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| Buffalo
goes into Miami with both teams needing a win. New England leads the division
by two games at 6-5 and it's looking like the division winner will receive
the only playoff berth. The Bills have lost four of their last five games
and Willis McGahee ran for 70 yards or less in four of those, but I like
him here in a homecoming to Miami. The Buffalo passing game has been frustrating
for fantasy owners, but Lee Evans may be able to break free for a couple
of big plays against the Fins. Miami rookie Ronnie Brown will continue to
fend off Ricky Williams for the bulk of the carries...which makes Brown
a solid play against the poor run defense of the Bills. Similar to the Bills,
the Dolphin passing game hasn't exactly set the world on fire this season...but
TE Randy McMichael is a top red zone threat and is a nice start here. |
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| Daunte Culpepper went down with a season ending injury and was replaced with Brad Johnson...and the Vikings have won four straight. But, Vikes' fantasy owners
still aren't too thrilled with the season. Minnesota continues its carousel
of WRs including Travis Taylor, Troy Williamson, Marcus Robinson, Koren Robinson, and Nate Burleson...and who knows who will step up this week?
The running game isn't much better, but RB Mewelde Moore appears to finally
have a bit of a lock on the starting spot despite his two sprained ankles.
This week it's Jeff Garcia at quarterback and Dick Jauron as the new Detroit
head coach. We'll see what it means for the Lion offense, but I believe
RB Kevin Jones and WR Roy Williams have too much talent to bench and may
both be worth playing this week against Minnesota. |
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| In one
of several huge divisional battles, the Cowboys head to New York to try
to grab a one-game lead over the Giants. Eli Manning will come out throwing
to Plaxico Burress and Jeremy Shockey, who should both have nice games.
Tiki Barber is always a great fantasy start and will get plenty of touches
in this one. Dallas' QB Drew Bledsoe will look down field and find Terry Glenn for a couple of big plays. Keyshawn Johnson is also a decent play
here. Julius Jones and Marion Barber will again split carries in the running
game...making the play of either less than fulfulling. |
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| The Bears'
defense is playing like it's 1985 and have given up only ten TDs all season.
This doesn't bode well for the Green Bay offense or for fantasy owners of
Brett Favre or Samkon Gado. Stud Bear RB Thomas Jones is a great play against
the Packers. He will again get his 100+ yards and a score or two. Kyle Orton
may top his best game as a pro, but starting the conservative rookie is
still a fantasy risk. When he throws, he'll look for WR Muhsin Muhammad...who'll
be an okay play in this game for owners in a pinch at wide receiver. |
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The Texans had the game against the Rams won last weekend, but somehow
squandered it late and lost in overtime. The sail of Houston's already
sinking ship had the air ripped out. The trend may continue in Baltimore,
but at least QB David Carr and WR Andre Johnson have finally found some
chemistry. Johnson is now healthy and I like him in this game and for
the rest of the season. Other than AJ, however, Carr's numbers may be
limited. Domanick Davis may do okay, but the Raven defense can turn still
turn it on at times. On offense, Baltimore has been pretty much anemic
this season. TE Todd Heap is a small bright spot and continues to be one
of the top tight ends in the NFL. I also like RB Jamal Lewis in this game
with Chester Taylor still banged up, but don't expect anything huge.
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| The undefeated
Colts dominated the Pittsburgh Steelers on both sides of the ball on Monday
night football in the RCA Dome. This week, the Colts host division rival
Tennessee in the dome. The Titans surprised the Colts in Indy last year
when Billy Volek and Drew Bennett hooked up to lead the Titans with 24 first
quarter points...but the Colts recovered to win the game 51-24. This year
will be different. The Colts will not only win this game big, but should
limit the Titans to fewer points. Play all of your Colts here...including
Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, and Dallas Clark. For the Titans, RB Chris Brown will still get decent yards and maybe
a TD as this game gets out of hand. |
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| This
game is huge for both teams. The winner basically wins the division and
the loser will have much competition in the wild card race to make the playoffs.
Cincinnati has turned the corner and matches up well against Pittsburgh
(Cincy resembles Indy at times), but the Steelers handled the Bengals easily
in an earlier matchup at Cincinnati. I believe that the Bengals win this
game on the back of Rudi Johnson and Carson Palmer...who are both starters
if on your roster (as are WRs Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh). For
the Steelers, I like the running game against Cincy. But Willie Parker will
have to yield some of his carries to Jerome Bettis and Duce Staley (to a
lesser extent), making fantasy starts for either very frustrating. As always,
Hines Ward will be the key in the passing game with TE Heath Miller a top
option in red zone situations. |
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| Atlanta
has pretty much owned Carolina with a 9-1 record over the last five years.
But this game is huge for the division, the Panthers are better this year,
and the game is in Carolina. I like Michael Vick here to connect a few times
with Falcon leading receiver TE Alge Crumpler, but Vick may be more dangerous
on the ground this week. Warrick Dunn is one of the most versatile backs
in the game and is always a must fantasy start with his double threat. For
Carolina, I think DeShaun Foster has taken over the primary RB position
and is a great start against the Falcons. QB Jake Delhomme has struggled
of late, but Delhomme has fantasy leading wide receiver Steve Smith in his
arsenal...who will again be key to the Panther passing game. |
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| The Bucs
are upset after the loss to the Bears last week and may take it out on the
Saints in Baton Rouge. Chris Simms is still not top ten calibur, but he's
getting better each week. WR Joey Galloway seems to get all the key plays
and has convinced his owners to keep him in their starting lineup. I like
rookie "Cadillac" Carnell Williams to have a big game as he rolls
all over the Saint defense. New Orleans is a dice roll at running back and
should be avoided from fanstasy starts. Aaron Brooks will have to focus
on the pass with WRs Joe Horn and Dante' Stallworth, but the Saint passing
game will struggle as the Buccaneers try to re-establish one of the league's
best defenses. |
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| Byron Leftwich is out with a broken ankle and may miss the rest of the regular
season. David Garrard will step in at QB and finish the next four or five
games for the Jags and is actually worthy of a pickup (esp. for former Leftwich,
Culpepper, Bulger, or McNabb owners) and start in this game. Fred Taylor
will sit again, making Greg Jones a really nice fantasy start against the
Browns. At wide receiver, Jax has been inconsistent...but Jimmy Smith, Ernest Wilford, and Matt Jones may be worthy of a number three WR if on your lineup.
