Fantasy Football 101: Week 3 Quick Hits, Pickups, Tips and More

With three weeks of fantasy football under the belt, the smoke and mirrors are no longer and one should have a pretty clear view of their roster, its potential and its potholes. 

With the first set of byes coming up this weekend, it could also bring a flurry of waiver wire activity and trades.  Now is the time to fortify your depth and look to buy low or sell high to fill needs. 

Do not make trades just to make trades.  Holding onto a top talent at a deep position an extra week may present a better opportunity to improve your roster. 

With bye season on the horizon, be sure not to make panic moves to fill a roster spot for one week.  Make moves with the big picture in mind. 

Of course, your record now will start to influence your moves a little bit as an 0-3 team has little margin for error while a 3-0 team is in a much better position to be patient.

For those in the 0-3 boat the biggest piece of advice is to hang in there.  One of the best fantasy football stories I have ever witnessed was watching a friend start out 0-4 (losing badly each week) only to win 12 straight games to win the title through improved health, a good trade, and smart waiver wire activity. 

While improbable, it is possible, especially if you are in a league with an expanded playoff picture.

Tips aside here is this week's recap:

San Francisco vs. Kansas City

49ers - Aside from Frank Gore, no one on the 49ers offense has shown they can be trusted for weekly production (don't read too much into Vernon Davis' rough week though). 

If you are thin at wide receiver, Michael Crabtree could make a good buy-low option, but realize you are trading for upside (hint: he has done nothing this season, but he has the talent to get hot as the season progresses).

Chiefs - The Chiefs defense and tight end Tony Moeaki are for real.  Both have excellent bye week fill-in/deep league potential, especially the defense, which has a favorable schedule playing in the AFC West and already having played the Chargers once.

Detroit vs. Minnesota

Lions - Jahvid Best's struggles were not a surprise given the Vikings tough run defense.  Tight ends Brandon Pettigrew and Tony Scheffler are fixtures in the passing game and have bye week/depth potential. 

Calvin Johnson owners continue to wait for a breakout performance (which may require Matthew Stafford)

Vikings - Adrian Peterson and Percy Harvin owners can breathe a sigh of relief but Brett Favre hardly tore up the porous Lions secondary.

Buffalo vs. New England

Bills - Ryan Fitzpatrick provided a much-needed lift to the Bills offense, but realize he did it against the young Patriots secondary.

Marshawn Lynch continues to get the bulk of the carries but at least there was a CJ Spiller sighting this week as he returned a kickoff for touchdown, and 7 touches on offense including a TD.

Patriots - The defense is not very fantasy friendly as the pass defense continues to struggle.  Rookie TE Aaron Hernandez is emerging as a key contributor in the passing game and is well worth a pickup in PPR leagues.

Atlanta vs. New Orleans

Falcons - Michael Turner returned to form but Jason Snelling also played a major role with 14 carries and the better ypc. 

Passing wise, this is what a good Matt Ryan week looks like.  This offense is not conducive to 300 yard+ games.

Saints - Drew Brees finally put up a performance to support his high draft slot.  The story of the game though was the return of Lance Moore. 

A major disappointment in 2009 as he battled injuries, Moore tore up the Falcons secondary with 149 yards and 2 TDs. 

More of a possession guy, don't expect consistency but he has the potential to be the team's No. 2 receiver if he stays healthy and is worth a flier in deep leagues.

Tennessee vs. New York Giants

Titans - This was Titans football.  Good, aggressive defense, strong ground game and optional passing game.  Chris Johnson owners are happy, but aside from Kenny Britt's TD catch, the only other noteworthy performance was the Titan D.

Giants - Ahmad Bradshaw continues to shine and Eli Manning continues frustrate.  Steve Smith and Hakeem Nicks get most of the attention but Mario Manningham is the only Giants receiver with 70+ yards in each game this season.

Pittsburgh vs. Tampa Bay

Steelers - What in the name of Charlie Batch was going on? Anyone forced to play him (like me in a 2 QB league) came away happy. 

Don't expect a repeat performance against Baltimore next week though.  Rashard Mendenhall excels at tearing up bad run defenses.  

Buccaneers - Considering they were playing the Steelers, the Buccaneers did about as good as one could have expected. 

Despite a mediocre performance, Josh Freeman and Mike Williams continue to be players to watch, but Cadillac Williams owners need to find another option.  Injured Kareem Huggins has opened the door for LaGarrette Blount?

Cincinnati vs. Carolina

Bengals - Carson Palmer is really struggling when opponents generate even a modest pass rush hindering the upside of the Bengal receivers.  Cedric Benson hardly tore it up on the ground either.

After injuring his foot late in the game, Benson owners would be smart to find a spot for spark plug Bernard Scott as a handcuff.  The defense did what it is supposed to do against a rookie QB and has Cleveland and Tampa Bay as their next two opponents.

