QB Jay Cutler, Denver Broncos
In the thrilling game against the San Diego Chargers, Jay Cutler authored arguably the best fantasy football quarterback performance of Week 2. He finished the game with four passing touchdowns and 350 yards passing.

RB Darren McFadden, Oakland Raiders
Early in Oakland’s game, starting running back Just Fargas went down with what appeared to be a groin injury. Darren McFadden stepped in and showed his vast potential on his way to 164 yards and a touchdown.

WR Anquan Boldin, Arizona Cardinals
After a quiet Week 1 game, Anquan Boldin exploded in Week 2. Kurt Warner looked for him early and often and Boldin finished with 140 yards receiving and three receiving touchdowns.

TE Tony Scheffler, Denver Broncos
Tony Scheffler was the recipient of two of Cutler’s four touchdown passes. He also had six catches for 64 yards to go along with the touchdowns.

K Ryan Longwell, Minnesota Vikings
In Week 2, Ryan Longwell went 5-for-6 on field goal attempts including one from 50+ yards. For those savvy fantasy owners who started him, pat yourself on the back.

D Green Bay Packers
Against the Detroit Lions, Green Bay put on a defensive show. All told, the Packers finished with five sacks, three interceptions and two defensive touchdowns.

Is Darren McFadden ready for fantasy football stardom?

Photo: Newscom

If you are setting your fantasy football rosters, here are some players you should definitely avoid starting:

Quarterbacks - Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle Seahawks
With so many injuries at wide receiver, it may be best to give Hasselbeck the week off until he adjusts to his new options.

Running Backs - Darren McFadden, Oakland Raiders
While Darren McFadden will likely have a very good season, he’s playing behind Justin Fargas for the moment.

Wide Receivers - Anthony Gonzalez, Indianapolis Colts
Last season Anthony Gonzalez was very good at the end of the year. However, now with Marvin Harrison back in the fold, things may change.

Tight Ends - Vernon Davis, San Francisco 49ers
Mike Martz is now the offensive coordinator in San Francisco. He doesn’t have a long history of utilizing tight ends, so proceed with caution.

Kickers - Mason Crosby, Green Bay Packers
The Packers are going against a strong defense in the Vikings and will they may struggle to move the ball with Aaron Rodgers at the helm.

Defenses - Chicago Bears
The Bears should finish the season as a top ten fantasy football defense, but don’t play them this week against the Colts.

Wait a few weeks before unleashing Darren McFadden.

Photo: Newscom

Darren McFadden, the first round draft pick of the Oakland Raiders, signed a $60 million contract with the club. The contract spans over six seasons.

This is a very important moment for McFadden because a lot of league experts openly wondered whether the Raiders would be able to sign McFadden. Last season, the Raiders couldn’t agree to a contract with JaMarcus Russell and Russell was forced to holdout into the season. That cost Russell basically his entire rookie year and slowed any development that would have occurred.

Now with McFadden in the fold for the entire training camp, he has a great shot of becoming the team’s starter. As a starter, McFadden’s fantasy football stock would rise immensely. He’d go from a fourth round to a late second to early third round pick. After seeing what Adrian Peterson did last year for the Minnesota Vikings, it’d be hard to overlook McFadden this year.

Photo: Newscom

1. Atlanta Falcons
Is there any doubt that the Atlanta Falcons are currently the worst team in the NFL? The Falcons have yet to recover from the Michael Vick fiasco. Until a quarterback (such as rookie Matt Ryan) proves capable, the Falcons will circle the drain of the NFL.

Can Matt Ryan be the savior?

2. Miami Dolphins
Bill Parcels will eventually turn the Miami Dolphins around but it won’t be in 2008. On the offensive side of the field, the Dolphins don’t have many playmakers. On defense, the Dolphins’ best player, Jason Taylor, is unhappy. The Dolphins will be lucky to win five games in 2008.

3. Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions offense underperformed last season and now they look to be even less talented on that side of the field. Defensively, the Lions won’t be better than an average unit. In 2007, it looked like the Lions could surprise. Now it looks like the Lions are headed back to the bottom.

4. Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders actually have a bright future, but 2008 promises to be a struggle. JaMarcus Russell will the be quarterback and he’ll undoubtedly struggle early in his NFL career. However, once Russell figures it out and rookie Darren McFadden comes into his own, the Raiders should be able to turn it around — in 2009.

5. San Francisco 49ers
A few NFL experts are picking the San Francisco 49ers as a sleeper pick for the 2008 season. I remain skeptical. Alex Smith at quarterback hasn’t shown much. His wide receivers aren’t too impressive. Frank Gore is good but the 2007 season proved the Niners need more than Gore to win games.

