Why I'd pick up Torrey Smith this week

Everyone is going to take a long, hard look at picking up Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith off the waiver wire this week.

It's impossible to ignore him after his three-touchdown performance against the Rams on Sunday. He finished with five catches for 152 yards.

At first, it might be easy to brush off his performance as a fluke. After all, the Rams' secondary has its share of problems. Also, Smith got his start because Lee Evans is nursing an injury.

And that's fine if you think that way.

Me, well, I'm the type that will take a shot on Smith.

For some reason I'm thinking Miles Austin.

Don't know why, but I can't help but to think back to Austin's big coming out party in 2009 when he had 10 catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns.

A couple seasons later and Austin is a No. 1 receiver in fantasy football lineups.

Could Smith have a similar climb? I'm willing to find out.

Smith is fast and has a QB in Joe Flacco with a cannon of an arm.

My guess is after seeing such a performance, the Ravens have to involve Smith going forward.

Will he have one-catch games for 22 yards? Possibly. But I'm thinking he could be a better Devery Henderson-type player.

It's your call. I figure, if Smith bombs in a couple weeks, all that I've lost is a roster spot.

Week 3 fantasy football: A look ahead

There are plenty of lineup questions across the board in fantasy football.

My four head-to-head teams went 3-1 last week, bringing my two-week total to 7-1. My one loss was by one point, too, which kept me from starting a perfect 8-0.

We'll start with that team first. I was next-to-last on the waiver list in that 14-team league. I picked up Thomas Jones and cut Lance Moore. I liked Moore entering the season, but I wanted to grab a RB who might do something. I'm not sold on Jones, but in a 14-team league, depth at RB is precious. Plus, I figured I could grab a WR later if I needed one.

A team in that league cut Roy Helu, who I really like. Another team cut Dexter McCluster today, which leaves me with a tough choice: put in a claim for Helu or D-Mac. I have a claim in for Helu, although McCluster could be a nice WR to own in a PPR league.

I'm benching Felix Jones in that league as well. Right now I have Jon Stewart penciled in at my other RB spot. I'm going with the Cards defense again, too. It's a nice matchup against the Seahawks. And since I mentioned the Seahawks, I'd start Beanie Wells against them this week, but I must admit I don't own Wells in any league.

Over in my one-team keeper league, I have Mike Vick in the lineup. Reports on Thursday said he was practicing, so that's all I need to know. I have Kevin Kolb on my bench as a backup. I'm going to try out McCluster in this league in my flex spot. McCluster gets the nod over Mark Ingram and Willis McGahee. I started McGahee last week but I'm expecting Knowshon Moreno to play this week.

In my dynasty league (7 keepers), Arian Foster is on my bench again. I wish I had Ben Tate. I have Kenny Britt, but I have two great WRs in Cal Johnson and Roddy White, so I haven't started Britt yet. I picked up Blane Gabbert when David Garrard was cut before the season started. No, I'm not thinking about starting Gabbert (I have Matt Schaub), but I'm renaming my team Yo Gabbert Gabbert.

Those are my thoughts before the weekend. Post a question and I'll reply.

Fantasy football Week 2 wrap: Injuries take out key players

Fantasy football players had a scary Week 2 in the NFL with some major injuries. We're talking Jamaal Charles, Michael Vick, Tony Romo, Miles Austin and Arian Foster.

The Charles injury was fluky, seeing him get injured out of bounds, away from contact. It looked bad, and on Monday it turned out to be as it appeared.

Charles, the first-round pick in every league, was done for the year.

Now, owners have to scramble.

Thomas Jones, if he's available, needs to be rostered. He should be the short-yard back and probably will get the most carries going forward.

The player that interests me the most, however, is Dexter McCluster. In many leagues, McCluster qualifies as wide receiver, so he could be a real find, especially in PPR leagues.

There's one sleeper to consider, too: Le'Ron McClain. If McCluster and Jones are taken, McClain could be a risk worth taking in deep leagues.

It's not clear how long Mike Vick will be out. With a concussion, you never really know. If you do own Vick, it would be smart to get a capable backup, especially since he's an injury risk. I own Vince Young, thinking I would be covered if Vick got hurt.

I didn't think I'd be faced with both getting hurt. Mike Kafka is now on the radar in fantasy circles.

Tony Romo showed some guts, playing with a punctured lung. His teammate, Miles Austin will miss a couple weeks with a bad hamstring.

And Foster is quickly becoming a fantasy problem. He played Sunday, but left early. If you don't have Ben Tate, you should try to get him. It might be too late.

What I'm doing in Week 2

In four leagues, I went 4-0 last week. Maybe that'll be the best it gets for me. Maybe not.

What was fun last week was the performances I had in the four leagues. I had the highest point total for the week in three leagues. In another, I was second overall.

What might be unusual is I have different players in many of the key positions, so it's not like I had Mike Tolbert, Wes Welker and Tom Brady in all of the leagues. In fact, I think I only have Tolbert in one league. I don't own Welker or Brady in any other league.

Anyway, all-in-all, it was a pretty darn good week.

I'm not sure I can beat it.

I'll give it a try anyway.

