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*select the team's helmet to jump to their game recap
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The Patriots waited until the 2nd quarter to put this one away, waiting until they were down 7-3 before scoring the game's final 35 points. J.P. Losman went down in the first drive with a sprained knee, and if the Bills had any chance it was gone after they lost their starting QB. The game went pretty much as predicted, with Buffalo unable to stop Brady & Co. and unable to score. New England is getting really good at scoring 38 points - that has been their final score for each of the first 3 games. |
Fantasy Impact |
Brady played catch with Moss all day, throwing him 2 more TD passes. At this rate, Moss will catch 27 TD passes this season. 20 TD's is not an unreasonable expectation, if he stays healthy. Maroney had a 100 yard day with no TD's, and is a solid starter but by no means a fantasy star. Marshawn Lynch did very well with 74 yards and a TD, considering the loss of the starting QB. Dick Jauron said that Losman's injury was severe, so if you were in the unfortunate position of starting him, you need to find someone else right away. Trent Edwards played in his absence, but he is of no fantasy interest whatsoever. Brady is completing nearly 80% of his passes right now. |
at 
In a matchup between two teams at the low end of the power rankings, this game was predictably low scoring. The Vikings were able to shut LJ down all day, but with the emerging Dwayne Bowe and veteran Tony Gonzalez, they mounted a comeback in the second half. KC scored the last 13 points of the game, ending with a Huard TD pass to Bowe in the 4th quarter. Adrian Peterson was almost good enough to win the game for Minnesota himself, with another very impressive performance for the rookie. Considering that he was playing in high school only 4 years ago, it seems like the sky is the limit as long as he can avoid injury. |
Fantasy Impact |
The only real star here is Adrian Peterson, who is a great candidate for rookie of the year. He rushed for 102 yards and a TD, and had 48 yards receiving. Dwayne Bowe is starting to make an impact on KC's roster, and he is a good fantasy pickup. His success may distract defenses and spur the return of LJ's production, which is currently lost in Siberia. Kelly Holcolm had a forgettable day, although Huard did reasonably well in fantasy terms. I still wouldn't consider starting him, though. |
at 
Philadelphia came to this game with a vengeance, putting up 56 points on an overmatched Detroit defense. The Lion's didn't give up though, and put on an offensive show of their own with Kitna and Roy Williams. This was the game everyone was waiting for the Eagles to have, although it doesn't do them much good to score 56 in one game and lose the others by 8 points or less. Brian Westbrook opened the floodgates with a 25 yard TD run, and McNabb showed the Lions just exactly why you don't get rid of a player like Dre' Bly by shredding them all day with an 80% completion rate. |
Fantasy Impact |
This game was a fantasy goldmine, with over 950 yards of total offense, 2 quarterbacks with over 350 yards passing with multiple TD's, and 2 receivers with over 200 yards receiving and at least one TD (Roy Williams and Kevin Curtis), and a 100 yard rusher with 2 TD's (Westbrook). McNabb finally shook off his doubters in the third game, throwing for 381 yards and 4 TD's. Kitna threw for 446 yards and 2 TD's, adding to his already impressive fantasy stats for the season. In 3 games, Kitna has nearly 1000 yards. Kevin Curtis had a huge day with 221 yards receiving and 3 TD's, but that is an aberration against a poor pass defense (and with an especially motivated McNabb). It may be wise to trade him now, while his value is high. |
at 
The Niners started the game by driving down the field into the red zone, but stalled and had to kick a field goal. It was the last time they were in the game, because Allen Rossum returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown and a 7-3 Pittsburgh lead. The Steelers had a fairly simple game plan after that, which basically consisted of following a Willie Parker rush with another Willie Parker rush. The strategy worked well, and the Steelers ended the game with over 200 yards rushing and the win. |
Fantasy Impact |
Neither QB is more than a spot starter or bench player at this point. Roethlisberger threw his only TD to another backup TE (Jerame Tuman), which is deplorable from a fantasy standpoint. The real winner was Pittsburgh's defense, who limited Frank Gore to 39 yards rushing and extended their streak of not allowing a 100 yard rusher to 27 games. If you have a running back playing against Pittsburgh, sit him on the bench for the game. The PIT defense also scored a TD on an INT return, in addition to the kickoff return TD. Parker's 142 total yards was also fantasy worthy. |
at 
Tampa Bay hung on to a 10-0 lead through the end of the third quarter to pull away to a 24-3 final over the St. Louis Rams. Marc Bulger was harassed all day and it showed, throwing for 166 yards and 3 picks. Tampa’s offense wasn’t amazing, but it did enough to keep the game out of reach for the offensively-challenged Rams. |
