by Mike Harmon

Comment

Expectations were high for the Colts and Jets in Week 7. The Saints returned all of the stars in their high-octane offense. Reggie Bush injured his knee, and the light appeared to be snuffed out (we'll be monitoring his status, but this doesn't look good).

I do have to ask. Can we re-release the old "Super Jock" toy as a Sebastian Janikowski figure? That 57-yard game-winner would have been good from 70 yards. Slam his head and watch the ball fly. I do have to ask. You thought Brett Favre was going to hit a big play, didn't you? And he nearly delivered, if not for a shoestring tackle on Brad Smith along the sideline early in overtime.

The Bears and Vikings combined to score 89 points. The experts expected that the two teams would combine for 38. Strange special teams work helped boost the point total quickly in Chicago, where fans definitely got value for their ticket prices.

Most of the other games played somewhat according to form. We trumpeted the fantasy fortunes of Chris Johnson and LenDale White against the Chiefs and went "all-in" on Houston players against the woeful Lions.

I do have one more question before we review the good, bad and ugly from Sunday's games. Will either the Bengals or Lions win a game this season?

Stars

Who could have seen this coming? Did I expect the Rams to play with heart and keep things interesting against the Cowboys? Yes, I did. I had to rub my eyes (you know, that exaggerated look of disbelief on your face) as Steven Jackson pulverized the Dallas run defense. We expected Marc Bulger to find success downfield against the rookie cornerbacks, but Jackson ran amok. Jackson racked up 160 yards and three touchdowns on a season-high 25 carries. Do you think the Rams are happy with the regime change? Look no further than this breakout effort. Jackson added two receptions for 16 yards as a bonus.

Rookie receiver Donnie Avery has a bright future in the St. Louis offense. Avery caught five passes for 65 yards and an early touchdown strike (thanks for the text, Mr. Burns). He nearly had a second when Avery blew past coverage downfield, only Bulger failed to deliver the ball. Avery has caught three or more passes in four straight games. Take a moment and put in a waiver claim on the rookie from Houston.

"Mr. December," Lee Evans, scored for the third straight game and doubled his season high with eight receptions in Sunday's win over San Diego. Evans finished the game with 89 receiving yards. In a season fraught with injuries and inconsistency at wideout, Evans has become one of the most consistent options for fantasy owners. He's recorded 65 or more receiving yards in every game this season.

Marshawn Lynch failed to top 100 rushing yards once again (he's yet to do so in 2008), but he found the end zone as part of the Bills' victory over San Diego. Lynch amassed 70 yards on 19 carries, adding 22 yards on four receptions. The big games will come as the weather turns in Buffalo. Lynch is averaging 21.5 touches per game.

Philip Rivers doesn't make the "Stars" list this week, but he's doing a phenomenal job of finding his sizable receivers downfield. With Chris Chambers sidelined once again, Rivers connected with both Malcom Floyd and Vincent Jackson for touchdowns for the second straight week. Floyd caught four passes for 65 yards (140 receiving yards in the past two weeks), while Jackson added four receptions for 41 yards and a 31-yard rushing attempt.

Jake Delhomme rebounded brilliantly from an inexplicably miserable performance against the Buccaneers in Week 6. Delhomme completed 14-of-22 attempts for 195 yards with two touchdowns. He worked the ball around the field efficiently and was actually affected by several drops. He's produced three multi-touchdown games in his past four starts.

With Delhomme seeing the field well, top receiver Steve Smith got back on track as well. Smith caught six passes for 122 yards, his second straight 100-yard game. He'd dropped touchdown passes in back-to-back weeks, so there was a bit of redemption here as well. Smith has recorded at least 96 receiving yards in four consecutive games.

The Carolina running game also recovered well from a sub-par effort against the Buccaneers. Jonathan Stewart, who was questionable during the week because of an illness, rallied to rush for 68 yards on 17 attempts (four yards per carry) with a touchdown. Backfield mate DeAngelo Williams added 66 rushing yards and a four-yard touchdown reception from Delhomme. We received many questions for the "Fantasy FIX" videos and the "FOX Fantasy Freaks" radio show about which Carolina back to start. Happily, we couldn't have been wrong.

