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It has not been a good year for the preseason Top 50 players in fantasy football. Injuries, poor performances and busts have littered the road thus far this season, leaving their fantasy owners woozier than Marie Osmond on “Dancing with the Stars.”

The latest victim was Ronnie Brown, who was lost for the season with a knee injury. And if that’s not bad enough, another of the season’s top RBs – LaMont Jordan – is looking dicey these days while Marvin Harrison clearly isn’t the Marvin Harrison of old.

Though I’m not about to call him an old Marvin Harrison. Not yet anyway.

What’s this all mean? It means fantasy owners are scratching and clawing their ways to fantasy titles. Unless you have Tom Brady, chances are you’re being forced to dig pretty deep on a weekly basis to get some points.

In my Main League last week, Andre Davis, Ike Hilliard and Earnest Graham went off for me while Javon Walker, Deion Branch and Rudi Johnson were busy nursing injuries on my bench.

That’s the kind of year it’s been.

A few weeks ago you may have chuckled if your opponent was starting Kevin Walter, Derrick Mason and Roddy White. But nobody’s laughing anymore. It’s been an insane fantasy season and I don’t think it’s going to get any saner anytime soon. So that means you find the production from any source you can – no matter how unlikely it might seem. The way this season is unfolding, the most unlikely of sources today can become fantasy stars tomorrow.

Now let’s take a look back at Week 7 and a look ahead to Week 8:

Is there a worse quarterback in the NFL than Tavaris Jackson? Why did anyone in Minnesota think starting Jackson was the right move to make? Can anyone provide even a remotely intelligent answer as to why Brad Childress thought this was a good idea?

Mike Holmgren can say what he wants but Shaun Alexander is fading fast. Alexander is reacting slower than CTU does when there’s a mole in their midst.

Don’t look now Joseph Addai owners, but there’s a new sheriff in town and his name is Kenton Keith.

I know they won the game but c’mon, there’s no way Mike Martz was happy turning his offense into a run-heavy attack to please his head coach against the Bucs. You just know he had to be hoping for a few 1-yard gains from Kevin Jones so he could turn Jon Kitna loose.

Think Rudi Johnson is feeling a sense of déjà vu? In 2003, he was the backup who took advantage of a nagging injury to the starter (Corey Dillon) to become the prominent RB for the Bengals. Four years later, Rudi’s the one hobbling and Kenny Watson is making a lot of people think he should be the starter. Sound familiar?

You better get healthy quick, Rudi.

Speaking of Rudi, I hate to kick a guy when he’s down but I just wanted to point out that we’re entering Week 8 and Rudi has only one more touchdown this season than I do.

Looking for a sleeper defense this week? Try the Browns. Sure their defense isn’t very good but they have the good fortune of facing the Rams’ offensive line, who are about as good at taking care of Marc Bulger as Britney Spears does with her kids. I’m also digging the Bucs against Jacksonville and backup QB Quinn Gray, who somehow managed to look worse than Tavaris Jackson last week.

Meanwhile, that sound you hear is Jacksonville’s season being flushed down the toilet if David Garrard misses extensive time.

I’m not saying there should be a QB controversy in Houston but maybe the Texans should consider letting Matt Schaub heal up through their Week 10 bye and start Sage Rosenfels. There was no denying Rosenfels provided more of a spark in the fourth quarter against the Titans than Schaub has in the past three games. Just a thought.

So far, the Reggie Bush As A Feature Back plan seems to be working out pretty well.

Packers-Broncos Monday night in Denver and the Rockies-Red Sox playing in the World Series on the same night. Should be a wild night in the Mile High City.

On a completely non-football note I have one word to describe my thoughts about Kristen Bell joining the cast of “Heroes.”

Yum.

And lastly, here’s hoping everyone in California is safe and sound this week due to the raging fires plaguing the southern portion of the state.

Tom,

I know there is a Chat coming sometime this week but in your opinion,

Keep or Drop Javon?

Does it depend on your depth at WR or should he be chucked anyway?

Tom,

I am begging you, keep this thread going and focused on football! Though I have to give you props for the reference to "CTU on 24" and how they react to a mole...lol Very funny. If I can make a request, maybe you can throw in a reference to something from "The Wire" on HBO. Maybe the greatest achievement in American television.

