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2007
Game Recaps- Week #4 |
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*select the team's helmet to jump to their game recap
WEEK 4 BYES: Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins
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Game Recap |
The Browns, in a statement game, defeated the Ravens soundly and have arrived back at the pantheon of NFL respectability. In a telling stat, Baltimore's top caliber defense did not record a sack in the game and was generally bullied around by the Browns. Jamal Lewis also got a rushing TD against the Ravens, which was the first rushing TD the team had given up all season. |
Fantasy Impact |
Todd Heap suffered an injury in the game and is questionable for week 5. On the Brown's side, Braylon Edwards appears to have matured as an NFL player greatly this season and Kellen Winslow is officially off my "watch how he recovers from his surgery" list. He's back and looking VERY solid. Expect the Browns to continue being competitive this season. |
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Game Recap |
VERY clearly, Daunte Culpepper had an axe to grind with the Fins. He only threw for 79 yards but those 79 yards included 2 passing TDs and 3 rushing TDs. At one point in the game, Culpepper pointed to his knee and gave the OK hand jestgure to the Dolphins. Despite the big win for Oakland which put them to 2-2 for the season, they lost LaMont Jordan just before the half with a back injury. Justin Fargas filled in for Jordan and did so admirably. He finished the game with 179 yards on 22 carries. |
Fantasy Impact |
Ronnie Brown had a second consecutive solid perforance with 134 yards on the ground and a TD. He appears to be the only legitimate week-in week-out fantasy threat for the Dolphins. For Oakland, it is to be seen if Culpepper will continue to start for the team but if he can hold onto the starting spot, a few observations should be mentioned. Of the passes he threw, Jerry Porter appeared to be his favorite target. He will also be a threat to any Oakland RB to steal some rushing TDs on the goal line. With regards to the LaMont Jordan injury, if it is as bad as it appears at first glance, you should consider two players, Justin Fargas and Dominic Rhodes. Rhodes is coming off a 4 game suspension and will likely be the starter if Jordan misses any time. Don't forget Oakland has a bye in week 5. |
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Atlanta's offense has continued to improve each week and in week 4 they improved enough for Atlanta to win it's first game of the season. On the flipside, Houston's offense has been decimated by injuries in recent weeks, including it's top 2 WRs and it's starting RB. Twice during the 2nd half of the game, Houston pulled within 7 points of Atlanta but could not overcome the deficit to become 2-2. |
Fantasy Impact |
Despite the loss, Matt Schaub threw for over 300 yards and a TD to Andre Davis. He continues to impress. In other news, it is almost disorienting to consider an Atlanta WR as a viable fantasy threat but Roddy White and Michael Jenkins have had two good weeks in a row and have to be considered on the fantasy landscape. Neither team had an impact running game but it is noteworthy that Samkon Gado did not get a single carry in the game in favor of Ron Dayne. |
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Incredibly, Detroit scored 34 points in the 4th quarter against the Bears defense to become the NFL record holder for the most points scored in a 4th quarter. The Lions (3-1) scored in about every way possible, including a kickoff return for TD, an interception return for TD, 2 pass TDs, and a rushing TD. Brian Greise looked very Rex Grossman-like in throwing for 3 INTs, including one that went for the TD in the 4th. |
Fantasy Impact |
Nobody for Detroit had a jaw dropping fantasy performance but several players, including Kitna, Furrey, and Williams had decent games against a solid defensive unit. For Chicago, Cedric Benson continued to be innefective and is clearly not the player that Thomas Jones was last season. Also, Brian Griese found Muhsin Muhammed and Desmond Clark for TDs. His big target in the passing game was Bernard Berrian with 8 completions for 99 yards. |
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In his first NFL start, Trent Edwards proved he belongs in the NFL and may have proved that JP Losman's days are numbered as a starter for the Bills. He appeared to be poised and efficient throughout the game and led the Bills to their first win of the season as a result. The story of the Jets can be told that despite Chad Pennington throwing for a career best 32 completions out of 39 passes, their 9 penalties in the game really decimated their chances of victory. |
Fantasy Impact |
If Edwards continues to start, you can bring back into the fantasy relevancy fold the WR corps for the Bills. They were decent this past weekend and Edwards looked like he is capable of keeping up the solid performances. Marshawn Lynch continued his pursuit of NFL rookie of the year with a quality stat line. New York's style of offense limits any of their player's potential, similar to that of the Ravens with the dink-and-dunk style of play calling. |
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Brett Favre broke the all-time TD record for QBs as the Packers held on to beat the Vikings 23-16. Favre was on target again, and there wasn't much the Vikings could do to stop him (344 yards, 2 TDs). Minnesota did have a decent running game going behind Adrian Peterson (12 carries, 112 yards), but seemingly abandoned it when the game mattered most. It's probably not a smart move to take the ball out of his hands and put it in Kelly Holcomb's when the game is on the line. |
Fantasy Impact |
Anyone involved in the Green Bay passing attack is fair game from week to week. TE Donald Lee snagged 4 catches for a team high 66 yards and 9 other Packers ended up catching passes after it was all said and done. Venand Morency returned from inujury to save Green Bay's running game, but it was clear that he isn't at full speed yet. Adrian Peterson's numbers didn't suffer too much from Chester Taylor's return, but Taylor did take 8 carries away from AP in this one, so keep an eye on the distribution in the coming weeks.
