FF Upgrades/Downgrades after Week 7

Below is a list of player upgrades/downgrades in fantasy football value following Week 7 of the NFL season (excluding Monday Night's IND-JAX game).

UPGRADES

QUARTERBACKS
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Brian Griese – Griese was recommended here at THIMD last week, but now it’s time to officially upgrade him for the season. Griese had another 300-yard game in Sunday’s 19-16 win at Philadelphia. More importantly, Griese protected the ball all day and eventually threw the game-winning touchdown to Muhsin Muhammad with nine seconds remaining. Griese has some nice weapons to work with in the likes of Bernard Berrian, Greg Olsen and Desmond Clark. Even Devin Hester is starting to contribute on offense, catching three passes for 41 yards, which can only help Griese’s numbers as the season moves along.

RUNNING BACKS
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Kenny Watson – Watson ran for a career-high 130 yards and scored three touchdowns in Sunday’s 38-31 win over the Jets. Watson has played well in place of Rudi Johnson (hamstring), who has missed two of the last three games. Watson is a more dynamic player and the playbook actually opens up when he is in the lineup because he is a good receiver. Hamstring injuries can often be tricky and linger for a big chunk of the season so Watson has a lot of value until Johnson can prove he is healthy.

Kevin Jones – The Tatum Bell era appears to be over in Detroit. Jones made his first start in Sunday’s win over Tampa Bay and ran for 76 yards on 15 carries with a short touchdown. Jones also picked up where he left off last year in terms of receiving with six catches for 34 yards. Could the pass-happy Lions be shifting back to more of a conventional offense with 24 rushes compared to only 20 pass attempts? While the Lions probably won’t totally disregard the pass, Jones should be a big factor in the offense.

WIDE RECEIVERS
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Lee Evans – Evans had his best game of the season in Sunday’s 19-14 win over Baltimore with 98 yards. Trent Edwards completed only 11 passes, but five of those went to Evans. While Evans did not have a touchdown on Sunday and still has not scored for the season, he hooked up with Edwards on a 54-yard bomb in the second half. With J.P. Losman out of the lineup, the deep ball had been non existent in Buffalo’s offense so Evans’ long pass play is a good sign moving forward. Evans is a strong buy-low candidate right now.

Roddy White – White has been under the radar in most fantasy leagues even though he leads the Falcons in receiving yards and is 11th in the NFL. White scored this second touchdown of the season in Sunday’s loss at New Orleans and finished with eight receptions for 110 yards. Atlanta is not a very good team and will behind in most contests, which could mean a lot of opportunities for the speedy White.

Roydell Williams – Williams matched his career high of five catches in Sunday’s ridiculous 38-36 win at Houston while also establishing a personal best with 124 yards. Brandon Jones (knee) will be sidelined for a few more games so Williams should be the team’s number one option in the passing game. It actually would not be a bad thing for the speedy Williams if Kerry Collins started again because Collins is more of a downfield passer than Vince Young.

TIGHT ENDS
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Tony Scheffler – Scheffler had five catches for 50 yards with a touchdown in Sunday’s win over Pittsburgh and finally appears to be healthy from the foot injury that slowed him down earlier in the season. Nate Jackson suffered a season-ending groin injury a couple of weeks ago which has given Scheffler an opportunity for more offensive snaps. Scheffler is a talented receiving tight end and has had a strong rapport with Jay Cutler since the two entered the league together as rookies in 2006. Scheffler scored four touchdowns over the final four games of last season and seems poised for a big second half of the year if he can stay healthy - he injured his leg at the end of Sunday's game. No word on the severity of the injury yet so it could be minor, however.

KICKER
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Rob Bironas – Bironas set an NFL record with eight field goals in Sunday’s crazy 38-36 win at Houston. Even so, it’s hard to upgrade kickers too much because their points are situational and hard to predict. However, there are some things to like about Bironas. First, Bironas has a really strong leg as evidenced by his 60-yard field goal to beat the Colts last season. The other positives for Bironas are the team’s solid defense and an offense that can move the ball, but has trouble punching it in the end zone. Tennessee should win a bunch of games this season and there has always been a correlation between a team’s number of victories and points scored from the kicker position.


