Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to considerable cloudiness and fog after midnight. Low near 50F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph..
Partly cloudy skies during the evening will give way to considerable cloudiness and fog after midnight. Low near 50F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph.
Updated: February 6, 2026 @ 6:08 pm
Last week, we took a couple of big risks and told you to start Daunte Culpepper and bench Marvin Harrison. The Culpepper recommendation worked out great, the Harrison one didn't.
Overall, we had eight winners (Start Culpepper, Matt Hasselbeck, Stephen Jackson, LaMont Jordan and Larry Fitzgerald; Bench Trent Green, Alex Smith and Curtis Martin) and four losers (Start Jerry Porter; Bench Domanick Davis, Harrison and Chad Johnson). A good week by most standards.
This week's bye teams are Atlanta, Indianapolis, N.Y. Jets and Seattle.
Quarterbacks
Start Carson Palmer -- After a fairy tale start to the season, times are getting tougher for the 5-2 Bengals, who have lost two of their last three. So, too, have gone the fortunes of Palmer, who is coming off a miserable two-interception game against the Steelers. Luckily, Green Bay is coming into town. Expect both the Bengals and Palmer to get better this weekend against the Pack, which is starting fourth string players at some positions due to injuries.
Bench Trent Dilfer -- Another quick starter who has slowed down, Dilfer faces a relatively easy task against the winless Texans. Unfortunately, the Dilfer renaissance is over. He has been responsible for eight turnovers in the last three games. Houston, while 0-6, actually thinks it has a good chance of winning this game. Their defense will be fired up to shut Dilfer down and hurt your fantasy team.
Tattoo says: Start Tom Brady, Bench Drew Bledsoe.
Running backs
Start Fred Taylor -- In huge breaking fantasy news, Taylor has missed some time this season due to injury. Where is our Pulitzer? All jokes aside, the time off from injury and the bye last week means he'll be very well rested to face the hole-infested Rams defense. Additionally, the game will be played on turf, which is conducive to Taylor's cutback style.
Bench anyone who runs the ball for Arizona -- The Cardinals rank 31st in the league in rushing. Cal alum J.J. Arrington has been a bust (29 carries, 71 yards, 0 TD). The starting RB Marcel Shipp, has struggled (72 carries, 177 yards, 0 TD, 1 fumble). There are 12 RBs in the NFL who boast more yards than this entire team. Aside from statistics, the Cards also face a tough Dallas run D.
Tattoo says: Start Ronnie Brown, Bench Willis McGahee.
Wide receivers
Start Keenan McCardell -- Last week, the Eagles did the improbable by shutting down invincible RB LaDanian Tomlinson. This week, the Chiefs will attempt the same thing, but in order to accomplish this they'll need to devote their entire defense, coaching staff front office and cheerleader squad to this task. What does that mean for McCardell owners? Fantasy paydirt. He'll get to face single coverage all day, which in the case of Kansas City is more like half coverage.
Bench Muhsin Muhammed -- The surprising Bears, who are tied for first place in the NFC Pathetic Division, use a very conservative, run first, run second and run third kind of offense to protect their rookie QB. Their #1 receiver, Muhammed has suffered statistically so far this season. This week they face the defensively minded Detroit Lions for the division lead. Expect an ugly game and an ugly fantasy day for Muhammed.
Tattoo says: Start Steve Smith, Bench Brandon Lloyd.
Fantasy Island runs weekly. Do you have a question for Mr. Roarke and Tattoo? If so email fantasyisland@smdailyjournal.com Questions and answers may be published in subsequent installments of this column.
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