Here are some lessons learned from the first three weeks of the fantasy football season:
Wide receivers are unpredictable. \nAfter his 10-catch, 141-yard, two-touchdown game against Jacksonville Sunday, there was probably a major run on Reggie Wayne from the waiver wire. I could imagine fantasy players avoiding him after Marvin Harrison caught 143 passes last season, a National Football League record. There weren't exactly a lot of chances for anybody else.\nThe same thing happened with Tennessee's Drew Bennett. Bennett had eight catches for 105 yards and a touchdown against New Orleans Sunday, surprising those who only thought Derrick Mason caught passes for the Titans. With 24 catches already, it's not as if Mason has slacked off either. Part of the problem has to do with Titans' quarterback Steve McNair's health. McNair always battles nagging injuries, and with inexperienced backup Billy Volek behind him, fantasy players don't want to have to deal with the possibility that McNair won't play and Volek won't be able to maintain the same quarterback-receiver rapport with players like Bennett or Tyrone Calico.\nIke Hilliard paid big dividends to anyone who played him last Sunday after seven catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns against Washington. Of course, not many people probably have him, and even fewer played him. \nMeanwhile, Tim Brown, a future Hall of Famer, has just two catches for 18 yards in his last two games combined. Brown has 1,025 career catches, and with the pass-heavy Raiders offense, you would think he would have greater fantasy value. But his owners are at least ready to bench him at this point, if not dump him entirely.
With running backs there is no middle ground. \nRunning backs are often great or bad, but rarely somewhere in between.\nDeuce McAllister had been his usual self the first two games -- right around 100 yards rushing and a notable contribution to the Saints' passing game. McAllister, though, was brutal against Tennessee. He had just eight yards rushing and only 23 yards receiving. \nWhile many of his fantasy owners have begged Rams coach Mike Martz to give the ball to Marshall Faulk more, Faulk hasn't done much. To make a bad season worse, Faulk broke his hand on another player's helmet on a simple running play Sunday against Seattle. \nFaulk has always been an underrated interior runner. While his dazzling open-field runs tend to make the highlight films, he gained much admiration for the way he just put his head down and ran, especially in St. Louis' 2001 NFC Championship game win over Philadelphia.\nThis now marks the third straight season he's gotten hurt, so Martz certainly has reason to limit Faulk's touches. But Faulk got hurt anyway, and now while his hand heals, he will undergo knee surgery.\nAnother frustrating fantasy running back is Tampa Bay's Mike Alstott. He doesn't carry the ball a lot, but he does near the goal line. While he does score touchdowns, he also fumbles his fair share. If he isn't scoring touchdowns, he's pretty worthless.
Tight ends are interchangeable.\nSure, a tight end you have never heard of will break out and have a big game, and a fantasy player will just have to have him off the waiver wire. However, the only tight ends that are must-haves are Tony Gonzalez of Kansas City and Jeremy Shockey of the New York Giants.\nThose two guys have quarterbacks who consistently look for them. Both are capable of great athletic plays. (Gonzalez is almost an NBA-caliber basketball player.)\nOtherwise, the key is being able to anticipate certain tight ends having big games. In other words, try to pick up Matt Schobel or Billy Miller or Jed Weaver before they have a big game -- not right after.\nSome fantasy geeks are out there switching from tight end to tight end to every week, trying to guess who will come up big a particular weekend. I hate these people.
Don't give up on defenses.\nAnybody who drafted Miami's defense and played them in Week One against Houston had to be shocked -- no sacks or interceptions against a bad opposing offense that subsequently got obliterated its next two games.\nAnybody who played Miami's defense last Sunday against Buffalo had to rejoice. Miami came up with three sacks and four interceptions and held an excellent Buffalo offense without an offensive touchdown.\nIt goes to show unless you have the 1985 Bears or the 2000 Ravens defense, the fantasy player has to realize that defenses are just as prone to slumps as offenses.\nYou have to learn to trust talent.
