Knox Bardeen Posts

Whether it's torn, sprained, broken or just needs to be taped, Injuries to Watch will keep you up to date on injuries around the NFL and how they'll affect your fantasy football team.

Quarterback

• Tony Romo, Cowboys - Romo was limited in practice on Wednesday with a sore back but will definitely play on Thursday.

• Kyle Orton, Broncos - Orton is slowed by an ankle injury but will play Thursday night.

Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.

Have you wondered at all what's been going on with Jerome Harrison? He started bursting onto the scene in Week 3 as he ran for 52 yards on 16 carries. He followed that up in Week 4 by breaking the century mark -- rumbling for 121 on 29 carries. Harrison was beginning to look like a valuable fantasy running back.

Then over the next four weeks he averaged a little over five carries per game and 18.25 yards per game. Since Week 8 he hasn't touched the ball at all, even appearing on the inactive list last week. Tony Grossi of the Cleveland Plain Dealer says that Harrison and Eric Mangini had a sit-down to air out the differences. Things may be better now.

Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.

It's been a weekly crap-shoot trying to determine which New York Giant running back would perform better between Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. Both have been dinged up and Bradshaw rarely practices more than once per week, but each rusher still trots out there and dutifully carries the ball each week.

Over the last four weeks Bradshaw has received 41.6% of the carries and 49.6% have gone to Jacobs. Their yardage has been a bit more varied as Bradshaw has rushed for 126 yards total and Jacobs 268 over those four games.

The players have the day off at Flowery Branch as Tuesday is a normal rest-day for the Falcons. But that didn't stop the team from bringing in four kickers to see if any of them might do a better job than Jason Elam.

Elam has been uncharacteristically off-center this season. He's connected on 10-of-16 field goal attempts for a career-worst 62.5% field goal percentage. He's also missed an extra point, an occurrence that's only happened three other times in his 17-year career.

Steve Hauschka, Sam Swank, Brandon Coutu and Shane Andrus we're all kicking today for the coaching staff. No news is known at this time whether any made an impression.

Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.

Sunday was a tough day for quarterbacks, but it wasn't until Monday afternoon that the fallout from the Week 11 injuries started coming to light. Kurt Warner and Ben Roethlisberger received good news and may be able to play in Week 12. The same can't be said for Marc Bulger and Matthew Stafford.

If I gave out a tough-man award each week, I would have no trouble handing the hardware to Stafford for his heroics on Detroit's final game-winning drive. Stafford sprained his shoulder on the next-to-final play on Sunday and John Niyo of The Detroit News says he will likely miss the Lions' Week 12 game on Thanksgiving day.

After starting the season with four wins and only one loss, the Atlanta Falcons have lost four times in their last five games and see themselves sitting on the outside of the playoff picture, looking in. At 5-5, the Falcons have a lot of work to do to ensure a spot in the post-season, but the team hasn't given up yet and they have a favorable schedule ahead to work with.

Head Coach Mike Smith spent time in the locker room after a Sunday loss to the New York Giants talking about the tough stretch the Falcons have gone through and how the Falcons play four of their final six games in the friendly Georgia Dome, a place where they haven't lost all season. "What I told our team is that we've been through a long road in terms of the last six weeks", said Smith. "Four out of the six games we've played have been against teams that have been coming off the byes. I also told them that we are looking forward to having a three-game home stand."

Did the injury bug hit your fantasy football team like it was a car windshield moving at 100 MPH? If so, it may be time to do some Damage Control.

Quarterback

• Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers - Even though he was knocked out of the game during the overtime period with a concussion, Roethlisberger was cleared to fly home and early indications seem promising for a quick return.

• Marc Bulger, Rams - After the game, Bulger told the media that he had an injured groin and hamstring. It was a few shots to the head that has the Rams coaching staff worried. Bulger did not suffer a concussion but seemed woozy at times down the stretch. (Update: Bulger is out three to six weeks with a knee injury.)

With attention spans dwindling, we forgo full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. We call it The Once-Over.

The Early Games

New Orleans (9-0) at Tampa Bay (1-8): New Orleans was tested last week -- in fact, they've been tested in each of their last four games. Drew Brees has thrown seven interceptions and only six touchdown passes in those four games. You can expect the Saints to come out on Sunday and look to clean up their act a bit on offense as they play a divisional foe who doesn't have the arsenal to put up much of a fight.

Josh Freeman's play since taking over at quarterback is giving hope for the future in Tampa. He's thrown four touchdown passes and only two interceptions and seems to enjoy throwing to Kellen Winslow who has 11 receptions in his last two games. The Saints defense is a little beaten up, but should be able to hold off the Buccaneers on Sunday.

Pick: New Orleans

Whether it's torn, sprained, broken or just needs to be taped, Injuries to Watch will keep you up to date on injuries around the NFL and how they'll affect your fantasy football team.

Quarterback

• Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers - Roethlisberger is not listed on the injury report, but he sat out parts of practice on Thursday with his elbow wrapped. He is expected to play on Sunday, but questions of a sore arm have definitely surfaced.

Footprints in the Snow is FanHouse's look at the paths to be forged by MLB teams this winter as they look ahead to 2010.

Philadelphia Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro made it a point not to bring back the exact same lineup in 2009 after winning the World Series in 2008. He succeeded in that goal by replacing the departed Pat Burrell with Raul Ibanez in left field. The strategy worked as the Phillies won their division and made it all the way to the World Series, eventually losing to the New York Yankees.

During this offseason, expect the mantra to be very similar to last winter. The one position in the lineup that likely will roll over is third base. The team declined their $5.5 million option on Pedro Feliz and will try and find an upgrade in the free-agent pool. If they fail to do so, they can always bring Feliz back to the team.

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