Ronnie Brown is my third, fourth or fifth running back on a few teams, and I didn't play him in Week 3. I didn't even think twice about it. I knew Brown had been named the starter over Ricky Williams for Sunday's game at New England, but so what? Starting isn't a big deal. Weren't the big, bad Patriots going to overpower noodle-armed Chad Pennington and the lowly Dolphins, making the Miami run game irrelevant, which is what it had been the first two weeks? Matt Cassel was supposed to be the star. Who knew Ronnie Brown would match him and throw half the game's touchdown passes?

The point is, don't feel bad if you're in that group of just about everyone -- 84 percent of Brown's ESPN standard league owners -- who had him on their bench Sunday. I did, too. Really, in a way you had to be a bit desperate to activate him, maybe dealing with injuries or game-time decisions or those other strugglers. Brown is owned in 96 percent of leagues, but was active in only 16 percent. Rather than blame yourself for a foolish decision, call it one of those things impossible to predict.

For the record, Brown had rushed for 48 yards the first two weeks, not even in the top 50 overall, and worse than the now-benched Tarvaris Jackson. If I had to choose between Brown and Williams, yes, I would have gone with Brown, but it was a reach to start him with confidence, or expect the Dolphins to win at New England by 25 points. Of course, that's why they play the games and why nearly a quarter of all entrants in our Elimination game are now, well, eliminated!

Early on it was apparent there was much Brown could do for you, the fantasy owner. He scored three rushing touchdowns by halftime, though his yardage was hardly special. Two of the scoring runs came on direct snaps, with Williams either in motion or in the backfield with him. Then Brown's LaDainian Tomlinson impression went one step further when Brown took another direct snap, rolled left and showed off his lefty arm by finding tight end Anthony Fasano with a 19-yard touchdown pass. What, Brown couldn't find the time to catch a TD pass as well? LT, I think not. Let's not blame Chad Pennington for playing so poorly that Brown had to throw; Pennington threw only three incomplete passes all day. Alas, it is Brown who becomes the better fantasy play moving forward.

The Patriots cut the Miami lead to 28-13 late in the third quarter, and the Dolphins set out to pound the ball with their two-headed running back monster, which had been nonexistent the first two weeks. To that point Brown was obviously having a good day, but then he broke a 62-yarder for a score to open the final quarter. By topping 100 yards and scoring for a tough-to-believe fifth time, Brown's day became the best in fantasy football -- easily -- for this season. His 39 standard league points were 11 more than the No. 2 guy Sunday (Michael Turner). Turner's 34 points in Week 1 were the most for the first two weeks.

So what happens from here? Well, like colleague Matthew Berry, who wrote in his Sunday night TRUM he'd be dangling Brown in trade talks to see what he could get, I would try to trade Brown. Not that Brown isn't capable of future star performances, it's just that they don't happen often. Brown was leading the league in rushing when he tore his ACL last October, so we can at least assume he is back to full health, and that is a great sign in itself. He should remain a capable fantasy asset, a No. 2 running back most weeks I would think, but I'd rather have Turner. Nothing against Brown, but he will have good and bad moments in 2008 as he needs to overcome at times his quarterback, his recovering knee and a potential timeshare of carries. Some people might think Turner has to overcome his quarterback and Jerious Norwood, but I don't agree. Turner has more upside.

The news that Ronnie Brown would start really wasn't up there with the big Sunday pregame talk: Whether or not fantasy owners should start Adrian Peterson, Darren McFadden and LaDainian Tomlinson. Peterson didn't have a big day, but 77 yards isn't embarrassing either. If you disregarded the advice in my noon Sunday chat and used Chester Taylor anyway, hope you enjoyed those six fantasy points. I don't think Taylor will ever be a good play unless Peterson sits out. As for the Raiders, McFadden and Michael Bush combined for nine points. We'll see how LT fares Monday night. Injuries are the great equalizer, and now Philadelphia's top dawg joins this rich club.

So, can we expect the Falcons' Michael Turner to play well only against bad defenses? In home games against the feeble Lions and Chiefs, Turner has rushed for 324 yards and scored five touchdowns. In Week 2 at Tampa Bay he provided four fantasy points. With road games at Carolina and Green Bay ahead, then the Bears and a bye, it might be awhile before Turner carries a fantasy team again, though he remains a solid No. 2 fantasy running back. We'd just like to see him thrive against a good defense. Turner was activated in 91.2 percent of leagues, so most people were paying attention.

