FF Upgrades/Downgrades after Week 8

Below is a list of player upgrades/downgrades in fantasy football value following Week 8 of the NFL season (excluding Monday Night's GB-DEN game).

UPGRADES

QUARTERBACKS
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Kellen Clemens, NYJ - Clemens was officially named the starter on Monday by coach Eric Mangini after Clemens replaced Chad Pennington late in the fourth quarter of Sunday's loss to Buffalo. Pennington has played poorly for most of the season and no longer has some of the necessary skills to be an effective starting quarterback. He was downgraded in this column a few weeks ago so we're actually surprised it took so long for Mangini to make the switch. Clemens on the other hand has some nice skills, including a strong arm and good mobility. And Clemens has some weapons to work with in Laveranues Coles, Jerricho Cotchery and Thomas Jones so there is some potential for decent numbers. However, one has to assume that Clemens will suffer some growing pains as is usually the case with young quarterbacks. So temper your expectations initially, but the future does seem to be bright for Clemens.

RUNNING BACKS
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Brandon Jacobs, NYG – Jacobs ran for a career-high 131 yards in Sunday’s 13-10 win over Miami and has three 100-yard games since returning from a knee injury in October. For the season, Jacobs is averaging a nifty 5.6 yards per carry, third among running backs with at least 50 carries. Jacobs is a big, bruising tailback, but has quick feet and can make people miss as well. The one concern with Jacobs’ game is his receiving skills or lack thereof. Jacobs has only four receptions this season and dropped several passes in Sunday’s game against Miami, although the weather and field conditions did not help. The bottom line is that Jacobs appears to be healthy and considering how well the Giants have run the ball in the Tom Coughlin era, think of Jacobs a top-10 back the rest of the way.

Chris Henry, TEN – Henry only had four carries in Sunday’s win over Oakland, but finished with 48 yards and scored a touchdown. LenDale White had 27 carries on Sunday and is clearly the team’s number one option right now in the running game. However, Tennessee’s primary backup Chris Brown (ankle) missed his second straight game and Henry has been productive in his absence, scoring in each of the last two weeks. Henry, the team’s second round pick, has good size (5-11, 230) and ran a 4.4 in the scouting combine back in April. The major problem with Henry is the fact that he is extremely raw, never starting in high school or college. Even so, Henry is the upside play over Brown. And considering how much the Titans rely on the run, even a backup has a lot of value.

Jesse Chatman, MIA – Chatman was a hot waiver pickup last week after Ronnie Brown tore his ACL. In Chatman’s first start on Sunday against the Giants, Chatman played extremely well, running the ball 16 times for 79 yards and catching three passes for 21 yards. Chatman, a stocky back with a low center of gravity, showed elusiveness and a nice burst on Sunday in poor conditions against a strong defense. The concern right now for Miami is at the quarterback spot as Cleo Lemon struggled again on Sunday, although Eli Manning also had an off day in the sloppy weather. There are some rumors that rookie John Beck will start at some point soon because of the team’s awful record. While Beck has upside, it could be tough for Chatman to find a lot of running room as defenses would presumably force a young quarterback to beat them. With that said, Chatman looked legit in his first start and has showed some promise.

Jerome Harrison, CLE – Harrison is technically the third string running back on Cleveland, but he has outplayed backup Jason Wright over the last few games. Harrison had five carries for 32 yards at St. Louis on Sunday while Wright finished with four rushes for just 19 yards. Wright started for Jamal Lewis two weeks ago before the team’s bye and was not as effective as Harrison (Wright – 20 carries for 59 yards, Harrison - 8 carries for 57 yards). Speaking of Lewis, he returned against St. Louis from his foot injury and ran for 61 yards on 17 carries, certainly not eye-popping numbers. If you take out Lewis’ 216-yard game from earlier this season, he has been fairly ineffective with 227 yards on 67 carries (3.4 avg.). If healthy, Lewis won’t be benched anytime soon, but Harrison looks like a better play than Wright at this current time and could start seeing more snaps if Lewis doesn’t run better.

WIDE RECEIVERS
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Braylon Edwards, CLE – Despite Edwards’ amazing play so far this season, he is still not considered an elite fantasy receiver by many. That type of thinking needs to change, however, because Edwards is a star. He scored two more touchdowns in Sunday’s win at St. Louis and finished with 117 yards. For the season, Edwards has nine touchdowns and has looked unstoppable at times. Quarterback Derek Anderson has played much better than expected and seems to be comfortable throwing jump balls to the tall and athletic Edwards. Two years removed from an ACL injury, Edwards is finally healthy and showing off his size/speed combination, which helped make him the third overall pick in 2005. The only thing that could possibly hold back Edwards outside of an injury would be if the Browns decided to insert rookie Brady Quinn into the starting lineup. But with the way Anderson has played this season that seems highly unlikely. Consider Edwards a top-5 wide receiver moving forward and do not hesitate to start him over bigger names like Steve Smith or Torry Holt.

Marques Colston, NO – Colston finally had the breakout game fantasy owners had been waiting for, scoring three times in Sunday’s win at San Francisco. Colston, who finished with eight catches for a season-high 85 yards, has been banged up for most of the season with knee and back injuries. While Colston is probably not completely healthy, Drew Brees has made it easy for him and the other Saints’ receivers with eight touchdown passes and completion percentage of nearly 72 percent over the last three games. Colston deserves to be upgraded because he is the number one target on an offense that is explosive. It’s unlikely that Colston is available on the waiver wire in your league but he might be someone to target in a trade, although this probably is not the week to try it coming off a huge game.

