Week 4 of the NFL is in the books and there were some great games that included a lot of great upsets. There are three less undefeated teams this week as the Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, and Dallas Cowboys all lost. In the same light, some teams finally picked up their first win of the season. The real set of first BYE weeks has passed and other teams BYE weeks are approaching, and are very much needed. Some big injuries to a lot of high profile players also highlighted this past week’s games. Winning will always be GOOD to fans and players. While losing isn’t very much fun, the injuries sustained this week to players are most definitely BAD.
GOOD
The Steelers came out on Monday Night holding most all of the records for Monday Night wins and home records, and a whole bunch of other things that really aren’t that important. The Ravens got the ball, and after a serious injury on the opening kickoff, went three and out. The Steelers got the ball, marched nicely down the field, stalled, and converted a 49yrd field goal. Then things went south after Ben Roethlisberger tried to pull a pump fake down and the ball slipped from his hands, and traveled right into the hands of a defender. From that point, things seemed bleak as the Ravens rattled off 13 straight points and the Steeler offense struggled mightily. Then things all changed on a late hit out of bounds by a Raven. The Steelers scored two TD’s in a matter of 15 seconds and the game was a game all of a sudden.
I’m very disappointed in the Steeler play calling during the first three quarters, as they made no adjustments for the second week in a row and went three and out six straight drives at one point. It took Ben Roethlisberger getting in the face of the offensive coordinator and demanding they go no huddle to change things up. Why does the player have to come up with this idea?
NOTE: On the opening kickoff, Andre Frazier, a Steeler backup linebacker and key special teams contributor, was injured by a blindside hit from a Ravens player. Usually I’m for the big hits in games as long as they happen within the game. The problem I have with this hit is, when you watch the replay, the Ravens player ran backwards and towards Frazier the whole play, never taking his eye from him, and lined up a dirty hit that knocked Frazier out and out of the game on a stretcher. I hope the league looks at this play, because a fine and suspension should definitely be in order.
BAD
I don’t think losing a game here and there is all that bad for players. You must face these situations throughout a season to build better character and to prepare yourself for adversity so you can handle the situation better the next time it happens. Crying and complaining about how things went down in your first loss of the season is not the way to do things. Be a team player, take responsibility, and own up to the fact that you didn’t play your best and you lost. It’s nearly impossible to go undefeated in this league, so wouldn’t you want to lose early in the season and get it out of the way rather than lose, let’s say, in January? It’s inevitable, deal with it and move on.
Fantasy Note
A big win for Zombie Nation this week in fantasy: Desperation. I was a 49pt underdog according to ESPN’s projections (ha!), but managed to put up 107pts to beat my divisional rival and improve to 3-1 (2nd Overall). In my three wins this season, I’ve scored over 100pts in each game. In my one loss, I couldn’t crack the 70pt mark. It’s nice to see my team perform without Calvin Johnson (BYE) and Brian Westbrook (INJ). This week I play the Top team in the league.
Week 15 played out as easily the oddest week in the NFL season to date. The weather for some of the games was just absolutely ridiculous! Most of all was the Bill and Browns in Cleveland. Wow, that was pretty awesome to watch, unless you like people facing on their faces, slipping and sliding every time they try to make a cut, and a total of eight whole points scored. Still, watching some of the players perform in those conditions was marveling. Braylon Edwards come to mind in this game. He made some unbelievable catches and deserved to go to the Pro-Bowl. Onto the week in review...
HIGHS
Congratulations to the Miami Dolphins for winning their first game of the season. Boy, what does that say about the Ravens? Keep reading below and I'll tell you. The Dolphins made the plays, the Ravens got way too conservative later in the game and the Dolphins won. Do you think it had anything to do with all the great '72 Dolphins that were on hand for the game? I thought it would have been a way cooler story line had the Dolphins been winless going into their game with the unbeaten Pats, and then find a way to pull the biggest upset in NFL history. Now that's a story.
I loved watching the Houston Texans pound the Denver Broncos last Thursday Night. I don't know if matters to me who is kicking the #### out of the Broncos, as long as they're doing it. The Broncos have been eliminated from the playoffs for a second straight season and I popped the champagne bottles to celebrate!
Congratulations to Ben Roethlisberger, Willie Parker, Alan Faneca, James Harrison, and Troy Polamalu for making the AFC Pro Bowl Team.
