Tyler Thigpen surprised me this last week and is actually on my radar this week as not many people have picked him up in many of my league's and he might be a suitbale back up for you if you are desperate at QB. Thigpen started the year pretty badly as his first 4 games his QB rating ranged from 23-68 as he threw 2 TD's & 4 Picks.

However, he has had 3 good games in a row ( NYJ- 280 yds & 2 TD's, TBB- 184 yds & 1 TD, SDC- 266 yds % 3 TD's) but the most important stat line to me is zero turnovers these last. Yes I would not want Thigpen behind center on my NFL team however he might be a viable fantasy backup and spot starter if he keeps this trend going. Thigpen faces New Orleans, Buffalo, Oakland, Denver, San Diego & Miami the rest of the fantasy season (that list is in order from wk. 11 to 16) and depending on who your #1 QB is Thigpen could be a nice start next week against a bad Saints D or even Wk. 13 and 14 against the Raiders & Broncos "Defenses".

It really depends on the match ups but Thigpen might be a nice fit for your team on a week I don't see too many free agents with prospects hitting the waiver wire.

Definitely some diamonds in the rough (or perhaps more like cubic zirconia, but good value for the price) emerged and remerged this week as we saw great performances from: Ray Rice (176 total yards), Jamal Charles (106 rushing yards in only 18 carries), and Cedric Benson (109 total yards 1 touchdown). These three from this week who might be the real gems of this crowd.

Peyton Hills, Koren Robinson, Dan Orlovsky, Tyler Thigpen, Bollinger, Rex Grossman, Derek Stanley, Greg Camarillo, & Jerheme Urban all had nice or decent performances but in my opinion are the cubic zirconia of this batch and really should only be picked up if you need them badly. Take Peyton Hills, a fullback with 7 receptions and 116 yards and a touchdown. Remind you of someone? How about the stud from Week 9 Leonard Weaver. Weaver had 116 yards and 2 touchdowns last week and did not even play this week. To be fair he had some sort of injury, he was dressed but did not play a down but is a good example of how quickly a Weaver, or a Patrick Cobbs, or a Peyton Hills can fall off the map.

As for Ray Rice, be careful as he is a great talent but McClain & McGahee could both steal the spotlight from him. If you are in a keeper league (where its cheap to protect him until next year) then definitely grab this talent. But how good will he be the rest of this year? Ask McGahee & McClain as they will know that answer.

Jamal Charles is poised for one big week as Kolby Smith is out for the year and Larry Johnson is suspended for week 10 as he seems to have some issues with women. Only bad news for Charles LJ might be back in action week 11.

Cedric Benson might be the best pick up this week as he should have plenty of chances in Cincy only downside is a bye next week, and then he faces Philly, Pitt, & Baltimore (ouch) the next 3 before finally getting some good matchups (Indy, Was, & Cleveland during the fantasy playoffs)

Also keep an eye on Daunte Culpepper in Detroit. I don't like the play but you never know, Calvin Johnson is a great talent, maybe will remind Daunte of Moss back in the days. Who knows.

Another note Matt Schaub is out with a torn MCL so Sage Rosenfels might be worth a pick up if you too are hurting at QB.

Not too many new names out there this week but I did notice an interesting trend in some of my fantasy leagues. There is some definite value in the "free agent trash bin"as I call it as many leagues don't allow teams to carry a very large bench meaning some struggling players can get cut during these hard times when injuries and bye weeks are making it impossible to throw your best lineup out there. Marc Bulger is one name I am targeting as the Rams seem to have new life under new coach Jim Haslett and Bulger looks like a suitable backup fantasy QB for now. Tyler Thigpen had a nice game but I doubt you see much more of that this year as there's a reason he was behind Brodie Croyle & Damon Huard on the Chiefs depth chart to start the year. Seneca Wallace also put up some numbers but again if Hasselbeck is garbage this year I don't expect Wallace to be any better. If you like to gamble Shaun Hill is being thrown in there to start for the Niners but I'm not very high on any Niner besides Gore. I'm also skeptical of 100+ yard receiving fullbacks as Leonard Weaver showed us just how bad the Niners D can be. Weaver had only 97 total yards all year before his 129 total yard 2 touchdown day. I think he is a perfect example of a one week wonder but if you are in desperate need and have no better options (perhaps someone forgot a Dominic Rhodes, Mewelde Moore, or a Deuce McAlliter on the wire) then maybe grab him and hope Weaver catches lightning in a bottle again.

WR Donnie Avery, St. Louis Rams -- Its almost halfway through the season and Torry Holt leads the team in receiving yards. No big surprise, as we expected that. We didn't expect him to only have one touchdown and barely over 260 yards though as these Rams started dead cold & Holt continues to be cold as Stephen Jackson has come alive these last few games. Donnie Avery also has come alive these last few games with 9 receptions for 138 yards and one score (doubling Holt's total as Avery also has a rushing touchdown from week 4). While I do think Holt wakes up sometime this year it does look like the Rams have some life under new coach Jim Haslett and Avery looks like a very nice pick up expecially if you are in a keeper league. Keep in mind Avery appears to be their deep threat so he should be expected to be an inconsistent producer (although very few WR's are very consistent week to week) but if he keeps this trend he'll pass Holt in a few weeks in yardage and who knows what he might be able to do the rest of the season.

Free agency can be just as important (or sometimes even more) as having a good draft day as so many things change from draft day to every different week in the NFL and the fantasy football season. Bye weeks and injuries are usually the main reasons its very wise to be active in free agency but there are also some great players who come out of nowhere every season. Tony Romo, Ryan Grant, & Derek Anderson (although the jury is still out on Anderson) are great examples of starters who appeared from nowhere and an active owner was able to plug them right into their starting lineup from a wiaver wire bid or free agent pick up.

My rankings for free agents are based on my views of their skill level and ability to continue to produce in future weeks (as many free agent pick ups are "one week wonders") but if you have a serious need at a position its probably worth taking a risk on a player even if I'm not crazy about them. It would however be a mistake to drop a solid player from your roster for a free agent who many times disappears from fantasy scoring after their breakout week.

Some Free Agents who have emerged this week:

QB Brad Johnson, Cowboys -- Johnson actually didn't emerge but with Romo getting his pinky broken in OTvs. the Cards &likely to miss 4 weeks (3 games and a bye) Brad Johnson might be the answer to your QB troubles, for the rest of October that is. He has some decent career stats in his 17 year career (83 QB rating, 28,000+ yards, 164 TD's 117 Int's) and it seems he still has an active arm. I like this pick up for this week (they play the Rams) but not after as they face the Bucs & Giants unless you are desperate for a fantasy starter.

RB Patrick Cobbs, Dolphins -- As we are starting to see with the Fins we never know what might happen from week to week with them but Cobbs definitely shined last week with 138 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns mostly due to that high school formation the Fins run that keeps defensive coordinators up all night. Unfortunately in 3 seasons Cobb only has 53 rushing yards and one score before last Sunday. Its very, very likely we don't hear from Cobbs the rest of this fantasy season.

RB Ray Rice, Ravens -- I loved ray Rice in preseason and was shocked how McClain outshined him until last week. If I had the roster room I'd grab him as McGahee looks like he is planning to have16 different injuries this season and Rice has some potential beyond this last week's performance (87 total yards). Rice is still 3rd on the depth chart but if he gets a chance I like this rookie back a lot.

WR Steve Breaston, Cardinals -- I also love this receiver (I actually had picked him up in some leagues 4 weeks ago) however I expect Anquan to return after the Cardinals bye making Breaston a fringe starter depending on the match ups and how solid your receiver core is. Still worth picking up if you need the help at wideout though.