Fantasy Football Sunday Wrap: A Pierre Thomas Sighting

Sunday Evening Wrap checks out players who increased or decreased their value during the Sunday afternoon games.

Riser of the Week: Pierre Thomas was the apple of many a fantasy owner's eye heading into the season, but he was hampered by a knee injury for the first two weeks. Sunday, he reintroduced himself to the fantasy football world -- so let's hope you held onto him if you drafted him. Thomas ran through the Buffalo defense for 126 yards on just 14 carries, scoring two touchdowns. The Saints do have two tough matchups coming (Jets and Giants), but, long-term, Pierre is going to be a solid RB2.

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Faller of the Week: After Week 1, Clinton Portis owners were likely licking their chops. Sure, he didn't do much against the Giants, but they have a stout defense. The next two Redskins' opponents were the Rams and Lions. Surely, the old CP26 would rack up the points. Two weeks, 31 carries and 121 yards later, we're left without a touchdown and many failed attempts inside the five-yard line. The thing is, the Redskins still have a pretty easy schedule for the next several weeks (Bucs, Panthers, Chiefs). If you own Portis, you probably have to stick with him, but he hasn't exactly inspired a ton of confidence.

Other Shifts in Value:

Julius Jones - 136 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown against the Bears. Good bounce-back after a horrifying Week 2.

Mark Sanchez - "The Sanchise" is doing quite the job in New York. That rushing touchdown was nails, and he threw for a pair as well.

Kenny Britt - Tied for the team lead in catches, which illustrates the Titans' plan on getting their first-round pick plenty involved this season.

Donald Driver - For the second week in a row, Driver has outscored teammate -- and much higher-valued -- Greg Jennings.

Kyle Boller-to-Daniel Fells - Marc Bulger goes down and the Boller-to-Fells connection singlehandedly doubles the previous output of the Rams' offense. Talk about the bizarro world.

Vernon Davis - We've been waiting on him to break out for his entire career, and I believe it's finally happened. Yes, after his 7-catch, 96-yard, 2-touchdown performance, I believe Davis will be a quality fantasy option this season.

Kevin Walter - Guess he was excited to get back on the field, huh?

Matthew Stafford - The kid showed why the Lions took him as the top overall selection in last April's draft, throwing for 241 yards and a touchdown without turning the ball over. Furthermore, he had a 21-yard run where he made several defenders miss and cut back when he easily could have elected to slide. There's potential for rushing touchdowns in the future here, which, for QBs, is just gravy.

Derrick Mason - Unfortunately, he doesn't get to play the Browns every week.

Brandon Marshall - Don't bury him just yet, as the punky wideout found the end zone while leading the Broncos in catches and yards.

Andre Caldwell - Who is going to emerge opposite Chad Ochocinco as Carson Palmer's No. 2 receiver -- Laveranues Coles or Chris Henry? How about Caldwell, who had six catches for 52 yards and the game-winning touchdown in Cincy.

Willie Parker - 129 total yards and a touchdown -- just when everyone wanted to give up on him.

Matt Forte - You'd think he can turn it around against the Lions next week. Of course, the Seahawks gave up over 200 yards rushing to Frank Gore last week and Forte only mounted 66 on 21 carries. The run-blocking for the Bears has been atrocious, which is a huge concern here moving forward.

Kevin Kolb - He's thrown for over 700 yards the past two weeks ... and his value takes a hit? The Eagles have a bye in Week 4, and you'd figure Donovan McNabb is ready to come back for Week 5. When he does, he'll get the Bucs and Raiders and find DeSean Jackson as a now-bona fide WR1 (which means McNabb owners are salivating right now).

Larry Johnson - So much for him bouncing back. He now has 54 carries for 136 yards and no touchdowns in three games.

Roddy White - Only 24 yards from your WR1? Ouch.

Visanthe Shiancoe - When Brett Favre completes 24 passes for 301 yards, you'd expect his talented tight end to rack up a bit more than two catches for 22 yards.

Terrell Owens - For the first time since I was a freshman in college (which doesn't matter, just throwing it out there), he didn't record a stat. Can't say I'm disappointed. I refuse to own this clown on any fantasy team.

Darren Sproles - He can't run up the middle and was a non-factor in the passing attack. Plus, I'm guessing LaDainian Tomlinson returns for the primetime game in Pittsburgh next week.

Anyone who plays for the Raiders, Buccaneers or Browns - I can't figure out which team is the most dreadful, but it doesn't matter. I'm officially scared to play anyone from any of these teams -- even Braylon Edwards, Darren McFadden or Zach Miller. This group of three teams is the holy trinity of suck when it comes to fantasy football.