Posted by Matthew Berry
Thoughts, Ramblings, Useless information and Musings …
On a plane.
In about two hours, I'm on a plane to Washington to see my Redskins play on "Monday Night Football." Very, very excited. I don't get to go to live football games all that often because I work on Sundays, of course.
As a result of my travel, I'm going to offer 10 things I noticed from the early games. As always, for a comprehensive look at Week 9, be sure to read Eric Karabell's Instant Replay on Monday morning.
1. We've been waiting for this day.
Tim Hightower, starter. He rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown and, by the way, is owned in only 74 percent of leagues. Admittedly, his performance was against the Rams, but still. He now has eight touchdowns in seven games. He's not a fluke, and I absolutely love him. Can we officially change Edgerrin James' name to "toast"? He didn't get one carry.
In that same game, it was nice to see Torry Holt come back with a late touchdown, but I still would rather have Donnie Avery.
2. Whew.
I said on Sunday Countdown to sit Brett Favre. Barely more than 200 yards, an interception and no touchdowns later, Favre now has nine turnovers and only three touchdowns in his past four games. He does get St. Louis next week, but I'm not too excited about him on the road at New England in two weeks.
3. Ocho Dos?
Chad Johnson returned from the dead to score two touchdowns, and if I owned him I couldn't trade him fast enough. Even if you are "selling low" because somebody doesn't totally believe, I still would. He has a bye next week, then Philly, then Pittsburgh. The rest of Cincy's schedule is brutal.
4. Apparently, it was just LJ.
The Chiefs ran the ball and did so very well against the Bucs. First it was Kolby Smith (10 carries for 46 yards and a touchdown), and then, after he left with an injury, Jamaal Charles went nuts. Charles had 18 carries for 106 yards and got tough yards. He is available in 91 percent of ESPN.com leagues, by the way.
5. The dream turns to a nightmare. Or, ouch.
Kyle Orton and Matt Schaub left their respective games with injuries. Hopefully, both will be back very soon. If not, there are a lot of quarterbacks out there that I like more than Rex Grossman and Sage Rosenfels.
6. And those quarterbacks are?
Jerry Lai/US Presswire
Bad news: Kyle Orton got hurt. Worse news: Rex Grossman is his backup.
I know it will feel weird clicking the button to make a pickup, and even weirder if you actually have to start one of these guys. But Dan Orlovsky is averaging 260 passing yards in his past three games and had 292 yards and two touchdowns on the road at the Bears on Sunday. Tyler Thigpen had another good game, too. He threw a touchdown pass and caught another (those tricky Chiefs!) a week after throwing for two scores. The Chiefs get the porous Chargers defense next week. I mentioned Gus Frerotte a few times in this space, and he didn't disappoint Sunday, throwing for 182 yards and three touchdowns. Finally, Joe Flacco has at least 200 yards passing in three of his past four and gets Houston next week.
7. Guess the player.
He has three touchdowns in his past four games, and four in his past six. He is available in more than 50 percent of ESPN leagues. His name? Visanthe Shiancoe. It was nice to see Sidney Rice back, and Bernard Berrian continues to look fantastic.
8. Your guess is as good as mine.
I don't know what to tell you about the Baltimore running game. That's as honest as I can be. Just when you think someone's dead, he explodes. Ray Rice had 176 total yards (a week after a nice 64-yard game on eight carries), but Le'Ron McClain had the touchdown while Willis McGahee dressed and looked on (if only that were more frustrating). I honestly don't feel safe starting any Baltimore running back these days, but at least we know McClain will get goal-line carries.
9. Who? No, seriously, who?
What a weird day. More than any week I remember, it seemed like there were a lot of guys you never would have started getting touchdowns. It was one of those weeks when you just had to scratch your head after the following guys got into the end zone: Derek Fine, Grossman, Jason Wright, Thigpen, Jerheme Urban and David Anderson. Plus there was Mark Bradley, who threw a touchdown pass to a quarterback (the aforementioned Thigpen; those tricky Chiefs!).
10. Now that's what we call hot.
The past four weeks for Thomas Jones? He has scored five touchdowns, and the one game in that stretch when he failed to score he had 159 rushing yards. He was started in just 71 percent of leagues in Week 9. He gets St. Louis next week. Just saying.
Matthew Berry -- The Talented Mr. Roto -- is the creator of RotoPass.com, a Web site that combines several well-known fantasy sites, including ESPN Insider, for one low price. Use promo code ESPN for 10 percent off. Cyberstalk the TMR | Be his Cyberfriend
Matthew Berry
