Over the course of a typical fantasy season, most weeks are predictable. Not in terms of which players are going to do the best, but in terms of the overall scoring framework for the week. Then, you get that a week where everything goes haywire. Four quarterbacks throw for 400+ yards… a tight end goes off for 140+ yards and 3 touchdowns. You get the picture. Week 8 was just such a week. It was quite unique, actually, and one that will stand out for some time. In recognition of that, the Buzz will take a unique approach this week as well.

San Diego @ Denver

Business As Usual: Peyton Manning doing what Peyton Manning does. His yardage is down this year compared to last, but he’s still throwing plenty of TDs (he’s on pace for 50 more of those this season). Ronnie Hillman continues to look like a complete back this and the Chargers wide receiver carousel stayed intact with Keenan Allen breaking out for the better numbers this go-round.

Color Me Surprised: The obvious surprise was Emmanuel Sanders piling up huge yardage totals (120 yards) and finding the end zone three times. As a result, tight end Julius Thomas was quiet for a second straight week. There’s little doubt at this point that Sanders has taken on Wes Welker’s past role and then some, while Welker fades into irrelevancy fantasy-wise after many great years.

Detroit vs. Atlanta

Business As Usual: Julio Jones having a fairly quiet game away from the Georgia Dome. It doesn’t make a ton of sense, but Jones simply isn’t the same player production-wise when he’s playing in a different city…or country in this case. Meanwhile, Golden Tate is absolutely killing it with Megatron still on the shelf. As Detroit’s primary/only receiving option, Tate has now gone off for 116+ yards in four of his last five games. In other words, he’s a sure thing at the moment.

Color Me Surprised: I would have thought that starting Steven Jackson vs. the Lions defense was an act of lunacy, but Jackson’s respectable totals of 60 rushing yards and a TD proved otherwise. On the flip side, I thought Joique Bell vs. the Falcons defense was a match made in heaven. Given that Bush was out, Bell’s day was quite the disappointment as the little known Theo Riddick out-stated him again. Puzzling.

Chicago @ New England

Business As Usual: At this point, Tom Brady putting up big numbers (354 yards, 5 TDs) seems normal again. I don’t know what Bill Belichick told Brady and his team after that embarrassing loss to the Chiefs a month ago, but the change since has been remarkable. Unfortunately, for Brandon Marshall owners, uninspiring stat lines have become the norm this season as Forte remains Chicago’s focal point/producer on offense.

Color Me Surprised: I guess the magnitude of Rob Gronkowski’s performance (149 receiving yards, 3 TDs) was surprising on Sunday, but he’s been trending up for weeks, so you could smell it coming. I’m a little more surprised with the other tight end in this game as I thought his production would be fading by now. Martellus Bennett looked more like the guy we saw in Weeks 1-4 and continues to have a significant role in the offense. As for New England’s most productive running back this week, look no further than to Shane…err…I mean Jonas Gray. Belichick is the new Shanahan.

Buffalo @ NY Jets

Business As Usual: It’s getting harder and harder not to be excited about Sammy Watkins as each week passes. He and Kelvin Benjamin are in a class all by themselves when it comes to rookie wide receivers, although Brandin Cooks is vying to join that party as well. Watkins is making Kyle Orton look great…all that’s left to do is not celebrate touchdowns too early. Don’t think he’ll be doing that again anytime soon.

Color Me Surprised: Geno Smith was awful yesterday. Not a surprise. Michael Vick came in and played unevenly. Not a surprise. Buffalo did very little in the running game with both Jackson and Spiller out. No surprise. I’m not sure anything in this game surprised me. As Dennis Green would say “They were who we thought they were”.

Baltimore @ Cincinnati

Business As Usual: The Bengals owe a lot to Mohamed Sanu this season. Sanu (152 yards from scrimmage on Sunday) just keeps producing a la Golden Tate even though opposing teams know he’s all Cincinnati’s got in terms of talent spread wide. If Calvin Johnson and A.J. Green ever get healthy, you have to wonder if Sanu and Tate will still be the primary options for this season for their respective teams. Also, Joe Flacco’s lousy day? That’s the very definition of Business As Usual since he enjoyed a solid game the previous week.

Color Me Surprised: The obvious surprise from this game was Andy Dalton rushing for two TDs. How much do you want to bet that NEVER happens again? After Steve Smith’s big “revenge” game against Carolina, he has begun to fall silent. Maybe teams are game planning for him again. If so, how do you explain ZERO catches again for Torrey Smith?