The Browns have RB Reuben Droughns as their only player worth a fantasy
start, but Jacksonville will be a tougher matchup than what he has faced
recently. |
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| The Rams
are down to their 3rd string quarterback and Washington is in a slide (losing
three in a row and six of their last eight). But, that doesn't necessarily
mean that fantasy owners should suffer. Redskin QB Mark Brunell will have
success against the St. Louis secondary as he finds stud WR Santana Moss
and TE Chris Cooley on several strikes. RB Clinton Portis will also be a
decent play here. Rookie and 3rd string QB Ryan Fitzgerald will get his
first start of the season filling in for Marc Bulger and his recently injured
backup Jamie Martin. Although Fitzgerald has plenty of offensive weapons
and ultimately threw for three TDs last weekend in a comeback victory over
the Texans, his fantasy start is still a risk due to lack of inexperience
and the fact that he is still unproven. Regardless of the QB situation,
WR Torry Holt is one of the league' best and should be started against the
Skins. RB Steven Jackson is a must start and will produce in both the passing
and running games. |
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The Cardinals may only have three wins in eleven games, but I like Kurt Warner as one the top fantasy quarterbacks coming out of week 13. Warner
has thrown seven TDs and averaged over 320 yards per game in his last
four games since returning to the starting lineup. Stud WR duo Larry Fitzgerald
and Anquan Boldin will split the 300+ yards and TDs this week, making
both strong fantasy starts as the rip up the Niner pass defense. For San
Francisco, play Kevan Barlow or Brandon Lloyd if you have to...but don't
expect anything huge from either with this offense.
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| The Chiefs
are great at home. And if they can somehow beat the Broncos on Sunday, they
significantly help their wild card chances (and pull within one game of
Denver for the division lead). RB Larry Johnson is most likely the number
one choice at running back for his fantasy owners and he'll get plenty of
touches in this game despite Denver's top running defense. Trent Green will
keep the Denver defense honest with several strikes to TE Tony Gonzalez
and WR Eddie Kennison. For Denver, look for running backs Mike Anderson
and Tatum Bell to get the bulk of the Bronco offense...with Anderson getting
most of the carries and fantasy stats. But, QB Jake Plummer is still a nice
start against a vulnerable Kansas City secondary and will hit Rod Smith
and Ashley Lelie for several big plays in a game that should be high scoring.
I also like Denver TE Jeb Putzier in the red zone. |
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| If you
have any NY Jets offensive players on your team, you probably aren't winning
your fantasy league...and don't get tempted by 31st ranked New England defense
this week. The Jet defense isn't horrible and has the potential to limit
the Patriots scoring opportunities somewhat, but the offense doesn't score
much and can't seem to keep them off the field. As a result, Tom Brady should
get the win and put up some decent numbers in the process. I like Deion Branch and TE Ben Watson here. The NE running game will probably do okay,
but Corey Dillon is again questionable and doesn't seem to want to play
unless perfect. In fact, the Pats released Mike Cloud earlier in the week
- only to hire him back today...and there is no telling what coach Bill Belichick is thinking regarding his starter at RB. Make sure you check pregame
warmups prior to playing any of the four potential Patriot running backs
(Dillon, Patrick Pass, Heath Evans, or Cloud). |
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| The Chargers
are much better than their 7-4 record indicates. Drew Brees has evolved
into a top NFL quarterback and fantasy stud, Antonio Gates is the best tight
end in football, and LaDainian Tomlinson is one of the top two fantasy players
in the game. I'm still unsure how the Chargers don't have a better record...in
fact, the win last week against the Skins was a come from behind miracle.
Regardless, play the stud trio every week and add in Keenan McCardell this
week if you have him. The Raiders have some quality players of their own,
but have had a tough season and played a tough schedule. I still think you
have to go with QB Kerry Collins, RB LaMont Jordan, and WR Randy Moss in
a potentially high scoring game (even though Moss is less than 100%). Joey Porter may also be a solid play this week as the Raiders try to go to the
air. |
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The Seattle Seahawks have the best record in the NFC and tie for second
best in the NFL, but their wins have not always been convincing...including
their last two against San Francisco and the N.Y. Giants. But, Seattle
has a couple fantasy studs. As always, play super-stud Shaun Alexander
to go off with huge yards and a couple of TDs on MNF. QB Matt Hasselbeck
is also a consistent fantasy baller and will be a nice start here. WR
Joe Jurevicius had a monster game last weekend and will be H-beck's go-to
receiver until Darrell Jackson likely returns next week. The Eagles got
a nice win against Green Bay last week, but are pretty much still devastated
and unpredictable with the loss of Donovan McNabb, Terrell Owens, and
Lito Shepard. Versatile RB Brian Westbrook, however, still remains a quality
fantasy play in both the passing and running games.
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BYE WEEKS - None
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