Week 4 Injury/Depth Chart Report

Arizona Cardinals - Bye week.

Atlanta Falcons - Bye week.

Baltimore Ravens - Ray Rice and Willis McGahee are still splitting carries, with McGahee getting the goal line looks, and Rice dominating passing down work.  This will continue as it's obviously working well for the Ravens right now.  Kelley Washington continues to outproduce Mark Clayton.

Buffalo Bills - Marshawn Lynch returns in week 4, and all indications are that Lynch and Jackson will share carries just about down the middle.  It's hard to recommend either of them in week 4, but given the prowess Fred Jackson has on passing downs, it's hard to imagine Jackson not being the RB of choice in those situations, giving his PPR value a boost.

Carolina Panthers - Bye week.

Cincinnati Bengals - The Coles/Caldwell watch continues, and it seems like it's a matter of "when" and not "if" Caldwell replaces him in the starting lineup.

Chicago Bears - Bennett struck back, looking better last week, even though Knox scored.  This appears to be a timeshare for now, even though Bennett is technically the starter, but neither are worth starting.

Cleveland Browns - Derek Anderson has replaced Brady Quinn as the starter, and that's good news for Braylon Edwards.  Anderson is far more willing to go down the field, and it's something this lame duck offense sorely needs.  Give Edwards one more chance this week.  The RB situation is a mess, but it looks like Jamal Lewis will miss another week, and Jerome Harrison will start.  He's a reasonable bye week RB2 as James Davis did nothing with his limited chances last week.

Dallas Cowboys - Marion Barber should start in week 4.  I don't think he'll play his usual set of snaps, but he'll be worth using as a RB2.  Felix Jones is out, so Tashard Choice will probably split snaps in some fashion with Barber.  Choice could be a decent RB3 play.

Denver Broncos- Moreno and Buckhalter are in a timeshare, although Moreno will get more carries and the goal line chances.  Marshall has emerged as the top option, and I am done defending Eddie Royal.  It's not the fault of Royal's...this coaching staff simply isn't using him the way they should.  Don't start him until they do, although with injuries mounting on one of my teams, I have to give him another chance this week.

Detroit Lions -Stafford rebounded with no turnovers, and he led the team to their first win since 2007.  He's safely entrenched as the starter.  Kevin Smith is hurting and he'll be a game time decision this week.  Check the game day inactives on Sunday.

Green Bay Packers - Greg Jennings is battling a wrist injury, but produced amazingly well despite only 2 catches.  Keep him going.

Houston Texans - Steve Slaton rebounded well in week 3 and secured himself an even bigger role thanks to Chris Brown's goal line fumble.  Kevin Walter returned and looked great, so no worries about him moving forward.

Indianapolis Colts - Anthony Gonzalez is out indefinitely with a knee sprain.  Pierre Garcon has stepped up in his place and is a viable WR3 option while Gonzalez is out.  Joseph Addai continues to lose serious snaps, especially late in the game, to Donald Brown.  Neither are an RB2 option, but I would give a slight edge to Addai as he's the better short yardage runner.

Jacksonville Jaguars - Mike Sims-Walker cemented himself as the top option in the passing game, and I think he's a solid WR3.

Kansas City Chiefs - Dwayne Bowe is questionable to play in week 4, so plan on alternatives.  Even if he plays, he has a horrible match up against the Giants.  I'm going to keep him benched.

Miami Dolphins - Chad Pennington is done for the year, so Chad Henne will replace him as the starting QB.  He's not a QB2 option yet, but keep an eye on his progress as he does possess some potential.

Minnesota Vikings - None.

New England Patriots - Wes Welker was limited in practice again this week, and he'll be a game time decision for the 3rd straight week.  Julian Edelman crashed back down to earth next week, and his production differential between weeks 2 and 3 make him a dicey WR3 should Welker sit out again.  Fred Taylor dominated carries in week 3, but he's far from a sure thing to do that on a weekly basis.

New Orleans Saints - Lance Moore might play in week 4, but he's far too risky to use until he shows something on the field this season.  Pierre Thomas has obviously returned and reclaimed the starting RB job.  He's immediately an RB2 for all owners.

New York Giants - Ahmad Bradshaw suffered a minor ankle injury that will limit him some in practice this week, but he appears to be set to play in week 4 in his usual role.

New York Jets - Thomas Jones continues to lose a significant amount of carries to Leon Washington, who is proving to be the better RB at this stage in their careers.  Jones has regressed into a RB3.

Oakland Raiders - Chaz Schilens is expected to be out at least one more week with his foot sprain.  Louis Murphy will continue to start in his place.

Philadelphia Eagles - Bye week.

Pittsburgh Steelers - Sure enough, the week after I say Willie Parker isn't a RB2, he posts RB2 numbers.  However, he's suffered yet another injury, this time turf toe.  He is out in week 4, so there will be some split between Rashard Mendenhall and Mewelde Moore.  Moore has a chance to be a sleeper here as he was the most productive RB for the Steelers last year when given the opportunity.

San Diego Chargers - LaDainian Tomlinson is practicing again, but it remains to be seen if he'll play.  He'll probably be a game time decision this week, so Darren Sproles owners need to check the game day inactives to make sure LT isn't playing before using Sproles.  Malcolm Floyd will probably be stealing Chris Chambers' starting job from him sometime soon.

San Francisco 49ers - Frank Gore re-injured his sprained ankle and looks to be out for 2-3 weeks.  Glen Coffee will replace him in the starting lineup, and he will carry the full load with only Michael Robinson behind him.  He's a solid RB2 with 2 good match ups the next two weeks while Gore is out.

Seattle Seahawks - Matt Hasselbeck is likely out again in week 4, so Seneca Wallace will fill in for him again.  Julius Jones played well again last week, so he'll keep the starting job for now, but he's not going to be on a long leash given he hasn't played consistently well in years.

St. Louis Rams - Marc Bulger is out for week 4, so Kyle Boller will start in his place.  I wouldn't touch him in fantasy leagues, but the hope is that he'll use his big arm to keep the defense from putting 11 guys and a water boy into the box against Steven Jackson.  Laurent Robinson is done for the year with a broken leg, so that doesn't help, and the Rams will need Donnie Avery to step up and beat defenses deep.  Keenan Burton will replace Robinson, but he is not worth picking up.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Antonio Bryant will supposedly be ready for week 4, but we'll see about that.  He'll likely be a game time decision, and I wouldn't play him.

Tennessee Titans - None.

Washington Redskins - Clinton Portis is battling bone spurs in both ankles along with a sore calf, and he hasn't practiced all week.  He'll be a game time decision.  He's going against Tampa's horrible run D this week, so he's usable as a RB2 if he's up.  Ladell Betts and Marcus Mason will split snaps in some fashion, and I think Betts would make a fine bye week fill-in should Portis not play.