Slaton's benching, Favre's performance highlight Week 8 storylines

From studs to duds, sleepers and more, NFL.com breaks down the biggest fantasy stories of the week.

1. Steve Slaton gets benched, Ryan Moats shines. In the Week 8 edition of Start 'Em & Sit 'Em, Slaton was listed as the start of the week. After all, he was facing a Bills defense that ranked last in the league against the run coming into the game. Well, a Texans running back sure did dominate Buffalo. Too bad it wasn't Slaton. The West Virginia product was benched by coach Gary Kubiak after losing a first-quarter fumble. And it wasn't one of those benchings akin to sending a child to the corner for a time out. Slaton was sent to his room ... and grounded. In his place, Moats went off for 126 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-10 rout in Orchard Park.

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The move had fantasy owners (and this writer) reeling, as Moats had for all intends and purposes put up the monster numbers we had hoped to see from Slaton. Now comes the question -- will Moats cut into Slaton's carries or worse, take his starting role? I tend to think Kubiak made his point and will give Slaton back the top spot on the depth chart in Week 9. But that doesn't mean a committee won't come to fruition. When you consider that Kubiak was non-commital about the situation after the contest, it's hard to call Slaton a featured back right now.

Slaton and Moats have similar skill sets, but the former is a more talented runner. The concern could be whether or not Moats becomes the team's new red-zone threat, as all three of his scores came from 11 yards or less. Whatever the result, fantasy's Week 8 will be remembered for the benching of Slaton.

2. Brett Favre proves to be an ageless fantasy wonder. I'm not going to compare Favre to a fine wine. I'm not going to talk about how he's on pace for 32 touchdowns. I am going to mention the fact that when he plays in the spotlight, regardless of his age, Favre always tends to perform at a high level. Whether it's playing in Oakland after the passing of his father or his first start at Lambeau Field as a visitor, Favre has a knack for growing his legend. He did that against the Packers, throwing for 244 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-26 win. Favre, who was also featured in Start 'Em & Sit 'Em, is now an amazing fifth in fantasy points among quarterbacks on NFL.com.

While Favre has become a viable fantasy starter across the board, the starting quarterback on his former team, Aaron Rodgers, has proven to be an elite option. Despite the fact that he's playing behind an offensive line that struggling in its pass protection, Rodgers still had his best fantasy week of the season. He threw for 287 yards, led the team with 52 rushing yards and scored three touchdowns in the loss. The performance moved him to the top spot in fantasy point producers on NFL.com heading into Monday night's Falcons-Saints clash. But here's the problem -- Rodgers is taking a beating. He was limping noticeably during the game, possibly the result of aggravating a foot ailment that has landed him on the injury report in recent weeks. As long as he's able, Rodgers is now a must-start in fantasy leagues. He should dominate the Buccaneers in Week 9.

3. Owners lose the best tight end in fantasy football. Typically, losing your starting tight end isn't the end of the world. There were no cries of devastation when the Redskins lost Chris Cooley for at least four weeks, and he's one of the better tight ends in fantasy football. But when the top-scoring player at the position goes down, it's going to hurt. A lot. That's the case with Daniels, who is out of action after suffering a serious knee injury against the Bills. Reports indicate the ailment is a torn ACL.

Daniels was on pace for his best fantasy season ever. Even scoring just two points before being injured, he's still tied with Vernon Davis for the most points among tight ends after eight weeks. In Daniels’ absence, Joel Dreessen and rookie James Casey will pick up additional targets in Houston’s offense. However, neither of these players is worthy of much fantasy attention. If you need to replace Daniels and are desperate for a tight end down the stretch, target Baltimore’s Todd Heap, Oakland’s Zach Miller, New York’s Dustin Keller or Washington’s Fred Davis off the waiver wire next week. As for the impact this injury will have on the Texans offense, well, it certainly doesn't help Matt Schaub. He's still a surefire fantasy starter, but he's lost one of his most reliable options in the pass attack. On a positive note, the loss of Daniels should mean more targets for Kevin Walter. He has struggled in recent weeks, but more targets should be coming his way. Oh, and Walter is a free agent in close to 30 percent of leagues.

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LaDainian Tomlinson has scored three touchdowns vs. the Raiders this season. Those are his only scores of the season.

4. Chris Johnson and Maurice Jones-Drew combine for 64 points. Taking a line from one of my favorite television shows, HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, Johnson and Jones-Drew were pretty good in Week 8, pretty, pretty, pretty good. Johnson rushed for a Titans franchise record 228 yards and scored twice, while Jones-Drew tallied 177 yards and two touchdowns of his own in a showcase of two of the best running backs in fantasy football. Owners in bonus leagues had to love the performance of this duo, as they had scores of 80, 79, 52 and 89 yards. That's 52 fantasy points in four carries. That's eight more than LaDainian Tomlinson has all season!

