After a short hiatus, the doctor is back. I’ve spent a bunch of time cuddling and loving with my new little boy. He’s 2 1/2 weeks old and all kinds of adorable. But enough about him.
Let’s talk about Quintorris. Who the heck is that? Quintorris? And why does he have a screw loose?
Quintorris is the legal first name of someone we’re all sad to see go down hurt for the season. He was injured on Monday Night Football and injured his foot. That is the real name of Julio Jones of the Falcons. The NFL’s leader in receptions and yards broke a screw in his foot and has to have surgery to fix it. He didn’t break a bone…he broke a screw!
Add to that the high ankle sprain Roddy White is limping through and it makes Matt Ryan’s value take a serious hit. Factor in Steven Jackson being out with a leg injury and this looks like a perfect week for the Falcons to be on their bye.
Larry Fitzgerald of the Cardinals is dealing with a hamstring injury that leaves his questionable against the 49ers. With a late game and a tough opponent, he’s a FLEX option at best this week.
CJ Spiller is questionable to play this week against Cincinnati. Fred Jackson looked awfully good last week with two touchdowns so I wonder how the carries will be split. Spiller should play but be a little wary of the split.
Miles Austin (hamstring) is probable for this week against Washington. He makes a good play against a crummy Washington defense. Terrence Williams sees his value take a  little hit if Austin plays. Both of those guys are in the WR3 neighborhood.
Calvin Johnson of the Lions is questionable again with his knee injury. It forced him to miss last week and he is true game-time decision. Matthew Stafford will have another poor performance without him. It would be like Ray Charles without a piano. All you can do with Megatron is wait…and wait…and wait…and see.
Arian Foster (thumb, chest) and Andre Johnson (shin) are both questionable for the Texans-Rams game. Foster is expected to play but Johnson is a game-time decision. If he can’t go look for DeAndre Hopkins to take advantage against a pillowy Rams secondary. Ben Tate should also see a good chunk of carries if this becomes a blowout.
Ahmad Bradshaw of the Colts is done for the year with a neck injury. He elected to have surgery so Trent Richardson is going to shoulder the load. Donald Brown makes for a sneaky pick up as a backup and Kerwynn Williams is a sleeper at that position for the Colts.
Jamaal Charles (toes) is questionable but expected to play this week against a weak Oakland defense.
The Vikings quarterback will be…heck we don’t know. Christian Ponder (rib) has been cleared to play. Matt Cassel looked good against Pittsburgh and they brought in Josh Freeman. At this point the only Vikings I trust are Adrian Peterson and Blair Walsh. And Walsh is listed as limited with a left leg injury. **Sigh**
Rob Gronkowski is expected to make his season debut for the Patriots this week. But is it too little, too late for the Patriots and Tom Brady’s fantasy value? Danny Amendola is questionable (groin) and is another game-time decision. Ugh. Stevan Ridley is in the same boat as Amendola. Double ugh.
David Wilson of the Giants is going to see a specialist next week in Los Angeles for his neck issues. Brandon Jacobs filled in nicely for him last night and Andre Brown is still four weeks away from returning. Looks like it could be Jacobs’ show for the forseeable future on a putrid Giants team.
Darren McFadden is practicing and looks like another potential game-time decision. I still would be leery of putting him out there against a tough KC defense. FLEX at best because of the matchup.
The Mike Vick–Nick Foles quarterback situation will come down to almost kickoff so be ready with Plan B if Chip Kelly decides to play games and screw with us.
Ryan Mathews (concussion) has been held out of practice this week. Danny Woodhead has been taking the snaps and looks to be a solid play this week. Given Mathews injury history, it’s real hard to predict how long he will be out for.
The list of players who are banged up gets longer every week. I can only dread how big it will look on Week 10.
