Fantasy football players must now deal with an added challenge: the bye weeks. That means replacing top players in your lineups, starting with those from Seattle and Green Bay, where the Packers looked better on offense last week.There are always quality options if you worked waivers cleverly and were fortunate enough to avoid many significant injuries.---BIG BIRDSIf you are looking to replace some Packers such as Aaron Rodgers and Jordy Nelson, Baltimore is a good place to start. The Ravens host the Raiders, who are allowing an NFL-worst 340 passing yards per game. Joe Flacco should have a minimum of two TD passes and a resurgent Mike Wallace already has three TD receptions. The Redskins are another passing game to target for production, as they face Cleveland, which has allowed 294.3 passing yards per game and seven TD receptions. Kirk Cousins may be available as a free agent or trade bargain. Wideout Jamison Crowder caught six balls in each of his first two games and has scored in consecutive weeks.---RUNNING WITH ROOKIESEddie Lacy is on a bye and many managers have been dealing with running back injuries and bad performances. But there is a pair of alternatives to consider in this weeks Lions-Bears matchup. Rookie Jordan Howard takes over as the starter for the Bears because of Jeremy Langfords ankle injury, but Langford was in danger of losing his grip on the starting job even before he was hurt. Howard had a 36-yard run last week and caught four passes for 47 yards, displaying his potential. Consider him a pretty good plug-in at your flex spot. Another first-year performer, Dwayne Washington, may be needed to play a larger role after Theo Riddick rushed for nine yards on 10 carries in Week 3. The Bears have allowed 142.7 rushing yards per game, so Washington could offer a nice return if you start him as your second running back or flex player.---KEEPING THE FAITHThree notable wide receivers, Julio Jones, Brandin Cooks and Kelvin Benjamin, all hurt their fantasy owners badly last week. Jones caught one pass, Cooks caught two balls for 13 yards, and Benjamin was shut out. When top WRs get shut down or are quiet in a given week, their teams often make a strong effort to get them the ball in the next game. Jones is a bit banged up, but scored in each of the first two weeks. Cooks faces the Chargers, who have surrendered 322 passing yards per game, and Benjamin draws the Falcons, who have allowed an NFL-high 10 TD passes.---PROVE IT AGAIN, PRYORTerrelle Pryor played the Slash role so well last week, Kordell Stewart might be envious. He caught eight passes for 144 yards, rushed for 21 yards and a TD, and even threw for 35 yards. Before we get too excited, though, lets remember that Pryor has bounced in and out of the league since 2011 and only fully remade himself into a WR this season. Now that opponents have seen what he is suddenly capable of, he is going to get increased defensive attention. You should remain skeptical, and dont start Pryor over a more proven player yet. If he draws some Josh Norman in coverage this week, hell have to show he can truly earn his receiving numbers.---ARIZONA IMPLOSIONCarson Palmer threw four interceptions in what seemed like a very friendly matchup at Buffalo last week. This week he draws the Rams, who have one interception. Los Angeles has only allowed four TD passes, but Palmer does have a good amount of weapons and should be able to bounce back at home. Even though this is a divisional game, and those can be tough battles, Palmer should be good for at least a respectable fantasy performance.---TRADE TODD?After a pair of mediocre outings to open the season, Todd Gurley rushed for 85 yards and two TDs at Tampa Bay last week. Now he faces the Cardinals, who were torn up by LeSean McCoy for 110 yards and two TDs last week. Arizona is going to key heavily on Gurley and he may also get out of the game flow if the matchup becomes one-sided. There will be more disappointing performances ahead for Gurley, so trade him coming off the good game if you can before Sunday.---HIGH FLYING FALCONSFans saw the Atlanta RBs soar on Monday at New Orleans, as Devonta Freeman totaled over 200 yards from scrimmage and Tevin Coleman rushed for three TDs. The pairing may have arrived as the best 1-2 combo at RB in the league, but this weeks opponent, Carolina, has allowed only 90.3 rushing yards per game and three TDs. Temper expectations on both players this week and realize that it could be a different guy every week outpointing the other statistically. Last week was fun, but could prove to be quite the anomaly. With the state of RB in fantasy right now, though, reliability is not easy to come by and you can continue to start both guys for their considerable upside.---SCORCH THE SAINTSThe corollary to the Falcons success is fantasy players should be checking to face the Saints every week, as their defense once again looks beyond terrible (448.3 yards per game allowed), and was depleted as well last week. This week its San Diego, so while the run defense is the worst in the league and that bodes well for Melvin Gordon, you should start WRs Travis Benjamin and Tyrell Williams with confidence, and even consider TE Hunter Henry if you need help at the position.