They can give your fantasy team a boost

OK, three weeks are in the books.

At this point, you should have your team's strengths and weaknesses pretty well figured out.

As for filling in those holes -- and to combat the byes, which begin this week -- this is a good time to scour the waiver wire for players who may help long term.

Most of the help comes off the wide receiver scrap heap, but there may be a gem or two lurking among the running backs too.

Let's hit the wideouts first:

And since Eagles WR Kevin Curtis (3 TDs, 221 receiving yards last week) has almost certainly been swooped up by someone in your league by now, here's the best of the rest …

• Roddy White, Atlanta. Yards by week: 29-81-127 with a TD. While it's normally a bad idea to own any Falcons, White has become a favorite target of Joey Harrington. White's a talented receiver waiting to break out; it's just been a matter of him putting it together. I'm not expecting miracles here, but he's worth a shot because he is Atlanta's No. 1 WR.

• Greg Jennings, Green Bay. Yards last week: 82 with a TD. Jennings, who flashed his vast potential last year, just came back after nursing a hamstring injury the first two weeks. He could be good for another 5-7 TDs, but he sat out practice Thursday. Maybe wait a week to see if he can stay healthy.

• Bobby Engram, Seattle. Yards by week: 64-71-62 with a TD. Engram will never post flashy numbers, but there's something to be said for a third wide receiver who gets you 5-8 points (in leagues with 1 point per 10 yards) and an occasional score.

• Nate Burleson, Seattle. Yards by week: 41-39-76 with 2 TDs. With D.J. Hackett on the shelf with a high ankle sprain, Burleson has stepped up big time. He won't be as consistent as Engram, but could post an eye-popping game or two until Hackett returns.

• Shaun McDonald, Detroit. Yards by week: 90-71-76 with 2 TDs. In the pass-happy Lions offense, there are plenty of balls to go around.

• Derrick Mason, Baltimore. Yards by week: 76-54-79 with a TD. These numbers may not continue as teammate Mark Clayton continues to get healthier. Still, it's good to see Mason posting solid numbers again.

• Marty Booker, Miami. Yards by week: 20-79-60 with a TD. Statistically, Booker is almost Engram's clone.

• Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City. Yards by week: 42-22-71 with 2 TDs. He's a real flier, but having scored in consecutive weeks means you should consider him -- especially on a team that hasn't been able to run the ball.

• Brandon Jones, Tennessee. Yards by week: 6-57-73 with a TD. A sleeper in some drafts, it appears Jones may be ready to get it done.

And the running backs:

• Brian Leonard, St. Louis. If, by some miracle, he's not taken in your league, GET HIM NOW! He'll play at least one week in Steven Jackson's absence.

• Sammy Morris, New England. He's killing Laurence Maroney owners, and he's better in scoring leagues.

• Najeh Davenport, Pittsburgh. If you are dying for bye-week help, Davenport could help for a game. He's rushed for 43, 46 and 47 yards with a touchdown.

• Earnest Graham, Tampa Bay. Now here's a guy to grab and stash away, hoping big dividends appear in midseason. Graham is a fourth-year player whom Bucs coach Jon Gruden was raving about after seeing him run for a pair of touchdowns in a 24-3 win over St. Louis last week. "Obviously, now we have to put our minds together and figure out how to get Earnest more involved because clearly he's also deserving of the football." Gruden said. Gruden, however, also went on to say he's completely committed to starter Carnell Williams, and even Michael Pittman. It's obviously an odd situation right now and one worth tracking.

My teams: I caught the break of the century last week. My opponent, who had Donovan McNabb (4 TD passes, 381 yards, 32 fantasy points) decided to pull him at 11:59 a.m. Sunday and replace him with … Ben Roethlisberger! Big Ben managed just 7 points, and the result was a 64-47 victory in my unit league, where I'm (a miraculous) 3-0. In my regular league, I made the right call to sit the Rams' Marc Bulger (3 INTs) in favor of the Seahawks' Matt Hasselbeck (3 TDs). That led to a 110-77 victory and a 2-1 record.

Good bets

• Texans defense vs. Atlanta. Houston's D was probably undrafted in 99 percent of fantasy leagues, but it has shown promise thus far. This is a great matchup, especially in leagues that award bonus points for low-scoring games.

• Bears WR Bernard Berrian vs. Detroit. Did you see what Kevin Curtis did to the Lions last week? As long as Brian Griese can throw the ball more than 40 yards, Berrian could have a field day.

• Lions QB Jon Kitna and WR Shaun McDonald vs. the Bears. Have no fear of starting Kitna against a banged-up defense. McDonald should continue to post nice numbers.

• Patriots RB Laurence Maroney vs. Cincinnati. Mark my words: Maroney finds the end zone for the first time this season against the toothless Bengals.

• Jets QB Chad Pennington vs. Buffalo. OK, I'm 1-for-3 on my sleepers now. I like Pennington this week against a sickly Bills defense. Watch for 240 yards and 2 TDs.

Bad bets

• Bears defense vs. Detroit. It's not an awful bet, but those injuries have scared me for at least a week, especially against a Lions team that throws the ball all over the field. Could Detroit put up 30-plus on Bob Babich's unit?

• Browns RB Jamal Lewis vs. Baltimore. Two weeks ago, Super Fan Dan and I told everybody to sit Lewis on our Sunday morning show. He promptly went out and had a 200-yard game. This week -- I swear! -- I'm right.

• Rams RB Brian Leonard vs. Dallas. Desperate owners can feel free to start Leonard, who figures to get at least 15 touches starting for Steven Jackson. But I don't see more than 50-75 yards in a game that could get out of hand quickly.

• Seahawks WR Deion Branch and QB Matt Hasselbeck vs. San Francisco. I see the Seahawks really struggling in this game. Branch will have problems getting open against stud CB Nate Clements. Hasselbeck will be lucky to throw more than 1 TD pass.