How will you remember the Tim Tebow fantasy era? Certainly, Tebow didn't kill you yesterday. He had more points than Tony Romo, Joe Flacco and Drew Brees. And yes, he has a great matchup against the Raiders this week.
A lot of good that will do you if he's sitting on the bench.
Tebow equals fantasy points. But he has to be on the field to earn those points, and there is no guarantee that will ever happen again. You almost get the sense that coach John Fox was throwing Tebow to the Lions (pun intended) to show the Denver faithful that he is not ready to compete against good teams yet.
And you can argue that he was barely able to compete against bad teams, such as the Dolphins.
But at some point coach Fox is going to say enough is enough and move on to Brady Quinn (or more unlikely back to Kyle Orton). Just like he needs to evaluate Tebow, he will need to evaluate Quinn in game situations, too.
Fox was noncommittal to Tebow on Sunday night, kind of like the way you politely reply "maybe" to your friend's invitation on Facebook. But
there is no guarantee Tebow plays this week against the
Raiders
Tebow will start this week, according to Fox. Still, to be on the safe side, you should rush out to add Carson Palmer who is a much better option going forward.
Alright, here are some of the other big fantasy storylines of Week 8
Defenses finally catching up
As our Elliot Harrison predicted, expect scores for fantasy receivers to be in decline going forward. The defenses were hurt by the lockout, but now you see receivers starting to have more -- how do you say this? -- expected outings now. No receiver topped 20 points on Sunday. Calvin Johnson led the way with 18.50 points. This is a trend that should continue, meaning the receivers will finally start evening out instead of dominating fantasy performances.
We need a new nickname for Chris Johnson
That 2,000-yard season is a distant memory for most fantasy enthusiasts. Chris Johnson is by far the most disappointing fantasy performer this season, and he is putting in a claim for biggest bust in fantasy history. Hyperbole aside, this is not good for Johnson and now he's splitting carries with Javon Ringer. This is certainly not what the Titans were expecting when they signed Johnson to a huge contract after a lengthy holdout. And it goes without saying that fantasy enthusiasts were also burned.
Steelers need to bench Hines Ward
Forgive me for not thinking of a clever "Dancing with the Stars" reference, but it's time for the Steelers to make the change in their offense. I have told fantasy enthusiasts for weeks that it's time to start divorcing themselves of familiar names for nostalgia's sake. But anybody who watched the Steelers offense on Sunday has to realize that having Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders on the field is much better for the Steelers. Brown and Sanders had productive fantasy performances, and it should be viewed as no coincidence that Ward was a spectator.
Bill Belichick hates your fantasy team
Seriously, Kevin Faulk? That Steven Ridley pickup looks less brilliant now. And let's not let Fox off the hook here, either. Not only is he dangerously close to putting fantasy hero Tebow on the bench, there is this whole business of putting Lance Ball into the mix while Willis McGahee is out. That is a joke.
For the record, you can submit your fantasy questions to NFL.com Fantasy Live, Michael Fabiano or me on Twitter. But realize, NFL.com Fantasy has 34,000 followers, Fabiano has 40,000, me, I only have 12. So your odds are better that I will answer a question, just based on the numbers. So hit me up on both via Twitter or via Facebook. Be sure to catch the latest on the Dave Dameshek Football Program.
