Addai Squashes Concerns About Platoon
Indianapolis Colts running back Joseph Addai alleviated concerns about a potential backfield platoon with a big day against Carolina. Addai carried 23 times for 100 yards, scored three touchdowns (2 rushing) and certainly looked to be fully recovered from chest and shoulder injuries. Kenton Keith is no longer the threat to Addai's productivity that we thought he was, and won't be unless Addai gets dinged up again.

Well Not Running Dry in Cleveland
Offense still abounds in Cleveland, where quarterback Derek Anderson and wide receiver Braylon Edwards continued their prolific seasons in a 27-20 win over the 0-7 Rams. Anderson threw for three scores, including two to Edwards, bringing his season total to 17 - the second-highest in the NFL.

The deep ball has been the Browns' specialty, as Anderson's completion percentage (56.9) checks in as hands-down the lowest among pro football's top 20 passers. Edwards is Anderson's favorite target and ranks among the top three in the NFL with 669 receiving yards and 9 touchdowns.

Steven Jackson Exits Early With Back Spasms
Rams running back Steven Jackson returned to action from a groin injury that sidelined him for the previous four games on Sunday against the Browns. He rushed eight times for 41 yards, including a 2 yard touchdown run, in the first quarter before exiting with back spasms.

Jackson said he was overcompensating for his sore groin, and, beyond setting fantasy owners back with an early exit, his back shouldn't be a major issue the rest of the way. Keep an eye on his practice situation this week and how his back comes along and keep Brian Leonard on the back burner in case of a setback.

Pats Roll Again
The headline isn't about any individual player because so many Patriots have gotten a piece of the team's offensive flurry. They thump the Redskins 52-7, and they score six offensive touchdowns. It was an even split between passing and rushing, but Tom Brady had two of the rushing TDs and added three more through the air.

The Pats' offense, working with its fullest cupboard of talent in 2007, can move guys in and out of the lineup and find the same success. The ratio of pass to run will probably start to lean more towards the run as the weather gets nastier, but Brady will maintain a reasonable enough pace to break Peyton Manning's touchdown record of 49. He needs 20 more TDs over the Pats' remaining eight games.

Take this as you wish from a fantasy perspective. While Brady is highly unlikely to continue at this rate, he will still be elite the rest of the year. Laurence Maroney's role may increase as the year goes on, but the team's ability and willingness to move the ball through the air will affect his value. Moss, barring injury, probably isn't going anywhere, and Stallworth and Welker will both get their touches.

White Officially The Man in Tennessee
Jeff Fisher made it clear in the preseason that LenDale White would be his top guy in 2007. Chris Brown flashed on our radars first, but White has won the day with a feature-back work load in each of the last three weeks.

Vince Young completed just 6-of-14 passes for 42 yards in the Titans' 13-9 win over Oakland, and White led a dominant rushing attack with 25 carries and 133 yards. Tennessee is the most run-happy offense in the NFL, and being that White is the focal point of it, his value is rising by the day.

Quarterback Controversies Unsettled
Both teams have their starting quarterbacks for Week 9, but the Buffalo Bills and New York Jets arrived at their new starters in different ways. For the Bills, injury forced new starter Trent Edwards out of the game and opening day starter J.P. Losman back in. And for the Jets, who fell to 1-7 with a 13-3 loss, the struggling Chad Pennington was benched in favor of Kellen Clemens.

With Losman's success late in the game - he hit Lee Evans with a clinching 85 yard touchdown late - and Clemens' rocky outing - he went 5-of-12 for 67 yards and 2 INTs - neither of these situations may be settled permanently.

Expect Clemens to be good soon and to hang onto the starting job for the rest of the year, but the going will be tough for the next three weeks with matchups against Washington, Pittsburgh and at Dallas. Losman, on the other hand, is looking like the early favorite to start this week against Cincinnati. If Edwards (sprained wrist on his throwing hand) can't go, Losman will be presented with a golden opportunity to perform against one of the league's worst pass defenses.

