This week’s bye teams: New England, N.Y. Giants and
OaklandAFC East
Buffalo — The Bills are not planning to change QBs, even though starter Doug
Flutie has been struggling. … Flutie should aided by the probable return of WR Eric
Moulds (hamstring), who has been running full speed in practice. … RB Antowain
Smith’s role seems to be diminishing, though he is still listed as the official
starter. Keep your eye on Jonathan Linton, who is emerging as a fantasy sleeper.
Indianapolis — The Colts are not openly concerned about rookie RB Edgerrin
James’ fumbling problems (he has six in seven games) and have no plans to reduce
his role. … WR E.G. Green is out again and has been surpassed on the depth
chart by rookie free agent Terrence Wilkins. Jerome Pathon is the No. 3
receiver.
Miami — The Dolphins’ coaches are concerned about rookie RB Cecil Collins hitting
the wall at some point, so they will continue to platoon him with fellow rookie J.J.
Johnson. The two probably will split carries. … QB Dan Marino (cervical
nerve root) is out at least one more week.
N.Y. Jets — Rick Mirer has gotten the vast majority of the reps in practice
and is expected to start at quarterback. Even though Ray Lucas’ ankle injury
is not severe, he is not nearly as effective if he isn’t mobile. … WR Wayne
Chrebet should make more of an impact now that he’s been back for several weeks
after missing the first five games with a broken foot.
AFC Central
Baltimore — Forget about playing WR Jermaine Lewis. His disappointing lack
of production has hurt the Ravens’ running game.
Cincinnati — With QB Akili Smith (toe) sidelined for a month, Jeff Blake
moves back into the starting lineup. This may be a plus for Carl Pickens and Darnay
Scott, neither of whom has made much of a splash with Smith under center. Blake’s
ability to throw the long ball may allow Scott and Pickens to make a big play or two down
the field.
Jacksonville — Even though he has missed significant time with injuries, there are
whispers among Jaguars players that RB Fred Taylor still could surpass his rushing
totals of last season.
Pittsburgh — All-Pro C Dermontti Dawson (hamstring) is highly questionable
this week and may miss his second consecutive start. However, the Steelers have rushed the
ball decently without Dawson, who wasn’t 100 percent when he was playing. … If
the Steelers’ passing game is every going to break out, it’ll happen this week.
Pittsburgh has had a bye week to work out the kinks in its air attack and faces a 49ers
secondary that has allowed the most passing touchdowns in the league.
AFC West
Denver — QB Brian Griese (shoulder) practiced Thursday and should play this
week. If he has a setback, Chris Miller would get the call, since Bubby Brister
(hip) is still not ready to play. … WR Ed McCaffrey (knee) did not
practice Wednesday or Thursday. He wants to play vs. San Diego, but chances are coaches
will hold him out for one game.
Kansas City — RB Rashaan Shehee (hip) still has not regained his
explosiveness. Even if he plays, he doesn’t look like he is healthy enough to be a
big fantasy contributor. Continue to wait this one out. … QB Elvis Grbac
has averaged just 19 pass attempts in his last three games. But don’t be surprised if
that changes vs. the Colts, for two reasons: Indianapolis’ high-powered offense can
put points on the board, and that would force the Chiefs to go to the air to keep up; and
Indy’s smallish cornerbacks would seem to be at a disadvantage vs. Chiefs WR
Derrick Alexander.
San Diego — The Chargers’ QB situation remains a mess. Jim Harbaugh
gets the call this week, but he has not proved he can be depended on to put up any sort of
numbers. Stay away from all Chargers players, except for perhaps TE Freddie Jones,
until the unit shows signs of life. … RB Natrone Means (knee) will not play
again this week.
Seattle — WR Derrick Mayes (five TD catches) is producing enough to be an
every-week starter for now, especially in scoring leagues. … RB Ricky Watters
had his best game of the season Monday night in Green Bay, in part because the
Seahawks’ offensive line played its best game of the season. Start Watters against
the Bengals this week. If Seattle gets a big lead (as most of Cincinnati’s opponents
this season have), Watters could get a lot of carries as the Seahawks milk the clock. It
would not be a surprise if Watters gets his first rushing TD of the season this week.
NFC East
Arizona— For those of you wondering when Jake Plummer will be back in
action, he says he hopes to return to the field Nov. 21 vs. the Cowboys. In the meantime, Dave
Brown will get the call.