Fantasy Impact |
The good news: Out of the big 3, Steven Jackson is the first to break off a 100-yard game. The bad news: He’s out next week, and possibly more, with a groin tear and another Rams offensive lineman got hurt. Brian Leonard is his backup and could be an ok fill for now, but don’t expect much behind that patchwork offensive line. Isaac Bruce went down with an injury, so things seem to be getting worse for the Rams. Ernest Graham pitched in two rushing TDs for the Bucs, and is worthy of a bottom roster spot in 14-team leagues or larger. |
at 
Miami hung around as long as they could, but the Jets put in an all-around better performance to get the W. Chad Pennington wasn’t spectacular (124 yards, 2 TDs), but then again, he didn’t do anything to get booed either. Leon Washington ran a 98 yard kickoff return for a TD and the Jets D picked off Trent Green to put the game away in the 3rd quarter. Miami’s Ronnie Brown had a huge game with 112 yards and 2 TDs rushing along with 99 yards and 1 TD receiving, but the one-man show for Miami did not have the desired result. |
Fantasy Impact |
Ronnie Brown had a huge day which is a relief after a lackluster start to the 2007 season. Chris Chambers had 101 yards, but could have had more, as usual. Thomas Jones also put in a solid outing, breaking the 100 yard mark for the first time this season, it looks like his injury concerns are behind him for now. Chris Baker’s only catch was a TD, his second in two weeks, he is still not much of an option at TE until he shows he is more involved in the Jets passing game. |
at 
The Colts played an efficient, balanced, turnover-free game that wore down the Texans and led to a 30-27 victory that was not as close as the score shows. Peyton Manning was his usual robot-like self, and Joseph Addai pitched in 2 TDs in the effort. Matt Schaub was forced to pass all game as injuries to Ahman Green and Ron Dayne left the Texans perilously thin at RB. With the weight of the offense on Schaub’s shoulders, the Colts D took advantage picking him off twice. |
Fantasy Impact |
Addai did what everyone thought he was going to do – move the chains and score TDs. He looked good against a fast Texans D. Dallas Clark continued his excellent performance this season with 58 yards and a TD. With no running game to support him, Schaub struggled a bit, but he is still a quality QB when the matchup is more favorable. |
at 
Brett Favre carried the offense on his shoulders and led the Packers to a 3-0 start with a win over the Chargers. Neither team could get the running game going so they depended on Philip Rivers and Favre to get the job done. In the end, GB’s defense stifled LT and limited the big play ability of the chargers to get the job done. |
Fantasy Impact |
LT’s numbers were less than stellar again, but he still got a TD. As long as he consistently gets TDs there is no rason to worry about him this season. Rivers looked comfortable for once and may be a decent backup against weak defenses in the weeks to come. Anybody on the Packers offense has a shot at getting a TD from Favre, but Greg Jennings and Donald Driver are looking should be the most consistant. |
at 
Almost a replay of last week's game versus the Jets, the Baltimore Ravens jumped out to a significant lead in the game only to allow a 4th quarter comback by a backup QB. This time, Kurt Warner played the role of Kellen Clemens and passed for 258 yards and 2 TDs. On Baltimore's side, Steve McNair started the game only to be pulled partway through due to a groin injury. Kyle Boller filled in admirably for McNair, completing 5 of 5 passes on the final drive of the game to setup the winning Matt Stover kick as time expired. |
Fantasy Impact |
With Samari Rolle missing from the game, Anquan Boldin came up huge with 181 receiving yards and 2 TDs. Edgerrin James (as predicted here) came back to Earth after 2 solid weeks. However, Edge had a 27 yard rush in the 1st quarter which was his longest carry as a member of the Cardinals. For the Ravens, Derrick Mason, Todd Heap, and Willis McGahee had solid but unspectacular numbers while Mark Clayton continued to be non-existant. Perhaps if there is a Boller regime coming soon he will regain his fantasy relevancy. |
at 
We talked about this game coming down to who had the ball last and we were mostly right. With 1 minute remaining in the game, the Seahawks threw for a 22 yard TD to Nate Burleson that put them up by 3 points. (On a side note...how in the world is Nate Burleson making $49 Million?). On the ensuing kickoff, Glenn Holt of Cincy fumbled away the ball to the Seahawks, who then ran the time out with a first down by Shaun Alexander. |
Fantasy Impact |
The Bengals are the Aaron Brooks of the NFL. Here's what I mean...they put up great numbers on the stat sheet but in real life find a way to bumble away the game on a weekly basis. Aaron Brooks made a career out of it and never won a significant game in his life. Are the Bengals the same way? Will they ever win a significant game? It would help to start with playing any kind of reasonable defense.
