I'm not sure what things are like where you live, but here in Charlotte there's no gasoline. Most stations are out, and the ones that get shipments have lines of 50 cars in front of them immediately. I hope Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith are carpooling to Bank of America Stadium today.
(9:07 a.m. ET) If you own Eagles RB Brian Westbrook, you're in a bind. The word is that his status is a gametime decision, which stinks because you probably have to set your lineup prior to 8:15 tonight. Philly.com hasn't posted an update since Saturday morning, which is pretty damned inconsiderate of them. The Eagles' Web site doesn't sound optimistic. I think you have to bench Westbrook and hope he doesn't make you look stupid by playing and scoring a couple of TDs. I'll try to find more info as the morning progresses.
(9:17 a.m. ET) P.S. on the Eagles: Though QB Donovan McNabb is listed as questionable, all signs point to him playing.
(9:26 a.m. ET) WR Joey Galloway is OUT today for the Bucs, while PK Matt Bryant's status is up in the air. Bryant's three-year-old son, Tryson, died suddenly on Wednesday, so keep his family in your thoughts and prayers. UPDATE: Bryant will kick today for the Bucs.
(9:33 a.m. ET) According to this morning's San Francisco Chronicle, RB Justin (Huggy Bear Jr.) Fargas is still out for the Raiders, and rookie Darren McFadden is "limited" by turf toe and can be expected to "share snaps" with Michael Bush. I wonder if Fargas' groin is healthy enough to help head coach Lane Kiffin pack up his office tomorrow.
(9:43 a.m. ET) QB Brett Favre is going to start today for the Jets, sore ankle or not.
(9:55 a.m. ET)Yesterday's Baltimore Sun said RB Willis McGahee (lacerated eyelid) was probable for Monday's game against the Steelers, and there's nothing new on the subject this morning. However, with McGahee in a committee with Le'Ron McClain, Ray Rice, Sam Gash, Leroy Hoard and Earnest Byner, I've got him on my bench.
(9:59 a.m. ET) It's time to listen to the FOX Fantasy Freaks with Nate Lundy, Peter Burns and Michael Harmon. Call-in number is 877-99-ONFOX, and you can text messages to them at 66369. In the FOXSports.com Experts League, Lundy's team and mine are both 3-0, with Harmon 1-2 and Burns winless after my team took his to the woodshed last week. Maybe you should bring that up when you call.
(10:15 a.m. ET) Questionable Bears WR/KR Devin Hester might see action solely as a kick returner tonight.
(10:20 a.m. ET) Don't forget the RB situation in Pittsburgh: Willie Parker is out this week, so rookie Rashard Mendenhall gets the start. He's hasn't carried the ball since Week 1, in case you're wondering. I don't care - like closers in fantasy baseball, if he's going to get the ball, he's worth a play.
(10:23 a.m. ET) OK, I need some help. I'm in a league where I have an embarrassment of riches at QB with Tony Romo and Philip Rivers. My RBs are Joseph Addai, Earnest Graham and LenDale White. I was offered Brandon Jacobs for Rivers. I take the deal, right?
(10:34 a.m. ET) It's time for PizzaMan's Lock of the Week. PizzaMan lost last week with the Bills, and he's 2-1 on the season. He likes Scott Linehan to save his job this week, picking the Rams plus-8 over the Bills. I've got a fantasy baseball battle going with PizzaMan today - I'm ahead of him by one point in our AL keeper league, with a lot of points still in play. How about we give him the Rams and let me have the baseball league?
(10:45 a.m. ET) As I mentioned in my (shameless plug) weekly FOXNews.com column, I'm officially on the J.T. O'Sullivan bandwagon. I think I'd start Mike Harmon at QB if Mike Martz was his offensive coordinator.
(10:48 a.m. ET) Cardinals TE Leonard Popeis questionable today with a leg injury. We'll know by 12:30 if he's active.
(10:59 a.m. ET) Taking a page from the Ronnie Brown playbook, the Falcons might give RB Jerious Norwoodsome direct snaps today. That would interfere with my proposed Falcons strategy of getting Michael Turner the ball on every single play.
(11:04 a.m. ET)Questionable Bengals QB Carson Palmersays he'll play today with a sore elbow.UPDATE: There's a report on NFL.com saying Palmer might not play. More news before gametime.
(11:23 a.m. ET) OK, so Ravens CB Samari Rolle is out tomorrow. So is the aforementioned Willie Parker, which means the Steelers may throw more often than usual at a weakened Baltimore secondary. Doesn't this add up to the overdue Santonio Holmes breakout?
(11:28 a.m. ET) Here's a different point of view on the Baltimore RB situation from frequent commenter and Ravens watcher The Mick. It's definitely food for thought. Maybe the fantasy world is overreacting on McGahee?