---This column was provided to The Associated Press by the Fantasy Sports Network, http://FNTSY.com . Cheap Penguins Jerseys . 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But he said he did nothing improper when he sold those shares over the next two days. With the World Cup of Hockey quickly approaching -- the tournament starts Sept. 17 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto -- ESPN.com spoke with Team Canada forward and New York Islanders captain John Tavares about the upcoming best-on-best tournament, plus his future in New York and what fans should expect from the Islanders.ESPN.com: What will it be like for you to play for your country again, but this time in your hometown of Toronto?Tavares: Not many guys get that opportunity at this level. Obviously, its a best-on-best tournament, which we dont see often, and for me to be able to play in my home country and my hometown, both of those experiences are going to be pretty special, so I want to take advantage of it. I played [in] the world juniors in Ottawa, which was something special, and Im sure [the World Cup] is going to be a little different, but its going to be a tremendous experience being able to play in my hometown.ESPN.com: How are you preparing this offseason for the World Cup?Tavares: You lose two and a half weeks that you usually have [of training camp] and also the intensity you usually have three or four weeks into the regular season once you start training camp. So the tournament starts 10 days, or just over a week, after you start camp, so everything is accelerated, everything is kind of shortened. So the way I approached the summer, I wanted to start skating a little bit more in general, even without the World Cup. I wanted to make some adjustments to the way I was approaching training in the summer, at least compared to last year.Every year, I try to assess where Im at and see what I need and whats the best way to approach the upcoming season. I think, for me, it worked hand-in-hand; I wanted to be on the ice a little bit more. I wanted to shore some things up in the gym. I wanted to keep my quality high, so I wasnt burning myself out, and its just as important to make sure you get time to rest and recover. As much as you want to be ramping it up, as long as your quality is high and youre on the ice three or four days a week, as long as you take those days to recover to take care of your body to make sure youre fresh, and mentally youre in a good place as well. Thats the way I try to approach it, so it kind of went hand-in-hand with what I was trying to do, but it was imperative to make sure that you werent doing too much as the same time.ESPN.com: Why did you decide to change your offseason routine?Tavares: Looking back, I had the knee injury in Sochi a couple of years ago, and that really gave me six or seven months to really train for the next season, which was a great season for our team and for myself as well. I felt very good. Last summer, going into last season, I got sick really early in the year, and after that it seemed to take me a couple of weeks to really recover from that, and I wonder, as I was thinking back and looking back at the season, I just wonder if maybe, not that I think I did too much, but it was imperative that I made sure I got enough rest for the following season and really let my body recover. So, I just tried to be smart when I started back up this summer in the gym. I just took it slowly with a real big recovery type of approach, and I just wanted to skate earlier because I wanted to be on the ice and have my feel. I thought that was important to have and as long as my quality is really high in the gym, I dont think I had to do as much to stay in really good shape because then if Im getting really good work in the gym, then I go on the ice and Im able to get quality on the ice -- a lot of good cardio, a lot of good conditioning -- I thought the two would mix really well and it would serve me best at staying fresh, staying sharp and being able to work on different things during the year.ESPN.com: You mentioned your knee injury during the Sochi Olympics -- what it was like to watch the semifinal and final games as Team Canada won the gold medal?Tavares: It was very hard. I wanted to be out there, obviously. I just tried to be supportive, be a good teammate and tried to stay out of the way a little bit as well, especially on game days when guys are getting into their routines and getting focused. Being part of that for the first four or five games of the tournament, you start to get into a rhythm a little bit, but being hurt youre not in that type of mindset. They usually say youre nervous, or I feel this way, too, you feel nervous when youre not [playing], you dont have any control. But we had played so well and we were so strong defensively and controlled the game so well throughout the tournament, I never really felt like we were ever going to lose. I just felt so strongly about our team and we just kept getting better