This week’s bye team: AtlantaAFC East
Buffalo — RB Sammy Morris said he’s ready to play on Monday night
against the Colts. Look for him to have a good day against a very poor Colts’ run
defense. Until the Bills get some of their injured starters back on defense, you’d be
better served to avoid starting the unit if at all possible.
Indianapolis — Marvin Harrison seems to be emerging from a slump slowly,
and could break out this week against the banged-up Bills. Harrison hasn’t broken 100
yards receiving lately, but has found the endzone on several occasions.
Miami — WR Tony Martin will get the start in Miami in place of Leslie
Shepherd, who was injured last week. Most Dolphins’ observers think this will be
Martin’s chance to redeem his disappointing season so far and prove that he is still
worth the big money he is making with the Dolphins. He’s facing a tough Tampa Bay
defense though, and the focus of the offensive attack will likely be on Lamar Smith
running the football.
New England — QB Drew Bledsoe had his best game of the year last week and
could match that production this week against a young Bears defense that has several
holes. RB J.R. Redmond is giving fantasy owners fits, and is listed as questionable
for Sunday’s game. The Patriots signed RB Raymont Harris, just in case.
N.Y. Jets — If the Jets learned anything last week, it’s that RB Curtis
Martin needs to carry the ball more than 15-20 times per game. He rushed for 203 yards
on 30 carries last week. I’d predict much of the same against a very solid Raiders
defense, at least as far as Martin’s carries go. QB Vinny Testaverde could
have trouble against the Raiders’ strong secondary.
AFC Central
Baltimore — Look for QB Trent Dilfer to throw plenty of deep passes vs. a
San Diego pass defense that got absolutely scorched last Sunday vs. the Niners. Dilfer has
completed three passes of 40 yards or more in the Ravens’ last two games. He also has
nine TDs passing in his last four games. Baltimore WRs Qadry Ismail and Patrick
Johnson could be fantasy forces. So could Ravens PK Matt Stover (three more FGs
last week to add to his league-leading scoring total) and a Ravens defense that would love
to tie the Steelers’ league record of five shutouts in a season.
Cincinnati — RB Corey Dillon should definitely be your only fantasy starter
in Cincinnati. Flirtations with starting WR Peter Warrick or TE Tony McGee
should not carry much weight at playoff time, especially with a visit to Tennessee this
weekend. McGee finally caught his first TD pass of the year last week, while the Bengals
continue to struggle to get Warrick the ball with room to run.
Cleveland — Not that you would be starting a Browns’ player, but here is the
skinny on the Cleveland QB situation. Rookie Spergon Wynn is out this week with a
knee injury. That means that Doug Pederson is back in the saddle as the starter.
Jacksonville — If you’ve got any Jaguars players, this week they should be in
your starting lineup. They will be facing a Cardinals defense that hasn’t been able
to stop anyone this season. RB Fred Taylor, QB Mark Brunell, TE Kyle Brady
and WRs Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell are all must-plays in Week 15.
Pittsburgh — Kordell Stewart has emerged as a viable fantasy threat once
again. He’s got the hot hand right now, but I’d wait one more week to see if his
five passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in the last two games are for real. The
Giants’ defense is no wet paper towel.
AFC West
Denver — In case for some reason you were deliberating about starting RB Mike
Anderson, you should know he’s gained 543 yards over the last three games. He
rushed for 195 yards and two touchdowns in Week 13 against Seattle, the Broncos opponent
this week. The Seahawks are ranked 28th in the league in run defense.
Kansas City — In case some fantasy owners are still interested in the struggling
RB-by-committee approach in Kansas City, head coach Gunther Cunningham made a change in
the depth chart this week. Say goodbye to Kimble Anders as the starting running
back. FB Tony Richardson will slide over to assume that spot, while Donnell
Bennett is promoted to starting fullback. Rookie RB Frank Moreau is now the
short-yardage specialist.
Oakland — RB Napoleon Kaufman’s numbers have really dropped off as of
late. He’s averaging 5.3 yards per carry but has only gotten the call 89 times this
season. More importantly, Kaufman has caught just 13 passes this season despite being in
primarily on passing situations.
Seattle — RB Ricky Watters took some time off from practice this week to
rest his turf toe. While it’s possible Watters’ playing time could be somewhat
limited this week vs. Denver, it’s doubtful to get overly excited about playing
rookie Shaun Alexander.
NFC East
Arizona — Be very wary of starting QB Jake Plummer this week. He sat out of
practice on Thursday because of bruised ribs, which left his availability for this
week’s game in Jacksonville very much up in the air. Even if he does get healthy
enough to play, he may not be that effective.
Dallas — You don’t have to worry about Chris Warren stealing any of Emmitt
Smith’s yards or touchdowns anymore, as the backup runner has been cut. Michael
Wiley will handle the third-down duties. … This is not a week to play a
Cowboys’ receiver. The Redskins’ secondary is superb, and you just know that
Deion Sanders will be looking to impress his former fans in Dallas.
New York Giants — WR Ike Hilliard is expected to return to the lineup this
week after missing a couple of games with bruised lungs. You may want to avoid playing him
this week though, as he may not be able to go for the whole game.
Philadelphia — A late-season pickup that could help you is Chris Warren.