Houston @ Tennessee

Business As Usual: Arian Foster continues to be the x-factor that is winning owners a lot of fantasy football games. Foster’s totals resemble what he was in his “prime”, leading many to wonder if maybe he’s still in his prime. Foster’s averages over the past four games: 151 yards and 2 TDs. That’s the best at the position over that span. As for the Titans, the do’s and don’ts of starting their players remains. Don’t. Delanie Walker, maybe, but beyond that…

Color Me Surprised: The Texans game planned to get Andre Johnson the ball early and often…and still couldn’t do it. DeAndre Hopkins is the better fantasy option at this point, although neither inspires week-in, week-out confidence.

Miami @ Jacksonville

Business As Usual: It’s only been two games, but Denard Robinson looks like a solid fantasy option moving forward given that the Dolphins run defense is tight. That being said, team defenses are feasting off of Blake Bortles, who is averaging 2 interceptions a game, several of which have been returned for TDs (including two in this game). Plugging in a defense opposite of Bortles is just sound strategy until he proves he can avoid throwing to the wrong team.

Color Me Surprised: Not too many surprises in this game really, although I thought Charles Clay might continue to re-emerge this week after showing some promise in Week 7. Nope. It was a second straight week of 60+ yards and a TD from the other Robinson in Jacksonville (Allen). He appears to be the only wide receiver option currently worth paying attention to.

St. Louis @ Kansas City

Business As Usual: Now that’s more like it. Jamaal Charles caught 4 passes for only the second time this season and scored multiple TDs (also for the second time this year). The Chiefs have seemingly found their identity once again after a rough start to the season and Charles is going to be the focal point of the offense moving forward. The Rams, meanwhile, resemble the Titans a lot - a fantasy wasteland.

Color Me Surprised: Even with Charles all systems go, Knile Davis (16 carries, 1 TD) is still finding ways to score points. In a closer game, Charles would have received some of Davis’s work, but he remains a decent flex option during the bye weeks and a low-end RB2 at best - not bad for a guy that doesn’t even start on his own NFL team. It was also surprising to see Tre Mason do so little in this game. And with half of his offensive line injured on Sunday, it’s hard to see Mason reaching his potential anytime soon.

Minnesota @ Tampa Bay

Business As Usual: The Buccaneers can’t run the ball and Doug Martin remains one of fantasy football’s biggest disappointments through eight weeks. But, is he any more disappointing at this point than Vincent Jackson (1 rec, 13 yards)? Tune in at the end of the article and I’ll give you the most disappointing player of the season thus far according to the Buzz.

Color Me Surprised: It wasn’t overwhelming, but the 96 yards from scrimmage that Cordarrelle Patterson produced is a slight ray of hope for his owners moving forward. Some may have already purged themselves of Patterson, but I think that would be a mistake at this point if you haven’t. Some of his matchups ahead (CHI, GB) suggest an opportunity to move closer to what most expected him to be this year.

Seattle @ Carolina

Business As Usual: Kelvin Benjamin’s numbers weren’t tremendous (94 receiving yards), but he got them while being blanketed by Richard Sherman all day. Benjamin and Sammy Watkins look like high-impact fantasy receivers for years to come, and this performance only reinforced that belief. Seattle, meanwhile, looks like a team very much dependent on Russell Wilson to make plays. That’s good for Wilson’s fantasy value, but probably not a good multi-year strategy for winning titles.

Color Me Surprised: Greg Olsen’s day was no surprise given Seattle’s concerted effort to keep the ball out of his hands. Another week of low carries, however, for Marshawn Lynch was. The Buzz figured that after three straight weeks of carrying the ball an average of 14 times per game, Lynch was in for a heavy workload. Instead…14 carries again. And 0 TDs again. If Seattle’s intention is to phase Lynch out of their offense, they’re doing a pretty good job so far.

Philadelphia @ Arizona

Business As Usual: If you could have chosen between Jeremy Maclin and Michael Floyd before the season started, who would you have chosen? It’s decisions like that one that can make or break a fantasy season. On Sunday, Maclin continued on his trajectory towards fantasy stardom (187 yards, 2 TDs) while Floyd flopped (0 catches). Floyd’s inability to get involved on a consistent basis in Arizona is frustrating for his owners to say the least. Maybe it’s the John Brown Effect.