It's monster stat lines like this that makes runners such as Johnson and Jones-Drew worth so much in fantasy football leagues, especially when you consider the increase in committees around the National Football League and the drop in consistent running backs from a production standpoint. While the landscape of drafts could change next year and more heavily favor the quarterback position over committee backs, backfield stars such as Johnson and Jones-Drew will remain first-round staples across the board.

5. Matt Forte and LaDainian Tomlinson wake up...finally. Fantasy owners have been waiting for Forte and Tomlinson to live up to expectations for what seems like a lifetime. In Week 8, both finally paid fantasy dividends. Forte racked up 121 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns against the Browns, while L.T. totaled 56 yards on the ground and two scores of his own. Based on their success, now is the time to trade these two backs. Forte hasn't been consistent in standard leagues, and his schedule gets difficult down the stretch. Over the next eight weeks, he'll face the Cardinals, 49ers, Eagles, Vikings (2), Packers and Ravens. All of those defense rank in the top 12 against the run.

As for Tomlinson, I think it speaks volumes that he averaged just 3.1 yards per carry against a Raiders defense that's been downright horrible against the run all season. He no longer has the same burst or acceleration that made him an absolute fantasy god earlier in his career, and I'd venture a guess that he won't have many of these good performances down the stretch. Based on his name value, you can still get some decent returns in a deal for Tomlinson. Like Forte, I'd put him on the trade block right now.

News and notes

» Cardinals WR Anquan Boldin re-injured his problematic right ankle against the Carolina Panthers in the third quarter and was unable to finish the contest. Boldin is no stranger to nagging injuries, and this latest ailment could linger for the remainder of the schedule and further diminishing his already sagging statistics. Since he still has some name value based on his past fantasy success (especially in PPR leagues), I think it's time to deal Boldin now and cut your losses.

» Despite missing all of training camp and the first six weeks of the regular season due to a contractual holdout, it's pretty evident that 49ers WR Michael Crabtree can make an impact in fantasy circles. He's not posting huge fantasy numbers (11 catches, 137 yards, 0 TDs) just yet, but the fact that he was the ninth-most targeted wideout in Week 8 speaks volumes. He's a nice option as a No. 3 fantasy receiver next week against a suspect Titans pass defense.

» Not that the writing wasn't already on the wall, but Rams QB Marc Bulger is done as a fantasy option. Against the hapless Detroit Lions, the veteran mustered a mere five fantasy points and was outscored by kicker Josh Brown! Believe it or not, but Brown actually had more touchdowns than Bulger in the contest. At least fantasy owners can still lean on his teammate, RB Steven Jackson, who broke out with 149 yards and a touchdown in the contest.

» In the three games since Cowboys WR Miles Austin was inserted into the starting lineup, QB Tony Romo has averaged an impressive 28 fantasy points. By comparison, he averaged a mere 9.6 points in his three previous games. The quarterback is now on pace to finish the season with better than 4,300 passing yards and close to 30 total touchdowns and remains a solid fantasy starter, even without WR Terrell Owens present in the passing game.

» Giants QB Eli Manning has been a second-half swooner at the NFL level. But is his 2009 swoon starting earlier than usual? He threw for 222 yards against the Eagles, but Manning threw for just one score and had two turnovers. In his last three games, he's recorded three touchdowns and seven turnovers. It might be hard to deal him after his recent failures, but fantasy owners shouldn't expect Manning to be consistent down the stretch.

» Ravens RB Ray Rice has become a matchup-proof fantasy player. The quick and elusive back rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown against a tough Broncos defense and has now found immense success against formidable run defenses in consecutive games. With RBs Willis McGahee and Le'Ron McClain now an afterthought in the offense, Rice has earned the right to be a regular starter in all fantasy formats. He's a must-start in Week 9 against the Bengals.

» Following Sunday's loss to the Bears, Browns RB Jamal Lewis announced that he intends to retire after the season. Lewis hasn't been much of a fantasy option in 2009, and his decision to retire could mean more carries for RB Jerome Harrison down the stretch. The Browns needs to know what they have in Harrison, who could compete with RB James Davis for a starting role in 2010. If Harrison is a free agent in your league, he might be worth an add and stash.

» Jaguars QB David Garrard, who was active in 40 percent of NFL.com leagues in Week 8, proved again that he can't be trusted on the road. In four games on enemy turf, he's averaging just 6.7 fantasy points. But when he's at home, Garrard has averaged 21.3 points. So despite his stinker against the Titans, the veteran quarteback is still a very nice sleeper selection in Week 9. He'll face the Kansas City Chiefs at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium.

Michael Fabiano is an award-winning fantasy football analyst on NFL.com. Have a burning question for Michael on anything fantasy football related? Leave it in our comments section or send it to AskFabiano@nfl.com!