With Sunday's games in the books, here's a brief list of the most significant depth chart changes affecting fantasy leagues:
INDIANAPOLIS RB
Rising: Dominic Rhodes. Falling: Joseph Addai. The official word after Sunday's game was that Addai's hamstring injury wasn't serious. The Colts were up big early, and there was no reason to rush him back into the game. Still, it's interesting to note that their offense played its best game of the year largely without Addai, and Rhodes contributed with a touchdown. Hamstring injuries have a tendency to linger, so Rhodes could be in line for more carries in the coming weeks, especially with Mike Hart also going down.
DENVER RB
Rising: Michael Pittman. Falling: Selvin Young, Andre Hall. With Young sitting out the Jacksonville game with a strained groin, most prognosticators figured Pittman would, at best, share the ball with Hall. Instead, Pittman had 20 carries for 109 yards while Hall was limited to special teams work. Pittman, who added three receptions for 16 yards, might even have an outside shot at keeping the job when Young returns to action.
SEATTLE QB
Rising:Seneca Wallace. Falling:Matt Hasselbeck. Hasselbeck sat out Sunday's game with a bone bruise on his right knee, and the injury will keep him out in Week 7 as well. Although Charlie Frye threw for two touchdowns against the Packers, he also threw two picks and managed just 83 yards on 23 pass attempts. Wallace, who was unable to start because of an injured calf, is expected to take over against Tampa Bay.
JACKSONVILLE RB
Rising:Maurice Jones-Drew. Falling: Fred Taylor. Jones-Drew had his best game of the season against Denver. Perhaps not coincidentally, Taylor suffered a head injury in the first quarter, limiting him to just three carries. MJD exploded for 125 yards and two touchdowns, giving fantasy owners a taste of what they could be having if he had a job all to himself. Taylor returned to the game in the third quarter, so the injury was probably not anything that might keep him out. With the Jags off next week, Taylor could still keep his spot atop the Jacksonville depth chart, but the carries may be a bit more evenly distributed in the coming weeks.
BALTIMORE RB
Rising:Ray Rice. Falling: Le'Ron McClain. Have things come full circle in Charm City? Rice was a bit of a sleeper heading into the season, but McClain took the shine off Rice with a big Week 1 performance. On Sunday, with Willis McGahee hurt once again, Rice had six carries for 23 yards and added seven receptions for 64 yards. McClain, on the other hand, had a grand total of zero yards on two carries. Baltimore was outscored 17-0 in the first quarter and never recovered, so who got the ball ultimately might not matter a whole lot. Still, Rice fans have to be happy with this performance.
OAKLAND RB
Rising: Justin Fargas. Falling:Darren McFadden, Michael Bush. Fargas is back, but the Oakland running game couldn't get anything going against the Saints. Fargas, who had missed the last two games, had just 35 yards on 10 carries. McFadden was no better, gaining 30 on eight attempts, and Bush had just three carries. With neither McFadden nor Bush taking advantage of Fargas' absence, Fargas and McFadden will continue to form a timeshare until one overtakes the other.
PHILADELPHIA WR
Rising: Hank Baskett. Falling: Reggie Brown. How the Eagles scored 40 points against San Francisco is anybody's guess, given that they were missing Brian Westbrook, Kevin Curtis and Brown. It certainly helped that they were adequately replaced by Correll Buckhalter, DeSean Jackson, and Baskett. With Brown on the sidelines, Baskett got the start and caught four passes for 36 yards, scoring once. Jackson and Baskett have kept the Philly offense afloat while Brown and Curtis have been out, but with a bye this week, the whole offense could be healthy when Philadelphia resumes play against Atlanta.
SEATTLE WR
Rising: Koren Robinson. Falling: Deion Branch. Last week we surmised that somebody would have to take Branch's spot in the starting lineup and listed four candidates. One name that was neglected was Robinson. Naturally, he was the one who got the start. A former future star, Robinson never quite lived up to the hype after he was drafted by Seattle in 2001. He had a couple of good years with the Seahawks, but he lost his way due to personal problems. Now he's back where it all began, and although he only had two catches for 23 yards against Green Bay, he should see more action as he gets healthier.
CINCINNATI QB
Rising:Ryan Fitzpatrick. Falling:Carson Palmer. Palmer is seeking a second opinion on his elbow, and he could be shut down for awhile. In fact, he's already been declared out for Week 7. Fitzpatrick got back behind center against the Jets, and while he may have fared a bit better in this start that he did in his first start two weeks ago, it was still a bit uninspiring.
Kenn Ruby is a fantasy writer for RotoWire. For more information, please visit Rotowire.com