LOWS
The Steelers found another way to lose this past weekend. It came down to not being able to stop the run late in the game and the inability of the defense to tackle. I'm sorry, but Fred Taylor is not THAT good! I said it last week; Aaron Smith being out for the year would hurt this defense more than anything else. At least the weather can't be a factor this week as they go play the Lambs in a dome. The Steelers still control their own destiny at this point which is all you can ask for with only two games to play. They should win this week, but I'm starting to get a bit worried. One last thing about the game against the Jags. The second TD pass bothered me. The Jags motioned into trips bunch left then snapped the ball. I saw what was coming as soon as I saw the formation; it bothers me that our defense didn't see it at all. So here it is, the classic illegal pick play. The middle receiver runs an 8yrd hook, the inside receiver runs an out-slant and the outside receiver runs an in-slant, picking off the defender of the inside receiver as he goes by. The inside receiver is now on the outside, wide open in the flat for the TD!!! Was there a flag? I don't even need to say it.
The Baltimore Ravens are a sad, sad team. They've got nothing to play for going into this past weekend, yet they played so tight to the vest. Brian Billick is supposed to be the offensive guru, ha, yeah right! He's going to start Kyle Boller this week. Are you kidding me! Why would you go with this guy now when you've already said he's not good enough to be your starter. I'm sorry to say this, but Troy Smith for President. Get this guy in the game! So what if he's short, he's got a cannon for an arm and can make plays with his feet if need be. What's the problem? You drafted this guy right? What do you have to lose, except two more games I guess.
Week 13 is in the books and there were some happenings that got me thinking. What is the NFL, really? It's a business. And what's the best thing for business? Interest and excitement. The only way a business can be successful is if it is selling and making money right? That's what a cell phone company wants, it's what Wal-Mart or Target wants, and it's the same for professional sports. In a business product life cycle, there are ups and downs. The goal is to try to keep things going in the ups direction. The best way to do that is to modify your product slightly so that a larger target audience will become interested, thus bringing their spending money to your product. There are many ways a business can accomplish this feat.
HIGHS
The NFL is expanding. They've played games outside the U.S. for a few years now and this year marked the first time a regular season game was played outside the country. The NFL looks to continue this global expansion to get some of the rest of world's money and attempt to generate a larger fan base.
The Pittsburgh Steelers won again Sunday Night as they easily handled the Bengals. One thing that concerns me was the Steeler's inability to run the ball late in the game and close the game out in boring fashion. Najeh Davenport was a late scratch from the line-up with a foot injury and the effects were rather apparent. Santonio Holmes' absence was another big factor for the Steelers. It's amazing that everyone knew that Hines Ward would be getting the ball, but they couldn't stop him anyway. What's even more amazing is that the "experts" at ESPN swear up and down that Ward is over the hill and no longer able to be productive. The Steelers get their crack at beating the undefeated Patriots and I think they've got a great chance at doing it. The Steelers run a very effective zone-blitz scheme that is the key to slowing down Tom Brady and the Pats. Here's the key Steelers coaching staff, stop Wes Welker!!! He runs three pass patterns underneath, in, out, and hook. Play your safeties over the top to stop Moss and Stallworth and drop a linebacker into the middle zone to protect the crossing patterns. The front 6 will be able to stop the run and apply enough pressure to disrupt the Pats offense. The final key to win is to hit the #### out of Tom Brady and the WR's. Randy Moss will give up if you hammer him enough.
LOWS
The NFL has a vested interest in seeing the Patriots go undefeated this year. It's a new generation and the new fans need to have something monumental like this occur in their time so they can stay interested in the game and bring the next generation into the game. It's a want based on need to continue the success of the game. The '72 Dolphins are boring to this generation. Nobody knows more than a handful of players from that team and their time appears to now be limited. The Baltimore Ravens should have won. Three things happened to permit the glorious Patriots team from being blemished. 1)The Refs illegally granted the Ravens a time-out on a fourth and 1 play late in the game. The rules state that only a player on the field of play or the head coach may call a time-out. It's the Refs responsibility to verify that the legal personnel are calling the time-out. 2)A terrible illegal-contact penalty was called on the Ravens on a fourth and 5 a few plays later. The replayed did not show the TE being impeded in any fashion during the throw. 3)The TD catch to win the game was incorrectly called and reviewed. The replay clearly showed that the ball was moving in the receiver’s hands before he was able to get both feet in bounds. This is just what happened on the final possession of the game. There were numerous penalties throughout the game that clearly favored the Patriots including one where Moss ran down field, tried to run through a defender that had position, went down, and a defensive holding penalty was called. WHAT!?! Oh yeah, it's not personal, it's just business.
