Don's Week 11 Rankings

Quarterbacks
1. Tom Brady at BUF
2. Tony Romo vs WAS
3. Brett Favre vs CAR
4. Ben Roethlisberger at NYJ
5. Matt Hasselbeck vs CHI
6. Marc Bulger at SF
7. Peyton Manning vs KC
8. Carson Palmer vs ARI
9. Derek Anderson at BAL
10. Donovan McNabb vs MIA
11. Drew Brees at HOU
12. Eli Manning at DET
13. Kurt Warner at CIN
14. Jeff Garcia at ATL
15. Jon Kitna vs NYG
16. Matt Schaub vs NO
17. David Garrard vs SD
18. Jason Campbell at DAL
19. Jay Cutler vs TEN
20. Kyle Boller vs CLE

NOTES: Check the injury status of Kurt Warner (elbow), Jon Kitna (back), Matt Schaub (concussion) and David Garrard (ankle).

Warner still has some soreness in his elbow, but he made it through last week’s game and should be fine at Cincinnati. Kitna said his back is okay even though Lions’ head coach Rod Marinelli had some concern after Sunday’s game. Schaub had an extra week to rest during the bye week so he should be ready to go versus New Orleans. Garrard is the most iffy of the group, but he is expected to return this week.

Hasselbeck’s high ranking is a product of the team’s new offensive approach, not so much their opponent, although the Bears have been average on defense this season.

Boller is ranked 20th because he is facing the Browns, who have perhaps the worst overall defense in the league. Boller does have a strong arm so he might be able to hook up with Mark Clayton on a bomb or two.

Running Backs
1. Brian Westbrook vs MIA
2. Willie Parker at NYJ
3. Joseph Addai vs KC
4. Willis McGahee vs CLE
5. Brandon Jacobs at DET
6. LaDainian Tomlinson at JAC
7. Steven Jackson at SF
8. Edgerrin James at CIN
9. Reggie Bush at HOU
10. Maurice Jones-Drew vs SD
11. Chester Taylor vs OAK
12. Clinton Portis at DAL
13. Marion Barber vs WAS
14. Frank Gore vs STL
15. Laurence Maroney at BUF
16. Jesse Chatman at PHI
17. Earnest Graham at ATL
18. LenDale White at DEN
19. Ryan Grant vs CAR
20. Marshawn Lynch vs NE
21. Kevin Jones vs NYG
22. Justin Fargas at MIN
23. Selvin Young vs TEN
24. Warrick Dunn vs TB
25. Priest Holmes at IND
26. DeShaun Foster at GB
27. Cedric Benson at SEA
28. Julius Jones vs WAS
29. Thomas Jones vs PIT
30. Maurice Morris vs CHI
31. Shaun Alexander vs CHI
32. Rudi Johnson vs ARI
33. Jamal Lewis at BAL
34. Fred Taylor vs SD
35. Kenny Watson vs ARI
36. Ahman Green vs NO
37. Travis Henry vs TEN
38. Jerious Norwood vs TB
39. Ron Dayne vs NO
40. T.J. Duckett vs NYG

NOTES: Check the injury status of Reggie Bush (knee), Frank Gore (ankle), LenDale White (knee), Marshawn Lynch (ankle), Kevin Jones (foot), DeShaun Foster (toe), Shaun Alexander (wrist, ankle and knee), Travis Henry (knee) and Jerious Norwood (ankle).

Bush has a sore knee, but should play this week. Gore made it through Monday night’s game fine and actually had a couple of nice runs. White sat out most of the second half last week, but should be okay this week. Bump him up a few spots if he practices all week because Denver is awful against the run. Lynch is scheduled to have a MRI on his ankle and doesn’t have a good matchup against New England anyway. Foster hurt his toe last week and there has not been much information about the severity of the injury. Alexander should be in an infirmary with all the injuries he has. Maurice Morris should be heavily involved regardless if Alexander plays or not. Henry missed last week’s game and is iffy again against Tennessee. The Broncos do play on Monday night, however, so an extra day of rest could be huge. Bump up Henry and bump down Selvin Young if Henry is active for the game. Norwood missed last week’s game so he has a good chance of playing this week after resting his ankle.

Kevin Jones is a big question mark for this week’s game. There are rumors the team might hold Jones out to save him for next week’s Thanksgiving Day game. He left last week’s game twice with soreness in his surgically-repaired foot. If you own Jones, you might want to pick up T.J. Duckett as insurance because red flags are going off.

Chester Taylor carries such a high ranking because Oakland has a lot of trouble stopping the run and the Vikings will probably pound the ball.

Not to beat a dead horse, but Laurence Maroney is long overdue for a big game. It might come this week in bad weather at Buffalo.

Rudi Johnson has what looks like a good matchup against Arizona, but he has run tentatively since returning from a hamstring injury. Kenny Watson is the better running back right now, but he probably won’t be involved as much as Johnson.

