What I'm doing for Week 5 in fantasy football

We're four weeks into the fantasy football season. There's still plenty of time to recover from a bad start, but you need to watch out for those bye-week landmines.

First off, here are the teams with the week off: Browns, Cowboys, Rams, Dolphins, Redskins and Ravens.

Make sure you're not starting anyone from those teams; there's no need to help out your opponent.

Here's where I sit with my four teams:

• Dynasty league: 3-1, 2nd overall, 1st in total points
• One-player keeper: 3-1, 2nd overall, 2nd in total points
• Re-draft league #1: 2-2, 6th overall, 3rd in total points
• Re-draft league #2: 3-1, 2nd overall, 2nd in total points

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied. In my dynasty league, I lost last week by 0.2 points, as in two-tenths of a point. In my re-draft league #1, I lost one game by one point.

Anyway, here's what I'm looking at.

I'm starting Cam Newton over Phil Rivers in one redraft league. I gotta ride the hot hand. I picked up Victor Cruz as a bye-week fill-in, and I finally dropped Hines Ward, who's been doing nothing.

In my other redraft league, I'm going to start Isaac Redman at RB2 if I hear news Rashard Mendenhall is out. If not, I have a choice between Jon Stewart and Dexter McCluster. Right now, I'm trying out McCluster for one more week. If he doesn't produce against the Colts this week, I'll likely cut him.

I've been searching for a QB in my dynasty league. I've been going with Matt Schaub and have been disappointed. I have an offer out for Newton in that league. I'm convinced he can help. I'm loaded at RB, so I have some backs in a deal. This week, I'm starting Matt Forte and Arian Foster over Peyton Hillis and MJD.

In my one-player keeper, I have Julio Jones in my flex spot. I like his matchup this week. I'm going with Jones over Mark Ingram (nice matchup) and Will McGahee (good news on getting the rock in Denver). I have Shonn Greene in my lineup, and I might pull him, but I want to see what he does this week. The Jets are supposed to go back to running the ball, so we'll see. I can't fault you for bailing on Greene at this point, however.

That's my thinking right now. Post or email your comments or questions.

You can follow me on Twitter @ green_rick.

Week 3 fantasy football: A look ahead

There are plenty of lineup questions across the board in fantasy football.

My four head-to-head teams went 3-1 last week, bringing my two-week total to 7-1. My one loss was by one point, too, which kept me from starting a perfect 8-0.

We'll start with that team first. I was next-to-last on the waiver list in that 14-team league. I picked up Thomas Jones and cut Lance Moore. I liked Moore entering the season, but I wanted to grab a RB who might do something. I'm not sold on Jones, but in a 14-team league, depth at RB is precious. Plus, I figured I could grab a WR later if I needed one.

A team in that league cut Roy Helu, who I really like. Another team cut Dexter McCluster today, which leaves me with a tough choice: put in a claim for Helu or D-Mac. I have a claim in for Helu, although McCluster could be a nice WR to own in a PPR league.

I'm benching Felix Jones in that league as well. Right now I have Jon Stewart penciled in at my other RB spot. I'm going with the Cards defense again, too. It's a nice matchup against the Seahawks. And since I mentioned the Seahawks, I'd start Beanie Wells against them this week, but I must admit I don't own Wells in any league.

Over in my one-team keeper league, I have Mike Vick in the lineup. Reports on Thursday said he was practicing, so that's all I need to know. I have Kevin Kolb on my bench as a backup. I'm going to try out McCluster in this league in my flex spot. McCluster gets the nod over Mark Ingram and Willis McGahee. I started McGahee last week but I'm expecting Knowshon Moreno to play this week.

In my dynasty league (7 keepers), Arian Foster is on my bench again. I wish I had Ben Tate. I have Kenny Britt, but I have two great WRs in Cal Johnson and Roddy White, so I haven't started Britt yet. I picked up Blane Gabbert when David Garrard was cut before the season started. No, I'm not thinking about starting Gabbert (I have Matt Schaub), but I'm renaming my team Yo Gabbert Gabbert.

Those are my thoughts before the weekend. Post a question and I'll reply.

Fantasy football Week 2 wrap: Injuries take out key players

Fantasy football players had a scary Week 2 in the NFL with some major injuries. We're talking Jamaal Charles, Michael Vick, Tony Romo, Miles Austin and Arian Foster.

The Charles injury was fluky, seeing him get injured out of bounds, away from contact. It looked bad, and on Monday it turned out to be as it appeared.

Charles, the first-round pick in every league, was done for the year.

Now, owners have to scramble.

Thomas Jones, if he's available, needs to be rostered. He should be the short-yard back and probably will get the most carries going forward.

The player that interests me the most, however, is Dexter McCluster. In many leagues, McCluster qualifies as wide receiver, so he could be a real find, especially in PPR leagues.

There's one sleeper to consider, too: Le'Ron McClain. If McCluster and Jones are taken, McClain could be a risk worth taking in deep leagues.

It's not clear how long Mike Vick will be out. With a concussion, you never really know. If you do own Vick, it would be smart to get a capable backup, especially since he's an injury risk. I own Vince Young, thinking I would be covered if Vick got hurt.

I didn't think I'd be faced with both getting hurt. Mike Kafka is now on the radar in fantasy circles.

Tony Romo showed some guts, playing with a punctured lung. His teammate, Miles Austin will miss a couple weeks with a bad hamstring.

And Foster is quickly becoming a fantasy problem. He played Sunday, but left early. If you don't have Ben Tate, you should try to get him. It might be too late.