The Buffalo Bills join my list of teams to hate for what happened Sunday. The Redskins announced in advance that they would take the field for the first play on defense with only 10 men. Showing immense respect and sorrow for the loss of Pro-Bowl safety Sean Taylor. So what do the Bills do, they run a play and roll of like a 20-yard gain. This to me is a slap in the face to Sean Taylor. You know what you pathetic, sorry excuse for a football team, take a knee!!! You now join my most hated list that consists of...
BYE WEEK: Tom Brady, Kellen Clemens, Chad Pennington, Jeff Garcia, Matt Schaub, Sage Rosenfels
MUST START: Peyton Manning, Carson Palmer, Tony Romo, Donovan McNabb, Brett Favre, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Derek Anderson, J.P. Losman, Matt Hasselbeck
START
Marc Bulger (STL) – The Rams finally got their BYE last week and no other team needed it more. Bulger looked good in Week 8 and the extra week of rest and preparation should benefit him tremendously. The Saints DEF has been playing really good lately, but I see this one turning into a shoot-out in the dome with both teams being very comfortable in doors. QB protection will still be an issue for the Rams, but they’ll be in catch up mode all day. (300yrds, 3 TD’s, 2 INT)
Jason Campbell (WAS) – I’ve got a feeling this is the week that the super-conservative Redskins cut Campbell loose. They have to do something to get the WR’s more involved in this offense. Philly will load the box and have success stopping the run which will force Campbell to throw. We know the RB’s and TE’s will get their looks in check-downs, but this team does have the weapons on the outside to make things happen. If this team considers itself playoff worthy, it needs to start throwing down field now. (280yrds, 30yrds rush, 2 TD’s, 1 INT)
SIT
Brian Griese (CHI) – I’d stay away from Griese this week. The Raiders have excellent corners and safeties but a terrible run defense. Unfortunately Chicago has no semblance of a run game to speak of, so that doesn’t help. This will be a game of defense and special teams, with turnovers making the difference. Unless you’ve got Tom Brady on BYE this week, you should be able to find a much better fill-in. (200yrds, 1 TD, 2 INT, 1 FUM)
Jon Kitna (DET) – Something about the Cardinals play-making defense tells me to ignore Kitna this week. He’s had only 2 TD’s in his last 4 games and has thrown for over 250yrds in half of his games this season. I’d look for a similar trend to continue as the Lions would really like to get that run game up to a consistent threat. Playoff teams run the ball in November and December and the Lions look like they’re headed in that direction. (175yrds, 1 TD, 1 INT, 1 FUM)
Running Back
BYE WEEK: Laurence Maroney, Kevin Faulk, Thomas Jones, Leon Washington, Earnest Graham, Michael Bennett, Michael Pittman, Ahman Green, Ron Dayne
MUST START: LaDanian Tomlinson, Frank Gore, Joseph Addai, Willie Parker, Brian Westbrook, Adrian Peterson(MIN), Marshawn ####, Marion Barber, Willis McGahee, Reggie Bush, Clinton Portis, Maurice Jones-Drew, LenDale White, Brandon Jacobs, Steven Jackson
START
Priest Holmes (KC) – That’s right folks, you know him, you love him, it’s the man you probably won you a couple of fantasy football titles a few years ago. He’s back, and with Larry Johnson sidelined this week, Holmes gets his crack against the worst rush defense in the league. Holmes is fresh and poised to show the league that he can still play at a high level in the NFL. The Chiefs may go to a different QB this week and Holmes will benefit the most in Herm Edwards super-conservative offense. They’ll play ball control offense and use the home field advantage to win. (125yrds, 7 catches 60yrds, 2 TD’s)
Justin Fargas (OAK) – The only thing the Raiders can do on offense is run the ball and you have to figure they’re going to do the same thing again this week. At home, the Raiders will want to control the ball and try to steal a win against the depleted Bears. Fargas has put up 2 performances of over 100yrds in limited game time. The Raiders get great match-ups this week and look for the run game to carry this team. (110yrds, 3 catches 25yrds, 1 TD)