Kyle Orton had a surprisingly easy time moving the ball against Minnesota's defense in Week 7. (Jeff Gross / Getty Images)

The Bears rolled up 48 points against the Vikings in one of the stranger games you'll ever see. Kyle Orton performed well, producing his fourth multi-touchdown game in his past five starts. Once again, he narrowly missed generating a three-touchdown game when Desmond Clark fumbled at the one-yard-line. Marty Booker also dropped a would-be touchdown, but I'll address that in a minute. Orton passed for 283 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. The Chicago offensive line did a spectacular job against the vaunted Minnesota defensive front to provide Orton with time to operate.

I mentioned Booker above and, while he didn't come through in the red zone early, he later produced a 51-yard touchdown reception from Orton. He finished with three receptions for 79 yards. The Bears have a bye for Week 8, but we'll be monitoring Devin Hester and Brandon Lloyd for information on their injuries. If they're out for an extended period of time, Booker becomes a strong waiver play with Detroit on tap for Week 9.

Bernard Berrian, a popular sleeper pick during the preseason, scored for the third consecutive game. Berrian caught six passes for 81 yards, his fourth consecutive game with at least five receptions. He's averaged 95.8 receiving yards per game in his past five starts. Berrian and Gus Frerotte clearly enjoy working together.

How about my perennial fantasy sleeper at tight end, Visanthe Shiancoe? Shiancoe grabbed a season-high four catches for 68 yards and scored for the third time in his past five games.

Greg Olsen of the Bears scored his second touchdown of the season against Minnesota and caught a season-high six passes for 74 yards. He's caught three or more passes in four consecutive games and has recorded multiple catches in every game this season.

Adrian Peterson continued his brilliance against the Chicago defense. Peterson amassed 121 yards on 22 carries with two touchdowns, including a 54-yard sprint to paydirt. He's now rushed for 423 yards and seven touchdowns in three career games against Chicago.

Fantasy owners might have been forced into starting Chester Taylor in a Flex role this week, but they were rewarded with a Walter Payton-like leap into the end zone. Taylor finished this marathon game with 34 rushing yards on 10 attempts, adding six receptions for 48 yards.

I would be remiss if I failed to acknowledge the efforts of the banged-up Chicago defense. The Bears played without virtually their entire secondary, but they rallied nicely. Chicago intercepted Frerotte four times, sacked him twice and generated two special teams touchdowns.

The Jets played horribly, but Thomas Jones took the ultimatum issued before Week 6 to heart. One week after scoring three touchdowns (two rushing and one receiving), Jones rambled for 159 yards in the narrow loss to the Raiders. This brilliant effort raised Jones' per-game rushing average to a respectable 79.7 yards.

As James Harrison told FOX Sports Radio following the Steelers' demolition of the Bengals, Mike Tomlin clearly knew what he had in Mewelde Moore when he brought the running back over from Minnesota. Moore excelled in his second start for the Steelers, running all over the anemic Cincinnati run defense for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Moore started his high-scoring day with a touchdown reception from Ben Roethlisberger and finished the day with five receptions for 14 yards. Moore has generated 219 rushing yards in two games as the starter. Check the wire to see if he's still floating around. Willie Parker is not guaranteed to be ready for Week 8.

Speaking of Roethlisberger, he was his normally efficient self inside the state of Ohio. Roethlisberger passed for 216 yards and two touchdowns (one to Moore, the other to Nate Washington, who caught two passes for 57 yards). Roethlisberger has thrown five touchdown passes in his past two starts. An intriguing matchup against the Giants is next on the docket.

I spent ample time explaining the brilliance of Hines Ward against Cincinnati to callers and emailers. Ward caught a late touchdown pass from Byron Leftwich and finished the game with four receptions for 60 yards. It'll be interesting to see if Roger Goodell reaches into his wallet again following his season-ending hit on Keith Rivers.

