Desperation is setting for about half of the fantasy football leagues you did. There are a few things you can do. Start abandoning those teams and keep extreme tracking of the rest of your teams. You could also forget them completely and give your 2006 fantasy sports season another try with fantasy basketball leagues. Or you can give your teams another few weeks and try to get on a win streak.

How can you do it? Work the waiver wire a bit.

Quarterbacks

Philip Rivers
Marty responded to criticism of holding Rivers down by allowing him to actually throw the football. What happened were no mistakes and great execution to lead them back from a ten point deficit. The Chargers are a serious AFC contender if Rivers is allowed to get the proper training he needs before playoff time. That means he can be a solid fantasy starting quarterback on a weekly basis. Which is hard to say that you could expect from most fantasy quarterbacks this year other then Donovan McNabb, Grossman, and Manning.

Matt Leinart
For those that did not believe in the young rook we hope you have TIVO and can go watch the game against the Chiefs. He came out blazing with great throws to build the Cardinals up to a quick 14 to 0 lead. Sure they ended up blowing the game like the Cardinals are notorious for, but the key was that Leinart put up effective stats against a solid defense. The one pick he threw came at a bad time but was also just an unbelievable read and play by Ty Law. He did still manage to get the Cardinals a chance to tie the game with no timeouts and minimal time left on the game clock. He has been a winner his whole life and can win you some fantasy games with the way the Cardinals are running the football.

Jon Kitna
He makes some boneheaded plays but they have not yet landed him on the bench. We thought the Lions would easily have pulled Kitna to give their other free agent acquisition in Josh McCown a chance, but that has not happened. Kitna is managing games decently and shockingly second in the league in passing yards. A lot of his yards come from utilizing Kevin Jones out of the backfield which is a great thing. His touchdown numbers have not been bad either and if he can remain the starting quarterback he has fantasy worthiness.

Jake Plummer
The Broncos defense has been dominant and the Broncos are now riding a three game winning streak. That means they are not going to fold and put Plummer on the bench for Cutler this season. After their week one loss to the Rams people were thinking differently about the Broncos in 2006. Plummer has been rusty with his throws but has made enough plays. Against the Patriots he threw some solid balls to Javon Walker including a long dagger, and against the Ravens the weather wasn’t in his favor. Expect Plummer to get the offense going, especially with the way Tatum Bell is carrying the football.

Running Backs

Correll Buckhalter
Brian Westbrook has started the year off great but now it has been demoted to a solid season with an asterisk. His knee problem is certainly going to affect him the entire season. If the Eagles are still riding high in a month and a half they may have him sit out and heal properly for the playoffs. It looks like the Eagles will keep limiting him in practice and also in games because of his big play ability. Buckhalter had a poor Monday Night Football game against the Packers with a few fumbles, but has proven himself before.

Noah Herron
When the Packers traded for Vernad Morency it was thought that he would be the backup of Ahman Green. Instead it has been Herron and with Green taking his time to come back, Herron has been the man. Green Bay running backs just seem to fill in well when given the chance and that is what fantasy owners love. Last season it was Samkon Gado who may never be heard of again, and this season it’s Herron.

Justin Fargas
If you were to guess the running back who is leading the league in yards per carry this name would name pop into your head. For one thing Fargas only has seventeen total carries this season, but the average of nine yards per carry is what is amazing. He is sneakily taking away carries from Lamont Jordan, as last week Jordan had twelve and he had eight. He has tremendous speed and has been difficult for defenses to handle. His worth is limited to only Jordan owners that are very thin at running back.

Mike Anderson
If the Ravens are going to improve on offense they are going to need to demote Jamal Lewis. Last year he was coming off a serious injury and jail time so the rustiness was expected, now it just looks like Lewis career may be complete as a running back. The back that use to carry the offense himself since 2000 is a different back. If Anderson would have received the right amount of carries against the Broncos they may have won that game. We have a feeling the move will be made soon, if Lewis continues his horrible running.

Wide Receivers

Greg Jennings
The second round rookie is playing like Javon Walker use to for the Packers. That is he provides the big play abilities when they need it, and Favre is now looking his way over Donald Driver. There is a shot he may be available in your league but he will go to the person with the first priority for a waiver wire acquisition.

Troy Walters
Word is that Bryant Johnson may not be the Cardinals second receiver with Fitzgerald sidelined two to five weeks. Dennis Green has stated he has not made a decision yet on Johnson or Walters as their number two receiver. Obviously Green may just still be upset over the dropped touchdown by Bryant Johnson that would have sealed a victory for the Cardinals versus the Chiefs. Walters has done a fine job though for the Cardinals including a nice catch last week to give the Cardinals a chance to tie the game and send it to overtime.

Wes Welker
Welker has been a surprise thus far this season and has been recognized as the Dolphins second option at wideout, even though Marty Booker has been listed. With Booker out Welker is now the official second wide receiver and is excited about the opportunities. With already 300 yards receiving this season Welker will be in line to have some solid weeks in a starting role.

Hank Baskett
The Eagles always seem to be filled with injuries, luckily it has not got to Donovan McNabb. Donte Stallworth’s hamstring issues seem to be lingering on and on, but the Eagles are doing the right thing in not risking anymore setbacks. With Reggie Brown also dinged Baskett and Greg Lewis are a couple of role receivers that will be involved. By looking at McNabb’s MVP stats, 317 ypg and 11 touchdowns it means that someone is going to be racking up plenty of yards.

Arnaz Battle
Battle scored a few touchdowns this past weekend and is floating in the waiver wire pickup zone. You can’t expect anything spectacular or even enough to consider starting him. The only reason to pick him up is if you need a bye week filler at wide receiver.

Comments or questions to zack.cimini@notjustagame.com