Tradeoff: Funny what one week will do

The Tradeoff gives our Scott White a chance to react to actual trades made in CBSSports.com Fantasy leagues, declaring a winner for each trade after weighing the pros and cons for each side.

You more likely had Matt Schaub starting this week than Aaron Rodgers.

Kind of hurts, doesn't it?

But you know you made the right move. Rodgers might not have played at all with a sprained shoulder, and news of Schaub's illness didn't break until Sunday morning, when many of you still had your heads buried in your pillows, resting up from a night on the town.

Hey, some people get busy over the weekend -- not me, but some people.

So while Rodgers spent his Sunday afternoon throwing three touchdown passes, Schaub spent it simply throwing up. And you spent it throwing breakable objects around your living room.

But instead of dwelling on all those lost points from this past Sunday, stop and look at what Rodgers' performance means for future Sundays. He just had close to his best game at a time when his stock was falling. Sure, he got off to that hot start at the beginning of the season, but over the last two weeks, he had 165 yards passing in one game and zero touchdown passes in the other. He needed a performance like Sunday's to once and for all solidify his place among the top Fantasy quarterbacks. And the fact his performance came with a sore shoulder makes it all the more impressive.

So I think we can come to a hands-down agreement on Rodgers now: Throwing multiple touchdowns in three of five games elevates him to top-five status. But of greater relevance to this column, what does it do to his trade value?

As with all the teams featured in this column, the names have been changed to protect the ignorant:

Trade No. 1: Come on ... someone has to need a quarterback
The Stage Hands get: Aaron Rodgers
The Toothaches get: Maurice Jones-Drew

If I had to guess, I'd say the owner of the Toothaches had Rodgers rotting on his bench, tried to trade him for weeks, and after those three touchdowns Sunday, finally got his wish -- or so he thinks.

Let's face it: Steve Slaton would be a second-round pick if you held a draft today. (US Presswire)

Here's the problem: That tricky Jones-Drew might just end up doing him more harm than good.

Because now that he has him, he'll feel obligated to start him, which leaves him vulnerable to numbers so scant he might as well not have started anybody.

Jones-Drew is a gimmick. He's not the Jaguars primary rusher, and he's obviously not their primary receiver. He enters the backfield in certain formations or certain situations and can occasionally string together enough big plays to have a big game. But so far, he's only had one such game in five chances, collecting no more than 50 yards in any of the other four.

I understand the upside. I understand -- and to a certain extent, believe -- he might pick up his play down the stretch. But I'd only trade for him now if I could afford to stash him on my bench and pray for a turnaround, and unless the owner of the Toothaches can look me in the eye and say that's exactly what he plans to do, I have to advise against him trading Rodgers for that particular running back.

Of course, the Jaguars play the Broncos in Week 6, so maybe the Toothaches shouldn't bench Jones-Drew just yet.

See!? That's the problem!

Winner: The Stage Hands for getting a top-five Fantasy quarterback with a piece that has done nothing for them so far.

But notice I said that particular running back. Let's try another, shall we?

Trade No. 2: Three more touchdowns? Time to unload
The Netherlands get: Aaron Rodgers
The Scrabble Tiles get: Steve Slaton

You know who isn't a gimmick? Slaton.

He's the guy -- not just a cog in the Texans offense, but a whole half of it. He's started each of the last three games and totally looked the part, piling up four touchdowns over that span and collecting no fewer than 96 yards in any one game.

So forget his draft position. Forget he opened the season as Ahman Green's backup and forget he's a rookie. He deserves to start every week in Fantasy, and if you redid your league's draft today, he'd probably go in the second round.

Would Rodgers go in the second round? Check again where Drew Brees and Tony Romo went. It might surprise you.

The Scrabble Tiles probably drafted Rodgers as their backup, but even if they didn't and this trade leaves them with a combination of Jason Campbell and Matt Schaub to lead their offense, the opportunity to get a consistent 100-yard running back makes this trade worth making.

Winner: The Scrabble Tiles for using an extra quarterback to get a breakout, must-start running back.

Trade No. 3: Live and die by Addai
The Nine Lives get: Ronnie Brown, Lee Evans and Steve Slaton
The Training Wheels get: Joseph Addai and Jerricho Cotchery

I haven't quit on Addai. He still scores touchdowns, averages a good 3.5 yards per carry -- OK, it'll improve -- and, most importantly, gets pretty much every touch out of the Colts' backfield.

