With Jets LB Jonathan Vilma shelved for the season, look for rookie David Harris to step up and fill the void. Harris has posted respectable tackle totals in a backup role this season, and could put up 6+ solos per game for the remainder of the season. The Jets’ IDPs have some sweet matchups in the next 8 weeks, so grab Harris if you’re thin at LB. Even if you’re not, Harris could easily put up top-25 LB numbers, so he’s a solid add in all IDP leagues.

Well I kinda like this sleeper-by-matchup thing, so I’ll try it again. This week, though, I’ll add a “deeper” sleeper to a few of the matchups. Enjoy.

Isaac Bruce (WR – STL): Only one possible sleeper in the CLE/STL matchup. And work with me here; Bruce will be a sleeper for a few reasons: one, Drew Bennett is probably going to sit out again and the backup third WR is Marques Hagans, who is rather average; two, Steven Jackson should be back this week, and if he’s running well, the Browns will have to shift their focus to stopping the run; and three, with that said, both Torry Holt and Ike Bruce could have a handful of catches/yards and could each score. And of course, Torry Holt is taken in all leagues, but Bruce may be floating out on your waiver wire. If you’re stuck trying to fill your third WR slot this week, you could do worse than the wily vet Bruce.

Mike Furrey (WR – DET): Furrey had five catches for 91 yards Week 4 against the Bears. Of course, Calvin Johnson was out that game, but the reason I still recommend Furrey is because Shaun McDonald has averaged only 3 catches and 22 yards per game in the Lions’ past three games. Furrey has also been quiet lately, but with his track record against the Bears, I think he’ll turn in 4-5 catches for 50-60 yards and a possible score. There should be some points scored in Chicago this Sunday, and Furrey could join the party.

Adrian Peterson (RB – CHI): As for the “deep” sleeper in the DET/CHI game, let’s look at the “other” AP, who has been catching the ball (18 receptions on the season) and is even getting a few carries. Expect him to spell the ineffective Cedric Benson and rush for 20 or 30 yards and grab a few passes for 20-30 more yards.

John Kasay (PK – CAR): All signs point to Kasay being busy on Sunday. The Cats will be led by either David Carr or Vinny Testaverde. The Colts have played pretty solid defense lately. And Carolina will need every point they can muster up against Indy. Expect Kasay to have 3-4 attempts Sunday.

Ted Ginn, Jr. (WR – MIA): At this point, the Fins have absolutely nothing to lose and this is probably the week that they start using Ginn Jr. on end-arounds, etc. They’re playing in London, England at Wembley Stadium and Miami could look to wow the Brit fans with exciting plays. If that’s the case, Ginn Jr. will probably be in on them.

Bo Scaife (TE – TEN): Scaife was pegged as a nice sleeper TE to start the season but has fallen off. The Titan WRs only have two TDs this season and with the aggressive Oakland secondary clamping down on the wideouts, many passes (and maybe a TD) could go to Scaife. Scaife had six catches last week and had five catches in his only previous game against Oakland.

David Akers (PK – PHI): Akers is a solid NFL kicker who you can count on in fantasy too. The Eagles face a Viking defense that could shut the run down and Akers could get some chances if Donovan McNabb can get them in position. Add in the fact that the game will be played indoors and you have yourself a quality start at PK.

Jeff Reed (PK – PIT): There’s gonna be a ton of points scored in this game. Reed’s leg was quiet last week but could certainly make some noise this week.

Glenn Holt (WR – CIN): And for a deeper sleeper in the PIT/CIN, look to the Bengals’ third wideout, Glenn Holt. Chris Henry is still two weeks away from returning to NFL action, so Holt has value for another couple weeks. Holt has been decent and caught 5 balls last week. Look for him to make a case for playing time once Henry returns.

Trent Edwards (QB – BUF): Edwards, in his first NFL start, threw for 234 and a TD against the Jets Week 4. The Jets allowed Carson Palmer to throw for 226 yards (on only 14 completions) last week. Look for Edwards to throw for at least 240 this week, and he could add a late score playing from behind.

Nate Kaeding (PK – SD): This game will most likely be played somewhere other than San Diego. At this point, it’s probably going to take place in Arizona, but it could also just be shifted to Houston or perhaps Dallas. Either way, the game will be in a dome, which favors the kickers. The Bolts will have a lot on their minds and the offense could stall against the young, aggressive Texan front seven. Expect Kaeding to have at least three FG chances on Sunday.

Michael Turner (RB – SD): For this matchup’s deep sleeper, let’s look at Michael Turner. If the Bolts happen to be firing on all cylinders, they very well could blow the Sage Rosenfels led Texans out early. Turner could get some carries late in the game and he has the speed and moves to make things happen in the open field.

