Fantasy Football Week 10: Insider Notebook and Preview

There was a time fantasy owners had to be concerned Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley was going to limit Ben Roethlisberger's potential as a fantasy starter. No one can question that any longer. Big Ben has put together the best two-game stretch in NFL and fantasy history.

Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote Tuesday morning:

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How does that Ben Roethlisberger and Todd Haley relationship look today? The topic that would not disappear for the past 2½ seasons suddenly dried up over the past two games as the Steelers produced the most dynamic offense in the NFL.

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Big Ben is the only quarterback to throw for six touchdowns in back-to-back weeks in NFL history. Only Y.A. Tittle (1962) has thrown for six touchdowns twice in a single season, according to Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN.com):

Just under a month ago, the Post-Gazette's Gene Collier wrote a column headlined, "Steelers need Todd Haley to take a hike."

Um, yeah, so about that pariah of an offensive coordinator...

The Steelers are ranked with elite offenses in football now. Only the Indianapolis Colts in the Andrew Luck breakthrough Year 3, the Denver Broncos under the legendary Peyton Manning and the steady New Orleans Saints with future Hall of Famer Drew Brees are ranked ahead of the No. 4 Steelers in passing offense right now. That is some company.

You might even expect Roethlisberger to get better because Antonio Brown has become the No. 1 wide receiver in fantasy, per FFToday.com, while rookie Martavis Bryant and second-year breakout Markus Wheaton have emerged. Veteran tight end Heath Miller remains steady as ever, too.

Big Ben's streak has him talking about Brown and himself in the same breath as NFL and fantasy royalty Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, telling the Post-Gazette's Ron Cook:

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There still are things that you always want to improve and fine-tune. I'm sure that Joe Montana and Jerry Rice probably had things they still wanted to work on and get better, and they were maybe the best duo of all time. But A.B. is right there at the top of the guys I've played with. He can make you look really good. He's made me look good many times. I'm blessed to have him on my team.

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Heck, Bryant (five touchdowns in just three games) and Wheaton (touchdowns in back-to-back weeks) are just scratching the surface. All of the Steelers' primary targets are must-own and must-start fantasy options now, particularly in their upcoming matchup (see below).

Big Ben is even sounding like a perfectionist, telling Cook after Sunday's record-breaking effort:

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I wasn't real happy with my performance. At the end of the day, it looks good, but during the course of it, it was disappointing to me because I felt like I was letting guys down. I could have done more to help the team. I wasn't putting the ball in front of guys. I wasn’t making good throws, good reads. And we had guys open on plays.

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Bryant is going to become a superstar, but, as Big Ben admitted to Cook, "There are still things that he doesn't do right all the time."

Now, the Steelers travel to New Jersey to face the New York Jets. They have a defense that is third-worst in fantasy against quarterbacks and second-worst against tight ends, according to FFToday.com. This could get ugly.

Jets head coach Rex Ryan told The Star-Ledger's Darryl Slater on Monday:

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No concerns (eye roll). ... Realistically, obviously it is a huge concern. They’re on fire right now. Clearly, yeah, there is a major concern there. To say that we have our work cut out for us is an understatement. Right now, they're carving people up. It is a big task. There is no doubt. Will our corners be up to it? Yeah, we'll be up to it.

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Regardless, the time to sell high on Big Ben in fantasy is now. We cannot expect an elite pace to hold up through the wintry months of the season, especially in Pittsburgh.

You cannot expect Roethlisberger to remain an elite fantasy quarterback, even amid this roll. Manning is in a league of his own and those other two quarterbacks above (Luck and Brees) play half of their games in climate-controlled domes.

Charles in Charge?

If there is ever a week to find out about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers running game and feature back, it would be this Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. They come off the bye, remaining the worst team in fantasy against running backs, per FFToday.com.

Doug Martin (ankle) is coming off a week of being listed doubtful and then inactive, while Bobby Rainey racked up 87 yards rushing and one catch for 34 yards against the Cleveland Browns. Martin is the would-be starter if he plays, but Rainey has earned time, and all of fantasy is anticipating the long-awaited debut of rookie Charles Sims (ankle), who was activated off the IR on Saturday.