Photo: Newscom

While crystal balls used to be the object that held special magical powers to tell the future, the powers of crystal skulls is the new rage in the supernatural world. In fantasy football, many fantasy owners will resort to any type of supernatural powers to help them win any given week.

Using my metaphoric crystal skull, here are my spoilers and predictions concerning current events in the football world. If you don’t have a crystal skull to play along with, you can always use the old school crystal ball.

1. Marvin Harrison will have a bounce back season. Although Marvin Harrison is currently in legal trouble, I see Harrison being cleared of all wrongdoing. He’ll enter the 2008 fantasy football season as somewhat of a sleeper and wills surprise.

2. Vince Young will be a top ten fantasy quarterback. He looked really bad in his second season and stories about a drunk Vince Young don’t exactly make Tennessee Titans coaches or fans feel good, but Young will bounce back. He’s too talented and he’s too much of a natural winner to not figure things out.

3. Michael Strahan won’t retire. There’s talk about Michael Strahan retiring but it’s just too difficult to imagine him walking away from a Super Bowl team. Expect the New York Giants to give him a pay raise and for him to stick around.

4. Darren McFadden will easily become the best player from the 2008 NFL Draft. McFadden will make the Oakland Raiders look smart. He’ll have a nice rookie season but will really blossom in years two and three.

5. The New England Patriots will win the 2008 Super Bowl. With Spygate all but over and the bitter taste of defeat in their mouth, the Patriots will come back stronger and finish the deal in 2008.

Photo: Newscom

With the fourth overall pick in the 2008 NFL Draft, the Oakland Raiders selected Darren McFadden. McFadden is a running back with superstar level skills and world class athleticism. While many league pundits criticized the Raiders for not taking a defensive player, it’s difficult to argue that McFadden wasn’t the most talented player in the entire draft.

With the Raiders in 2008, McFadden has a chance to be a good fantasy football player. The Raiders were successful running the football last year. If the offensive line can keep performing, McFadden should get plenty of yardage in 2008.

The only question regarding McFadden is regarding the number of carries he will get in his rookie season. The Raiders are actually quite deep at running back, with returning veterans at the position such as Justin Fargas and LaMont Jordan. If McFadden struggles at all, he could lose out on his starting role.

With that in mind, McFadden is going to likely be a high-risk, high-reward pick – much like Adrian Peterson in 2007. While McFadden doesn’t have as high of a ceiling, he’s certainly capable of putting up big numbers. If he outright wins the starting running back job, he could easily finish as a top ten running back in fantasy football.

The Darren McFadden projections I have for him in 2008 are 1,000 yards and six touchdowns. Those numbers could change once it’s known whether or not he’ll be the starting running back. At this point in time, McFadden would be good value in the third or fourth round of a fantasy football draft.

Photo: Newscom

Dominic Rhodes spent his first five years in the NFL with Indianapolis Colts. He left the Colts last season after their Super Bowl victory to join the Oakland Raiders. With Oakland, Rhodes barely saw the field – finishing with 302 yards and one touchdown.

After the Raiders drafted Darren McFadden in the 2008 NFL Draft, Oakland decided to waive Rhodes. Rhodes is now a free agent who is able to sign with any team of his choosing. At 29 years of age and relatively little wear and tear, Rhodes should generate some interest.

One destination that is possible and that would make a lot of sense is the Colts. The Colts were able to run well last season but Rhodes has experience in their system and could fit right back in. Considering the last game Rhodes played for the Colts he was playing a huge role in Indianapolis’ Super Bowl win, Indianapolis may want to recapture that magic.

However, even if he signs with the Colts, Rhodes would play a backup role. Joseph Addai is a running back who is quickly becoming one of the best in the league. Although with Addai’s injury history, Rhodes could see plenty of action in 2008 if he opts to sign with the Colts.

If Rhodes doesn’t end up with the Colts, other teams such as the Detroit Lions or the New York Jets could be interested. Both of those teams could use help at running back.

Photo: Newscom

Let’s take a look at the fantasy football prospects drafted in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft:

3) Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons
Matt Ryan was obviously the best quarterback in the 2008 draft. However, don’t expect much out of him in the 2008 fantasy football season. Rookie quarterbacks are usually slow to figure things out and on top of that, the Falcons don’t have many offensive weapons.

4) Darren McFadden, Oakland Raiders
Expect Darren McFadden and Justin Fargas to split carries early in the 2008 season. As the season progresses, McFadden could show the coaching staff that he should get the bigger load. Overall, this was a good place for McFadden to land in terms of his fantasy football projections. He should be drafted within the first three rounds in fantasy football.

