FANTASY MD

After leaving the Patriots game early last Sunday with a back injury, Laurence Maroney is listed as questionable for his upcoming game. So far this week Maroney has been nowhere near full speed at practice. It looks very doubtful that he was be able to play on Sunday.

For the third week in a row, Marques Colston is at the exact same stage he typically is on Wednesdays. He's doing individual drills and the walk through once again, but is still listed as questionable. This will most likely be another game time decision. Given that he is the Sunday night game in the fantasy playoffs, you may not be able to afford to wait.

The Dolphins confirmed today that Ronnie Brown would once again miss their game on Sunday. Brown is recovering from a broken hand, and it appears likely that his return date will be week 15. If you can survive without him, he'll offer a treat in is return against the Bills.

Rarely do kickers make the injury report, but after a horrifically dumb play call on Sunday night by Mike Shanahan, Jason Elam is questionable for their game on Sunday. All kicker s are virtually made equal, so it'd be wise to just drop Elam and find another rather than risking it with his injury.

After much debate throughout the week, it appears that the Browns have decided to rest Charlie Frye and his injured wrist for tonight's game on short rest. If the Browns played on Sunday, Frye most likely could have played. Derek Anderson will be the starter tonight, and if he can lead the Browns to another win, expect him to finish the year at QB.

After yet another disappointing season following a strong rookie year, WR Michael Clayton has been placed on IR thus ending his season. His replacement the rest of the way will be Ike Hilliard who has little if any fantasy value. The Bucs have most likely lost their patience with Clayton and will look to replace him next season.

Though it was not reported during the game on Monday night, Jake Delhomme apparently injured his thumb in the Panthers defeat. Tests revealed that he had torn some ligaments, and he is now listed as questionable for their game on Sunday. Several reporters have said that backup Chris Weinke has a much better chance to start on Sunday. This is a huge blow for Delhomme fantasy owners who now most likely search frantically for a QB. Weinke is not an option on Sunday.

The other Saints WR struggling with injury this season has been Joe Horn. The groin injury that he re-injured in last Sunday's game has him a likely game time decision. Horn has a lot worse chance of playing than Colston this week. There's a good chance that the Saints could rest both WRs for the stretch run. Get the Devery Henderson bandwagon going again.

The Vikings will be without RB Chester Taylor for this week's must win game against Detroit. His rib injury should keep him out for at least one week. Taking his place will be Ciatrick Fason and Mewelde Moore. While they both face a weak Lions defense, they are both poor starts due to the unpredictable nature of carry distribution.

Despite practicing all last week, DeShaun Foster was inactive due to his inability to block in the passing game. This week he should be active, as he has now had several weeks to recover from his elbow injury. Due to the return of Foster and the uncertainty at QB, neither Foster or DeAngelo Williams are good starts.

-David Cassilo
Contact at asuhouse@aol.com