If Jason Campbell and Santana Moss are going to return to fantasy relevance, the Seattle Seahawks' pass defense will offer each every opportunity. The Kansas Cits Chiefs will offer the same to Trent Edwards and Lee Evans. In both cases, these players had tittilated earlier in the season with big games only to flame out as soon as fantasy players began to believe.

In a prior post, I had mentioned Tennessee Titan RB Chris Johnson as a possible sit against a stout Jets' rush defense. When looking at the New York Jets pass defense, one becomes even more certain the air will provide the avenue for the Titans to extend their season-long ten-game winning streak. Just as the Jets have been consistently amongst the stingiest in allowing rushing yards, it has been just as consistent in allowing passing yards. Don't be surprised to see Kerry Collins again top 200 yards passing after not doing so for the first eight Titan's wins.

Finally, Aaron Rodgers takes the 5-5 Green Bay Packers into New Orleans for a Monday night game that should provide Rodgers the chance to rack-up the stats he had done earlier this season. Against a generous Saints pass defense, expecting 250 yards and 2 TDs is not unreasonable.

Ten Worst Pass Defenses:

One notable absence from the list of the top rush defenses as measured by RYA over its last three games is the Baltimore Ravens. After allowing 186 rushing yards in the three games prior to the New York Giants game, the Ravens rush defense allowed 207. This one game almost doubled the team's average RYA and pushed them out of the top ten.

I do not believe their rush defenses is no longer elite. As a matter of fact, I feel for whomever is rushing the ball for the Phialdelphia Eagles, whether that is Brian Westbrook or Correl Buckhalter. The Ravens' defense will be looking for blood, and I wouldn't start any Eagles' RB - even if Brian Westbrook was "healthy" and playing.

Another interesting "sit question" is Chris Johnson of the Tennessee Titans. He faces a New York Jets' rush defense that ranks 6th and has consistently ranked in the top 10 during the 2008 season. Combine that with the Titans' recent explosion in the passing game and the consideration that Johnson has now played the equivalent of a full college season, and one can easily consider sitting Johnson.

To abet this decision, there are likely RBs in the pool with very favroable match-ups like Peyton Hillis in Denver facing the Raiders, Tampa Bay's Warrick Dunn against the Lions, and Derek Ward of the Giants facing Arizona. Yes, I have concluded the Giants' excellent run-blocking overcomes any rush defense stat.

Top Ten Rush Defenses:

The marquee match-up amongst pass defenses has the New York Giants' #3 PYA and the Arizona Cardinals #9 PYA facing off against the others' #s 19 and 2 OA pass offenses. Given the Giants don't really throw the ball all that much (19th OA), this match-up's fantasy implications fall squarely on the Arizona side. QB Kurt Warner and WRs Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald have proven to be elite fantasy players. The kind of players fantasy teams who own them count on to win each week.

The worry is the Giants' defense will depress the production of the Big Three to the point fantasy teams will lose. There is little doubt the Big Three will accumulate stats, though. After all, the team really can't run the ball despite the switch from an Edgerrin James/Tim Hightower 1/2 punch to a Tim Hightower/J.J. Arrington one.

An LDLS argument (Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics) can be made when looking at the Oakland Raiders' second ranked PYA. With the passing-dependent Denver Broncos hosting the Raiders, one would think the Broncos' face a very tough assignment. However, this ranking comes as a direct result of the Radiers' defense being unable to stop the run.

Will Denver's passing threats (QB Jay Cutler and WRs Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal) have lower production because of a stingy Raiders' pass defense or is it more likely any reduced production results from Peyton Hillis and P.J. Pope having the games of their careers against a mushy Raiders' rush defense?

Top Ten Pass Defenses:

This week's nationally televised game that most football fans won't be able to watch has the Cincinnati Bengals visiting the Pittsburgh Steelers. While this lacks any marquee value thanks to the Bengals' being led by QB Ryan Fitzpatrick and RB Cedric Benson, the game does offer fantasy players the option of starting their Steelers against one of the worst teams in the NFL.

A closer look, though, may cause some hesitation. The Bengals have been second only to the Steelers in RYA over their past three games. Despite that very impressive stat, I would be more focused on their 27th ranked PYA to inform the decision to start or sit RB Willie Parker. Assuming the Steelers passing game racks up yardage at will, I expect Parker to be able to accummulate enough yards to make him a good start.

As for the Bengals skills players, none need to be started if they weren't already. I can't imagine a QB situation so bad that Ryan Fitzpatrick is a legitimate possibility. If he was, then I'd fish in the free agent pool for a better match-up. Trent Edwards, Sage Rosenfels and Marc Bulger face much better match-ups.

