We’re going to take a break from the monotony of the usual column “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” this week to give a little bit of a recap of what’s happened so far. We’ll do this in addition to forecasting and projecting certain trends that could continue throughout the remainder of the season.
Let’s begin by looking at a few players by position who have been breakout stars so far this fantasy season. The players here have done well and should continue to do well as the season progresses.

Matt Schaub – After a brutal week one against the Jets, Schaub has rebounded for 14 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions so far this year. In ESPN standard scoring format, he is number one in fantasy points. Yes, ahead of Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Peyton Manning. While I don’t know if Schaub can remain the leading fantasy quarterback in terms of points scored, I do think he can continue to put up some pretty big numbers. The Texans have always thrown the ball a lot. Combine that with the fumbling woes and lack of productivity of Steve Slaton, and Schaub is looking like one heckuva steal for those who rolled the dice with him.

Ray Rice – There were some question marks as to who would be the leader in the Ravens running back trio entering the season. Rice has answered those questions, and is the clear number one back in Baltimore. McGahee has been given less carries and Rice has been making the most out of his increased workload. Also, the versatile Rice has separated himself as one of the top pass catching running backs in the league. Rice is ranked 3rd so far this season in fantasy points, behind only AP and MJD.

Cedric Benson – He’s a top ten fantasy back. He’s amassed the seventh most fantasy points of all the running backs so far this season. There are two things that make Benson so productive. The first is that Cincinnati is committed to giving him the football. You know week in and week out that he will be getting his touches. The second reason is that he doesn’t have much competition. Unlike a lot of teams using multiple backs, the Bengals use Benson almost exclusively. He is on the field almost the entire time the offense has the ball and he should continue to be going forward.

Hines Ward – He is currently ranked 5th in points accumulated by wide receivers. He has more points than Larry Fitzgerald. While I don’t think he’ll finish the season as a top five wide receiver, Ward still has a lot of value and should be a weekly starter. The Steelers’ are throwing the ball a lot more this year than they have in previous seasons, and Ward is the primary beneficiary of these increased passing attempts.

Mike Sims-Walker – If you would’ve told me this guy would have been ranked thirteenth in fantasy points by receivers up to this point at the beginning of the season, I’d have said you knew as much about fantasy football as my dog. Seriously, this guy’s a stud. He is top fifteen even though he has scored no points two weeks out of this season (excluding the bye week). He had no points week 1, and also week 5 when he was suspended for disciplinary reasons. He will continue to be Garrard’s favorite target going forward, and will be drafted much higher in next year’s fantasy draft.

Brent Celek and Kellen Winslow – Both of these tight ends have more points than Tony Gonzalez and Jason Witten. While the value of tight ends are hard to predict, both of these guys have had outstanding games so far. Tampa’s quarterback situation makes KW2 a more risky play, but he still holds a lot of value going forward. Celek is a top ten fantasy tight end and should be treated as such.

An important note to remember when setting your fantasy line-ups: Focus less on the name and more on the trend/match-up. I have Steve Smith for the Panthers. He had one catch last week for four yards. He’s going to have to prove to me that he’s fantasy relevant again before I consistently start him again.
That’s a wrap for this week. If you have suggestions for the format of the column, like it or hate it, let me know. Here at airxxi.com, the value of our readers is always the most important thing to us. Good luck with your fantasy teams this week (unless you’re playing me). I am out.