Dallas— Be wary of QB Troy Aikman’s condition this week. He is still
suffering headaches from the concussion he suffered last weekend in Indianapolis. Even
though he returned to the field in that game, and the fact that he isn’t on the Week
Nine injury report, there is a chance he won’t start on Monday night vs. the Vikings.
If his headaches are still present on Monday morning, the Cowboys may hold him out. Even
if he does play, all it would take is for one big hit to knock him out for the game.
N.Y. Giants — The Giants have been woeful running the ball this season. With Gary
Brown out for the year and Joe Montogmery sidelined with a foot injury, LeShon
Johnson was given the opportunity to start last week. He didn’t do much. After
the Week Nine bye, it is believed that head coach Jim Fassel will put the ball in
the hands of Tiki Barber more, even though Barber is best-suited for a third-down
role. Because Barber will be on the field more on first and second downs, expect to see
rookie Sean Bennett in more third-down situations. Barber isn’t physical
enough to be on the field each and every down.
NFC Central
Chicago — It sounds silly, but you should give serious consideration to play Bears
WR Marcus Robinson if you have him on your roster. Said QB Cade McNown, will
start this Sunday at Green Bay: "I haven’t thrown a deep ball yet to Marcus
where it was intercepted. Until that happens, I’ll keep putting it down there."
Since Robinson moved into Curtis Conway’s spot after Conway went down with an
ankle injury in Week Five, Robinson has caught 26 passes for 467 yards and four touchdowns
— that’s an average of 18 yards per catch.
Green Bay — Through WR Bill Schroeder will start Sunday vs. the Bears, look
for No. 3 WR Corey Bradford to continue to see more playing time. Said offensive
coordinator Sherman Lewis: "We need to get Corey on the field more. When
he’s on the field, good things happen." Such as the slant pattern he turned into
a 74-yard touchdown vs. the Seahawks on Monday night. While Bradford has only 14 catches,
he’s averaging 21.6 yards per reception. Schroeder, meanwhile, has hit the skids,
dropping passes and playing tentatively inside.
Minnesota — No. 4 WR Matthew Hatchette could turn into another Marcus
Robinson type (see Bears tip). Like Robinson, Hatchette has good size (6-2, 198
pounds) and great speed (he may the WR corps’ second-fastest runner) and he can get
deep (see the 80-yard TD catch he had vs. the 49ers in Week Seven). But here’s the
thing: No. 3 WR Jake Reed has had four key drops in the last three games, including
two vs. the Broncos last week. Hatchette was held without a catch in the game mainly
because the Vikings utilized two-TE sets to protect QB Jeff George against
Denver’s blitzes. With George able to spread the ball around and take advantage of
favorable matchups, Hatchette’s fantasy value could increase.
Tampa Bay — QB Eric Zeier missed practice on Thursday after reaggravating a
right rib injury he suffered late in the first quarter of last Sunday night’s game in
Detroit. Zeier said he felt some pain during Thursday’s practice but tried to
complete the session anyway, though it progressively got worse. "I’ll see if I
can go (Friday)," Zeier said. "I couldn’t even throw (Thursday), so
that’s why I didn’t practice. Of course, if Zeier misses Sunday’s game at
New Orleans, Trent Dilfer would start. Whoever starts for the Bucs doesn’t
figure to do much. The combined score of the last THREE meetings between the teams is
Saints 25, Buccaneers 23.
NFC West
Atlanta — WR Tim Dwight and QB Chris Chandler are beginning to
develop a rapport that wasn’t there at the beginning of the season.
Carolina — TE Wesley Walls has been super in the red zone this year, but
teams are beginning to key on him a lot more and he hasn’t been open much in recent
weeks. RB Tshimanga Biakabutuka will also be out for a couple more weeks with a bad
ankle.
New Orleans – QB Billy Joe Hobert will be used only in an emergency Sunday
because of continuing neck problems.
St. Louis — Don’t back away from QB Kurt Warner just because his Rams
are entering the Silverdome to play the Lions. Despite fumble problems in the first half,
Warner proved he could handle a raucous crowd in a close loss to Tennessee last week.
It may be good to lay off on PK Jeff Wilkins, who was banged up last week and
whose status was still uncertain as of Friday.
San Francisco — WR Terrell Owens is scheduled to return to the lineup after
missing a couple weeks with a high ankle sprain. TE Greg Clark will be out for two
weeks with a collapsed lung. |
