Well, the bloated bye weeks are here with six teams taking the week off. Hopefully, you’ve been preparing for this all month and have plenty of backups in place. If not, here are some ideas geared toward helping you right now:
1. Isaac Redman, RB, PIT: Rashard Mendenhall is nursing a hamstring injury and Mewelde Moore has a high-ankle sprain. That leaves the talented Redman as a decent bet for 18-25 touches against the Titans Sunday.
2. Bernard Scott, RB, CIN: I’m still expecting Cedric Benson’s suspension to be handed down at some point soon. If not this week, then next. Either way, we need to be holding Scott.
3. Stevan Ridley, RB, NE: He’s taking over for BenJarvus Green-Ellis. Ridley is the best back in New England’s backfield and his snap count is on the rise. Explosive runner to the edge.
4. Ryan Torain, RB, WAS: Torain has a bye this week, but is quickly moving ahead of Tim Hightower. The Mike Shanahan favorite will get hurt eventually, but is effective on a per-play basis in the meantime.
5. Victor Cruz, WR, NYG: Mario Manningham was benched in favor of Cruz last week. We’re not sure how long that will last, but either way Cruz has earned a major role. I could see Manningham kicking into the slot and Cruz taking over outside full time. He’s a talent.
6. Tim Tebow, QB, DEN: Kyle Orton is getting close to the end of the leash. The Broncos play the Chargers this week and then have a bye. If they are 1-5 at that point, coach John Fox will almost be forced to go with Tebow. Remember that Tebow’s legs make him an every week QB1 when starting.
7. Jacoby Jones, WR, HOU: Jones will be the main beneficiary of Andre Johnson’s (hamstring) absence. I wouldn’t be surprised if Johnson missed as much as a month. Jones averaged five catches for 92.5 yards when AJ missed the final two games of last season.