SIT
Shaun Alexander (SEA) – Until further notice, Alexander needs to be benched. He has 1 rushing TD this year and has failed to top 80yrds since week 3. He’s either injured or just doesn’t care anymore. Which ever it is, you can’t rely on him going forward. While their schedule gets pretty easy, I see Alexander’s carries diminishing as he gives way to Maurice Morris more and more. The glory days are numbered for a player that just a few years ago was on top of the fantasy world. (50yrds 0TD)
Jamal Lewis (CLE) – Lewis has failed to break 100yrds in every game this year except for the Week 2 scoring bonanza against Cincy. If you played Lewis last week, his 4 TD’s probably won you your game. However, he only managed 37yrds rushing. Though he’s had some success against Pittsburgh in the past, don’t expect anything this week against the #1 scoring defense in the league. If the Browns are to stay in this game they’ll need to throw, and throw, and throw, leaving Lewis on the short end of the fantasy stick. (40yrds, 1 TD, 1 FUM)
Wide Receivers
BYE WEEK: Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Donte’ Stallworth, Laveranues Coles, Jerricho Cotchery, Brad Smith, Joey Galloway, Ike Hilliard, Michael Clayton, Andre Johnson, Kevin Walter, Jacoby Jones, Andre Davis
MUST START: Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzedah, Roy Williams, Calvin Johnson, Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, Dwayne Bowe, Marques Colston, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, Braylon Edwards, Reggie Wayne, Terrell Owens, Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, Steve Smith, Plaxico Burress, Lee Evans, Torry Holt
START
Drew Bennett (STL) – The game this week will be a huge shoot out and Bennett draws the best match-up in the Saints secondary. Look for the Rams to throw a lot and Bennett has the skill set to exploit the defense. The Saints will be busy covering Holt, Bruce, and Jackson all day, leaving Bennett to grab big plays all over the field. (7 catches 100yrds, 2 TD’s)
Amani Toomer (NYG) – Toomer should benefit the most from a Redskins defense concentrating on everything else this week. Toomer has scored 2 out of his last 3 games and I’d expect him to get one here. The play-action pass will be big for the Giants and Toomer is a seasoned veteran that will take advantage of the Redskins aggressive defense. (5 catches 75yrds, 1 TD)
SIT
Bernard Berrian (CHI) – The Raiders have the ability to shut down opposing receivers. The Bears will focus more on getting their ground game going this week after how bad it’s been for the season. The Bears coaching staff has said they’ve made the adjustments to rectify the problems, so we’ll see how that goes. (3 catches 30yrds)
Ronald Curry (OAK) – With Jerry Porter likely to miss this week’s game, the Bears only have to neutralize Curry to shut down Oakland’s pass game, which wasn’t much to begin with in the first place. The Raiders will try and run the ball this week and shorten the game anyway, making Curry a bad option. (5 catches 40yrds)
Tight Ends
BYE: Ben Watson, Kyle Brady, Jeremy Stevens, Alex Smith, Chris Baker, Owen Daniels, Jeb Putzier
MUST START: Antonio Gates, Jason Witten, Dallas Clark, Heath Miller, Chris Cooley, Tony Gonzalez, Kellen Winslow, Jeremy Shockey
START
L.J. Smith (PHI) – Smith will emerge as the go to receiver behind Brian Westbrook this week. With no real threat from the WR’s on the outside, McNabb needs to start moving the ball downfield in other ways. With Smith being as healthy as he’s been all year, I see him getting more involved each week going forward. Teams are always trying to stop Westbrook first, and Smith should benefit the most when that happens. (6 catches 75yrds, 1 TD)
SIT
Todd Heap (BAL) – Probably being Mr. Obvious here, but until Heap starts and gets through an entire game; you should look elsewhere for TE help.
