News and Notes 10-31-12

Bye weeks: New England, NY Jets, St. Louis, San Francisco


Quarterbacks

*-The Eagles made it official today: they are staying with Michael Vick as their starting QB for week 9. But if Vick flops against the pitiful Saints defense Monday night, the team will seriously consider switching t rookie Nick Foles.

*-Ryan Tannehill was limited in practice today. Tannehill suffered quad and knee bruises in week 8 but as long as he can get thru practices this week it's a good bet he'll start week 9 for Miami. If he can't, Matt Moore will get the nod.

*-Aaron Rodgers was on the practice report injury listings with a calf issue, but he practiced in full and will be fine as one of the top fantasy QB's for week 9.


Running Backs

*-The Steelers RB saga continues to turn. Jonathan Dwyer is tentatively expected to start week 9 and was held out of practice today with a minor quad injury. He is expected to practice tomorrow. Rashard Mendenhall was limited in practice today with his Achilles strain, but he is considered very questionable to play week 9. Isaac Redman put in a full practice today, but still isn't over injuries to both ankles that have prevented him from playing the last two weeks and while he's expected to play week 9, it's only as a 3rd down and top backup capacity. Expect this to take until game day to really shake out unless Dwyer or Mendenhall suffer any setbacks.

*-DeMarco Murray was unable to practice today because of his foot injury and early week speculation is that Murray will not be able to play week 9. Expect Felix Jones to start for Dallas against a suspect Atlanta run defense.

*-Mikel Leshoure missed practice today. The Lions say it was not injury related and instead it was personal reasons. It's been speculated that Leshoure suffered a calf injury weak 8 but we'll have to wait and see if Leshoure practices tomorrow or not to find out more. Tentatively, I expect Leshoure to start and be fine, but I also think smart owners should go out and acquire his backup, Joique Bell as insurance.

*-Despite being on the practice report injury listings with a shoulder injury, Darren McFadden practiced in full today and will be fine for week 9.

*-Ahmad Bradshaw didn't practice today, and this is likely to be the norm on Wednesday's the rest of the season while Bradshaw rests a foot injury. But he's expected to start week 9 without issue.

*-Adrian Peterson was limited in practice today because of his ankle issue. It's a minor issue as Peterson keeps playing at a high level each week despite it. He'll be fine for this week's tough matchup against a strong Seattle run defense.

*-Packers FB John Kuhn was unable to practice today. Kuhn missed week 8 because of a hamstring injury and it appears he could miss week 9 as well with it.  

*-Houston claimed RB Jonathan Grimes off waivers from the Jets. Grimes was originally signed by the Jets off the Texans practice squad earlier this season, and Grimes will come in and be the 3rd RB behind Arian Foster and Justin Forsett with Ben Tate expected to miss a couple of weeks with a hamstring injury.


Wide Receivers

*-Jordy Nelson didn't practice today and he's not expected to practice until Friday. Nelson sat out week 8 after injuring his hamstring in practice last week and he's expected to try and give it a go Friday. Depending on how it responds will determine whether Nelson plays this week or not. Be sure to check my Team by Team News and Notes I post in my blog Saturday afternoon for the latest word on Nelson and whether you'll be able to consider him or not. If I were to guess, I would say that Nelson isn't going to play week 9 as the Packers have the bye in week 10 and by resting him, they stand the best chance of getting him back healthy for the stretch run of the season. But that's just me speculating.

*-Andre Johnson missed practice today, but it was for personal reasons and not anything injury related. Johnson is good to go and due for a big game likely to come this week against the Bills 26th ranked fantasy pass defense.

*-Calvin Johnson didn't practice today but it's believed to just be the weekly Wednesday day of rest for Megatron and not anything to be concerned with.

*-Those who were concerned about Larry Fitzgerald after he took a few head shots Monday night can rest easy. Fitzgerald is not on the Cardinals practice report injury list and that means he should be just fine for week 9.

*-Victor Cruz appeared on the practice report injury listings as limited with a calf injury but it's believed to be minor and Cruz should be fine for week 9.

*-As expected, Dez Bryant was held out of practice today with a hip injury. He's expected to be fine for week 9 though.

*-Brandon LaFell has been diagnosed with a concussion and his status for week 9 is very questionable at this point. Barring a miraculous recovery in the next couple of days it appears LaFell won't be able to play. If you were counting on LaFell because of his great matchup this week, you should have a contingency plan ready to go.

*-Robert Meachem is Questionable for Thursday night's game because of a hamstring injury. He will be a game time decision. It's just a great excuse to not even consider the very disappointing WR.

*-Another Chargers WR, Eddie Royal is Doubtful with his own hamstring injury and won't play Thursday night. Between the injuries to Meachem and Royal, the Chargers could have Danario Alexander and Seyi Ajirotutu playing significant roles tomorrow night at WR.

*-Laurent Robinson is expected to be able to finally play week 9 after missing the last few weeks with a concussion. But the Jaguars have said that Cecil Shorts has taken a starting WR job with his solid play and Robinson will likely be brought along as the 3rd WR now. In meaningless Jaguars WR news, the team claimed Anthony Armstrong off waivers from Miami. Armstrong has no fantasy potential in Jacksonville.


Tight Ends

*-Coby Fleener suffered a partial dislocation of his shoulder and he is expected to miss the next 2 weeks because of it. Dwayne Allen will take over as the primary TE for the Colts and the TE desperate could do worse than Allen. But they could also possibly do better.

*-Jermichael Finley was limited in practice with his lingering shoulder injury. But he's been playing thru it the last couple of weeks and will do so again week 9.

*-Brandon Pettigrew missed practice today because of a knee injury that has bothered him the last few weeks. He's been playing thru it in games though and probably will do so again week 9.

*-Another week, another week where Todd Heap is limited in practices because of his knee sprain. Heap's been out for several weeks now with it and even when he returns it would take a leap of faith to think he'd be fantasy relevant.