Jamarcus Russell made his long-awaited debut last week against the Broncos.

Quarterbacks

John Beck, Miami  Dolphins
Season Stats: 46-84, 418 yds., 0 TD, 3 INT, 53.6 PR
Last Week: 23-39, 177 yds., 0 TD, 3 INT, 38.1 PR

So much for the “no interceptions yet” talk from last week.  Beck was picked off three times against the shoddy New York Jets defense, including one by fellow rookie Darrelle Revis.  The rookie also lost two fumbles and will need a lot of help within the next few seasons if he is going to flourish in any way.  Maybe Darren McFadden can help, but with Ronnie Brown still in tow, look for the ‘Phins to snag a ton of draft picks this season - they just have to.

Trent Edwards, Buffalo  Bills
Season Stats: 102-157, 1047 yds., 1 TD, 5 INT, 72.9 PR
Last Week: 22-36, 257 yds., 0 TD, 0 INT, 82.8 PR

This kid is completing a ton of his passes, but just can’t find the end zone to save his life.  While J.P. Losman brings the Bills a deep threat, Edwards is a bigger fan of the underneath routes – which may be the bane of Lee Evans’ existence.  He shouldn’t be counted on in any fantasy leagues, but may be worth holding on to in dynasty formats.  You never know.

JaMarcus Russell, Oakland Raider
Season Stats: 4-7, 56 yds., 0 TD, 0 INT, 83.0 PR
Last Week: 4-7, 56 yds., 0 TD, 0 INT, 83.0 PR

Not long after we thought we wouldn’t see Russell until 2008, the rookie gets a few snaps and completes his first pass as an NFL quarterback.  This kid is obviously worth holding on to for next season in dynasty formats, but should not be counted on at all as long as the calendar still says 2007 on  it.

Running Backs

Adrian Peterson, Minnesota  Vikings
Season Stats: 184 car., 1197 yds., 10 TD; 16 rec., 230 yds., 1 TD
Last Week: 15 car., 116 yds., 2 TD; 1 rec., 10 yds., 0  TD

Last week, we called Peterson a risky RB2.  This is what we get for doubting this kid, as well as the Vikings ability to make decisions.  The inevitable Rookie of the Year rattled off 7.7 yards per carry en route to another huge fantasy day.  It would not surprise us one bit if Peterson is the second back off of the board in redraft leagues next season, or the first in keeper formats.  If you nabbed him in any sort of roll-over league,  congratulations.  It looks like you have quite a foundation.

Marshawn Lynch, Buffalo Bills
Season Stats: 196 car., 751 yds., 6 TD; 15 rec., 120 yds., 0 TD
Last Week: N/A

It appears that Lynch is a bit tired of sitting out with an ankle injury and watching Adrian Peterson pull away from the pack.  Though he’s officially listed as “questionable,” it looks like he is more of the  “probable” variety, as team officials say there is a good chance that Lynch will suit up against the Dolphins.  Even if Lynch suits up, it wouldn’t surprise us if he split carries with Fred Jackson.  He’s a risky play this week, as playoff owners may want to take a more conservative route – say, Ryan Grant?

Ryan Grant, Green Bay Packers
Season Stats: 121 car., 588 yds., 4 TD; 25 rec., 127 yds., 0 TD
Last Week: 14 car., 94 yds., 2 TD; 1 rec., 4 yds., 0 TD

Great transition.   Hopefully, he wasn’t on your bench last week as he was “questionable” and had an early start, only to go off for nearly 100 total yards and two touchdowns.  He even had a tackle, leaving more points on the table for IDP owners.  He’s a must start in every format this week as the Packers suit up against the Oakland Raiders and a run defense that has been torched by many backs this season.  Even if Grant doesn’t top the 15 carry mark again this week, he’s ability to produce should not be limited.

