FanHouse Marion Barber

Hey, a win is a win. That's all that matters in the end. The Dallas Cowboys get to see a "7" in the win column of the standings after surviving 7-6 over the Washington Redskins Sunday. It wasn't pretty, but the Cowboys gutted out an old school victory.

Coming into the week, the Cowboys had been amassing a large percentage of their yardage via the air attack, behind the arm of Tony Romo. In Week 11, they seem to have decided to transform themselves. Romo attempted 27 passes, while the Cowboys ran the ball 33 times for 153 yards and counted on their defense to win the shortened game for them. It worked.

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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

In case you hadn't noticed, sports these days are all about Goliath. In 2009, the Steelers, Lakers, North Carolina Tar Heels and now the Yankees have all won titles in their respective sports. Cinderella is yesterday's news. The teams that win these days are the teams that always win, and if you think that's boring, well, tough. You can kiss one of Derek Jeter's five World Series rings.

So with that in mind, we need to be really careful about overlooking the Dallas Cowboys.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. All you ever hear about the Cowboys is what's wrong with them. Terrell Owens was a pain. Roy Williams is a loudmouth, too, and isn't good enough to replace T.O. Tony Romo's too concerned with his golf game and his high-wattage love life to ever attain his potential. The new stadium is ridiculous...

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

You can take Terrell Owens out of Dallas, but apparently you can't take the immature and disruptive conduct, that Owens was known for, out of the Cowboys locker room.

Clarence E. Hill Jr.of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram knows that Roy Williams is frustrated with his numbers as a receiver this season. And Williams is quick to tell everyone who will listen that it's not all his fault.

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.

A few years ago, I used to swear by the draft-day method of avoiding all wide receivers for at least the first three rounds -- and sometimes up to the fifth in leagues with multiple flex positions. The reasoning was simple: the incredibly fickle nature of receivers. Not only is there more turnover from season to season in terms of production than at any other position, there is week-to-week turnover. Maybe it's time to get back to that theory. Witness, Miles Austin has accrued 16 catches for 421 yards and four touchdowns over his last two games. Anquan Boldin, an upper-tier wideout before the season, entered Week 7 with 306 yards and one touchdown for the entire season.

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Marion Barber, on his own blog, stated that he was well rested after Dallas' bye week and that his strained left quadriceps is "no longer a problem". Meanwhile, Felix Jones, who hasn't played since Week 3, is back at practice this week -- he's wearing a brace to protect his left knee, but he's still practicing.

With Barber and Jones back, why is it that Tashard Choice is going to get even more carries this week against Atlanta? The simple answer -- because Jerry Jones said so.

On his weekly radio show, Jerry Jones said that even though Barber was as healthy as he's been in two weeks, Choice would see more playing time. "Tashard certainly earned and is going to get a big part of the load."

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

• Aaron Rodgers, Packers - Rodgers participated fully in practice on Wednesday and said that his foot injury isn't a big deal. He'll play on Sunday.

• Derek Anderson, Browns - Anderson participated in full on Wednesday at practice and his ankle injury will not keep him from playing on Sunday.

• Trent Edwards, Bills - Edwards missed practice on Wednesday due to a concussion. He hasn't been ruled out for Sunday's game yet, but likely will be soon.

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.

[Last Updated: Saturday, Oct. 10]

Quarterback

Brett Favre, Vikings - Favre was limited again in practice on Friday but is listed as probable for the game.

Matthew Stafford, Lions - Lions coach Jim Schwartz will not announce his decision to bench or start Stafford until Sunday. Stafford did practice on Friday, but most of the Detroit media feels like Daunte Culpepper will start instead of Stafford.

Dallas will be shorthanded for its game at Kansas City Sunday -- running back Felix Jones and wide receiver Roy Williams did not travel with the team due to injury, according to Chiefs' PR man Josh Looney.

Neither development is much of a surprise, though Williams' loss definitely hurts an offense that has struggled mightily at times this season. Williams got popped by Denver's D.J. Williams late in the Cowboys' Week 4 loss at Denver, and missed practice all this week with a lingering rib injury.

His absence will force Miles Austin into the Dallas starting lineup.

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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.