FanHouse Ben Roethlisberger

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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Stash or Trash tells you whether a prospective fantasy football pickup (or drop) is worthy of your roster spot.

It's getting to be that time of the football season when depth charts are rewritten in pencil, with an eraser handy, due to a plethora of circumstances. A player outside of the limelight may just be turning it on to become a force to be reckoned with. Or maybe injuries are beginning to take their toll and players who weren't counted on early will need to step up and perform.

Whatever the reason for a players' rise to prominence, if he's going to perform he needs to be on your fantasy football roster. It's that time of year to start stashing these upstart weapons -- one may turn into fantasy gold.

Jay Cutler can fail on and off the field, it seems*. This should come as a relief to Broncos fans and the obsessive-compulsive set who demand symmetry in their daily lives.

In addition to deftly filling the huge void left by predecessors Kordell Steward, Chad Hutchinson and Rex Grossman, Cutler also has horrible taste in music. Via the Chicago Tribune (by way of Tremendous Upside Potential and TBL)

Sunday Evening Wrap checks out players who increased or decreased their value during the Sunday afternoon games.

Risers of the Week: Alex Smith and Vernon Davis were first-round picks of the 49ers in consecutive seasons (Smith was first overall in 2005, Davis went sixth overall in 2006). They were supposed to be the main building blocks of a highly successful passing attack in the Bay Area for years to come. Instead, each was a colossal bust for several years. Sunday, 49ers fans -- and fantasy owners of Davis -- were treated with a much-belated version of what was originally planned.

Once Smith took over for the struggling Shaun Hill, he threw three touchdown passes, all to his dreadlocked tight end. Davis is clearly a must-start every week at this point. Smith wouldn't be a QB1, but would certainly be worth owning if handed the keys. Wait and see.

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

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- A Nevada judge denied a motion Thursday to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of raping a woman at a hotel-casino in Lake Tahoe.

Washoe District Court Judge Brent Adams also refused a request by a lawyer for the two-time Super Bowl champ to sanction the woman's attorney for pursuing the case without sufficient evidence.

The judge said in a one-page order that Cal Dunlap, a lawyer and former district attorney, had met the minimal standards required to avoid the imposition of sanctions in his representation of the former VIP host at Harrah's Lake Tahoe who accused the quarterback of sexually assaulting her and Harrah's of covering it up.

"I'm not surprised by the judge's ruling," Dunlap said. He declined further comment.

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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In the second quarter of the Steelers' win over the Browns on Sunday, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger plowed into the line of scrimmage on a fourth-down sneak and appeared to be stopped short of the first down.

I usually put Peyton Manning at the top of the QB column, but with the Colts off in Week 6, I can't do that this week, can I? The new No. 1 is as clear a choice as Manning usually is, since he has a fantastic matchup. Drew Brees, a great talent and one of two QBs (along with Manning) that I want on my team over all other contenders, has a terrible matchup against the Giants. That sinks his ranking this week and places him out of the top five.

1. Aaron Rodgers, GB vs. DET
2. Tom Brady, NE vs. TEN
3. Matt Schaub, HOU at CIN
4. Donovan McNabb, PHI at OAK
5. Matt Ryan, ATL vs. CHI

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Sunday night's offensive explosion against the Chargers was just the warm-up act for the Steelers, it turns out. Because 24 hours later, Ben Roethlisberger and his offensive line were guest hosts on WWE's RAW. The footage has found its way onto YouTube and it's 10 delightful minutes of horrific acting, unintentional comedy, and unimaginable storylines (spoiler alert: Ben didn't get sacked once).

At one point, the short fella in the double-breasted suit (Jericho? Jon Gruden on the juice?) challenged Big Ben and his offensive line (a "gang of useless mesomorphs") to take on the Big Show. And that's when things got ... RAW (!).

Video after the jump.