FanHouse Willie Parker

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

• Aaron Rodgers, Packers - Rodgers sat out of practice on Wednesday with sprained right foot and sore toe on his left foot. He's not expected to participate in practice until Friday, but he is expected to play on Sunday.

• Matthew Stafford, Lions - Stafford practiced on Wednesday, but only as a limited participant. His right knee is banged up.

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.

The Baltimore Ravens are known as a black-and-blue, smash-mouth, old-school, ball control football team. After all, they won a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer at the helm. They had Jamal Lewis as the punishing bruiser for years. Things are a bit different now, to say the least. The Ravens have now attempted 227 passes and 154 runs this season. They have gained more than twice as many yards and first downs through the air. Offensive coordinator Cam Cameron loves to throw the ball in a variety of different ways. Joe Flacco is becoming a Pro Bowl-caliber quarterback. Do the math: the Ravens are a passing team.

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Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.

It would appear that the Lions aren't going to take their chances with QB Matthew Stafford and WR Calvin Johnson, as all signs indicate they won't be in action at Green Bay this weekend. You probably weren't starting Stafford and the news on Johnson was kind of expected. However, that certainly doesn't ease the pain of losing the production of Megatron (who has historically torched the Packers). The suggestion would be to hit the wire now if you're looking for a replacement.

It's not the best news for the present tense, but in the long run this should help Calvin get back to health. You certainly don't want your stud WR catering to a lingering injury the remainder of the season. As a Megatron owner, I'm totally cool with letting him rest up and get healthy over the course of the next two weeks (the Lions have a bye in Week 7). Just keep your frustrations in check, because when he gets back into action in Week 8, the Rams will be waiting. Ok, I just talked myself down.

So what else is newsworthy heading into the weekend games?

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

• Eli Manning, Giants - Manning was limited in practice on Thursday but the Giants say it was by design. He's expected to play all four quarters against the Saints on Sunday.

• Matthew Stafford, Lions - Stafford did not practice on Thursday due to his knee injury and will likely not play on Sunday.

Just at the time that Willie Parker seems ready to return to action from his turf toe injury, the Pittsburgh Steelers are dealing with another ailing running back.

Rashard Mendenhall was sent home on Thursday with an illness. Some of the Steelers beat reporters (like the Washington Observer-Reporter's Dale Lolley) believe that the illness shouldn't be much of a problem by Sunday, but the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Scott Brown questions how much he will be able to play against the Browns.

For obvious reasons, it's hard for us to let go of LaDainian Tomlinson as an elite fantasy football running back. This was a guy who gained at least 1,776 yards from scrimmage and scored at least 15 times from 2002-2007 -- with peaks being 2,370 total yards and 31 total touchdowns. Yet, he's reached age 30 and has fallen from his lofty perch atop the fantasy world.

Now, after a bye week to lick his mental and physical wounds, we're left wondering if we're gonna see the LdT of old, or just an old LdT. He's got a tough task against the upstart Denver defense, who check in as the sixth-ranked run defense in the NFL and have only allowed 3.3 yards per carry. If Tomlinson appears to have his old burst and agility but doesn't pile up the stats, he'll be a good buy-low with the Chiefs and Raiders on deck. If not, well, have fun keeping the faith. You'll be doing it without me.

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Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.

In the months of November and December of last year, Pierre Thomas had a coming-out party. He scored nine times in those two months and vaulted his fantasy value into the Top 20 of many fantasy football pundits' preseason rankings.

Unfortunately for fantasy owners that grabbed him early, Thomas missed the first two weeks of play with a knee injury. While gone, Mike Bell stepped into his place and ran extremely well. But, in a twisted turn of events, Thomas became healthy enough to play in Week 3 and Mike Bell has since injured his knee.

Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.

At the end of Week 3 Willis McGahee had rushed for 190 yards and five touchdowns. Even now as Week 5 only has one Monday Night Football game left before it's closed out, McGahee leads the NFL with seven touchdowns. The problem for fantasy football owners is for the last two weeks, McGahee has played no part in the offense.

If you combine Week 4 and Week 5 McGahee has rushed the ball only six times for a total of nine yards. He's only made two receptions for 17 yards and a touchdown over that two-week span as well. After starting the season so well, Edward Lee of the Baltimore Sun says that McGahee is confused about his lack of playing time lately.

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

Faller of the Week: All Buffalo Bills. Three points against the Cleveland Browns? The same Browns who ranked dead last in the NFL in total defense, 31st in scoring defense, 22nd in passing defense and 31st in run defense? Abandon ship. Everyone except Terrell Owens and the two running backs (Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson) can be dropped. No one can safely be started in any league at this point. This is just a mess. Lee Evans and Trent Edwards are owned in far too many leagues. Drop the dead weight.

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