On Monday night, we started getting answered. Heading into the game, Sammy Morris supposedly was the starting running back. In typical Bill Belichick fashion, Morris didn’t even get a carry. Instead, he spent most of his time at full back.

Laurence Maroney, who was listed fourth on the depth chart, ended up getting the most carries. On his ten carries, he totaled 32 yards. He also caught two passes for nine years.

Fred Taylor also saw some touches — finishing with 25 yards on nine carries. Kevin Faulk, as expected, was in the mix. The longtime Patriots RB had three carries for seven yards and six catches for 51 yards.

Overall, it appears as if Maroney is the most valuable of the Patriots running backs. Taylor and Faulk will get touches but Maroney has the most potential and appears to be the short yardage back. If you want to take a risk with one of the RBs on New England, roll the dice on Maroney having a decent season.

Laurence Maroney - New England Patriots (Image: Zuma Press)

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In Kansas City, Cassel is all but assured of being the starter. With new management in town, the Chiefs wanted a proven signal caller to run their offense — and they got one.

The good news for Cassel is the fact that the Chiefs have some talent on that end of the field. Wide receiver Dwayne Bowe is a big play threat and tight end Tony Gonzalez is still arguably the best player at his position in the NFL.

Cassel’s fantasy football value will be that of a top end backup quarterback heading into the 2009 fantasy football season. Some fantasy owners will roll the dice and hope that Cassel can have the success he had during the second half of the season with the Patriots. While that’s not overly likely, he is definitely a high-risk, high-reward type player.

As far as the Patriots are concerned, the trading of Cassel indicates that the team is happy with where Tom Brady is in his recovery. Brady has insisted that he’ll be ready to begin the 2009 fantasy football season and this move proves that the Patriots are confident in that happening.

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But according to the latest report, Brady is progressing as expected. Although he faces a long recovery after the substantial knee injury he suffered in Week 1 of the 2008 fantasy football season, the time table has always had Brady being ready to go by the beginning of the 2009 fantasy season.

If Brady is healthy and can show fantasy football owners that he can return to his old form with a few good preseason games, there’s no reason why fantasy owners won’t jump all over him in 2009 fantasy football drafts.

At his best, Brady is the premiere fantasy quarterback in the NFL. With Randy Moss, Wes Welker and a team that likes to pass the ball, a healthy Brady is almost guaranteed to have 4,000 yards and 35 touchdowns in 2009.

However, if Brady is less than healthy, he’ll be a risky pick considering that his average draft position will still likely have him going in the second round. Keep a close eye on his progress during the offseason. But so far, so good for Brady.

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While we’ll obviously know more nearer to start of training camp, this has to be classified as good news. If Brady is able to return by the start of the regular season, he will once again be one of the most sought after fantasy football quarterbacks. In dynasty leagues, even though his status is uncertain, Brady still holds a lot of value.

The question is what his redraft value will be for the 2009 fantasy football season. In 2008, Brady was a first round pick in most league. If healthy, there’s a chance that fantasy owners will once again consider making him a first round pick. However, more likely is Brady becoming a second round fantasy draft pick next season.

With the way Matt Cassel played this year, he’ll become an automatic handcuff for those teams that draft Brady — especially early on in the season. Cassel showed he’s more than capable of filling in and running the Patriots’ offense.

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RB Dominic Rhodes, Indianapolis Colts
The Colts were without Joseph Addai in Week 15. No worrise, Dominic Rhodes was more than able to pick up the slack against the Detroit Lions. Rhodes finished Week 15 with two touchdowns to go along with 116 yards.

WR Andre Johnson, Houston Texans
Andre Johnson had a huge game against the Tennessee Titans in Week 15. In the first half alone he had 150 yards receiving and a touchdown. In the second half he added more than 50 yards to finish the game with 207 yards receiving and a TD.

TE Dallas Clark, Indianapolis Colts
If you had Dallas Clark on your Week 15 fantasy team, you are very happy. Clark had a monster game — finishing with 12 catches for 142 yards and a touchdown. Both the catches and the yardage are easily season-highs for Clark.

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RB Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings
Going up against the Detroit Lions, Adrian Peterson should be running early and often. The Lions are putrid defensively and the Vikings should easily be able to move the ball. The only thing that could stop Peterson in Week 14 is if it’s a blowout early and the the Vikings let him rest.

