NFL Week 8: Tuesday Takeaways

The NFL regular season is nearly half complete and week eight was another example of why NFL is king. Nobody saw St. Louis' upset over New Orleans coming, a missed field goal gave Vikings rookie QB Christian Ponder his first victory and a fumbled exchange late in the fourth quarter cost Philip Rivers and the Chargers a win on Monday night.

Plus, parity rules in the NFL. According to Michael Signora, NFL Vice President of Football Communications, 22 teams went into week eight with a .500 record or better. It was the most through the first seven weeks of the season in NFL history.

Week eight may be done, but the NFL weekend is never complete without The Source's Tuesday Takeaways. Here they are from week eight.

1) When San Diego Chargers RB Curtis Brinkley (pictured) scored a fourth quarter touchdown Monday night against the Kansas City Chiefs, he extended an impressive streak that dates back to before the second Iraq war began. Brinkley's TD was the Chargers 140th consecutive game with a touchdown, the longest current streak in the NFL. The last time the Chargers failed to score a touchdown was November 24, 2002 when the Ray Lucas-led Miami Dolphins destroyed the Drew Brees-led Bolts 30-3. The Chargers are 26 games away from tying the Cleveland Browns mark of most consecutive games with a touchdown at 166 games (1957-1969).

2) Speaking of Brees and late game touchdowns, his meaningless TD pass to Lance Moore at the end of Sunday's loss to St. Louis marked the 35th consecutive game that he's thrown a TD pass. Brees needs one more TD pass to tie Brett Favre for the second-longest such streak in league history. Brees is still 12 behind former Colts great Johnny Unitas, who holds the NFL record with 47 games in a row.

3) Vikings fans have heard coaches say it for years: Adrian Peterson needs to get more involved in the passing game. On Sunday, Minnesota finally looked like they're committed to making that happen (including two shovel passes, something new for Peterson). Peterson finished with a career-high 76 receiving yards on five catches against the Carolina Panthers. This was only the fourth time in Peterson's career that he's had five or more catches in a game (his career high is six catches).

4) Speaking of the Vikings, the reason they aren't getting blown out in the second half anymore is because Ponder is sustaining drives and keeping his defense on the sidelines. In the three fourth quarters that Ponder has played, the Vikings are 10 of 16 (62.5%) converting on third down. In the five fourth quarters that Donovan McNabb played, the Vikings were 4 of 17 (23.5%) converting on third downs.

5) When it comes to winning games, Miami and Indianapolis are the worst in the league. Both teams are winless and look to be in direct competition for the right to draft Andrew Luck. One of the major issues facing these losing teams (among many issues) is their inability to score points, including once they get in the red zone. The two teams have combined to convert 43% (Colts: 47%/Dolphins: 39%) of red zone attempts into touchdowns. In contrast, Luck and the Stanford Cardinal are scoring touchdowns 78% of the time they get in the red zone (100% if you count field goals - 47 of 47). Surprisingly, the Tennessee Titans are converting 70% of their red zone opportunities into touchdowns, the best in the league.

6) It should come as no surprise that the Arizona Cardinals lost on Sunday to the Baltimore Ravens, despite racing out a big first half lead. The Cardinals are the NFL's most prolific losers, now with 704 losses in their franchise history. And that loser label will stick for a while in Arizona, the team with the second most losses is Detroit with 605.

7) Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen is quietly putting together an exceptional season and he should start getting some attention for Defensive Player of the Year honors. Allen is on pace for a 25 sack season, which would break Michael Strahan's record of 22.5 set in 2001. Allen currently has 12.5 sacks, which is tops in the league. Allen is also on a seven game streak with at least one full sack. The record is ten straight games set by Denver's Simon Fletcher and Dallas' DeMarcus Ware.

8) How important is Darren Sproles to the New Orleans offense? Very important. When the Saints lost Reggie Bush to free agency this offseason, they quickly signed Sproles to fill the role of pass-catching running back. Sproles leads the Saints in catches this season and is on pace to break the single-season reception mark for running backs set by Larry Centers. Centers caught 101 passes for the Arizona Cardinals in 1995, Sproles is on pace for 102 catches this season (Bush has 21 catches so far this season).

Fantasy Football 2011: Week 8 Waiver Wire

Injury lists get a little longer for NFL teams this time of year and we're starting to see some prominent names popping up on those lists. Last week was a tough one for several players, many of whom are every week fantasy starters. Beanie Wells, Willis McGahee, Darren McFadden, Marshawn Lynch, Santana Moss and Earnest Graham all went down with injuries in week seven and many of them will miss multiple weeks.

