Fantasy Football Quick-Hitters: Westy, AJ, Mario, Calvin, Jerricho

Westbrook missing practice, listed as questionable. The general consensus is that Westy isn’t going to play, and even if he did, he wouldn’t be that strong of a play against a pretty stout Giants defense. Make other plans.

Andre Johnson ‘ready to go’ for Week 8.
The Bills have a pretty tough pass defense so there’s a chance that AJ isn’t going to have a big game. But this is Andre Johnson we’re talking about, so he should be in your lineup unless you have great option to turn to.

Mario Manningham questionable with a shoulder injury.
If he doesn’t play, this is a substantial upgrade for Hakeem Nicks and a minor upgrade for Steve Smith 2.0. The Eagles aren’t a great matchup for either player, but they’re startable, and that’s something.

Calvin Johnson questionable for Week 8. The general consensus is that he won’t play, but with an early kickoff on Sunday, it’s worth waiting for. Since they’re facing the Rams (and it looks like Matthew Stafford will be back) Bryant Johnson and Dennis Northcutt are sleepers if C. Johnson is out.

Jerricho Cotchery expected to return to action. I’m a little worried about how Braylon Edwards’s arrival is going to affect Cotchery’s targets, but he’s a decent WR2/WR3 start this week against the Dolphins, who aren’t great against the pass.

Fantasy Quick-Hitters: Willie’s workload, Boldin’s hammy, MJD’s handcuff and more

Willie Parker to have 30 carries a game?
That’s apparently what HC Mike Tomlin told Parker. He is suddenly a great value for those owners who drafted him in the middle rounds, especially considering the good news that Parker should remain the Steelers’ goal-line back.

Chemistry with Calvin Johnson one of the main reasons the Lions are going with rookie QB Matthew Stafford from the get go.

Obviously, this is good news for Johnson owners. He is one of the few top tier WRs with a big question mark at QB, so he’s going to need to get at least mediocre play out of the position to have a Top 5 fantasy year.

Anquan Boldin misses Monday’s practice with a bad hammy.

That sound you hear is Steve Breaston’s stock rising. Hamstrings are fickle, and Boldin has a reputation for getting nicked up, but he should be back soon. If not, Breaston is a WR2-caliber play.

Greg Camarillo — nope, Davone Bess — listed as starter.
Rookie Brian Hartline’s name has been floated as well, but Ted Ginn, Bess and Camarillo, if healthy, are likely to get most of the snaps at WR. All three players are worth rostering in PPR leagues.

Eric Karabell argues that Rashad Jennings is the best handcuff for MJD.
Greg Jones is also there, but the rookie Jennings would seem to be the guy to get the first crack at tailback duties if something were to happen to Jones-Drew.

Lions to put Kitna on IR

It’s all right there in the title. The Lions have apparently decided that Jon Kitna’s season is over.

With no trades in the works, the Lions decided this morning to place quarterback Jon Kitna on injured reserve. The decision should be announced later today.

Kitna suffered a back injury in the first half of the Lions’ 34-7 loss to Chicago two weeks ago. He did not play last week against Minnesota and did not travel with the team.

Kitna, who has muscular damage in his lower back, finishes the season with 758 yards passing, five touchdowns and five interceptions. He never seemed to buy fully into new coordinator Jim Colletto’s offense, and, with one year left on his contract, may have played his last game as a Lion.

Kitna was always a fairly reliable fantasy option, but now that his season is finished, it looks like the beginning of the Dan Orlovsky era…for now. This has to be a slight downgrade for Calvin Johnson and a big downgrade for Roy Williams. Calvin played pretty well against the Vikings, and young QBs have a tendency to lock onto their favorite target and throw to him over and over, which means that Roy may be left out in the cold.

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