Chicago +3 at San Francisco
What can you say about Bears quarterback Jay Cutler? He hasn’t been the answer to the Chicago QB problem. The Bears just haven’t been able to run the ball consistently and Cutler has felt the burden of the offense by throwing to many picks, forcing the defense to defend a short field and they have come apart at the seams of late. The 49ers need to win this game to have a realistic chance of a playoff run. Alex Smith may have the arm to spread out the defense, but running back Frank Gore is still the 49ers main offensive weapon.
Fantasy Impact: Bears wide receiver Devin Hester has put together a solid season and with Cutler being forced to throw more and more he should continue to do so.
Prediction: Chicago
Buffalo +7 at Tennessee
Trent Edwards returns to start at quarterback for Buffalo, but he may be without wide receiver Terrell Owens with a hip injury, of course some would say Owens has been AWOL all year. The Titans have played remarkably better since Vince Young took over the starting role from Kerry Collins two weeks ago. It’s not so much as Young is putting up gaudy numbers, but the team has responded to him.
Fantasy Impact: Tale of two running games. The Bills hasn’t been the same since Marshawn Lynch came back from suspension and the Titans Chris Johnson has been so good that LenDale White seems to be an afterthought.
Prediction: Buffalo
New Orleans -14 at St. Louis
Boy oh boy, how many points might New Orleans score here? One has a feeling as many as they want. The Saints offense has gotten off to slow starts of late but it’s hard to believe that will be a problem here. Steven Jackson is the Rams offense and is having a pretty good season playing on a team that has next to no passing game.
Fantasy Impact: Like I need to tell you to start all of your Saints here, but I would start Jackson as well, even when the Rams are down they still feed him the ball and he will get his numbers.
Prediction: New Orleans
Tampa Bay +10 at Miami
The battle of Florida. The only to watch out of Tampa is the progress of rookie quarterback Josh Freeman. The Green Bay Packers are still trying to figure out what happened last week as Freeman hung 38 points on them to win their first game of the season. Can he do it again against a real defense? Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne finally gets to face a secondary that hasn’t had all that much success against the pass. Not that I would expect big gaudy numbers, but this might be the week he throws a touchdown pass or two. Still the wildcat will be in full effect here.
Fantasy Impact: One thing the Dolphins defense has a difficult time with is stopping the opposing team’s tight end. I would start Kellen Winslow.
Prediction: Tampa Bay
Detroit +17 at Minnesota
Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford had an awful game in Seattle last week, throwing five interceptions. Maybe his knee is still bothering him or maybe not, but at this point you have to wonder if playing him is doing more harm than good. The Vikings return to action after their bye week rested and refreshed, and let’s face it; this is pretty much another bye week. The Vikings are in really good shape for the stretch run, quarterback Brett Favre and running back Adrian Peterson have looked good; they seem to complement each other well. Sydney Rice has become Favre’s favorite target of late and Percy Harvin is a big play waiting to happen.
Fantasy Impact: The Vikings don’t seem to throw the ball against lesser teams, I’m not saying not to start Favre, but keep this in mind.
Prediction: Detroit
Jacksonville +7 at Jets
Hard to believe that the winner of this game will be 5-4. The Jaguars have been a roller coaster team, great at home, terrible on the road. Quarterback David Garrard has been anything but consistent and if the Jets can stop Maurice Jones-Drew and force Jacksonville to throw this could be another big loss for the Jags. Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez has also been up and down of late and has battled his share of interceptions as well. Running back Tomas Jones will also be the focus point of the Jets offense to try and take some of the pressure off of Sanchez.
Fantasy Impact: With Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis likely blanketing Mike Sims-Walker on Sunday, I’m benching Sims-Walker and probably Garrard to.
Prediction: Jacksonville
Cincinnati +7 at Pittsburgh
If the Bengals win this game the AFC North is all but theirs, they would’ve swept the Ravens and the Steelers. The Bengals may not be the sexy team, they play strong but not great defense, they have a retread running back having a great year, and their passing game has been good, but not good enough to light up the scoreboard each Sunday, but as you can see, there is nothing they can’t do. The Steelers return home for this game after playing on the road Monday night, the short work week certainly won’t help in their preparation for this game. The Steelers need to stop Benson as his running seems to make the Bengals offense go. Once they have accomplished that they can put the pressure on Bengals QB Carson Palmer and play Steeler football.
Fantasy Impact: Steeler running back Rashard Mendenhall looks to be the real thing, he’s an every week start right now.
Prediction: Cincinnati
Denver -4 at Washington
The Broncos will look to put a stop to their two game losing streak in our nation’s capital on Sunday. Teams have figured out the Broncos offense of late. They realize that quarterback Kyle Orton can’t beat them with the big pass, so they are keeping the receivers in front of them to eliminate the big play. Orton hasn’t been able to beat anyone with the deep pass all season and it is now catching up with them. Redskins running back Clinton Portis will miss the game with a concussion, leaving the rushing chores to Ladell Betts. Jason Campbell at quarterback, Betts at running back, hhmmm, why am I having a hard time seeing points on the board for Washington?
