Christopher Harris

  (11:01 AM)

Hi, everyone. Welcome to my Monday morning chat. Let's get right down to business.....

Roy, Denver

PLAYOFF FIASCO QUESTION: Chris, our commish forgot to setup a tie-break format in case of a playoff tie. Lo and behold, one of the playoff matchups ended up in a tie yesterday. He decided to have those two teams run at it again next week while my team sits idle waiting for the winner. My gripe is that I've been positioning my team all year for this one game, all the matchups are sweet, and now my team especially will fall prey to possible idle players come week 16 (ala Addai, Westbrook, etc...) Is there another resolution to this? Thanks.

Christopher Harris

  (11:02 AM)

Hi, Roy. That stinks. I guess there probably isn't a better resolution...the only other possibility would be to ad hoc apply some tiebreaking criteria such as highest-scoring player of the week, or highest-scoring bench. It's no good for you to have to be the one who "suffers," but without any rules in place, there's obviously no clean solution.

Sleepless in Seattle

It's weeks 15-17 playoff time in our league and I'm wondering how long until Seattle sits Hasselbeck for their playoffs? Need to know if I need other QB's on the roster and if so, who are some good 15-17 pickups?

Christopher Harris

  (11:04 AM)

I don't think Hasselbeck will sit until Week 17. The Seahawks are now a game ahead of Tampa for the #3 seed in the NFC, which would help them avoid the Cowboys in the second round (if they get that far). Week 17, yes, I'd say a guy like Hasselbeck is likely only to play a half. Before that, though, you should be fine.

Yellowfin Tuna (Somewhere near Hawaii)

Need 80 total yds, or 20 yds & a TD tonight from a RB or WR to pull off the huge upset in 1st round of playoffs. Who is best bet: Stecker, Norwood, L. Moore, Patten, M. Jenkins? Thanks!

Christopher Harris

  (11:05 AM)

Eesh. That's a tough one, for all the marbles. If I'm picking one guy out of that group, it's probably Stecker, just because he's the unquestioned starter among all of them. I won't be shocked to see Norwood get most of the touches for the Falcons, for sure, because it's about damn time. But with no Reggie Bush, the Saints are going to use Stecker a lot. It'd come down to those two for me, and I'm barely casting my lot with Stecker. Good luck.

Proposed solution to tiebreak problem

Have the two tied teams play again in week 15, and then apply the winner's same score to a week 15 matchup against the original poster.

Christopher Harris

  (11:05 AM)

That's also an interesting idea.

Darren (Denver)

I can pull a huge upset over the Brady/Moss/To owner in the playoffs if White goes for 100 and a score. What do you see as my chances?

Christopher Harris

  (11:07 AM)

Hi, Darren. Coming into this week, White was tied for 17th in fantasy scoring among all receivers in ESPN.com leagues, and he seemed to have some chemistry with Chris Redman last week. We'll see...you have a shot, especially against a very bad Saints pass defense.

Brian (Georgia)

***FALCONS FAN*** Tell me that Jerious Norwood has a crappy game, he stands between me and moving on in the playoffs??? Thanks

Christopher Harris

  (11:08 AM)

I can't tell you that, Brian. I think Norwood's going to perform well tonight. The real question is: is Bobby Petrino finally going to stick to his word and use Norwood like a first-string back? If he does, I can see him having a medium night, with some upside. The Saints rush defense, which looked so strong midseason, has faded badly lately.

Lacey (MN)

Should we expect Young to continue to get the majority of the carries in Denver?

Christopher Harris

  (11:10 AM)

Hi, Lacey. It's a great question. Many a prognosticator has gone broke trying to bet on which of Mike Shanahan's backs will be the lead guy each week, so I have to offer this answer with that caveat. Young was a lot stronger than Henry this week, for sure, and it doesn't seem like Henry was limited to 10 carries because of an injury. He did a nice job punching in a short score, but obviously Young was the guy to own this week. Until further notice, yeah, it seems like Young will be the guy. But that further notice could come as soon as Thursday, when the Broncos take on the Texans.

