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We had to take a few days off. We admit it—we cracked under the pressure. And after three sub-par weeks in the picks and prognostications department, we here at This Just In Fantasy Sports decided it was time for some changes. So, we basically pink slipped everyone who had a hand in the mediocre “Three Point Stance” columns of the past.

We’re not sure if the straw that broke the camel’s back was labeling Deuce McAllister and Drew Brees “STARTs” last week or telling you to “SIT” Brett Favre. Regardless, the editor-in-chief had had enough, so we’ve hired a new staff of pickers and predictors. This group is still dedicated to providing not-so-obvious recommendations on a weekly basis. But whereas the previous group favored the French health care system, peace rallies, and alternative fuels, this new gaggle of TJI staffers values truth, justice, and the American way. And they are proud to present a more thoroughly-researched and more grounded-in-fact edition of the “Three Point Stance.”

Running Backs to Start
Thomas Jones @ Buffalo: Against a porous run D, look for Jones to shine.
Marshawn Lynch vs. NY Jets: Against a porous run D, look for Lynch to shine.
Willis McGahee @ Cleveland: The Browns front seven might start choking during the game as the Ravens literally pound the ball down their throat.

Running Backs to Sit
Adrian Peterson vs. Green Bay: The Packers D has moved into the upper ranks.
Edgerrin James vs. Pittsburgh: The Steelers D hasn’t allowed a rushing TD in something like 409 games.
Travis Henry vs. Indianapolis: Denver’s going to have to throw all day just to keep up in this one.

Quarterbacks to Start
Daunte Culpepper vs. Miami: We’ve been dying to put him in this section all season. He should do well against his former team.
Eli Manning vs. Philadelphia: He showed last week that he’s improved over ’06.
Brian Griese @ Detroit: The Rex haters finally got what they wanted and the move will pay off right away.

Quarterbacks to Sit
Matt Leinart vs. Pittsburgh: The Steelers D wants to break this pretty boy in two.
Matt Schaub @ Atlanta: Vick’s the one that let them down, but the Falcons will take it out on Schaub.
Matt Hassleback @ SF: You should also sit anyone else named Matt in Week Four.

Wide Receivers to Start
Brandon Marshall vs. Indy: Walker’s dinged up, making Marshall the go-to-guy.
Ronald Curry vs. Miami: Culpepper-to-Curry doesn’t roll off the tongue, but they’ll be saying it often Sunday.
Laverneus Coles vs. Buffalo: He’ll bounce back with great stats this week.

Wide Receivers to Sit
Lee Evans vs. NY Jets: Losman’s injury should relegate him to your bench for a few weeks.
Javon Walker vs. Indianapolis: He’s hurting and if he plays, he won’t do much.
Plaxico Burress vs. Philadelphia: The injury bug has not just bitten this guy, it’s burrowed into his epidermis.

You’ll also want to make sure to get TE Todd Heap and the Seahawks D into your lineup. And it would be a good idea to sit Tony Gonzalez as well as KC’s defense.

There you have it. Remember to email us your questions for tomorrow’s “From the Mailroom” column. And check back to see our new writers’ picks-of-the-week in “Dollars to Donuts.”

Filed under: NFC East, NFC North, NFC South, NFC West, Fantasy Football, Injury Report

After two full days of practice, we still don’t know the exact statuses for the players that are injured, but we do know who has and who hasn’t been practicing. Here’s the breakdown from the NFC, for fantasy purposes, of players that might be affected by injury this weekend:

Arizona Cardinals

• Anquan Boldin (hip) - Boldin hasn’t practiced either Wednesday or Thursday. The first day was kind of funny in that “ha-ha” kind of way but missing Thursday is pretty disconcerting. He’s probably going to be listed as Questionable and you’re probably going to have to plan on starting him against the Steelers unless he absolutely gets ruled out.

