Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.
The bye weeks are finally upon us, but relax it's no time to panic. You see, had you planned your draft accordingly you would have realized that when you drafted Matt Forte, Drew Brees and Greg Jennings they all had a bye in Week 5. OK, show of hands if you're really that on top of things. Listen, I try to cover those bases, but once the beers flow and the clock starts -- I lose focus.
Regardless, we will get through this together. It's October (the best month of the year) with a glorious weekend of sports and fantasy football on tap. There's never a reason to let a few voids in your roster make you worrisome. Come on, you don't want to walk around like Tony Romo on most Sunday afternoons (kinda-sorta kidding). Just check out our weekly player rankings and tune into the Sunday tailgate. We promise to help you get through this.
Now let's poke around and see what's newsworthy this side of fantasy football.
Sunday Evening Wrap checks out players who increased or decreased their value during the Sunday afternoon games. Faller of the Week: Everyone on the Oakland Raiders. The Houston Texans entered the game as one of the league's worst defenses. They were the worst in the NFL against the run. Sunday, the Raiders gained just 165 yards and only a single first down on the ground against those same Texans. I'm done with Darren McFadden. Michael Bush and Justin Fargas shouldn't be considered viable fantasy contributors in any format, and I'd even give up on Zach Miller (which isn't his fault, but he's not going to put up stats for this embarrassingly inept offense). This team is dead to me, and they should be to you, too.
Coming off their first victory since December of 2007, the Lions played another good half of football Sunday. Heading into halftime, Detroit stood even with the Chicago Bears, 21-21. Matthew Stafford had engineered three touchdown drives, including a 98-yard beauty that greatly resembled the Lions' 99-yarder last week.
The second half, though, was another story. Johnny Knox, the Bears rookie wideout/returner, took the second half's opening kickoff back for a touchdown and his team never looked back. When the dust settled, the Bears had routed the Lions 48-24 and injured their rookie quarterback. On a play during the fourth quarter, Stafford was sacked by Adewale Ogunleye. In the process, Stafford's body was awkwardly twisted around and he screamed while grabbing his right knee. He did not return.
It's your Friday installment of "CNG" and we're taking you into the weekend. You've had the whole week to circle the wagons, analyze your fantasy rosters, read all the experts and gather the various weekly rankings around the Internet. The easy part is done, now comes the hard part -- the waiting for Sunday morning. At least you're prepped and ready.
Let's take a quick-hitter look around the NFL on this Friday and piece together any fantasy-worthy news that may have slipped through the cracks.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- David Carr has been where Mark Sanchez and Matthew Stafford are -- sort of. He knows what it feels like to be a high draft pick with huge expectations who's named a starting quarterback in the NFL right out of college. A 16-game starter on the 2002 expansion Houston Texans, Carr got to experience first-hand what Sanchez and Stafford will start experiencing for real this weekend. And it's not that he's trying to scare anybody, but ...
"If I had it to do all over again, I think I would have rather watched," Carr, now the Giants' backup QB, told FanHouse on Monday. "There were just so many bad habits I picked up that, if I'd seen another guy doing it, I don't think I would have."
Top draft pick Matthew Stafford will be the starting quarterback for the Detroit Lions' regular-season opener Sunday in New Orleans, Lions coach Jim Schwartz announced Monday. Stafford has beaten out veteran Daunte Culpepper for the job and will join No. 5 overall pick Mark Sanchez of the Jets as a rookie starting quarterback on Day One of the 2009 NFL season.
The Stafford-Culpepper competition was, by all accounts, a close one, with the veteran Culpepper having reported to camp in top shape. He impressed the coaching staff with his mobility, arm strength and attitude during offseasn workouts and the preseason. But in several interviews with FanHouse this summer, Lions offensive coordinator Scott Linehan also praised Stafford, saying at one point that "you don't get the feeling you're dealing with a rookie quarterback."
Byron Leftwich will be the starting quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, coach Raheem Morris has informed his team. Leftwich beat out Luke McCown in one of the least inspiring QB battles in recent memory, and will direct a Tampa Bay team of which little is expected through a likely rebuilding season.
Morris' decision leaves only two NFL teams -- the Cleveland Browns and the Detroit Lions -- undecided about their starting quarterbacks as the third week of the preseason hits its climax. (That is, unless you count the Patriots.) Daunte Culpepper gets the start for Detroit this afternoon against the Colts and at this point looks like the favorite to open the season as the Lions' starter over rookie Matthew Stafford. Meanwhile, true to frustrating form, Browns coach Eric Mangini isn't saying who will start tonight's game against the Titans, though the thought in Cleveland seems to be that a decision will be made today on whether Brady Quinn or Derek Anderson will be the regular-season starter.
Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's daily gathering of links from around the web, covering the goings-on in NFL Training Camp which have an impact on fantasy value.
Obviously, with training camp comes a certain level of optimism surrounding every team. At Bears camp, the entire offense has been a veritable hype machine, due mostly to the acquisition of pro bowl quarterback Jay Cutler.
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
The Detroit Lions are kicking off training camp this week, hoping to have a fresh start. After all, last season they became the first team in NFL history to lose all 16 regular season games. One of the new faces on the Lions is the number one overall draft pick, Matthew Stafford, who is excited to be in Detroit.
With 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... Team with the 2009 slogan, "Nowhere to go, but up."Ah yes, ladies and gentlemen, the Detroit Lions.Insert jokes here.It's tough to get too excited about the Lions this season.They do have one of the most talented players in the league in Calvin Johnson. Then again, they must rely on a worn-out veteran (with no knees left) or a young rookie to deliver him the ball.
Let's not kid ourselves, nobody really delivers the ball to Calvin Johnson -- he goes out and grabs the ball wherever it may be.Yup, he's just that good and he gives Lions fans a reason for hope.This season anything would be an improvement.However, from a fantasy football perspective, we could care less if the Lions go 0-16 or 10-6 ... as long as Megatron continues to be a stud, it's all good.
Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.
Sunday Evening Wrap checks out players who increased or decreased their value during the Sunday afternoon games. 
Coming off their first victory since December of 2007, the Lions played another good half of football Sunday. Heading into halftime, Detroit stood even with the 
Cut-N-Go is 
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- 
Top draft pick 
Byron Leftwich will be the starting quarterback for the 
Elie Seckbach, the Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos. 
With 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. 