Phil(Chicago)

Carson Palmer, Steve Smith, Adrian Peterson, Maurice Jones-Drew, and Donald Driver got me 19 points combined. That's not good.

Christopher Harris

  (11:10 AM)

Could've warned you about your receivers...Smith and Driver are clearly on the downside of the fantasy values, at least for this year. But the others? Ouch, babe.

E (Texas)

Who's the better play tonight Colston or Roddy White?

Christopher Harris

  (11:11 AM)

Great question, E. I have to believe it's still Colston, though the fact that it's not a no-brainer is testament to White's breakout season. Still, I'm probably using Colston.

Riaz, OH

Chris, Do you see what Jay Cutler did as a sign of things to come? I am now considering using him over Kurt Warner.

Christopher Harris

  (11:14 AM)

It was his best game of the season, Riaz, but it's just so darned hard to start him, isn't it? Warner was a disaster against Seattle; he fell behind early, and kept exacerbating the problem by forcing passes into too-tight spaces. The problem with making a switch is that Warner has New Orleans next week...I haven't done my weekly rankings yet (that's a hint to all those asking for start/sit decisions for Week 15...I don't have definitive rankings done for next week yet), but I have to imagine Warner is going to be a top 10 option against a bad Saints secondary. I'm probably going to have him rated higher than Cutler.

Mike Shanahan, Denver

Lacey, My sole purpose in life is to confuse and torture fanatasy experts so they cannot answer the who get the carries in Denver question, I also hate them all, personally, and all fantasy players for that matter, and their families and anyone they've ever met.

Christopher Harris

  (11:14 AM)

Amen. Plus you're kind of orange.

Emil (Maine)

With Dayne going down is Walker worth picking up this week against Denver?

Christopher Harris

  (11:16 AM)

Hi, Emil. Could be. Dayne's ankle injury sounds kind of serious, considering he needed a pain-killing shot at halftime. There's a real chance that he starts Thursday, but I think you'd have to be in a pretty deep league to consider using him in your fantasy playoffs. I have to think that if Dayne is inactive, Joe Echemandu will steal some of Walker's carries, and let's face it: the kid didn't exactly set the world ablaze against Tampa. Is he worth a pickup? Yes. Is he capable of being a fantasy starter deep in your fantasy playoffs? Boy, you'd have to be pretty desperate.

Ed (Portland)

Chris, if Jabar Gafney a legit pickup now? He seems to be getting the attention from Brady.

Christopher Harris

  (11:18 AM)

Hi, Ed. You know, it's funny: I took abuse for doing an "Are You For Real?" video segment that included Gaffney, in which I said he was worth a pickup (though I didn't endorse starting him), but that's not looking so silly now. I probably would still have a hard time starting him...he may have moved to the #3 receiver in New England (ahead of Donte' Stallworth?), but that's still a highly speculative pick. He's scored in three straight weeks, and the Pats have a couple easy-looking games coming up. But I'd still have a hard time starting him.

Joe, NY

Chris, I lost because I benched Chester Taylor for Travis Henry. No one said Young was going to get most of the carries. This is why this sport/game is half luck. Agreed? Yea I am bitter and had to vent

Christopher Harris

  (11:20 AM)

Hi, Joe. Absolutely...there's more-than-a-comfortable-amount of luck involved in fantasy football...it's the easiest sport to play for novices, because there aren't as many games as in any other fantasy sport, but the corresponding downside of that is sometimes the office manager wins your league. (No offense intended to office managers around the globe.) As far as the Denver situation goes...while no one said Young would get more carries (myself included), you have to admit that we've all been warning you all year that the Denver RB situation is bound to mess with people's minds all year, and you have to devalue *any* Broncos rusher a little, simply because this mind-mess is always a possibility with Mr. Shanahan. And to defend myself a little, I did select Chester Taylor as my Flex Play of the Week in the weekly fantasy newsletter. (Sound the self-tooting horn....)

Juan (Austin)

Chris, what happened to "Purple Jesus" yesterday?

