Bye week: Buffalo, Carolina and MinnesotaAFC East
Indianapolis — While WR Terrence Wilkins may be back on the field Monday
night after suffering a concussion in the preseason, it would be a wise move to hold off
playing him for another week. Jerome Pathon will likely see most of the time
opposite Marvin Harrison, and E.G. Green will get a lot of snaps as well.
Miami — WR Tony Martin will not start this week when the Dolphins host New
England. Martin, who missed last week’s game with a sprained left foot, ran at
practice Thursday but did not participate. Whether Martin will play at all partly depends
on what he can do in Friday’s practice. In his stead, the Dolphins started Leslie
Shepherd last week.
N.Y. Jets — Last week vs. Buffalo, the Jets made a concerted effort to get TE Anthony
Becht the ball for the first time this season. Though he didn’t catch a pass,
Becht is becoming more involved in the offense. The Jets have long believed that Becht
will become a good security blanket for Vinny Testaverde, who could use another
option in the passing game. Becht’s progress has been steady, and the team’s
trust in him as a receiver is building. He definitely has the endorsement of Curtis
Martin, who marveled in training camp at Becht’s athleticism, power and strength.
AFC Central
Baltimore — Rookie RB Jamal Lewis’ strong performance in defeat vs.
the Dolphins last Sunday has boosted him into a starter’s role over Priest Holmes
for the Bengals game and beyond. The Ravens feel Lewis adds a definite big-play dimension
with his combination of speed and power, and he now must be considered the team’s
featured back until further notice. Holmes, who took his demotion like a man, will
continue to see spot duty. … WR Qadry Ismail (knee) says he’s ready to
get back into the lineup this weekend vs. the Bengals, but check his status carefully,
since the Ravens still list him as questionable. … To a man, the Ravens were real
unhappy with their disappointing performance vs. Miami. Don’t be surprised if Brian
Billick unleashes a let-it-all-hang-it-out attack vs, lowly Cincy this Sunday, which might
mean big fantasy games for QB Tony Banks and Lewis.
Cincinnati — Stay away from QB Akili Smith. The Bengals may go with Scott
Mitchell to spell Smith at times if he struggles, and Cincinnati is facing a tough
Ravens defense this week.
Cleveland — Rookie TE Aaron Shea is becoming a larger part of the
Browns’ offense. After a costly Week One fumble, he came through with some big-time
catches in Weeks Two and Three. Thus far, he has just one TD reception, but QB Tim
Couch is getting more comfortable with the young tight end.
Jacksonville — RB Fred Taylor will make his 2000 regular-season debut
Monday night vs. the Colts. He has been out since the preseason with a knee injury. Taylor
said he didn’t want to play until he’s 100 percent, and from what we’re
hearing, he’s 100 percent. Taylor has a history of ripping off long runs when he
returns from injury. Against this Colts’ defense, Taylor could do some damage. …
PK Mike Hollis had back surgery and is out indefinitely. That means that Steve
Lindsey, the team’s kickoff specialist, will be called upon to handle field-goal
and PAT duties. Lindsey handled the chores last week, going 2-of-3 on field-goal attempts.
He hit 30- and 19-yarders but missed a 33-yarder. Lindsey has an outstanding leg and can
get the ball through the uprights from more than 60 yards out. However, he is terribly
inconsistent from just about everywhere.
Pittsburgh — WR Plaxico Burress has just six catches this season for
97 yards. He has been complaining about not getting the ball more often, but word is he is
having some trouble running the correct routes. Burress met with head coach Bill Cowher
after the Week Three loss to the Browns, and Cowher admitted that maybe the Steelers
should have tried a fade pattern for the young receiver in the waning seconds of the game.
The Steelers are expected to try to get Burress more involved in the offense this week vs.
the Titans.
Tennessee — Though no final decision has been made, look for QB Neil
O’Donnell to start in place of Steve McNair (bruised sternum) Sunday vs.
Pittsburgh. Head coach Jeff Fisher will likely hold off until game day, but McNair has not
practiced all week, throwing some only on the side. McNair says he is gradually feeling
better, but the team is concerned about him taking another hit so soon after suffering the
injury. … With WR Kevin Dyson (knee) out for the year, Chris Sanders
will fill in — for now. Fisher called out oft-injured Yancey Thigpen to step
up and become the team’s No. 2 wideout. However, Thigpen has been slowed by another
injury, this time a hamstring. He had supposedly just returned to full health from an
ankle injury. Sanders is similar to Dyson because of the great speed they share. But
Sanders has done very little since his rookie year, when he scored nine touchdowns.
AFC West
Denver — As hard as this may be, don’t start Terrell Davis this week.
There has been no substantial news from Denver about his condition, and more MRIs were
done this week. Only this time, they focused more on his foot than his ankle. … Check
the status of QB Brian Griese’s bum throwing shoulder later today if possible.
A decision was scheduled to be made concerning his status for Sunday sometime Friday
afternoon.
Kansas City — Look for the Chiefs to do a lot of running out of their one-RB,
two-TE sets. That means Frank Moreau or Tony Richardson will head the RB
committee, but which one gets the majority of the carries is always dependent upon the
situation in the game.
Oakland — Napoleon Kaufman could get more carries this week, as starting RB
Tyrone Wheatley is nursing a sore ankle. … TE Ricky Dudley is
frustrated with not getting the ball thrown his way and has just five catches in the first
three games. QB Rich Gannon has been locked on to WR Tim Brown lately, with
most of the other receivers barely getting a look.
