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 ...

Injuries to starting running backs in Arizona, Buffalo and Miami are sure to cause a bit of a frenzy on the waiver wire this week, though none appear to be serious. A couple of wideouts make the highest list this week, including the much-anticipated return from suspension of a player for the Minnesota Vikings. We even list a kicker in this week's hot list, a justified selection as he's gone from passed over on fantasy draft day to Top 3 at his position. On to this week's waiver wire wonders ... Smokin' Hot WR Jerome Simpson, Minnesota The suspension is over, so this will be the last waiver wire period to pick Simpson up before he steps onto the field this week. We mentioned Simpson in our post-draft review, and we're putting him at the top of this week's list as we see him stepping directly onto the field and having the impact of a top fantasy wideout. Michael Jenkins and Devin Aromashodu will be pushed to the bench as Simpson assumes the No. 1 role for the Vikings. Grab him now before the stats start piling up. WR Leonard Hankerson, Washington All fantasy owners should be wary of reading between the lines when coach Mike Shanahan speaks, so when he tells us that Hankerson will be the full-time starter, we should take a close look at the stats (or tea leaves!) for confirmation. With Pierre Garcon out, Hankerson had a positive impact on this week's game, grabbing four passes for 56 yards. He is outplaying both Josh Morgan and Santana Moss, so we see him getting consistent playing time even when Garcon returns. RB Ryan Williams, Arizona Chris ‘Beanie' Wells left last week's game with turf toe, an injury that can linger on for several weeks. Williams filled in admirably, picking up 95 yards in total offense though most of it was in garbage time as the Cardinals salted away the game. Full-time running backs are extremely rare on the waiver wire, which is why Williams lands in the top echelon of this week's story. He carries some injury risk - Arizona has made an effort to limit his touches to take care of his sore knee. For the time being, Wells' injury pushes Williams into the role of lead back for the Cardinals. K Justin Tucker, Baltimore Despite only connecting on one field goal in Week 3, Tucker finds himself as one of the most sought-after players on the waiver wire. He hasn't missed yet this season, booting three field goals in each of the first two weeks, two of which were more than 50 yards long. The Ravens are the kind of...

Sorry Ron Burgundy, San Diego ain't so classy right now. The San Diego Chargers were considered the favorite to win the AFC West this season with the maturing skill set of quarterback Philip Rivers, one-two punch of running backs Ryan Mathews and Mike Tolbert, a full season with wide receiver Vincent Jackson, and improved health of elite tight end Antonio Gates. After a 4-1 start, San Diego appeared to be taking "charge" of the division, then their bye arrived during Week 6. While most teams re-energize on a bye, the San Diego Chargers seemed to completely "discharge " and have not won a game since. After six straight losses, San Diego has now fallen into the cellar of the AFC West after a solid start including two heartbreaking losses to the Kansas City Chiefs and most recently, the Denver Broncos. Although their playoff hopes appear to be shattered as Oakland and Denver battle for the division, San Diego will attempt to rebound with a televised Monday night matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars, who just fired coach Jack Del Rio and were sold to a new owner. With one week remaining until fantasy playoff action in most leagues, this may be the most important week of the season for your team. Take a dive with me as we review several key matchups for Week 13, which may decide whether you will be fighting for the coveted fantasy football trophy or hoping to save your dignity in the meaningless consolation bracket. QB Tim Tebow- Have you heard of this guy yet? It is nearly impossible to listen to sports radio or watch NFL analysts without hearing "Tebow Time", "Tebowned", or "Tebowing". Owners of Tebow have now become accustomed to a frustrating first half of games, then are shockingly pleased as Tebow leads the Denver Broncos to another game-winning or tying drive and posts another solid fantasy performance. In most standard leagues, he is averaging 19 fantasy points over his last four games, which is tied for sixth among quarterbacks. Tebow battles the Minnesota Vikings, who have surrendered the most points to quarterbacks. Do not expect Tebow to magically throw the ball like Aaron Rodgers, but he should have one of his better outings in Week 13. Week 13 projection: 150 passing yards, 50 rushing yards, and 2 TDs RB LeGarrette Blount- You may already be preparing to start Blount this week, but here are a few more compelling reasons. Blount's start to the season was mediocre and included a minor injury. Since his return in Week 9, he ...

PUT ME IN COACH, I'M READY TO PLAY! Christian Ponder is showing why he has earned the trust of Leslie Frazier and teammates. Ponder actually looks like he is starting to grasp the speed of the pro game. His role is still just as a clock manager and to hand off to Adrian Peterson, but he is starting to show flashes of what the Vikings' saw when they drafted him. If he can improve on his 51.95 completion percentage, you may see a rise in stock value of Percy Harvin, Visanthe Shiancoe, and Michael Jenkins. In Week 9 he was 18-for-28, a 64.29 completion percentage against a porous Carolina Panther secondary. This week he faces a very tough Packers defense and if he does well, you should consider him for a nice fill in at home for Week 11 versus Oakland, and Week 13 against Denver. THINGS AREN'T WHAT THEY SEEM... Joseph Addai is on the scrap heap in two of my leagues because of a bad hamstring and lack of production. Delone Carter has been dubbed the best back on the roster by many experts, but not this one. Carter has had flashes of why the Colts have high hopes but putting the ball on the turf two of the last three weeks just opens the door for Donald Brown. Last week Brown looked like the UConn star that he was supposed to be as his carries increased to 16. If this isn't an indicator that the Colts believe in him, then I don't know squat. Brown's previous high was 10 carries and has averaged a very solid 4.65 yards per carry this season. Take a look for yourself this week at home versus the Jaguars. DUTCH BOY STILL THE STARTER FOR NOW? Curtis Painter was benched for being ineffective versus Atlanta. Don't read too much into this as Dan Orlovsky isn't the answer to the problems that the Colts face. The long term plan is to get Painter enough playing time in the offense in case Peyton Manning doesn't heal properly. Manning is scheduled to see the doctor on December 2. Expect to see Painter at the helm this Sunday despite throwing four interceptions in three weeks with no touchdowns. I found Pierre Garcon on the scrap heap in one league and was quick to snag him. The current trend isn't going to continue and the Colts have a juicy match up against Carolina in Week 12. ONE WEEK WONDERS? Matt Moore was the butt of a few of the jokes I had heard after Chad Henne went down. No one is laughing at the moment after Moore's 17-for-23, 244-yard, three touchdown performance. Do the math, that's a 73.91 completion percentage! This was against a pretty decent Kansas ...