Injury Update

We will do something a little different this week.

Considering that you are probably either entering the playoffs or crying with the stall door closed in the men’s (or women’s) restroom, we are just going to take a look at the players that could replace your injured starters.

Of those players that are starting, just look back through previous week’s waiver pick ups to see who you might have missed, but I would assume the names are probably familiar to you if you have been doing your research all season. These guys might not be on your radar.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Bryant Johnson, WR ARI
Everyone is hurting in Arizona WR group. Watch the injury reports, but Johnson should be one of the two starters come Sunday. He has already been involved in the offense and should continue to be.

Arnaz Battle, WR SF
Battle has a TD in his last two games and headsinto some nice match ups with the Vikings and Bengals in weeks 14 and 15.

Sidney Rice, WR MIN
He did it again. Rice has a TD in his last two games as well. Even though the Vikings passing game hasn’t been a highlight this season, Rice has the big play ability. Take a risk on him only if you have a receiver not playing up to their potential here at the end of the season, but I mentioned him last week as well.

Mike Furrey/Shaun McDonald, WR DET
If the rumor that Roy Williams is out for the rest of the season is true, these two should clean up catching passes from Kitna in his absence. They definitely won’t have much luck running the ball in the fantasy playoffs against Dallas, San Diego and Kansas City.

RUNNING BACKS

Chris Brown, RB TEN
LenDale White’s injury is not too serious–just a finger–but he will probably continue to split time. If you are desperate, he breaths and runs with a football. The Titnas don’t have a great match up until week 16 against the Jets, but by then, they will probably have all three running backs taking carries against the weak Jets run defense.

Ladell Betts, RB WAS
If you have Portis, it is a must to have Betts on your roster. This week especially since Portis was hurt in the game and may/may not start this next week.

Reuben Droughns, RB NYG
Droughns could be the starter for a few games with Jacobs out and Ward breaking his leg this past Sunday. Watch the injury reports on Jacobs. If Droughns finishes the regular season, he will have a nice match up against Buffalo behind the strong Giants line in week 16.

Fred Jackson, RB BUF
He just might be the starter for Buffalo agianst Miami this weekend, but Marshawn Lynch might also return this week and make things difficult to call. He looked good starting this past week and broke 150 yards with his rushing and reception yards. Check Lynch at practice this week.

QUARTERBACKS

Sage Rosenfels, QB HOU
Word is that Schaub might be out for the season with his dislocated shoulder. Rosenfels would finish out the season against Tampa Bay, Denver and Indy. Not promising, but if you need a QB, he might now be the starter.

Gus Frerotte, QB STL
He’s only valuable for a few games until Marc Bulger comes back for the Rams, which might be this week, but he has a miraculous match up against Cincinnati in week 14 if Bulger does sit before it gets darker from there with Green Bay and Pittsburgh. He is prone to throw INTs, but he also likey the touchdowns.

Vinny Testaverde, QB CAR
Vinny might be the starter now in Carolina, and even though they aren’t utilizing Steve Smith lately, they are still scoring TDs. They play the Jags this week, so you know they are going to have to throw. Follow that with a Seattle and Dallas match up that are decent but not great for the old guy.

Dangerous plays at QB: Rex Grossman, Brodie Croyle, Trent Edwards, John Beck
Use them at your own risk. They have no good match ups and could leave you with more turnovers than TDs in the playoffs. A quarterback is one of the positions that can make or break your week–especially this year.

Oh, you weren’t starting to settle into a nice little butt groove going into the last week before playoffs were you? I’m sorry. If you didn’t notice, several starters just fell apart this week leaving you in the position to grab up the next starter before you playoff opponents or in great need of grabbing your back ups if you didn’t handcuff.

This week we’ll combine the injury report and waiver wire.

Philip Rivers, QB SD
Keep your eye on Rivers. Even though he has been inconsistent, he could emerge as a promising starter for your playoff run if another owner has already given up on him.

Kolby Smith, RB KC
If no one picked him up last week, does 150+ yards and 2 TDs convince you? Of course, that was against Oakland, but Smith should get his yards as the focus of the Kansas City offense as long as Larry Johnson stays out.

Roddy White, WR ATL
Harrington is going to look to White when they make a play. He’s consistent if you have a hit or miss WR that might give you trouble in the playoffs.

Trent Edwards, QB BUF
If you are hurting–and I mean hurting–at QB, you are probably stuck with one of the Trents. Trent Edwards was not much more than a game manager during his previous stint as a starter in Buffalo. He needs to meet a guy name Lee Evans before he will make his mark fantasy-wise, but for the moment, he will start over J.P. Losman to end this season. If you just need a starter, he is breathing and starting for the moment for the Bills.

Trent Dilfer, QB SF
He’s the other Trent. With Alex Smith in recovery, Dilfer put up decent numbers–250+ yards and 2 TDs. It’s hard to say which Trent would be a better addition to your roster, but Dilfer does have the better match up this week with Cleveland.