Welcome back to relevance, Joseph Addai and Maurice Jones-Drew! With 94 rushing yards between them entering Week 3, these running backs combined for 41 fantasy points Sunday. Addai's second touchdown, with just over a minute to play, topped off a solid game with 78 rushing yards, and gives fantasy owners hope the consensus top-5 overall pick can play like it. Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor did more than that, as each of them topped 100 rushing yards. While some of this was the fault of the Colts, apparently the Jaguars' offensive line is strong again. The only other time this duo each rushed for more than 100 yards in the same game was against the Colts in 2006. If you have a running back facing the Bob Sanders-less Colts run defense coming up, expect big things. After a Week 4 bye, that includes Steve Slaton, Willis McGahee and Ryan Grant.

This Week In Fantasy Football History

By Neil Tardy 1997: Few NFL teams fielded as many fantasy teases as the '97 Oakland Raiders. There was the rifle-armed Jeff George, who'd already idioted his way out of Indianapolis and Atlanta, the blazer Napoleon Kaufman and the equally blazing -- and aptly named -- James Jett. And yet, for this season, each came through for fantasy owners. And for this week, each was huge: George threw for 374 yards and three scores, Kaufman had 148 total yards and Jett had five catches for 148 yards and a pair of TDs. For the year, George threw for 29 scores and put up a league-best 3,917 passing yards, Kaufman amassed almost 1,700 total yards and Jett added 12 receiving touchdowns. But, for what it's worth -- which would be nothing to fantasy owners -- the Raiders lost to the Jets. They won four games in 1997.

While Michael Turner still has to prove he can run wild against a top defense, what does that mean for Jerious Norwood? Twice in three weeks he's fooled fantasy owners with second-half work in a blowout. How many more blowouts are coming, though? … Speaking of fooling people, Eddie Royal was started in 73 percent of ESPN leagues, and he had 11 receiving yards. It just keeps getting worse and worse since Week 1, eh? … Javon Walker caught not one, but two passes! Rejoice! There's very little upside in the Oakland passing game, however. JaMarcus Russell looked terrible. The skinny post Johnnie Lee Higgins turned into a 84-yard touchdown late accounted for more than half Russell's passing yards. … Brandon Lloyd is no star, but he's looked like the top option for Kyle Orton, reaching 124 yards receiving and scoring a TD on Sunday. Even when Devin Hester can play, the sparsely-owned Lloyd could be legit. … We know the Vikings can stop the run, but are they an underrated group against the pass? Jake Delhomme was held in check, and returning Steve Smith caught 70 yards worth of passes, but much of that came in the first quarter. Maybe fantasy owners shouldn't assume the Vikings have a sieve pass defense anymore. … Randy Moss has as many catches the past two weeks as Jabar Gaffney had Sunday. … Even without Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris hardly delivered a fantasy-worthy day, with 27 rushing yards. … Titans Chris Johnson and LenDale White split 32 carries evenly, and White took home fantasy honors with a pair of short touchdowns. People, you might not want to start White, but he's scored four times already. … As expected because it was against the Lions, Frank Gore had a monster day, with 162 total yards and a score. … Edgerrin James still isn't sniffing the end zone, but at least he closed in on 100 rushing yards. He remains a worthy flex play. … Deuce McAllister was active for the Saints, though he didn't touch the football. Pierre Thomas has actually done a nice job on the carries Reggie Bush doesn't get, especially inside the 10-yard line. … Reggie Bush had a tremendous game, catching 11 passes and netting 178 total yards. Teammate Jeremy Shockey, who had eight catches through two weeks, doubled his season total. … If you own Torry Holt you can no longer consider him a weekly play. Might the Rams be this season's Dolphins, searching for a maiden win in December? … Matt Ryan isn't someone you must own in fantasy, but he's only the third quarterback since 1970 whose first two career touchdown passes went for more than 60 yards. Let's hope he has more success than Bubby Brister and Chris Simms. … While Marion Barber ran all over the Packers Sunday night for 142 yards and a score, did anyone notice it was also the third consecutive game rookie Felix Jones found the end zone? He's not a flex play yet, but he isn't just a curiosity, either: Jones can flat-out play.