First, a quick word on the Sunday night game that everyone’s been talking about. Every sportswriter in the country feels the need to weigh in on Bill Belichick’s decision last night to go for it on fourth-and-two from his own 28 yard line, up 34-28 with no timeouts and two minutes left.

Those who agree with the call cite the fact that Peyton Manning was going to score, whether it was from the Pats’ 30 or the Colts’ 10; he was that good last night, as he always is. But I think this was the wrong call, and here’s why: the Pats had no safety valve if they hadn’t made the play. If they had been up by seven, I would say go for it because at least they could have a shot at overtime. If they had timeouts, I would say go for it because then they can stop the clock and have a chance to score after the Colts did. That gamble was far too illogical, and they did deserve to get burned for it.

That said, here are some fantasy revelations from an excruciating week. Want to weigh in on the fantasy analysis or on Belichick’s decision? E-mail us at sports@bupipedream.com.

JAY CUTLER — Well, you knew he was a turnover machine. Cutler’s 300-yard day was demolished by five picks, no touchdowns and a loss. With 17 picks through nine games (not to mention seven fumbles), it’s far beyond the point that you can ignore it. Bench his erratic ass if you have better options; if you don’t, then be ready for the turnovers.

AARON RODGERS — OK, I love this guy. I took a big chance on him and it paid off; coming into this week he was the No. 1 fantasy quarterback in terms of points. But in each of the past two games, his stats have been salvaged by a rushing touchdown. His offensive line cannot protect him, and with five turnovers in those past two games compared with just six in his first seven games, it’s starting to show.

PIERRE THOMAS — Uh-Oh. Weeks after I bashed Reggie Bush for being over-hyped and useless, he scored two touchdowns while Thomas had just 37 yards on 11 carries. The Saints may trust Bush enough to keep Thomas out of the mix; bench him until you see otherwise.

LEE EVANS — The only bright spot on a lowly team, Evans finally rewarded patient owners with a two-touchdown day. Don’t look now, but he’s got four touchdowns in his last four games. But is he worth starting? If he’s in a Bills uniform, not really.

SANTONIO HOLMES — Last year’s Super Bowl hero has had modest stats in the yardage department, but it’s alarming that on a pass-first team, he hasn’t seen the end zone since Week 1. He’s got potential, but trust in the red zone is apparently not something that he’s earned yet.

DONOVAN MCNABB — We’re starting to see consistent production out of him, including a nice 450-yard outburst in Week 10. In this pass-first offense, the often overlooked McNabb could really do your team some good.

BRANDON MARSHALL — Did you notice that this guy has 255 total yards and two scores in the past two games? He’s Kyle Orton’s favorite target, and with some ultra-soft matchups coming up, Marshall should remain in your starting lineup despite the periodical slumps that he has seen this year.

NATE BURLESON — What a mystery. He caught 13 passes for 164 yards in the past two weeks, then didn’t catch a single ball in five targets against Arizona, while T.J. Houshmandzadeh was targeted a whopping 17 times. He’s a high-risk, decent reward play in your lineup; be careful.

BRAYLON EDWARDS — This one’s a tough call. He has good chemistry with Mark Sanchez, and his yardage totals are decent, but he’s only found the end zone twice and was only targeted five times against the Jaguars, while Jerricho Cotchery was targeted 11 times. He could be a fantasy beast if Sanchez got him the football more.

JAMAAL CHARLES — Yep, this is the guy you want! I was right about him weeks ago when I told you he’d be my guy in Kansas City, and yeah, he was playing against Oakland so the rushing totals are probably the best he’ll have this year, but at least you have the opportunity to grab a team’s feature back off waivers, even if the team sucks. That’s not a bad opportunity this late in the year. Pick him up.

KNOWSHON MORENO — Moreno showed us what he could do again this week, compiling 104 all-purpose yards on 20 touches. But the Broncos won’t put the kid in the end zone! That’s the only concern with Moreno, but it makes him a really risky play, especially against stout defenses (Pittsburgh held him to three yards).

DONNIE AVERY — I drafted him in two leagues this year, confident that he would step into his No. 1 receiver role and play well. He didn’t. I held onto him for nine weeks and finally lost faith and dropped him, just in time to watch him score twice against the Saints. Is he worth picking up? If you’ve got roster space, then yeah. But the upside is still quite low here.

ALEX SMITH and VINCE YOUNG — Here are two young quarterbacks with a lot in common. Both were drafted to be their team’s quarterback of the future, and both failed rather miserably in their first opportunities. But they’re finding redemption, as Young is 3-0 as a starter and Smith is throwing the ball efficiently and getting good numbers. Fantasy relevance? None really. Smith might be worth a look if you’re desperate, but Young isn’t. Just because quarterbacks are winning doesn’t make them viable in a fantasy lineup.

KEVIN SMITH — OK, I really love Smith. He’s the kind of guy that can make something out of nothing, make fantasy points out of poor circumstances. But the truth is that he hasn’t seen the end zone since Week 4. Yeah, he’s gotten at least eight points in every single game he’s played in this year, even with a busted shoulder, and his consistency is what I love about him. He runs hard with a poor Detroit team and catches passes out of the backfield with great skill. If he could get into the end zone more often, he would be a top-15 NFL fantasy running back. But for now, he’s a low-risk, low-reward kind of player.