While he may not do much this week for the Eagles, and the team has a bye in Week 16,
Warren could wind up replacing Darnell Autry as the starter in Week 17 to give
the Eagles an extended look at what kind of runner they have before entering the
postseason. Warren scored three touchdowns for the Cowboys this season before getting cut
earlier this week.
Washington — For all of you who drafted Jeff George thinking that he would
eventually become the full-time starter ahead of Brad Johnson, congratulations. You
guessed correctly. George will start the rest of the season, unless he gets hurt. …
With Terry Robiskie calling the plays, look for a slightly scaled-back offense. He vowed
to simplify a few things. Robiskie wants a power-running game, which will feature a lot of
Stephen Davis. He also has ties to the Raiders, who loved to go vertical back in
the day. Don’t be surprised to see Robiskie let George go deep fairly regularly.
NFC Central
Chicago — With Gary Crowton now the head coach at
Brigham Young, QB coach John Shoop takes over as the Bears’ offensive coordinator.
This may impact RBs James Allen and Curtis Enis because Shoop will be
searching for more balance than Crowton ever did. Of course, given the state of the
Bears’ WR corps (minus Marcus Robinson and Bobby Engram), the team has
little choice but to feed defenses a heavy dosage of runs. Dez White and Marty
Booker saw playing time in Robinson’s place last week. … The Bears will
start Shane Matthews at quarterback Sunday rather than put Cade McNown back
on the field. McNown has been out with a shoulder injury, but he’s been given the
go-ahead to play. However, the Bears don’t believe he’s had enough practice time
to get his rhythm back and feel comfortable in the offense.
Green Bay — Thinking about playing WR Bill Schroeder this week against
Detroit? Makes sense. After all, he has two 100-yard games in the last three. But take
this fun stat into consideration. Credit goes to columnist Cliff Christl of the Milwaukee
Journal-Sentinel. The Packers have played six games against teams that had defenses
ranked in the top 14. In those games, Schroeder has totaled 14 catches for 174 yards. In
the other seven games, which have been against teams with defenses in the bottom 16,
Schroeder has totaled 38 catches for 632 yards. Where do the Lions rank, you ask. No. 14.
Oops.
Tampa Bay — Frustrated with WR Keyshawn Johnson ’s ineffectiveness? You should be, and it doesn’t figure to get
any better. This is what Johnson said this week in regard to Dolphins CBs Sam Madison and
Patrick Surtain: "They’re going to earn their paychecks pretty easily this week.
We don’t throw the ball." He’s right. The Bucs haven’t thrown 20
passes or more in the last three games. Furthermore, when the Bucs do throw, they
don’t look very good. QB Shaun King has had receivers open, but he’s been
reluctant to throw the ball. Tampa Bay has had its success on the ground in recent weeks,
with Warrick Dunn rushing for 316 yards and four touchdowns in the last two games.
He should have a much tougher Sunday against a very good Dolphins defense.
NFC West
Atlanta on bye
Carolina— RB Tshimanga Biakabutuka’s latest visit to a foot specialist
did nothing to clear up the turf-toe injury that will keep him out of a fourth consecutive
game this Sunday. He will be replaced by Brad Hoover, who has shown enough to
probably figure in the Panthers’ future plans as a Fred Lane-type complementary back.
WR Muhsin Muhammad is on a roll with two strong outings in a row.
New Orleans — The team’s No. 1 back this Sunday vs. the 49ers’ improved
defense is none other than veteran pickup Terry Allen. Allen, who was obtained four
weeks ago, wasn’t expected to be used unless there was an emergency, and that’s
what the Saints have with both RBs Chad Morton (shoulder) and Jerald Moore
(neck) extremely iffy after injuries suffered last week. WR Joe Horn is probably
licking his chops over the prospect of wreaking havoc with a 49ers secondary missing
injured S Lance Schulters. In New Orleans’ last game vs. San Francisco, Horn had 10
catches for 180 yards — the third-most receiving yards in club history. Aaron
Brooks is right at the top of the list in terms of current QB fantasy potential. His
club single-game passing record 441 yards in defeat vs. Denver was most impressive, even
though a lot of those yards came in a catchup mode.
St. Louis — QB Kurt Warner suddenly isn’t the end-all as far as
fantasy QBs go after a very rusty, four-interception performance in the loss to Carolina
last Sunday — the Rams’ second weak offensive outing in a row. Warner could be
helped, though, by the fact he’ll be facing the Vikings’ 25th-ranked
pass defense. Keep a close eye on RB Marshall Faulk, who has been pretty much held
in check the last few games. The Rams have vowed to show more patience with their ground
game after the Panthers had more than twice as many rushing attempts at St. Louis last
Sunday, and Faulk should be motivated by the fact he needs just 75 yards rushing for his
sixth 1,000-yard season. WRs Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt both had big games
vs. Vikes the last time they played them in last year’s playoffs.
San Francisco — After choosing to very effectively emphasize their passing game in
their win over the Chargers last Sunday, the red-hot 49ers (they’ve outscored their
last three opponents 82-30) might opt for more of a ground game featuring RB Charlie
Garner vs. a Saints run defense that will be missing space-eating DT Norman Hand. With
Hand hobbling around last Sunday, Denver rookie RB Mike Anderson had a field day. |
