DeSean Jackson, Brian Westbrook miss practice. Westy has a long history of not practicing during the week and then killing defenses on Sunday, so plan to use him in Week 3. The Eagles play in the early game, so you’ll have an opportunity to make an adjustment if he’s inactive. While tweaked ankles can clear up fast, I’m a little worried about Jackson’s groin injury. Muscle injuries don’t typically just go away, but he may be able to fight through it. One wonders if the Eagles will risk it against a Kansas City defense that hasn’t shown much in 2009.

Dwayne Bowe fighting a hamstring injury. He was a limited participant in Thursday’s practice, but the fact that he was out there is a good sign for Sunday. Again, the PHI/KC game is at 1 PM ET, so you should have time to make a move if he is a surprise scratch. He was practicing again on Friday, so that’s a good sign.

Giants lose SS Phillips for the season. This is a serious blow to a Giants DT that has looked strong thus far this season. The loss of Phillips will hurt both in the passing game and in run support, and given the team’s other injury problems on defense, don’t be afraid to start players facing the Giants this week (mainly Cadillac Williams, if healthy, and Derrick Ward).

Mike Bell out 3-4 weeks with MCL sprain? This is speculation by Saints beat writer Mike Triplett, but he has to speculate because the Saints are very tight-lipped about injuries. Expect Reggie Bush to get his normal workload and for Pierre Thomas and Lynell Hamilton to share the duties between the tackles.

Lewis misses practice; Davis to start? Don’t start Davis this week unless you absolutely have to, as he has a terrible matchup with the Ravens. Still, it would be wise to stash him if you can. The Browns face the Bengals and the Bills in the next two weeks.

Antonio Bryant participates in limited practice. Unless you’re in dire straits, don’t start Bryant until he has a nice game and follows it up with a good week of practice.

MBIII practices, status for Sunday unclear. He was limited, but the fact that he is practicing would indicate that his quad injury isn’t that severe. The Cowboys are probably going to play it safe with Barber, but a loss at home against the Giants might have thrown the franchise into panic mode. He plays in the 4 PM games on Sunday, so your options are limited. Avoid him if you can (or don’t have Felix Jones as a handcuff).

Wes Welker participates in limited practice on Thursday. A report came out earlier this week saying that Welker expects to play on Sunday, but anything can happen when it comes to the Patriots, who are notorious for keeping injuries under wraps. Welker owners should have Julian Edelman to plug in if Welker can’t go. (Note: Edelman has an ankle injury, so keep an eye his status as well).

Larry Fitzgerald isn’t happy with the number of balls being thrown his way. In PPR leagues, Fitz is averaging 16.3 fantasy points through two games, which isn’t bad, but he’s only averaging 53 yards per game, well off last season’s average of 89 ypg. If he weren’t catching TDs, fantasy owners might be a little panicked.

Mike Bell is likely to miss Week 3, at least according to Jay Glazer, who is usually right about such things. Pierre Thomas is coming back from his own knee sprain and was active on Sunday, so if Bell misses, he’ll have a shot to post some nice numbers against Buffalo if the Saints give him his usual workload. The good news for Bell is that an MRI revealed no structural damage.

Troy Williamson is out for the year. The Jags also cut Nate Hughes, so the starting duties are left up to Torry Holt and Mike Sims-Walker (who posted some nice numbers in garbage time on Sunday). Sims-Walker is worth a pickup in most 12-team leagues. Let’s just hope he can stay healthy.

HC McDaniels says that B. Marshall is a rotational player. This is not what we wanted to hear. It’s not clear why McDaniels is rotating his WRs when Marshall and Eddie Royal are far and away the Broncos’ two best wideouts. Royal has been getting consistent snaps, so this looks like some sort of punishment for Marshall. Not good. Fantasy owners can feel free to bench Marshall if they have a better option waiting in the wings. It looks like Marshall’s days of 10-15 targets a game are long gone, at least for now.

Saints beat writer Jeff Duncan speculates that Pierre Thomas’s injury is worse than the team is letting on. Duncan says that HC Sean Payton comes from the Belichick school of releasing injury information to the media. If Thomas doesn’t play, Mike Bell is a decent start even though the Eagles are pretty good defensively. Philly gave up 72 rushing yards to DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart, and the Saints have a much better passing attack than Carolina does. This should keep the Eagles off balance and open up some running lanes. Assuming Thomas sits, I wouldn’t be surprised if Bell had 80-90 yards rushing and a TD in Week 2.

Jamal Lewis probable to start. Rookie James Davis is still questionable with a shoulder injury, so Lewis should be a serviceable start against the Broncos, who gave up 108 total yards and a TD to Cedric Benson last week.

Redskins’ beat writer thinks the team will take more shots downfield in Week 2. This would be good news for Santana Moss, who is a big-play receiver. The Giants smothered him in Week 1, but he should have an easier time getting open against a sketchy Rams defense.

HC Haley wants to get the running game on track. Well, of course he does. But it’s good to hear that Haley isn’t ignoring the problem. The Raiders really struggled against the run last season, but played better in Week 1 against the Chargers, so we’re not sure LJ is a sure bet for a good game. He’s startable if you’re in a pinch, however.

Matt Schaub is close to 100 percent. The Titans gave up a lot of yards through the air to Ben Roethlisberger last week, so there is a possibility that Schaub could have a bounce-back game this week. I’m not excited about his prospects, but he’s not a terrible start.

