Waiver Wire Wonders: Week 9

Weeding through those unwieldy waiver wires requires a keen eye and a quick trigger. Thus, Waiver Wire Wonders provides a weekly snapshot of players worthy of consideration who should be available on a good portion of league waiver wires. Enjoy those pickups...

Every week, the waiver wires continue to give us hyperactive fantasy football owners something to do besides work. And Week 9 provides a particularly compelling source of procrastination. Some of the biggest performances came from players simply in fill-in roles for the key starters. Thus, owners cannot just seek out the big stat guys and jump on them, because several of these players require an evaluation of the former starter's worth as well as the severity of the injury to make an informed decision. Still, there is a lot of quality talent available after Sunday's games, so don't get caught sleeping or you will likely be sorry come playoff time.

Dan Orlovsky (QB, Lions) - With the news of the Daunte Culpepper signing, Orlovsky's respectable 292-yard, two-touchdown performance in the Lions' closest near-win to date gets diminished a bit. But he is improving and it is not likely that Culpepper will step right in as he needs to learn the offense and presumably get in shape. Thus, keep an eye on Orlovsky since he might be serviceable as -- dare I say it -- the Lions are improving. Orlovsky also threw the ball 47 times, which leads me to believe that Rod Marinelli finally might have realized that you can't just "pound the rock" when you suck. He did ding a finger on his throwing hand early in the game and is going in for an X-ray, so keep this in mind as well.

Ray Rice (RB, Ravens) - Ray Rice posted huge numbers Sunday against the Browns, racking up 154 yards on the ground and another 22 yards on three receptions. Unfortunately for Rice, the 21 carries were the result of Willis McGahee's nagging ankle injury keeping him on the sidelines for the entire duration. Thus, while Rice looks like a good snag this week, his value will probably go right back down unless McGahee's injury keeps him out another week or beyond. McGahee played through this injury for weeks, so he should be back soon.

Cedric Benson (RB, Bengals) - Benson officially earned himself a starting job in Cincinnati and he is making the most of it. The Bengals gave Benson the ball 24 times versus the Jaguars and he moved the ball 104 yards, hitting pay dirt on one occasion. If Benson is still around in your league, sign the paperwork. He makes a great pickup to play matchups or even as your No. 3 RB down the stretch.

Jamaal Charles (RB, Chiefs) - Most people jumped all over Kolby Smith when the future began looking bleak for Larry Johnson after his latest meltdown , but savvy football folks know that Jamaal Charles is a far more explosive runner with more upside in Kansas City. Against the Bucs, Charles got 18 carries to Smith's 10 and Charles notched 106 yards on a 5.9 yards per carry average. He did lose a fumble, but he should continue to get the bulk of the load going forward after this quality performance. In other words, pull the trigger.

Matt Ryan (QB, Falcons) - With big name quarterbacks like Drew Brees, Jake Delhomme, and Phillip Rivers on their bye weeks, Matt Ryan made a lot of fantasy friends today who were forced to insert him in their patchwork lineups. Ryan played a very solid, serviceable game and continues to improve each week. He posted 220 yards and a pair of touchdowns with no interceptions. He looks like a great backup going forward.

Brent Celek (TE, Eagles) - This week's "performance of the day by a guy I have never even heard of" goes to Brent Celek. Celek actually broke the Eagles' all-time single-game record for receiving yards by a tight end with 131 on six catches. And anybody who has ever played Tecmo Bowl with the Randall Cunningham to Keith Jackson connection knows that this is no easy feat. Still, Celek was filling in for L.J. Smith who was out with a concussion, so it's probably best to wait to see how the Eagles respond to the big day in terms of who gets the targets going forward.

Koren Robinson (WR, Seahawks) - If only this was 2002 and Hasselhoff was in his prime, we'd be wound up about Koren Robinson's 105 yards on four catches with a touchdown, but 2008 with Seneca Wallace? Not so much. Still, the options at receiver are still few and far between, so keep watch, because Robinson might prove valuable down the stretch.