FanHouse Kyle Orton

Whether it's torn, sprained, broken or just needs to be taped, Injuries to Watch will keep you up to date on injuries around the NFL and how they'll affect your fantasy football team.

Quarterback

• Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers - Roethlisberger is not listed on the injury report, but he sat out parts of practice on Thursday with his elbow wrapped. He is expected to play on Sunday, but questions of a sore arm have definitely surfaced.

Fed up with one of your players? Eyeballing a player on the wire, but don't know who to drop? So Long, Suckers examines a few widely-owned players that probably shouldn't be.

Last week we suggested owners in shallow leagues dump Brian Westbrook. This week, after suffering another concussion, it's safe for teams in all but the deepest of leagues (i.e., leagues where this week's waiver wire darlings Justin Forsett and Jason Snelling were owned heading into Week 10) to cut the Philly back.

Absolutely best case for Westbrook in my mind is to miss two weeks, play sparingly in Week 13, and start against the Giants, 49ers and Broncos during your fantasy playoffs. Would you really rely on him at that point? I know I wouldn't.

Who else deserves a pink slip this week? All the following players are owned in 60 percent of Fleaflicker leagues.

This is a couple days old, but it still merits a mention because Fran Tarkenton is suddenly the angriest, unintentionally funny quote on the planet. Plus, it's one more opportunity to clown frowny-faced Jay Cutler after his pick-tastic performance against the 49ers Thursday night.

Back in May, when the "Favre is RE-UNRETIRING ... AGAIN!" talk began in earnest, Tarkenton, who took the Vikings to four Super Bowls during his career, appeared on an Atlanta radio station to make his views on the idea crystal clear.

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

• Kyle Orton, Broncos - Orton sat out the second half on Sunday with an ankle injury. He'll be tested early this week and Chris Simms will take a lot of snaps with the first team as we wait to see how severe Orton's injury is.

Running Back

• Ronnie Brown, Dolphins - Brown limped off of the field during the third quarter of Sunday's game. X-rays were negative, but the MRI results have not yet been seen. Brown is believed to have a severe ankle sprain, and unfortunately for the Dolphins, he may not be ready to play in Thursday's Week 11 game. Look for a large dose of Ricky Williams.

• Brian Westbrook, Eagles - Westbrook was knocked out of the game on Sunday in the fourth quarter with another concussion. His season may be in jeopardy.

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.

Two weeks ago, the Carolina Panthers went into Arizona and picked Kurt Warner off five times en route to an easy victory over the defending NFC champions. Some began to fear the old man was beginning to lose his touch. If he did, what would happen to the Cardinals' juggernaut of a fantasy football unit?

All they've done since then is score 72 points in two games and looked better than ever.

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

Denver (6-2) at Washington (2-6): Denver has lost its last two games and has shown an inability to score against good defenses. Washington's defense is ranked fifthh in the NFL, and that spells a much closer matchup than two teams with such opposite records should be involved in. It's extremely tough to throw against Washington, so Knowshon Moreno becomes a very important factor on Sunday. If he does well, Denver wins -- If Moreno falters, Denver loses.

DENVER -- Maybe it took two quarters of getting acclimated to the Denver altitude, or perhaps the rust of a bye week left the Pittsburgh Steelers a bit sluggish out of the gate Monday night. But when the Steelers' defense and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hit the field re-energized in the second half of what became a lopsided AFC battle against the Broncos, they hardly let the home team touch the football.

Roethlisberger threw three second-half touchdowns, the Steelers defense forced two of Kyle Orton's three interceptions, and Pittsburgh played its most complete 30 minutes of football this season, ultimately rolling to a 28-10 victory over the Broncos at a stunned Invesco Field.

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DENVER -- Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark wasn't happy with coach Mike Tomlin's decision to deactivate him for Monday night's key AFC showdown against the Denver Broncos. So his team tried to alleviate some of the conflict Clark may have felt as a spectator.

The Steelers defense forced three Kyle Orton interceptions and Clark's replacement at free safety, Tyrone Carter, got two of them. Carter returned one of his picks 48 yards for a second-quarter touchdown, and Pittsburgh dominated the suddenly vulnerable Broncos, 28-10, at Invesco Field at Mile High.

Tomlin, whose team improved to 6-2, made the call to keep Clark in street clothes, mindful of the defensive back's previous medical emergency in the altitude in Denver two years ago. Clark has a rare form of sickle-cell trait that is aggravated by altitude.

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The Denver Broncos, the 2009 NFL season's early Cinderella story, ran out of magic in a 30-7 Week 8 shellacking at Baltimore. Now, despite their 6-1 record and first-place standing in the AFC West, folks are wondering(again) if the Broncos' hot start was just a mirage.

The Chargers, fresh off a win over the Giants on Sunday, are finally making some noise in the division. Denver also made what could be seen as a desperation move this week, signing 35-year-old cornerback Ty Law after the Ravens' Joe Flacco had a field day against the Broncos' secondary.

Denver is even a home underdog Monday night as Pittsburgh comes in -- but the Steelers have issues of their own. Despite a four-game winning streak, the defending Super Bowl champs have plenty of question marks. They'll enter the Mile High City a game behind Cincinnati in the AFC North, and with a still clunky-at-times offense and banged-up defense.

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

Faller of the Week: Steve Slaton was most likely a first-round pick, the centerpiece of your fantasy football squad. Obviously, his being benched after just three touches and a lost fumble had a huge impact on your fantasy game this week, but looking to the future, it's much more scary. Ryan Moats was impressive with Slaton out, which does not bode well for Slaton's future. The Texans are in the midst of chasing their first-ever playoff berth, so they aren't going to run someone out there who repeatedly gives the ball away. It's entirely possible Slaton loses his job at some point this season. Thus, he easily takes the biggest hit in fantasy value for this week.

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