Week 1 Sit 'Em: Owens, Mason, Jackson

- TERRELL OWENS at Patriots: T.O. hasn't fared well historically against New England. In four career meetings with the Pats he's averaged just 48 yards a game, his third fewest against any opponent - and he's played 'em all. Sure, this year's Pats' secondary is largely untested, and the Bengals will probably want to feed T.O. enough passes to keep him happy, but I just have a hard time believing he'll be a consistent performer anymore. I'm not getting any popcorn ready this week.

- DERRICK MASON at Jets: T.J. Houshmandzadeh's arrival in Baltimore is bad news for Mason. Now Ravens QB Joe Flacco has two aging possession receivers to choose from. There's a decent chance they'll consistently cancel each other out for fantasy purposes, and that's not even mentioning the arrival of big-ticket WR import Anquan Boldin. Mason has gone from undervalued fantasy commodity to a risky play. Factor in the possibility of Mason spending some time on Revis Island this weekend, and he has to stay on your bench until further notice.

- FRED JACKSON vs. Dolphins: I happen to like Freddie Jax a lot, but this isn't the week to use him. Not with Jackson still nursing a broken hand that cost him a month of the preseason and with rookie C.J. Spiller being named the starter. Jackson might have some fantasy value this year, but this isn't the week.

Photo by The Associated Press

Week 1 Hot Pickups: Williams, Gaffney, Taylor

1. WR MIKE WILLIAMS, Seahawks

Former Southern Cal bust is reunited with old coach Pete Carroll and sits atop Seattle’s depth chart with T.J. Houshmandzadeh gone. Grab and observe.

2. WR JABAR GAFFNEY, Broncos

He’s probably not a true NFL No. 1 WR, but he’s the best Denver’s got in Week 1. And he had 14 catches for 213 yards in his last regular season game.

3. RB FRED TAYLOR, Patriots

You never know what New England will do with its backfield, but formerly fragile Fred, age 34, will never be fresher this season than he is right now.

Photo by The Associated Press

What roster cuts mean to you

The finalization of NFL rosters creates a number of new questions for fantasy fans to ponder.

How does T.J. Houshmandzadeh's relocation to Baltimore affect his fantasy value? Is the RB situation in Washington any clearer? Is there a new dark horse RB to watch in Denver?

Get the answers to these burning questions and more in this week's edition of the Herald's Fantasy Focus podcast.

8/9 Bust of the Day: TJ Houshmandzadeh

WR TJ HOUSHMANDZADEH, Seahawks

TJ’s first year in the Pacific Northwest didn’t go quite as well as we envisioned – at least not compared to the previous three in Cincinnati. Houshmandzadeh had his fewest catches (79) since 2005 and his fewest TDs (3) since 2002 during his debut season with the Seahawks. That’s not the kind of production drop you want to see in a receiver who will be turning 33 this season, especially not a guy who had sports hernia surgery in the offseason.

Now, you can trace a lot of Houshmandzadeh’s problems of last season back to a shaky offensive line, the lack of a ground game and poor quarterback play from a banged-up Matt Hasselbeck and Seneca Wallace. But Seattle took significant steps to rectify those issues in the offseason, with new coach Pete Carroll bringing in esteemed assistant coach Alex Gibbs to revamp the offensive line and drafting left tackle Russell Okung and WR Golden Tate. On paper, the Seattle offense should be better, which can only help TJ’s numbers.

But ultimately, he’s still a 33-year-old receiver on the downside of his career. He’s still coming off a sports hernia, an injury that can resurface. He’s still got a creaky Hasselbeck (or untested new backup Charlie Whitehurst) throwing him the ball. There’s fantasy value here if you can get Houshmandzadeh as your third receiver, but not enough for me to stick my neck out and make him my No. 2 WR.


Photo by The Associated Press

Sit 'Em: Week 5

- WR EDDIE ROYAL vs. New England: Your patience has got to be wearing thin with this guy (8 catches in 2009), and he's facing a top 10 passing defense. No thanks.

- RBs MICHAEL BUSH and JUSTIN FARGAS at N.Y. Giants: You may be tempted to use one of these guys in the wake of starter Darren McFadden's injury. Don't. Without any semblance of a Raiders passing game, odds are the Giants will be loading up against the run no matter who's in the backfield.

- QB MARK SANCHEZ at Miami: The Jets rookie had his "welcome to the NFL" game last week at New Orleans and will play in another hostile road environment against a good Dolphins D. There are safer bye-week fill-ins available.


LAST WEEK'S PICKS

- Fred Jackson had his lowest rushing total of the season (42 yards) and caught 3 passes for 26 yards.

- Matt Cassel tossed two TDs in garbage time ... but he passed for only 127 yards.

- TJ Houshmandzadeh had 8 catches for 103 yards against the Colts, his best game so far this year ... oops.

Sit 'Em: Week 4

- FRED JACKSON at Dolphins: Freddie J has been a fantasy revelation so far, but he's got two major strikes against him this week: Miami's defense is one of the league's toughest against the run (66 yards allowed per game), and Marshawn Lynch returns from suspension this week. Hold onto Jackson, but sit him this week and wait to see how the Bills' timeshare pans out.

- MATT CASSEL vs. Giants: Let's think about this: He's coming off a game where he threw for 90 yards, his top target (Dwayne Bowe) has a hamstring injury and might not even play, and he's facing the league's top pass defense. It all adds up to keeping Cassel on your bench, unless you're desperate.

- TJ HOUSHMANDZADEH at Colts: He's a borderline play in PPR leagues this week, but even that's troublesome with Seneca Wallace under center (without Walter Jones protecting him) for the Seahawks. TJ hasn't topped 62 yards or scored a TD yet this season.


LAST WEEK'S PICKS:

- Carson Palmer led the Bengals to a big upset of the Steelers, but it wasn't helpful for fantasy purposes (183 yards, 1 TD), as I predicted.

- Joseph Addai got the job done (13 carries, 63 yards and a receiving TD) against Arizona. But Donald Brown (112 total yards) won't back down in his push for more playing time.

- Roy Williams had his highest reception total of the season (a whopping 4, for 75 yards) against Carolina but still hasn't justified his lofty draft status.