FANTASY FOOTBALL IN-SEASON FEATURES

Matt Schaub, Texans –
It isn’t a huge tumble, but Schaub slides down a bit looking ahead.  While the Texans looked pretty good against Indy this past week, Schaub’s numbers were more reminiscent of Trent Dilfer or Troy Aikman than the Matt Schaub of 2009.  Of course, the running game was on fire, so the passing game wasn’t needed as much, but only passing seventeen times isn’t going to get the blood going for fantasy owners, even if it wins games. 

David Garrard, Jaguars –
Garrard played a fired up game Sunday, and while it remains to be seen if he can maintain the production he had this week, he has to be given the benefit of the doubt.  It wasn’t super, by any means, but it was efficient.  170 yards, no interceptions and three touchdowns will make most fantasy owners pretty happy.  Don’t get too excited though, the schedule doesn’t get easy for the passing game for most of the season, but this performance was against a pretty solid secondary, so there is room to think that Garrard could be a solid low number one or a high number two starter moving forward.

Kyle Orton, Broncos –
Orton didn’t light things up as far as touchdown passes are concerned, but his overall performance warrants a move up.  With Seattle coming up this week (their performance against a sloppy looking Niner’s passing game notwithstanding) he should continue to toss the ball around well, and should pick up more than one touchdown.  There have been many questions surrounding the Denver passing game, but thoughts that Orton might be on a short leash are premature, this job is his, he’s comfortable after being in the system for a year, and he’ll continue to get better as the year progresses on a team that will pass a lot.

Matthew Stafford, Lions –
The good news is that Stafford isn’t going to need surgery.  The bad news is he’s going to likely miss at least 4-6 weeks.  When he comes back – healthy – he will be the starter and will start to move back up, but for now he has to be knocked down as he’ll miss significant time.  At some point he will be connecting deep with Calvin Johnson week in and week out, and when he does, it won’t take him long to reclaim some height on the rankings.

Michael Vick, Eagles –
Vick moves up, obviously, after the performance he had Sunday after Kevin Kolb left with a concussion.  The big question of the week is whether or not there will seriously be a quarterback controversy.  The answer to that question is more than likely this:  Among fans, yes; among the team leadership, no.  However, one thing that probably was cemented this week is that Vick will be put on the field as much as the team can manage, as he simply makes the team better.  This, if for no other reason, gives him better fantasy value moving forward.

Shaun Hill, Lions –
For the next few weeks at least, Hill will be the starter in Detroit.  Sure, he looked pretty rough for most of the half he played, but a week of practice getting most of the snaps will help work out some of the kinks, and Hill is a solid enough stand-in.  One thing that should be noted is that the one interception he threw Sunday happened because his receiver, Calvin Johnson, tripped on a timing route and was nowhere around to keep the INT from happening.  All in all, if you need help for a few weeks, he’s at least a decent acquisition for depth.