13) Jonathan Stewart, Carolina Panthers
With DeShaun Foster out of the picture, the Panthers drafted Jonathan Stewart to fill that role. In 2008, expect Stewart and DeAngelo Williams to split carries. While that’s good news for the Panthers, it will hurt the fantasy football projections of both players. This appears to be a running back by committee that should be avoided.

18) Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens
Like Ryan, Joe Flacco is a very good prospect. However, also like Ryan, don’t expect Flacco to do much of anything in his rookie season. The Ravens don’t have many offensive weapons and they will likely let Kyle Boller play quarterback for much of the season. Flacco is a long-term pick.

22) Felix Jones, Dallas Cowboys
Exit Julius Jones. Enter Felix Jones. Felix Jones will team with Marion Barber to form a dynamic one-two punch. Jones is a speedster who will look to make big plays for the Cowboys. Since Barber will be the goal line back, Jones’ fantasy football projections won’t be too fantastic.

23) Rashard Mendenhall, Pittsburgh Steelers
With Willie Parker on the mend, the Steelers decided to bring in Rashard Mendenhall for insurance. It’ll be interesting to see how Parker and Mendenhall split carries in 2008. Parker should get more carries but Mendenhall could become the goal line back. If that’s the case, neither will be especially valuable in the 2008 fantasy football season.

24) Chris Johnson, Tennessee Titans
Chris Johnson will likely team with LenDale White to form a thunder and lightning type backfield. White is the thunder who can gain the tough yards, while Johnson’s world class speed make him a big play candidate each time he touches the ball. Johnson, at least for his rookie season, should be viewed as White’s handcuff.

30) Dustin Keller, New York Jets
The Jets like to look at their tight ends near the endzone, so if Dustin Keller can win a starting job he could have a big season. He’s a bit of a raw prospect but he could be a good tight end for a long time. He’s definitely a receiving tight end who will look to use his speed to get open.

Get more information about the 2008 NFL Draft from Squib Kick and Every Morning Quarterback.

The Houston Texans have quietly built a strong, young core. While they haven’t yet translated their talent into victories, the wins appear to be on the way.

In the 2008 NFL Draft, the Texans have the 18th pick in the first round. While their roster on the whole is strong, there is one major weakness – running back. Ahman Green was brought in last year but he didn’t solve the problem. Ron Dayne isn’t the long-term answer.

At running back, the best player in the 2008 draft is no doubt Darren McFadden, however he’ll long be off the board for the Texans. Rashard Mendenhall is the next best running back and there’s not a very good chance he’ll be there at 18. If he is, he’d be a no-brainer pick for the Texans.

Two players that will likely be on the board and should tempt the Texans are running backs Jonathan Stewart and Felix Jones. Stewart is a bit bigger and a tougher runner, while Jones has better speed and is more explosive. Either player would see plenty of action in 2008 for Houston.

If the Texans don’t like the available running backs, look for them to go with a cornerback (Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Leodis McKelvin?) or an offensive tackle (Gosder Cherilus, Jeff Otah?).

1. Miami Dolphins draft Glenn Dorsey
2. St. Louis Rams draft Jake Long
3. Atlanta Falcons draft Matt Ryan
4. Oakland Raiders draft Darren McFadden
5. Kansas City Chiefs draft Sedrick Ellis
6. New York Jets draft Chris Long
7. New England Patriots draft Vernon Gholston
8. Baltimore Ravens draft Leodis McKelvin
9. Cincinnati Bengals draft Keith Rivers
10. New Orleans Saints draft Branden Albert
11. Buffalo Bills draft Chris Williams
12. Denver Broncos draft Derrick Harvey
13. Carolina Panthers draft Jeff Otah
14. Chicago Bears draft Rashard Mendenhall
15. Detroit Lions draft Jonathan Stewart
16. Arizona Cardinals draft Aqib Talib
17. Minnesota Vikings draft Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie
18. Houston Texans draft Mike Jenkins
19. Philadelphia Eagles draft Malcolm Kelly
20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers draft Devin Thomas
21. Washington Redskins draft Tyrell Johnson
22. Dallas Cowboys draft Felix Jones
23. Pittsburgh Steelers draft Jerod Mayo
24. Tennessee Titans draft Phillip Merling
25. Seattle Seahawks draft Kentwan Balmer
26. Jacksonville Jaguars draft Justin King
27. San Diego Chargers draft Brandon Flowers
28. Dallas Cowboys draft DeSean Jackson
29. San Francisco 49ers draft Gosder Cherilus
30. New York Giants draft Dustin Keller