Steve's back from vacation, and he and Scott are ready to lead you on the road to your fantasy playoffs!

On this episode: The Colts countdown continues, Leftwich gets left behind, whether advanced particle physics is more complicated than the Rams' offense, and we talk about Cadillac Williams, AGAIN.

As always, please send us your feedback and questions for fantasy advice to ExtraPointsPodcast@gmail.com, or call our voice mail line at 206-339-8723 (206-3-EXTRA-3). Thanks for listening!

Links:
Desolate Metropolis
Podcast Outlaws

Happy Thanksgiving from Extra Points! Steve's on vacation, but Scott has all the fantasy news and advice to make your fantasy team better than the Macy's Parade! On this episode: McNabb is McDone, the possible return of the Cadillac lovefest, why you should play Trent Green this week, and the Colts deathwatch continues...

Be afraid, be very afraid...

The Parker news is good for owners of Fast Willie, but is cancelled out by the fact that Maddox is starting, especially against Baltimore. I think we've all learned our lesson from the last time Maddox started; downgrade the Steelers offense as a whole. Parker coming off injury with Maddox under center is not a recipe for success.

Thomas Jones is expected to start for the Bears this weekend vs. Carolina. Adjust your lineups accordingly...

The byes are over, and it's time to separate the men from the boys. Scott and Steve are here once again with the tips to help you make the playoffs.

On this episode: Dead-beat Dillon, Cedric Benson' holdout doesn't work out as expected, McNabb has a busted wing, and why the Colts could send your playoff aspirations riding into the sunset.

Links: Christiana Talks About Stuff

We're always looking to help you with your fantasy questions! E-mail us at ExtraPointsPodcast@gmail.com, or call our voicemail line at 206-339-8723!

Apparently, Vikings coach Mike Tice took a pretty good hit to the knee on Sunday; it was bad enough that he apparently sprained his MCL and will require surgery.

"This is an insignificant injury," Tice said. "You can't keep me off the sideline. MCL, PCL, ACL, cartilage, I don't really care. I don't have to tackle or block or do any of those things. I just walk up and down, talk in the headphones."

That sound you hear is thousands of fantasy owners groaning in disappointment...

With Thomas Jones likely out for Week Ten, it looks like holdout boy Cedric Benson will finally get his first start of the season, against San Francisco, no less.

If you've been holding onto him, get him in your lineup, and if you can still grab him (though he's probably gone after filling in admirably for Jones last week), do so immediately. Adrian Peterson will also see playing time, and Lovie Smith will give more carries to who plays better throughout the game; since Peterson was averaging around 9 yards per carry last week, he could be a sneaky play as well.

It's only a matter of time before the Packers have open auditions for running backs. Another Green Bay RB went on IR today: Walt Williams. No, I haven't heard of him either; about the only fantasy significance that move has is narrow the list of available running backs in Green Bay to two: Samkon Gado and ReShard Lee. Since Lee left last week's game with an acute case of the dropsies, you can probably safely start Gado without having to worry too much about a RBBC situation.

Joey Harrington will start for the Lions this Sunday in place of the still-injured Jeff Garcia. Hopefully you weren't depending on this outcome for your fantasy team, but we just thought we'd point it out! Good luck in Week 10!

Both rotoworld.com and espn.com are now reporting that Priest Holmes is likely out for the rest of the year. Complications from neck and shoulder injuries should keep him sidelined for the remainder of the season. Obviously you never hope someone gets hurt, but this is good news for Larry Johnson owners (like Steve!). For more fantasy football perspective on Priest's injury, be sure to listen to this week's episode of Extra Points!

Lots going on this week, including an obscure story about some troubled receiver for the Eagles that you may or may not have heard of...

On this episode:Who the hell is Sam Gado?, T.O. stands for "Tossed Out", Priest takes a sabbatical, and the Duce is loose!

Check out our new message board, and call our new listener line at 206-339-8723!

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There was no joy in Philly today as Andy Reid announced that Terrell Owens will not play for the Eagles again this season, and possibly ever again. T.O. will remain on team suspension for three more games (the maximum a team can suspend a player without pay), and then the Eagles will deactivate him for the rest of the season. Tune in to this week's show for more on how T.O.'s departure will impact the Eagles!