Weekly Plug & Play
KICKERS
John Kasay (CAR) – The Panthers should be able to move the ball between the 20’s all day. They’ll also probably stall in the red zone all day. I look for Steve Smith to be limited and the run game to get jump-started this week to take some pressure off of Testaverde and his lack of play makers on offense. (2-2 XP, 3-3 FG)
DEF / SPECIAL TEAMS
Oakland Raiders – The Raiders have the defense to hold the Bears offense in check all day. This is a perfect time to grab them and plug them in. Don’t get worried about the Raiders lack of ability to stop the run, the Bears can’t and don’t run on anybody. Look for this DEF to take advantage of the secondary’s ball skills and grab a couple of picks. The thing to fear the most in this game is actually Chicago’s special teams. (16 PA, 250yrds allowed, 2 INT, 1 FUM)
Atlanta Falcons – If you read my blog last week, you would have scored nicely by starting the Falcons against the 49ers. The Falcons are looking like a good play again this week with David Carr OUT and Vinny Testaverde QUESTIONABLE. If the Panthers have to start Matt Moore, they could be in for a long day. The Falcons will shut down Steve Smith and focus on pressuring the young QB into making some mistakes. (13 PA, 200yrds allowed, 3 INT, 2 FUM). If Testaverde starts the Falcons are not worth a play here.
All information provided in this blog is of 100% original material. This article does not guarantee how a player will perform in their game, but rather an educated prediction based on my knowledge and research.
BYE WEEK: Eli Manning,Brian Griese, Cleo Lemon, Marc Bulger
MUST START: Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Carson Palmer, Tony Romo, Donovan McMabb, Brett Favre, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger
START
Derek Anderson – Anderson has the Browns offense firing on all cylinders since their loss to the Patriots. In those two weeks since he has thrown 3TD’s in back to back games without turning the ball over. He has thrown for over 200yrds in every game this year and gets the Seahawks at home this week. Look for the Browns to move the ball up and down the filed this week as this game should turn into a shoot-out. (300yrds, 3 TD)
Philip Rivers – Rivers threw 3 TD’s last week and looks to keep things rolling against one of the worst pass defenses in the league. With the Vikings being able to shut down the run, look for Rivers to find Gates, Tomlinson, and newly acquired Chris Chambers often in this game. Yards have been tough to come by for Rivers for season as he has only thrown for over 200yrds twice, so don’t expect much more in that category. San Diego’s Defense though, should provide ample scoring opportunity this week. (200yrds, 2 TD, 1 INT)
J.P. Losman – Losman came back from injury/bench last week and looked good moving the football and leading the Bills to victory. He gets a terrible Bengals offense this week in a game that has big scoring potential. With Marshawn ####’s ability to draw extra defenders into the box, Lee Evans and Roscoe Parrish should find ample space in the secondary. Losman hasn’t been bad when he’s been in there and I’d expect a decent day from him. He’s usable as a BYE week fill-in. (200yrds, 2 TD’s, 2 INT)
SIT
Vince Young – The Panthers are used to facing Michael Vick twice a year. They’ll be ready for what Vince Young can do. Young is still not fully recovered in my opinion, so that may limit his mobility even more. The Titans will do what they do every week, run the football until the wheels come off, only throw when they absolutely have to, kick field goals, and play good defense. Until further notice, stay away. (125 pass yrds, 25 rush yrds, 1 TD, 1 INT)
Jeff Garcia – Garcia easily had his worst game last week and I’ve got a feeling about the Cardinals defense coming off a BYE this week. Tampa Bay just doesn’t have enough offensive weapons after Joey Galloway to make an impact in this game. The Cardinals defense has play makers on it and they know how to get after the run game. Expect the Cardinals offense to be on the field a lot, limiting Garcia’s value even more. (170yrds, 1 TD, 2 INT)
Running Back
BYE WEEK: Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward, Reuben Droughns, Cedric Benson, Adrian Peterson, Jesse Chatman, Patrick Cobbs, Steven Jackson, Brian Leonard
MUST START: LaDanian Tomlinson, Larry Johnson, Frank Gore, Joseph Addai, Willie Parker, Brian Westbrook, Adrian Peterson, Marshawn ####, Marion Barber, Willis McGahee, Reggie Bush, Thomas Jones, Clinton Portis, Maurice Jones-Drew, LenDale White
START
Kevin Jones – Yes, the Lions do have a run game! Jones is at home this week against one of the worst rush defenses in the league. He had a monster game last week topping the century mark for the first time while scoring a TD. Jones has seen his workload increase in every game this season and has scored a TD in 4 out of his 5 games played. He is also averaging a couple of catches per game. That number could increase since the safer Jon Kitna could be checking down a lot due to the Broncos excellent corners. (125yrds rush, 5 catches 40yrds, 1 TD)
Shaun Alexander – This is Alexander’s last hurrah in my opinion. If he doesn’t produce in this game, he becomes a must sit from here on out. The Browns defense has been better, but Alexander has the skill set to exploit them. Coming off their BYE, Seattle has had more than ample time to prepare for Cleveland. Look fro the Seahawks to control the ball and the game and keep the Browns offense off the field. Alexander will be a major part of that game plan. (75yrds, 2 catches 15yrds, 2 TD) SIT
