Player Notes

Tom Brady^P (NE - QB)

Nov 6 - Brady (shoulder) will be facing a Dolphins' defense Sunday that will be starting two rookie cornerbacks.

Recommendation: Fresh off a bye week and with his arm reportedly feeling great -- despite the standard "probable" designation -- Brady slots in as the No. 1 QB on the Week 9 RotoWire Value Meter.

Nov 6 - Brady (shoulder) will be facing a Dolphins defense Sunday that will be starting two rookie cornerbacks.

Recommendation: Fresh off a bye week and with his arm reportedly feeling great -- despite the standard "probable" designation -- Brady slots in as the No. 1 QB on the Week 9 RotoWire Value Meter.

Nov 4 - Brady (shoulder) said earlier this week that he feels as good now as he's ever felt over his career, ESPN.com reports. "I don't think I've been hit a whole lot this year, it's just been one of those years where I haven't had many sacks (eight)," Brady said. "I understand how to take care of my body, get the treatment I need, so it's been a good year thus far."

Recommendation: Though Brady is an automatic "shoulder/probable" on the injury report virtually every week, he has been saying that his arm feels great. More importantly, he has not reported any setbacks with his surgically-repaired knee and while he was never the fleetest of foot, he's been getting around okay in the pocket thus far.

Nov 3 - QB Tom Brady has returned from major knee injury to impressive results with 15 touchdowns in seven games while on pace for a 4,000-yard season. With the knee injury now in the past, Brady is most excited by how his arm felt at the bye week. "I feel the best I've ever felt," Brady told WEEI in Boston.

Nov 2 - QB Tom Brady feels at the top of his game physically and no longer appears to be a concern as the Patriots approach the stretch run. "I feel the best I've ever felt," Brady said. "Guys retire at the quarterback position and other positions because they can't run anymore. That's what the game comes down to for 90 percent of the players. For a quarterback, it's not an issue. I was slow to start, and I'm slower now, and I'll be slower 10 years from now, and so is Favre, and so is Peyton Manning. All these guys, no one can run."

Ryan Grant (GB - RB)

Nov 3 - RB Ryan Grant was held to season lows of 10 carries and 30 rushing yards Sunday, a week after he had season highs of 27 carries and 148 rushing yards. Grant has rushed for only 525 yards and three touchdowns in seven games.

Nov 2 - RB Ryan Grant came back to earth after his one and only 100-yard performance (148 yards) in 2009 the previous week. Grant barely had a third of the chances he did in that 27-carry outing against the Cleveland Browns with only 10 attempts and managed a paltry 30 yards. His long run was eight yards. Grant resorted to his bad habits before the Cleveland game by not having the vision and patience on his cutbacks and running into his own blockers.

Nov 2 - Grant gained 30 yards on 10 carries during Sunday's loss to the Vikings.

Recommendation: Grant also chipped in 21 yards receiving, but didn't not get many looks since the Packers fell behind early and passed often. He gets a better matchup next week against Tampa.

Nov 2 - Grant had 10 carries for 30 yards in the Packers' 38-26 loss to Minnesota on Sunday.
Advice: It was a disappointing but not unexpectedly quiet day for Grant against the Vikings' excellent defensive front. He won't have to face them any more this season, and given the ugly state of Green Bay's offensive line, that's a good thing.

Steve Slaton (Hou - RB)

Nov 6 - Texans head coach Gary Kubiak refuses to name a starter at running back for Sunday's game against the Colts. All week long, Kubiak has been saying that all three of his running backs -- Slaton, Ryan Moats and Chris Brown -- will see action in Indianapolis.

Recommendation: However this situation plays itself out, you can expect Slaton to be on the field in some capacity. He may not be the top running back at the moment, but he's the most explosive of the three and is dangerous as a receiving threat. Without Owen Daniels (knee), we may see more of Slaton as receiver.

Nov 6 - Texans coach Gary Kubiak gave Slaton another vote of confidence Friday, saying that the team needs him to win this week against Indianapolis, the Texans' official site reports.

Recommendation: "I got a lot of confidence in Steve, you all know that," Kubiak said of Slaton, who has lost five fumbles this season. "I'm trying to work him through this the right way. We're going to need him to win this week." Kubiak continues to insist that all three of his running backs -- Slaton, Ryan Moats and Chris Brown -- will get work this week.

Nov 2 - During a post-game press conference, Texans head coach Gary Kubiak implied that Slaton, who lost his fifth fumble of the season on Sunday, will be involved in next week's game.