Anthony Thomas, RB BUF
Marshawn Lynch looks to be out again this week, so as long as Thomas’ own injury from Sunday is minor, he should get the start. Considering the Buffalo Trent, Trent Edwards, is back as a starter for the first game in his new stint, look for them to give Thomas plenty of carries against Washington.

Adrian Peterson, RB CHI
Peterson is now the full-time starter with Cedric Benson ending his dismal season with injury on Sunday. Don’t expect big numbers because the Bears don’t have an easy street schedule to end the season, but Peterson can be a decent number 2 RB.

Andre Hall and/or Cecil Sapp, RB DEN
The value here is all about injuries. Travis Henry is out with his knee, and Selvin Young was hurt last week and sat out Sunday. Andre Hall tweaked his own ankle in the game Sunday but played through the injury. Depending upon who returns, Hall and Young could split carries or if everyone is hurt, Cecil Sapp could start for the Broncos. Shanny is unpredictable, and this call could all come down to a game time decision.

Patrick Cobbs, RB MIA
With Ricky Williams ending his NFL season with less than 20 yards and a fumble and Chatman going out again Monday night with a neck injury, the Dolphins might have to look at Cobbs for the remainder of the season or until Chatman gets back in shape. He’s a dangerous start, but he could be a factor against the Jets.

Reuben Droughns, RB NYG
He wasn’t completely dismal against the Vikings tough run D and unless Derrick Ward returns to start this week, look for Droughns to get the start again against the low-ranked Chicago run defense.

Tony Scheffler, TE DEN
Back from injury, Scheffler has become a factor with Jay Cutler in the second half of the season. Consider picking him up if you need a good back up TE for the playoffs or have an underperforming TE–even one like Greg Olsen or Owen Daniels.

LJ Smith, TE PHI
Some owners gave up on him as he struggled to get healthy at the beginning of the year, but LJ is now back to his usual in Philadelphia. I think Scheffler has the bigger upside, but Smith can be consistent as long as the Eagles QB situation doesn’t get too chaotic.

Sidney Rice, WR MIN
He’s hit or miss, but if you want a big play WR to help you out for this final week of glory or in your playoff run, Rice has big play ability.

New Orleans’ Reggie Bush is still whining about his injuries a bit, so he is a game time decision–always ominous–for Sunday. Make sure you check the reports before you set your roster. Stecker would fill in, but you really want Bush for this one. He said earlier in the week that he could play through the pain and be a tough guy, but check the reports tomorrow morning just in case.

Carolina’s Vinny Testaverde came in Friday with a stiff back–what did he do Thursday night? He may be in danger of losing the start to David Carr this week. For Steve Smith owners, that’s right, pray for Vinny to get it together. David Carr hates Steve Smith because Smith made fun of his little gloves. They never play nice together.

Minnesota rookie Adrian Peterson has been updated to questionable for this week against the New York Giants. By questionable, Minnesota probably means “scaring the Giants defensive game plan.” I have to doubt that they would throw him to the wolves on his first game back from injury against the bruising Giants blitz attack unless they agree that they have no offense besides their running game. If he does suit up, I would expect Chester Taylor to still have the start. If you are praying for his return this week, make sure you have another smart play.

The Buffalo Bill’s rookie RB Marshawn Lynch, without a doubt the second-best rookie RB in the league this year, will not play again this week against Jacksonville. From what I hear, the Jacksonville defense is pretty tough, so I wouldn’t have liked to see the second best rookie breaking out against them on his return from an ankle injury. Maybe we will see him back in week 13 against Washington, and maybe running backs will start putting up the points they used to before the NFL changed to an all-throwing league.

R.I.P. LJ’s 2007 Fantasy Season

He came in with such high hopes this season–heralded as one of the top RBs in fantasy and setting a franchise record with his latest contract with the Chiefs.

And then, he went and performed like a back up for the first four games of the season. I’ll hold that against him considering he was killing one of my fantasy teams by stinkin’ up the joint. Luckily, he came back to form in week 4 and exploded weeks 6 through week 9, when the Packers forced him to leave the game with an official undisclosed injury.

A now an moment of silence for LJ…

That’s all that has been coming out the Kansas City camp since his injury, but now, we finally get confirmation that he has a Lisfranc fracture similar to what Kevin Jones suffered from last season. Since they are being so quiet, and LJ vows to return, they may feel that his injury is not going to be that major, but considering that he sits this week against Oakland, the only good match up he has left is week 14 in Denver. After that game, he faces Tennessee for week 15–not helping you much in the playoffs–and then Detroit for most championships in week 16.

It seems unlikely that he will make it back by then–or even make it back in time to not share carries with Kolby Smith on his return, so for fantasy purposes, his season is probably done. Move on, nothing to see here. Just a undisclosed injury trying to keep your fantasy hopes alive. Give up the roster spot and pick up someone with a brighter future ahead unless you are in some kind of crazy keeper league. LJ might play again this year, but probably not best to hold out for it to be your team unless you are stacked at RB.