FanHouse Tom Brady

If the Dolphins had been able to march into Foxborough Sunday and find a way to beat the vaunted New England Patriots Sunday, the AFC East would have been quite the muddled division. Even the Buffalo Bills would have been within striking distance, while the Jets and Dolphins would have trailed the Pats by a single game with eight to play.

After a Ronnie Brown touchdown pass -- which was surely a flashback to last year's Wildcat-fest in New England -- the Patriots found themselves facing a 17-16 deficit with 4:51 left in the third quarter, and the Dolphins appeared on the verge of the critical road upset.

But Tom Brady, Randy Moss and company weren't having that.

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.

Coincidence or not, after Tom Brady missed almost all of the 2008 season after a low hit tore the Patriots star's left MCL and ACL, the NFL's Competition Committee made clear that it would enforce more strictly a rule preventing defenders from tackling quarterbacks at or below the knee. It was affectionately dubbed "The Brady Rule" by folks outside the league office.

And the Patriots have benefitted from the increased focus on QB protection, with their opponents picking up five roughing the passer penalties in seven games. One, in particular, raised some eyebrows -- in New England's Week 4 win over Baltimore, Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs gently brushed Brady's knee, and Brady gestured back at referee Ron Winter, and a flag came flying.

Winter might have thrown the flag regardless of Brady's reaction -- it is in the rule book, after all, though the rule states that forcible contact must me made -- but, nonetheless, the anti-Brady folk out there used it as evidence that Brady gets whatever he wants from officials.

It's been a tough stretch of games for owners of elite quarterbacks, starting with a Week 5 that saw Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler on the sideline and going through last week's off-week for Tom Brady, Carson Palmer and Ben Roethlisberger. Rest easy, because the rigorous fantasy games featuring backup QBs are over.

This week, only Brett Favre gets a seat on the bench in terms of QBs you'd want to use in normal-sized leagues. Next week, you just have to make it without Matt Schaub. For owners of the seven QBs in the previous paragraph, it's smooth sailing unless an injury strikes.

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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.

LONDON -- A bunch of Patriots went to dinner Friday night and were mistaken for a boy band. Had they been anywhere else, that embarrassing mix up might have caused an international incident. But since England gave us the ultimate boy band, the Beatles, the Patriots graciously ate their meal.

Then they routinely devoured Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Now they head back to the States after proving what we already knew: as Tom Brady rolls, so rolls the rest of New England's band. And, ready or not, America, Brady is back in rhythm.

"I'm feeling great," he said after New England's win. "I keep rolling."

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I don't think we're going to see any snow around the NFL today -- it didn't slow down Tom Brady anyway. We will, however, have two wet spots to deal with. Every other locale is either going to be good weather or protected by a dome.

San Diego at Kansas City: It should be dry for most of the game, but towards the late part of the afternoon there's a 50 percent chance of rain. There won't be a significant portion of the game interrupted by the weather so don't worry about making any fantasy football adjustments.

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 England (4-2) at Tampa Bay (0-6): Tom Brady threw for six touchdown passes last week, five in one quarter alone. And to be honest, it gets easier for him this week in London against the Bucs. Expect fireworks from the Patriots offense, as Brady is beginning to click with Randy Moss, and he's extremely happy that Wes Welker is back in action.

On defense, the Buccaneers don't have the speed or skill at the cornerback position to defend against Brady and the Patriots' aerial attack. On offense, the Bucs are young and inexperienced -- especially at the quarterback position where Josh Johnson is already looking in the rear-view mirror at competition from Josh Freeman.

Pick: New England

There were plenty of QB outings to love last week, with first and foremost being Tom Brady (No. 2 in Week 6) and his amazing first half against the awful Titans secondary. Matt Schaub (No. 3) threw four TDs and nearly had a 400-yard game as well. Aaron Rodgers (No. 1) wasn't quite as good, but 350-plus yards and two TDs is nothing to scoff at.

But then again, that was last week, and you're more concerned about the upcoming week. So who do we like to captain the ship this week? Most people should love Brady again, but I'm taking a bit of a different route with him, as I'll explain after the rankings.

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