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Fantasy Football Cut-N-Go: Jamaal Charles and Kolby Smith Split Carries

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

You had to be crazy not to see this coming. And whether you think the penalty was too stiff or not harsh enough for the crime, just know that Larry Johnson is being punished. In a release from the Kansas City Chiefs, we find out that Johnson will receive a two-game suspension.
The Kansas City Chiefs have suspended RB Larry Johnson for Conduct Detrimental to the Club effective immediately. Johnson will not be permitted to participate in any team activities or be on team premises until Monday, November 9th. The Chiefs will have no further comment on Johnson's status at this time.
This punishment wasn't as harsh as I predicted, but since I have no say in the matter let's focus on what the Chiefs are doing to make sure their rushing attack doesn't suffer.

Packers Set to Show New Defense

For the Green Bay Packers, Saturday's preseason opener against Cleveland is the start of a new beginning. The Browns, meanwhile, just hope to take a step toward figuring out a starting quarterback.

When the two meet at Lambeau Field, the only thing that is known is that the Packers will play a live game for the first time under new defensive coordinator Dom Capers. In the short time that the starters play, and in the normally-bland environment that preseason games against regular-season opponents can create, what should Packer fans look for?

Handcuffs and Committees: A Fantasy Football Spin on Backfields

LeSean McCoy Darren SprolesFor those who may use a different term or are new to fantasy football, "handcuff" is the term used when you own insurance for one of your players in the form of owning his real-life backup. It's usually a running back, but you could conceivably handcuff a quarterback. The theory is that some or all of the production is automatically replaced should you lose a high draft pick to injury, meaning you need to insure a high draft pick by grabbing his backup.

Fantasy Football Team Preview: Packers

Aaron RodgersWith Fantasy Football season ready to kick in high gear, FanHouse is here to preview each and every team -- one per day until we've done them all.

Meet The ...
The team that happily doesn't have to wonder if Brett Favre is coming to camp. Following a future hall of famer and face of the franchise isn't east. But, Aaron Rodgers make it look that way. In his first full year, Rodgers started all 16 games and threw for 4,038 yards and 28 touchdowns. Rodgers spread the love to two 1,000 yard receivers in Greg Jennings and Donald Driver and enjoyed a 1,203 yard campaign from his running back Ryan Grant, who battled through injuries and a somewhat slow start to the season. The key players from 2008 are still around heading into 2009 and there's no reason to think Rodgers shouldn't grow as a quarterback and the rest of the crew around him benefit from his experience.


The Perfect Draft: Green Bay Packers

With the draft approaching, we ignore projections and identify the dream scenario for each team in a series we call The Perfect Draft.

I don't have to go out on a limb to say that 6-10 wasn't a goal for the Green Bay Packers in 2008. Yes, they lost Brett Favre to retirement/unretirement/trade. Yes, many thought the Packers would fall off from a 13-3 mark in 2007, even before Favre became a New York Jet. But last year was close to disastrous for the Packers, as a leaky defense blew numerous fourth-quarter leads, and the team slipped to third in the NFC North. Expectations are higher than that, and now there will be pressure on management, making its job even harder.

Eye on the Prize: Hail Mary Candidates for Hardcore Fantasy Footballers

First, a disclaimer. This list is not necessarily a go pick this guy up right now type deal. If you play in an 8-12 team league and you don't have injury or ineffectiveness issues, this list is not for you. If you, however, play in a 16 or more team league with a deep bench, and you have been sitting there waiting on Willis McGahee to show up with a pulse for the past couple weeks, well, I may have something for you.

We call them "Hail Mary" choices because picking up some of these guys would be like throwing a Hail Mary pass. The odds of it winding up helping your team are slim, but there's enough of a chance FTW to hurl it up there. If you have dead weight on your deep bench, let us consider the following dudes.

I've attempted to list them in the order of their likelihood at helping you.

And, actually, the top guy is a sleeper is most leagues for this week ...

Maurice "MoMo" Morris, Seahawks
He's overtaken Julius Jones in the Seahawks backfield. Sure, he's done very little all season -- save for a 100-yard game in Week 12 -- but he gets the hapless Rams in Week 15. You could do worse.

Fantasy Football Reality Check: Still Not Sold on Tashard Choice

Man, I hate being wrong. Throughout the entire Sunday Morning Tailgate, I told people not to bother with Tashard Choice, and he ends up compiling 166 total yards against the stout Steelers defense. It doesn't get much tougher on a running back than playing in Pittsburgh, so you'd think it's clear sailing for Choice from here on out.