The yardage total doesn't leap off the page, but Chad Ocho Cinco contributed the only touchdown for the Bengals on Sunday. Ocho Cinco caught eight passes for 52 yards. He's caught three or more passes in six straight games. Alas, he's still averaging only 38.3 receiving yards per game.

The song remains the same in Tennessee: play suffocating defense and run wild over your opponent. White returned from his shoulder injury with a phenomenal effort, rushing for 149 yards on 17 attempts with three touchdowns. Did anybody else look around with a confused stare when they watched him rumble 80 yards for a touchdown? It was a tremendous effort and warrants a doff of the cap. In White's own words, "Fight on." That's a pretty good weekend for the third-year back from USC. His alma mater rolled to a 69-0 win, then he produced a career-best day at Kansas City.

Not to be outdone, teammate Chris Johnson rushed for 168 yards of his own. Johnson put the exclamation point on this game with a 66-yard sprint to the end zone, thereby allowing the rookie tailback to live up to his advance billing.

The Chiefs failed to deal Tony Gonzalez, and the subsequent reports of his displeasure at the team's inactivity portended to a sizable workload for the future Hall of Famer on Sunday. Granted, the Titans' stinginess in the red zone didn't leave anyone believing that Gonzo would score, and they would have been correct. He did catch six passes for 97 yards, though. Gonzalez matched his season-high with those six catches and established a new high in receiving yardage.

He finished a game! Willis McGahee finally fought off the injury bug and produced a season-high 105 rushing yards against the Dolphins. McGahee scored for the first time since Week 3 and positively crushed his previous season-high in the yardage column (64). His lost fumble isn't enough to temper the enthusiasm from a big Week 7 performance.

Veteran receiver Derrick Mason also produced a strong effort against the Dolphins. Mason scored his first touchdown of the season and finished with 87 yards on six receptions. Mason is averaging 5.5 receptions and 69.7 receiving yards per game.

Rookie receiver Josh Morgan, a popular deep sleeper given his performance in the preseason, turned in his best day as a pro against the Giants. Morgan caught five passes for 86 yards and scored his first NFL touchdown. Morgan had caught six passes for 74 yards through the 49ers' first six games.

Brandon Jacobs produced his second multi-touchdown game of the year in Sunday's win over San Francisco. Jacobs carried the ball 17 times for 69 yards with two scores. He's now scored in four consecutive games. The bruising tailback from Southern Illinois is averaging 5.4 yards per carry this season.

The Cowboys didn't have many positive storylines from Sunday's embarrassing loss to St. Louis. However, Marion Barber got into the end zone early and didn't look back. He carried the ball 18 times for 100 yards and lost a fumble. Barber has scored in five of the Cowboys' first seven games.

Houston quarterback Matt Schaub took advantage of a strong matchup and gave fantasy owners another strong effort. He was extremely efficient, completing 26-of-31 attempts for 267 yards with two touchdowns. Schaub did lose a fumble in the red zone, which was costly to fantasy owners who could have used another six points from any of the Houston skill players (Let's face it. We played them all this week.)

Superstar receiver Andre Johnson caught 11 passes for 141, another huge offering from the sixth-year receiver. Johnson has caught nine or more passes in four different games this season and is averaging 104.8 receiving yards per contest. Despite their best efforts, opposing defenses cannot slow Johnson down at all.

Owen Daniels scored his first touchdowns of the season, taking advantage of two short opportunities from Schaub. Daniels finished Sunday's win over Detroit with six receptions for 66 yards. He's caught three or more passes in every game this season, averaging 4.83 receptions and 62.3 receiving yards per game.

Steve Slaton continued his stellar play with another 80 rushing yards and a touchdown against the Detroit defensive front. He's rushed for 80 or more yards in three of his past five games and has averaged 70.5 rushing yards per game (14th in the NFL).

Sleeper Ahman Green (it was Detroit, folks) rushed for 62 yards on 14 attempts and scored on a short run early in the game. It was his first touchdown since November.

Detroit tailback Kevin Smith scored for the second time in his past three games. He rushed for 61 yards on 10 attempts, including the 26-yard touchdown sprint. Smith has big-play capability, as evidenced by the 26-yard run this week and his 50-yard breakout run in Week 6.