Christopher Harris

  (11:22 AM)

Hi, Juan. (Go Austin! I used to live there.) Adrian Peterson was very, very quiet, getting stuffed repeatedly and fiddling with his knee brace for most of the game. Nobody has said anything about reinjury, and he certainly looked healthy against the Lions last week, so I think we probably chalk this up to an unfortunate bad game at the worst of times (for his fantasy owners). Hopefully you survived your fantasy playoff game and will get a chance to use him again next week.

dan ferreira providence rhode island

hey chris who would you start in the flex position tonight norwood or stecker

Christopher Harris

  (11:22 AM)

Hi, Dan. Scroll up...I answered that one more verbosely above. My answer was: Stecker, barely.

Ron Burgandy (a news room)

Both of my Brady led teams lost on the same day for the first time this season, i've been rolling on people but my position players didn't come through yesterday on either team, sign of things to come or a fluke? and does my cologne sting the nostrils?

Christopher Harris

  (11:23 AM)

Phew. Yes. And as for your position players...it's hard for me to weigh in on them if I don't know who they are. Brady-wise, though, I'm expecting him to have very big games the next two weeks against NYJ and MIA. (Boy, I'm quite a prognosticator, eh?)

Bag wearing Dullphins fan

Does Wayne H. clean house and fire Cam and the GM at years end? Please say YES.

Christopher Harris

  (11:25 AM)

Peter King of Sports Illustrated and NBC is rallying the troops around Cameron...he went on national TV last night basically begged the Fins not to fire their first-year coach, and spent the entire first page of "Monday Morning Quarterback" this morning on the same topic. But I don't see how you *don't* fire a coach who goes 0-16. I mean, they weren't this bad last year. They just weren't. I think Randy Mueller is probably okay, though I've been saying for years I don't think he's very good at personnel evaluation. But Cameron? I think he's got to win one of the next three.

Dale, PA

Do you believe fantasy drafts can be overrated then? I mean who had Tom Brady, Randy Moss, and Adrian Peterson this high? Isn't more about making adjustments during the season?

Christopher Harris

  (11:27 AM)

It is, Dale. It's that way every year. The problem is that often the adjustments aren't enough. I mean, if you *didn't* draft Brady, Moss or Peterson, there wasn't a whole lot of "maneuvering" you could do to make up for that, unless you were able long around Week 3 to convince the Brady owner in your league that all this was a fluke, and he should take Peyton Manning for Brady straight up. Drafts do tend to be more random than we give them credit for when we write all our "definitive" draft preview pieces (which are, in the end, very conservatively minding prediction pieces), and because scoring in fantasy football is so top-heavy, it's very tough to make up for it when you miss out on the big studs. It sure is fun trying, though.

doug (woodbridge, ct)

chris, is keeper league tanking for a better draft position a sound fantasy strategy, or grounds for getting thrown out of the league? your input would be greatly appreciated...

Christopher Harris

  (11:29 AM)

Hi, Doug. I hate tanking in all its forms, and I've had it happen in leagues where I was the commish. One suggestion that I adopted was creating a draft lottery. In my 16-team league, 12 teams make the playoffs, and four teams don't. For those four non-playoff squads, I have a draft lottery, where the team with the worst record gets four ping-pong balls, the second-worst record gets three, the third-worst get two, and then fourth-worst gets one. With that system in place, the worst record team has only gotten the top pick a couple times in that league, which has definitely curtailed tanking some. I wouldn't kick anyone out of the league until I made a league-wide edict about tanking, saying exactly what your policies are, what constitutes tanking, and what process and appeal will be available once someone is accused of it. Unilateral moves are never cool.

Mike (DC)

Is B.Marshall an every week start now? Over Housh or Holt this week?

Christopher Harris

  (11:30 AM)

Hi, Mike. As I said earlier, I don't have my spreadsheets filled out for my Week 15 rankings, so I'm sorry, but I can't give you a definitive comparison between Marshall, Housh and Holt. But I can say that Marshall has been well within my top 22 or so for the past couple months each week (as have Holt and Housh). I will say this: If Marc Bulger is going to be out again this week, I can see Holt dropping quite a ways down my rolls this week.

tyler (iowa)

Chris, who you like for the remainder of the season at WR. Bowe, Agonz, or Lee Evans

Christopher Harris

  (11:31 AM)

Hi, Tyler. Boy, if Marvin Harrison isn't going to play, I'm very tempted to say Anthony Gonzalez, but then again, the Ravens were starting some *really* inexperienced corners last night. I think I'm probably going to say Bowe, though he's living a bit off his midseason reputation at this point. Not Evans, though. Seems he doesn't score unless his team is up 21 or more.