Finding consistent replacement players for the guys mentioned above won't be easy on your waiver wire, but there are some good options out there for those of you looking to cobble together a line-up every week. Here are the week 8 waiver wire pick-ups from The Source.

Christian Ponder, QB, Minnesota Vikings
Never before has a quarterback who completed 41% of his passes been a cause for optimism. But for the Minnesota Vikings, Ponder certainly breathed new life into a struggling offense and nearly engineered a comeback win over the unbeaten Green Bay Packers on Sunday. Ponder's ability to get the ball downfield makes him a valuable fantasy quarterback. He finished Sunday's game with 219 yards passing, 31 yards rushing and 2 TDs - a solid stat line for a guy making his first career start. Ponder has some favorable match-ups coming up and is worth stashing as a QB2 right now - with the potential to start for your fantasy team in a couple of weeks.

Bernard Scott, RB, Cincinnati Bengals
Scott is the epitome of a short-term investment. Scott will fill-in for Cedric Benson on Sunday, who's serving a one-game suspension. Scott is expected to get the bulk of the carries for the Bengals against the Seattle Seahawks. Scott is a good play this week simply based on opportunity. Scott could be in line for 20 or more touches and that's a good amount of work for a player sitting on a lot of waiver wires.

Knowshon Moreno/Lance Ball, RBs, Denver Broncos
With McGahee likely out for two games with a broken hand, the Broncos will turn (once again) to Moreno as their main ball carrier. I know a lot of owners dumped Moreno after a slow start, so he might be available if you need RB help. However, if Moreno is gone and you're still desperate for a RB, consider picking up Ball. Look for ball to get the short yardage and goal line carries (at least the ones not taken by Tim Tebow).

Roy Helu, RB, Washington Redskins
Good luck trying to figure out Mike Shanahan, but if you need a RB, Roy Helu may be the guy with the most upside on the waiver wire. With Tim Hightower done for the season with a knee injury, the Redskins will rely on Helu and Ryan Torain to carry the load. While Torain appears to be the front-runner for more carries right now, Helu should get his opportunities as the season goes on. But then again, good luck trying to figure out Shanahan.

Michael Jenkins/Devin Aromashodu, WRs, Minnesota Vikings
There are several reasons to like the Vikings wide receivers these days. The Vikings now have a QB in Christian Ponder who isn't afraid to throw the ball downfield, Bernard Berrian is out of the picture and Percy Harvin has a lingering rib injury. Jenkins is coming off his first career 100-yard game and looked like Ponder's favorite target. Aromashodu meanwhile, is on the field the most of any Vikings WR and was targeted on several deep passes in Sunday's loss to Green Bay. If you need one WR it should be Jenkins. However, if you're in a deeper league where the waiver wire has been picked clean, Aromashodu may be for you.

Jabar Gaffney, WR, Washington Redskins
With Moss sidelined with a broken hand for 5-7 weeks, Gaffney will likely see an increase in targets. Gaffney is more valuable in PPR leagues because of the number of targets he'll get, but in standard leagues he's just marginal. He's there if you need him, but if you don't need him don't waste a transaction on him.

2011 NFL Schedule: Week 8

SUNDAY, OCT. 30 (All Times ET)
Indianapolis at Tennessee  1:00 PM
New Orleans at St. Louis  1:00 PM
Miami at NY Giants  1:00 PM
Minnesota at Carolina  1:00 PM
Arizona at Baltimore  1:00 PM
Jacksonville at Houston  1:00 PM
Washington at Buffalo  4:05 PM
Detroit at Denver  4:05 PM
New England at Pittsburgh  4:15 PM
Cleveland at San Francisco  4:15 PM
Cincinnati at Seattle  4:15 PM
Dallas at Philadelphia  8:20 PM

MONDAY, OCT. 31
San Diego at Kansas City  8:30 PM

Bye: Atlanta, Chicago, Green Bay, Oakland, NY Jets, Tampa Bay

Week 8: Fantasy football rankings -- QB, RB, WR/TE

QB
1. Peyton Manning vs. Houston
2. Ben Roethlisberger vs. Tennessee
3. Drew Brees vs. Pittsburgh
4. Philip Rivers vs. Tennessee
5. Aaron Rodgers at NY Jets
6. Tom Brady vs. Minnesota
7. Kyle Orton at San Francisco
8. Matt Schaub at Indianapolis
9. Jon Kitna vs. Jacksonville
10. Matt Cassel vs. Buffalo
11. Carson Palmer vs. Miami
12. Ryan Fitzpatrick at Kansas City
13. Chad Henne at Cincinnati
14. Matthew Stafford vs. Washington
15. Donovan McNabb at Detroit
16. Josh Freeman at Arizona
17. Mark Sanchez at New England
18. David Garrard at Dallas
19. Matt Moore at St. Louis
20. Matt Hasselbeck at Oakland