"If McGahee's good to go, I don't know about the "by committee" concept applying ... I think it was a smoke-screen when Harbaugh leaked to the press all summer that McGahee was in the doghouse, hadn't learned the plays, etc. ... Then, in his first game of the season last week he got 12 of the first 14 carries for the Ravens plus a trick play where he lateraled - including the goal line plays after McClain had a long run to the 4-yard line ... I think he'd have been over 20 carries if he didn't have obvious eye problems during the game."
(11:36 a.m. ET) An NFL Network report says that Carson Palmer will be the emergency third QB for the Bengals today. Get him out of your lineup.
(11:46 a.m. ET)UPDATE: Palmer's officially OUT for the Bengals, as are Bengals RB Kenny Watson and Browns WR Donte Stallworth.
(11:52 a.m. ET) In addition to Galloway being inactive, here's a reminder that QB Brian Griese starts again for the Bucs, with Jeff Garcia banished to the emergency world.
(11:58 a.m. ET)Brett Favre is officially active for the Jets, WR Jerry Porter will finally play for the Jaguars, and RB Ahman Green is OUT again for the Texans, Go, Steve Slaton!
(12:03 p.m. ET) Stop the presses! WR Sidney Rice is active for the Vikings!
(12:06 p.m. ET) WR Bryant Johnson will play for the 49ers, as will WR David Patten for the Saints. FYI, the Freaks' sleepers are as follows: WRs Josh Reed and Isaac Bruce for Harmon, WRs James Hardy and Lance Moore for Burns, and QB Trent Edwards and TE Zach Miller for Lundy. I've got a weird hunch about Cowboys WR Patrick Crayton today, if he qualifies as a sleeper.
All the inactive lists are in, so that's it for me today. I'll answer comments below until about 12:30. Otherwise, the blog will be back Monday morning, though I'm not quite sure if it'll need to cover one more day of baseball before switching to football. Either way, thanks for reading and commenting. I'll be spending my day neglecting my kids and hitting "Refresh" every 13 seconds on the real-time scoring page for the fantasy baseball league mentioned above. Wish me luck.
Although this is my third year playing in fantasy, I think I may need to break one of the unwritten Fantasy Football rules. I have McNabb and the Philly Defense (my other D is GB). With Addai on a bye, my RB2 is Forte. Is it a really bad idea to play an RB against my own D? I can hope that he rushes for 130 yards w/o a TD. Otherwise, my other RBs are McClain and McFadden.
1. Is it ok to play Forte as RB2 against my Philly D? Otherwise, which McRB would you start?
2. My WR3 this week is either Chad Cinco (useless so far this year, but potentially a breakout week against the Browns) or Desean DeJackson (against a tough Bears pass defense. Which would you start?
MORNING, JOHN!! YOUR ADVICE IS INVALUABLE!!! A FEW QUESTIONS.. SHOULD I START M BUSH OVER FORTE? CUTLER OR JT O SULLIVAN? TE..SHIACONE OR STEVENS FROM TAMPA?? YOUR THOUGHTS ON ANTONIA BRYANT? START OR SIT?? THANK YOU!!!
I have a couple of line up quandries i was hoping to get your input on.
First off, I have a tough decision to make at QB today; in week 1, you told me to ride Kurt Warner until he can't stand up. But I REALLY like O'Sullivans match up today. Not to mention the weather in New York doesn't look too promising. What do you think?
Question #2 regards my flex spot. I have Pittman in there now but with the injuries to the Raiders backfield Michael Bush looks like a good play today. Your thoughts?
This week will be a challenge for me because I have a lot of guys on bye(E. MANNING, R. WAYNE, C. JOHNSON, A. BRADSHAW AND A. VINATIERI). So far I’ve decided to go with these guys(What do you think?)…
QB: TRENT EDWARDS vs STL (or I could go with JASON CAMPBELL vs DAL?)
RB: THOMAS JONES vs ARIZ
STEVE SLATON vs JAX
WR: DESEAN JACKSON vs CHI
TE: CHRIS COOLEY vs DAL
K: MATT PRATER vs KC
DEF/SP: MINNESOTA vs TEN
I need to decide on 3 guys to add to this for this week. Any combination will do. I need the 3 that you think will do the best. Here they are…
LENDALE WHITE vs MINN
CHRIS JOHNSON vs MINN
JERIOUS NORWOOD vs CAR
BRAYLON EDWARDS vs CIN
ANTONIO BRYANT vs GB
EDDIE ROYAL vs KC
Any help will be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
BHF
Last edited by BIGHERDFAN on September 28th at 7:05 AM.