Tom (SoCal)

Hey Chris, We get to keep one player, Who shall it be, LT or Brady? Thanks for your insight.

Christopher Harris

  (11:33 AM)

Hi, Tom. Good question. Boy, I think it's still Tomlinson for me, despite Brady's ridiculous best-season-ever-for-a-quarterback. I don't see this Brady thing as "Okay, now for the rest of his career, Brady is going to put up 50 touchdowns a year." If history has taught us anything, it's that unbelievable seasons like this one are rarely repeated...he'll be excellent next year, but not 50-TD excellent. This is like nails on a chalkboard for me right now, but I think I'd probably keep Tomlinson. On the positive side, though, I'll bet you're doing pretty well in your league *this* year.....

Melissa, Parma, OH

Chris, Are u still in the playoffs in your leagues after yesterday? Just curious?

Christopher Harris

  (11:34 AM)

Hi, Melissa. In my ultra-competitive 16-teamer (from whence two national fantasy football writers have sprung...Andy Behrens of Yahoo was in that league long before his fame ascension), I've been done since *last* week. But in various 12-teamers, I'm alive and kicker. In one of the house ESPN.com leagues, I'm still rolling, too.

Ed (Dearborn, MI)

Please rank these keepers for next year We start 1QB, 2RB, 3WR. Romo for a 6th round, Edwards for a 6th round, Marshawn Lynch for a 4th round and Kevin Jones for a 14th round.

Christopher Harris

  (11:36 AM)

Hm, Ed. Good question. Obviously, this comes with the caveat that I reserve the right to change my mind many, many times over the next weeks and months. But at this very moment, I'd rank them: Romo, Edwards, Jones, Lynch. Not that I don't like Lynch. But Jones as a 14th-rounder is probably worth more than Lynch as a 4th. Especially if Mike Martz gets canned next year.

Kevin, NC

Chris, I noticed that you always mention the fantasy concierge service at the end of your chats. I am an insider and when I get the responses from the answer guys, I trust them because they work for espn but I dont know who they are. Who are they?

Christopher Harris

  (11:38 AM)

Hi, Kevin. Indeed, the concierge service is really cool. The man in charge of the whole service is named Dave Hunter, and never a nicer or smarter guy will you ever meet. He has a staff of several folks who answer for him, but I know that Dave does as much of it as humanly possible himself. I myself am rarely called on for email-answering duty, just because I'm usually way too bleary-eyed from the column writing. The staff who does answer are experts from Matt Berry's old TalentedMrRoto.com days, and other folks we've picked up along the way. They tend to know their stuff, big time.

Rich, Michigan

Did you just give a plug for yahoo? Shame Shame!!

Christopher Harris

  (11:39 AM)

No! No! I swear! I didn't! (Most folks know I worked there for a while...Brandon Funston is a great guy, and I love Yahoo. I happen to think our fantasy coverage is better now, but they've still got a bunch of terrific folks over there, too.)

King (TX)

In August who would have thought that so many people's fantasy lives would be in the hands of Roddy White or A. Stecker? Gotta love or hate this game.

Christopher Harris

  (11:40 AM)

I hear, you King. I was doing a radio thing with the Hardcore Fantasy Football show on Sirius on Saturday, and we were talking about the vagaries of the game, and the fact that the *only* people who'll be watching the Monday night game tonight are hard-core gamblers and fantasy players. (But I'm an ESPN company man, so I must tell our advertisers: that's not true! the nation will be watching! your dollars are well spent!)

Andrew (NY)

Thank you ESPN staff. Every expert except for one had Kolby Smith over Marion barber. I appreciete it!!!!!!!!!