Panthers - The offense has screeched to a halt behind a porous offensive line.  Things can only get better for Steve Smith, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart owners but a long season appears on the horizon.

Dallas vs. Houston

Cowboys - DeMarcus Ware and the defense rose to the occasion and shut down the potent Texan offense, giving optimism for the future. 

Romo and the passing game continue to click, but the ground game leaves little to be excited about.   Expect Felix Jones' role to expand though, making him an attractive buy low candidate.

Texans - The offense had an off week, but there is nothing to be overly concerned about on the offensive side of the ball.  The pass defense on the other hand is making the defense a difficult play.

Washington vs. St. Louis

Redskins - Ryan Torain will be a popular waiver wire pickup this week as he, not Keiland Williams, received the carries behind Clinton Portis.  The offense still has not found weapons aside from Santana Moss and Chris Cooley.

Rams - Steven Jackson's groin injury will be a story to watch this week with Kenneth Darby being the handcuff pickup. 

Sam Bradford has impressed with his poise each week and may be a low end backup QB in deeper leagues right now and a tremendous keeper option. 

Mark Clayton has been one of the season's fantasy zombies and is a WR3 candidate in most formats.  Keeper leagues should keep an eye on TE Fendi Onobun.  A tremendous athlete but extremely raw.

Philadelphia vs. Jacksonville

Eagles - Michael Vick has looked exceptional through 3 weeks.  A top 5 QB but don't get over confident with the performance as the past 2 came against underwhelming Lions and Jaguars defenses. 

Despite his strong play, I don't recommend trading him or the QB you drafted as your starter because this hot hand could hit a bump in the road and you won't want to be without a strong alternative. 

Only make a trade (with Vick or the backup) that definitely makes your team better or you have confidence in your future backup.

Jaguars - Teams that draft two tackles in the first two rounds just a year ago should not be allowing 6 sacks. 

Overall, the Jaguars offense looks out of sync and MJD is not his usual dominant self.  The rushing yardage is solid but Mr TD, hasn't found the red zone yet and is averaging just two receptions per game. 

Indianapolis vs. Denver

Colts - Manning, Clark and Wayne remain the solid receivers they were drafted to be but Austin Collie has really come into his own this season.  While it was partially Garcon-inflated it is hard to argue with what he has done through three weeks. 

Expect inconsistency down the road but the spurt-ability makes him a difference maker.  The ground game struggles are not a surprise expect up and down performances from week to week especially as Donald Brown's role grows.

Broncos - Kyle Orton is throwing the ball as much as any QB in the league and remains one of fantasy's most underappreciated QBs but the top targets seem to change each week. 

After watching Demaryius Thomas explode out of the starting blocks last week, forgotten Brandon Lloyd and Jabar Gaffney broke out.  This is a poor man's Saints offense.  Lastly, the lose of Knowshon Moreno neutered a marginal ground attack.

Oakland vs. Arizona

Raiders - Darren McFadden may be for real, although Michael Bush will return soon.  Louis Murphy has emerged as Bruce Gradkowski's go to guy.

Cardinals - Nice to see Beanie Wells return, but this offense is dreadful due to poor QB play.

San Diego vs. Seattle

Chargers - Philip Rivers is exceeding post-Vincent Jackson expectations and continues to spread it around with Antonio Gates leading the way.  Malcom Floyd found the end zone for the second straight week.  Mike Tolbert was solid in place of Ryan Mathews. 

Seahawks - The offense is ugly and aside from John Carlson was only marginally productive. But the defense and special teams have value due to their favorable schedule and the quality of their returners. 

New York Jets vs. Miami

Jets - While Shonn Greene owners likely drafted him too early to cut him, the Jets have clearly been LT's team thus far. 

In the passing game, Dustin Keller is on his way to a breakout season.  It will be interesting to see how things change when Santonio Holmes comes back.

Dolphins - Brandon Marshall took advantage of the Revis-less Jets defense and went a long way to alleviate concerns about his ability to maintain dominant receiver status on the run-first Dolphins. 

That said, playing from behind had a lot to due with the Dolphins pass-friendly night.  Aside from Marshall play Dolphins receivers with caution.

Green Bay vs. Chicago

Packers - Without Ryan Grant, the Packers ground attack has become non-existent as Brandon Jackson has failed to step up (not all that surprising of a development.). 

Look for the Packers to explore other options as the trade deadline nears while rookie James Starks remains a mid-season option if he can return from the PUP list.

Bears - Matt Forte and the Bears ground attack continues to struggle which makes Forte a spurt-able but unpredictable running back option. 

Johnny Knox continues to establish himself as the team's No. 1 option, while Devin Aromashodu remains a forgotten man.

Chris Maier is Senior Editor for NFLDraft101.com.  He can be reached at [e-mail].  Follow me on twitter: nfldraft101.