HC McDaniels plans to spread the ball around. He doesn’t want to name a WR1 because he doesn’t want to get into the habit of forcing the ball to a guy that’s double-teamed. In Week 1, Marshall led the way with seven targets, while Eddie Royal, Jabar Gaffney and Brandon Stokley had four targets apiece. Expect Marshall and Royal to lead the team in targets this season.

LaDainian Tomlinson limping after win in Oakland. LT2 was replaced for much of the second half by Darren Sproles, who played well in his place. Tomlinson was determined to have a bounce back season, but he’s off to a rough start. Even if his ankle is better heading into Week 2, the Chargers are going to utilize Sproles heavily to keep Tomlinson fresh. This is bad news for LT2 owners.

HC Sean Payton: Bell and P. Thomas are “competing for touches in a course of a game.” Bell’s big day against the Lions has earned him more playing time, much to the chagrin of Thomas owners who drafted him in the third or fourth round expecting RB1/RB2 production. Expect a committee going forward.

A. Gonzalez’s knee injury not year-ending. However, he has multiple sprained ligaments so he may be out a while. Austin Collie, Pierre Garcon and Dallas Clark will pick up the slack, though the Colts will look to add a veteran (but not Marvin Harrison) if Gonzalez’s knee injury will keep him out a month or more.

HC McDaniels says that Brandon Marshall’s attitude has been “great” since returning from suspension. He went on to say that Marshall could “absolutely” contribute in Week 1. Marshall’s stock is still a little shaky, but this is exactly what his owners were looking for coming out of last week’s suspension. He’s a solid start against a traditionally bad Cincy defense.

Pierre Thomas misses Wednesday practice, likely out for Week 1. I wrote about this yesterday and suggested that owners pick up Mike Bell to start against the Lions on Sunday. It’s a great matchup and Bell proved in Denver that he is more than capable of posting good numbers.

HC Phillips sees a “split” in workload between Marion Barber and Felix Jones. Clearly, this eats into Barber’s stock somewhat. I’m sure owners weren’t expecting a 50/50 split when they drafted Barber in the 2nd or 3rd round. He can still be a solid RB2 or even a RB1 if he’s able to find the endzone like he did in 2006 and 2007. If this split actually happens, Jones will be a nice value for those owners who pulled the trigger in the middle rounds.

Kevin Walter looks iffy for Sunday. Walter was quietly productive last season and is a solid start in most PPR formats. If he’s out, Andre Davis would become a sneaky good start in his stead.

TB to utilize three-headed monster at RB. Cadillac Williams moved up the depth chart to become the Bucs’ RB1, but most are expecting a fairly even split between Williams, Derrick Ward and Earnest Graham. HC Raheem Morris previously discussed a 2-2-1 split. Ward is by far the best pass catcher of the three, so I’d expect him to be in on most third downs. Graham and Williams are similar players, so one will likely get the short end of the stick.

Knowshon Moreno declares himself ready for Week 1. This doesn’t exactly jive with what HC McDaniels has been saying, so keep an eye on this story as the week continues to progress. If he can go, Moreno would be a solid RB2/flex start against a suspect Bengals defense.

Tim Hightower is still the starter for the Cardinals. Chris Wells has impressed of late, so expect a split, though Hightower’s value is enhanced in PPR leagues since he’s a pretty good receiver out of the backfield. With the 49ers coming to town, Hightower isn’t a bad flex start this week.

It’s all right there in the title. If you’re a Pierre Thomas owner, or even if you’re not, you should head to your league’s waiver wire and pick up Mike Bell.

When it was revealed on Aug. 24 that Thomas had a sprained MCL, it wasn’t considered to be a big deal. At that point, he had three weeks to recover, which is generally enough time for an injury like the one he suffered. But as Week 1 has grown closer, the news about Thomas hasn’t been good. (NOLA.com)

The bigger concern is still the right knee sprain Thomas suffered two weeks ago at Houston. Thomas’ knee was wrapped as he escaped the locker room and he appeared to still be limping. We’ll find out if he’s ready to go when the Saints hit the practice field Wednesday, but chances are looking slim at this point.

I’m not a doctor, but if Thomas is hoping to play on Sunday, the fact that he is limping on Monday is not a good sign. Knee injuries are fickle and they can take a while to fully heal. Moreover, Thomas declared himself “questionable” for Sunday’s game. (NOLA.com)

“It means a lot, and I really want to play in the opener — but I don’t want to cause any more damage,” Thomas said. “I don’t want to take a chance where I just play this game and don’t play out the season. I want to be smart about it.

“My main focus is trying to get back for the first game. But if it’s not ready, it’s not ready. I can’t push it.”

Thomas said he is not opposed to playing hurt, noting that he finished the game against the Lions in Week 16 last season after dislocating his left wrist. On Friday, he estimated his injured knee to be at “65 percent” full strength.

Players are usually optimistic about their chances of recovery, so to hear a player call himself questionable, it’s a good indicator that he’s not going to be able to play. Thomas could be out just the one week, or this injury could linger for a while. No one really knows.

And that’s why you need to grab Mike Bell — the same Mike Bell who gained 835 total yards (and scored 8 TD) for the Broncos in 2007. In the preseason, Bell rushed 15 times for 115 yards and a TD, and looked more than capable of carrying the load until Thomas gets back on the field. Remember, Reggie Bush has already proven that he’s not an every-down back, so Sean Payton will be more than happy to give Bell some work between the tackles and on the goal line. And with a tantalizing matchup against the Lions in Week 1, if Thomas is indeed out, Bell looks like a great RB2 or flex play as part of the Saints’ high powered offense.