Atlanta Falcons

• DeAngelo Hall (elbow) - He was back to full participation in practice after being limited Wednesday. He’s probably pretty teed off about his 100k fine and is likely facing a team imposed suspension. If he misses time for any reason Matt Schaub and Andre Davis see a spike in value.

Carolina Panthers

• Jake Delhomme (right elbow) - Delhomme hasn’t practiced either Wednesday or Thursday and I don’t think he’s playing. Get the David Carr bandwagon warmed up.

Chicago Bears

• Lance Briggs (Hamstring), Tommie Harris (knee), Charles Tillman (ankle) and Nathan Vasher (groin) all have missed practice Wednesday and Thursday are are likely to be questionable at best come tomorrow afternoon. Adam Archuleta (hand) has been limited in practice both days as well. Suddenly the Bears don’t look quite as intimidating, so don’t be scared to go with Jon Kitna, Roy Williams or Calvin Johnson depending on who’s gonna be missing time.
• Adrian Peterson (calf) - AP has been limited both days this week, so expect Cedric Benson to get the full load of carries - should be a monster day for him.

Dallas Cowboys

• Terrence Newman (foot) - From Dallas Cowboys.com: “Worked with the second-team defense again and Phillips said he’s not sure if he will start this week, despite playing in the dime package last Sunday in Chicago. However, Phillips did say that Newman could return to his punt-return duties this week.” At least he’s on his way. This Cowboys defense is a pretty nice buy low and has the explosive ability to rack up points and keep opponents shut down.

Detroit Lions

• Calvin Johnson (back) - He didn’t practice Thursday, so you’re gonna have to watch him. This is particularly tricky not only because of the injury but because we don’t really know who’s gonna be healthy for the Bears either.

Green Bay Packers

• Brett Favre (right finger) - Favre was back to full practice after being limited on Wednesday. Green Bay ain’t gonna run on Minnesota and Favre has a nice record in the Metrodome the last few years so he makes a nice start this weekend.
• Brandon Jackson (shin) - After not being listed Wednesday, Jackson didn’t practice Thursday. You want nothing to do with him this weekend against the Vikings.
• Greg Jennings (hamstring) - After being limited Wednesday, Jennings didn’t practice Thursday. This one is all my fault. I added him off of waivers in my main league (for the third time this year) so it’s only natural that he shouldn’t be playing.

Minnesota Vikings

• Chester Taylor (hip) - Taylor was limited Thursday in practice. He’s gonna be splitting the carries anyway when he gets back and Green Bay already shut down LT last week so steer clear.
• Tavaris Jackson (goin) - Limited. Don’t start him please.
• Troy Williamson (hamstring) - Limited. You don’t want to start Williamson this week either.

New York Giants

• Plaxico Burress (ankle) - Plax hasn’t practiced either day this week and will probably be listed as questionable for Sunday. The Eagles secondary is pretty banged up this week so Plax is a great play…if he’s gonna go. Supposedly he’s seeing a specialist about his nagging ankle injury, so hopefully we’ll hear more over the weekend.
• Derrick Ward (ankle) - Limited on Thursday after not practicing Wednesday. Assuming Jacobs isn’t back, Ward’s a pretty nice play as a RB2 this week.
• Brandon Jacobs (knee) - Hey-ey! Limited practice on Thursday. And with Ward ailing it doesn’t look like he’s gonna get totally screwed out of any touches.

Philadelphia Eagles

• L.J. Smith (groin) - He’s out. Again. Just move on.
• Brian Dawkins (neck) and Lito Sheppard (knee) didn’t practice either Wednesday or Thursday. Their absence would certainly make Eli Manning and Plaxico Burress more attractive options.
• Brian Westbrook (abdomen) hasn’t participated either Wednesday or Thursday. He’s always dealing with injuries so being held out is no real shock. Still, monitor the situation because this is a pretty nice matchup for a guy coming off a 200 plus yard week.

San Francisco 49ers

• Vernon Davis (knee) - He is out, sir.