London Experiment Not a Rousing Success
The NFL's attempt to take football to London did bring some success, but the final product wasn't ideal to promote to a new audience. Poor conditions did play a big part of the ugliness, but England didn't have the opportunity to witness the best American football has to offer. The rains, mud and a field not fit for mammoth pro football players all slowed the game and killed fantasy production.

People banking on big days from Giants Eli Manning, Brandon Jacobs, Plaxico Burress, Jeremy Shockey and Amani Toomer were robbed of likely big days because the game was played in London. Manning, though he did rush for a TD, was 8-of-22 for just 59 yards, which hurt Burress, Toomer and Shockey. Jacobs delivered with 23 carries for 131 yards, but was missing red zone opportunities because the passing game struggled.

Griese Leash One Game Shorter
We knew it wasn't all going to come up roses for Brian Griese when he took over for the wildly ineffective Rex Grossman, but this is an interesting time for the new Bears quarterback. He threw four picks in a 16-7 loss to the Lions, and three of them came in Detroit's end zone. We may not have seen the last of Grossman, but it's on the veteran Griese to stop the bleeding after their bye this week.

If Griese gets to the point where a decision has to be made, it could come right along with struggling running back Cedric Benson. Benson has averaged a lowly 3.1 yards per carry, which is by far the lowest in the NFL among players with his kind of work load. He got awfully defensive about his performance on Sunday, so he is aware and so too are the Chicago media, who could light a fire under the situation.

Two factors play here, in terms of the Bears wanting, or not wanting, to consider rushing options other than Benson. First, backup Adrian Peterson is a smallish type back who they're not convinced could be a full-time back in the NFL. And second, the Bears have every motivation to justify Benson's high draft selection and the decision to trade Thomas Jones to the Jets for a second round pick.

Chargers Put On The Brakes
For lack of a better term, the Chargers torched the Texans for 35 first-half points, then immediately put on the brakes to come away with a 35-10 win. Quarterback Phillip Rivers connected with tight end Antonio Gates for 31 and 49 yard touchdowns and with newest Charger, Chris Chambers, on a 14 yard strike to cap San Diego's scoring. The biggest fantasy star in the game was the Chargers D, which scored two TDs, intercepted four passes and recovered a fumble.

It was too much too fast for, and the Chargers cruised through the second half with no more offensive production. With three touchdowns through the air and two from the defense, LaDainian Tomlinson was the biggest loser in this outcome. He had 90 yards on 17 carries and no TDs, which halted the momentum from his last outing - a 198 yard, 4 touchdown performance at Oakland.

Jacksonville Out-Uglies Tampa Bay
Neither offense is the envy of players or coaches across the league, but both the Jaguars and Buccaneers have found a way to overachieve in an ugly manner. Jacksonville, in its first full game without quarterback David Garrard (sprained ankle), got the better end of Sunday's matchup, 24-23 on an 8 yard touchdown pass from Quinn Gray to Matt Jones early in the fourth quarter.

Both offenses surprised with their approaches to beating a couple of tough defenses. The dink and dunk passing strategy from Tampa Bay was abandoned for a downfield game, presumably to avoid a nasty Jacksonville front four. The Jags offense deferred from a red hot Maurice Jones-Drew to veteran Fred Taylor, who carried 24 times for 68 yards.

Are The Saints Back?
To answer the question - yes, the Saints appear to be back. For the first time, the Saints got down the field in the passing game and won their third straight game in a big way, 31-10 at San Francisco. Quarterback Drew Brees found Marques Colston on three of his season-high four touchdown passes, bringing the Saints record to 3-4 with a run of winnable games ahead in a winnable NFC South division.

Colston was one of the week's top performers, hauling in 8 passes for 85 yards and 3 touchdowns in a breakout game. He had rattled our confidence with an average of 26 yards in the previous three games and no real reason to believe a drastic turnaround was coming. For the ones with a little foresight or no other viable lineup options, pat yourselves on the back for likely winning your matchup this week.