The second half of the fantasy football season is underway, with teams vying for playoff positions and championship glory. There's still plenty of time left to make a run, and with six teams on the bye week - the waiver wires will be heating up. Be sure to check out the surprise players primed for a big week, and as always, remember to come back to Spike.com for the Sunday morning injury report.
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Breaking News
Andre Johnson put in a full day of practice Friday and is expected to play today.
Calvin Johnson likely will not play, but Matthew Stafford will start
Mario Manningham suffered an injury during practice late in the week, and will not suit up for the Giants' game against the Eagles.
Mushin Muhammad is officially out with a knee injury.
Donald Brown is out this week with a shoulder injury.
Brian Westbrook is likely out against the Giants.
Reggie Wayne is expected to play.
Bye Week
The Cincinnati Bengals will get the week off to celebrate their victory over the Bears, so sit Carson Palmer, Cedric Beson, Chad Ochocinco, Andre Caldwell, and Chris Henry.
The Kansas City Chiefs have a week to figure out what they hell they're doing, so give Larry Johnson, Matt Cassel, Dwayne Bowe, and Bobby Wade a rest.
The New England Patriots will let Tom Brady, Wes Welker, Laurence Maroney, Randy Moss, Ben Watson, Julian Edelman, and Sammy Morris enjoy the week off.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are taking a breather to gear up for a second half run with Ben Roethlisberger, Willie Parker, Rashard Mendenhall, Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Mike Wallace, and Heath Miller off this week.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won't get their first win this week with Cadillac Williams, Derrick Ward, Kellen Winslow, Antonio Bryant, Josh Johnson, and Josh Freeman off.
The Washington Redskins will have some extra time to figure out how to fire Jim Zorn, but in the meantime Jason Campbell, Clinton Portis, Chris Cooley, Santana Moss, and Antwaan Randle El will have some time to contemplate what winning a game might feel like.
Sunday, November 1
Houston Texans at Buffalo Bills 
Start – Now that the Tennessee Titans have taken a historic nosedive down the AFC cellar, the Houston Texans have positioned themselves perfectly to become the team that finishes right behind the Colts in the AFC South standings. Thanks to Matt Schaub, who leads all NFL quarterbacks in yards and touchdowns (including eight scores in his past three starts) and the improved play of Steve Slaton (three touchdowns in his past two games) – the Texans rapidly improving offense should be able to move the ball well against the Bills. Owen Daniels (over 75 yards in each of his last three games and three touchdowns over that span) and Kevin Walter should help make up for the potential loss of Andre Johnson – who is battling a chest injury. For the Bills, start Marshawn Lynch against the Texan’s 21st ranked defense. He’s not going to receive as many catches out of the backfield with Captain Checkdown, Trent Edwards on the bench with an injury, but he is getting the bulk of the carries now in Buffalo- averaging a shade over 17 rush attempts in his last three games. Lee Evans is worth a look in flex leagues against the Texans’ weaker pass defense, or for people who drafted him high and looking for an excuse to finally get him off the bench. Steve Slaton is averaging nearly 20 fantasy points over his last three games and should excel against the Bills.
Sit – Ryan Fitzpatrick is sort of like Vinny Testaverde of backup quarterbacks. It honestly feels like this guy has been around forever. I feel like I remember watching games in the late '70s with him holding a clipboard as various broadcasters mention how he went to Harvard 13-14 times per game. Not that it matters, because as a starter he’s not exactly Kurt Warner circa 2000 ready to make a legendary fantasy run. In two games this year, Fitzpatrick hasn’t broke 125 yards or multiple touchdowns and is a marginal “bye week filler” if St. Louis doesn’t sign a grocery store clerk off the street again (which let’s be honest, is not a bad idea at this point.) Oh, and speaking of players that haven’t been effective since 2007 – sit Terrell Owens. Fun fact; he has four times as many rushing attempts as he does touchdowns this year. Give Fred Jackson a seat, too. Zero touchdowns all year and five rushes for two yards last week sealed his season’s fate.
Cleveland Browns at Chicago Bears 
Start – Not technically a bye week for the Bears, but about as close as they’re going to get without breaking the golf clubs out. The Browns are coming off a relatively impressive performance, having actually gotten close enough to kick a field goal in a 31-3 loss against the Green Bay Packers (a classic case of raising fans expectations a little too high). This week, it will be Chicago’s turn to pick on the AFC’s version of the asthmatic fat kid when Cleveland takes the short bus to the Windy City to lose to the Bears. Great news for a recently struggling Jay Cutler who will need to take advantage of Cleveland’s 24th ranked pass defense that surrenders nearly 250 yards per game and Greg Olsen – a serious red zone threat against a terrible scoring defense. And for people looking to get a little loco, try Devin Hester against the Browns secondary. He’s had 80 plus yards in his past two starts and is due for a long touchdown. Matt Forte should also have a good fantasy performance. When Chicago had to become a passing team after trailing the Bengals 14-0 what seemed like 17 seconds into their week 7 game, he only ended up with six rushing attempts. That shouldn’t happen against this Browns’ defense.
Sit – With Earl Bennett and Johnny Knox battling for the number two receiver spot it’s impossible to predict which of them will show up Sunday. One of them will have a good, not great, fantasy day – but it’s a risky proposition committing to either. And as for the Browns:
Fact: They have 23 points in their last three games.
Fact: Derek Anderson has been benched approximately 37 times in his career and hasn’t broken a 42 completion percentage in three weeks (which really tells you the kind of faith they have in Brady Quinn).
Fact: I feel like the Browns are getting very close to accepting my trade offer of $28, three Spike interns and a promise to watch at least three of their games for Quinn and a fourth round pick.
Fact: Jamal Lewis will struggle against the Bears sixth ranked rush defense.
Fact: It will be difficult for any Browns receiver to do any damage until they start a promising Spike intern at quarterback.
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