. With the threat of all of the Cardinals wide receivers the amount of touchdowns James will have could be a little low to draft him in the high part of the first round. Still, the Cardinals will score a lot of points and it is hard to imagine James not being a huge part of that.

3. Drew Brees
Initial reports indicate that Brees shoulder and arm are looking fine. Fine could be translated in any realm, so do not believe the hype. Wait to see his arm throwing in training camp and see if the sharpness is there or not. New Orleans is a revamped team with extreme weapons offensively. Brees should not miss a beat with the way he performs as a quarterback. He is always calm and just knows how to play the quarterback position. In the end, the Saints will reap the benefits of signing Brees, which may be sooner than people think.

4. Daunte Culpepper
How old will Culpepper’s body act and look when he makes his debut? We all know his body has lost some portion of his athleticism, and that may affect other areas of his quarterback skills. Miami insured themselves by bringing in Joey Harrington, but Culpepper also has a huge motivation chip on shoulder. The guy has a laser of an arm and is with a coach that will do everything possible to make sure he succeeds. We just do not know if Culpepper can shake his turnover problems and play consistently well to be a top fantasy quarterback.

5. Adam Vinatieri
Talk about absolute no loyalty towards a key component of your franchises success. The Patriots displayed that by allowing Vinatieri to roam as a free agent and ignoring his claims of seriousness to sign elsewhere. Now he gets to boot for Peyton Manning and the high flying scoring machine Colts. If you want the extra edge for close fantasy games than you better snatch up Vinatieri. He will have plenty of games where his leg will give you ten to fifteen points.

6. Antwaan Randle El
Randle El over the past few years has seemed like an athlete ready to breakout. In the way though was an offense that rarely passed, and Hines Ward. Even with that Randle El would constantly show his big play abilities and be the spark the Steelers needed in many cases. In Washington he is headed in as the third option behind Santana Moss and Brandon Lloyd. It will be up to him to outdo Lloyd, but he should still see the field and get plenty of looks as an opposite speed threat to Santana Moss.

7. Nate Burelson
If ever a receiver capitalized off of ability than performance Burelson has the resume now of doing it. The Seahawks shelled out a seven year, $49 million contract to finally have a receiver that is more of a feature second wide receiver than a Joe Jurevicious. The same expectations fantasy owners expected last year better be toned down to a degree. Rather than risking a pick on Burelson stick with the more for sure receiver for the first five rounds. If you’re in a deep league than consider him a player with an asterisk for success or bust in the fifth or sixth round.

8. Keyshawn Johnson
Not to take anything away from Johnson but being let go by numerous teams in a few years is not good. The Cowboys only let Johnson go because of their intentions to go after Terrell Owens and try something different at wide receiver. For the most part Johnson is just an athlete that is going to make the tough catches and be an end zone threat. With the Panthers still unsure of there running backs, Johnson may become the offense for short gains that normally would be counted on by a running back.

9. Javon Walker
If he is recovered 100 percent than obviously he would be ranked higher. But usually that is not even a possibility for a receiver after they tear up their knee. The Broncos evaluated Walker before they traded for him, and apparently believe that he is ready to play well immediately. With Rod Smith defying age and Ashley Lelie acting like an Ashley, the opportunities are more than lovable for a fantasy owner.

10. Aaron Brooks
Not too long ago Brooks was considered a top ten fantasy quarterback with upside. It got to the point in New Orleans that the situation just looked unworkable for Brooks and the Saints. Two years late, the Saints finally parted ways with Brooks and now Brooks gets a chance to perform for the Oakland Raiders. When Brooks is on there are not many quarterbacks that can be as accurate and effective. The problem though is that he develops more rust than Vinny Testaverde’s ancient arm.

The rest
11. Eric Moulds, Houston Texans
12. Chester Taylor, Minnesota Vikings
13. Martin Gramatica, New England
14. Joey Harrington, Miami Dolphins
15. Brandon Lloyd, Washington Redskins
16. David Givens, Tennessee Titans
17. Antonio Bryant, San Francisco 49ers
18. Peerless Price, Buffalo Bills
19. Mike Anderson, Baltimore Ravens
20. David Boston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
21. Josh McCown/Kitna, The winner of the Detroit Lions battle
22. Jabar Gafney, Philadelphia Eagles
23. Michael Bennett, New Orleans
24. Brian Griese, Chicago Bears
25. Quentin Griffin, Kansas City Chiefs

Is there a little room for your fantasy team to sneak into the playoffs. If so, this is likely the last week to show your fantasy teams true value. What players could help out at the last second?

Quarterbacks

Marques Tuiasasopo
He gets the nod over Kerry Collins for the rest of the season. He has had action before, and from what we remember it wasn’t pretty. It’s been awhile though, and Tuiasasopo has been sitting on the sideline far too long. It’s his chance to shine. He definitely has the weapons to do it, but so did Kerry Collins.

