FanHouse Tashard Choice

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."

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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With attention spans dwindling, we forego 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

Tampa Bay (0-3) at Washington (1-2): With the Buccaneers winless this season and looking back at their final four losses to end last season, Tampa Bay hasn't won a regular season game since November 30, 2008. Add to that the fact that a new quarterback, Josh Johnson, is taking over for the Bucs and Antonio Bryant still isn't positive he'll play, and the horizon is bleak in Tampa.

Jim Zorn's days seem numbered in Washington. He lost to Detroit last week, which hadn't won since 2007. It might be the kiss of death if he drops a home game to Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Pick: Washington

If your fantasy football team is off to a rough start, one of the best remedies is FanHouse's cram session podcast. Is it time to abandon Eddie Royal? Will Matt Forte play up to his first-round billing? And what should you do about that frustrating Terrell Owens? Get answers to these questions and much more as Tom Herrera and Matt Snyder dish out advice heading into Week 4. Listen up after the jump.

Fantasy FanHouse's "Bust a Move" segment provides quick-hitting insight on the most popular adds and drops across Fleaflicker fantasy leagues between Tuesday and Wednesday of each week. Knowing who is on the move during this 24-hour period often provides a valuable edge with regard to outperforming or underperforming players, injuries and depth chart shifts. So do as the man says, "Don't just stand there..."

The Adds

Pierre Garcon (WR, Colts, 5,354 adds) -- It's about time. We've only been talking up Garcon for two solid weeks now. Despite the massive attack on Garcon, he's still available in 86 percent of leagues at the time of this writing. After two solid games -- both with touchdowns -- this should change fast. Besides, how can anyone honestly pass up the temptation make waiter jokes in a French accent for the remainder of the season?

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

Seems a little early for all these injury woes, doesn't it? Frank Gore, Brian Westbrook, Clinton Portis, Jamal Lewis, Marion Barber/Felix Jones, and now you can add Kevin Smith and Willie Parker to that list.

After being unable to finish Sunday's game against the Redskins due to a shoulder injury, it turns out Smith "tweaked" his knee as well. Parker? He's playing through a case of that not-so-pretty turf toe. Backup running backs are all the waiver-wire rage this week.

Fantasy Felony helps you hijack your fellow owners.

If you drafted LeSean McCoy, Tashard Choice, Glen Coffee or Adrian Peterson (of the Bears, and yes, he's a stretch) you did so for a reason. You believed at some point, they might have some decent fantasy value.

Well, guess what? That time is now, folks, as all of Frank Gore, Brian Westbrook, Marion Barber and Matt Forte are dealing with some sort of injury. So what should you do? Well, if I were you, I'd do my best Beyonce impression and get my upgrade on.

Here's how it works. We throw some intriguing matchups at the FanHouse staff and ask whether each player will be over or under a certain point total. The result? Fantasy Football Over/Under. Makes sense, right?

If you're having trouble gauging whether Willis McGahee is worth starting, or whether you should play waiver-wire finds Johnny Knox and Lynell Hamilton this week, you'd probably appreciate a second opinion. Here in the Over/Under, we give you more than just seconds -- several Fantasy FanHouse staffers are more than ready to jump in with their views on difficult start/sit decisions. And just to keep it fun, we also try and peg whether the big names actually will come up big yet again.

A message to Marion Barber: don't mess this up for Felix Jones.

It's going to be Monday Night Football. The Cowboys are taking on the Carolina Panthers, who haven't yet shown a good run defense. Felix is a home run hitter, as evidenced by his 56-yard run last week, his 98-yard kick return touchdown last season and his career 8.9 yards-per-carry average on 43 carries. Give him 15 carries a week, and the sky is the limit. When news of Barber missing 1-2 weeks popped, it appeared the stars were aligning for Felix's breakout party. Now, it's looking like Barber might suit up and play. If he does, it would be like refusing to leave your friend alone with a girl at a bar. There's a hyphenated word for that, Marion, and the second part is "block." Don't be that guy. Back off and allow your buddy to get his.

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