Fantasy Football News and Notes 11-07-12


Bye weeks: Arizona, Cleveland, Green Bay, Washington


Quarterbacks

*-The Titans are expected to start Jake Locker week 10 over Matt Hasselbeck. Hate to be the guy who says "I told you so" about when Locker was going to return. But I told you so.

*-Kansas City has decided to start Matt Cassel over Brady Quinn next Monday night. Quinn reportedly hasn't gained medical clearance from his concussion he suffered week 8, but it will be interesting what the Chiefs do in week 11 if Quinn does get clearance.


Running Backs

*-Donald Brown is officially listed as Questionable for Thursday night's game and he is considered a game time decision because of soreness in the knee he had surgery on a few weeks back. I doubt he'll be active but even if he is active I wouldn't expect Brown to play much. Vick Ballard is likely to start and be the primary RB for the Colts tomorrow night.

*-Neither Darren McFadden nor Mike Goodson were able to practice today. Both players reportedly have high ankle sprains and it's doubtful either one will play this week for Oakland. There are some reports that say Taiwan Jones will get the start this week, but I still think you'll see a larger role for Marcel Reece as Reece is the better pass catching RB and is built more solidly to run between the tackles.

*-Darren Sproles didn't practice today. While there had been some optimistic reports out there about Sproles possibly only missing one game after having hand surgery last week, it's much more likely he misses at least 3 games.

*-No surprise that Ahmad Bradshaw didn't practice today because of his annual foot injury. Don't be surprised if he doesn't practice until Friday, is listed as Questionable on the Friday injury report, and then starts week 10 without issue. That's been the M.O. for Bradshaw and this foot injury in prior seasons and no reason to think this season will be any different.

*-Staying with the Giants, Andre Brown practiced in full today and his shoulder injury suffered week 9 appears to have been minor. He should be good to go as Bradshaw's top backup this week and if Bradshaw is limited at all, Brown may get a few more carries than normal.

*-Marshawn Lynch was held out of practice today because of a wrist injury. It's beleved to be minor though at this time and while I'll keep track of it again tomorrow, I currently fully expect Lynch to be ready to be a top 5 fantasy RB this week against the Jets and their 29th ranked fantasy run defense.

*-Jamaal Charles practiced in full today and he is good to go this week after taking a big hit last Thursday night. Luckily, he only suffered a minor neck injury.

*-There must be a flu bug going around as neither Philadelphia's LeSean McCoy nor Cincinnati's BenJarvus Green-Ellis were able to practice today because of an illness. Both though are fully expected to return for tomorrow's practice and be fine for week 10.

*-The Jets hope to have both Bilal Powell and Joe McKnight back in week 10. Powell has missed the past couple of games with a dislocated shoulder injury but he was able to put in a limited practice today and appears to be on track to return to his top backup role to Shonn Greene. McKnight did not practice today because of the ankle injury that has limited him the past few weeks and while likely to be active, Powell's expected return could mean that McKnight is used sparingly, if he's active at all.

*-Carolina's Mike Tolbert's status for week 10 is in doubt after it was revealed he has a concussion. He didn't practice today and needs to get clearance before he can return. This just clears up the Panthers muddied RB situation a bit more as there is likely to be one less RB to give the ball to week 10.  

*-As expected, Brandon Bolden didn't practice today and he is sounding very unlikely to be able play week 10 because of his knee injury. Shane Vereen will be the top backup to Stevan Ridley and with a great matchup against the Bills last ranked fantasy run defense, Vereen can be considered as a desperation start.


Wide Receivers

*-Despite being listed as Questionable for tomorrow night's game, Donnie Avery has been able to practice this week and is expected to start for the Colts.

*-Wes Welker was able to practice in limited fashion today. This is a good sign for his availability this week as he did suffer an ankle injury back in week 8. The Patriots were on bye last week and it sounds like the extra time off will allow him to play thru it. Teammate Brandon Lloyd was also limited with a minor knee issue but he is fully expected to be fine for week 10.

*-Eric Decker was limited in practice today with a thigh issue but it's not expected to be anything serious enough to put his week 10 status in question. Expect Decker to be fine for week 10.

*-Percy Harvin is either a really fast healer, or he's a bit of a drama queen in the vein of Ben Roethlisberger. After being on crutches Monday, Harvin now has a chance to practice before the week is out. He didn't practice today because of his ankle injury, but the Vikings say now that he is day to day and they are hoping he can be active week 10. Expect this to come down him being listed as Questionable on Friday's injury report, considered a game time decision, and then probably playing as Harvin rarely misses games. Just practices.

*-As expected, Calvin Johnson didn't practice today because of his knee issue. Like I said yesterday, don't be surprised if Megatron doesn't practice at all again this week. Teammate Titus Young was also held out of practice with a knee issue but both Young and Johnson played week 9 despite their issues and I can't believe they won't be fine to start week 10.

*-Hakeem Nicks' troublesome knee injury from earlier this season won't go away. Nicks missed practice today because of swelling developed in his knee. It's unknown if this is minor, or if it presents a real danger for Nicks' availability this week or not. Nicks owners should have a backup plan ready as he has missed games before this season with the knee issue.

*-As expected, Buffalo's Steve Johnson was held out of practice today with the quad bruise he suffered week 9. He's expected to return by Friday and be able to start week 10.

*-Dez Bryant practiced in full today. If you remember, last week Bryant missed a lot of practice time with a hip injury, but he played thru it week 9 and this is a good sign that it isn't a major issue.

*-Kendall Wright practiced in full today. The elbow injury he suffered week 9 must have been minor and he is fine for week 10.

*-Robert Meachem and Eddie Royal both were able to practice today for the Chargers. Barring any setbacks in practices this week both should be tentatively expected to return to their normal roles for San Diego this week.

*-Brandon LaFell isn't on the Panthers early week injury report and it appears he's ready to return this week after missing last week with a concussion.

*-Houston's Kevin Walter missed practice today because of a groin injury. But it's not believed to be serious and Walter can probably be safely left on your league's free agent wire.


Tight Ends

*-Aaron Hernandez was able to put in a limited practice today and that bodes well for his week 10 availability. As long as he suffers no setbacks by the weekend he should be fine to consider as you normally would.

*-Owen Daniels missed practice today because of what is believed to be a hip injury. Daniels went into week 9 with a minor hamstring issue, and this is the first I've heard about there being a problem with his hip. Hopefully we know more tomorrow as to whether this is a real concern for Daniels and could cause him to miss week 10.