We didn't see Calvin Johnson often Sunday against the Houston, but he made his two catches count. Johnson caught one pass in the first half for 58 yards. His second and final catch of the game was a 96-yard touchdown reception. Nicely done.

Dominic Rhodes took advantage of his opportunity to start in place of the injured Joseph Addai. Rhodes scored early in this contest, and then took received another goal-line later in the game when the passing offense failed to complete a drive. He finished the game with 73 rushing yards on 20 attempts with two touchdowns. Rhodes added four receptions for 41 yards.

It finally happened! Ryan Grant produced his first 100-yard game of the season, amassing 105 yards on 31 carries against the scuffling Indianapolis run defense. Grant also scored his first touchdown of the season. The "X's and O's" part of us remains frightened by the abysmal rushing average being generated by Grant on a weekly basis. However, Grant owners will agree to stand and smile at the final results.

Dallas Clark failed to find the end zone once again (he's scoreless in 2008), but he did catch eight passes for 81 yards. Clark narrowly missed notching that first touchdown, as he was taken down just shy of the goal-line. Oh, to be "Plastic Man" for just one moment! On the plus side, Clark has recorded 81 receiving yards in two of the past three games.

Clinton Portis continued his spectacular play with his fourth consecutive 100-yard game. In fact, Portis' 175 yards against the Browns marked a new season high. Portis is averaging 23.2 rushing attempts and 116.3 rushing yards per game.

Santana Moss ended his mini-funk with a late touchdown reception from Jason Campbell. Moss caught four passes for 75 yards. He'd caught two passes for 22 yards in the Redskins' previous two games combined (he was shut out by Philadelphia). Moss has scored four times this season after producing just three touchdowns all of last year.

Jeff Garcia connected with Antonio Bryant for a quick 47-yard touchdown strike and didn't look back. Granted, the Buccaneers needed only to take the air out of the ball against the Seahawks, but owners receiving a bonus for 300-plus yards got their love. Garcia finished the game with 310 passing yards, that single touchdown and one sack.

Bryant was Garcia's top target once again, as Joey Galloway was a late scratch. Bryant caught six passes for 115 yards. This game marked Bryant's second 100-yard game of the season and his fifth game with at least three receptions.

Tweeners

The Green Bay defense returned two interceptions for touchdowns (there's my "Stars" nod) and Grant ran well. As such, Aaron Rodgers didn't need to push his right arm to the limit this week. He completed 21-of-28 attempts for 186 yards and one touchdown to tight end Donald Lee. This game ended a three-game streak of multi-touchdown performances from Rodgers.

Philip Rivers passed for 208 yards and two touchdowns in Buffalo, but his late turnovers sabotaged his early success. He finished the game with two sacks, one interception and two lost fumbles. Rivers has thrown multiple touchdown passes in five different games, and has thrown at least one touchdown pass in every game this season.

Trent Edwards was efficient, passing for 261 yards on 25-of-30 attempts with a single touchdown. It was a brilliant effort that unfortunately doesn't translate into massive fantasy points. However, Edwards' ability to eliminate turnovers puts him in the "Tweener" category.

Frerotte didn't excel against the Bears, tossing four interceptions with two sacks in the 48-41 loss. However, he narrowly missed the 300-yard mark for the second straight week (298) and three two touchdown passes. Depending on your league's settings, this might have been a very nice effort.

As expected, Chicago tailback Matt Forte did not run wild against the stout Minnesota run defense. However, Forte received the one carry that mattered and literally danced into the end zone. Forte rushed 20 times for 56 yards, adding two receptions for 17 yards. He's scored in three straight games.

Fantasy owners are frustrated with Pittsburgh receiver Santonio Holmes, who remains stuck at one receiving touchdown this season. His five receptions for 89 yards marked his best effort since Week 2 (94 yards), and Holmes has topped 70 receiving yards only twice.