each and every game and overcame some of those crucial moments in some of those tight games. But for sure, those are the games and the moments you want to be a part of -- semifinal and Olympic final -- because playing for your country is something sppecial.dddddddddddd Unfortunately, those circumstances happen, and you cant change that. I was still a part of winning Olympic gold, but hopefully this time around, I get that opportunity.ESPN.com: What type of party do you think your hometown of Toronto will be able to put on during this tournament?Tavares: I think its going to be great. I think we know what a big hockey city it is and you get the best-on-best players in the world playing for their country, and obviously with some unique twists to the tournament with a couple of different types of teams, and the PA and the league really want to continually keep this event going on a regular type of schedule where we can keep building this event and keep making it bigger and bigger and really something guys will enjoy playing in, and itll be a great event for our fans and to keep growing the game. I think this is really only the beginning, and Toronto is a great place to start.ESPN.com: How do you think Team North America, the under-24 team, will fare in this type of tourney?Tavares: I dont think there will be as much expectation for a team like that, so theyre going to come out with a lot of energy and a lot of enthusiasm. As a young kid, youre still learning your way through the NHL, and being part of a best-on-best tournament, that excitement and that opportunity some of those guys are going to thrive on. Theres no question the future of the game looks very good. Theres so many great young players, and some of those players arguably should be playing for their countries, so I know that would be a tough thing to understand if I had to play against Team Canada, or not playing for your country is a little different type of feel, but Im sure theyll be excited to play and bring that enthusiasm and their skill sets.ESPN.com: During the tournament, there will be special chips in pucks and on the players to track puck speed and trajectory, along with player speed, time on ice and other advances to the game for the broadcast. What do you think of these advances to the game?Tavares: Technology has really come a long way, especially in sports. Sports science has really come a long way. A lot of people talk about analytics, but I think a lot of that has been followed more than people realize, but certainly with technology now it allows you to track that stuff a little bit more. The sports science side, the medical side as well, has come a long way, so to add it into game action I dont think is surprising. The game, and sports in general, is heading in that direction. Itll be a unique way to understand the game and follow and be able to get some insight on some different things.ESPN.com: Switching gears, its rare for a player to stay with one organization for his entire career. Theres been plenty of chatter recently that when your contract expires after the 2017-18 season, you could sign with another team. What would it mean for you to remain with the Islanders for the rest of your career?Tavares: I think it would be special for any player, let alone myself. Obviously, its come up over the last couple of months, but for me Im trying to be business as usual. Im just trying to prepare for this upcoming season. Ive always shown my commitment there. Ive always enjoyed playing there, living there, and I cant tell you the support that Ive gotten, either from the organization, from our fan base, and Im very fortunate to have that. And we have an incredible bunch of guys. We obviously lost some key pieces, but we added some good pieces this year. Weve had a very similar coaching staff for a long time, and theres some stability there. Im just trying to approach it one day at a time and focus on the upcoming season. Obviously, I would love to remain in one place your whole career and thats what you hope for; whether that happens, you never know with the way things go, but certainly thats my desire, and would love for it to work out that way.ESPN.com: New majority owners Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin seem to be committed to bringing a Stanley Cup championship back to the Islanders. What is your sense?Tavares: Yeah, I certainly sense the same thing. They are showing, right off the bat, youre seeing the moves they made in free agency and them being active and being a little bit vocal as well, theyre trying to show their commitment. They have our organization on board. They have our fan base on board, and [ownership] has the same vision and same goal everyone else has, and thats to win a Stanley Cup and be competitors. Certainly, theyve shown that passion and when you see that from ownership at the top, that trickles all the way down to the players and youll see our fan base really grab on to that. Our fans are such loyal people, and theyre proud to have their Islanders and it means a lot to them. So, to have somebody care as much as they do goes a long way. ' ' '