Sunday's Best

Wide receivers a feast or famine proposition

By James Quintong, SI.com

Wide receivers can be the most aggravating yet exhilarating players in fantasy football. Even the big stars like Randy Moss, Terrell Owens or Marvin Harrison can put up two-point games as often as 25-pointers.

Many teams do want to get the ball in the hands of their stud wideouts on a regular basis, but it's not as easy calling their number as it is for a stud running back. Sure, injuries and other circumstances can influence how many catches and yards receivers can get, but other times it's just plain luck. And that applies both to receivers on good and bad offensive teams.

On the other hand, most good running backs will get the ball at least 15-20 times, and hopefully more. When that happens, big numbers usually follow. But at least you can sort of rely on that, and when you have a back that also catches passes, it increases the possibility of at least decent numbers.

That's where this week comes into play. Even though he was sidelined with an injury, Stephen Davis still put up pretty solid fantasy stats. Fred Taylor had passable numbers, even when he didn't do a whole lot. On the other hand, Marty Booker, fresh off a decent week and up against a bad defense, did nothing. And Derrick Mason, who had a four-yard game a couple of weeks ago, exploded this week. David Boston and Peerless Price were in that situation last week when they finally produced in big ways after doing nothing.

Top 10

1. Derrick Mason, WR, Titans (6 catches, 177 yards, 3 TDs): One of these days, Mason was due for a big game, but I'm not sure even Mason imagined he'd have this huge an effort. He scored on three pretty big plays (32, 46, 50), which is an even bigger reward for leagues that give bonuses for long TDs. It does make up for those weeks where he was just one or two yards short of the 100-yard threshold for bonus points.

2. Steve McNair, QB, Titans (18-27, 421 yards, 3 TDs; 5 carries, 2 yards): The running game was a little better against the Texans, but this offense is now squarely on McNair's shoulders. It's about time McNair lived up to his Air McNair nickname.

3. Trent Green, QB, Chiefs (27-45, 400 yards, 3 TDs; 2 carries, 7 yards): Green has been inconsistent all year, but he came through when it counted as he rallied Kansas City from a 17-point deficit to stay undefeated as a starter. He finally made good use of his top targets, with Tony Gonzalez and Johnnie Morton both going over 100 yards.

4. Ahman Green, RB, Packers (26 carries, 139 yards, 1 TD; 6 catches, 51 yards, 1 TD): He's having a monster fantasy season and he really outclassed Priest Holmes for much of the game. However, it was his fumble in overtime that led to the Chiefs' stunning win. While Green Bay may have lost, he may have led many teams to victory this week.

5. Brad Johnson, QB, Buccaneers (22-30, 268 yards, 4 TDs; 2 carries, 3 yards): He picked up where he left off on Monday night with another set of big numbers. The long TD to Keyshawn Johnson was a thing of beauty. However, he also snagged TDs away from Michael Pittman at the goal line with three short scoring passes to tight ends. What a nice way to return to Washington.

6. William Green, RB, Browns (26 carries, 145 yards, 1 TD; 1 catch, -2 yards): The Oakland defense can't stop anyone on the ground, which means big numbers for any good running back like Green. For the second straight year, Green has gotten off to a slow start, only to bust off big games as the season progresses. He's getting hot, and a game against the Chargers next week should help his stats.

7. Priest Holmes, RB, Chiefs (22 carries, 81 yards, 1 TD; 6 catches, 59 yards): It's still not at the Priest level many fantasy owners are expecting from earlier in the season, but Holmes had a solid fantasy outing after struggling early. Kansas City fed him the ball on a regular basis in overtime, which boosted his stats. And guess what, he's got the Raiders next week on Monday night. He's due for a huge game then.

8. Dolphins defense/special teams (3 INTs, 2 fumble recoveries, 4 sacks, 1 INT returned for TD): While Miami's offense still wasn't really clicking, the defense did step up in a huge way, forcing rookie Byron Leftwich into many mistakes. Defenses are major crap shoots, especially when it comes to TDs, but teams like the Dolphins know how to force mistakes.

9. Ravens defense/special teams (3 INTs, 2 sacks, blocked punt return for TD, 1 INT returned for TD): The woeful Cardinals provide ample opportunity for a good defense like Baltimore's to put up big points, and that's exactly what happened here.

10. Tony Gonzalez, TE, Chiefs (4 catches, 121 yards, 1 TD): Gonzalez nearly doubled his yardage for the season in this game. If Trent Green can get any sort of consistency in the passing game, Gonzalez will be a star again.

