FanHouse WillieParker

Whether you're a fantasy player or just a fan, you could very well be looking for updates on injuries around the league as kickoffs approach.

FanHouse has you covered, as we'll monitor all this week's games and bring you the latest information on injuries right up until kickoff. Reader comments are disabled, but please do check out our live updates after the jump.

PITTSBURGH -- Mike Tomlin wouldn't play along. Oh, it sounded like a good story. Rashard Mendenhall, the Steelers' young backup running back, was benched in Week 3 because Tomlin didn't think he was paying close enough attention to his playbook. Mendenhall was contrite, and spent the week telling folks he hoped he'd get a second chance because he knew what he'd done wrong and was determined to make up for it. Willie Parker, the starting running back, went down with a toe injury, and Mendenhall stepped in and shredded the Chargers on national TV. Great story, but Tomlin says he isn't buying.

"I'm not going to take any credit for that," the Steelers' coach said when asked if he felt he'd motivated Mendenhall. "I didn't rush for a yard tonight."

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As the season nears, FanHouse's fantasy football team decided to put our heads together for another set of updated positional rankings. In this installment, we'll hit up the thoroughbreds.

The thing that sticks out to me, when viewing the running backs for this season, is what a muddled mess the group is. I stared at a group of about 15 players -- those ranked from six to 20 -- for probably 45 minutes while tinkering with how to rank them. Some will pan out, and some will end up being viewed as busts. May the force be with you. (Last Updated: 8/27/09)

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For those who may use a different term or are new to fantasy football, "handcuff" is the term used when you own insurance for one of your players in the form of owning his real-life backup. It's usually a running back, but you could conceivably handcuff a quarterback. The theory is that some or all of the production is automatically replaced should you lose a high draft pick to injury, meaning you need to insure a high draft pick by grabbing his backup.

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FanHouse's crack squad of savvy fantasy football personnel put our five heads together and amassed consensus rankings for non-keeper, standard scoring leagues. We'll update as the season gets closer, but this is our "incredibly early yet still fun" version.

In an otherwise jumbled mess, there is one thing we know about the running backs when it comes to fantasy football drafts: Adrian Peterson is easily the class of the position. After that, there appears to be a large clump of running backs who have a good chance to excel this season. If you think the old school fantasy football "running back-running back" draft strategy (drafting a running back in each of the first two rounds) is truly antiquated, ask yourself the difference between a Frank Gore and Marion Barber tandem in your backfield as opposed to Ronnie Brown and Jamal Lewis. Is it worth taking a wide receiver, then, before a Barber type?

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For the glass-half-full-types: one beneficiary of the Jaguars' decision to part ways with 11-year veteran Fred Taylor: Maurice Jones-Drew. The diminutive third-year player led the team in rushing last season, and, now that he appears to be the feature back, is in line for a raise.

Head coach Jack Del Rio did indicate that fullback Greg Jones can also expect five-to-10 carries a game, but the bulk of the work will fall to the 5-foot-7, 210-pound Jones-Drew, who also answers to Pocket Hercules. As to what he can expect in terms of compensation, the Florida Times-Union's Vito Stellino commences with the speculation:

Well, not only is fantasy football long over, but, sadly, now too is the NFL season. However, that sure doesn't mean us diehards have nothing left to do but wait for next season. Nope, now more than ever, it's time to fine-tune those skills that got you a fantasy football trophy, or brought you darn near close to one. Yes, let your opponents settle into comfort, while you do your homework all offseason.

A bit drastic? Quite possibly, but during the slow stretch (a.k.a. the waiting game) we'll be here to give you little tidbits to take to heart and make note of for next season. The first order of business is evaluating the players who "elevated" their games in the NFL playoffs. Year in and year out, there are always guys who breakout in a way you could dream of, had it been the regular "fantasy" football season.

The Steelers have $19 million in cap room with only a talented cornerback and a slew of mediocre or injury-prone linemen heading to free agency. So everything's great, right?

Well, take a look at this list of Steelers who are getting ready to head into the final year of their current contracts (thanks to davaughnci for pulling a list together over at Football's Future Forum): RB Willie Parker, LB James Harrison, WR Hines Ward, TE Heath Miller, C Justin Hartwig, S Ryan Clark, CB Deshea Townsend, DE Brett Keisel, NG Casey Hampton, K Jeff Reed.

In a baggy gray sweatshirt, jeans and aviator shades, he looked like one of the players who were celebrating Tuesday in Sixburgh. "What do you say to this?" shouted Mike Tomlin, addressing the gathered masses by flashing six fingers. "Steeler Nation, you're leaving us all speechless, man. We just appreciate the love. How about the Steelers? How about the greatest fans in the world? How about number six?"

He could have been Hines Ward, Ben Roethlisberger, James Harrison, any of them. Which is exactly the point. When Tomlin spoke at his job interview two years ago, a remarkable visionary named Dan Rooney slashed through variables that some scary men in the traditional old-boy network would've held against a candidate like mustard stains on a tie.