This week the Cardinals had to travel to New York and play against the Giants. Arizona has had their share of tough luck on the East coast but this game would be different. The Cardinals won this game with solid defense and good running.

Chris “Beanie” Wells Taking Over?

Rookie running back Chris “Beanie” Wells has had a slow start to his pro career but this week he got it going. In this game, Wells had 14 carries for 67 yards and a touchdown run and helped his team sustain drives.

Tim Hightower only had four carries on the day, and it now looks like Wells maybe starting to take over as the top runner in Arizona.

If a fantasy football owner got frustrated with Wells early in the season and cut him, you should pick him up.

Hakeem Nicks is Showing his Talent

The Giants first round pick rookie receiver Hakeem Nicks is producing for his team every week, since he returned from injury week four. In this contest Nicks had a 62-yard touchdown catch and finished with 80 total yards.

For a third receiver on the team, he has to be one of the best in all of football.

Nicks may not be a starter for the rest of this season but by next season, he should find a way to get in the starting role over Mario Manningham.

Eli Manning has three very talented receivers going into the future years and is a no doubt top ten fantasy quarterback at next year’s drafts.

NFL Fantasy Football Information writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

In week four, Hakeem Nicks came back from his week one injury and had one catch for a fantastic 54-yard touchdown. Nicks may have only had one catch for the game, but it’s clear to see that this kid was wroth the Giants first round pick.

Hakeem Nicks to See Expanded Role

Nicks had a fine preseason and there is an obvious belief in the organization that this kid will be a future start on the team. At this point in time, Steve Smith and Mario Manningham are entrenched as the starters on the team.

However, the door may have opened a bit for Nicks to see more time as Manningham had three drops in last week’s game. One of his drops led to an interception, and if he continues this production, Nicks will be starting in no time.

The Tools this Offense Needs

Ever since the Giants drafted this kid I’ve been talking about

his abilities to give this team what they need in the passing game. Nicks skills are unique to his fellow receivers because he is not only fast but tall as well.

This type of receiver is what best models that of Eli Manning’s long time No.1 wide out Plaxico Burriss.

These physical tools and his performance, make Nicks an intriguing fantasy football option in future years to come.

Hakeem Nicks Fantasy Football Ranking

I wouldn’t recommend you pick Nicks up just yet. We still need to see him win a starting job and hopefully Manning will recover fine from his recent foot injury. Assuming Manning does come back and produce at the level, Nicks will greatly help his fantasy value.

No matter what, Manning now has three very solid targets in the passing game and he is a top 12 fantasy football quarterback because of it.

If Nicks should take a starting job at some point, it would be wise of you to snag him up if you have an extra roster spot.

NFL Fantasy Football Information writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

It looks like Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning has found himself a solid class of young wide receivers to throw to. Today, the young receiver at the top of the list was Steve Smith as they torched the sorry Chiefs’ defense all day.

Passing to Win

Smith had 11 receptions for the game for 134 yards receiving and two touchdowns. Only Kevin Boss had more than one reception in this game other than Smith.

Unfortunately, Manning injured his heel late in the game, and it is not known if he will play this coming week.

Once Manning is back, there is no doubt that Smith and Manningham will flourish as this team is now leaning on Manning to win more games.

Rookie receiver Hakeem Nicks also had a very nice 54-yard touchdown catch and run on Manning’s last throw of the game. Look for the North Carolina product to be a factor on this team as well.

Chiefs Just Stink

This team has a lot of growing to do before they are ready to win football games. I’m not sure if Matt Cassel’s knee is still bothering him, but he needs to get it going.

Right now, the only player I can recommend for fantasy football is Dwayne Bowe from this team. Bowe played this week so hopefully he will be healthy again for the Cowboys next week.

NFL Fantasy Football Information writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

The second week of the fantasy football season is now behind us. At this point in time, some of you may be panicking if you have started out slow. Remember, just about every fantasy team will go through slow points in the football season.

Just because players like Steve Slaton, Matt Forte and Roddy White haven’t produced much, it doesn’t mean they will be horrible this season.

Below we have the top players you might want to pay attention to, for waiver pickups. Even if you don’t select a waiver (or have already done so) it’s good to keep these names in mind for the future weeks.

Quarterbacks:

Ravens- Joe Flacco- Bye Week 7

If no one has Joe Flacco in your fantasy league you might consider picking him up. The second year quarterback already has 5 touchdown passes and a 300 yard passing game. Todd Heap, Mark Clayton and Derrick Mason are not awesome targets, but they are good enough to make Flacco a good option.

Bills- Trent Edwards- Bye Week 9

I brought up Trent Edwards last week, and I’m doing it again this week. Edwards has a talented bunch around him. My only question about his production was if his offensive line could hold up. So far, so good as Edwards has produced solid numbers to begin the season.

Unfortunately, the Bills lost their right tackle Brad Butler for the season, hopefully that won’t hurt them going forward.

