Duece McAllister, the longtime running back for the New Orleans Saints, was released in a move that was mostly motivated by money. The Saints will gain more financial flexibility now that McAllister is off of their budget.

After a very good 2006 fantasy campaign, Duece McAllister has been largely a disappointment in the last two seasons. Multiple knee injuries have slowed him down and his power isn’t what it used to be.

The biggest fantasy football impact will be felt by Pierre Thomas. Thomas, who really came on at the end of the 2008 fantasy football season, now should have a clear path to resume his exact role in 2009.

Reggie Bush probably also gains a few more touches with the departure of McAllister. That said, Bush’s role has pretty much stabilized in the last few seasons.

There’s a chance that McAllister could return to the Saints at a lower salary, but chances of that happening appear to be remote at the moment.

QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
Capping off a masterful season, Saints quarterback Drew Brees threw for 386 yards and four touchdowns. He finished the season with more than 5000 passing yards — a number that made him a fantasy football favorite all season long. Going into 2009, Brees has to be a top flight QB option in the fantasy world.

RB Michael Bush, Oakland Raiders
In their stunning victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Raiders running back Michael Bush proved he has NFL level talent. He ran for two touchdowns and 177 yards. Although the Raiders will likely build their future running game around Darren McFadden, Bush showed enough in the season finale to be a candidate to split time with McFadden next season.

WR Andre Johnson, Houston Texans
Andre Johnson finished a very productive 2008 fantasy football season with ten catches, 148 yards and two touchdowns in the final week of the season. The Texans have emerged as a quality offensive team and next season, the Matt Schaub and Johnson connection could be one of the best in the entire NFL.

TE Tony Scheffler, Denver Broncos
Although it was a quiet week for tight ends in Week 17, Tony Scheffler managed to have a good game. The Broncos starting tight end had five catches for 75 yards and a touchdown grab. All in all, Scheffler had his moments in 2008 fantasy football but injuries and inconsistency kept him from being a top fantasy tight end.

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1. DeAngelo Williams, Carolina Panthers
It’d be difficult to get much hotter than DeAngelo Williams is right now. He has 11 touchdowns in his last six games. In five of those six games, he rushed for more than 100 yards. In the other one, he had four touchdowns.

2. Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia Eagles
Although Briant Westbrook went through a slump, he’s come up huge the last two weeks. He has six total touchdowns during the span — three rushing and three receiving. He also has more than 330 total yards in the last two weeks.

3. Pierre Thomas, New Orleans Saints
In the last four weeks, Pierre Thomas has six touchdowns. Even with Reggie Bush back in the lineup, Thomas is getting a lot of action. Although he doesn’t get as many touches as featured backs, the fact that he’s in a high-powered offense makes up for it.

4. Michael Turner, Atlanta Falcons
Michael Turner has eight touchdowns in the last five weeks. In the one game he didn’t score a touchdown over that span, he had 120 rushing yards. On the season, Turner already has 12 touchdowns and 1269 rushing yards.

5. Thomas Jones, New York Jets
In the last nine weeks, Thomas Jones has 13 touchdowns to his name. He has at least one touchdown in eight of those nine games. In the one game he didn’t have a touchdown, he had a season-high 159 yards rushing.

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QB Gus Frerotte, Minnesota Vikings
In Week 14 of the 2008 fantasy football season, Gus Frerotte is going up against the Detroit Lions. That alone is enough to make him a sleeper. However, Frerotte is actually playing better than most realize. Last week he had two touchdowns and in the last six weeks, he has a total of ten touchdowns. Start him in Week 14 with confidence.

RB Pierre Thomas, New Orleans Saints
With Deuce McAllister suspended and Reggie Bush still slowed by injury, Pierre Thomas is a very important member of the Saints backfield right now. He’s the goal line back and should see around 15 touches in Week 14. If you need to pick up an emergency starter at running back, check to see if Thomas is available in your fantasy league.