Similarly, Chiefs receiver Dwayne Bowe has got to be frustrated. He remains the most targeted receiver in the game and did catch seven passes for 86 yards. However, Bowe's lack of red zone opportunities leaves his owners cold. He's alternated between good and miserable efforts this season. Bowe has three games with 85 or more receiving yards and three games with 57 or fewer.

Greg Camarillo managed a decent game against the Ravens, even if his quarterback didn't. (Doug Benc / Getty Images)

The Dolphins failed to upend the Ravens, but Chad Pennington continued his efficient play against the strong Baltimore defense. Pennington passed for 295 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Unfortunately for Pennington and the Dolphins, Terrell Suggs sprinted that pick directly to the end zone. The veteran quarterback also continued to build his rapport with Greg Camarillo, who finished this game with six catches for 74 yards. Camarillo has caught three or more passes in every game this season.

Bulger didn't post a huge game and left several potential big plays on the table, but I'll give him a nod for directing traffic and keeping the stat line devoid of turnovers. Bulger passed for 173 yards and a touchdown, and I believe better days lay ahead as he gains confidence with Avery. Could the Rams become challengers for the NFC West?

Warrick Dunn continues to a see a large share of the workload, but bulldozer Earnest Graham found the end zone against Seattle. Graham rushed for 52 yards and a touchdown, adding two receptions for 13 yards. He's scored in three of the Buccaneers' past four games.

Flops

The march to 5,000 passing yards slowed a bit on Sunday. The Panthers did a wonderful job to contain the high-powered New Orleans offense. Drew Brees passed for 231 yards (much of which came late in comeback mode) with one sack and one interception. His four-game streak of 300-yard games was snapped.

Marques Colston returned for the Saints and was a non-factor. He was targeted four times by Brees and finished with zero receptions. Colston was targeted along the sidelines on Brees' interception.

Jeremy Shockey returned to the field and appears on this end of the list for both his performance and his postgame tirade. Shockey caught five passes for 50 yards and lost an early fumble that was turned into a score by the Panthers. Shockey then ripped the New Orleans medical staff after the game for their treatment of his injury. If he wasn't ready, why didn't he say so? I don't believe they would have forced him onto the field.

As expected, Lance Moore played a limited role in the New Orleans offense this week. Moore caught three passes for 10 yards. His role should be increased once again this week given Shockey's griping and the loss of Bush for an extended period.

We thought the band was back together. Peyton Manning had thrown five touchdown passes in his previous two games. He threw two on Sunday, only they were touchdowns by the Green Bay defense. Manning completed 50 percent of his pass attempts for 229 yards and the aforementioned interceptions. His threw low to the ground for much of the game and uncharacteristically imploded in the red zone. Reggie Wayne (two receptions for 24 yards) and Marvin Harrison (two catches for 11 yards) were non-factors. That performance left me nauseous.

It looked good on paper, but it was a disaster in practice. Favre threw an early interception at the goal-line, and his performance never improved. Fantasy owners were positively giddy at the prospect of overtime in this game, hoping that the script would end with some Favre magic. Instead, the stat line flat-lined. Favre finished with 197 passing yards, three sacks and two interceptions.

Top target Jerricho Cotchery was a non-factor in this game. Granted, Favre's first interception toward the end zone was intended for Cotchery. The second interception was also thrown in Cotchery's direction. He finished with one reception for zero yards despite being targeted seven times. Laveranues Coles' effort was equally dismal with four receptions for 51 yards.

LaDainian Tomlinson has become a weekly entry in the "Flops" list, as the No. 1 overall pick was slowed once again. LT carried the ball 14 times for 41 yards, adding six receptions for 26 yards. He carries a three-game scoreless streak into next week's tilt against the Saints.

Tight end Antonio Gates wasn't much better. Gates caught four passes for 55 yards. Forget about his lack of involvement in the red zone. Gates hasn't eclipsed 60 receiving yards since Week 2.

The Panthers rolled, but Muhsin Muhammad failed to account for much of a stat line. He was targeted frequently, but finished the game with three receptions for 43 yards.