It was only a matter of time before something happened as a result of T.O.'s public criticism of the team this week, and ESPN is now reporting that he's been suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team. It goes without saying that you should get him out of your lineup immediately, if you haven't already.

The Texans' web site is reporting that Domanick Davis hasn't practiced all week due to inflammation in his knee and is unlikely to play against Jacksonville.

If you're in a bind and need a warm body at RB, Jonathan Wells and Vernand Morency are due to split carries in Davis' place. You should pretty much look at either one of these guys as an absolute last resort, though, given that they're untested running backs in the terrible Houston offense, plus the fact that they're going up against a stout Jacksonville defense. But either one will likely be better than not playing a RB at all.

Following up on the story we touched upon in this week's show, Reuben Droughns has pleaded not guilty to drunken driving and other charges. A trial date has been set for December 16th (Week 15). The Browns have said that he won't be disciplined until the trial has been completed. This is good news from a fantasy standpoint, but take the next few weeks to get your Plan B in order; you don't want to take any chances during the fantasy playoffs, and if Droughns is convicted and the team is out of the playoff hunt by that point, they'll almost certainly bench him at what would be the worst possible time for your fantasy team.

Rotoworld is reporting that Priest Holmes is likely to miss this week's contest against the Raiders due to complications from the concussion that he suffered this past week that knocked him out of the game. Larry Johnson owners, this is the moment you've been anticipating. LJ is a must-start against the Raiders if #31 doesn't start; the Raiders allow the fifth-most fantasy points per game to the RB position, and you know the Chiefs love to run the ball.

Even if Priest plays, he's likely to be limited in the game, so LJ should still be a fairly solid start. Keep an eye on the news on Sunday, but this could be big...

More QB shuffling! The 49ers have announced U. of Washington alum Cody Pickett as their starter for this weekend's game against the Giants. Cody will be the Niners 4th different starting QB in 5 weeks. And Pickett is even trying to a pull a "Troy Brown": he plays on special teams too! Despite his versatility, Pickett is a very risky fantasy move until he proves himself. Additionally, not that we would recommend them anyway, but we would certainly stay away from Niners' receivers until they get a QB who lasts longer than a week...

...and just when you thought the Niners had used up every scrub QB in this hemisphere, this week they signed the Bachelor himself, Jesse Palmer. Since both Alex Smith and Ken Dorsey are hurt, Palmer slides in to the #2 spot right away. Pretty sweet deal for him. Seriously, next thing you know they're going to be taking fans from the stands to be QB. Hey, I have two legs and two arms, give me a shot!

Lots of movement at QB this week:

• Roethlisberger out this week after arthroscopic surgery on his knee; Charlie Batch will start against the Packers. Hopefully he'll hand off the ball more than Maddox did, but be cautious about the Pittsburgh offense nonetheless.
• Garcia's leg is acting up, so Harrington gets the start against the Vikings. If you held on to Joey, this is the one game where it might be worth playing him...
• McNabb is listed as questionable after missing two straight practices; Koy Detmer will get the start if he can't play, which will mean that you should bench all your Eagles, since Koy Detmer against an angry Redskins defense is not a recipe for fantasy success.

So Libsyn had some technical issues today with their DNS servers. All seems to be better now. Thanks for being patient with us; hopefully Libsyn will get their act together soon and all will be back in order...

Happy Discount Candy Day! No idea what that is? You�ll just have to listen to the show to find out!

Plus: Culpepper�s ship has sailed, Cadillac is stuck in neutral, whether the Eagles are an endangered species, Droughns isn�t the designated driver, and reports of Travis Henry�s return have been greatly exaggerated.

Please e-mail us your questions to ExtraPointsPodcast@gmail.com; we�ll answer them on next week�s show!

Apparently, despite having a bye and week 6 to rest his ankle, Fred Taylor has been downgraded to questionable. As I say every week, being downgraded mid-week is usually a bad sign. Of course, if you drafted or traded for Taylor, you had to know that there would be weeks like this.

Supposedly, if Taylor can't go, Greg Jones and Alvin Pearman would split carries. Either one would be a decent play against the Rams, given how well both produced against Pittsburgh. Keep your eyes open for this one, and try to grab either Jones or Pearman now if you can for insurance if you own Taylor...