Fantasy relevancy-wise, Rudi Johnson was largely ineffective and then was injured in the 3rd quarter with a hamstring and will have an MRI to assess the damage. Kenny Watson (no relation to Randy Watson) filled in for Rudi and did a great job rushing for 60 yards on 9 carries plus a TD. Shaun Alexander had a good day with 100 yards on the ground and appears to be back in form. |
at 
Sometimes a franchise just has bad Karma. The curse of the Bambino, the curse of the goat, and whatever curse lurkes in Cleveland over the Browns franchise. Taking a page from the Lucifer (Mike Shannahan) handbook for NFL coaches, Lane Kiffin waited until the last second before calling a timeout before a field goal that would have won the game for the Browns. The field goal (which was not counted due to the timeout being called) sailed through the uprights. On the next field goal attempt, the Raiders blocked the kick to clinch the victory. Nicely done Lucifer JR. Somewhere Mike Shannahan is smiling with his fire marshall Bill grin. |
Fantasy Impact |
The people of Oakland are offically clammoring for Daunte Culpepper. When McCown was sacked on the first play of the game and then cheering later when he has to leave the game due to a brief injury. Expect the QB controversy to start up in Oakland. LaMont Jordan continued his comback player of the year performance with 153 combined yards and a TD. Jamal Lewis was back to his old self with 56 mediocre yards. Kellen Winslow and Braylon Edwards had solid games with Cleveland getting behind in the game and being forced to pass most of the second half to catch up. I would expect that trend to continue as the year goes on. Josh Cribbs is incredible at returning kicks. He's officially the new Devin Hester. |
at 
Sometimes a game can be summed up very easily. This game was all about controlling the clock. Jacksonville came out early in the game and had an 18 play, 80 yard, 11 minute drive that put them up 7-0 on the Broncos. From there on, they continued to run the ball with force. In all, Jacksonville held onto the ball for 39 minutes. This game was the most lopsided time of possession for the Broncos since September 20, 1992. |
Fantasy Impact |
MJD continued to be a ghost of a fantasy player in 2007. Fred Taylor looked far more effective in his 17 carries and Greg Jones stole a TD at the goal line making things even worse for MJD owners. Brandon Marshall had a big day with 133 yards on 7 catches. You can offically call off the 2,000 yard watch for Travis Henry. He only gained 35 yards on the ground but did manage to get a TD. Javon Walker was actually -2 yards in the game. |
at 
This game was a defensive struggle that was dominated by Washington in the first half, but came down to the wire with New York scoring 3 touchdowns in the second half. Both quarterbacks had a so-so outing but it was enough to keep their respective teams in the game until the end. The Giant's running game seems to be doing real well without Brandon Jacobs. Derrick Ward is filling in nicely. |
Fantasy Impact |
Rueben Droughns may be emerging as an option. He scored 2 touchdowns on 3 carries this week, and was used exclusively on the goal line. Derrick Ward had been very consistent and shows that he can be a starter in the league. Eli Manning threw for 2 interceptions and only 1 touchdown with 236 passing yards, he's still not performing like a top-tier fantasy quarterback. He's a backup at best until otherwise proven. Clinton Portis is proving to be over the injury bug and has been a rock so far for Washington. Ladell Betts only had 7 carries this week. |
at 
This was a much closer than expected game, with Joey Harrington outperforming Jake Delhomme in every facet of the game. Deangelo Hall shut Steve Smith down all game, but managed to cost his team the game with penalties he took from falling prey to Steve Smith's mental game. The Falcons outpassed the Panthers but it was the Panthers' ground game that took them to the distance. |
Fantasy Impact |
Joey Harrington passed for 361 yards and 2 touchdowns, and Roddy White caught 7 passes for 127 yards and a touchdown. This is probably more of a testimony to how bad the Panthers' defense is than how good these two may be. Let's not pull the trigger on a trade for Roddy White just yet. Jake Delhomme threw 2 touchdowns, but only had 109 yards. Tight end Jeff King was the Panthers' leading receiver with 56 yards and a touchdown. |
at 
Another round of interceptions for Bears QB Rex Grossman. I believe his days as a starter are clearly over. The Cowboys dominated the game from start to finish, and looked like the best team in the NFC while doing it. Tony Romo threw for 329 yards and 2 touchdowns, Marion Barber ran roughshod over the Bears' defense for 102 yards and a touchdown, and also caught a touchdown pass. Terrell Owens was the recipient of 7 passes for 145 yards. |
Fantasy Impact |
I hope by now you didn't have Grossman starting. I don't think you should reach for his backup either, until he shows that he's better than Grossman, which we don't know yet. The Bears other skill players are suffering greatly, due to Grossman's lack of skills, and should also be steered clear of in fantasy leagues. The Cowboys are a wealth of fantasy points, including their defense. Only injuries seem to be able to stop them at this point. |
at 
What on earth has happened to the New Orleans Saints? The only things I can come up with are that they're complacent, and that Sean Payton is not that great of a coach after all. When the Titans weren't dominating them, they were dropping passes and not hitting the right holes. Vince Young is proving game by game that he is a top quarterback, maybe not in numbers, but in leadership and W's. The Titans running game was under 100 yards for the second straight week, but they still blew the Saints out 31-14. |
Fantasy Impact |
It is now time to abandon all Saints players until further notice, PERIOD. It's time to make a trade for Vince Young if Drew Brees or Rex Grossman is your current starter. None of the Titans' runningbacks have done anything since week 1, but the Titans are focusing about 50/50 on the running game so Lendal White is a good option. Chris Brown isn't getting the bulk of the carries. Bo Scaife is Vince Young's favorite target, but it was Brandon Jones who had the best performance with 73 yards and a td. Vince throws it to whoever is open, and the leading receiver changes every week. |
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