WR Mark Bradley, Kansas City Chiefs
If Mark Bradley plays this week, consider him a definite sleeper for Week 14. Although he’s banged up and might miss the game against the Denver Broncos, he’ll be a weapon if he actually plays. The Chiefs have been able to move the ball and the Broncos have not been able to stop the ball. That’d be a good combination for Bradley.

TE Todd Heap, Baltimore Ravens
Todd Heap had a horribly slow start to the 2008 fantasy football season but as of late he’s really started to pick it up. He has three touchdowns in his four games and while the Washington Redskins are a tough matchup, the Ravens will likely have to throw the ball more and that is good news for Heap.

QB Tyler Thigpen, Kansas City Chiefs
Although Tyler Thigpen has far and away exceeded expectations since being handed the full-time keys to the quarterback position in Kansas City, don’t fall too head over heels for his matchup this week against the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders aren’t much of a team but their pass defense is surprisingly good.

RB Reggie Bush, New Orleans Saints
Reggie Bush keeps saying he’s coming back any second now. Even if he’s active in Week 13, it’d be best to avoid playing him right away. The Saints have a lot of options at the running back position and Bush is coming off of a somewhat severe injury. Stay away until he proves he’s back and is getting plenty of touches.

WR Chad Johnson, Cincinnati Bengals
Chad Johnson or Chad Ocho Cinco or whatever he’s calling himself these days isn’t a good start in Week 13. He’s a big name but don’t let that fool you. He’s coming off of a suspension and he may not have as many passes thrown his way as usual. There’s even talk about limiting the amount of time he’s on the field. Look elsewhere in Week 13.

TE Zach Miller, Oakland Raiders
On paper, his matchup this weekend against the Kansas City Chiefs looks like a good one. But Zach Miller is battling an injury and the Raiders will run, run and run some more against the Chiefs. Miller may get lucky and break a long one but if he doesn’t, he’s in for a very quiet day in Week 13 of the fantasy football season.

QB Kyle Orton, Chicago Bears
Although Kyle Orton has only one touchdown pass since his return from injury, he’s once again healthy and has a good matchup this weekend against the Minnesota Vikings. With the Vikings capable of shutting down the run, expect Orton to pass early and pass often.

RB Justin Fargas, Oakland Raiders
Last week, Justin Fargas got over 100 yards against the Denver Broncos. This week, Fargas will go up against the Kansas City Chiefs, the owners of the worst rush defense in the NFL. There’s a great chance that Fargas will surprise and have one of his best games of the season.

WR Michael Jenkins, Atlanta Falcons
Michael Jenkins has a very good matchup this week against the San Diego Chargers. While Roddy White will get all the attention, Jenkins will be opened up to possibly make some big plays. Although he doesn’t have a touchdown in his last three games, he has 15 catches and is still a big part of the offense.

TE Jeremy Shockey, New Orleans Saints
While he’s struggled virtually all season with injuries, he’s as healthy right now as he’s been all season. In his last two games, Shockey has 11 catches. Although the Tampa Bay Buccaneers present a tough matchup, quarterback Drew Brees is playing very well and will likely target Shockey a whole lot in Week 13 of the 2008 fantasy football season.

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QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
Arguably the best fantasy football quarterback in 2008 has a good matchup in Week 10 against the Atlanta Falcons. Although the Falcons are better than expected, opponents have had some success passing against their defense. Expect Brees to have approximately 300 yards and two touchdowns.

RB LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers
A lot of fantasy owners have considered LaDainian Tomlinson somewhat of a bust this season. But Tomlinson should rise to the head of the pack in Week 10 against the amazingly weak run defense of the Kansas City Chiefs. LT has looked better recently and this could be the huge breakout game fantasy owners have been waiting for.

WR Andre Johnson, Houston Texans
Andre Johnson has been the best fantasy wide receiver over the last month and he should be productive yet again in Week 10. Although Sage Rosenfels is in and Matt Schaub is out due to injury, that shouldn’t have too much of an adverse effect on Johnson’s production. Rosenfels has proven to be one of the better backup QBs in the NFL.

