FANTASY FOOTBALL IN-SEASON FEATURES

Now it all makes sense: in Warner's last three starts against the Niners he's racked up 1,139 yards and six touchdowns. Matt Leinart can wait a little bit longer.

The Cards certainly get their money's worth from James when they play the 49ers: he's carried 98 times for 348 yards and two touchdowns in four meetings over the past two seasons. It's nothing special, but through sheer volume he's earning you fantasy points.

Familiarity breeds contempt: four of the five 100-yard receiving games the 49ers surrendered last year came at the hands of divisional foes. You can bet the Niners are tired of Fitz and Boldin, who have 77 catches, 1,129 yards, and eight scores between them over the past six meetings. Fitz has had more success of late, but both are outstanding plays this week.

Trent Dilfer went for 256 and two against the Cards last year, so there's at least some upside to O'Sullivan helming Martz Mania.

Gore has, uh, gored the Cards for 546 yards from scrimmage and seven touchdowns in just the past four meetings. About the only thing that can stop him is if Mike Martz completely neglects his feature back so he can throw to his third and fourth receivers.

Davis has thrown some nice efforts at the Cards, but this is a new regime. And until we see evidence Martz knows how to use a tight end, it's tough to plug VD into the lineup. At least there's enough upside this week that you can somewhat comfortably err on the side of history and toss Davis out there.

Only Detroit allowed more fantasy points to quarterbacks last year than the Browns; even having Jessica Simpson in attendance couldn't put the kibosh on what promises to be a big fantasy day for Romo.

The Browns tightened up their run defense last year, allowing just four rushing scores—but 11 100-yard rushers. Cleveland added Shaun Rogers in the offseason, which certainly helps. But it would take a whole lot more than Shaun Rogers for me to advocate sitting MB3 down.

While there is plenty of uncertainty regarding how and how much Jones will be used, the big play potential he brings to the return game as well as the Dallas backfield warrants closer scrutiny.

With Romo set for a big day it certainly follows that TO will get his share.

A dozen different wingmen posted at least 50 yards against the Browns, who apparently are an equal opportunity secondary. There should be enough Romo spillover for Crayton to get at least a taste.

No defense allowed more tight end touchdowns than the Browns... and that's probably all the encouragement you need to keep Witten in your lineup.

Anderson's stat line tailed off towards the end of last season; here's his chance to reverse that trend against a defense that allowed at least 236 passing yards in half of its games last season.

The Cowboys allowed just one 100-yard rusher last year, but they also gave up 80 or more yards to seven others. Lewis also has the advantage of running behind one of the best lines in football. While he's still considered a game-time decision, all indications are that he will be in the lineup and relied upon heavily in the season opener.

The remarkably consistent Edwards scored or topped 100 yards (or both) in 12 of 16 games last season.

Stallworth isn't a great play this week, but he did go for 136 and one against Dallas last season as a member of the Patriots. Moreover, the Cowboys surrendered 75-plus yards to a secondary receiver in the same game the No. 1 went for 100... so there may just be enough to go around.

Both of the notable tight ends the Cowboys faced last season—Chris Cooley and Jeremy Shockey—posted solid outings. Winslow is at least the equal of those two players and a more critical component of his team's offense, so good numbers are in the offing.

No team allowed fewer passing yards last season than the Colts. And that's a great fit for Orton, because he won't be throwing for many passing yards this season.

Used to be Indy was a pushover on the ground; not any more. Making matters worse is a banged up offensive line and the possibility that both Kevin Jones and Adrian Peterson (no, the other one) will horn in on Forte's touches.

Booker represents the rest of the Bears' receiving corps, none of whom should be anywhere near your fantasy roster.

With their line in shambles the Bears may need to turn to their tight ends less for catching and more for blocking. That won't help their fantasy digits.

Sure, there's concern about his knee and the state of the line that's kept his jersey clean for years. But not enough to keep Peyton from his rightful place in your fantasy lineup.

Da Bears surrendered 11 running back touchdowns in the last seven games of 2007... and in case you missed it, they didn't look any better during the preseason.

His role with Marvin Harrison back on the field remains somewhat cloudy. I need to see how Marv looks and where Gonzo and Dallas Clark are lining up before giving him a ringing fantasy endorsement.

Much of Clark's success in 2007 stemmed from Indy's need to play him in the slot. Now that Marv and Gonzo are healthy, Clark's upside may be limited. Of course, fantasy folks would rather he not settle all the way back to the 500-yard, four-touchdown range from whence he came.

There are still questions about his health, and eventually he'll need to do more than turn and hand the ball to All Day. When he does, then he might have some fantasy value; until then, not so much.

The Pack did what few others could last year—shut down Adrian Peterson. Of course, it took them two tries to do so. You didn't spend a top-five pick on All Day to keep him on your bench.

The plan is for the role of ADP's understudy to get smaller as we go along, which leaves Taylor on the outside looking in from a fantasy perspective.

Berrian was brought in to stretch the field vertically, while Rice's primary asset is his ability to go up and get the ball in the red zone. There's most definitely upside in both roles, but many things need to fall into place—the quarterback situation, for one—before either Viking wideout can be plugged with confidence into a fantasy lineup.

Nothing to see here; move along.

Thanks for hanging around, Aaron. Now we'd like you to replace a legend. On Monday night football. Behind a banged-up offensive line. Against a defense that just added the NFL's sack leader. All we ask is that you match Brett's 696 and five from last year's season series. Too much? Okay, we'll take away the Vikings' newly acquired safety. Now get at it. No pressure.

Grant gouged the league's top-ranked run defense for one of his five 100-yard games last year, but behind a banged-up line and without No. 4 to stretch the field he may find the sledding a little tougher this time around.

Driver used to post monster games on the Vikings like clockwork, but last year the results were more spread around. Don't expect Rodgers to find as many secondary receivers, but against one of the league's most fantasy-friendly secondaries there should be plenty of room for both Driver and Jennings to put up helpful digits.

For a guy who was struggling with undiagnosed diabetes, Cutler had a very nice finish to the 2007 season. Oakland's pass defense is solid, but Cutler carved them up for 269 and one in Week 2 and 214 yards towards the end of the season. Being without Marshall certainly hurts, but the Broncos do have some other weapons.

If the NFL backpedaled any more on what was initially a three-game suspension they'd have to bring the car AND the 12-pack over to Marshall's house.

Royal has quickly climbed the depth chart, but with Marshall out this group is at best nondescript. And given Denver's matchup with one of the better secondaries in all of football, I have no problem waiting a week to see how this situation shakes down.

Scheffler should be the Broncos' go-to tight end, but he only recently emerged from Mike Shanahan's doghouse; I'd like to see him ahead of Dan Graham on the depth chart before plugging him into my fantasy lineup.

Young quarterback, stable of talented runners... initially, at least, Russell won't be asked to win games on his own. That means subdued numbers and subdued fantasy value.

There's upside galore in this talented group, but I need some roles defined before tossing one or more of Oakland's backs into a fantasy lineup. McFadden actually offers the least risk along with the most upside, because you know one way or another they'll be trying to get the ball into his hands. Bush could be the goal line guy, and all Fargas did was pace Oakland top-six rushing attack last year.

When Russell entered the lineup he focused in on Miller, and that rapport gets a boost against a Denver defense that allowed the second-most fantasy points to tight ends last season.