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You have to go to your league rulebook on that one. In our league, we give 6 points for touchdowns. Doesn't matter how you score them -- run, catch, kick return, whatever. The guy holding the ball in the end zone at the end gets 6 points. So definitely 6 points in our league. But if your league specifically states that players receive points only for TD runs or TD catches, then probably not. If your league doesn't mention TD returns or miscellaneous touchdowns in any way, then it might be helpful to look at kick returns. A fumble return is similar to a kickoff or punt return, so it would kind of follow that if your league allows (or doesn't allow) those type of touchdowns, the same would apply to this one. Finally, look for a precedent. How did your league handle the touchdown Keenan McCardell scored on a fumble return in October of 2003 (when he ripped the ball out of a defensive back's hands after an interception and ran 57 yards for a touchdown)? If that touchdown wasn't allowed, then it wouldn't make sense to give Curtis credit for this one.

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A:

It's not a rushing TD or a receiving TD. The NFL files those all under "returns" -- lumped together with punt returns and kickoff returns and interception returns in their main scoring charts. And no yardage on it either. If Curtis had picked up the ball at the 9-yard line and run into the end zone, it would be scored as a 9-yard fumble return. Those 9 yards would not be included in Curtis' rushing or receiving or passing totals. The only exception would be if it were his own fumble. If the Eagles started at midfield, threw a pass to Curtis and he ran to the 20 and fumbled, then picked up his own fumble at the 9 and ran it in (with nobody else touching it), it would be scored simply as a 50-yard TD catch. That's how it's outlined in the "GUIDE FOR STATISTICIANS" that the league gives to the official scorers in the press box. So, for your league, I think you'll want to score it in the same way you score a punt or kickoff return.

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A:

In a lot of leagues -- most leagues, I think -- the 1 point per reception applies to all players. And I don't think it works. Its intended purpose is to help make wide receivers more valuable. But instead, it makes starting running backs who catch 40-plus passes gold. That's why I drafted Reggie Bush in the first round in two leagues. He was a guy who could be counted on to catch 70-90 balls, and that makes him very reliable in that format. But I think the way you do it works better. Limit it to wide receivers, then you'll see more variety in the first and second rounds. Those 100-catch guys become viable difference makers. And go ahead and apply it to the tight ends as well. Works the same way. In some leagues, they even give the tight ends more points (since they don't catch as many balls). Another one of the writers here, Andy Richardson, says he's in a league where backs get .5 points for receptions, wideouts get 1 point and tight ends get 1.5, and that supposedly works fairly well. If you start giving points for catches, I think you'll start seeing more tight ends sneaking up into the second, third and fourth rounds. There are a lot of good tight ends out there, however, and that will always hurt their value.

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I think you'll be fine at quarterback. You can pick up Rosenfels, and you'll be OK with him (just make sure late in the week that Matt Schaub isn't playing). Rosenfels has been very good recently, and he'll be going against a Jacksonville defense that probably will be holding out a lot of its regulars. Houston has been pretty tough at home anyway, where it's won its last three, against Tampa Bay, New Orleans and Denver. I think I've got Rosenfels as a top-5 quarterback on my board for this week. As for Reggie Wayne, I'd use him only if I had some confidence that he (and Peyton Manning) were going to play a full first half against the Titans. Right now, I don't think they will. As for whom I would plug in, I'd have to see the list of available receivers in your league. Maybe Evans; maybe some no-name type guy.

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I'd probably keep three running backs. That would pretty much secure that position for you, and you'd still have plenty of flexibility, with about $75 to work with. You'd be able to carefully police the rest of the market on running backs, making sure nobody got away with any steals. You could still add a higher-profile back (and trade one of your three keepers) or you could use your money only on other positions. As for which backs to keep, Gore at $7 looks like a steal. Michael Turner will sign on to be a No. 1 back somewhere; he'll probably be your second or third guy. If Parker is healthy, he's definitely in there. And Maroney would move into the top 3 if something went wrong with one of the other three. Maroney has talent, but he doesn't catch many passes, has problems staying healthy and doesn't get used consistently at the goal line. Johnson probably will be a top 5-10 receiver next year, so if things start heading south with some of those running backs, maybe you keep him instead -- he could be a nice buy at $12. All of this guesswork, of course, comes without knowing how many teams are in your league or what the scoring system is.

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A:

We'll have some playoff products. On Monday, we'll release an overall draft board, showing expected overall value of every player on all 12 playoff teams. That goes out on Monday, Dec. 31. Then, on the next two Wednesdays (Jan. 2 and Jan. 9), we'll have mini newsletters, detailing what we feel will happen in each of the four playoff games on those weekends, with prediction/ranking boards for each of those weeks. All of these products will include rankings with three different scoring systems -- traditional, TD-only and point-per-reception. And there will be Excel files as well, with exact statistical projections for every player.

As for your league and tiebreakers, it looks like your rulebook needs some work. In our league, we used to have a tiebreaker lineup, with coaches ordering their top 5 backup players. The first guy to gain an edge, as those five were compared one by one, would be the winner. Nowadays, we've simplified things. Ties now go to the home team -- whichever team is seeded higher. It's a small reward for doing better in the regular season.

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I'm glad to hear somebody's doing well out there. I went 0-4 in playoff games myself this year. It looks like the only league I'm going to win is an experts challenge hosted by www.fanexfootball.com, but that one's based on overall total points, rather than having teams play games.

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