Decision Time

Another week, another list of players who are "game-time decisions". Life gets more difficult for us fantasy team owners as the NFL allows its coaches to play games with player injury statuses. Back in "the day", teams would release player statuses well in advance of their games. Not any longer. Teams are required to give a status on Friday, but it doesn't have to be accurate. So, if you own Percy Harvin, Jonathan Dwyer, Danny Amendola or any other player that is Questionable or Doubtful, you need to have a Plan B ready as soon as the teams release their Active/Non-Active player list 90 minutes before their game's kickoff. Of course, that isn't helpful if you are waiting on a decision for Owen Daniels or Antonio Brown since they are involved in the last two games of the week.

If that isn't bad enough, you have players that are on the proverbial short leash. Michael Vick seems to be on a play-by-play hot seat. He has felt like Barack Obama did on Tuesday night for quite some time; he still has the job, but over half the people who follow him are rooting for him to lose his job. If that isn't bad enough, in this world of social media, his brother, Marcus, has to chime in on his behalf on Twitter. In that respect, he can empathize with Ozzie Guillen and the trouble caused by his son posting opinions on Twitter. Truthfully, I don't have time, or interest, in Twitter as a reliable medium for news, but it is somehow a pipeline into mass media reporting. The downside of that for people like Marcus Vick is that it does expose shortcomings in one's ability to formulate proper 140-character English sentences. Marcus commits linguistic sins as quickly as Michael commits turnovers. At least they will be able to keep each other company after the season is over and neither one has a job to report to.

Though I believe Vick stays on the field as long as he stays healthy, I do believe you should keep an eye on these players this weekend and be ready to pull the ol' switcheroo if needed.

Percy Harvin - with a high ankle sprain, I would consider him Out. The Vikings are desperate for a win and may consider heavily taping Harvin up and letting him hobble onto the field. I wouldn't risk starting him unless you are in an In-game change league. Just ask those Jordy Nelson owners how happy they were to start him last weekend when he was activated just before the Packers-Cardinals game.

Antonio Brown - another ankle sprain. Since the Steelers have an easy matchup and plenty of receivers, do not count on him playing. If you don't want to listen, be sure to add Emmanuel Sanders to your bench to swap in on Monday night.

Darren McFadden - another ankle sprain, but he is listed as Out. Of course, he is not the poster child for durability, but you can use this as a benchmark for the players listed above. The Raiders will be chasing points in their game versus the Ravens (the Ravens tend to play much better at home than on the road) so I would have Marcel Reece on my squad if I need to replace McFadden this week.

Owen Daniels - with a bad back and a matchup in Chicago against the Bears, I would not wait until Sunday night to move Daniels to my bench. If you need a backup, get Brandon Myers from Oakland. I would have expected his ownership to skyrocket after he finally found the end zone (twice) last weekend, but it only moderately increased. Tight End is a deep position in fantasy football, but this guy is putting up starter numbers and should be added.

Other players with lots of availability that will be helpful if you need a fill-in are QB Ryan Tannehill (MIA), RB Joique Bell (DET), RB Shane Vereen (NE), RB Daniel Thomas (MIA), WR Danario Alexander (STL), WR Golden Tate (SEA).