Recommendation: "I told Steve in the locker room to get his chin up. This team needs him playing well and making plays and I'm expecting him to come right back next week and help us," said Kubiak. In each of the two games previous to Sunday's win over Buffalo, Slaton had been pulled after laying the ball on the grass, only to come back and contribute in some meaningful way. He was not put back into Sunday's game as Ryan Moats rushed for 126 yards and three scores. While Kubiak isn't letting on about his plans for next week in Indianapolis, it appears that Moats has earned a larger share of the rushing load. Slaton can still contribute as a pass-catching threat out of the backfield or split wide -- more so now with tight end Owen Daniels (knee) done for the season.

Nov 2 - Slaton's fumbling issues caused the Texans to turn to Ryan Moats Sunday, but coach Gary Kubiak has not named a starting running back for Sunday's game against the Colts, the Houston Chronic;e reports. “Ryan took advantage of the situation,” coach Gary Kubiak said of Sunday's switch. "We'll go to next week. We'll see."

Recommendation: While it seems unlikely that Slaton will be totally cut off here, Moats rushed for 126 yards and three fourth-quarter touchdowns Sunday, an effort that figures to have earned him an expanded workload going forward. Slaton fumbled just three times in 16 games last year, but thus far, he has fumbled an alarming seven times (five lost) in eight games. He'll need to do better than that to hold on to (or regain) his lead role for the Texans.

Nov 2 - RB Steve Slaton has lost five fumbles in eight games. He lost two last season as a rookie. "I didn't talk to him personally; I talked to him in front of the team," coach Gary Kubiak said. "I told him to keep his chin up, that we need him. It's got to get fixed. The only guy that can fix it is Steve. We're all trying to helping him

Nov 2 - Slaton's fumbling issues caused the Texans to turn to Ryan Moats Sunday, but coach Gary Kubiak has not named a starting running back for Sunday's game against the Colts, the Houston Chronicle reports. "Ryan took advantage of the situation," coach Gary Kubiak said of Sunday's switch. "We'll go to next week. We'll see."

Recommendation: While it seems unlikely that Slaton will be totally cut off here, Moats rushed for 126 yards and three fourth-quarter touchdowns Sunday, an effort that figures to have earned him an expanded workload going forward. Slaton fumbled just three times in 16 games last year, but thus far, he has fumbled an alarming seven times (five lost) in eight games. He'll need to do better than that to hold on to (or regain) his lead role for the Texans.

Nov 2 - During a post-game press conference, Texans head coach Gary Kubiak implied that Slaton, who lost his fifth fumble of the season on Sunday, will be involved in next week's game.

Recommendation: "I told Steve in the locker room to get his chin up. This team needs him playing well and making plays and I'm expecting him to come right back next week and help us," Kubiak said. In each of the two games previous to Sunday's win over Buffalo, Slaton had been pulled after laying the ball on the grass, only to come back and contribute in some meaningful way. He was not put back into Sunday's game as Ryan Moats rushed for 126 yards and three scores. While Kubiak isn't letting on about his plans for next week in Indianapolis, it appears Moats has earned a larger share of the rushing load. Slaton can still contribute as a pass-catching threat out of the backfield or split wide -- more so now with tight end Owen Daniels (knee) done for the season.

Nov 2 - Slaton was sent to the bench after losing his fifth fumble of the season in a 31-10 win over Buffalo on Sunday.
Advice: After Ryan Moats came in and became the first player in franchise history to score three touchdowns in one game, totaling 126 yards on the ground, Slaton's situation became very unclear. Gary Kubiak won't say who the starter is going forward, but this doesn't bode well for Slaton's fantasy value either way. Be sure to scoop up Moats if he's still available in your league.

Nov 2 - RB Steve Slaton or RB Ryan Moats ... who will start for the Texans? "I'm going to play them all," Kubiak said, bringing Chris Brown into the equation. "I'm in no hurry to make that decision, but, obviously, we're going to need all three of them. We'll make a decision when we get to Indianapolis. Protecting Matt (Schaub) is a huge priority. Ryan and Steve are about the same from that standpoint. Chris is probably a little bit better than both of them. That's why we have Chris in a lot of those situations. Hands-wise, they both (Slaton and Moats) have great hands. Steve can go outside like a receiver, so we've got a little more confidence in him in that stand point."

Nov 1 - Slaton appears to have been benched after losing yet another fumble in the first half of Sunday's game against Buffalo.

Recommendation: Slaton's fumble was his seventh of the season, five of which have been recovered by the defense. With Slaton on the sideline, Houston has been turning to Ryan Moats, who rushed for 126 yards (26 carries) and three touchdowns.

Randy Moss^P (NE - WR)

Nov 6 - Moss (shoulder) will be lining up against a Miami defense that will start two rookie cornerbacks Sunday.