Other top stars: Corey Bradford, WR, Texans (5 catches, 127 yards, 1 TD); David Carr, QB, Texans (25-42, 371 yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs); Brett Favre, QB, Packers (25-36, 272 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT);

Bottom 5

1. Donovan McNabb, QB, Eagles (11-26, 126 yards, 1 TD; 5 carries, 5 yards): He's killing fantasy teams with his lack of production. Sure, he's got another TD, but you're expecting a lot more. This "overrated" stuff is starting to ring a bit true.

2. Tom Brady, QB, Patriots (8-21, 112 yards; 3 carries, 0 yards): Speaking of overrated, Brady was horrible in the rain, but he did enough for New England not to lose. He's way too iffy to start on a regular basis. And he's got the Dolphins next week. That doesn't sound good.

3. Jay Fiedler, QB, Dolphins (14-27, 147 yards, 1 INT; 3 carries, 3 yards): Miami may be winning games, but it's in spite of Fiedler, who can't seem to get the ball to his big targets like Randy McMichael and Chris Chambers.

4. Marty Booker, WR, Bears (1 catch, 11 yards): Against the struggling Saints, you'd figure he'd have a big game. But you'd be wrong. However, Kordell Stewart and Anthony Thomas had decent games, for whatever that's worth. Dez White (5 catches, 91 yards, 1 TD) had the stats this week from the Bears receivers.

5. Todd Heap, TE, Ravens (1 catch, 2 yards): OK, if you've got a Ravens receiver, you might as well drop him. Even against a spotty Cardinals defense, Kyle Boller threw for just 75 yards. The leading receiver was backup running back Chester Taylor, who had three catches for 25 yards.

Waiver Wire Wonders

DeShaun Foster, RB, Panthers (16 carries, 85 yards; 2 catches, 54 yards): Stephen Davis left the game a with a forearm injury, but Carolina has a solid backup in Foster, who could've been the starter last year if he didn't tear up his knee in the preseason. Davis should be OK for next week, but Foster is a great insurance policy.

Anthony Becht, TE, Jets (3 catches, 42 yards, 2 TDs): He may or may not be available in your league. It all depends if the owner relied on him for consistent points, which isn't going to happen. However, Becht does operate well with Testaverde and you'll get games like this on occasion. But if and when Chad Pennington returns, all bets are off.

Byron Chamberlain, TE, Redskins (3 catches, 23 yards): Washington signed him this week after being let go by the Vikings. He has slowed down a little from his Pro Bowl season a couple of years ago, but he still has enough skills to make a little contribution down the stretch.

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Todd Yoder, TE, Buccaneers (4 catches, 28 yards, 2 TDs): The force was with him this week and he grabbed two goal-line scores in place of the injured Ken Dilger. These short TDs just raised the ire of Michael Pittman owners, who still can't find the end zone even with Mike Alstott done for the season.

Fantasy Game of the Week

Chiefs 40, Packers 34: One of the top offensive showdowns heading into the week lived up to expectations, as you could tell from the top-10 list. Out of all the stud players in the game, only Donald Driver (7 catches, 59 yards) didn't put up big stats.

Committee meetings

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Mike Cloud got the start for the Patriots in place of the injured Antowain Smith and scored a touchdown. However, Kevin Faulk led the team in carries (14) and yards (87).

Domanick Davis is starting to get a lot more looks in the Texans' offense. He had seven carries for 59 yards and seven catches for 50 yards. Tony Hollings and Stacey Mack combined for nine carries and 27 yards.

The Eagles' situation is still up in the air. All three running backs scored against the Cowboys. Correll Buckhalter had 11 carries for 52 yards and a TD. Brian Westbrook had eight carries for 37 yards and a score. But Duce Staley, who once had a 200-yard game against Dallas, was the big winner with 94 total yards and a 52-yard TD reception.

With Edgerrin James out again, little Ricky Williams got the bulk of the carries for the Colts, but James Mungro stole the short-yardage TD. Neither had big enough numbers to impress anyone, though.

Jerome Bettis could regain the starting job in Pittsburgh. He had

Hurts so bad

The top stars to sit out this week after being dreaded game-time decisions included Eric Moulds (groin), Edgerrin James (back/flu) and Jake Plummer (shoulder).

Stephen Davis missed the final 21 minutes of the game with a forearm injury, but DeShaun Foster filled in nicely for him. Carolina also gave the ball a few times to Rod "He Hate Me" Smart.

The Eagles' Todd Pinkston went without a catch before injuring his knee.

Trung Canidate injured an ankle against the Bucs on Sunday. If he can't go, that opens up carries for Ladell Betts and maybe also Rock Cartwright.

Bill Gramatica missed another game with an injury, leaving it up to Tim Duncan to take over kicking duties in Arizona. However, if you have Duncan on your fantasy team, it'd better be because you're playing fantasy basketball.

James Quintong is Fantasy Sports Producer at SI.com.