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If you consider the past five seasons to be the boom years of fantasy football's emergence into mainstream popularity, then it's hard to argue Seattle's Shaun Alexander being the premier fantasy player of the era.
Alexander's numbers in Sunday's win against St. Louis - 33 carries for 165 yards and three touchdowns - are the kind that all but lock up a win for a fantasy team. For the season, Alexander has a career-best 17 rushing touchdowns, and Sunday's game was his fifth with 140 or more yards and his fifth multitouchdown game.
Touchdowns are the true currency of fantasy success, and Alexander has shown unprecedented consistency in being able to find the end zone. He's the only player in NFL history to score 15 or more touchdowns in five consecutive seasons, and San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson 's current run is the only other stretch to reach four years.
In those five seasons, Alexander has 87 touchdowns, and Kansas City's Priest Holmes (83) and Tomlinson (75) are the only players within 25 scores of Alexander. With two games against a dreadful San Francisco defense in the next four weeks, he could demolish Holmes' NFL season record of 27 touchdowns, though Tomlinson is only two scores behind him.
Seattle's 7-2 record, combined with its sweep of the Rams, gives the Seahawks essentially a four-game lead in the NFC West. But with Carolina also at 7-2 and four NFC teams at 6-3, the Seahawks should be playing meaningful games through the season's final week, making it more likely in December that Alexander will give fantasy owners the success they've been enjoying.
THANK GOODNESS: Those cursed bye weeks are done, so you'll have a full lineup to choose from the rest of the way. It's still important to stay active on the waiver wire; the hot player you add and stash on your bench is a player your opponent can't pick up and start against you. If you're carrying a backup kicker or defense, dump them and upgrade your bench options at running back and receiver.
STILL, DON'T DO IT: Only four players have scored more touchdowns in the past four weeks than the Bucs' Mike Alstott (three), but keep those pewter emotions in check. He's still a questionable fantasy starter at best, and the 21 yards he rushed for Sunday represented a season high.
Quarterback Chris Simms , coming off a three-touchdown game, is slightly more tempting, considering he has thrown for 250-plus yards in all three of his starts. A healthy Michael Clayton would help his stock, but Simms is too young and unproven to trust, even with a spot start.
THIS AND THAT: With Thomas Jones (ribs) and rookie Cedric Benson (knee) dinged up, Chicago's Adrian Peterson could be a strong play. He had 120 yards Sunday, more than in any of his first three seasons, but the Bears are a playoff team with a rookie quarterback, so they'll be leaning hard on whoever their starting running back is down the stretch. ... To my fellow Terrell Owens owners: Keep him on your roster until you hear something definitive about him not playing the final five weeks of the season with the Eagles. His six touchdown receptions are still fourth best in the league, even with his recent suspension. ... Lions receiver Roy Williams got three touchdowns and 117 yards Sunday, and if you started him (after injuries kept him without a catch for four weeks), I wish I had your game-day lineup instincts. ... Packers rookie running back Sam Gado 's three touchdowns and 103 rushing yards are great for his out-of-nowhere story, but you really won't want him starting for you at the end of the year. He finishes the season at Baltimore, then against the league's two stingiest rush defenses, Chicago and Seattle, who have each allowed two rushing TDs. Then again, chances are if you're in your fantasy league's title game, you aren't relying too much on the Sam Gados of the NFL.
--Times staff writer Greg Auman writes a weekly fantasy football column. Have a lineup question or a comment? E-mail him at auman@sptimes