At the age of 37, cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner has thrown for 10 touchdowns and almost 1,500 yards in five games in 2008. Rich Kane/Icon SMI

By Chris Ryan, RotoExperts.com, SI.com

Tiering your players on a weekly basis not only is a good way to determine whom to draft in fantasy football, but also is great way to break ties for tough lineup decisions each week. Delving into the tiers this week, we look at the heartbreaking Kurt Warner, the confounding Laurence Maroney and an aerial revival in Minnesota.

Quarterbacks

Ready ...

Drew Brees vs. Oakland
Tony Romo @ Arizona
Donovan McNabb @ San Francisco
Jay Cutler vs. Jacksonville
Eli Manning @ Cleveland
Kurt Warner vs. Dallas
Jason Campbell vs. St. Louis
Brett Favre vs. Cincinnati
Carson Palmer @ New York Jets
Aaron Rodgers @ Seattle
Peyton Manning vs. Baltimore
Matt Cassel @ San Diego

Set ...

Gus Frerotte vs. Detroit
Philip Rivers vs. New England
Jake Delhomme @ Tampa Bay
Matt Schaub vs. Miami
David Garrard @ Denver
Matt Hasselbeck vs. Green Bay
JaMarcus Russell @ New Orleans
Kyle Orton @ Atlanta
Chad Pennington @ Houston

No!

Jon Kitna @ Minnesota
Jeff Garcia vs. Carolina
Derek Anderson vs. New York Giants
Marc Bulger @ Washington
J.T. O'Sullivan vs. Philadelphia
Matt Ryan vs. Chicago
Joe Flacco @ Indianapolis

Warner is going to break your heart. It may be this week against Dallas. It may be a month from now. It may be during your league championship game. It's impossible to predict when, but it will happen. Dating back to last year, Warner has started and gone the distance 15 consecutive times, a streak he hasn't sniffed since his 2001 season with the Rams. Somehow, he's avoided the debilitating injuries and horrifically poor outings that have plagued him in the past, and he's not just surviving out there, he's destroying defenses. During his current streak, he's averaging 268 yards a game and has only two outings where he didn't throw multiple touchdowns. He's been the most productive and reliable fantasy quarterback in the game ... and that's exactly why he scares the living hell out of me. What Warner's doing at the age of 37, after being completely written off, is not only unprecedented, it defies the laws of football. He's playing on borrowed time, and while he's making the most out of it, there've been signs that the clock is about to strike zero for Warner and his owners.

First there was the opening half against the Jets in which he lost three fumbles and was picked off twice. Then there was the text message to his wife that revealed he was contemplating immediately retiring after nearly getting Anquan Boldin decapitated. And this past week he re-injured his index finger and had his chin split open when his face was introduced to the helmet of a Bills defender. Singularly, each incident isn't a cause for concern, but when you add them up and factor in the rate that he's being sacked (on pace for 39), you can see why I'm so worried about Warner's chance of remaining relevant all year. In the meantime, keep enjoying his ageless right arm and praying that DeMarcus Ware doesn't snap it in half. Just make sure you have a backup plan in place when the inevitable happens.

Other notables:

Was I hallucinating, or did we get a glimpse of the high-flying Bengals offense of old in that second half against the Cowboys? Hold on, let me check something real quick ... nope, it wasn't in my head. Palmer completed 16-of-22 passes for 153 yards and two scores. Interesting ... It certainly hasn't been pretty, but Russell has managed to put up at least 15 fantasy points in three out of four games this year. This week he's got the Saints, who just lost a starting cornerback and are allowing opposing QBs to score an average of ... yep, you guessed it, 15 fantasy points a game ... Forget rising gas prices, the economic crisis and the presidential election. None of it matters. Clearly the apocalypse is upon us because I swear I witnessed Orton throw for a league leading 334 yards last week. Can he repeat the feat against Atlanta? Not a chance ...

Running backs

Ready ...

Adrian Peterson vs. Detroit
Clinton Portis vs. St. Louis
Brandon Jacobs @ Clevelnd
Marion Barber @ Arizona
Matt Forte @ Atlanta
Ronnie Brown @ Houston
Reggie Bush vs. Oakland
Steven Jackson @ Washington
Thomas Jones vs. Cincinnati
Michael Turner vs. Chicago
Frank Gore vs. Philadelphia
Willis McGahee @ Indianapolis
Le'Ron McClain @ Indianapolis
Ryan Grant @ Seattle
Steve Slaton vs. Miami...
Darren McFadden @ New Orleans

Set ...

Brian Westbrook @ San Francisco
Correll Buckhalter @ San Francisco
Joseph Addai vs. Baltimore
Felix Jones @ Arizona
Julius Jones vs. Packers
Maurice Jones-Drew @ Denver
Fred Taylor @ Denver
Jamal Lewis vs. New York Giants
Earnest Graham vs. Carolina
Warrick Dunn vs. Carolina
DeAngelo Williams @ Tampa Bay
Jonathan Stewart @ Tampa Bay
Edgerrin James vs. Dallas
Tim Hightower vs. Dallas
Deuce McAllister vs. Oakland
Ahmad Bradshaw @ Cleveland
Michael Pittman vs. Jacksonville