FANTASY FOOTBALL IN-SEASON FEATURES

Jay Cutler, Bears –
Sure, it’s only been two weeks, but sometimes it is simply fun to play with numbers.  If you project Cutler’s numbers out for the season, he’s on pace for 40 touchdowns, 8 interceptions and over 5,000 yards.  Ok, so no one believes he’ll actually get there, especially with an offensive line that is anything but solid, but the point is that he’s on fire out of the gate.  He gets Green Bay on Monday night this week in a game that could easily be a shootout, not to mention will have serious implications for the division.  Cutler moves up and could move up further if he stays on this tear for a few more weeks. 

Josh Freeman, Bucs –
Freeman’s movement up is tempered by one detail.  His first two opponents have not been very good (Cleveland and Carolina) and he now will face a stretch of teams that are much better (New England, Green Bay, Miami, and New Orleans).  At the moment however, he is being very efficient, tossing touchdowns and not tossing interceptions (only one so far), not lighting things up, but getting fantasy owners production.  In a moment in time where quarterbacks like Favre, Garrard, Young and others are posting simply pathetic numbers, quarterbacks like Freeman become very attractive.  Don’t expect huge outings, but consistently solid performances should be relatively steady.

Joe Flacco, Ravens –
Call it however you’d like, but the bottom line is Flacco just isn’t performing.  Sure, he faced a tough Jets defense in week one, but there isn’t much of an excuse for week two.  He’s got one touchdown and five interceptions in two weeks, not numbers that justify his top ten ranking heading into the season. With receivers as talented as the one’s he’s got at his disposal, including the big off season acquisition, Anquan Boldin, it is hard to make excuses for him.  So, until he begins to prove otherwise, he’s on the slide.      

Michael Vick & Kevin Kolb, Eagles – /
As much as we didn’t think it would happen, it appears that, for the time being at least, Vick is the starter in Philadelphia.  Kolb is still the ‘future’ as they say, but due to Vick’s surprisingly good play the team has little choice but to stick with the ‘hot hand’.  His forward prospects are much better than they were, at least for the foreseeable future, but expect the possibility of a roller coaster with Vick and Kolb throughout the season, something that may end up driving fantasy owners nuts.  For now Kolb takes a dive, while Vick’s star rises considerably.

Jason Campbell, Raiders –
While Campbell got pulled in favor of Bruce Gradkowski last week, don’t bet on him losing his job – yet at least.  The fact is, while Gradkowski had a decent relief effort, the powers that be in Oakland (namely Al Davis) isn’t going to let Campbell get benched for long unless he stinks up the joint for a very long time.  Few things are almost as certain as death and taxes, but this is one of those things.  So, while Campbell won’t be losing his job permanently just now, he will slide a good bit in our projections as he is on shaky ground at best – possibly not getting the start even this week.  Bottom line, he’ll get some decent garbage numbers now and then, but don’t bank on him for any kind of consistency.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Bills –
Trent Edwards is out as the Bills quarterback, and barring an injury to Fitzpatrick won’t be back.  The team finally has had enough and did what needed to be done.  While Fitzpatrick isn’t going to be a huge upgrade over Edwards, he should at least put some offensive numbers on the board, more than could be said for Edwards most weeks.  Look for this to possibly have a residual effect on the value of Lee Evans as well as the weeks move on. 

Jimmy Clausen, Panthers –
It would appear that the Matt Moore era in Carolina lasted all of two weeks.  The team has said that Clausen is the starter and considering the fact that the team is going to be ‘rebuilding’ around a new, raw quarterback, they may as well see what their future is.  Clausen will struggle, of course, and he doesn’t move up much, but as has been proven by the likes of Flacco, Ryan, Stafford and Bradford, just because you’re a rookie doesn’t mean you can’t put up some fantasy numbers worthy of consideration for bye week help or spot starting in desperate situations.