David Carr
He is a commanding leader on the field. If that were a category that was noticed, Carr would be in the top five. There are always sparks of talent shown every week from Carr, but it never generates to the rest of his team. Last week the Texans should have easily beat the Ravens, but lacked the punch to do it. Carr may end the season on a high note and give your fantasy team a great chance at upsetting a powerhouse team.

Brad Johnson
His fantasy days aren’t over yet. The Vikings have found something offensively as of late, and it involves Johnson airing it a bit. If he isn’t doing that he is getting the yards and mega fantasy points on short dump offs to Michael Bennett. He is proving to be a steady couple of touchdowns and okay passing yards every week. You can’t beat that, at this point in the season.

Running Backs

JJ Arrington
Shhh. Arrington’s numbers are actually progressing as of late. How it’s happening is a mystery. Especially considering that the Cardinals haven’t stopped throwing the football a billion times a game. Dennis Green needs to know if Arrington can be the guy in these last four games, and will likely boost his involvement in the offense.

Ryan Moats
Someone has to step into Brian Westbrook’s role, and Moats is the guy. Judging from Philadelphia’s offense last week, Moats will be nothing more than a “must go with” guy. Kind of like when you were in grade school, and were forced to stick the last kid on your team by default.

Jerome Bettis
The Steelers want to get back to their style of play. In order to do that they need to establish the run, and will likely go back to the roots of the bus that’s driven them for the past ten or so years. Bettis can revitalize the Steelers with one carry. The fans appreciate him so much, that it may pump extra blood to get the Steelers finally riled up again.

Wide Receivers

Koren Robinson
He continues to make huge plays for the Vikings. No one wants to talk about it, but since Robinson was signed the Vikings have been winning. Attribute it to Brad Johnson all you want, but Robinson is a huge percentage of reason why the Vikings have turned around their season.

Josh Reed
Eric Moulds isn’t happy, and we all know what can happen with disgruntled receivers. He has already been suspended one game, and who knows if that will turn into the rest of the season. Reed has been somewhat of a dissappointment in his career, but may now have his shot.

Dennis Northcutt
Charlie Frye struggled with the shot and intermediate routes last weekend against the Jaguars. In fact, he was only successful on a couple of long bombs to Braylon Edwards. With Edwards now gone for the season, Frye will need a new deep target to throw at. Antonio Bryant is a solid receiver, but Northcutt is the speed man in Cleveland. Look for the Browns to try to calm Frye down, by trying to hit a big play or two deep to Northcutt.

With two fantasy football regular season weeks left, the doors have all but shut on seventy percent of fantasy football teams. Most leagues only have four playoff spots. Just like the NFL the division spots are all but wrapped up most of the time a few weeks in advance of the closing out of the season. Still, there are always those cases of down to the wire battles and teams that have fought their way back into a miracle situation. The waiver wire can’t be any more important than right now if you’re in that category.

Quarterbacks

Ryan Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick is going to be tested, perhaps, for the rest of the season. Jamie Martin has no future value for the Rams, so why not test out the young rookie? They will and they hope he can have repeat performances like last weekend. He is a smart kid (went to Harvard) and has great size. He shouldn’t have a problem connecting with the weapons St. Louis has. In fact, Marc Bulger may want to protect himself next year by staying on the field.

Charlie Frye
The Browns have been whispering about inserting him all year, and now appear to be set to state that. Trent Dilfer has done a fine job this season, and will likely be kept around Cleveland. He is the perfect backup quarterback that won’t make mistakes. But it’s about to be 2006, not 2000. His days in the NFL are dwindling. So Frye needs the experience now.

Philip Rivers
If the Chargers dump the next couple of games, it’s almost a guarantee that Philip Rivers will be inserted. The playoffs are looking dim for the Chargers right now, but isn’t out of the question. Rivers would have a lot to prove and could be a fantasy football playoff difference maker. Especially for teams with a quarterback like Peyton Manning, who’ll be on light duty.

JP Losman
Eric Moulds and Lee Evans are notorious for burning Miami defensive backs. For Moulds it dates back to the late 90’s, and Evans last year as a rookie. Whatever it is, that trend should continue this week. Miami is depleted with injuries that will open up the running game for Willis McGahee. Furthermore, Losman will be able to make big plays down field all day long.

David Carr
He had his best game by far of the season against the Rams. Almost anyone could have pointed out an explosion against the Rams, who’ve been torched by almost every team. Before this season people expected the Texans to contend for a playoff spot. Maybe they’ll start their season in the final five games, and end on a role. If so, Carr will have top ten quarterback stats to finish out the year.