Christopher Harris

  (11:41 AM)

Hi, Andrew. I'm one of 'em: I had Smith 9th this week and Barber 11th. I think you've got a pretty good class-action lawsuit brewing.

Bill: (NY,NY)

Do you think I can find a Stecker jersey to wear before the game tonight?

Christopher Harris

  (11:42 AM)

NFL.com is quick Bill, but I'm not sure they're *that* quick.

Mike (Carbondale, IL)

Tell me TO will bounce back next week! The proof is in the pudding.

Christopher Harris

  (11:44 AM)

Hi, Mike. Well, I don't have any pudding just now...history would tend to indicate T.O. will be fine. The Lions did everything they could to roll a safety Owens's way on basically every play, which explains why Jason Witten had 15 catches, tied for the most *ever* by a tight end in the modern era. Romo kept going back there, because there were two or three guys encircling Owens on every play. Hey, if defenses are going to do that to Owens, I guess he's going to have bad games. It obviously kept Detroit in the game for longer than a lot of teams (as did some silly Dallas mistakes). I would tend to think Owens will be back to himself again in Week 15...but you never know.

Drew Brees (N.O.)

Will I show up or disappoint tonight?

Christopher Harris

  (11:46 AM)

It's so hard to say. My tendency is to think that Brees will be good, but he's turned in enough stinkers this year to worry about it. From the tape that I've watched (and I'm not trying to bill myself as a Ron Jaworski here), Brees started out the year weak because he was letting defenses dictate where he threw the ball. He started to get better when he started trusting his receivers more, and throwing it them in tighter spots, more like he did last year. Of course, that comes with risks, and he's clearly not quite as "on" consistently this year as he was in '06. But at least he's not checking down to Eric Johnson every other play. I think he'll air it out tonight. The question is: will the Falcons be able to deal with it? I say no. I had Brees rated 9th among QBs coming into the weekend.

Callie (Meriden CT)

Howdy Chris, Have to love Brady's matchup next week -vs- the Jets. Spygate payback? The spread opened at 27 pts, just flat out crazy.

Christopher Harris

  (11:48 AM)

Hi, Callie. If that's really the spread (I haven't looked yet), it's the biggest in NFL history. And I'll bet you the line stays right there, as the Pats have been mighty good to bettors this year (except for vs. Philly and Baltimore). And I have to admit...I don't see any way I could take the Jets in that situation.

Leo (MA)

Hey Chris... Since there are so many of us listening to you among other ESPN experts, Do you see any of us common folk getting a chance to get a spot of one of your leagues?

Christopher Harris

  (11:49 AM)

Hi, Leo. Most of the leagues I'm in (well, all but one, actually) are those "invite-only" deals, for magazines, ESPN publicity, etc. I would really like to go back to the days of public leagues and trash-talking with folks, but I'm already in so many leagues, my head is spinning. The one "elective" league I'm in, my 16-teamer that I refer to a lot in stuff I write for ESPN, has been going 10 years and has probably had three people replaced in all that time. It's pretty solid.

Patriots Hater

I'm torn what would be better, having the Pats lose their 1st game of the year to the hated Mangini Jets or to the winless Dolphins the week after. Yeah I know, I'm crazy.

Christopher Harris

  (11:50 AM)

You're pretty crazy. If I were a Pats hater (and I'm not), I think the best scenario of all is having them go 16-0 and having them get shocked at home in the playoffs. And frankly, the Colts/Steelers winner could do it. It's not outside the realm of possibility at all.

AC (FL)

How does the loss of Neal affect LT the next two weeks?

Christopher Harris

  (11:52 AM)

Hi, AC. I'm not sure Neal is definitely out, though I did watch that game, and it didn't look good, seeing him hop like that to the locker room. He's a great lead blocker for sure, but let's face it: LT did his damage mostly without Neal in there. Does it change LT's value a little? Sure. Does it make you not start him? No way.

Jon (FL)

Does Earnest Graham start for the Bucs next year? He is better than Cadillac ever was...