DeShaun Foster/DeAngelo Williams – The Panthers will struggle again this week with David Carr at QB. They will try to run, but Tennessee’s rush defense is among the best in the land. The Titans will play ball control offense and not turn the ball over, getting points every time they get into range. This will force Carr to air out the football late in the game in desperation mode with eyes for only Steve Smith. Look elsewhere if you can. (40yrds, 3 catches 20yrds)
Packers RB – I’m not sold on Ryan Grant repeating what he did last Monday night. Don’t forget that the Pack throws the ball more than any team in the league and they were playing Denver. Now, I think Grant is still worth a roster spot this week, but not as a starter unless you’re hurting from BYE weeks. (35yrds, 3 catches 20yrds)
Wide Receivers
BYE WEEK: Plaxico Burress, Amani Toomer, Steve Smith, Musin Muhammad, Bernard Berrian, Rashied Davis, Marty Booker, Ted Ginn Jr, Derek Hagan, Tori Holt, Issac Bruce, Drew Bennett
MUST START: Chad Johnson, T.J. Houshmandzedah, Roy Williams, Calvin Johnson, Donald Driver, Greg Jennings, Dwayne Bowe, Marques Colston, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Joey Galloway, Steve Smith, Braylon Edwards, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Terrell Owens, Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes
START
Jerricho Cotchery – With Laverneous Coles apparently headed to the sidelines this week with a concussion, Cotchery should benefit the most from newly named starting QB’s Kellen Clemens strong arm. With Clemens at the helm, the Jets will be able to open up the playbook and use more down field pass plays to loosen up the Redskin defense. The Jets should be down in this game and forced to throw late. (8 catches 125yrds, 1 TD)
Ronald Curry – Curry is salivating at getting a chance to square off against a Texans defense that has been giving up big points to opposing receivers of lately. There’s also a chance that Josh McCown relieves Culpepper in this game if he struggles early. If that happens, Curry’s number s will be even bigger. If the Texans focus on stopping the Raiders run game, and they should, Curry will be the main target with Jerry Porter hurting and Mike Williams released this week. (7 catches 100yrds, 1TD)
Chris Chambers – Chambers caught a TD last week and looks to make it two in a row as the Vikings have arguably the worst pass defense in the league but are excellent in stopping the run. Look for Rivers to throw early and often to try and open up running lanes and for Chambers to be a big beneficiary of the long ball that drives Norv Turner’s pass game. (5 catches 80yrds, 1 TD)
SIT
Kevin Walter – No, not this week. The Raiders are very good against the pass, not so much against the run. Expect Houston to try and control the game on the ground and wear down the front 7 of Oakland. Walter is too average to do anything against this defense. (3 catches 25yrds)
Kevin Curtis – The Cowboys will use Terrance Newman to cover Curtis, likely taking him out of the game this week. The Eagles should be behind in this game, so they’ll be throwing a lot this week, but they’ll keep everything in front of them, thus limiting Curtis’s down field strength. (4 catches 50yrds)
Tight Ends
BYE: Jeremy Shockey, Desmond Clark, Greg Olsen, David Martin, Justin Peele, Randy McMichael
MUST START: Antonio Gates, Jason Witten, Dallas Clark, Heath Miller, Chris Cooley, Tony Gonzalez, Kellen Winslow
START
Todd Heap – It looks like Heap will play this Monday night and if he does he’ll have a nice little match up. If there’s one area of the Steelers defense you can exploit, it’s the underneath routes over the middle and along the side lines. Heap has had great success against the Steelers in the past and games between these two teams are always tight, defensive struggles. If you don’t like waiting until Monday Night to make decisions, you might want to look elsewhere just in case. (5 catches 65yrds, 1TD)
SIT
Jeff King – King has been hot lately, providing the Panthers with most of their production in the passing game. Keith Bulluck is a masterful linebacker that can shut down the underneath routes that tight ends thrive on. I think David Carr back at QB this week actually hurts the Panthers more than it helps. Try to find an alternative if you can. (2 catches 20yrds)
Weekly Plug & Play
Kicker
Shaun Suisham – The Redskins will want to get back on track after last week’s beat down and they conveniently get the Jets this week. Washington should be able to control the game with the run and play-action pass that will lead the offense on scoring drives for most of the day. If you need a quick fill-in this week, Shaun is your man. (3-3 FG, 2-2XP)
Defense/Special Teams
Atlanta Falcons – I know the Falcons are bad but you can’t get any worse than the San Francisco offense right now. They are at home and if there’s been one bright spot on the team it has been this unit. I expect a low scoring game from both teams with the 49ers offense stalling on many occasions. (9 PA, 3 SCK, 2 INT, 1 FUM)
All information provided in this article is 100% original material. This information is in no way a gaurantee as to how individual players will perform in their games.