Seattle Seahawks

• Shaun Alexander (wrist) - Full practice both days. Dood is ridiculous. He has a cracked freaking wrist and hasn’t missed a beat of practice.

Washington Redskins

• No significant injuries.

St. Louis Rams

• Marc Bulger (ribs) - He did full practice Wednesday and wasn’t on the injury report Thrusday so he should be good to go this weekend, although with seemingly everyone on the Rams kind of injured (but strangely not listed on the team’s home page) he might be in for a rough day.
• Steven Jackson (groin) - Per request, Jackson is OUT this weekend. Brian Leonard will see the carries in his place and the Rams have said he’ll be week to week following the game against Dallas.

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Filed under: AFC East, AFC North, AFC South, AFC West, Fantasy Football, Injury Report

After two full days of practice, we still don’t know the exact statuses for the players that are injured, but we do know who has and who hasn’t been practicing. Here’s the breakdown from the AFC, for fantasy purposes, of players that might be affected by injury this weekend. Oh yeah, but first let’s take time to point out that the Denver Broncos are still one of the few team that seemingly doesn’t want to make it easy for fans to find injury reports on their website. The St. Louis Rams have added one but you have to open it in .PDF, which is just absurd.

Baltimore Ravens

• Steve McNair (groin) - Full practice both days. Still supposedly could split time with Kyle Boller, which is a nighthorse.
• Derrick Mason (back) - Full practice both days. He’s been quietly resurgent this year and needs to be starting against the Browns.
• Trevor Pryce and Samari Rolle are both out.
• Mark Clayton (calf) has been limited both days as has Demetrius Williams (heel). Yamon Figurs or Devard Darling could backdoor some value if both Clayton and Williams are out in deeper leagues.

Buffalo Bills

• J.P. Losman (knee) - Didn’t practice. Expect Trent Edwards to start.

Cincinnati Bengals

• Rudi Johnson (hamstring) - Listed as OUT this Monday. Kenny Watson will get the start. Wow.
• T.J. Houshmandzadeh (knee) - Didn’t practice Thursday. He should be good to go as they did this last week and you saw how he did.

Cleveland Browns

• Kellen Winslow (shoulder) - Didn’t practice either day. Stay tuned; if he goes you want to start him against a banged up Ravens D.

Houston Texans

• Ahman Green (knee) - No practice either day. Looking more and more like he won’t go, so be thinking Ron Dayne for a big day against the Falcons.

Kansas City Chiefs

• No significant injuries

Indianapolis Colts

• No significant injuries

New England Patriots

• Tom Brady (shoulder) - Limited practice. I think we know it’s not really affecting him at this point.

New York Jets

• Chad Pennington (ankle) - Limited on Thursday but he should be probable.
• Jerricho Cotchery (shoulder) - Limited on Thursday but expect him to be questionable.

Pittsburgh Steelers

• Hines Ward (knee) - He hasn’t practiced so far and he’s doubtful, so start looking towards Nate Washington as a sleeper; should be a big game for Santonio Holmes.

San Diego Chargers

• Vincent Jackson (back) - Limited practice Thursday. Vinnie J should be good to go barring any last second bad news.

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Here are the Top 5 players at their position:

Quarterback

• Tom Brady
• Tony Romo
• Carson Palmer
• Jake Delhomme
• Derek Anderson

As the season progresses I’m sure we will see Peyton Manning and Donovan McNabb on this list. Derek Anderson scored more than half of his points in week 2.

Running Backs

• Brian Westbrook
• LaMont Jordan
• Marion Barber
• Ronnie Brown
• Joseph Addai

Not the usual suspects on the top 5. I called that Lamont Jordan could be a quality pick in the later rounds and that has proved true. Marion Barber is still spliting carries with Jones, but Barber is running twice as good as him, plus he gets the goal line carries.

