The bye weeks have arrived and the injuries are mounting, its time to start digging deep for those micromanagement moves that win championships!

Defensive Linemen
The monster day turned in by Grant Wistrom in week two probably lifts him out of the sleeper category. This guy is an every week starter but consider Chike Okeafor this week as well. Its safe to say that we weren't the only ones to notice Wistrom's explosion, the Niners have been looking at the film all week. To make things even more interesting Frisco will probably be without starting left tackle Kwame Harris which means either Wistrom or Okeafor will be up against a backup tackle and/or a guy playing out of position. It doesn't hurt that the Niners QB's aren't the most nimble.

The Bengals D looked great last week against the questionable offense of Miami and they face another offensively challenged club this week in the Ravens. Justin Smith stepped up in week two and made several plays. If things go according to plan for the Ravens in this one, there won't be many pass attempts so Smith may not have many sack opportunities. He is however an every down player who is strong against the run and could easily put up 5-6 solo stops. On the other hand, if the Bengals are able to put up some points early Baltimore may be forced to pass and they aren't very good at it.

I really like Greg Ellis this week against the Skins. Yes the news offense is built around pass protection so last years sack numbers don't pertain. That said, I'm not convinced all their problems last year can be placed on the scheme. Ramsey isn't very mobile and the Skins O-Line is hardly the "hogs" reborn. Ellis is one of those guys who usually puts up good tackle numbers so if he fails to land a sack he's still not going to be a bust. 

Late news out of New Orleans is that Darren Howard will suit up an play this week. No one however is saying that he will start. Its been several weeks since Howard has played and the team isn't going to throw him back in the fire full time. The decision to ease Howard back into action is much easier for them considering the stellar play of Will Smith in Howard's absence. Smith should get at least one more start before Howard sees any significant playing time and it just so happens that it will come against the Rams who somehow continue to leave pass protection out of their game plan on a regular basis. Don't hesitate to put the kid in your lineup.

Steelers DE Aaron Smith didn't do much last season but his '04 is looking a lot more like his '02 season so far. In '02 Smith posted 54 solo stops and 6.5 sacks. So far this season he has a 6-3-2 mark with a fumble recovery through just 2 games. Pittsburgh faces a struggling Miami offense which has a new starter at left tackle where Wade Smith has been demoted and starting right tackle John St.Clair is attempting to come back from injury. Smith could be in for his best game of the season in this one.  

Linebackers
We all know the perfect run/pass ratio for the Ravens at this point is about 80/20. Nate Webster and Brian Simmons had strong outings against weak running game of the Dolphins last week. If this game stays close or the Ravens break out on top, Baltimore backs could rack up 40+ carries on the day. That's an incredible amount of opportunity for a couple of good players.

The late news this week that LaVar Arrington will be shelved for a while with a knee problem brings up the interesting questions, who will be his replacement and will he have any fantasy value? Lemar Marshall is set to get the start at WLB this week and yes he could be a decent option for a fantasy owner desperate enough to reach that deep. The position has been a productive one over the years and even this year with Arrington putting up fairly good numbers despite the knee injury. That said, if Antonio Pierce is still available he would make the better pickup/play, both this week and beyond. Pierce will start at MLB this week and see the majority of the action even if Mike Barrow is active. When/if Barrow returns to his starting role look for Pierce to bump Marshall out of the WLB job until Arrington returns.

Their numbers have been rather ordinary to date but Denver LB's Al Wilson and/or D.J. Williams might be strong starts this week against the Chargers who's main (only) weapons are LT and Antonio Gates. Two of Wilson's best games last season came against the Chargers. His game is based on speed which makes him a better match up for Tomlinson than many MLB's. There will be plenty of opportunity in this one.

Dat Nguyen and Bradie James combined to go 5-0-0 last week but then they weren't facing an offense built around the running game or with a Clinton Portis type back to carry the load. Ramsey threw 3 picks and didn't even play the whole game. If you think that doesn't stick in the mind of Joe Gibbs you haven't been paying very good attention. If anything the Skins will emphasize the run even more this week to protect their QB. It doesn't hurt that the game is on Monday night for those of us who like having players to watch in the late games. 

Nick Barnett is getting all the props and all the fantasy attention while people don't seem to remember who Na'il Diggs is. All Diggs did last year was top the Packers box score 4 or 5 times over the course of the season and all he did last week was go 5-1-1. The Colts are a very strong match up for linebackers with or without James in the lineup. They love to start their running plays to the strong side and then find a cut back lane that brings them right back at the WLB. This could be one of those weeks where Diggs steps up.