DOWNGRADES

QUARTERBACKS
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Jason Campbell – Campbell threw for just 95 yards with an interception in Sunday’s 21-19 win against Arizona. Campbell is actually a good young quarterback, but the Redskins appear to be content running the ball and playing strong defense, which they have. Also, their main playmaker, Santana Moss, is not fully healthy with a groin injury so the team lacks speed. It’s too bad because Campbell throws a pretty deep ball and would probably fare well if coach Joe Gibbs opened up the offense. As it stands now, do not expect more than about 200 yards and a touchdown per game.

Tarvaris Jackson – It’s difficult to downgrade this guy any more because he was already terrible to begin with. But his numbers on Sunday (6-of-19 for 72 yards) were simply awful. Okay, so he is a mobile quarterback and a good athlete. Who cares? Jackson cannot read defenses and is one of the most inaccurate quarterbacks you’ll ever see. His 45.9 completion percentage and quarterback rating of 48.7 are unacceptable at any level, let alone the pros. By the way, he has no playmakers at wide receiver and suffered a finger injury on his throwing hand in Sunday's loss at Dallas.

RUNNING BACKS
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Warrick Dunn – Dunn struggled again in Sunday’s loss at New Orleans, running for 28 yards on 13 carries. If you take away Dunn’s 12-yard run he finished with 16 yards on 12 rushes. Dunn no longer provides any value as a receiver either with one catch for one yard on Sunday. Backup Jerious Norwood is younger and faster so it’s only a matter of time before Dunn is a forgotten man in Atlanta.

Cedric Benson – We told you to bench Benson last week and we were right. He finished with 17 carries for only 46 yards in Sunday’s comeback win at Philadelphia. Benson’s long run of the season is just 16 yards and averages a measly 3.1 yards per carry. Benson was a stud at the University of Texas, but appears too slow to be an every-down back in the NFL. Expect the other Adrian Peterson to start getting more carries unless Benson turns things around quickly.

Justin Fargas – Fargas was a hot commodity a few weeks ago when he ran for 179 yards in a Week 4 win at Miami. Since Dominic Rhodes has returned from suspension, Fargas has been invisible over the last two games with just three carries for 11 yards. The Raiders have a solid running attack, although they were bottled up in Sunday’s loss to Kansas City, so Fargas would have some value if LaMont Jordan or Rhodes were injured. But right now Fargas is at the bottom of a crowded backfield.

WIDE RECEIVERS
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Shaun McDonald – It was a nice run for McDonald, but things are changing in Detroit. The team appears to be shifting to more of a balanced offensive attack, running the ball 24 times compared to 20 pass attempts in Sunday’s win over Tampa Bay. Also, Calvin Johnson is healthy and playing well after being in and out of the lineup with a back injury. And with Roy Williams and Mike Furrey already battling for catches, there simply is not enough to go around for everyone. McDonald is not completely useless, but his value has to be considered minimal at this time, unless the Lions revert back to their ways earlier in the season when they were putting the ball in the air 35-45 times.

Nate Burleson – Burleson has been relatively productive since D.J. Hackett suffered a high ankle sprain in the first game of the season. However, Burleson had just one catch for 12 yards in Sunday’s 33-6 win over St. Louis despite the fact that Matt Hasselbeck attempted 35 passes. Hackett and Deion Branch (foot) are expected to return after the team’s bye week, which is not good news for Burleson owners. On the bright side, Burleson ran back a kickoff for a touchdown on Sunday and does provide value as a kickoff/punt returner (two career touchdowns on punt returns). But the targets simply will not be there for Burleson when Hackett and Branch return.

TIGHT ENDS
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David Martin – Martin was a trendy sleeper before the season started and a hot waiver pickup two weeks ago when he scored a pair of touchdowns, but he has been a disappointment for most of the first seven games. Martin (ankle) was already a little banged up in heading into Sunday's game against New Engalnd and he finished with just three catches for 22 yards. In fact, Martin has not recorded more than three catches or 31 yards in any game this season. With Trent Green (concussion) out for the season and an inexperienced quarterback under center for the foreseeable future (Cleo Lemon), Martin is not an appealing option.