Color Me Surprised: It was both surprising and pleasing to see vintage Larry Fitzgerald on Sunday (160 yards receiving, 1 TD). Maybe his performance will roll some more coverage his way. Who knows. I do know that Carson Palmer, despite never getting any points running the football, is actually functioning like a borderline fantasy starter at quarterback. Palmer is averaging 284 yards passing per game played with 2 TDs every time out. That’s pretty solid.

Oakland @ Cleveland

Business As Usual: Brian Hoyer is doing just enough to hang on to his job against a VERY soft schedule thus far this season. His receiving corps continues to include some steady performances, particularly Andrew Hawkins who has 200 yards receiving the past two weeks. James Jones and Andre Holmes, meanwhile, continue to be the kings of late-game, garbage-time points. Both rank top-25 at the wide receiver position in fantasy points scored, but most of their damage comes long after the outcome has been decided. I guess that’s OK if it’s a consistent thing.

Color Me Surprised: I will go as far as to say that I was shocked by the Browns’ lack of production running the ball on Sunday. The last three weeks, Ben Tate has carried the ball 56 times for only 2.5 yards per carry. Isaiah Crowell, meanwhile, is averaging nearly 5 yards per carry for the season to date but only had one carry on Sunday. Terrance West had 7 carries. This situation is a fluid one and bears watching.

King of the Week: Ben Roethlisberger posted 50 fantasy points against the Colts in Week 8.

Indianapolis @ Pittsburgh

Business As Usual: Was anything about this game truly business as usual? I guess Antonio Brown going for 100+ yards and a couple of TDs was. And T.Y. Hilton putting up big numbers on was. And Ahmad Bradshaw scoring a TD and providing exactly what his owners expected/needed from him was. Ditto for Le’Veon Bell. All of that, though, is just the tip of the iceberg…

Color Me Flabbergasted: Big Ben Roethlisberger. Long considered nothing more than a borderline starter in fantasy or at worst, a quality backup, Roethlisberger had one of the best fantasy performances of the last quarter century on Sunday. 500-plus yards and 6 touchdowns was incredible…but I know there were many who had him sitting on the bench Sunday. If so, I feel your pain. Roethlisberger and Andrew Luck combined for 922 passing yards in this game. Wow. There are no words…

Green Bay @ New Orleans

Business As Usual: Mark Ingram looked really good the first two games of the season before getting hurt, so Sunday night’s outburst shocked no one here at the Buzz. His 172 yards rushing came as a result of decisive running and very much helped the Saints get the ball to guys like Brandin Cooks (1 rushing TD, 1 receiving TD) and Jimmy Graham as well. Randall Cobb continues to be Aaron Rodgers’ favorite target and is enjoying the success most thought he would last year if not for getting hurt.

Color Me Surprised: A lot of teams have tried to stop Jordy Nelson this season, but give credit to the Saints for actually doing it. Nelson’s 3 catches for 25 yards was certainly one of the day’s biggest stat line head-scratchers. In his place, Eddie Lacy racked up 123 yards receiving. Say what?

Washington @ Dallas

Business As Usual: DeMarco Murray had his customary day at the office last night with 141 yards rushing on only 19 carries. But, for you PPR guys, he also had 4 receptions for 80 yards. If not for his fumbling issues, I would declare the Cowboys running back Superman at this point. Also business as usual meant more receptions and yards for DeSean Jackson than for Pierre Garcon. At this point, Garcon is the wide receiver to own in Washington.

Color Me Surprised: I’m not sure how much longer Robert Griffin will be out or if Tony Romo can keep his back in working condition. What I do know based on last night is that if either miss time, the offenses for both teams can still function with Brandon Weeden and Colt McCoy at the controls. In addition, it’s always a surprise these days when Jason Witten actually finds the end zone.

And so, with eight weeks now in the books, the Buzz would like to give out a few Mid-Season Awards. Here goes:

TMB’s Fantasy Players of the Year: Andrew Luck, DeMarco Murray
TMB’s Fantasy Rookies of the Year: Tie- Sammy Watkins, Kelvin Benjamin
TMB’s Comeback Players of the Year: Arian Foster, Jeremy Maclin
TMB’s Mr. Consistency For the Year: Ahmad Bradshaw
TMB’s Most Disappointing Fantasy Player: Zac Stacy
TMB’s Biggest Surprise Player of the Year: Antonio Gates

Hope you’ve enjoyed the Buzz thus far. We’ll be back next week for a recap of the week that was- a week that will see six teams on a bye. Ready yourselves…