Monday Morning Takeaways -- Week 8 fantasysharks.com Mon 10/29/12 1:45 PM

Before we get to all the game time action, of which there was plenty, we must address one of my favorite holidays, Halloween. This Wednesday night young kids will flood the streets delirious by the thought of gathering a sack load of candy; the equivalent of children's gold. As we head out to celebrate with friends and family, remember that many of these young people aren't always paying attention to the traffic around them. Please do your part to keep our children safe by slowing down and looking out for all those little ghouls and goblins. If nothing else, take the time to admire all the great costumes and enjoy a safe holiday. Tampa Bay 36, Minnesota 17 Bucs Right before our eyes Tampa Bay is developing into a very balanced offense. Doug Martin kicked off week eight rushing for 135 yards and one touchdown while catching three passes for 79 yards adding a second touchdown through the air. On countless runs Martin did an excellent job making the first man miss while pilling up yards after contact. It appears TB got the memo as LeGarrette Blount is officially in the rear view mirror, even on the goal line. Over the years there has been a recurring trend of quarterbacks breaking out in the middle of their fourth season (last year is was Matt Ryan finishing fifth in fantasy scoring in weeks 8-16). Josh Freeman looks to be the 2012 candidate after scoring 28, 22 and 25 points over the past three weeks. Two weeks ago, almost by default, I picked up Freeman as a bye week filler, but he seems to have earned a spot on my roster as a blossoming low end QB1. Most encouraging is seeing the Bucs continue to throw the football despite a commanding lead. Pleasant surprise. Tampa Bay has officially entered the conversation for most prolific tandem of wide receivers in the NFL. This week it was Mike Williams catching six passes for 68 yards and a touchdown. Williams does an excellent job "h igh pointing" the football making him a preferred target in the red zone. After a sophomore slump, Williams is once again blossoming into a solid fantasy player now impossible to sit. Great draft pick for those of you who had the foresight. The Bucs offensive line deserves a ton of credit adding confidence to owners of Martin and Freeman. Vikings What the hell is going on in Minnesota? They started the game perfectly working the ball to Percy Harvin (90 yards one touchdown) and continuing to run Adrian Peterson (123 yards and one touchdown). Falling behind in the mid ...

The DLF Mailbag dynastyleaguefootball.com Thu 10/11/12 7:30 AM

We cover Kyle Rudolph, Nick Foles, how long to hold on to rookies and much more in this week's edition.

Guessing Games fantasysharks.com Sat 10/8/11 1:06 AM

My Week #5 Audibles Week 5 is upon us and the bye weeks are as well. I have Tim Hightower on a bye. I'm not sure he even belongs on my roster with the guessing games required to find out what his role is. I'm going to stop guessing at some point. I blame myself for not heeding the word. Here are some things that don't require much guessing. Visanthe Shiancoe Vs. Kyle Rudolph at the Tight end position. While Donovan McNabb isn't lighting the world on fire with his stats, one can infer that they are on the rise. McNabb put in extra time this week with wide receivers Devin Aromashodu and Bernard Berrian after practice. McNabb has completed better than 60 percent of his passes in the last three weeks. This week he will utilize the tight end more facing an Arizona Cardinals' defense that ranked 21st in fantasy points given up to tight ends in the first four weeks. While that number isn't staggering there is a silver lining. One of those teams that the limited to a zero was Seattle, who clearly haven't figured out how to use the tight end. Seattle has targeted the tight end a mere 12 times in 4 weeks. McNabb has targeted Shiancoe 10 times in the last three weeks, and subsequently Rudolph has been targeted seven times in the last three weeks. While you may be familiar with one, Kyle Rudolph was the first drafted tight end in 2011 draft out of Notre Dame. If you look at that class of tight ends, you will recognize names like Lance Kendricks of the Rams, and D.J. Williams of the Packers. There is little question now that Donovan McNabb will be looking his way after making seven catches on eight targets. Rudolph looks solid with a 14.0 yards per catch on the young season. At 6'6", 258-pounds, he has the size and look of Evan Moore from Cleveland. He creates match up problems. I expect both tight ends to be heavily involved this week. Watch for yourself. Start Brandon Pettigrew this week. After a season high in catches in Week 3 (11), Pettigrew followed it up with six catches for 64 yards last week against a weak Dallas defense. This week at home versus a Chicago Bears' defense, it should be the same story. Pettigrew should see plenty of targets as the Bears rank dead last in fantasy points given up to tight ends. Sometimes a player lines up with a great match up and you have to take advantage. This is that scenario. Need Running Back help this week? Isaac Redman might just be the play. Forget that Rashard Mendenhall hasn't been able to get it going. Forget ...