But by now, I have to think Brown and Slaton have equaled him in terms of value, if not surpassed him. Brown looked like the best running back in football last year before hurting his knee, so his 238 yards rushing and five touchdowns over the last two weeks don't come without precedent and will likely, at least to some degree, continue. Do I expect as much from Addai? I'm not so sure.

But because of the lingering concerns about Brown's knee, I wouldn't trade him straight-up for Addai, which is where Slaton enters the equation. I pretty much made my case for him in Trade No. 2, saying he looks like a safe bet for 100 yards more often than not. Again, I wouldn't trade him straight-up for Addai because he doesn't have much of a track record, but when coupled with Brown, I wouldn't think twice about pulling the trigger.

And when you throw in Evans, who actually has more points than Cotchery so far, you could argue the trade works even more in the Nine Lives' favor. Personally, I might prefer Cotchery because I think he'll end up with more catches as Brett Favre finds his footing, which means more opportunities for yards and touchdowns (Evans can't possibly sustain his averages), but I wouldn't let that preference break a deal that would potentially land me two full-time running backs.

Winner: The Nine Lives for perhaps doubling Addai's output with two lesser-known backs.

Trade No. 4: A rolling Moss gathers lots of trade offers
The Good Times get: Randy Moss
Various other teams get: LaDainian Tomlinson OR Earnest Graham OR Clinton Portis OR Reggie Bush OR Steve Slaton

Bet you wish you waited to trade Moss, don't you?

Look what you could have gotten. Look at all you could have gotten after just one game like the 16 he had last year.

The Patriots have too many smart coaches for you to think they wouldn't find a way to get the football to their most explosive player. They turned the reigns loose on Matt Cassel this past week, and look what happened: Moss suddenly had a huge role again, picking up 111 yards on five catches. I've held steadfast to the belief you shouldn't trade Moss, but if that one performance can snag you a running back like the ones listed above, go for it.

Because the fact remains he doesn't have Tom Brady throwing to him anymore. He won't have 100-yard games every week. He'll have them sometimes, enough that you'll want to keep him active and not trade him for some dopey player like Thomas Jones or Jonathan Stewart, but not enough that he'll finish as one of the top five receivers in Fantasy Football.

But the fire sale on Moss has its limits for me. Elsewhere, someone traded Moss for Phillip Rivers. In that case, I'd just stick with Moss.

Winner: All those other teams for waiting until Moss regained his value to trade him, thereby getting something significant in return.

Trade No. 5: You mean he can't have three touchdowns every week?
The Iconic Arrangements of Grunge Metal get: Torry Holt and Philip Rivers
The Plastic Representations of Colonel Mustard get: Ryan Grant and Steve Smith

Three weeks into the season, Rivers looked like as much of a breakout quarterback as Jay Cutler. He had three touchdown passes in each of his first three games, seemingly taking the next step forward in his NFL career after a modest 3,152-yard campaign.

But in the two weeks that followed, he crawled back into his shell, average 169.5 yards and one touchdown pass per game.

And you can expect to see more of those numbers in the future. Sure, Rivers will have his occasional big games where he has to lead the Chargers back with his arm, but as long as LaDainian Tomlinson has lightning bolts running down the side of his legs, Rivers is secondary, kind of like the Euphrates to the Tigris.

The Chargers -- and, in general, Norv Turner offenses -- lean on the running game and turn to the quarterback to fill in the missing yardage. Even with Tomlinson struggling, they've taken the same approach this year, which means while Rivers deserves to start in most Fantasy leagues, he's more of a do-no-harm quarterback than one who can carry a team on his own.

Steve Smith and Ryan Grant might just carry a Fantasy team, though. Smith has already reclaimed his role as Jake Delhomme's favorite target after serving a suspension the first two games of the season, catching six passes for 96 yards each of the last two weeks. And even though calling Grant a game-changing Fantasy running back sounds a bit loony considering he has yet to rush for 100 yards or a touchdown this season, he has to break out eventually given the way the Packers use him. He had 18 carries this past week to Brandon Jackson's two, so he doesn't have to worry about a split backfield, and the Packers coaches obsessed so much about his hamstring injury early in the season that they actually discouraged him from running hard. He has the green light now, though, and over the next few weeks, you can expect him to emerge as a legitimate No. 2 Fantasy running back.

So we're talking about a No. 2 running back and a No. 2 wide receiver for a do-no-harm quarterback and Holt, who plays for that sinking ship in St. Louis? Again, I say no contest.

Winner: The Plastic Representations of Colonel Mustard for trading the unreliable for the reliable.

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