Running Backs:

Ravens- Willis McGahee- Bye Week 7

This offseason I thought Willis McGahee’s fantasy value was washed up. McGahee had two more operations on his knee and Ray Rice was entrenched as the starting running back. So far, this season McGahee’s knee is holding up fine, and he has four touchdowns already.

Look for McGahee as a nice flex play option and he should produce well. This week he plays the Browns and should have another strong day.

Cardinals- Tim Hightower- Bye Week 4

This week Tim Hightower had another good showing as the Cardinals starting running back. His odds of remaining the starter got a boost as the rookie Chris “Beanie” Wells fumbled the ball twice.

Look for Hightower to continue his solid play and remain the starter for the first half of the season.

Wide Receivers:

Giants- Mario Manningham- Bye Week 10

Mario Manningham is the first of two Giant receivers to discuss in this week’s pickups. Manningham had 58 yards and a touchdown in week one. In week two he had ten receptions for 150 yards and a score.

Manningham has the type of explosion that the Giants sorely need down the field. If he can continue to play like this, he will be a great every week starter in fantasy football.

Giants- Steve Smith- Bye Week 10

It’s time for the other Steve Smith to start getting fantasy love as he had a great performance this week. So far, this season Smith has 16 receptions for 214 yards and a touchdown. Look for Smith to continue his good play.

If Domenik Hixon and Hakeem Nicks miss significant time with their injuries than Smith and Manningham will be fantasy studs.

Colts- Pierre Garcon- Bye Week 6

Pierre Garcon didn’t have anything going until the Colts final offensive play. On that play, he had a very nice 48 yard catch and run touchdown. This was the kind of play that will make Peyton Manning throw his way more often this season.

Garcon and the Colts’ offense were hardly on the field and this would explain the lack of production until the end. Look for Garcon as a decent fill in player as long as he is a starter.

Tight Ends:

Eagles- Brent Celek- Bye Week 4

I’ve been talking about Brent Celek as a fantasy sleeper since May and his producing right off the bat. In week one Celek had a touchdown catch and this past week he had eight receptions for 104 yards.

Look for Celek to continue his solid play no matter who is at quarterback for the Eagles.

Kickers:

Giants- Lawrence Tynes- Bye Week 10

Lawrence Tynes is off to a hot start and the Giants’ offense is looking strong. The Giants will move the ball just about every week and Tynes should continue to receive opportunities.

If you need a kicker going forward, you could do a lot worse than this guy.

Defenses:

Cardinals- Cardinals Defense- Bye Week 4

The Cardinals’ defense has had four sacks in each of their first two games. So far, this season they have done an excellent job against, he run as they are ranked 4th overall against. Look for Arizona to continue its solid play as they are a defense that just continues to play better.

NFL Fantasy Football Information writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

With this information in mind one can only wonder how in the heck a guy like this can be that valuable?

It’s not that Eli has had a bad career as he has 96 touchdowns against 74 interceptions. Let us also not forget Manning did win the Super Bowl just two seasons ago, against the undefeated (at that time) New England Patriots.

While that is all well and good Eli has only a 76.1 career quarterback rating. Only one season (last year) has he had a year over a 77.0 rating (86.4).

Those numbers are very average for a quarterback and certainly are not worthy of being the highest paid player in football.

Brother to Brother

Eli’s brother Peyton Manning has not had a season under a 95.0 rating since 2002.

Peyton has also NEVER had a season in his ten years in the league with less then 26 touchdowns and 3,739 yards passing.

Eli on the other hand has NEVER had a season over 24 passing touchdowns and only one year over 3,350 yards passing.

From the info above it is easy to see that Eli is clearly the least productive quarterback in his family let alone the rest of the NFL.

Eli Needs to Step it Up

If and when Eli signs this hugh deal he will need and be expected to perform at a higher level. Realistically I believe he will have a hard time doing this now that Plaxico Burress is not on the team.

In Burress, Manning had a receiver that he could look to for support when times got tough on the field. A big target like that was very friendly to just throw up the ball and know more often then not, Plaxico would come down with it.

Now Eli is working with a group of young receivers in Steve Smith, Sinorice Moss and first round pick Hakeem Nicks. He won’t even have his other favorite veteran target back in Amani Toomer as he is now a free agent.

Realistically for Manning to really “step in up” for the Giants, he will have to do it with a better qb rating and strong leadership on and off the field.

For anyone to expect him to come out this season and chuck 3o touchdowns and 4,000 yards is very unrealistic. Reason for this is the Giants are a team that runs first and plays strong defense. They are not at team that will go out and play pass happy football, like the New Orleans Saints.

Fantasy Football Information on Eli Manning

While the Giants receivers are still young and unproven I do believe they have solid skills and should grow this season. That being said I believe right now Eli’s most valuable receiver this season should be USC standout Steve Smith.

Steve is probably never going to be a standout touchdown maker but he should be a nice possession receiver. I liken his game to that of a young Deion Branch, although he’s not as fast as Branch used to be.

At this point in time Eli is nothing more than a late round backup quarterback in most fantasy formats. Until the Giants receiver show more than just nice upside, Eli will continue to be a low end fantasy quarterback.

Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com