Wide Receivers

• Randy Moss
• Chad Johnson
• Plaxico Burress
• Steve Smith
• Terrell Owens

After the stuggle last season, the Giants offense has turned around with Eli Manning stepping up. I don’t know if he didn’t throw to Burress enough last year, but he’s getting the ball to him now.

Tight Ends

• Antonio Gates
• Jason Witten
• Kellen Winslow
• Dallas Clark
• Benjamin Watson

I was big on Jason Witten for the draft after I saw Tony Romo constantly hit his tight end in preaseason. The usual TE’s are on the list with Heap and Crumpler right behind the 5.

Defense

• Vikings
• Steelers
• Texans
• Patriots
• Bears

Obviously the Texans are a huge surprise here. As well as the Vikings being #1 so far. They had big weeks against Atlanta and Detriot in week 1 and 2.

These top 5 should be the highest in most standard leagues. Some players won’t continue to be hot, it might be time to move them for players who are struggling, but have the talent to do better. I just acquired Steven Jackson myself which would of been a perfect trade if he didn’t get injured already.

Duece McAllister tore his anterior cruciate ligament and will miss the rest of the season. No need for fantasy owners to keep him on their roster any longer. This is good for Reggie Bush owners however. He scored two touchdowns but only rushed for 15 yards on 7 attempts.

Running backs have had a tough season so far, this reaches to Steven Jackson as well. Jackson will miss at least one week with a partial tear in his left groin.

If you need a spot start you might want to consider rookie back Brian Leonard. Even though the offense is struggling he may be the fire they need.

Filed under: Rams, Fantasy Football, NFL Injuries, St. Louis

Rams quarterback Marc Bulger had a lousy game in Sunday’s 24-3 loss to the Buccaneers, but he has a pretty good excuse: Rams coach Scott Linehan disclosed Monday that Bulger has two broken ribs and a badly bruised knee.

“He was limited going into the game,” Linehan said. “He has a couple of broken ribs, but he played with it. We’re not going to say that’s the reason he didn’t have his best game of his career or anything like that. He will be much better this week; he got out of this game pretty healthy.”

The Rams need Bulger to be better this week, especially without Steven Jackson. But overall, is there any way Bulger can get through this season healthy? He’s already lost his best pass blocker, left tackle Orlando Pace. Although Alex Barron has performed well in Pace’s absence, the decision to move Barron from left tackle to right had a ripple effect on the rest of the Rams’ line.

For the Rams, it’s hard not to think that this is a lost season. Sept. 25 is too early to start looking ahead toward next year, but does anyone really think they can be contenders this year?

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Welcome to the Three Point Stance, where the TJI experts provide you with three not-so-obvious picks to start and sit for each key position.

In a further effort to prove to our growing fan base that our picks our solid, let’s start by taking a look at last week’s hits and misses.

Start Hits: Rudi Johnson, Donald Driver, Matt Hasselback, Chris Chambers
Start Misses: Larry Johnson, Bernard Berrian

Sit Hits: Tatum Bell, Chris Brown, Alex Smith, Laverneus Coles, Ronald Curry
Sit Misses: Vince Young, Jon Kitna

Just for the record, unlike many publications, the Three Point Stance DID NOT recommend starting the Cincinnati Bengals Defense in Week 2. We couldn’t resist pointing that out.

We certainly showed some improvement and hopefully earned your trust. Week 3 is a tricky one to predict, but we’ll give it a shot. We love a challenge. This week we’ve also included a pick for each position from our Naysayers Nation department, the crew that poo-poos all popular fantasy opinions.

Running Backs to Start:

Thomas Jones vs. Miami: Today he proves that his leg is fine and that the Miami D isn’t.

Running Backs to Sit:

• Warrick Dunn vs. Carolina: The entire Falcons team is a mess right now.
• Julius Jones @ Chicago: His chance to prove he should carry the ball full time is slipping away in a hurry.
• Larry Johnson vs. Minnesota: It seems wrong, but maybe all the haters are right about LJ.

