Well, my waiver wire claim of the week finally failed to perform up to the standards that I expect. Justin Forsett, why do you choose to do this to me? Sure, you received by far the majority of the touches and you looked like you were ready to break one at any time, but that QB and generally the overall offense around you seems to be holding you back.

So I apologize on behalf of the Seahawks to not only you, Justin, but also to everyone who took my advice and grabbed Forsett this week. In my defense, Forsett is one of the few backs in the league to be basically the featured back on his team. I would advise you to hold onto him therefore; he’ll have his weeks.

As usual, let’s review the highs, the lows and the just plain mediocre from the weekend that was, along with my thoughts on the Michael Vick injury.

Top Performer

Really wish I would have reached for you in all of my leagues, Arian Foster. You are bringing to mind visions of Terrell Davis in his prime; making one cut through the hole and off to the races you go (poet didn’t know it but I planted the seeds and sewed it).

Coming into this season, if I asked you, dear reader, who would lead the league in rushing after four games, I seriously doubt that you or anyone else would answer “Arian Foster, Mr. Rogers.”  That may not be fair since Adrian Peterson was on bye this past weekend (and is running rather beastly himself), but still, you can’t argue with 537 yards and an eye-popping average rush of 6.3 yards.

Foster was benched in the first quarter of Sunday’s game and yet still managed to turn his decreased touches (only 19) into a combined 187 yards and 2 TDs. That likely netted your fantasy team somewhere around 30 points. In a somewhat down week for scoring, Foster stood apart and has solidified himself as a No. 1 RB for the rest of the season. Hopefully you didn’t trade him…

Imagine what he would have done with a full game’s worth of touches.

Studs

Terrell Owens–Too bad no one in their right mind started him. Owens had a game which was very similar to his one monster game last year as a member of the Bills against the Jaguars. This time he did it against the Cleveland Browns, so color me not quite impressed. His 10 catch, 222 yards and TD is still a really big stat line that you more than likely had sitting on his bench however, so I’ll give him his due. Don’t overreact to this one game, as I doubt he’ll be able to put up even a consistent 100 yards.

Reggie Wayne–Talk about putting that insolent Austin Collie in his place. Wayne set a team record with 15 catches for 196 yards, though he did lose a fumble and failed to score a TD. Still, 17 points from a WR is something that I’ll take any day. It’s not often that Wayne is held without a TD, but since Wayne cares about your fantasy team so much, he decided to pile on the yards. So thoughtful.

LaDainian Tomlinson–I never thought I would put him here. After being burned by LT last year (I bought into him being rejuvenated and snatched him up in the first round), I had nothing but hatred in my heart. It’s a weird feeling to admit to yourself that all your preconceived notions about a person (or player’s abilities) were largely wrong. 19 carries, 133 yards, 2 TDs and one disgusting juke move later, I have to admit that if you grabbed Tomlinson late, you made an inspired decision.

Antonio Gates–How can no one cover him?! I thought that he would have a down year without Vincent Jackson to attract attention from him, but every time I see him catch a TD, he seems to be wide open. Eventually his pace has to slow down (6 TDs so far, one every game while also averaging around close to 100 yards per game) as the Chargers play better teams and defensive coordinators who understand that covering Gates is important, but who knows. We could be watching the best season a TE has ever had unfold in front of our eyes. Obviously, you shouldn’t trade him.

Underachievers

Ahmad Bradshaw–I’ll take it, but I’m not happy, Ahmad. You broke down that vaunted Bears rush defense and put up your first 100 yard game of the year, but you also fumbled on a break away run where you were sure to score and jump into the upper echelon of my studs list. Instead you’re stuck here, continuously leaving points out on the field. Shame on you.

Drew Brees–For those expecting Brees to shake out of this supposed slump and go back to his high scoring ways, I’m here to burst your bubble. Defenses have simply caught up to the Saints offense in a very similar way to how defenses ultimately caught up to the Patriots offense (still good, but not scoring 40 a game). Brees is playing well, but the offense is just lacking the explosive play. He’ll be a consistent 15 to 20 points, but don’t expect him to carry your team this year.

Duds

Michael Vick–Not fair, I know. He was injured just when he started moving the offense, but after watching the scramble and the hit that ultimately knocked him out of that game, I have to put the blame squarely on Vick’s bouncy feet. No other QB would have taken that hit. When Vick gets healthy again and if (hopefully he will) he manages to hold onto his job as the Eagles starting QB, he must be much more intelligent with his runs. As Sundays game showed, when Vick leaves the game, he takes the offense with him.

Chris Johnson–And the curse of 2,000 yards lives on. I don’t really have a lot to say that I haven’t already said before, so instead I’ll direct you to what I wrote on him in the preseason, found here.

Waiver Claim of the Week: Ryan Torain

By now, you’ve probably seen that highlight of Torain running over and through an Eagles defender on his way to his first TD of the season. Once I saw that, I instantly wished that I would have featured him in this spot last week. I grabbed him in every league last week and even started him in some for a decent 13 points, though honestly, this is likely to be the week that you will want to start him. Why?

Well, Torain is Shanahan’s guy. You could argue that Portis is too, after all he did draft him and used him as his featured back in Denver for two years, but after those two years, he traded Portis like it was nothing. Shanahanny knew that Portis wasn’t a Davis-like back, so he dumped him. But Torain on the other hand; this is a guy that Shanahan hand-picked in the draft during his last year in Denver and brought with him to Washington. He’s younger and more explosive than a worn-down Portis.

Torain has also received more touches than Portis in the past two weeks. Expect him to grab the starting job sooner rather than later,

Players I Love/Hate Score-Tracker

Jamaal Charles: 0
Arian Foster: +1
Kevin Kolb: +1 (He played, but still sucked)
Larry Fitzgerald: -1
Brandon Marshall: TBD
Chris Johnson: +1
Justin Forsett: -1 (70 total yards doesn’t make me look good, JF)
The Rams: -1 (I see them winning this division now, but it may be with a sub-.500 record.)
Joe Flacco: 0 (against the Steelers defense)
Tom Brady: TBD

Last week’s score: 0
Current standing: +1

Check out all the articles from the Players I Love/Hate series. Players I Love: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV and Part V. Players I Hate: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV and Part V.