1. Indianapolis Colts (7-0) - They're still the team to beat in the NFL in my opinion. Coming off a Super Bowl win and putting a better team on the field this year. We'll see what happens this week.
2. New England Patriots (8-0) - They're game this week against the Colts will tell the tale. If they keep running up the score we'll have the second QB named Brady watching games from the sidelines, only this Brady will be there because of injury.
3. Dallas Cowboys (6-1) - I hate putting an NFC team this high, but they've been the most consistent of the group. Someone has to get clobbered by an AFC team in the Super Bowl this year, may as well be the Cowboys.
4. Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) - Their only loses this year have come on the road and by a total of 10pts. Not to mention that one of them was against their old coach who's playbook still had that new playbook smell. Baltimore this week will tell us just exactly how good they are.
5. Green Bay Packers (6-1) - Brett Favre is back ladies and gentlemen and look what he's brought with him this year, a team with some talent. In the terrible NFC, the Pack look solid and Lambeau is always a tough place to play come December & January.
6. Tennessee Titans (5-2) - Surprised? You shouldn't be. They find ways to win games with or without Vince Young and are 2-1 in the division. Oh yeah, they also have arguably the easiest schedule here on out. Don't sleep on this team.
7. New York Giants (6-2) - They get the nod here by winning their last 6 games. This will probably be the last year for Tom Coughlin, but at least he has his guys ready and willing to play now. Let's see how they rebound after their next loss. Everything's peachy when you're winning.
8. Jacksonville Jaguars (5-2) - If they can maintain their winning ways while David Garrard is out, this team will be stronger when he gets back. Take that plus another cake of a schedule and the Jags look ready to go back to the playoffs.
9. San Diego Chargers (4-3) - Resurgent, but their coach is still holding them back. What makes people think that this guy can coach? Everywhere he goes, his teams fail. Thank god for LaDanian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates.
10. Detroit Lions (5-2) - That's right, the Lions round out the Top 10. This team is playing smarter football and it's showing in the win column. John Kitna is turning the ball over less and the coaches realized they do have a running game. The defense is still the weak link, but they're improving each week.
11. Kansas City Chiefs (4-3) - The Chiefs are finally playing Herm Edwards defense. That translates to wins in a weak AFC West. With the addition of ROTY candidate Dwayne Bowe, the Chiefs finally have a threat on the outside to take heat off of Tony Gonzalez and Larry Johnson. Oh yeah, they just got some guy named Priest Holmes back.
12. Cleveland Browns (4-3) - Charlie Frye must have really been holding this team back. The Browns are in 2nd place and have already beaten the Ravens and Bengals. They've got Pro-Bowlers at WR and TE and Derek Anderson is legit. If the defense can start matching the offense, this team could be scary (as in good). A sleeper playoff contender this year.
13. Baltimore Ravens (4-3) - The Ravens are on their way down. The defense is getting old, wait, so is the offense. How much does this team have left in the tank? If they get handled by the Steelers this Monday Night, you can stick a fork in them. They need this game... bad.
14. Washington Redskins (4-3) - They're slipping and this past weeks beat down at the hands of the Patriots doesn't help. They need to get back on track in a hurry. This game will tell the season for this team. Do they have any will to live after what happened? Lucky for them they get the lowly Jets this week. Funny how things have a way of working out.
15. Seattle Seahawks (4-3) - I guess leading your division has to mean something... except when it's the NFC West. This team is not very good, but when you look at the rest of the division, well, luckily for Seattle they automatically give a playoff spot to every division winner. At least they'll be able to say they made it.