  Naysayers Nation says: Sit Frank Gore @ Pittsburgh

Quarterbacks to Start:

Jeff Garcia vs. St. Louis: Garcia to Galloway is a tough combo right now.

Quarterbacks to Sit:

• Brett Favre vs. San Diego: We don’t trust him this week against an angry opponent.
• Alex Smith @ Pittsburgh: See Frank Gore above.
• Matt Schaub vs. Indianapolis: No AJ leaves Schaub without a good option.

  Naysayers Nation says: Sit Derrick Anderson @ Oakland

Wide Receivers to Start:

• Larry Fitzgerald @ Baltimore: They’re not so tough against the pass.
• Deion Branch vs. Cinncinnati: Speaking of not so tough against the pass.
• Drew Carter vs. Atlanta: He’ll be open when Smith is covered.

  Naysayers Nation says: Start Lee Evans @ New England

Wide Receivers to Sit:

• Hines Ward vs. San Francisco: His reign as #1 may be ending.
• Derrick Mason vs. Arizona: Ailing McNair won’t find his fave target often.
• Dwayne Bowe vs. Minnesota: Won’t be able to steal any TD this week.

  Naysayers Nation says: Sit Plaxico Burress @ Redskins

You’ll also want to make sure to get TE Chris Cooley and the Panthers D into your lineup. And it would be a good idea to sit Vernon Davis and Miami’s defense.

And if you can believe it, our rep from the Naysayers Nation advises you should sit the Chicago D.

Best of luck this week. Let us know how it turns out.

Lots of emails. And lots of questions about Larry Johnson. Let’s get to it…

Newly hooked reader Al writes: My RB: D Ward, L Jordan, L Johnson, and L White. My WR: Chad Johnson, R Moss, and P Burress. I need 2 RB, 2 WR, and one flex (WR/RB). Who should I start?

This is quite a tough decision on the WR side. It’s extremely tough to sit Larry Johnson, in our opinion. He’s capable of going off, no matter what D he’s matched up against. You should also ride a red-hot LaMont Jordan. Finally, we normally advocate starting a RB in all RB/WR flex spots, but the three WR you have are quite a trio. With so many question marks surrounding White and the unproven track record of Ward, we’d go with your WRs. Just be sure to monitor Burress and his injury status before game time. Good luck!

——–

Sean writes:
My options–
QB: Brady/E. Manning
RB: Larry Johnson, A Peterson (Min), R Brown, L Jordan, C Williams, J Chatman
WR: R. Curry, Donald Driver, Hines Ward, Wes Welker, Joey Galloway
K: Hanson D/ST: Steelers
We start 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR and a RB/WR/TE flex. Thoughts?

Your QB decision is easy. At RB, we’d go with LJ, Jordan, and Peterson as your flex. Peterson is the a genuine stud, Jordan should shred the Browns’ D, and LJ (as we said earlier) is too good to sit. (For now.)

We like your WR. We’d start Driver and Galloway. Hines Ward is bench-worthy because the Niners D has been tough of late. Curry is a tempting play, though, so could switch him out with Joey and probably get the same results.

You’re deep at two skill positions. You mentioned that you’re in a 9-team league, but if someone is weak at RB, we’d look to move one of your RB like Brown or Williams to upgrade your receivers.

——-

John writes: Which two do I start? Hines Ward vs. SF, Ronald Curry vs. Cle, or Braylon Edwards at Oak And… What do you think of the handcuff strategy? I have Westbrook and McGahee, do you think it’s important to have both their backups taking up space on my bench?

Make Curry and Edwards your starters this week. As for the handcuff strategy—we hate to see valuable roster spots filled up by guys that will never play. It’s much better to have a strong back-up or two in case your guy goes down. And there’s always the waiver wire. Of course if the roster choice is between Justin McCairens and the handcuff, take the handcuff.