Fantasy Impact: Washington has a terrible offense, but a good defense, neither team may score any points in this one.
Prediction: Denver
Atlanta -2 at Carolina
We’re starting to see a few chinks in the Falcons armor. Quarterback Matt Ryan is going through a little bit of a slump and their secondary has more holes in it than a golf course. The good news is that running back Michael Turner is starting to look like the back he was last season, and is carrying the offense right now. As for Carolina their offense has picked it up of late as quarterback Jake Delhomme and wide receiver Steve Smith finally seem to be getting their act together and the running tandem of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart are doing great as well.
Fantasy Impact: Keep an eye on Williams, he tweaked a knee injury versus the Saints last Sunday and hasn’t practiced much this week.
Prediction: Atlanta
Dallas -3 at Green Bay
Dallas has won four straight and is looking like a force in the NFC. Quarterback Tony Romo has looked like the QB Dallas thought they had ever since wide receiver Miles Austin was inserted into the starting lineup, even Roy Williams had a big game last week. If Willliams ever gets untracked, this offense may be unstoppable. The Packers are sought of a mess right now. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers is taking a beating week in and week out and will have a difficult time lasting the season at the current rate. Ryan Grant has been solid in the running game, but lacks the big play potential that will make opposing teams fear him. The defense lets up points in bunches forcing the Pack to throw early and often. This has been great for Rodgers owners, but not so good for winning football games.
Fantasy Impact: The Cowboys have made it known that they are looking for a kick returner so that Felix Jones can take on a bigger role in the offense.
Prediction: Dallas
Kansas City +2 at Oakland
Another battle of who cares. The Chiefs at least have some interesting offensive pieces. Matt Cassel is doing a solid job at quarterback. Wide Receiver Chris Chambers had an outstanding debut for the Chiefs with two touchdowns last week. You have to think every Charger fan was gagging when they saw that. Running back Jamaal Charles was a popular waiver claim last week in fantasy leagues after the release of Larry Johnson, but only carried the ball six times. Seems the Chiefs want Kolby Smith to touch the ball as well. The Raiders are still terrible and even against the Chiefs I can’t start anyone.
Fantasy Impact: Raiders running back Darren MacFadden may return this week, keep that in mind Justin Fargas and Michael Bush owners.
Prediction: Kansas City
Seattle +9 at Arizona
This game has all the makings of a shootout. Seattle’s defense is pretty close to terrible and should be lit up by the Cardinals, forcing quarterback Matt Hasselback to throw. Cardinals QB Kurt Warner has had an interesting two week. First he throws five interceptions and then he throws five touchdowns. I’d be leaning towards the five TDs this week especially with wide receiver Anquan Boldin returning from an ankle sprain and wanting to prove that he is healthy.
Fantasy Impact: Warner and Cardinal passing game should have their way with the Seattle secondary, start them all.
Prediction: Arizona
Philadelphia +3 at San Diego
Big game for both teams. The Eagles will look to rebound after losing to Dallas on Sunday night. They should have the services of running back Brian Westbrook as he has missed the past two games with concussion and ankle problems. The Eagles need to give quarterback Donovan McNabb time to throw and feel comfortable in the pocket, when u pressure McNabb he tends to be off target with his throws. San Diego is going to win games on the arm of quarterback Phillip Rivers. They don’t have much of a running game. Ladainian Tomlinson is not the running back he used to be, and Darren Sproles is not much more than a third down back.
Fantasy Impact: Rivers is going to face all kind of blitzes from Philly as they will pay no mind to LT.
Prediction: Philadelphia
New England +3 at Indianapolis
These two teams always play each other in big games every season. Can’t wait to watch this one on Sunday night. The Patriots will know all too well that the Colts will be without ¾ of their secondary and quarterback Tom Brady and company could have a huge game. Best guess is that the Colts will look to keep wide receiver Randy Moss in front of them and not him get deep, forcing the Colts to march down the field with short passes to Wes Welker and whatever they can get out of a running game with Laurence Maroney. The Colts on the other hand will try to get a running attack going with Joseph Addai to protect their secondary, and we all know what Peyton Manning can do. The big matchup could be Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney against the Patriots weak offensive line. If Freeney can disrupt Brady enough, than the Colts secondary may be able to survive another week.
Fantasy Impact: I’m starting all the usual suspects, points should be scores aplenty.
Prediction: New England
Baltimore -11 at Cleveland
ESPN must be just thrilled about this game, uugggghhhhh. We’ll make this one quick. You’re going to start Joe Flacoo and Ray Rice, and the only interesting thing about the Browns is to see if quarterback Brady Quinn has gotten any better since last we saw him, somehow I doubt it.
Fantasy Impact: Baltimore’s defense should have a blast here.
Prediction: Baltimore
LAST WEEK
8-5
OVERALL
79-49-1