Kolby Smith, Kansas City Chiefs
Season Stats: 62 car., 252 yds., 2 TD; 10 rec., 65 yds., 0 TD
Last Week: 21 car., 83 yds., 0 TD; 2 rec., 1 yd., 0 TD

Those of you that were hoping for a repeat of two weeks ago were mightily disappointed when Smith was unable to find the end zone against the Chargers.  Thankfully, he’ll square up against the Denver Broncos this week and should get a truckload of carries with Larry Johnson still out.  You can bet that Herm Edwards will look to stick it to their division rivals this Sunday, and Smith will be a big part of said sticking.  Get him in there as a high-upside RB2.

Fred Jackson, Buffalo Bills
Season Stats: 25 car., 116 yds., 0 TD; 12 rec., 124 yds., 0 TD
Last Week: 16 car., 82 yds., 0 TD; 4 rec., 69 yds., 0 TD

Not to be confused with Freddie Jackson, this Jackson appears to be just as smooth.  But instead of rattling off slow jams, he provided the Bills with over 150 yards of total offense – and provided PPR owners with four catches.  If Lynch returns as planned, Jackson will likely take a back seat. Just don’t count him out to get some garbage carries against the ‘Phins, or even some change-of-pace carries during the meat of the game to keep Lynch healthy.

Wide Receivers

Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City  Chiefs
Season Stats: 54 rec., 786 yds., 4 TD
Last Week: 5 rec., 55 rec., 0 TD

The rookie out of LSU continues to get his catches, but has failed to find the end zone yet again.  Tight end Tony Gonzalez has been the main passing target for the Chiefs as of late, but this may be a good thing this week as he may draw attention away from Bowe – especially in the form of Champ Bailey.  We expect a ton of running plays from Kansas City this week, but if you only need a few catches and modest yardage out of your WR3 this week, Bowe is a solid option.

Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions
Season Stats: 32 rec., 502 yds., 4 TD
Last Week: 1 rec., 17 yds., 0 TD

By far one of the biggest inconsistent, high-upside receivers in the league.  A week after piling on the numbers, Johnson goes for one snag in a big game against the Vikings.  What may work to Johnson’s favor is the fact that the Lions may be without start receiver Roy Williams for the remainder of the season and Jon Kitna may be forced to look Johnson’s way a bit more often. Some have said that he may not be 100 percent this week, but he’s tough to sit given his ability to produce. Cross your fingers.

Ted Ginn, Jr., Miami  Dolphins
Season Stats: 18 rec., 259 yds., 1 TD
Last Week: 3 rec., 19 yds., 0 TD

Remember last week when we were excited to watch Ginn against the Jets?  Hopefully you were not counting on him to do much as the Dolphins were blown out last week.  With the number one overall pick in their near future, this team simply needs to get a win out of the way to break the 0-for slump. But as much as they would like to get a “W,” opposing teams are trying that much harder to not be the first ones to get an “L” against Miami.  Not good news for Ginn and company.

Sidney Rice, Minnesota  Vikings
Season Stats: 28 rec., 365 yds., 4 TD
Last Week: 5 rec., 53 yds., 1 TD

A hot waiver addition only a few weeks ago, Rice has rattled off two straight games of solid numbers.  His touchdown catch was one of the bigger highlights off the week in the corner of the end zone, and he’s really starting to turn some heads – especially that of his quarterback Tavaris  Jackson.  He should only be started in certain match-ups, but this kid may solve the Vikings receiver issues in no  time.

Tight Ends

Greg Olsen, Chicago  Bears
Season Stats: 34 rec., 346 yds., 2 TD
Last Week: 3 rec., 31 yds., 0 TD (Thurs.)

Rex Grossman may like to throw the ball to Bernard Berrian a lot, but with Brian Griese back under center, he may look Olsen’s way just like old times.  Olsen made a solid one-handed-falling catch on Thursday night against the Redskins, but only caught two more balls aside from that.  Owners have to hope that he starts to get more red zone looks, but they may be better off going with a high-upside guy like Marcedes Lewis this week against the  Panthers.