Christopher Harris

  (11:53 AM)

Hi, Jon. Great question, and we won't really know the answer for a while. I have to say: the Tampa O-line has gelled in a way in the second half of this year that Caddy never saw. Finally guys like Jeremy Trueblood and Davin Joseph are living up to their draft hype, and making especially the right side of that line absolutely no fun to play against. My guess is Graham and Williams will wage a battle, and they'll both probably be active on game days next year......

Ryan (San Diego)

You grossly overlooked the fact that the Patriots will lose at home to the Chargers in their first game

Christopher Harris

  (11:54 AM)

Could happen, Ryan. After watching Philip Rivers gag around for three quarters yesterday, I have to admit I have my doubts (and so does LaDainian, no matter what he said after the game). Frankly, a San Diego / Jacksonville rematch in the first round could spell the end of the Chargers this year.....

Kevin (San Antonio)

Let's get a little look into the future: Top 5 Fantasy QB's for next year?

Christopher Harris

  (11:57 AM)

Oh, boy. Hm. Let's see, Kevin. I think you still have to say Brady is 1. After that? Romo at 2. Manning at 3. Palmer overcomes his crummy season and is at 4. And at No. 5, let's mix it up and say........Ben Roethlisberger. He's been better than advertised this season, but I still don't think people give him enough credit. Wish I could've thrown someone like Jason Campbell in there...I really like that kid, but Washington's situation just isn't stable enough.

Brian (MD)

Started MJD, K. Smith and B. Johnson, benched LenDale, Jacobs and Cotchery based on the rankings. Thanks to Brady I survived. Should I just ignore this weeks rankings? Also, who has more value in a dynasty, Stecker, Smith or Weaver?

Christopher Harris

  (11:58 AM)

Hi, Brian. I think you should ignore the rankings. Except the person you're asking in this chat is *involved* in the rankings, so I'm not sure exactly why you want an answer from me. Considering I don't know which Smith you're talking about, I'll just say that none of the guys you mention have any keeper-league value. Not Aaron Stecker or Leonard Weaver, anyway.

Craig (fl)

Will Barber finally be the guy next year?

Christopher Harris

  (12:01 PM)

Hi, Craig. I *think* so, but there are no guarantees. My feeling is that Julius Jones, who'll be a free agent at the end of this season, winds up going somewhere else for starter money, which would leave Barber the last man standing. Make no mistake: the Cowboys think they're onto something with Barber...they like using Jones at the beginning of games to keep Barber fresh, and then to pound away with him when it really counts. So I won't rule out the possibility that someone else will "platoon" some with Barber. But I highly doubt it'll be Jones.

Chris (CT)

Chris, never got to thank you for the advice last week to start Mason not Stallworth I ended up winning that game by a couple points!

Christopher Harris

  (12:01 PM)

Thank *you* for the positive affirmation, Chris. For a minute there I was starting to ignore my own advice. (Start Steve Smith! Trade for Lee Evans! Cut LaDainian Tomlinson!)

wes mantooth (san diego)

can addai owners drop kenton keith now?

Christopher Harris

  (12:02 PM)

Hi, Wes. Presumably you've only had Keith as an Addai handcuff. I don't see any reason not to keep him around in case Addai suffers a catastrophic injury, unless you're in desperate need of a roster spot.

Ryan (St. Augustine)

Is it safe to play chester taylor this week after AP's terrible day or should I go with someone that's a definite starter? (I have Steven Jackson, Clinton Portis, Willis McGahee, and Shaun Alexander...)

Christopher Harris

  (12:04 PM)

Hi, Ryan. As I've said, I don't have my weekly rankings spreadsheets done (or, to be honest, even begun), so I don't have anything definitive for you here...check my weekly rankings on Wednesday. But I will say that I've been on Chester Taylor for the last two weeks, so I feel a little bit smart about that. I don't think Peterson's bad day yesterday influences his or Taylor's value, but I do think that these guys are going to continue to split carries. That said, if I have to choose between Taylor and a Steven Jackson type, you can write it in ink...I'm going to pick Jackson.

