FanHouse Devin Hester

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

It would appear that at long last our national fantasy football nightmare is over and Calvin Johnson is going to play this weekend. OK, let's be fair and emphasize the word "appears." Nothing is certain until I actually see Johnson in uniform and jogging onto the field. However, the notion and possibility of his return is probably the best news many Megatron owners such as myself have heard in quite sometime.

It's been far too long to not have this ubber stud in our line-ups. And trust me, this is speaking from a guy who owns Johnson in every single league. I drafted him in the first round every time around. He was who I wanted and this is not what I was expecting. Take the good with the bad, but I'm expecting all good if he finally plays again this weekend. And of course, it should also be noted he's the only player on the field that gives the Lions a chance to win a football game.

As a sidebar to this same story, Kevin Smith will most likely suit up and play for the Lions as well.

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

If you came away from your fantasy football draft with Steve Slaton, you probably used a late first-round or early second-round pick on the Texans running back and had visions of another 1,200-plus yard rushing campaign. Things aren't going as planned for you or the Houston running back.

After losing his fifth fumble of the season, Slaton was benched on Sunday in favor of Ryan Moats, who ran for 126 yards and three touchdowns. Now, says Dale Robertson of the Houston Chronicle, Slaton will have to battle for his starting job.

Each week in the NFL, there are players that impress and players that distress. One week a certain quarterback might toss four touchdowns and run around pointing skyward, while the next he's laying on his back, holding his facemask as the other team returns one of his three interceptions for the game-winning score. With that in mind, here's Studs and Duds.

Studs

Carson Palmer, QB Cincinnati (20-24, 233 yards, 5 TDs) -- There was an interesting moment during "Hard Knocks" on HBO this year when Palmer was giving his center, Kyle Cook, a little bit of grief about the smell that Carson had on his hand after taking snaps. It was essentially boys being boys, but Palmer played it well and had some fun at the expense of Cook.

Bengals 45, Bears 10. It was 45-3 before the Bears finally got into the end zone, but the game had long been over at that point. It was one of those games that makes you wonder -- were the Bengals that good or the Bears that bad? As is usually the case when you ask that question, it was a combination of both. You have to give the Bengals credit, especially Carson Palmer for his precision passing. Well, really, the entire team deserves loads of credit.

Still, this game was more about how pathetic the Bears played. For a team with Super Bowl aspirations, that was a simply despicable attempt at playing football on nearly every front. More games like that, and the playoffs won't even be a possibility come late November.

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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

• Eli Manning, Giants - Manning was diagnosed with inflamed tissue in his right foot following an MRI at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. The Giants' team physician has cleared him to play this weekend against Oakland if he can tolerate the pain.

• Matthew Stafford, Lions - Stafford was forced to leave the game early on Sunday with a knee injury. It turns out the kneecap popped out of joint and then right back in. He's going to be reevaluated this week.

Each Monday of the fantasy football season, we'll cut through the fantasy numbers put up by individuals and tell you what they really mean.

Heading into the season, we liked DeSean Jackson's chances to move into low-end WR2 range. After three weeks -- two of which were with a backup quarterback -- we're ready to say he's easily a WR2, with the chance to move into WR1 range. In the past two games, Jackson has caught 10 passes for 250 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Adding in a punt return touchdown in Week 1, Jackson has scored in all three Eagles games this season.

Since arriving in Chicago, Jay Cutler's been fighting the stigma that he's more of a stat-monger than a winner. The only way to change the feelings of the general public is to go out and win tough games. Anyone can look good during a blowout of an inferior opponent.

For the second consecutive week, Cutler has won close games in come-from-behind fashion. Last week, he led the Bears on a 72-yard, game-tying touchdown drive and then a 41-yard game-winning field goal drive against the Steelers. Sunday afternoon, Cutler brought the Bears back from an early 13-0 deficit to lead 17-13. The Bears lost the lead, but that was of no consequence, as Cutler again led them on a game-winning drive.

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I've seen bad weeks from elite receivers before, but I never thought I'd see a zero-catch game from Greg Jennings this season. Will it get better in Week 3? Well, it has to, doesn't it? Almost as surprising as seeing Jennings with no catches was seeing Mario Manningham with 10, especially considering the Giants' Steve Smith also had 10 catches. Are we dealing with the next Randy Moss and Wes Welker? You're right, that's too much hyperbole, even for me. Still, the highly-added Manningham is due for a huge bump up in the rankings, but how far will he climb?

1. Andre Johnson, HOU vs. JAC
2. Marques Colston, NO @ BUF
3. Steve Smith, CAR @ DAL
4. Randy Moss, NE vs. ATL
5. Greg Jennings, GB @ STL

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When Jay Cutler was traded to Chicago, there was an instant line drawn in the proverbial sand. Everyone from professional sports writers to the most casual of fans had opinions. Those who wanted to argue it was a bad move for the Bears had several points. Some of them were valid, but one of them in particular always drove me bonkers.

"Who is he going to throw to?" "He's going to hate life without Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal." Etc.