Week 5 Injury/Depth Chart Report

Arizona Cardinals - I'm sure the bye week was just what Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin needed.  Warner should hopefully be moving around a little bit better and be more willing to go down the field, and a match up against the horrid Texans secondary is exactly what he'll need.  Same goes for Boldin, although he looked on track in week 3.  Hightower will continue to get more touches than Beanie Wells thanks to the pass-first philosophy of the offense, but I expect Wells to get more than the 2 carries he got in week 3.  Hightower is a reasonable bye week replacement.

Atlanta Falcons - Matt Ryan had a week off to help him rebound from a rough week 3, and hopefully this time was spent re-kindling his chemistry with Roddy White, who is off to a slow start.  My guess is that after 3 weeks of mediocre production and a bye week, this is the perfect time to go after him as a buy low.  Gonzalez will eat into his production a bit, but the Falcons are passing more this year.

Baltimore Ravens - Flacco is emerging as a QB1 option with Baltimore's willingness to open up the playbook for him this year.  You know the deal here with the backfield...Rice is a RB2 as the guy who gets more total touches, but McGahee is a solid bye week fill-in as he splits carries and gets the goal line work.

Buffalo Bills - Lynch and Jackson will continue to share touches moving forward, and neither is more than a RB3 at this point.  Jackson didn't dominate passing down work as I expected previously, so this is a true split right now.  I have a hunch that Lynch might be the preferred goal line option, but this is only my personal opinion.

Carolina Panthers - Hopefully the bye week fixed Carolina's offensive philosophy and they'll focus on what they do best...pound the rock and use play action to get it to Steve Smith down the field.  Williams and Stewart will continue to annoy fantasy owners by splitting carries with a slight edge to Williams.

Cincinnati Bengals - Palmer continues to disappoint with his yardage, but at least he's producing TDs enough to keep him as a QB1.  Ochocinco continues to be the only WR worth starting with some sort of rotation opposite him.

Chicago Bears - Bye week.

Cleveland Browns - Goodbye Edwards, hello...Mohamed Massaquoi?  He's the new #1 WR for this squad, and expect Mike Furrey, Brian Robieski, and Josh Cribbs to split time opposite him until new acquisition Chansi Stuckey is ready to start.  Jamal Lewis might start losing more time to Jerome Harrison when he returns from injury, whenever that might be.  Harrison is the better RB at this stage in their careers.

Dallas Cowboys - Romo's latest hospital ball has cost Roy Williams some cartilage in his ribs, and while he's vowing to play this week, there's no way you can start him as less than 100%.  If Williams is out, Patrick Crayton could be a sneaky WR3 play.  Barber should start again in week 5, but expect Tashard Choice to play a committee role as Barber isn't 100% yet.  Felix Jones is out for another week.

Denver Broncos- Brandon Marshall is anchored back in as the top option of the passing game, and the rest of the receivers (Royal, Stokley, Gaffney) appear to be in an unproductive rotation of some sort.  Buckhalter is rumored to have a high ankle sprain, so Moreno is an excellent RB2 while he's out as his touches will see an increase.

Detroit Lions - Stafford has unfortunately suffered a knee injury, and there's no reason for Detroit to rush him back out there.  They are fully aware that they aren't competing for a playoff spot.  Expect Daunte Culpepper to start for a couple weeks while Stafford gets back to full health.  This probably isn't good for Calvin Johnson, but we'll see how it plays out.

Green Bay Packers - Bye week.

Houston Texans - Slaton returned to a full workload in week 4, but his YPC remains a major concern.  It was 4.8 last year, and it's plummeted to 3.3 this year.  The Texans just don't have much else to turn to, so they'll stick it out with him for now.

Indianapolis Colts - Anthony Gonzalez will remain out through the Colts' bye week in week 6, and then he's expected to return.  Garcon will man the outside and be a WR3 while he's out, and Austin Collie is worth a look as a bye week fill-in for week 5.

Jacksonville Jaguars - Mike Sims-Walker has turned into fantasy gold!  I will repeat that selling high is a good option given his history of knee problems, but I would only give him up to fill a major hole, or if you can get a WR you know is better in return.