Tight end Heath Miller caught two passes for 13 yards in Pittsburgh's laugher over Cincinnati. Miller used to be a frequent red zone target, but he's become a bystander in 2008.

The "Wildcat" formation couldn't fool the veteran Baltimore defense, and Ronnie Brown was finally held in check. Brown finished Sunday's game with just 27 rushing yards on 13 attempts. His four-game scoring streak had to end sometime, right? Similarly, teammate Ricky Williams was a non-factor against the Ravens. Williams carried the ball just four times for 16 yards as the Ravens controlled the action.

McGahee played an entire game for the Ravens, thereby relegating Le'Ron McClain to the role of spectator. McClain carried the ball just six times for 17 yards, adding three receptions for 10 yards.

Frank Gore had been one of the most consistent running backs in the game, but he ran into an angry Giants defensive front on Sunday. Gore carried the ball 11 times for 11 yards, adding three receptions for 50 yards.

J.T. O'Sullivan returns to the "Flops" list following his fourth consecutive multi-turnover game. O'Sullivan passed for 256 yards, but absorbed six sacks, was intercepted twice and lost a fumble. His single touchdown pass to Morgan doesn't begin to make up for the mistakes. Shaun Hill, anyone?

Veteran receiver Isaac Bruce was shut down for the second straight game, finishing this contest with three receptions for 47 yards. Bruce has registered five receptions for 75 yards in the past two weeks following his earlier three-game scoring streak.

I didn't expect the Dallas offense to operate as well as it normally does behind Tony Romo. However, I'm positively shocked that nobody applied oil to the machine ahead of kickoff. Brad Johnson was stiff and pathetic under center. He completed 17-of-34 passing attempts for 234 yards, three sacks and three interceptions. Johnson threw a late touchdown to a backup tight end, but that wasn't enough to overcome a performance that left fantasy owners and Dallas fans dry-heaving.

The sky is crying. Terrell Owens was limited to two receptions for 31 yards against the Rams. Owens was targeted seven times in the loss, and at least one of those balls should have been dropped. Owens was in the open field and the ball was behind him, but the ball hit his hands.

I'll put him here just because owners might have sought lightning in the bottle. Roy Williams was targeted just once in the blowout loss to St. Louis and finished with zero receptions.

Jason Witten continued his PPR magic for fantasy owners with six receptions, but finished with just 44 receiving yards. Witten has produced back-to-back games with fewer than 60 receiving yards.

We anticipated a big game from veteran receiver Torry Holt against a decimated Dallas secondary. Alas, Holt was unable to produce much in the box score, finishing the game with three receptions for 51 yards. The fact that Jackson sprinted for 160 yards and three scores left no scraps for the passing game.

The Texans generated a nice offensive onslaught against the Texans. Most everybody performed well except for receiver Kevin Walter, who was limited to three receptions for 27 yards.

An opponent finally figured out how to contain Greg Jennings! Of course, that meant surrendering over 100 rushing yards to the ultra-disappointing Grant. Jennings finished Sunday's game against Indianapolis with three receptions for 32 yards. He was targeted only four times during this contest.

The Cleveland offense failed to deliver against the Redskins (Derek Anderson passed for a pedestrian 136 yards with one touchdown), one week after it appeared that this unit was back on track. Kellen Winslow returned to action and caught two passes for 17 yards, falling just short of the goal-line on one catch. Donte' Stallworth caught two passes for 24 yards and failed to create separation against a banged-up Washington secondary.

I don't believe anyone could have expected much production from Seneca Wallace against the Buccaneers. Therefore, expectations were low for Bobby Engram. Engram caught one of the four passes thrown to him by Wallace on Sunday night for a miserable eight yards.

As expected, the heretofore impenetrable Tampa Bay defense came to play on Sunday night. Of course, the fact that Julius Jones called the unit out as "old" didn't help matters. Jones failed to play much of a role in this contest, amassing just 42 yards on seven carries. That's a great average, to be sure, but there's no consolation prize to be had. Jones has rushed for 61 or fewer yards in three straight games, and I suspect that Maurice Morris emerges as the lead back going forward.