San Diego — The Chargers are leaning toward going with Jermaine Fazande at
running back, while continuing to use Terrell Fletcher on passing situations. Robert
Chancey is banged up and has not been much of a factor. … Ryan Leaf will
get the nod at quarterback in place of injured Moses Moreno and has a chance to
work himself back into the No. 1 role if he plays well, according to head coach Mike
Riley.
NFC East
Dallas — QB Troy Aikman will start this week after sitting out the
past two contests. This could have a favorable impact on TE Jackie Harris, who has
taken on a fairly large role in the Cowboys’ offense. Aikman is more comfortable
throwing underneath to tight ends than Randall Cunningham is. So the thinking goes
that we may actually see Harris’ already decent numbers get better. … Cowboys WR
Wane McGarity has a high-ankle sprain and could be out of the lineup for several
weeks. WR Raghib Ismail is expected to start this week even though he was held out
of practice because of a hamstring injury.
N.Y. Giants — Brad Daluiso, who missed all three of his field-goal
attempts last week in Chicago, said he’s still not 100 percent healthy. Last year he
tore an ACL and missed more than half the season. Until he gets more consistent, you may
want to go with another kicker.
Washington— The Redskins dumped PK Brett Conway, who was sidelined
last week with a thigh injury, and plan to go with Michael Husted from here on out.
… The Redskins’ top play-making receiver may not be a wide receiver at all. We
hear that Champ Bailey is the most athletic and gifted receiver on the roster now
that Michael Westbrook is out for the year. Albert Connell showed last week
that he’s not a true No. 1 receiver. What does all this mean? QB Brad Johnson’s
stock is dropping. If Johnson doesn’t have a good game this week and the Skins lose,
it’s a good bet that Jeff George will take over for Week Five. However, how
well will he do with this group of receivers?
NFC Central
Chicago — James Allen may be the antidote the Bears need to jump-start
their running game. Allen, who takes over for the unproductive Curtis Enis at
tailback, is very quick, has good vision and appears capable of breaking a long one. His
biggest question, though, is his durability. Enis is now relegated to FB duty, meaning his
carries will be severely limited. That said, Enis will still see action in short-yardage
and goal-line situations, so he may be worth hanging on to. … With Bobby Engram
(knee) out for the year, Eddie Kennison steps into the Bears’ No. 2 WR spot
— for now. Don’t count out Marty Booker taking the spot in the coming
weeks. While Kennison gives the Bears more speed, he has been very inconsistent. The team
is very high on Booker, whom scouts describe as a heavy-built Sterling Sharpe type of
receiver. Though he isn’t real fast, Booker (5-11, 215 pounds) has great strength and
is difficult to jam at the line of scrimmage. He also has good elusiveness after the
catch.
Green Bay — WR Antonio Freeman is frustrated by the fact he’s
receiving so much attention from opposing defenses. Teams don’t seem to respect the
ability of No. 2 WR Bill Schroeder. This week Freeman spoke of how much the offense
missed Corey Bradford, the fastest pass catcher on the team. Bradford definitely
has the ability to stretch defenses, but scouts believe Freeman is simply making excuses
for not living up to the huge contract he signed before last season. Keep an eye on how
this situation develops.
NFC West
Atlanta — The Falcons are obviously happy with the continued progress RB Jamal
Anderson is making in his comeback from last year’s season-ending ACL injury. For
fantasy players, it would appear Jamal’s arrow is definitely pointing up. … Keep
an eye on Falcons WRs Terance Mathis and Shawn Jefferson this Sunday vs. a
Rams secondary that has had some breakdowns and could be missing S Devin Bush with a toe
injury.
New Orleans — Don’t be misled by the fact RB Ricky Williams
didn’t do squat in the second half vs. Seattle after gaining almost 100 yards in the
first half. The problem was that the Seattle offense was able to keep chewing up the clock
in the second half, and the Saints’ offense just wasn’t on the field much in the
second half. … Don’t immediately make a trade for WR Keith Poole, who
caught a TD pass last week. That score might have been a fluke, since Poole isn’t
assured of being the No. 3 guy over Willie Jackson by any means.
St. Louis — QB Kurt Warner is on a record-breaking pass-yardage pace, but
his interceptions are a bit of a concern. He faces a Falcons secondary this Sunday coming
off a strong effort. … Featured RB Marshall Faulk continues to gobble up
yardage both on the ground and through the air, but he has a bit of a sore knee, and the
Rams would love to rest him a little more and reduce his carries. Unfortunately,
injury-prone rookie Trung Canidate is again likely to sit out this Sunday with a
strained arch. … WR Ricky Proehl (hamstring) remains questionable for the
Atlanta game.
San Francisco — Motivated by the fact his coach threatened to start Rick Mirer
over him, QB Jeff Garcia came through with an excellent game vs. the Rams last
Sunday, especially early on. Fantasy players who have Garcia probably should hope 49ers
head coach Steve Mariucci keeps the pressure on Garcia to keep performing at a high level.
… After the 49ers’ WR corps complained early in the week about not getting the
ball distributed equitably enough, Mariucci said the Niners would open up their offense
with more three- and four-WR sets. Considering the offense is already delivering more
often than not, this approach should only help fantasy players who have Garcia, RBs Charlie
Garner and Fred Beasley and WRs Terrell Owens, Jerry Rice and J.J.
Stokes on their teams. In particular, the stock of Garner — who could be on the
cusp of a breakout game — and Owens figures to rise. |