Kansas City Chiefs - Dwayne Bowe played all of week 4, but he was not 100% and was clearly limited by his injury.  Unless he puts in a full practice this week, I would probably bench him if you have a solid alternative.

Miami Dolphins - Ted Ginn has regressed into a WR rotation, and he's not to be anywhere near lineups until he earned full starter snaps.

Minnesota Vikings - Adrian Peterson appeared to hurt himself while having the ball stolen from him by Clay Matthews.  He put up horrible YPC numbers that game, but that appeared to be more to the credit of the Packers' defense as opposed to him being limited.  Keep an eye on him, but there's no indication yet that this is a problem.

New England Patriots - Wes Welker appears to be back, so he's safe to start again.  Even with Fred Taylor now out indefinitely due to ankle surgery, the RB situation is a frustrating 3 man committee.  However, Sammy Morris and Laurence Maroney are both worth picking up to see if one of the two emerges.

New Orleans Saints - Bye week.

New York Giants - Eli Manning suffered a plantar fascitis injury in week 4, but he appears willing to start in week 5.  He was told that he can't re-injure it, but it's a painful injury.  Oakland is actually solid against the pass while bad against the run, so I would avoid using Eli this week unless you have to.  Ahmad Bradshaw is still dealing with an ankle injury that will limit him some in practice this week, but he is expected to be fine for week 5.  He's a solid bye week fill-in against a horrible Oakland run defense.

New York Jets - They traded for Braylon Edwards, and he's fully expected to start and play the majority of snaps on Monday Night.  My biggest question was how the two offensive schemes compared between the Browns and Jets, and apparently they have a lot of similarities.  This makes Edwards usable as a WR3.  He's a risky start, but there's no question the Jets will draw up some plays to get him the ball this week.  Leon Washington had a down week, but he's going to get the ball plenty in week 5.

Oakland Raiders - Darren McFadden suffered a torn meniscus and will miss 2-4 weeks.  This should be time for Michael Bush to shine, but who knows how Oakland will force Justin Fargas into the mix.  The problem is they face the Giants, so I wouldn't mess with Bush unless totally desperate.

Philadelphia Eagles - The bye week has done both McNabb and Westbrook good as they will start in week 5.  McNabb still isn't 100%, so he could see scaled back passing attempts against the horrid Tampa Bay rush defense, but his match up is solid, and he is a lower end QB1.

Pittsburgh Steelers - Rashard Mendenhall.  He'll start again in week 5 and makes for an outstanding play against the Lions.  Let's hope he finally gets it and turns in another great performance.

San Diego Chargers - Bye week.

San Francisco 49ers - Glen Coffee will start again, and he has a solid match up against Atlanta.  He's a solid RB2 this week as the 49ers will continue to rely on the run.

Seattle Seahawks - Matt Hasselbeck might return this week, but he's in no way a fantasy option with the putrid offensive line that would attempt to protect him.  Housh is a decent WR3, but that's about it for this offense.

St. Louis Rams - Marc Bulger is probably going to be held out again, so Kyle Boller will get another chance to start.  After the mirage that was Boller's clean up performance in week 3, it seems as though Bulger is probably the best option here, but maybe Boller can do something this week for Steven Jackson's sake.  Donnie Avery will continue to be the "#1" WR and is worth stashing as a WR5, but I would bench him until he shows something.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Josh Johnson will continue to start, but he had a less than stellar passing day in week 4.  Antonio Bryant has returned and looks close to 100%, but his upside is severely limited by Johnson behind center.  He's a WR3 in the right match up.

Tennessee Titans - Kenny Britt is pushing Justin Gage to start opposite Nate Washington, so keep an eye on their production.  Britt is worth stashing as a WR5 to see how this plays out as TEN will have to pass more this season thanks to their defensive woes.

Washington Redskins - Clinton Portis is back to the full time starter despite his injury woes, and he's a reasonable RB2 in a favorable match up against Carolina.