Beset with a case of turf toe, San Diego's LaDainian Tomlinson will find it difficult to make the quick cuts he needs to be effective. Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

By Will Carroll, Special to SI.com

How many of you drafted six running backs? The more I look around at fantasy rosters, I'm beginning to think that drafting depth at that spot is the smart play. With the orthodoxy moving to drafting one QB and one TE, using the waiver wire as the bench, this strategy is opened up if you also shorten up on WRs. Given the way the season has gone so far, RB depth is simply not there, due to injuries, changing patterns of use in the NFL, and simple quality. Even the blue-chip backs like LaDainian Tomlinson are dropping. If the first two weeks are any indication, the winning fantasy team will have to do it through a war of attrition rather than talent. Let's dodge some landmines and take a look at the injuries:

LaDainian Tomlinson

If we're not going to freak out about Tomlinson's toe problem, we'd better have information to back up his assertions. I spoke with Dr. Philip Kwong, one of the country's top foot and ankle specialists, and got an explanation on the issue: "Turf toe has become a generic term for pain around the great toe joint, anatomically involving bones and the ligaments which holds them in proper alignment. Problems develop when the joint surfaces do not rotate smoothly on each other resulting in stiffness and grinding pain. The misalignment may be the result of an acute injury tearing supporting ligaments and/or bone impaction with bruise/fracture resulting in asymmetrical rotation. It can also be a gradually acquired condition initially unnoticed until an injury occurs and aggravates." That much we know, though perhaps not in that detail, but what about recovery? "Recovery can vary from three to four weeks for a minor injury to even career ending. The worst-case scenario can be permanent change resulting in degradation of performance or even the end of a career."

As you can see, even the low end is much longer than the Chargers have let on here. I also asked how this affects a runner like Tomlinson. "Skill position players require explosive acceleration/deceleration and lateral movements moreso than a lineman moving mostly forward and backwards," Kwong explained. "The difference between good and great is but a moment in motion. The great toe joint must function relatively smoothly and painlessly to allow this to happen; the joints must rotate symmetrically, ligaments maintain alignment properly, and muscles apply their force efficiently." All in all, it's a pretty negative assessment for Tomlinson in all time frames. Given the solid play of Darren Sproles, the smart play would be to give Tomlinson some rest. For fantasy players, there's not much you can do but hope this is as minor as Tomlinson is trying to sell us.

Half the Colts roster

That header is only half-joking, given what the OIR is expected to look like this week, with 10 players out on Wednesday's practice report. The Indianapolis media complained loudly about the early (Week 4) bye week when the schedule came out, but now they're loving it. With half the line and other key players out, the Colts are trying to limp through a key Week 3 matchup before healing up with the bye.

Despite the division matchup with the also-banged up Jaguars, the Colts don't appear to be pushing Jeff Saturday, Tony Ugoh and Dallas Clark back out on the field. While some key players are pushing for the full contingent to come back, Tony Dungy is remaining calm and focused on the longer term.

One factor in the Colts' favor is that the Jags are as beat up on the interior as the Colts, making it more of an even matchup. Another is that the Colts' halftime adjustments to the blocking schemes, ones that reportedly were phoned in by recovering line coach Howard Mudd, seemed to work against a Vikings defense that played the way many expect the Jags to challenge Peyton Manning this week.

The focus has been more on the effect of losing Bob Sanders. Some advanced measures conflict on his value, though the psychological effect on his teammates and opposing players is clear. Sanders' high ankle sprain will keep him out about six weeks, but he'll take advantage of the downtime to have a quick cleanout of his knee. It won't stretch the recovery time and will actually enforce some rest, something Sanders has had a hard time with. Remember that Sanders only played four regular season games in the Colts' Super Bowl season and that the Colts now have corners that can cover if necessary.

Ben Roethlisberger

Santonio Holmes

There's a lot being made of Roethlisberger's sprained shoulder. Mike Tomlin got into a semantical argument about sprains versus separations that I won't bore you with here. Suffice it to say that if Roethlisberger can bounce his head off a fender and not miss time, a minor shoulder injury isn't going to do much. To me, the passes he was throwing on Sunday, into a nasty wind, showed everything I needed to see. While Roesthlisberger remains somewhat risky due to the chance he takes a hit and injures the shoulder further, I'm not too concerned.

News is also good for Steelers fans on Holmes. There was some worry after he came out of Sunday's game with a knee problem. It turns out it was just a painful bruise, but that should clear up in plenty of time for him to get his full slate of targets in what should be a great matchup against the Eagles.