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.
Stubbornness sometimes pays off. The Carolina Panthers found this out on Sunday.
One week after giving up on the run way too easily in a loss to Buffalo, the Panthers mercilessly pounded Arizona's run defense into the ground, and their reward was an easy win. Of course, it doesn't mean Jake Delhomme has magically turned his season around. It just means the Panthers have found a way to hide him, while keeping him on the field. Delhomme is off our magical list for now, but other shaky starters aren't so lucky.
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
Ted Ginn Jr., WR Miami (6 KRs, 299 yards, 2 TDs) -- Miami fans didn't want him, and how could you blame them for what Ginn Jr. had done so far this season? One touchdown and just 30 yards receiving per game for the former Ohio State star forced a benching by head coach Tony Sparano, only to have Ginn do something on Sunday that had never been done before.
Did the injury bug hit your fantasy football team like it was a car windshield moving at 100 MPH? If so, it may be time to do some Damage Control.
Quarterback
• Aaron Rodgers, Packers - Rodgers has been sacked 31 times this season to lead the NFL. On Sunday he sprained his toe. His opposite foot was already injured, so watch to see how well he's moving around this week. I would expect him to play through these foot injuries.
• Jake Delhomme, Panthers - Delhomme sustained a chest injury against Arizona on Sunday but said on Monday that he feels fine. There's no reason to think that he won't be ready for Week 9.
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 York Giants (5-2) at Philadelphia (4-2): The Giants are supposed to have one of the best pass rushes in the league, but they just haven't shown up in the past two games, with zero sacks over that time. They must get pressure on Donovan McNabb to have a chance on Sunday. Eli Manning also must figure out how to rebound from his four interceptions over the past two games.
Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.
You had to be crazy not to see this coming. And whether you think the penalty was too stiff or not harsh enough for the crime, just know that Larry Johnson is being punished. In a release from the Kansas City Chiefs, we find out that Johnson will receive a two-game suspension.
The Kansas City Chiefs have suspended RB Larry Johnson for Conduct Detrimental to the Club effective immediately. Johnson will not be permitted to participate in any team activities or be on team premises until Monday, November 9th. The Chiefs will have no further comment on Johnson's status at this time.
This punishment wasn't as harsh as I predicted, but since I have no say in the matter let's focus on what the Chiefs are doing to make sure their rushing attack doesn't suffer.
Blame it on the $42.5 million contract extension he signed in the offseason, but whatever the reason, Jake Delhomme just can't get himself benched.
Delhomme threw three interceptions in Carolina's 20-9 home loss to Buffalo last season, upping his season turnover total to 15 -- which is more than 29 teams through seven weeks of the NFL season. But with 2-4 Carolina on the verge of becoming a team playing for draft position, Panthers coach John Fox announced Wednesday that Delhomme would start at Arizona this week.
Some teams are entirely too stubborn. Not only will they leave bad quarterbacks in to take mental and physical beatings, but they'll insist on running offensive plays that don't seem to take the team's strengths into account, oftentimes leaning way too much on a struggling quarterback to make plays. As the Carolina Panthers and Cleveland Browns (among others) have now learned, this is a recipe for disaster.
Every week, NFLFanHousehits the lowlights from Sunday's action, looking at those players who did the most to move their head coaches that much closer to returning to the Bed and Breakfast business.
In light of their recent faux pas, it'd be easy to make JaMarcus Russell or Larry Johnson the Coach Killer of the week. After getting benched in a loss to the Jets, Russell explained that he wasn't Oakland's problem, proving that he's as aware of himself as he is of a blitz. Or how to line up for the first play of the game, despite practicing it all week.
Larry Johnson, well, we know that story by now. Johnson added insult to ineffectiveness in the wake of the Chiefs' 37-7 loss to the Chargers, making life harder on a first-year coach trying to retain any shred of credibility with a terrible roster.
But Russell is not an NFL-capable player, and Johnson is a headcase. They haven't fooled us into believing otherwise. Jake Delhomme, however, had us all believing he was an NFL quarterback. A gambler, sure, but one who came through more often than not. ... D'oh.
After a 37-7 drubbing of his Chiefs on Sunday, running back Larry Johnson spent post-game energy focused on his Twitter stream instead of reflecting on the 1-6 start to the season in Kansas City. He called out head coach Todd Haley in a way most employees don't recover from when speaking poorly of their employers.
"My father played for the coach from "rememeber the titans". Our coach played golf. My father played for redskins briefley. Our coach. Nuthn"
Johnson is obviously upset at how the Chiefs are playing. He may even be upset at the fact that he's not getting enough touches. But, we won't know what's bothering Johnson because not only did he delete his controversial tweets, he also protected his Twitter stream from being viewed unless Johnson gives explicit permission. According to Kent Babb of the Kansas City Star, he's also not happy with the media asking about his tweets.