Running Backs

Kevan Barlow
We’re shocked he has been able to hang on to his starting job all season. He started to produce in the last month, and is receiving a steady load. He is just insurance to have in case of an injury on your fantasy team.

Marshall Faulk
He has been rarely used all season. With Fitzpatrick in now, they might give Faulk extra time as Steven Jackson takes on a load. His role has been far too limited for the talent he possesses.

Ron Dayne
Any one week wonder is worth a waiver wire catch.

Wide Receiver

Bryant Johnson
Quietly Johnson is having a decent season behind Fitzgerald and Boldin. The reason why is because the Cardinals have no choice but to throw the football fifty times a game. The Cardinals have the best set of three wideouts statistically in the NFL.

Marcus Robinson
Robinson tends to have those monster touchdown games once in awhile. It’s like a volcano ready to burst, it’s going to happen. Whether it’s one year, two years, or two games, it happens. But like volcanoes, sooner or later, those eruptions become dormant. Robinson’s career appears to be at that stage, but take a look at him anyways.

Darrell Jackson
Assuming there were idiots in your league that let Jackson go, now is the time to pounce on that fumble. Jackson is about a week away from starting, and might get in on a few plays Monday night. Trust us, Matt Hasselbeck can’t wait to have him back. DJ Hackett has tried but will not help the Seahawks get to where they need to be in the playoffs.

Playoffs? Playoffs? Is your fantasy football team as burnt as an overcooked steak? If you’re yelling that “playoffs” message to your other partners in fantasy football, than yes. With three to four regulars season games left in fantasy football, it’s all about how you drafted in August now. Unless your team is injured the waiver wire is not going to help you right now.

h3. Quarterbacks

Byron Leftwich
With Fred Taylor hurt, the Jaguars will give Leftwich some extra plays to throw with his arm. For the first time in his career he is having some other targets besides Jimmy Smith to hit. The emergence of rookie Matt Jones is popping up every week. In fact, Jimmy Smith has even began to pout about not getting the ball enough.

Gus Frerotte
If Miami can’t run the ball than Frerotte will be chucking the football like he did Sunday. Miami has an arsenal of weapons at tight end and wide receiver, so Frerotte should put up decent numbers for the rest of the season. With the Dolphins fading out of the playoff picture, desperation times will come to the main center against defenses. More designed big plays to spark the offense through the passing game will try to be planned out.

David Carr
Throw his poor season out the window. A quarterback with his talent can only be held in check for so long. Carr is going to have a few dazzling performances before the year is done, and also get the Texans a few wins. The unfortunate season for Carr is only going to make him better in the long run. No quarterback that can take a beating like Carr’s takes the field with a poor manner. He loves the game and will show that poise and determination before the year is done.

Mike McMahon
He’ll likely offer more for the Eagles now than McNabb could when playing hurt. McMahon is mobile and sees the field well. The problem for McMahon is sometimes the defense reads his passes even better.

Running Backs

Adrian Peterson
One thing the Bears know they must have great depth at is running back. They secured that with the drafting of both Peterson and Cedric Benson. Starting running back Thomas Jones has been nicked up all season long, and Cedric Benson is now hurt for an undetermined time length. Peterson has the confidence of a starting running back, and has ran like one when given the opportunity.

JJ Arrington
The season has been one of the worst a starting running back could ever have. Looking past that the season isn’t over yet. Dennis Green wants to solve the Cardinals mystery at running back, and will try to salvage it on a week to week basis. If there aren’t any holes to hit, than the result will be what has happened the previous weeks for Arrington. Often it only takes that one week for a new offensive line to blend together. Who knows if that week will be during your fantasy football teams playoff run.

Wide Receiver

Charles Rogers
When one receiver from a team enjoys a game 100 percent, that means it’s time to look at the other receivers on that roster. Roy Williams had a career game against the Cardinals, and you can bet a game like that won’t happen again anytime soon. He’ll face more from opposing defenses, and that’ll free up some big plays for Charles Rogers. Either Rogers or Mike Williams should finish the season strong.

Marty Booker
Chris Chambers is beginning to not be the sure target of Gus Frerotte. Booker may not make the huge plays down field, but he moves the chains with solid median routes. Booker has some great years on his resume, and is going to keep drawing more looks from Frerotte if Chambers keeps struggling.

Lee Evans
Favoritism from a quarterback to a receiver, can mean the difference in several touchdowns. Kelly Holcomb’s favorite target is Eric Moulds. For former Bills quarterback, Drew Bledsoe, and JP Losman Lee Evans was and is. Losman hooked up with Evans on two quick scores against the Kansas City Chiefs. Evans had a similar stretch last year that started towards the middle of the season. If Losman is renamed the starter, you can expect a similar finish.