Bucs GM Jason Licht told Tom Krasniqi of 620 WDAE AM and 95.3 FM in Tampa Bay that Sims is "very likely to make his debut" Sunday against the Falcons. You cannot start him, particularly if Martin practices this week, but Sims could emerge to salvage the Bucs' 29th-ranked rushing offense. 

Rainey is the only decent option among the Bucs backs in this favorable matchup. The Falcons have given up league highs with 12 rushing touchdowns and 475 receiving yards to fantasy running backs to date.

Waiver-Wire Favorites

Every Monday of the season, FantasyPros.com polls analysts for their top choices off waivers. We reprint their waiver rankings here for owners to pick through for their waivers run Tuesday and Wednesday.

RK	Player	POS	TM	Consensus	Best RK	Worst RK
1	Alfred Blue	RB	HOU	1.2	1	2
2	Terrance West	RB	CLE	1.8	1	2
3	Allen Robinson	WR	JAC	3.4	3	4
4	Charles Sims	RB	TB	4.2	3	5
5	Isaiah Crowell	RB	CLE	5.6	3	7
6	Jarvis Landry	WR	MIA	6.8	5	8
7	Jordan Matthews	WR	PHI	8	4	13
8	Daniel Thomas	RB	MIA	8.2	6	11
9	Kenny Britt	WR	STL	10.4	6	17
10	Matt Asiata	RB	MIN	11	5	15
11	Damien Williams	RB	MIA	11.2	9	13
12	Kenny Stills	WR	NO	11.8	10	15
13	Owen Daniels	TE	BAL	13.4	9	16
14	Greg Jennings	WR	MIN	13.8	12	18
15	Charles Clay	TE	MIA	14	11	18
16	Allen Hurns	WR	JAC	14.4	9	17
17	John Brown	WR	ARI	14.6	8	17
18	Markus Wheaton	WR	PIT	16.2	14	18
19	Taylor Gabriel	WR	CLE	18.8	18	19

Thursday Night Start 'Em, Sit 'Em

Cleveland Browns

Start: Terrance West, Ben Tate

Sit: Brian Hoyer, Isaiah Crowell, Andrew Hawkins, Miles Austin, Taylor Gabriel, Jordan Cameron (concussion), Jim Dray, Billy Cundiff, Browns D/ST

The running game is what the Browns have going for them in this one, as the Cincinnati Bengals are fifth-worst in fantasy against running backs, per FFToday.com. Tate is still the starter, but West might be the best bet of the Browns' trio of backs, having performed the best this past Sunday. Crowell was a complete non-factor.

"When you looked at the tape and really compared the three, we feel (West is) really coming on,” Browns coach Mike Pettine told August Fagerstrom of the Akron Beacon Journal. "He's earned those touches, and when he gets out there he does make the most of them."

The Bengals are No. 3 against fantasy wideouts, so the Browns' fringe options are not great plays here. Cameron is unlikely to play on the short week amid the concussion protocol, according to The Cleveland Plainer Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot.

Cincinnati Bengals

Start: Jeremy Hill, A.J. Green, Mohamed Sanu, Mike Nugent, Bengals D/ST

Sit: Andy Dalton, Jermaine Gresham

Giovani Bernard (hip, shoulder, rib) is not listed above because his status is up in the air. If he is active, he should be starting in fantasy. He is a "we'll see," according to Geoff Hobson of the Bengals' official website.

The Browns are tied with the Bengals as the NFL's second-worst run defense. Hill, coming off his career game, is a must-start regardless. Even if Bernard plays, we should expect to see a lot of the power-running Hill, particularly near the goal line.

Despite Hill's breakout game as the Bengals' feature back, ESPN.com's Coley Harvey tweeted there is zero chance Bernard loses his starting job to the rookie going forward. Hill will still be a play in all leagues for favorable matchups, though.

As for the Bengals' passing game, both Green (toe) and Sanu have proved to be fantasy-viable starts—even when active together. Dalton and Gresham are viable fill-ins.

Follow @EricMackFantasy

Eric Mack, one of the giants among fantasy writers, is the Fantasy Football Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, where you can ask him endless questions about your team, rip him for his content and even challenge him to a head-to-head fantasy game.