Late breaking news out of Minnesota has Chris Claiborne replacing mistake prone rookie Dontarrious Thomas at WLB this week against the Bears. In my honest opinion Claiborne has been vastly over rated for years but the fact remains he's a decent player who is now in a much improved situation. It would certainly be a long shot to start him without seeing how this will work but then that's why they call them sleepers.

Its probably a week too early to start Napoleon Harris who is expected to play but not start this week, but I though he was at least worth mentioning. Once healthy he is going to be a stud and just because he isn't starting doesn't mean he won't see a lot of time. Unfortunately the Bucks don't pose much of a threat offensively.   

Defensive Backs
Here is a big time long shot to consider. The Browns are probably going to be starting Leigh Bodden at corner in place of either Anthony Henry (vertigo) or Daylon  against the Giants this week. Cleveland's pass rush took a beating with injuries to Courtney Brown and Gerard Warren AND Kurt Warner looked pretty good last week. Figure in Ron Dayne's injury and you have all the reason in the world to believe the Giants will attack through the air this week. 

When the news of Mike Brown's injury hit this week I saw a lot of people scrambling to grab Bobby Gray and a lot of speculation about how the Bears would shuffle their secondary. It didn't happen. Gray is still backing up Mike Green at SS and Todd Johnson has replaced Brown at FS. Green led all DB's in tackles two years ago and his 9 tackle day against the Packers last week kind of ruins his sleeper status but Johnson would be a good gamble as well this week if Green is already gone. Another Bears DB to consider in this one is R.W. McQuarters who will likely draw the daunting duty of trying to cover Randy Moss this week. Todd McMillan replaces Charles Tillman (knee) and is also a consideration. 

Roy Williams is probably an every week starter for most owners who have him. If not get him in there this week, not only for the same reasons James and Nguyen are good starts, but also because Ramsey has struggled in the new offense throughout the preseason and into last week. Williams has a ton of big play ability that the Cowboys are trying to tap into. A struggling QB like Ramsey could help them strike gold.

The Chiefs are without Priest this week but they won't modify their offense much to accommodate Blaylock. They may however find themselves needing to pass a lot more so Texans FS Marcus Coleman might be a very worthy start. he's been quietly productive in each of the first two weeks with 6 solo tackles in each game. The Texans moved him to FS in an attempt to bring some playmaking ability to the position. Coleman has shown that ability in the past and could have a breakout game at any time. Until then a 6-1-0 every week would work just fine for me. If your in a big league and are in dire straights, Glenn Earl might be worth a long shot. He's expected to get the start at SS in place of the injured Eric Brown.

Mark Roman hasn't gone large in a game yet but he is in a situation where it could happen at any time. The Colts have no defense but they have a high powered offense that forces the secondary to make a lot of plays. Roman isn't a big play guy but he's a very dependable tackler who doesn't make many mistakes. With or without James in the lineup the Colts will move the ball and Roman should put up 6 or more solo stops.

Lets face it, the only defense in the NFL that might be as bad as the Chiefs is the Colts. With the front 7 struggling to stop anyone, the SS position is lighting up the box scores. In all likelihood Doss is sitting again this week giving Cory Bird his second straight start. It sure doesn't hurt that the opponent is Ahman Green and the Packers who have been racking up the ground yards.

Good news for Greg Wesley owners, he returned to practice Thursday and it looks like he'll start this week against the Texans. I'm a little nervous about the chances of re-injury but if they are willing to take the chance so should we. 

Injuries continue to chisel away at the Rams secondary. So much so in fact that they have been forced to move Aeneas Williams back to corner and pick up street free agent Kwamie Lassiter to start at FS. Lassiter hasn't been out of work for long so conditioning shouldn't be a big problem and he played for the Rams recently so he knows the scheme. Also consider that the Saints are without Deuce this week and that they finally got their passing game cranked up last week. Lassiter could be a busy guy in week 3.

The last time I mentioned Oakland safety Stuart Schweigert it came back to bite me in the butt. Some guys never learn so here we go again. Schewigert saw extensive playing time last week and was the teams second most productive DB of week 2. There has been no news to suggest that Schewigert has officially gained a bigger role but reading between the lines of the week two box score says different. Starting him this week would be a huge gamble but it could pay off.   

Best of luck to everyone this weekend,

John