Wide Receivers
1. Randy Moss at BUF
2. Terrell Owens vs WAS
3. Reggie Wayne vs KC
4. Braylon Edwards at BAL
5. T.J. Houshmandzadeh vs ARI
6. Torry Holt at SF
7. Larry Fitzgerald at CIN
8. Marques Colston at HOU
9. Hines Ward at NYJ
10. Chad Johnson vs ARI
11. Wes Welker at BUF
12. Joey Galloway at ATL
13. Greg Jennings vs CAR
14. Plaxico Burress at DET
15. Santonio Holmes at NYJ
16. D.J. Hackett vs CHI
17. Donald Driver vs CAR
18. Roy Williams vs NYG
19. Brandon Marshall vs TEN
20. Bobby Engram vs CHI
21. Steve Smith at GB
22. Donte Stallworth at BUF
23. Anquan Boldin at CIN
24. Chris Henry vs ARI
25. Patrick Crayton vs WAS
26. Kevin Curtis vs MIA
27. Andre Johnson vs NO
28. Bernard Berrian at SEA
29. Lee Evans vs NE
30. Reggie Brown vs MIA
31. Dwayne Bowe at IND
32. Mark Clayton vs CLE
33. Shaun McDonald vs NYG
34. Jerricho Cotchery vs PIT
35. David Patten vs HOU
36. Derrick Mason vs CLE
37. Laveranues Coles vs PIT
38. Muhsin Muhammad at SEA
39. Kevin Walter vs NO
40. Chris Chambers at JAC

NOTES: Check the injury status for Plaxico Burress (ankle), Andre Johnson (knee) and Laveranues Coles (concussion).

Burress said his lingering ankle injury felt worse than usual after Sunday’s game so he might be limited more than normal against Detroit. Johnson is set to return after missing seven games and could fare well against a Saints’ defense that was torched by Marc Bulger and Torry Holt last week. Coles sat out last week and should return, but concussions are a serious issue so his status is somewhat uncertain.

Steve Smith has looked better with Vinny Testaverde at quarterback, but Green Bay is a difficult matchup this week.

Anquan Boldin (hip) has not played that well in three games since returning from injury. He will play at Cincinnati, but do not expect eye-popping numbers.

Lee Evans is ranked so low because of his lack of success against New England in the past. Also, the weather conditions are not expected to be great in Buffalo so that could hurt his opportunities for long pass plays.

Mark Clayton could be a nice sleeper this week facing a weak Browns’ secondary. He had his best game of the season last Sunday and strong-armed Kyle Boller is starting this week.

Tight Ends
1. Kellen Winslow at BAL
2. Antonio Gates at JAC
3. Heath Miller at NYJ
4. Jeremy Shockey at DET
5. Jason Witten vs WAS
6. Tony Gonzalez at IND
7. Donald Lee vs CAR
8. Chris Cooley at DAL
9. Greg Olsen at SEA
10. L.J. Smith vs MIA
11. Ben Watson at BUF
12. Dallas Clark vs KC
13. Leonard Pope at CIN
14. Vernon Davis vs STL
15. Eric Johnson at HOU
16. Tony Scheffler vs TEN
17. Randy McMichael at SF
18. Owen Daniels vs NO
19. Jeff King at GB
20. Todd Heap vs CLE

NOTES: Check the injury status on Ben Watson (ankle), Dallas Clark (concussion), Tony Scheffler (chest) and Todd Heap (hamstring).

Watson had a week to rest during the bye so he should be good to go this week at Buffalo. Clark missed last week’s game and is iffy again this week. Scheffler left but returned to last week’s game at Kansas City so one would assume he’ll play. Heap re-aggravated his hamstring injury last week so he might not play against Cleveland.

Leonard Pope had a big game last week and faces Cincinnati, which has been killed by opposing tight ends all season. He is definitely a sleeper for this week.

Kickers
1. Mason Crosby vs CAR
2. Stephen Gostkowski at BUF
3. Nick Folk vs WAS
4. Jeff Reed at NYJ
5. Rob Bironas at DEN
6. Josh Brown vs CHI
7. Kris Brown vs NO
8. Adam Vinatieri vs KC
9. Jason Hanson vs NYG
10. Jason Elam vs TEN
11. Shayne Graham vs ARI
12. Neil Rackers at CIN
13. Matt Stover vs CLE
14. Phil Dawson at BAL
15. David Akers vs MIA
16. Jeff Wilkins at SF
17. Nate Kaeding at JAC
18. Robbie Gould at SEA
19. Lawrence Tynes at DET
20. Jay Feely at PHI

D/ST
1. Green Bay vs CAR
2. New England at BUF
3. Pittsburgh at NYJ
4. Tennessee at DEN
5. Seattle vs CHI
6. Indianapolis vs KC
7. New York Giants at DET
8. Dallas vs WAS
9. Philadelphia vs MIA
10. Jacksonville vs SD
11. Tampa Bay at ATL
12. Detroit vs NYG
13. Minnesota vs OAK
14. Baltimore vs CLE
15. Denver vs TEN
16. St. Louis at SF
17. Kansas City at IND
18. Houston vs NO
19. Chicago at SEA
20. Cincinnati vs ARI

NOTES: Cincinnati is a sleeper DEF this week because Arizona turns the ball over a lot and the Bengals looked good last week defensively, although it was against the offensively-challenged Ravens.