Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.As popular as Ben Roethlisberger is in Pittsburgh (and the rest of America for that matter), the Steelers are still built on a run-first philosophy. The question moving forward is who's going to be running the ball.
On 27 carries this season, Willie Parker has 66 yards. Instead of running to find your calculator, that's a dismal 2.4 yards per carry average. In his two games he's also been held without a touchdown.
On the other hand, second-year running back Rashard Mendenhall has a 6.4 yards per carry average and had a nice 29-yard carry to set up a Steelers touchdown.
Is there a running back controversy in Pittsburgh?
Parker has seen his number of carries diminish over the past three years. It was a small drop from 2006-07 to 2007-08, but a bigger fall the next season as injuries took their toll. Now, his dropping yards per carry average have people wondering if the 28-year-old back is wearing down.
The National Football Post is predicting that Mendenhall will take over as the featured back in Pittsburgh. If that's the case, you need to check your waiver wire to see if he's available. A look at all Fleaflicker leagues shows that Mendenhall is available in 50% of fantasy football leagues. If you have a deep bench or even if you're a fantasy GM willing to make a speculative play, signing Mendenhall could pay off well.
Other Fantasy Football Notes:
• New York Giants wide receiver Domenik Hixon may have lost his starting job when he left the game against Dallas with a sprained knee. On the season Hixon only has two receptions for 23 yards.
• If you weren't impressed already with the fantasy production from rookie wide receiver Percy Harvin, wait until he starts throwing passes. The Vikings used the Wildcat formation for the first time this past weekend with Harvin at quarterback -- he did not throw the ball however. Coach Brad Childress hinted that that fact may change soon.
• It's no secret that I believe Tony Gonzalez could have a career year as the new tight end in Atlanta. But, when Patriots coach Bill Belichick says he's got extra game-planning to do this week because he's not as familiar with the Falcons and he specifically mentioned Gonzalez -- well, I'd be worried about Gonzalez's production this week in New England.
• if you have any of these quarterbacks as your QB2, you may want to consider a quick trade or a perusal of the waiver wire: Matthew Stafford is surely the franchise quarterback of the future in Detroit. But is he equipped, right now, to give this team a win? Coach Eric Mangini says he's sticking with Brady Quinn. But, the problem here is these questions have already risen and we're only headed into Week 3. The Miami Dolphins won the AFC East last season but have started 0-2 this year. Many are placing a large part of the blame on quarterback Chad Pennington.• Marion Barber was hurt in Dallas' Week 2 game against the Giants. Most reports are saying he'll miss 1-2 weeks, but Barber hopes to play this Monday night against Carolina.
• Matt Cassel was forced into action last season in New England when Tom Brady went down with a knee injury, but everyone knew that it was a temp job. He performed admirably, earned his own starting gig in Kansas City and now may be close to losing his job to Brodie Croyle.