16. New Orleans Saints (3-4) - Yeah, I know they're 3rd in their division right now, but come on, the Panthers and Buccaneers aren't fooling anyone. If you look at the Saints schedule after their game against Jacksonville this week, it screams AFC South Champs.
Put Week 8 in the books NFL fans. This week I'll address some of the highs and the lows of professional football as seen through the eyes of an avid fan.
HIGHS
The Pittsburgh Steelers went on the road this week to Cincinnati and came away with a modest, yet solid victory over the Bengals. The Steeler DEF looked like their old selves again this week, surrendering only 1 TD later in the game after only giving up 6 points on two filed goals in the first half. The Steelers came out throwing again this week, which has been their calling card of late. This week however, after getting the lead, they resorted to Steeler football of old... pounding the ball in the second half with Willie Parker and Davenport. Except for a brain #### early in the third quarter, Big Ben looked polished and poised, showing why he is one of the best young quarterbacks in the league by connecting on two first half touchdown passes to Hines Ward, who finally looked fully recovered from a knee injury that held him out for a handful of games earlier in the season. It was a very important victory for Steeler nation, setting the stage for them to take a commanding lead in the division following this Monday Night's game at home against the Ravens and the Browns two Sundays from now, again at home.
The Green Bay Packers had more Monday Night heroics from icon legend Brett Favre as his overtime strike to Greg Jennings gave the Pack a road victory against the crying one's Broncos. Favre HAS to be considered or arguably the greatest QB in NFL history. I'm sorry fans of the old-time NFL; your league just doesn't match up to today's game. Now granted, Montana, Marino, Elway, Kelly; these guys were all great, but they also all had consistent great teams. Name a handful of players from the Packers over the last couple of years. If you’re an average fan of the NFL I bet you can't! So what if Favre owns the record for the most INT in a career. When you throw the ball as much as he does, it's bound to happen. His longevity alone ranks him in the NFL's all-time elites for the QB position, throw in numerous NFL passing records and you've made his case for the greatest. Now don't get me wrong, there are great QB's from every era that hold farm fuzzy spots in our hearts, but those guys that played in the 60's and earlier didn't have nearly the competition or the resources to compete with what the NFL puts on TV each week. Congratulations to you Brett Favre, greatest QB of all-time. If you ask John Madden I bet he'd say the same thing.
LOWS
There's no room in the NFL for running up the score. This profession is too proud to have this kind of thing happen. Now, I've said I'd never talk about certain teams in this blog, but this needs to be addressed. Insulting your opponent is the lowest of lows that a team can lay upon another in the NFL. It does a few things to cheapen the game. One, these athletes put too much of themselves into these games and their profession for this kind of thing to happen. I understand why you do it in college, to impress the pollsters, right? Not in the NFL. A win is a win is a win. Very rarely does circumstances arise that a tiebreaker of most points for needs to be implemented to determine playoff of draft pick slotting. It also does something to the players on the team that is running it up. It makes them targets. No one in the NFL will tell you that they purposefully tell a player to go out and hurt another one, but that's just what your asking for when you consistently run up the score. All it takes is for 1 defensive player to lose control of his emotions and take a cheap shot at an MVP QB's knees. Do you really think that defensive player cares about a 15yrd penalty or a meager $15,000 fine when the score is 42-0 at half time. News flash, they don't care! When the games out of reach, RUN THE BALL, kill the clock and get out of there with no injuries on either team and a victory, because no matter how points you score in one game, you still only get one win. How many points do you think your team will score a game with your MVP QB?
A quick note about the Broncos... I watched the 1st quarter of this past week's Monday Night game. It's unbelievable how many favorable calls the Broncos get in their games. I saw flags thrown on the Packers for doing less in this game than I've seen other teams NOT get flagged for in their games. Couple that with two prime-time games in a row at home. Your telling me the NFL doesn't want the Broncos to succeed? Whatever.
ZombieNation is back for a third strong season of everything that is the NFL. After spending the last seven years in exile on the West Coast, I have returned to my hometown of Pittsburgh, PA... the greatest sports town of all the land.
My column will consist of three weekly posts, Good/Bad (week in review) on Tuesdays, Power 16 on Thursdays, and Fantasy Football Start/Sit on Fridays.
All material provided in this blog is of original material. These are expert opinions and analysis that I have concluded based upon research that I myself have performed.
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