Sizzle:
Roddy White: Matt Ryan’s favorite target took advantage of the banged-up Green Bay secondary to ring up 132 yards receiving and a score. White has compiled over 100 yards receiving in two of his last three outings. Ryan isn’t knocking them dead at quarterback but he’s delivering the ball effectively enough, which gives White a chance to post respectable numbers. The Falcons receiver is not amongst fantasy's upper crust but White is a solid second-tier receiver.
DeAngelo Williams: Running back by committee reared its ugly head against Kansas City. Fantasy owners leaned towards rookie back Jonathan Stewart, but on Sunday Williams scored three times for the resurgent Panthers. Williams also ran for over 100 yards, but the parade to the end zone is likely to stop in Week Six when the Panthers visit Tampa Bay.
Clinton Portis: Typically overlooked by fantasy owners, Portis just puts up solid numbers week in and week out. He ran Philly ragged with 145 yards rushing and a touchdown on Sunday. Portis hasscored four touchdowns over the last three games and put up consecutive 100-yard performances. Head coach Jim Zorn promised to make Portis the centerpiece of the offense, and Washington’s first year leader has lived up to that claim. In the first four games, Portis carried at least 20 times. His next three games are against St. Louis, Cleveland and Detroit. Bon appetit.
Kyle Orton: Amazingly for the second straight week, Orton ranked as one of the most productive quarterbacks. He tossed three scores on Sunday and threw for 334 yards. Granted, take into full account that the Lions are in a free-fall mode that shows no immediate end in sight. However, in the past three games Orton owns seven touchdown passes and sports a better passer rating (87.6) than Peyton Manning (79.2). Yet, still consider him a situational starter.
Brandon Jacobs: The newly anointed “best team in football” featured a runner that steamrolled the Seahawks on Sunday. Jacobs ran roughshod over Seattle’s defense with 138 yards rushing and two touchdowns. He is averaging nearly six yards per carry and is taking advantage of soft scheduling. Much like Dallas’ Marion Barber, his hard-charging running style is hard to deal with.
Fizzle:
Matt Hasselbeck: Even the return of Bobby Engram could not save Hasselbeck versus the Giants. Entering the season, Hasselbeck was in the top 10 of most preseason quarterback rankings. However, injuries have ruined his play; he has just two touchdown passes and has yet to record at least 200 yards passing in a game this season.
Donovan McNabb: After grabbing a 14-0 lead versus the Redskins, it looked like McNabb and the Eagles would run the Redskins right out of Philadelphia, but McNabb could not take advantage of a Redskin secondary without cornerback Shawn Springs. During the last 14 quarters of football for the Eagles, McNabb has just two touchdown passes. DeSean Jackson, Reggie Brown, and the oft-injured Brian Westbrook are not enough.
Calvin Johnson: At the core of the Detroit Lions' woes lies the failure of their passing game. After a pair of 100-yard receiving efforts to start the year, Johnson has grabbed just six passes for 56 yards in the last two games. The benching of Jon Kitna will not help Johnson.
Brandon Marshall: Although he’s not expected to be on this list often in ’08, Marshall had his first bad outing, with just three catches for 25 yards against the stingy Tampa Bay Bucs secondary.
Fred Taylor: Due to offensive line injuries, the Jags' running game is simply not up to snuff. With just 44 yards on 20 carries, Taylor’s last two games were a horror show for his owners in bigger leagues. With Maurice Jones-Drew battling an ankle injury, Taylor’s 1200-yard season in ’07 is not likely to repeat itself.