Fantasy football can be a cruel mistress. Sometimes you are up, but most of the time you are down. Let's take a look at the top five fantasy storylines after Sunday.
Charles likely done for the year
There was a growing sentiment among many fantasy enthusiasts that Jamaal Charles was going to be the top fantasy back in 2011. Unfortunately the season appears to be over for Charles because of an ACL tear against the Lions. A couple of important notes here when looking for a replacement. The first is that Dexter McCluster is listed as a receiver on the Chiefs' roster, meaning he is eligible only as a receiver on NFL.com. And since most of you have already handcuffed Charles with Tom Jones, one name you might want to look at is Steelers running back Isaac Redman.
And even more injuries
Hamstring injuries are never fun, and can be the bane of the fantasy enthusiasts existence. I was worried that Arian Foster was being rushed on to the field way too fast (trust me, that comment is in there), but the running back reinjured his hamstring and missed the second half of Sunday's game. Miles Austin could be out weeks because of the re-aggravation of his hamstring injury. Michael Vick left with a concussion and could miss some weeks, so the time is now to start working the waiver wire for some suitable backups.
Newton is good
Moments after Cam Newton lit up the Cardinals for 400 yards, most were unconvinced, waiting for the quarterback's matchup against the Packers. Can he do it again? Uh, yeah. Sure, there were three unsightly interceptions, but Newton showed a lot of poise winging the football against the Packers. It is one thing to see Drew Brees do it, quite another for a rookie who is now on pace to throw for more than 6,400 yards this season. Is he going to reach that mark? Probably not. But if Newton is still available in your fantasy league, you should add him.
Welcome back Blount
Many were ready to write off LeGarrette Blount after the Bucs fell behind 17-0 at Minnesota, as it was looking like a repeat of the previous week when the once-promising runner had only five rushing attempts. And when I write many, I mean me. I think I even disparaged Blount on Twitter, too. But coach Raheem Morris stuck to the running game, despite falling behind, and Blount added two rushing touchdowns to end with 19.10 points in NFL.com standard scoring. But you know who was the true hero here? Me. It's true. Because moments after I texted my pal, Frank, to let him know that he had Brandon Lloyd starting on his fantasy team, the fantasy Gods immediately rewarded me with that second touchdown. You are welcome.
Peyton returns to Indianapolis
Oh, that is Peyton Hillis. Sorry, were you thinking about somebody else? The once darling of the fantasy football world disappointed in Week 1, but rallied for a pair of touchdowns against the Colts. Welcome back, big guy, we missed you last week. Hillis should be good to start in Week 3 against the Dolphins.
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 22,000 followers, Fabiano has 30,000, me, I only have 1,900. 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.
