The Carolina Panthers placed RB DeAngelo Williams on injured reserve with a sprained left foot, ending his season. Jonathan Stewart missed last week with a concussion and was held out of practice Wednesday, meaning he could miss Week 11 also. That would mean Mike Goodson would get his second consecutive start, but he is not someone to start this week against the Ravens' stout defense.
In other injury news, the Dolphins placed Chad Pennington on injured reserve, ending his season as well. This is terrible news for Brandon Marshall owners since Chad Henne is going to miss tonight's game. There is a chance he could make it back for Week 12, but Henne has a 9-12 TD-INT ratio right now and is doing more harm than good for fantasy owners. I'd be a seller of Marshall if you can find a taker.
Bye: No more bye weeks, so you can cut your back-up TE or QB if your starter is a tier-one player.
Start 'em
Kyle Orton:The Chargers are ranked #3 against the pass and they have given up the second-fewest touchdowns via the air at eight. However, Orton is on pace for a career season across the board and I am going to use him because of it. Orton has burned me too many times in the past, so let's just hope this isn't the week of his downward spiral.
David Garrard: Last weekend Garrard was one of the bright spots for fantasy owners, and this week he has another juicy matchup. The Browns are ranked 23rd against the pass and give up 245.3 YPG in the air. The 17 TDs opposing teams have scored on them from the pass is what really makes me think this could be another good week for Garrard.
Frank Gore:Gore had three straight 100-plus yard games and has scored in his last two games, and then he gets the Bucs' 31st-ranked run defense this weekend. The entire Niners offense looks better now that Troy Smith has taken over,but Gore can handle this weekend all on his own.
Ray Rice:Rice has just one 100-yard game this season and he hasn't scored since Week 5, when he scored the only two touchdowns of the season. However, the Panthers are ranked 27th against the run this season and they have allowed the sixth-most TDs on the ground this season with seven.
Brandon Lloyd:I am going to go out on a long, thick and shaky looking limb here, but Lloyd should be the top dog in the Broncos receiving corps this weekend. He has two games this season where he posted 169 yards and he has six touchdowns so far. Orton is going to have a good game because I said he would, and I am saying the same thing about Lloyd as well.
Terrell Owens: T.O. has scored in six of the last seven games and is averaging 92.67 YPG and on pace for over 1,200 yards this season. The Bills give up 373.6 YPG in total offense and 216.8 YPG to opposing receivers, and I think T.O. should get a good chunk of that.
Jacob Tamme: Tamme has catapulted himself into fantasy stardom with the injury to Dallas Clark and the connection with Peyton Manning. Tamme is a top-three TE for the remainder of the season and someone I could easily see being the #1 TE this weekend against the Patriots' 30th-ranked pass defense.
Baltimore Ravens defense: The Panthers are down to their fourth -tring RB and their backup rookie QB this weekend, which means the Ravens are going to be the #1-ranked fantasy defense heading into this game. I am salivating because I own the Ravens defense in several of my leagues.
Sit 'em
Matt Schaub:Schaub has a problem with a bursa sac in his knee, the same injury that caused Peyton Manning to miss time last season, so there is reason to worry right there. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, the Texans face the Jets this weekend and Darrelle Revis held Andre Johnson to 35 yards on four catches last season. I'd sit Schaub this weekend and possibly look at dealing him based on name value before word comes out that he will miss time.
Vince Young: Young has been picked up in almost all my leagues this week, and I play in 25 of them, so the sample size is enough to make me worry for those owners. Randy Moss isn't the player he once was and he does more for Chris Johnson's value than he does for Young's, so I wouldn't play him this weekend.
Darren McFadden: McFadden has reinvented himself this season, but there is nothing that is going to help him this weekend as he tries to run against the Steelers' #1-ranked run defense. They allow 63.2 YPG on the ground and the Raiders average 162.2 YPG on the ground… I have my money on the Steelers personally.
Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams: The RBBC (running back by committee) is great for NFL teams, but it is a fantasy nightmare and you want to avoid it at all costs. Ronnie Brown is averaging 49.33 YPG and Ricky Williams is netting owners 44.44 YPG. The real downer is that between the two of them they have managed just four TDs all season long (Brown 3, Williams 1). If you own one, you have to own the other, but you can't play either because they cancel each other out.
Mike Williams (Sea): Every time Williams has a good game, I get a hundred e-mails asking if this means he is now a WR1. No, he is not a WR1 and I personally don't own him in a single league I am in. The Seahawks are averaging 200.1 YPG in the air and Williams is averaging 60.5 yards of that, not to mention that he has just a single TD this season. Why do you all keep thinking Williams is a stud all of a sudden.
Malcolm Floyd: Floyd is on track to return this weekend against the Broncos, but he will be blanketed by Champ Bailey the whole game and should be avoided. It is rare that you ever start a player his first week back after missing three games, and Floyd is no exception.
Todd Heap: Heap has been a disappointment to fantasy owners most of the season, but he does have four touchdowns over the past four games. This weekend the Ravens will travel to Carolina to play the Panthers and I just don't have the faith needed to play Heap as anything more than a flex in a W/T only flex spot.
New York Giants defense: The Giants defense has not been the fantasy defense we all hoped for when we drafted them, and then this weekend they run into the hottest QB in the league in Michael Vick and a high-powered offense that ranks second in total points scored (257).