That being said, all LT owners should have Michael Turner. Other than that, we say roll the dice. BUT if you have Westbrook, you need to get Corell Buckhalter ASAP. The threat of injury is looming–he got nicked up in his game against the Redskins. Add C Buck until the threat has definitely passed.

——

Michelle would like some trade advice. She writes: I feel I am weak at WR. I have A. Johnson,, Galloway, Cotchery, Horn, Driver, B. Jones. Somebody wants Driver and asked me what it is going to take to get him.

We think you’re doing just fine at WR. Hopefully Johnson will be back in a week or two. If you’re going to move anyone, move Cotchery, a number 2 receiver on an average team. He had a big day Sunday, so now would be the time to offer him for someone like Lee Evans, who is stinking it up but is bound to break out. Let us know how it turns out.

——-

The folks at MyFantasyLineup.com want to know: Cadillac Williams or Ronnie Brown? Who should start in Week 3?

If your instinct is to drive the ‘lac, then we agree. Going up against the Rams, whose defense is suspect at best, we like Williams to take it to the house at least once. We’re feeling extra confident, too, now that Gruden is feeding it to him on the goal line.

We’ve about had it with Brown. But, reports out of Miami say that Cam Cameron is coming to his senses and is ready to give Ronnie the ball 20+ times per game. With the way this guy flip-flops, he might have a future in politics. Take a wait and see approach with Ronnie Brown.

——

James writes: Who to start this week—L.J. Smith or Owen Daniels? Also, I’ve been offered Derrick Ward for Calvin Johnson…should I take the deal?

Jimmy, it’s time to let the O-Dog howl. With Andre Johnson out, Daniels is a must start versus Indianapolis. Look for him and Matt Schaub to hook up frequently.

And you need to reject this trade. Calvin is the real deal. Ward is destined to return to his backup role in a few weeks. Just say No!

—–

Check in on Friday and Saturday for more tips and advice for the upcoming Fantasy weekend!

Houston Texans #1 Wide Receiver Andre Johnson has been ruled out of the next game against Indianapolis. He is recovering from a sprained knee.

When asked if there was a possibility if he would play at all Johnson said “No. I mean as it looks right now, you look at me right now, no I wouldn’t be out there on Sunday.”

This is tough for Andre Johnson owners (like me) and people who are trying to get value out of Matt Schaub right now.

Filed under: Texans, AFC South, Fantasy Football, NFL Injuries

You know, females get the reputation for being the biggest gossips, but it seems to me that the success of ProFootballTalk.com illustrates that guys like gossip too. Texans receiver Andre Johnson’s knee is the focus of today’s PFT gossip, as he reports that the “current scuttlebutt is he’ll miss five weeks.” He acknowledges that this gossip could be dog turd, but that’s just what the gossip is. I appreciating knowing that.

Texans long snapper and Deadspin/Fark internet sensation, Bryan Pittman in today’s Houston Press provides his own AJ scuttlebutt as someone who is actually in the locker room:

“Well, I haven’t talked to him personally, but from what I gather, it shouldn’t be a lengthy injury. Three weeks at the most, I think. But you never know. Everyone reacts differently when it comes to healing time.”

(His interview is a good read for Texan fans, unless they are also Cowboy fans as he is not terribly impressed with the 2007 Cowboys team. He’s a straightfoward talker, and you find the archives of the Pittman interviews here.)

Colts cornerback, Marlin Jackson isn’t buying any of this injury talk:

“They say he’s not playing but we’ll see on Sunday.”

The Texans are going to re-examine Johnson’s knee on Friday and he has already said he doesn’t anticipate playing against the Colts. Given the medical stuff linked to previously, I really do think that nobody knows how long Johnson will be out. Texans fans are accustomed to taking injury reports with a big dose of skepticism. That’s what happens to people who bought a Tony Boselli jersey as their first one.

Previously at FanHouse:
Texan Andre Johnson ‘Doubtful’ Against Colts.

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