In my final blog of each week, I'll aim to look at what fantasy owners should be tracking over the upcoming weekend. Of course, once the season begins, we'll spend all blogs looking ahead to upcoming games, to some degree, but I also will provide some not-so-obvious questions that I'll be looking for answers to. For instance, this holiday weekend, doesn't everyone want to know …
• Who will be cut? The deadline for NFL teams to cut down to a 53-man active roster is Saturday at 6 p.m. ET, and certainly some of the names on the chopping block should be fantasy relevant. There might also be a trade or two. Philadelphia needs to decide what to do with their 19th quarterback, for example. If A.J. Feeley becomes the Tom Brady backup, well, you might not care today, but a year ago you would have. Plenty of NFL teams could use a reliable wide receiver (or two), such as the Titans, Chiefs and Browns, so maybe an Amani Toomer type is let go, or even the recently released Toomer himself finds work. Maybe somebody you've already drafted gets sent packing, possibly Jamal Lewis, LaMont Jordan and Joey Galloway. One never knows for sure.
• Who will start at quarterback in Cleveland, Detroit? I beg to differ with those who claim these quarterback battles don't matter in fantasy football. I could see scenarios in which both Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn are successful if given the chance to start, and I think Lions wide receivers aren't in terribly bad hands if Daunte Culpepper gets the nod over Matthew Stafford. Anderson was a bust last season, and probably judged a bit wrongly for his "outstanding" 2007 season -- five of those 2007 touchdowns came in Week 2, and he didn't close very well -- but I think it's clear he has the arm to help Braylon Edwards score double-digit touchdowns. Quinn is the college hero turned fan favorite, but as you might have noticed in other blog entries, as soon as he plays and struggles, people won't love him so much (not that I think he'll automatically fail). For the Lions, I just don't think Stafford is ready, which is why Culpepper will likely earn the starting role. He's not worth owning in fantasy because he makes way too many mistakes, but at least he throws a nice deep pass. And he's not a green rookie.
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Eric Karabell
