Cut-N-Go is Fantasy Football FanHouse's weekday roundup of the NFL news with fantasy football impact.
Steve Smith is frustrated and it's not just the 2-3 start by the Carolina Panthers. Some of the problem may be that the Panthers' Smith is now "the other Steve Smith" as Steve Smith of the Giants has four touchdowns and 525 yards receiving, dwarfing the numbers of his counterpart in Carolina. But, the brunt of the frustration comes from his role in the Carolina offense and the fact that he no longer want to be a decoy.
More From SI.com: Week 6 Winners and Losers
Dave Scott of The Charlotte Observer says that after the Panthers beat the Buccaneers on Sunday, Smith was visibly down on his role.
It's true that Smith is not being targeted with as much frequency as he's used to, and his stats reflect that fact. He only has 259 yards receiving and zero touchdowns on the season. Steve Reed of the Gaston Gazette says that it's more a problem of play-calling by offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson than effort, or lack thereof, by Smith."I'm no longer an asset to this team," Smith said in a brief interview. "That's all there is to say."
Smith had one reception for 4 yards against the Bucs, a team he has six 100-plus yard games against. It came in the fourth quarter, the only pass in the Panthers' 16-play, game-winning drive.
How the issue of getting Smith the ball more gets fixed is anyone's guess. But, if Maurice Jones-Drew's three-touchdown performance on Sunday proves anything, squawking about being a decoy could be a precursor to a great things in the following week. Will Steve Smith continue that completely unsubstantiated trend?Does Smith need to be more involved? Of course. And that's up to offensive coordinator Jeff Davidson to figure out -- and preferably fast before he loses the fiery Smith to bitterness. The corresponding problem Davidson faces is the Panthers don't have another viable weapon in the passing game to take some of the double coverage away from Smith.
Other Fantasy Football Notes
• First-round draft selection Josh Freeman will not be integrated into the game plan next week for Tampa Bay, nor will he be taking over the quarterback duties from Josh Johnson, according to the St. Petersburg Times. Gary Shelton, also of the St. Petersburg Times, doesn't agree with head coach Raheem Morris' decision and feels it's time to hand Freeman the ball.
• Todd Archer of The Dallas Morning News says that not only will Felix Jones and Roy Williams practice on Wednesday for the Cowboys, but they are getting in some extra on-field work on Monday preparing for the Falcons.
• The Redskins have no idea who will start at quarterback next week against the Philadelphia Eagles say Barry Svrluga and Jason Reid of The Washington Post. Whether it's Jason Campbell or Todd Collins won't be determined until later in the week, but a lot of thought will be given to the situation. "Right now, I'm going to just evaluate what I'm going on," Zorn said. "I still have confidence in what Jason can do."• Steve Smith wasn't the only receiver to express displeasure about his lack of touches around the NFL. Heck, he wasn't the only receiver in that particular game to do so as Antonio Bryant told Stephen Holder of the St. Petersburg Times that he deserved more touches.
• Tony Grossi of The Cleveland Plain Dealer says Eric Mangini insists that Derek Anderson is still the quarterback for the Browns. At least Mangini is making a decision -- right or wrong.
• David White of the San Francisco Chronicle says that Tom Cable has a special bond with Justin Fargas. The article sounds like a coach leaning towards one running back over the other in a dual-back system. This could be bad news for Michael Bush.