Indeed a crazy NFL season. Roster management skills are at a premium this season with all the injuries. Being able to identify useful scraps from the free agent wire and exploit matchups can be the only thing that saves teams who have been hurt bad by injury...

Anyone hear the name Brady Quinn lately? Is anyone other than me rooting for absolute windstorms and BLIZZARDS for every New England Patriot game the rest of the year?

Anyone remember how productive D. Branch was before disappearing? We hear about A. Johnson all the time, but most forget about the chemistry between Hass and Branch...

I wonder how hard people will bid for jesse chapman. That team is looking as dead as the Raiders last year and has rough second half schedule.

Few are talking about it but Eli Manning is playing some pretty good football.

I am not and never have been a Packer fan. But I find myself as an NFL guy impressed with and rooting for Favre and the Pack.

Best of luck in week 8...

I think it depends on your depth and your league. In small leagues or leagues with tight roster limits I think you drop him. I have him in four leagues. I dropped him in one because I'm killed by byes and needed a healthy WR to start. I dropped him in another because the roster limits are tight.

My take is this will be like Darrell Jackson's situation a few years ago when he missed 10 weeks, came back and had one good game, one bad one and then was shut down. I personally don't think Javon's worth the gamble but if you have large rosters or you're in great shape at WR and can afford to keep him you might as well do that and see what happens.

I think Branch is going to be just fine if he's healthy. A No. 1 WR in a Holmgren offense is a very nice thing to have and if the Seahawks continue to struggle running the ball, Branch will get plenty of looks.

Tom K:


Once again, great stuff. Comparing the Rams offensive line and the protection of Mark Bulger to Britney Spears taking care of her kids is an all time favorite.


Being a Mark Bulger owner, it has been the only time all year hearing his name hasn't made me cringe. Clap clap!

Is Reggie Bush working out carrying the load? I'm of the impression that teams are having a pretty easy time stopping the run (linebacker speed), and that's what's causing the QB/WR play to be so dicey.

What else could explain Drew Brees and those receivers? Is Drew just throwing bad passes and making terrible decisions, or is the offensive line not giving him the time to throw. I'd really like to understand this one...

Originally posted by renman:
Tom,

I am begging you, keep this thread going and focused on football! Though I have to give you props for the reference to "CTU on 24" and how they react to a mole...lol Very funny. If I can make a request, maybe you can throw in a reference to something from "The Wire" on HBO. Maybe the greatest achievement in American television.

Indeed a crazy NFL season. Roster management skills are at a premium this season with all the injuries. Being able to identify useful scraps from the free agent wire and exploit matchups can be the only thing that saves teams who have been hurt bad by injury...

Anyone hear the name Brady Quinn lately? Is anyone other than me rooting for absolute windstorms and BLIZZARDS for every New England Patriot game the rest of the year?

Anyone remember how productive D. Branch was before disappearing? We hear about A. Johnson all the time, but most forget about the chemistry between Hass and Branch...

I wonder how hard people will bid for jesse chapman. That team is looking as dead as the Raiders last year and has rough second half schedule.

Few are talking about it but Eli Manning is playing some pretty good football.

I am not and never have been a Packer fan. But I find myself as an NFL guy impressed with and rooting for Favre and the Pack.

Best of luck in week 8... Yeah I wonder about Chatman also. I screwed up this past week and dropped Chatman from my main event team for some bye help and of course Brown gets hurt. But the dolphins just activated the rookie Booker so I think he will get some carries also along with Cobbs. The dolphins do have a tough schedule the rest of the way also.

I like what I've seen from Bush - so to speak. I think he's showing he can be a featured RB in this league. And I'm seeing improvement from Brees as well. The big thing they need is to play from the front. That gives Brees the chance to use play-action and that's one of the strengths of his game.

T.K GOOD POST JUST CURIOUS AS TO WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT RUDI...WILL HE BE BACK THIS WEEK .AND IF SO HOW WILL HE DO AGAINST THE STEELERS. AND I FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT BEAL.YUM...BUT 1 QUESTION....WHATS BRITNEY SPEARS DOING WITH HER LIFE? M.N.F.