Recommendation: It's a matchup the Patriots will likely try to exploit and as is the case with most defenses, the Dolphins will be a faced with a "pick your poison" dilemma in how they try to contain Moss and fellow starting wideout (and former Dolphin) Wes Welker.

Nov 4 - Moss was listed on Wednesday's practice report with a shoulder injury, but he was able to participate fully, the Boston Globe reports.

Recommendation: Look for Moss to either not be listed on the injury report Friday -- or at worst, appear as "probable" -- but he'll be fine for Sunday's game against the Dolphins, barring a setback.

Nov 4 - Moss was listed on Wednesday's practice report with a shoulder injury, but he was able to participate fully, the Boston Globe reports.

Recommendation: Look for Moss to either not be listed on the injury report Friday or at worst, appear as "probable," but he'll be fine for Sunday's game against the Dolphins, barring a setback.

Nov 3 - WR Randy Moss's team-leading 565 receiving yards in seven games rank ninth in the NFL through Week 8.

Bernard Berrian (Min - WR)

Nov 4 - WR Bernard Berrian will get time to rest his sore hamstring during the bye week. Berrian was injured two weeks ago against Pittsburgh but managed to play and catch a touchdown pass last Sunday against the Packers.

Nov 3 - WR Bernard Berrian was able to play Sunday despite suffering a strained left hamstring the previous week against Pittsburgh. Berrian might not have been at full strength but he managed to catch three passes for 47 yards with a touchdown. Berrian is 10 receptions behind team leader Sidney Rice and only one back of rookie Percy Harvin.

Nov 2 - WR Bernard Berrian was able to play Sunday despite a left hamstring strain that sidelined him for the second half of the previous week's game in Pittsburgh. Berrian played after testing the injury before the game.

Nov 1 - Berrian (hamstring) won't play against Green Bay, John Czarnecki of FoxSports.com is reporting and the Minneapolis Star Tribune is re-posting.

Recommendation: Czarnecki's track record of reporting injuries is poor and there seems to be little substance other than speculation to his story. However, the Star Tribune re-stating the story likely means it has more weight since that paper's reporters must have the same feeling. Whether he's active or not, Berrian was limited in practice all week and had hamstring problems in the preseason, so he looks like a fantasy option to avoid even if active.

Nov 1 - Berrian (hamstring) will play against Green Bay, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

Recommendation: He warmed up before the game, so it looks like he'll be a factor. Hopefully you took our note of caution on earlier reports saying he wouldn't play.

Nov 1 - Berrian (hamstring) caught three passes for 47 yards and scored a touchdown in Sunday's 38-26 win at Green Bay.

Recommendation: Berrian was fairly quiet for most of the game, but his 16-yard touchdown catch late in the fourth quarter sealed the win for Minnesota. The Vikings have a bye next week so one can only assume that Berrian will rest and be ready to go in Week 10.

Nov 1 - Berrian (hamstring) had three receptions for 47 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown, in Sunday's win over Green Bay.

Recommendation: The sore hamstring that knocked him out of last week's game didn't look like a problem, although he was never tested on a deep fly pattern. He's become the third option among receivers, but at least got into the end zone for the third time this season.

Lee Evans (Buf - WR)

Nov 2 - Evans had just two catches for 29 yards in Buffalo's loss to Houston on Sunday.

Recommendation: Terrell Owens was looked at far more than Evans, who, after two good weeks, wasn't much of a factor for a struggling offense in this one. Trent Edwards may be back soon, so the comfort level Evans has enjoyed with Ryan Fitzpatrick may be about to end.

Greg Olsen^P (Chi - TE)

Nov 6 - Olsen (ankle) participated fully in Friday's practice and is listed as probable for Sunday's game against Arizona, the Bears' official site reports.

Recommendation: Olsen was limited earlier in the week, but it looks like he'll be ready to go against the Cardinals.

Nov 5 - Olsen (ankle) practiced fully Thursday, the Bears' official site reports.

Recommendation: It looks like Olsen will end up listed as probable Friday, but his Week 9 status does not appear to be in any danger.

Nov 4 - Olsen was limited in Wednesday's practice with an ankle injury, the Daily Herald reports

Recommendation: Given that Olsen was able to participate in practice this early in the week, we don't expect whatever ankle injury Olsen is suffering from to affect his status for Sunday's game.

Nov 3 - TE Greg Olsen's three catches for 40 yards last week gave him a total of nine catches for 121 yards in the past three games.

Nov 2 - Olsen caught three passes for 40 yards in Sunday's win over the Browns.

Recommendation: Olsen has now failed to find the end zone for consecutive weeks after catching touchdowns in three straight games. This brief drought can be partially blamed on Jay Cutler, who has just one touchdown against four interceptions over that span.