When I’m not writing this column for BillHustle.com, or working my 9-5 “Kill me now!” job, I like to write fiction. Short stories, novels, screenplays, etc. In a novel I recently started writing, I started out talking about Dreamers and Do’ers. Basically, there are two types of people in this world; those of us who dream about the future, and those of who do something to make our future happen. Like I’ve stated before, I play in a 16 team, no holds barred, league.

Out of the 16 owners in this league, I would say 6 of them are dreamers. They come to the draft dreaming of a championship. However, that’s as far as they go, because they didn’t put in the pre-draft work, nor will they make any significant moves during the season. The rest of us are Do’ers, sure, we dream about a championship, but we also put in the requisite work to get there. We did the pre-draft work, we work the waiver wire during the season, and we are aggressive in making moves before the trade deadline. If you’re in a league, and you are a Dreamer, you might as well kiss your entry fee good bye, cause you have already lost. Only Do’er’s win championships.

What We Learned This Week

AP has been cured of his fumble-itis – 3 weeks, zero fumbles for Adrian Peterson. And it’s not like he’s not seeing many touches, the guy is basically the MN offense thus far. He’s going to get 20-30 touches a game, so it’s nice to see he’s fixed the fumbling issues that have plagued him since he entered the league. I’m sure all you AP owners out there are happy about this. Just don’t jinx it!!

Who are the Chiefs – Didn’t think I would ever utter Chiefs and unbeaten in the same sentence, but here they are, 3-0. Yes, it’s still early, but they have beaten S.D. and S.F., two playoff contenders. And they are doing it the old school way; run the ball and stop the run. They are ranked 1st in rushing offense, and 6th in rushing defense. That formula usually spells playoffs in this league.

STOP THE PRESSES!! HOUSTON CAN BE STOPPED – A week after I stated that the Texan’s have the best three headed monster (QB, RB, WR) in the league, they go and get beat by the Cowboys. Yes, Foster had over 100 yards, but Johnson was held to just 64 yards receiving, and Schaub was picked off twice. It’s going to happen during a long NFL season, let’s just hope it doesn’t happen again.

I don’t think Mark Clayton is a fan of Mike Vick – Mark Clayton, the ESPN Football Wonk, doesn’t want to write anything good about Mike Vick. Last week, it was how the Eagles were stupid for starting him, and how this offense isn’t right for his skill set. Wrong. Vick has shown an outstanding pocket presence, and with his escapability skills, he is the most dangerous west coast offense QB there is. This week, probably due to the fact that Vick was on fire last week, Clayton decided to nitpick and talk about the hits Vick is taking. Too many hit’s means he’s not going to last, so says Mark Clayton. I swear, Clayton writes like he wants Vick to fail. Maybe he is a dog lover, maybe Vick shunned him at a celebrity golf tournament, I don’t know, but whatever it is, Mr. Clayton needs to get over it.

Heists of the Week

Matt Cassel, QB, KC- He’s probably not available in most leagues, but if he is, he is worth a flyer. He showed last week what he is capable of, and is a decent option if your superstar QB is on a bye week.

Kyle Orton, QB, DEN – He’s had a great start to the season, which is why he’s getting noticed, but I’m still not completely sold on him yet. Maybe it’s because I watched him for a couple years when he was with the Bears. He’s capable of going on monster streaks, but he’s also capable of the 150 yeard, no TD performance. He’s a nice pick up again if your superstar QB is on a bye, but I wouldn’t be starting him every week.

Leon Washington, RB, SEA – The guy has talent, there is no doubt. However, most of his talent is shown during special teams play, which means he’s not on the field a whole bunch. Is it possible that Pete Carrol will see the talent this guy has and give him more touches? Possible, so if you have an open spot, he’s worth a look.

Lance Moore, WR, NO – Reggie Bush is out, so passes normally going to him have to be re-distributed somewhere. Look for Moore to get at least 6-8 targets per game moving forward.

Tony Meoaki, TE, KC – Seems to be the security blanket for Matt Cassel, which means he will be a decent play most weeks. Not an every week starter, but if you play the match-ups, he should get you some decent points.

Cement Shoe Guys (Guys ranked low who could surprise this week)

Shaun Hill, QB, Det – The Lions play GB this week, so I’m sure some of you are saying there is no way Shaun Hill will have a good game. Yes, the Packer defense is good, but their pass defense this year has been suspect. Hill looked decent against the Vikes, and with a playmaker like Calvin Johnson, you can’t count this guy out.

Benjarvus Green-Ellis, RB, NE – By default, he is the starting running back in NE, which means 15-20 running plays, and a couple targets.

Jacoby Jones, WR, HOU – The guy was targeted 5 times, and caught all 5. I look for another 5-8 targets this week, with at least 1 TD.

Devin Hester, WR, CHI – The guy has kind of fallen off the face of the earth, but he gets a good match up against the New York Football Giants this week. He hasn’t lost an speed, so the potential is there for a return TD.

Week 4 brings us the first week of bye weeks in the NFL. This is the time of the season where you have to be savvy and really look at match-ups. If you were smart, you didn’t draft guys who have the same bye week. You also drafted key back-ups who can step in during these bye weeks and give you points. If you have AP, I hope you have a decent RB2 and RB3 to start this week. A final tip for bye week success: DO NOT DROP PLAYERS WHO HAVE VALUE JUST BECAUSE YOU NEED TO START A TE OR DEFENSE. I’ve seen this time and time again. Guy goes into the bye week with his TE on the bye. What does he do? He drops a perfectly good back-up WR or RB to pick up a lower tier TE just so he has a starter. Stupidest move you can make, because vultures like me will find room for your back-up on our rosters, and leave you sitting with the lower tier TE. Think before you drop a guy.

Good luck fellow fantasy footballers, and remember, if you listen to my advice, and play the game smart, you will be gettin’ paid, and hopefully, getting’ laid. Take it easy.

Tony Soprano