WR Randy Moss, New England Patriots
Last week, Randy Moss was relatively quiet. However, that wasn’t two surprising considering the Patriots were playing the Pittsburgh Steelers. In Week 14, the Patriots have a much easier matchup — the Seattle Seahawks. Expect Moss to be a big part of the game plan to run over the Seahawks.

TE Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City Chiefs
Tony Gonzalez is not only the best tight end at the moment in fantasy football, he’s going up against the weak defense of the Denver Broncos. He should be able to have a very good game. The Broncos aren’t a good pass defending team and Gonzalez is easily the number one option on the Chiefs on the offensive side of the ball.

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RB Michael Turner, Atlanta Falcons
In many fantasy football drafts this year, Michael Turner was a third rounder. Those fantasy owners who drafted him have to be very happy, especially in Week 12. He finished the week with 117 yards and four touchdowns. Turner has official established himself as one of the best running backs in the fantasy football world.

WR Terrell Owens, Dallas Cowboys
Since Tony Romo broke his pinkie, Terrell Owens had been pretty quiet. But in Week 12, he exploded onto the scene. Against the San Francisco 49ers, Owens finished with seven catches for 213 yards and a touchdown. If you are an Owens owner, this was the game you have been waiting for.

TE Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City Chiefs
Tony Gonzalez is having another fantastic season. He continued that in Week 12 of the fantasy football season by catching 10 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. From now until the end of the year, it’d be impossible to bench Gonzalez. He’s just too good and although the Chiefs are struggling defensively, their offense looks surprisingly sharp.

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RB Tatum Bell, Denver Broncos
If you are looking to strike gold on the Week 12 waiver wire, you definitely have to consider Tatum Bell a sleeper. Bell has been signed by the Broncos after a bevy of injuries depleted their running back corps. Bell has had success in that system before and could excel once again if given a shot.

WR Justin Gage, Tennessee Titans
With teams looking to defend the run, Kerry Collins and the Titans have been forced to pass more in recent weeks. When healthy, Gage has been the team’s number one receiver. He now has three touchdowns in the last two weeks and should continue to get plenty of looks going forward.

TE Benjamin Watson, New England Patriots
As Matt Cassel grows into his role, he seems to be looking more and more for Benjamin Watson. Watson had a big week in Week 11 and is now definitely a Week 12 waiver wire possibility. If he gets enough passes his way, he could easily end up as a top ten tight end over the course of the rest of the season.

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RB DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers
Early in the season, it appeared as if DeAngelo Williams would never live up to his expectations. Now, Williams is regarded as one of the best fantasy football running backs in 2008. In Week 11, Williams finished the game with two touchdowns and 120 yards rushing on 14 attempts. Combining with Jonathan Stewart, the Panthers have a very formidable one-two punch.

WR TJ Houshmandzadeh, Cincinnati Bengals
Even thought the Bengals have been a big disappointment and quarterback Carson Palmer has missed a lot of time, TJ Houshmandzadeh has actually been quite good. He still has been able to get open and he still has very good hands. He finished this week’s game with 12 catches for 149 yards and a touchdown receptions. If it wasn’t clear last year, it’s clear this year — Houshmandzadeh is simply a better wide receiver than Chad Johnson.

TE Benjamin Watson, New England Patriots
Cassel’s main target against the Jets was tight end Benjamin Watson. Watson has very good ability to go along with great size and athleticism, however he’s had a difficult time putting it all together. For a week, at least, he did just that. He finished Week 11 with eight catches for 88 yards and a touchdown grab to be the top fantasy football tight end for the week.

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RB Kevin Faulk, New England Patriots
With injuries to Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris and LaMont Jordan, the door is open for Kevin Faulk to be the main running back option. The good thing about Faulk is that not only is he good running the ball, he’s also a good receiver. If you need an emergency starter off the waiver wire, you could do much worse than Faulk.

WR Ted Ginn, Jr., Miami Dolphins
After a very slow start to his season, Ted Ginn, Jr. showed why he’s regarded as a big time talent. It’s unknown whether he will ever live up to his potential but with the Miami offense looking solid and quarterback Chad Pennington playing well, Ginn is a wide receiver to keep an eye on.

TE Martellus Bennett, Dallas Cowboys
If Jason Witten is going to miss any action, consider picking up Martellus Bennett. Bennett is the backup tight end in Dallas and he has impressed coaching with his receiving abilities. While he’s an obvious fall off from Witten, Bennett could serve as a sufficient starter for the time being.

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