It's more or less been all over the news that Alex Smith is sitting out this week and Ken Dorsey is starting in his place. As far as your fantasy team goes this week, this news story should be a non-issue; against the Bucs, I'd recommend sitting all your Niners regardless of who's under center, and even more uncertainty at QB means even more reason to do so. However, keep an eye on this situation. A good game by Dorsey, however improbable that may be, might mean a QB controversy in SF and might make guys like Brandon Lloyd and Arnaz Battle startable again. I wouldn't bet on it, but keep that possibility in mind with respect toward next week's waiver wire...

This has absolutely no fantasy implications whatsoever, but I had to share anyway. Chad Johnson this week on Green Bay cornerback Al Harris: "There are two things for Brother Harris this week," Johnson said. "The bad thing is he has to cover me. The good news is he can save 15 percent by switching his (auto) insurance to Geico."

We may not be undefeated in our fantasy leagues, but we're 10-0 in the podcasting world! On this episode: The Pack thins out, whether the Vikings' ship is back on course, and we mess with Texas. Plus, another overflowing mailbag!

As always, send us your feedback and questions for fantasy advice to ExtraPointsPodcast@gmail.com.

Heads up for Holt owners: He's been downgraded to questionable and Fox Sports is reporting that he's not going to play. I wouldn't panic until they announce the official rosters, but it's good to have a plan B set up just in case. Holt was questionable going into last week's game against the Colts, but he wasn't downgraded at the last minute like this, which is generally a pretty bad sign. If you were worried about Holt's performance with Jamie Martin under center before this morning, this should be the last shove that you need to put him on the bench.

Steve McNair didn't travel with the team to Arizona, so Billy Volek is going to get his first start for the season. Volek filled in admirably for McNair at the end of last season, so this shouldn't hurt any part of the Titans offense except for McNair himself. If you were planning to start McNair or are otherwise in QB troubles this week, Volek would be a fine one-week start. He's a good QB in his own right, and anyone can look like a stud QB when they get to play against the Cardinals...

Make sure to set your lineups ASAP; the NFL has rescheduled the KC/Miami game to 7 PM Friday night due to Hurricane Wilma. Don't get caught off-guard!

The rain has finally stopped in New England, and it's time for the sun to start shining on your fantasy team! On this episode: Harrington on the hot seat, Randy Moss won't be mooning anyone for a while, and whether you should pass on Pass. Plus, we answer a slew of listener questions!

Well, it appears Alex Smith is going to have to be "the guy" for the 49ers. Yesterday (Tuesday) SF traded former starting QB Tim Rattay to the Buccaneers for an undisclosed draft pick. Although Rattay has a few years of starting QB experience--and was actually halfway decent last year when he wasn't hurt--he is currently Tampa Bay's #3 QB, behind newbies Chris Simms and Luke McCown. Apparantly Simms is going to get the nod this weekend, but depending on how he does, and with Brian Griese sidelined for the foreseeable future, Rattay might rise up the depth chart very quickly. Even so, I think Rattay (or Simms for that matter) is still a risky fantasy pick-up at this point... ...as is Alex Smith. Yes, he will now be the undisputed starter, but he is a rookie, he looked very shaky in his first start, and now there is TREMENDOUS pressure on him and him alone to rescue the 49ers. And this isn't like Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh, who could count on a decent offensive line and defense to keep games close. It's a lot for any rookie to handle, even the #1 pick. Welcome to the NFL, Alex Smith!

The Bucs have added Michael Pittman to the injury report as questionable due to a shoulder injury. It's never a good thing when a player is added to the injury report past Wednesday, so keep a close eye on both Pittman and Cadillac's statuses come Sunday. Pittman's injury might make it more likely for Cadillac to play, but if both can't go, either Mike Alstott or second year man Earnest Graham would get the start, but neither is really a reliable play against Miami.

Apparently, Julius missed practice for the third straight day today, and while Parcells won't rule him out, he says he's never played a running back who hasn't practiced at least once that week.

If Tyson Thompson is still available, grab him now; he's likely to get the bulk of the carries and performed will in relief of Julius last week against the Eagles. As an added bonus, the Giants are a pretty good team to run on, so playing Thompson could really help out your week, if not longer. High ankle sprains tend to linger for several weeks, so Thompson could be a good filler player for more than just Sunday.