I, however, will not be so hasty.

The Cowboys were surprised that Marion Barber couldn't play this week, so he won't be out much longer. Plus, the schedule doesn't get any easier. The Giants and Ravens are on the docket. The Cowboys will find much more success throwing the football against those teams at home than they did in Pittsburgh, so the reliance on Choice will go way down -- even if he plays.

If you own Marion Barber and Choice is on the waiver wire, you have to grab him. I'm just not expecting anything even remotely resembling the yardage/touch output again this season, or next, for that matter.

How An Uplifting Win Turned Into a Gutwrenching, Hope-Damaging Defeat

This just hasn't been Green Bay's year.

Many fans are going to trace it directly back to the day the Packers decided to go with Aaron Rodgers as the starting quarterback, even though future Hall of Famer Brett Favre was contemplating a return from his short retirement.

Others will look -- more accurately -- at the day general manager Ted Thompson traded hulking defensive tackle Corey Williams to Cleveland to avoid giving him a huge contract. Or the day Thompson decided that second-year tackle Justin Harrell would be able to fill that void.

Coming from a Packer fan, there are too many people to point fingers at on this one.

While Rodgers is not at all immune, he's handled the spotlight very well. His teammates have praised his play on the field, and they've praised his off-field presence. This fan believes you couldn't have scripted a better transition from Favre to the next guy. Rodgers didn't ask for it to go down this way, and nearly all the criticism that's been thrown his way has been completely unfair.

He's played well. Others who carried high expectations into the season have not. The reality is that the Packers are 5-7, an extreme longshot for the playoffs, and Sunday's fourth quarter was a microcosm of the season to this point.

Fantasy Football Reality Check: Don't Worry about Peyton Manning and the Colts

Man, what an absolute stink-bomb by the Colts offense yesterday. Peyton Manning throws two picks, zero touchdowns, and only racks up 125 yards against the Browns' sorry defense. Joseph Addai only nets 57 yards on the ground, and loses a fumble. Obviously, the receivers all sucked, due to Manning's poor day. At least the defense came through with a big effort, which cleared the path to a team victory. That's really all that matters to them, but for fantasy owners it could have been a devastating blow with playoff spots on the line.

The key for owners of Manning, Addai, Reggie Wayne, and Dallas Clark is to take a deep breath and realize this was an aberration. The weather wasn't exactly ideal -- as you could see on the missed field goals -- and it won't be a factor again. The Colts play the hapless Bengals and Lions at home in the next two weeks, and then head to Jacksonville.

Two inside games, and one in Florida? Sounds good to me. I'm quite confident in the Colts offense to light up fantasy scoreboards, especially in the next two weeks.

Waiver Wire Wonders: Week 13

Weeding through those unwieldy waiver wires requires a keen eye and a quick trigger. Thus, Waiver Wire Wonders provides a weekly snapshot of players worthy of consideration who should be available on a good portion of league waiver wires. Enjoy those pickups...

At first glance, this week's options on the waiver wire look a bit like Michael Strahan's teeth: few and far between. Not to worry though, because upon digging a little deeper, we have uncovered a few nice pickups despite the slim pickings. This week's list of waiver wire wonders illustrates a couple of nice noobs on the list, but the better part of our list consist of repeat offenders who solidified themselves as legitimate options given surrounding injuries or changing situations that favor their output for the rest of the regular season.

Domenik Hixon (WR, Giants) -- Clearly, the absence of the Thuggish Ruggish Burress leaves a big void in the Giants passing game, which today looked to benefit Amani Toomer and Domenik Hixon about equally. Although Toomer scored the touchdown, going forward, Hixon looks like the guy with the most upside. He has consistently worked his way into a bigger role in New York and Plaxico's impression of David Silver's friend, should seal the deal. Today, Hixon caught five passes for 71 yards and we can expect bigger games to come.

Mark Clayton (WR, Ravens) -- Don't get your hopes up, this isn't one of those acid flashbacks we've all been patiently awaiting. Despite the fact that it might seem like 1985 given all the talk this season about Dan Marino and now Mark Clayton, this is the new Mark Clayton and today he caught five passes for 164 yards and a long 70-yard touchdown. If that wasn't quite enough, he threw his own 32-yard touchdown pass to really juice the fantasy numbers. Clayton also caught a long touchdown last week, so he might be an interesting add at this point as he is establishing himself as a big-play receiver.

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