As for RB Cedric Benson, he did receive a very impressive 29 touches in last week's tie with the Phialdelphia Eagles. Benson is a serious consideration tostart with that workload, as would be any RB. However, he managed just 79 totals yards. Isn't 2.7 yards per touch disqualifying?

Well so much for the New York Yankees landing A.J. Burnett.  Newsday reports the Boston Red Sox are "fully engaged" in discussions with A.J. Burnett.  (The New York Daily News also says the same.)

The last major award will be announced later this afternoon. The Fake Teams voters have nailed every one, but the AL MVP is going to be iffy. See we voted for Boston Red Sox 2B Dustin Pedroia, and scrappy middle infielders are not amongst the most popular vote getters. However, Pedroia's totals were far and away better than the runner-up, Carlos Quentin of the Chicago White Sox.

Unless Boston Red Sox fans ran the equivalent of an ACORN vote campaign for Pedroia, I won't be surprised to see us nail the 6th and final major award. There is wisdom in crowds, and the Fake Teams crowd voted for Pedroia.

George A. King III of the New York Post reports in this morning's paper that the New York Yankees are going to make another big contract offer to a free agent pitcher.  This time the lucky pitcher and his agent is A.J. Burnett.

After opting out of a five-year, $55MM deal with the Toronto Blue Jays, Burnett is getting ready to receive another five-year deal.  This for upwards of $80 million if Mr. King's sources are right.  To boot, he also reports the offers to C.C. Sabathia and A.J. Burnett does not mean the Yankees are out on the Derek Lowe front either.

With Chien-Ming Wang, Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain already in the rotation, adding three big dollar free agents seems to signal one of those three are not long for the rotation.  Is there a trade for a young pre-prime hitter in the future or is one of them more of an injury worry than has been let on?

With the correct top 3 in the AL Cy Young results, Fake Teams' readers have predicted at least the top two finishers in every major award. Today the NL MVP is announced, and our results show Albert Pujols winning easily over World Series champion, Ryan Howard. After that, our voters held nothing against Manny Ramirez as he finished 3rd ahead of Ryan Braun and Chase Utley.

Will Carroll offers up his injury assessments over at Si.com.  Amongst those players everyone is worrying about is Clinton Portis of the Washington Redskins, Steven Jackson of the St. Louis Rams, Reggie Bush of the New Orleans Saints,  Ben Roethlisberger of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Frank Gore of the San Francisco 49ers.  Of these, only Roethlisberger and Frank Gore appear to be starting and slated for their regular workloads.

Ben Roethlisberger has been replaced mid-game by Byron Leftwich.  This is disconcerting enough to override the favorable match-up Big Ben has against a weak San Diego Chargers pass defenses.  I can see sitting Roethlisberger in favor of Tyler Thigpen.  Just keep in mind this is a decision based on the risk of not receiving four quarters of production from Big Ben versus four quarters of another QB.

Frank Gore is the type of decision that worries fantasy football owners all day.  Following a 99-yard effort, Gore was expected to produce strongly against a pee-poor St. Louis Rams' defense.  Then Gore tells the press he is suffering from a concussion as a result of his failure to score a TD from one yard out at the end of Monday night's loss to Arizona.  A couple days later, his head coach Mike Singletary refutes Gore's self-assessment.  Gore is again ready to play.

Just as a lawyer says something in front of a jury that the judge instructs the jury to ignore and it can't, fantasy owners cannot forget what Gore said.  Now we worry that Gore will take a hard hit and be lost for the game.  I am sticking with Gore despite the option of starting Steve Slaton or Ladell Betts.

Other start/sits:

RB Earnest Graham, Tampa Bay Buccaneers:  The recent activation of RB Cadillac Williams doesn't worry me in the slightest.  He was activated from the PUP because the Bucs didn't want to be compelled to place him on IR and lose him for the season.  Graham's knee and the presence of RB Warrick Dunn are the issues with Graham.  After a season's worth of splitting carries with Dunn, I'm sitting Graham if another viable option exists.  For me, "viable" means Kevin Smith of the Detroit Lions.  Even Ladell Betts or Peyton Hillis would quailify.

RB Willie Parker, Pittsburgh Steelers:  Fast Willie is playing with a torn labrum in his shoulder.  Following his earlier knee injury and the broken leg from 2007, FWP appears to be injury-riddled and a seeming sit this week.  However, WR Chad Johnson has played all season with a similar injury and has been relaitvely productive all things considered.  I'd start Willie Parker as a RB2 with the understanding he may lose 25% of his touches to Mewelde Moore.  If for some reason he is slotting as your RB1, then start him without concern for his injury or touches.