Britt (New Zealand)

Buzzer beater: The better keeper, Pick 2: Addai, All Day, or Larry Johnson

Christopher Harris

  (12:04 PM)

Hi, Britt. I have to say Peterson. There's a chance he's going to be the No. 1 or No. 2 pick in a lot of fantasy drafts next year. Addai is a close second. LJ lags a bit, but will bounce back and have a good year, too.

Joel ( Roscommon MI)

Should I keep Romo over SJax next year ?

Christopher Harris

  (12:06 PM)

Hi, Joel. Without knowing your league's parameters, it's hard to give you a definitive. I'd tend to think not. I like Jackson an awful lot, and quarterbacks are getting a bit over-valued because of a weird, injury-filled season for RBs. I think it's a good question, and I think it's close, but in standard leagues where you're not slotting a keeper into the round where he was taken last year, I'd probably keep Jackson. But if it were a question of, say, keeping Jackson in the first round or Romo in the 5th, I'd take Romo.

James, Ca

Chris, is this bad karma? I am playing against Bush, he doesnt know he is out, so i picked up Stecker last night to prevent him from grabbing him, and sticking him with a zero, is this bad karma?

Christopher Harris

  (12:07 PM)

Hi, James. Bad karma, but good strategy. And let's face it: anyone who made your fantasy playoffs without having any notion that Bush was injured probably doesn't deserve a championship. (Is typing *that* bad karma?)

Brick Tamlin

will Kevin Jones fill in nicely for Reggie Bush for at least the next two games?.... I love lamp.

Christopher Harris

  (12:08 PM)

Hi, Brick. Well, if you'd asked me last week, I'd probably have said no. But now that Mike Martz proved he *does* remember rushing plays, I say yes. I don't like the match-up this week against the Chargers, but then again, the Titans did some nice work rushing this week, and Shawne Merriman got hurt and will be questionable this week. After that comes Kansas City, which is turning into a lot easier match-up for an opposing rusher by the week.

Steve (Baltimore)

Chris, can we just take a moment to nominate the 2007 Cleveland Browns offense to the fantasy football HOF? I can't believe it, but I've ridden them to the playoffs...

Christopher Harris

  (12:10 PM)

Yeah, how 'bout them Browns? Jamal Lewis's ankles really *are* healthy, and it really *has* made a huge difference. This week's Browns/Bills game is actually massive, and it's a shame NBC didn't elect to flex it instead of the stupid Giants/Redskins game. I'd much rather see these two young hungry teams duke it out on national TV......

King (TX)

CH, you are like the Willie Parker of fantasy columnists. You put in a steady and good yardage total every week. You don't get a lot of big TDs, but your consistency every week will get someone into the playoffs. Thanks for your good work this year.

Christopher Harris

  (12:10 PM)

Ha. I don't get a lot of big TDs, huh? Darn.

Christopher Harris

  (12:11 PM)

Okay, folks, I'd be glad to keep going, but this chat room will evaporate in a matter of moments, if experience is any indication, so let's tackle one more.......

Braylon Edwards (Cleveland)

In what round will you target me in next years fantasy drafts?

Christopher Harris

  (12:12 PM)

It's obviously going to depend on league format, but Edwards is probably going to be on my top five list of receivers. He's not Randy Moss or Terrell Owens, but he's just about the next-best-thing, ain't he? There's a case to be made that he should be No. 3 on that list for '08.

Christopher Harris

  (12:14 PM)

Okay, everyone.... Thanks very much for all your questions, and I'm really sorry I can't get to more when I do these chats. I always say this at the end, and I'm not sure how many folks actually read it, but I'm going to keep saying it anyway: I *truly* appreciate all of you, your interest, your questions (even your abuse), because it lets me have this really cool job, and I promise you that I don't take it for granted. I'm very appreciative. So thanks again, and remember, if you're frustrated about not getting chat questions answered (and again, I'm sorry), try being an Insider and using the Fantasy Concierge service we talked about earlier. Dave Hunter is the best, and his team can answer your emails one-on-one in a timely fashion, for free (once you're an Insider). Thanks again, and have a great week. Be on the lookout for the Big Rotowski on Wednesday and the Breakdown on Friday.