Good Morning,
I am in a pickle this week, I have McNabb as my #1 QB and D Anerson as #2 which I know is questionable in itself. But should I keep McNabb in as my QB even though his status is P? I am currently undefeated and I don't want to make a mistake and cost myself a win.
Personally, given Rivers production, I would not make that trade. As the season progresses, and the weather changes, even if Brandon Jacobs stays healthy, we'll see Ward and Bradshaw in to keep him fresh. Rivers, especially with the lower quality defense we've been seeing from the Chargers, will have to put the ball in the air - a lot. Try to get a WR2 at least out of the trade, in addition to Jacobs, if you really want to make the trade.
Morning John,
First off, yes I'd take that deal for Jacobs.
I have a couple of issues this week I would like to help me address.
QB-Mcnabb(Q)@CHI or O'Sullivan@Saints. Mcnabb has been great for me this year but worried that the injuries to Westbrook and LJ Smith could have a negative effect on his #'s.
RB-I have MJD vs. Hou in for sure and although he is nicked up I have to start A. Peterson@TENN no matter what, right? Other options are Graham, C. Johnson, and Chester Taylor.
WR-Going with Andre Johnson but I am thinking of benching Santonio Holmes in favor of DeSean Jackson. I may be putting a few eggs in one basket starting the McNabb/Jackson combo but they could have a big day against CHI's d-backs. I do have Walter,V-Jack, and Brandon Lloyd on my bench but I am torn between Holmes and Jackson.
Thanks in advance for your advice and good luck to you this week!
Last edited by dczar on September 28th at 7:52 AM.
John, I'm one of the unlucky saps who have Westbrook. I'll prolly start a WR but the pickings are slim. I've narrowed it down to Saints or Panthers WRs. Here's who's available...
Saints - D. Henderson, D. Patten (Q), R. Meachem, L. Moore
John - If McGahee's good to go, I don't know about the "by committee" concept applying.
I think it was a smoke-screen when Harbaugh leaked to the press all summer that McGahee was in the doghouse, hadn't learned the plays, etc.
Then, in his first game of the season last week he got 12 of the first 14 carries for the Ravens plus a trick play where he lateraled - including the goal line plays after after McClain had a long run to the 4 yard line.
I think he'd have been over 20 carries if he didn't have obvious eye problems during the game.
Morning John,
First off, yes I'd take that deal for Jacobs.
I have a couple of issues this week I would like to help me address.
QB-Mcnabb(Q)@CHI or O'Sullivan@Saints. Mcnabb has been great for me this year but worried that the injuries to Westbrook and LJ Smith could have a negative effect on his #'s.
RB-I have MJD vs. Hou in for sure and although he is nicked up I have to start A. Peterson@TENN no matter what, right? Other options are Graham, C. Johnson, and Chester Taylor.
WR-Going with Andre Johnson but I am thinking of benching Santonio Holmes in favor of DeSean Jackson. I may be putting a few eggs in one basket starting the McNabb/Jackson combo but they could have a big day against CHI's d-backs. I do have Walter,V-Jack, and Brandon Lloyd on my bench but I am torn between Holmes and Jackson.
Thanks in advance for your advice and good luck to you this week!
Good morning John. I think I would take the deal myself, and that's messed up about the gas!!! I need a rb and flex out of slaton, c.johnson, felix, mcfadden,desean j, meachem, and finally ocho cinco. I have a lot of rooks but they are all so good!! Thanks for all the help.
Last edited by sherbeyn on September 28th at 9:09 AM.
John, I need to pick 2 RBs for my PPR league from a group that includes Grant, T. Jones, and M. Bush. Any recommendations and why? I picked Grant and T. Jones originally.
Thanks
Last edited by Domer09 on September 28th at 9:16 AM.
Domer09 - Bush is *supposed* to get half the OAK carries. Grant (who's apparently healthy) and Jones have no such issues that we know of. Play them and hope Grant snaps out of it. If I'm wrong, a lot of Michael Bush owners are going to hate me tonight.
John, you rock, thanks for your updates. I'm calling a CG for Baker, and I see the Indians scratched Lee and tossing a rookie in. Geee thanks for the help. Still a Indians win, and we are in.
You mentioned starting Chris Johnson and Lendale White. First, do you think they can do well(lot's of points) against Minnesota's Def? Secondly,is Lendale White okay? I noticed he had a shoulder injury this week.
Also, is Braylon Edward's shoulder okay and will that affect him in any way(point-wise)? Just want to make sure to start him instead of Antonio Bryant!?
SCHEDULE
The blog is now all football, all the time - Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday mornings for the rest of the season.
Expect updates by 8 a.m. ET on most days.
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