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Few quarterbacks have generated as much press, both in the real and fantasy game, the past half-decade as Tony Romo.His supporters have annually hailed him as a potential top-five fantasy quarterback, his critics suggesting hes not worth the headache. The latter group received evidence to support their cause on Saturday, when it was discovered that Romo has a compression fracture of his L1 vertebrae, per ESPN Nation Dallas Cowboys reporter Todd Archer -- an injury that might cost Romo 6-10 weeks.Romos backers do have a point about his productivity: Since the start of the 2011 season, he has averaged 16.4 fantasy points per game, 11th best at his position. Romo also scored at least 250 fantasy points in each season from 2011 to 2014, joining Drew Brees as the only quarterbacks who can claim that. In fact, Romo is one of only seven quarterbacks with four 250-plus-point fantasy seasons in the past five years.Unfortunately, during that same time span, Romo has missed 14 games, more than all of the other players who averaged better than him except Peyton Manning (19.0 average, 22 games missed). Romo stayed relatively healthy from 2011 to 2014, but last season a fractured left collarbone, his third such instance in the past six years, limited him to just four games.At 36 years old this season, coming off an offseasons worth of rehabilitation from that injury, he was hurt on only his 16th preseason snap. Romo is now a highly risky fantasy pick, off the radar in standard ESPN leagues and more of a speculative pick for a possible half-seasons worth of production. Romo is now my No. 25 quarterback until we get a firmer read on whether he could return on the earlier end of his projected timetable. Ive also considered dropping him to 28th -- making him more of a bench/No. 3 option in two-quarterback leagues, or a bench pick in leagues with the flexibility of IR/injury spots.In Romos absence, Dez Bryants fantasy value becomes a great concern as well. From 2012 to 2015 -- the four-year span during which Bryant has been regarded a clear WR1, a 200-plus-point fantasy potential player -- he averaged .239 fantasy points per snap played when Romo was on the field, compared to .144 when Romo was not. Extrapolating that to Bryants typical 50-55 snaps played per contest, that difference would be roughly five fantasy points fewer per game. In 2015, however, the difference was more negligible: .138 with Romo compared to .132 without, which would be roughly one-third of a fantasy point per game.The impact upon Bryant will fall upon rookie Dak Prescotts shoulders. Lets not forget that from 2012 to 2015, Bryants limited production was largely the result of having Matt Cassel, Kellen Moore, Kyle Orton and Brandon Weeden throwing him the ball. Prescott has been a sensation this preseason, and he represents a potential upgrade from those four, making it much more likely the per-game impact on Bryant might be closer to 2-3 fantasy points than five. But if youd argue the difference will be more negligible, remember the learning curve rookie quarterbacks face in the NFL, and remember never to overrate preseason statistics.With Bryant working roughly six games (or more) with Prescott, his fantasy value takes a slight hit, making him a more questionable than certain WR1. Hes now my No. 10 wide receiver and No. 20 player overall; thats an end-of-second-round player in standard 10-team leagues, which is a drop-off from his previous near-first-round value.Prescott, meanwhile, moves up to No. 32 among quarterbacks, thanks to the likelihood that hell be an NFL starter through at least October. Although hell be a risky fantasy play almost every week, his encouraging preseason coupled with his starting status thrusts him into the rankings tier with other quarterbacks in similar circumstances like Blaine Gabbert (30th), Jimmy Garoppolo (33rd) and Trevor Siemian (34th). In fact, the case can be made that Prescott is a more attractive pick than checkdown specialist Gabbert, particularly in two-quarterback leagues where weekly upside is most important.As for the remainder of the Cowboys offense, Ezekiel Elliott might gain a tad more risk in September games, as his preseason injuries could cause the team to be slightly more conservative with his workload. The team was already likely to be run-heavy, so Elliott might absorb closer to 15-18 carries initially with backup Alfred Morris taking 5-10, but the impact of Romos absence wont affect the rankings. I caution: Those who select Elliott need to be patient; his best games might come from Oct. 1 forward, and that would have been true even if Romo was the Week 1 starter.Terrance Williams and Cole Beasley are slightly less appealing options in larger leagues -- think 16-plus teams -- but tight end Jason Witten could benefit somewhat as a potential safety valve for Prescott. Since data hasnt supported this being a statistically significant thing, however, Witten remains ranked my No. 15 tight end. JJ Redick Jersey . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. 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PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Iowa didnt travel to Rutgers and get that big one-sided, bounce-back win in their Big Ten Conference opener.The Hawkeyes got a win though, and that was an improvement over a week ago when they were stunned by North Dakota State in a loss that knocked them out of the Top 25.Akrum Wadley scored on 26-yard run on the play after Iowas defense forced a turnover deep in Rutgers territory and the Hawkeyes showed some grit late in both halves in a 14-7 victory over tougher-than-expected Rutgers on Saturday.We know what kind of potential we have as a team and the ability we can play with, Hawkeyes cornerback Desmond King said. We know we are a better team than we are for the past two weeks. We havent played like we wanted to play.Safety Brandon Snyder set up the winning score by stripping the ball from receiver Andre Patton with just under nine minute to play to help Iowa (3-1, 1-0 Big Ten) win its ninth straight regular-season conference game and its seventh straight league win on the road.After being pushed back five yards on a false start after the turnover, Wadley -- a Newark native -- patiently followed his blockers around the left side for the go-ahead touchdown.C.J. Beathard threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to tight end George Kittle late in the first half to give Iowa a 7-0 lead.Rutgers (2-2, 0-1) tied the game early in the fourth quarter on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Chris Laviano to Patton.The Scarlet Knights got to the Hawkeyes 17 after falling behind late, but Iowa came up with stops on third- and fourth-down runs to end the drive.They made some plays, Rutgers coach Chris Ash said. I felt like there were plays there that we had that we didnt finish.Iowa took the lead late in the first half on Beathards touchdown pass to Kittlle.dddddddddddd. It capped an eight-play, 99-yard drive that started after the Hawkeyes defense stopped the Scarlet Knights after they got a first-and-goal at the 3 on a 76-yard catch and run by Janarion Grant .King stepped on Grants right leg at the end of the play and Rutgers dynamic receiver was knocked out of the game.Beathard had runs of 14 and 12 yards on the drive and hit four passes, the last to a wide-open Kittle.Rutgers tied the game on Lavianos third-down pass to Patton in the left corner of the end zone with 12:45 left in regulation, capping a 13-play, 88-yard drive. Justin Goodwin had runs of 24 and 13 yards and Laviano had a 12-yard run.THE TAKEAWAYIOWA: Won the game but probably didnt show enough to get back in the rankings.RUTGERS: The defense played its best game of the season, but the offense came up empty. If the Scarlet Knights continue to play this way they can be competitive against the middle to lower end of the conference.INJURIESThe injury to Grant was never diagnosed. He could not put any weight on his left and had to be carted off. If he misses any significant time, the offense is in trouble. Ash had no comment on the injury.Iowa linemen James Daniels and Sean Welsh returned after missing last week.QUOTEABLE:I feel like we went out there and played our (butts) off, Patton said. I feel like we fought and we did like we were supposed to do, but we didnt win.UP NEXTIOWA: The Hawkeyes returns to Iowa City for a Homecoming contest against Northwestern on Oct. 1.RUTGERS: The Scarlet Knights travel to Columbus, Ohio to face Ohio State on Oct. 1 in coach Chris Ashs first game against mentor Urban Meyer. ' ' '