I'm rolling out Shonn Greene in one league. Yes, I was disappointed in his performance against the Cowboys on Sunday night. But I'm sticking with him, plus I like the matchup with the Jags, who did stop Chris Johnson. I'd go with Greene over Cedric Benson, Frank Gore and Mike Tolbert.

Speaking of Mike Tolbert, I have him in the same league as Greene. The matchup with the Pats worries me, plus he's coming off a knee injury.

Felix Jones surprised me against the Jets, so he's earning my trust. I'd start him over Greene, Ryan Mathews, Ahmad Bradshaw and Jhavid Best.

I have Nate Burleson penciled in my flex spot ahead of Julio Jones and Willis McGahee. If Knowshon Moreno is out, I'd bump up McGahee into that spot on Sunday.

Hakeem Nicks' injury has me nervous. I'm still starting him if he plays, but I'm not expecting a whole lot. And if he's out, I'd downgrade every player on the Giants.

I made one trade, I gave up Tim Hightower for Jay Cutler. I had Matt Stafford as my starter with no clear backup, so I really wanted to have an option beyond Stafford. Hightower was a stiff price, but I'm banking on Roy Helu to eat into Hightower's workload.

That's an early version of my thoughts on Week 2. If you have any questions or opinions, post a comment and I'll reply.

Kerry Collins worth picking up

Let's face it, when the Colts signed Kerry Collins as a backup to Peyton Manning a couple weeks ago, you knew something was up.

You don't go out and talk a player out of retirement to carry a clipboard.

Enter Mr. Collins.

Manning had neck surgery Thursday, putting his season in doubt. The Colts say he'll be out at least two months. If I had to put money on it, I'd say he'd miss the season.

Which brings us to Collins.

He's supposed to save the Colts' season, one in which the city of Indianapolis will host the Super Bowl. Think there's pressure on the franchise?

Collins was a viable starter last season with the Titans.

In five games he started last season, he had at least 230 yards passing and two TDs. In two others he started, he had some duds. There were three other games where he entered in relief of Vince Young.

I picked Collins up in my dynasty league (8 teams, 7 keepers) as a backup to Matt Schaub. I tried to get Collins in my 14-team redraft league Thursday afternoon but he was gone.

So feel comfortable if he's your backup. Feel OK starting him if you need a bye-week filler or if the matchup is OK.

What I did with some teams

It looks like I'll be rolling with five fantasy football teams this season.

I just wrapped up drafting on Tuesday, so I'll go over some of my selections.

First, this is a 12-team, one-keeper league. By the way, I won this league last year.

Anyway, I kept Michael Vick over Adrian Peterson. You can look at some of my thoughts on that decision here.

When it was time to draft, I picked 12th. I was hoping for Matt Forte to drop to me, but he was selected one player before I made my selection at No. 24 overall.

I went WR-WR back-to-back, giving me Calvin Johnson and Vincent Jackson. Some of the players I bypassed: Greg Jennings, Darren McFadden, Mike Wallace and DeSean Jackson. I like Cal and I think Vinny will blow up this year, so those were my guys.

(By the way, if you're wondering how I had back-to-back picks, the ESPN live draft application gives us a snake draft.)

After a long wait, I needed two running backs. To go with two elite WRs, I left myself a hole to fill. Shonn Greene was still available, which thrilled me. I followed that with Mark Ingram, a risky pick but I love his upside this season. I passed on Beanie Wells, Ryan Grant and Tim Hightower to get those two RBs.

After that, I went with best player available. Mike Tolbert and Jimmy Graham (yes!) were mine, followed by Julio Jones. I got Kevin Kolb as my Vick backup. Once I get through Vick's bye week, I'll be grabbing Vince Young.

I rounded out my team with Willis McGahee, the Eagles defense, Nate Burleson and Sebastian Janikowski.

Overall, my WRs are outstanding. If my RBs come through, I'll be tough to beat.

The real season begins

This is the part of the fantasy football season for us.

Drafts are great, but it's the in-season management that'll make or break your team.

That's where we come in.

Lineup questions, free-agent moves, trades or anything else is fair game.

Post a question, and I'll reply.

Sorting out the top of the RB list

Chris Johnson has signed and Arian Foster has a hammy problem.

Just what you wanted to hear before you draft this weekend, right?

Don't worry, here's how you should rank the top 10 in running backs for this season.

Take Ray Rice at No. 1. Yes, do the unthinkable. Bypass Foster and his hamstring. Don't jump on the CJ2K bandwagon.

Take Rice. He's going to score. He's going the pile up the yardage running the ball. And, he's going to add yards receiving.

At No. 2, Adrian Peterson is your guy. Peterson worries me playing on the Vikes. But he's been Mr. Reliable, so I'd grab him next.

CJ2K moves up to third, followed by Foster. I'm nervous about Foster and that injury, so I'd rather not gamble any earlier than four.

As the fifth RB, I'd tab Jamaal Charles. Next, LeSean McCoy is my pick. Rashard Mendenhall's workload last season worries me, that's why I'd rank him seventh.

Maurice-Jones Drew is my eighth selection, followed by Steven Jackson and Matt Forte.