John Carney (PK – JAX): Josh Scobee continues to sit for the Jags. The veteran Carney comes in and has connected on all three of his attempts thus far. He could easily have three attempts this week with Quinn Gray leading the offense against a rather stout Tampa Bay defensive squad.

Arnaz Battle (WR – SF): Battle has scored in the past two Niner games and could easily make it three against the sieve-like Saint defense. Expect some points to be scored in this one, and Battle could have his best game of the season.

Shaun Suisham (PK – WAS): Suisham is better than his 7/10 FG stat leads you to believe. The Skins’ players and coaches believe in this guy’s leg and it could be busy against the Patriots.

Daniel Graham (TE – DEN): The Packers yield stats to TEs and with the Broncos shorthanded at WR, Graham could play a significant role. TE Tony Scheffler looked to increase his role but can’t manage to stay healthy.

I drafted Tony Scheffler on most of my teams. But once it became apparent that he was not going to be used, I dumped him in all. But the last couple of weeks there has been a Scheffler sighting. This week I dropped Desmond Clark for Scheffler in my dynasty league. With the Broncos losing Walker for possibly a long time, they suddenly find themselves in need of pass catchers, and Scheffler was heavily involved last week.

Most people figured Scheffler would be of little use this season after his off-season foot injury and the acquisition of Daniel Graham. And that was indeed the case over the first 6 games. It seemed Scheffler wasn’t needed. But the situation appears to have changed and I expect Scheffler to pick up where he left off last year as one of Cutler’s favorite targets, especially in the end zone.

Now, I am not going to tell you to go and drop Desmond Clark for Scheffler in a redraft league. Everybody keeps trying to bury Clark, with the arrival of Olsen. Olsen has got plenty of play in the last few weeks, and should going forward as well. But Clark is a guy I would not be dropping in a redraft league. I still think he will be a good lower lever TE for the rest of the season. As long as Griese is in there, he is going to make good use of both of his big tight end targets. And if either Olsen or Clark missed any time, the other would be a must start.

I think Scheffler and Clark may put up similar numbers for the remainder of the season, but I have the luxury of going younger since it is a dynasty league, and my other tight end is Antonio Gates.

Can I take a moment to express my gratitude to the league mate that traded me Antonio Gates in the offseason? I almost feel guilty. Almost.

Another thing I wanted to mention was the continuing devaluation of the running back in the NFL and fantasy football. If you take a look at the PPR points leaders, there are only 6 running backs among the top 30 in points. Meanwhile 10 of the top 20 overall are wide receivers.

I wrote an article before last season suggesting it might be time for the Stud WR theory. This season is proving that theory’s time has come. With most all NFL teams going to a two back system, there just aren’t as many points coming from the running back position on fantasy rosters this season. To that end, I would suggest those playing dynasty leagues to focus more on making sure you have the “next big thing” at QB/WR/ and TE. The game is changing, and those in dynasty leagues in particular should be taking note.

For those that are falling out of contention in this year’s dynasty leagues, you will want to start positioning yourself for next year over the next several weeks. If you can unload any currently hot running backs for stud WRs or TEs, I think that would be a good building strategy to position yourself for success next season. With all the injuries at RB this season, if you have a surplus at the position you might get some good value.

The QB position is in a wild state of flux. Dynasty leaguers might want to give Kellen Clemens and John Beck a roster spot soon. Either or both could find themselves with starting positions next season, if not sooner. Clemens is probably already rostered in most dynasty leagues, but Beck is likely available.

I finished next to last place in my new dynasty league last season. I spent the last half of the year focusing on waiver wire and positioning myself for this year. I am currently 4th place overall in that league. As fast as the NFL is changing, such changes in fortune are even more possible than ever before. And right now is about the right time to start making moves to make sure next season is a better one.

The NFL wants to expand their empire. Fine, You have to accept that the NFL is a huge, rather successful business that acts like a corporation with 32 departments (only in this case the departments are encouraged to compete against each other). Since professional football has overtaken the country in popularity, it is only natural to want to expand the base across the seas and hence – let’s play football in Wembley Stadium where it has to be considered “American Football” lest it confuse the brits who expect to see a black and white ball kicked about. Fine. So what teams do we send them? The New York Giants and the Miami Dolphins. Now the Giants make a bit of sense, they represent an internationally known city and it was probably the best Manning they could get to make the trip.

But the Dolphins?

Sure, they arranged the game long ago but the Dolphins were only 6-10 last season. And they were entering a rebuilding year with new madman Cam Cameron in charge. What did they expect? Miami was likely attractive because A.) they would do it; B.) they were on the east coast anyway so what’s 4425 miles of flight time? and C.) they would do it. So here we are sending two teams to showcase the NFL for a foreign country that greatly prefers “the other football” and considers our football to be a milder form of rugby. And we are sending them an 0-7 team that may never win another game this year. Maybe never again because it is just hard to see how they could right now.