TE Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City Chiefs
Things are looking good in Week 10 for Tony Gonzalez. He has a quarterback in Tyler Thigpen who is actually playing pretty well. He’s going up against the San Diego Chargers — a team that has been destroyed by tight ends this year. If you have Gonzalez on your fantasy football team, make sure you start him this week.

Want to take a gamble on a player who has a chance of becoming a big contributor at some point between now and the end of the 2008 fantasy football season? Take a look at these players:

QB Daunte Culpepper, Detroit Lions
Daunte Culpepper is destined to get a lot of starts for the Detroit Lions at quarterback. He recently signed a two-year contract and he’ll be given a chance to prove he’s worth the investment. While he’ll likely be rusty right off the bat, he was a fantasy football stud not too long ago. Take a chance on him if you have the roster room.

RB Peyton Hillis, Denver Broncos
Usually, players who play fullback in the NFL aren’t worth much as running backs in fantasy football. That said, Peyton Hillis very well might be worth a look. He plays fullback but he’s more of a receiving fullback than a blocking fullback. On top of that, he could get a number of carries due to all the injuries suffered by the other Broncos RBs. And don’t forget, Reuben Droughns went from Broncos fullback to stud fantasy running back seemingly overnight.

WR Devery Henderson, New Orleans Saints
Devery Henderson leads the NFL in yards per catch. The problem is that he hasn’t caught too many passes so far in 2008. Henderson is a speedy and big target but his hands are very questionable. But if he can find his groove and regain the form he had a few years ago, he could quickly become a big play fantasy football threat who could become a weapon down the stretch.

TE David Martin, Miami Dolphins
In Miami, most of the tight end talk focuses on Anthony Fasano. While Fasano deserves that credit, David Martin should be recognized as well. He’s a very talented pass catcher who could blossom if his role expands or Fasano suffers an injury. The Dolphins passing game continues to get better so don’t be surprised if you see Martin become fantasy relevant at some point in 2008.

Santana Moss leaves the competition behind once again.

QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
Playing in London, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees was phenomenal. Brees finished the game against the San Diego Chargers with 339 yards and three passing touchdowns. He also completed 30 of his 41 pass attempts. Brees has quickly become arguably the best fantasy football quarterback in 2008.

RB Brian Westbrook, Philadelphia Eagles
After missing a few weeks due to injury, Brian Westbrook was back in action and looking 100%. In a dominant performance against the Atlanta Falcons, Westbrook had 167 yards rushing, 42 yards receiving and two total touchdowns. Any injury questions should be muted after this performance.

WR Santana Moss, Washington Redskins
Coming into the 2008 fantasy football campaign, Santana Moss was a fantasy question mark. This year, he has exceeded virtually all expectations. In Week 8, Moss was again dominant as he had nine catches for 140 yards and one touchdown. He now has five touchdowns in his seven games.

TE Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers
Antonio Gates has once again claimed his spot at the top of the tight end mountain. It’s no surprise that he was the top performer in fantasy football for all tight ends. He finished Week 8 of the 2008 season with a touchdown to go along with 96 receiving yards.

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QB Marc Bulger, St. Louis Rams
The Rams are alive! Two straight wins and St. Louis looks like a real team. That is great news for Marc Bulger, who now has two legit targets in Torry Holt and rookie Donnie Avery. Bulger still has time to raise his level of play to become a decent fantasy football option.

RB Pierre Thomas, New Orleans Saints
With the news that Reggie Bush will miss at least a couple of weeks, Pierre Thomas now moves into a role where he’ll share carries with Deuce McAllister. While he may not get more than 10 to 12 carries per week, he’ll be a touchdown threat every week.

WR Malcom Floyd, San Diego Chargers
Chris Chambers is down injured and Malcom Floyd is doing a good Chambers impersonation. He’s using his long length to his advantage and is a great target in the end zone. As long as Chambers is out and Philip Rivers remains on fire, Floyd is a good start.

TE Visanthe Shiancoe, Minnesota Vikings
Since Gus Frerotte has taken over as quarterback of the Vikings, Vishanthe Shiancoe has emerged as a very good fantasy football tight end option. If he’s still available on your league’s waiver wire and you need a tight end, be sure to pick him up.