by Ryan Lester of www.lesterslegends.com

Here’s my Week 8 IDP rankings.

1. Jerod Mayo (NE) vs. MIN:  45 tackles in past three games.
2. Stephen Tulloch (TEN) @ SD:  58 tackles in past five games.
3. Chad Greenway (MIN) vs. NE:  34 tackles in past three games.
4. Brian Cushing (HOU) @ INDY:  17 tackles in past two games.
5. LaRon Landry (WAS) @ DET:  Averaging 9.7 tackles per game this year.
6. Lawrence Timmons (PIT) @ NOL  Averaging 10.3 tackles per game this year.
7. London Fletcher (WAS) @ DET:  Averaging 9.7 tackles per game this year.
8. A.J. Hawk (GB) @ NYJ:  45 tackles in past four games.
9. Patrick Willis (SF) vs. DEN:  Recorded second double-digit tackle game of season.
10. James Anderson (CAR) @ STL:  Averaging ten tackles per game. Read more

Will Beanie Wells finally emerge as the player we hoped he would?  Is there reason to be concerned about the health of Steven Jackson and Knowshon Moreno?  Let’s take a look at all the news surrounding the running backs this week and see how it affects our rankings:

1. Frank Gore – San Francisco 49ers – vs. Denver
2. Arian Foster – Houston Texans – at Indianapolis
3. Steven Jackson – St. Louis Rams – vs. Carolina
4. Chris Johnson – Tennessee Titans – at San Diego
5. Adrian Peterson – Minnesota Vikings – at New England
6. LaDanian Tomlinson – New York Jets – vs. Green Bay
7. Ryan Torain – Washington Redskins – at Detroit
8. Thomas Jones – Kansas City Chiefs – vs. Buffalo
9. Cedric Benson – Cincinnati Bengals – vs. Miami
10. Rashard Mendenhall – Pittsburgh Steelers – at New Orleans Read more

Let’s take a look at how I would rank the Top 15 Kickers for Week 8:

1. Rob Bironas – Tennessee Titans – at San Diego
2. Sebastian Janikowski – Oakland Raiders – vs. Seattle
3. Mike Nugent – Cincinnati Bengals – vs. Miami
4. Matt Prater – Denver Broncos – at San Francisco
5. Josh Scobee – Jacksonville Jaguars – at Dallas
6. Adam Vinatieri – Indianapolis Colts – vs. Houston
7. Kris Brown – San Diego Chargers – vs. Tennessee
8. Nick Folk – New York Jets – vs. Green Bay
9. Dan Carpenter – Miami Dolphins – at Cincinnati
10. Connor Barth – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – at Arizona Read more

Let’s take a look at how I rank the Top 15 defenses for the upcoming week:

1. Pittsburgh Steelers – at New Orleans
2. New York Jets – vs. Green Bay
3. Dallas Cowboys – vs. Jacksonville
4. Washington Redskins – at Detroit
5. St. Louis Rams – vs. Carolina
6. New England Patriots – vs. Minnesota
7. Tennessee Titans – at San Diego
8. Arizona Cardinals – vs. Tampa Bay
9. Kansas City Chiefs – vs. Buffalo
10. Oakland Raiders – vs. Seattle Read more

With all the injuries to quarterbacks, will teams start depending on their tight ends more?  Has Owen Daniels finally rediscovered his form?  Can Tony Moeaki & Dustin Keller play like its Week 3?  Let’s take a look at our current tight end rankings for the coming week:

1. Antonio Gates – San Diego Chargers – vs. Tennessee
2. Vernon Davis – San Francisco 49ers – vs. Denver
3. Jason Witten – Dallas Cowboys – vs. Jacksonville
4. Zach Miller – Oakland Raiders – vs. Seattle
5. Chris Cooley – Washington Redskins – at Detroit
6. Aaron Hernandez – New England Patriots – vs. Minnesota
7. Kellen Winslow – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – at Arizona
8. Owen Daniels – Houston Texans – at Indianapolis
9. Dustin Keller – New York Jets – vs. Green Bay
10. Tony Moeaki – Kansas City Chiefs – vs. Buffalo Read more

There has been too much news this week to wait too long to update our quarterback rankings.  Tony Romo, who originally was ranked second on our rankings, is out for the next six to eight weeks.  Brett Favre, who hasn’t been ruled out yet, is extremely doubtful.

Let’s take a look at how things currently look, though we will again update the rankings later in the week if necessary:

1. Peyton Manning – Indianapolis Colts – vs. Houston
2. Philip Rivers – San Diego Chargers – vs. Tennessee
3. Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers – at New York Jets
4. Tom Brady – New England Patriots – vs. Minnesota
5. Drew Brees – New Orleans Saints – vs. Pittsburgh
6. Carson Palmer – Cincinnati Bengals – vs. Miami
7. Ben Roethlisberger – Pittsburgh Steelers – at New Orleans
8. Matt Schaub – Houston Texans – at Indianapolis
9. Donovan McNabb – Washington Redskins – at Detroit
10. Kyle Orton – Denver Broncos – at San Francisco Read more