RB
1. Adrian Peterson at New England
2. Arian Foster at Indianapolis
3. Frank Gore vs. Denver (In London)
4. Chris Johnson at San Diego
5. Rashard Mendenhall at New Orleans
6. Thomas Jones vs. Buffalo
7. Ryan Torain at Detroit
8. Darren McFadden vs. Seattle
9. Steven Jackson vs. Carolina
10. LaDainian Tomlinson vs. Green Bay
11. Maurice Jones-Drew at Dallas
12. Marshawn Lynch at Oakland
13. Jamaal Charles vs. Buffalo
14. Beanie Wells vs. Tampa Bay
15. Felix Jones vs. Jacksonville
16. Cedric Benson vs. Miami
17. Mike Hart vs. Houston
18. Ronnie Brown at Cincinnati
19. Shonn Greene vs. Green Bay
20. DeAngelo Williams at St. Louis
21. LeGarrette Blount at Arizona
22. Jahvid Best vs. Washington
23. BenJarvus Green-Ellis vs. Minnesota
24. Knowshon Moreno vs. San Francisco (in London)
25. Ricky Williams at Cincinnati
26. Jonathan Stewart at St. Louis
27. Mike Tolbert vs. Tennessee
28. Brandon Jackson at NY Jets
29. Fred Jackson at Kansas City
30. Ryan Mathews vs. Tennessee
31. Michael Bush vs. Seattle
32. Cadillac Williams at Arizona
33. Justin Forsett at Oakland
34. Darren Sproles vs. Tennessee
35. Marion Barber vs. Jacksonville
36. Correll Buckhalter vs. San Francisco (in London)
37. Tim Hightower vs. Tampa Bay
38. Chris Ivory vs. Pittsburgh
39. Danny Woodhead vs. Minnesota
40. Kenneth Darby vs. Carolina

WR
1. Reggie Wayne vs. Houston
2. Brandon Marshall at Cincinnati
3. Calvin Johnson vs. Washington
4. Andre Johnson at Indianapolis
5. Dwayne Bowe vs. Buffalo
6. Terrell Owens vs. Miami
7. Hines Ward at New Orleans
8. Dez Bryant vs. Jacksonville
9. Randy Moss at New England
10. Miles Austin vs. Jacksonville
11. Pierre Garcon vs. Houston
12. Brandon Lloyd vs. San Francisco (in London)
13. Greg Jennings at NY Jets
14. Santana Moss at Detroit
15. Marques Colston vs. Pittsburgh
16. Mike Wallace at New Orleans
17. Percy Harvin at New England
18. Kenny Britt at San Diego
19. Steve Johnson at Kansas City
20. Chad Ochocinco vs. Miami
21. Mike Williams at Arizona
22. Davone Bess at Cincinnati
23. Antonio Gates vs. Tennessee
24. Larry Fitzgerald vs. Tampa Bay
25. Braylon Edwards vs. Green Bay
26. Mike Williams at Oakland
27. Lee Evans at Kansas City
28. Deion Branch vs. Minnesota
29. Patrick Crayton vs. Tennessee
30. Roy Williams vs. Jacksonville
31. Steve Smith at St. Louis
32. Jabar Gaffney at San Francisco
33. Steve Smith at St. Louis
34. Wes Welker vs. Minnesota
35. Mike Sims-Walker at Dallas
36. Anthony Gonzalez vs. Houston
37. Santonio Holmes vs. Green Bay
38. Zack Miller vs. Seattle
39. Robert Meachem vs. Pittsburgh
40. Dustin Keller vs. Green Bay
41. Deon Butler at Oakland
42. Lance Moore vs. Pittsburgh
43. James Jones at NY Jets
44. Jason Whitten vs. Jacksonville
45. Danny Amendola vs. Carolina
46. Nate Burleson vs. Washington
47. Anthony Armstrong at Detroit
48. Vernon Davis vs. Denver (in London)
49. David Gettis at St. Louis
50. Buster Davis vs. Tennessee