Play this game on Monday night with the Giants needing a win with big points to reach the playoffs and it ends 72-0. The three best offensive players on this team are Cleo Lemon, Jesse Chatman and Marty Booker – wrap your head around that one. Granted, the NFL could not know that Ronnie Brown was going to shred his ACL trying to make a tackle on a Cleo Lemon interception caused when he tried to hit his #1 receiver Marty Booker. Granted, the Dolphins did lay their fortunes at the feet of Trent Green who was already careful when he sneezed so as to not concuss himself again. And the Dolphins did trade away Chris Chambers at the last minute when Greeen was out of the picture since they could no longer pretend they had a chance this year even with the help of a bottle of 151 Bicardi. But man, I can already hear the british fans in the stands.

“I say, isn’t the defense supposed to tackle the chap with the ball?”

“Why does that Miami quarterback throw it to the defenders? Shouldn’t he aim for his own players?”

“Well this explains why no one gets excited enough to fight in the stands in America. They must sell cheap beer just to fill the seats over there.”

This is bound to look more like a game than it should since the Giants have to appear to be playing an equal or sorts or they just chalk it up as something scripted to make one side look good. Like professional wrestling. Or a political dialogue on Fox. I half hope that Cameron and Coughlin meet in the hotel lobby and divvy up some points that will mimic a real NFL game.

You know, last year I said that the Oakland Raiders were the worst team that I had ever seen since the coaching staff never had the players to lose them later on. I was wrong. The Fins have taken the Limbo bar down yet another notch. Not only did the coaching staff make some wildly questionable calls and moves before the season, and they did opt to mis-use Ronnie Brown for the first two games in mind-boggling fashion, but now the entire talent from this team has been stripped. They traded off their #1 wideout at midseason. That’s like taking a pitstop in NASCAR and then icepicking the tire before it leaves the pit. And the beauty in this is that tanking the rest of the season probably won’t accomplish anything because the Rams and Falcons are in heavy contention for the #1 overall pick in the 2008 NFL draft too. Is the rest of the season going to be used to get playing time for up and coming players? Not so much. Lemon and Chatman will hardly be locks to return next year unless Cameron is given too much say in the matter. That wily pick of Ted Ginn with the #9 pick in the draft last April has paid off with six catches for 120 yards so far. It’s like the Fins are going to show the world what a real practice squad can do.

Both teams have their bye weeks immediately after this game which is pretty interesting too. I mean – why wouldn’t you give them the week before off? So they could prepare for two weeks and then get over there and get a bit acclimated to the time and weather which will be nothing like the Dolphins are used to playing in?

And then the beauty of it all is LB Channing Crowder of the Dolphins saying “I couldn’t find London on a map if they didn’t have the names of the countries. I swear to God. I don’t know what nothing is. I know Italy looks like a boot. I learned that.”

Oh yeah, that’s going to help the european notion that Americans know nothing about world geopgraphy.

Ah – I guess it’s okay that this may not accomplish a lot of converts over there. We’re not even sure where there is anyway.

Trust me, there have been just as many “what were you thinking” instances as there are “pats on the back”. All’s fair in love and war and especially when selecting sleepers (deep and otherwise) in fantasy football.

But, being the optimist I am, I’ll take a gander back at my Week 7 picks (and highlight the ones that panned out), and will add a comment on how that player may or may not be an option in the second half of this fantasy season.

Rian Lindell (PK – BUF): Well check that out, I’m gettin’ pretty good at this sleeper PK thing. No, Lindell is no Rob Bironas, but you can’t scoff at 4 FGs (with a long of 41 yards). Buffalo will continue to move the ball sporadically, giving Lindell some opportunities, but you may want to avoid Lindell as the season draws to a close due to the inclement weather in Buffalo.

Jason Hanson (PK – DET): Maybe I should just change this to Sleepers for Kicks. Hanson drilled three FGs and hit both of his PATs. Not bad if you’re looking for a different PK each week. Hanson will produce as the season goes on due to the Lions’ offense and the fact he kicks indoors for home games.

Zach Miller (TE – OAK): Miller set a career high with 4 catches this past week, hauling in 48 yards. If you’re hurting at TE, snatch Miller up if you think this is a sign of things to come. It very well could be.

Chad Pennington (QB – NYJ): A somewhat bittersweet report card here, as Pennington could be out as the Jets’ starter come Week 8. But Pennington shouldn’t be blamed/benched after throwing three scores and 272 yards (going 20/31). Sure, he did lose a fumble and threw a pick, but you think Kellen Clemens is going to do any better?

Check back mid-week for Week 8’s sleepers.