TIGHT ENDS
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Greg Olsen, CHI – Olsen had another productive outing in Sunday’s loss to Detroit, catching six passes for a team-high 59 yards and grabbing Brian Griese’s lone touchdown of the game. Olsen missed time early in the season with a knee injury, but has looked great over the last four games. Over that span, Olsen has 19 receptions for 227 yards with a pair of touchdowns. Desmond Clark is still in the mix for the Bears, but he is an aging player with limited upside while Olsen is extremely athletic and probably the second fastest tight end in the league behind San Francisco’s Vernon Davis. Olsen still has a lot to learn, he wasn’t used much at the University of Miami, but he should be considered one of the better tight end options in fantasy football for the second half of the season.

DOWNGRADES

QUARTERBACKS
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Jon Kitna, DET – The Lions are playing some good ball right now despite the fact that Kitna has failed to throw a single touchdown pass since September 30. In Sunday’s win at Chicago, Kitna did manage to put up respectable yardage numbers, however, with 268 on 24-of-35 pass attempts. Detroit looked like a version of the run-and-shoot earlier this season, but they appear to be switching to a more conventional offense with Kevin Jones running well. Over the last two games the Lions have run the ball a total of 52 times while attempting 55 passes, a significant change from the first month of the year. Another reason to downgrade Kitna is the fact that he has been sacked 32 times already this season and if he stays on that pace, he probably won’t make it through a whole season. The Lions have a bunch of talented playmakers so don’t be too alarmed, but Kitna’s value is not what it was at the beginning of the season when the team was putting the ball in the air 35-45 times a game.

Daunte Culpepper, OAK – Culpepper is one or two bad games away from being on the bench. He struggled again in Sunday’s loss at Tennessee, fumbling four times (three lost) and tossing an interception. Culpepper was also sacked five times on Sunday and 12 in the last three games, a sign that he probably does not have the mobility he once had or at the very least making bad decisions by not getting rid of the ball quick enough. JaMarcus Russell, the #1 overall pick, suited up for the first time on Sunday as the third-string quarterback and while he probably won’t play within the next few games, the team could opt to start Josh McCown until Russell is ready later in the season. The Raiders are a run-heavy team anyway and the schedule gets tougher for them so Culpepper is not viable option at this point.

Vince Young, TEN – If it were not for Young’s lingering quad injury, there would be no excuse for the terrible game he played in Sunday’s 13-9 win over Oakland. Young threw for just 42 yards and had seven carries for a measly 11 yards. The only positive in Sunday’s performance was that Young protected the ball with no turnovers. In fairness to Young, the team does not have many playmakers at wide receiver and lacks team speed in general. However, Young did okay in his rookie season with the same set of wideouts so one has to wonder if he is completely healthy or not. The bottom line is that Young’s rushing statistics have been below average so his passing numbers would have to dramatically improve in order to justify a roster spot outside of a keeper/dynasty league.

RUNNING BACKS
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Thomas Jones, NYJ – Jones is a pretty good runner, but the Jets are one of the worst teams in the league right now and their quarterback situation is in flux. Jones finished with 70 yards on 16 carries and caught five passes for 34 yards, but he still has not scored a touchdown this season. As mentioned earlier, Kellen Clemens relieved an ineffective Chad Pennington on Sunday and will start this week against Washington. Clemens is a talented youngster and might be able to open things up for Jones. But it's also just as likely that Clemens will struggle due to inexperience and Jones’ statistics will probably suffer as a result. Jones won’t go the whole season without a score, but at this point it looks like 4-5 touchdowns would be a stretch.

Clinton Portis, WAS – Portis had another rough game in Sunday’s 52-7 loss at New England, carrying the ball 11 times for just 27 yards. The only bright spot for Portis was that he was effective as a receiver with five receptions for 54 yards. Over the last three games, Portis has rushed the ball 49 times for only 134 yards (2.7 avg.) with a long run of 13 yards. While Portis was once a great running back, one has to wonder if all the punishment he has taken over his career has finally caught up with him. Part of the abuse Portis has taken stems from the fact that he has always played the game like a power back even though he is really a speed back. And coach Joe Gibbs appears to be too loyal to Portis, barely using backup Ladell Betts, who is a productive player and could keep Portis fresh. In all fairness to Portis, the Redskins’ offensive line has been a mess all season and the team’s wide receivers have been injured or ineffective. But it’s time to significantly downgrade Portis if not for the team’s poor play, but because of his own shortcomings as well.

WIDE RECEIVERS
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Vincent Jackson, SD – Jackson failed to catch a pass in Sunday’s 35-10 win over Houston and has not done much over the last few games. Philip Rivers did only attempt 11 passes on Sunday, but newly-acquired Chris Chambers was able to contribute with 35 yards and a touchdown in his first game. Jackson is a big, physical receiver with good speed, but he has struggled with drops for most of the year and now Chambers is vying for looks. Jackson is capable of a big game here and there, but at this point he looks like the fourth option in San Diego’s passing game.

TIGHT ENDS
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Desmond Clark, CHI – As mentioned in the upgrade portion, Greg Olsen has become a bigger part of the Bears’ offense over the last four games while Clark has become less of a factor. On Sunday, Clark caught just one pass for 11 yards and Olsen grabbed six passes for 59 yards with a touchdown. Clark was a solid tight end last year, scoring six touchdowns, and throughout his career, but is 30 years old and not nearly as athletic or talented as Olsen. While Clark won’t be completely disregarded in the offense, it would be surprising if he did not receive less looks moving forward.