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The Rams are who we thought they were, the Cowboys were too. After getting to a slow start, Tony Romo and the Cowboys cruised to a 35-7 victory over the reeling Rams. The game was best exemplified when Romo had a snap that went over his head about 30 yards behind the line of scrimmage, and doing his best Benny Hill impression he returned it for a gain of 10 yards. St. Louis continued to struggle on offense, their only score coming on a Dante Hall return. Marc Bulger and Isaac Bruce both left the game due to injuries, but the game was out of reach by then anyhow. |
Fantasy Impact |
Dallas continues to frustrate with their RBBC approach. In a game where Marion Barber III was expected to flourish, it was Julius Jones scoring a TD this time causing owners around the country to bash their heads against their keyboards. Romo continues to dazzle and is a must start every week. Nobody on the Rams did much of anything, and things are getting ugly. The offensive line for the Rams is no better than a high school team at this point, and Bulger has been ineffective to say it nicely. |
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Ken Whisenhut exacted revenge on his old team, as the Cardinals beat the Steelers 21-14. Arizona rode its special teams (Steve Breaston punt return TD) and stiff defense to give the Steelers their first loss. Santonio Holmes was the sole provider of offense for the Steelers catching 6 catches for 128 yards and 2 TDs. The Steelers also lost Troy Polamalu and Casey Hampton on D in their efforts to slow the two-headed attack of Matt Leinart and Kurt Warner. |
Fantasy Impact |
The QB situation in Arizona is getting a bit fuzzy. Kurt Warner is getting snaps with the offense in hurry-up situations with Leinart running the rest of the packages. Right now Warner looks like the better QB, but Arizona coaches maintain that Leinart is still their starter, stay tuned. Larry Fitzgerald turned in a good game with Anquan Boldin out, showing that he still has the ability to be a solid fantasy performer. Willie Parker was held to a paltry 37 yards on 19 carries, mainly due to a defensive scheme that was designed to stop the run. He is still an every-week starter. |
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A victory for the Tampa Bay Bucs put them at 3-1 for the season but came at a very heavy price. In the game Tampa lost Carnell Williams in a potentially career threateneing patellar tendon injury and also lost left tackle Luke Petitgout for the season. Despite the injuries, Tampa ran for 189 yards, including 90 from Michael Pittman. For the 4th straight gameJeff Garcia did not throw an INT. After the poor performance by Carolina, D-lineman Kris Jenkins accused his teamates of "having no heart". |
Fantasy Impact |
David Carr got the start for an injured Jake Delhomme and looked very dissapointing for Panther fans. Steve Smith was limited for the 2nd straight week and looks to be directly linked to Jake Delhomme with regards to his fantasy performance. DeAngelo Williams only had 2 carries in the game as DeShaun Foster handled the bulk of the carries, albeit innefectively. Joey Galloway had only 7 yards in the game and Ike Hilliard made his annual appearance with 114 yards. Michael Pittman is the clear favorite to carry the load for the Bucs with Caddy being out for the season. He should be picked up immediately and should serve as a nice #3 RB. |
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Just when you thought the Seahawks might be primed to give up the division to an up and coming team such as the 49'ers, they came out and made a statement victory. The division is still theirs until further notice. 3 plays into the game, the Seahawks knocked out QB Alex Smith with a seperated shoulder and the 49'ers never recovered from there. Seattle on the game, outgained San Fran 371-184 in what can be clearly called a blowout victory. |
Fantasy Impact |
First of all, Alex Smith had marginal fantasy value but every offensive player for San Fran not named Frank Gore, just took a dip in his numbers with Trent Dilfer at the helm. Alex Smith will miss a few weeks but will not require surgery for his injury. Deoin Branch had another good game with 130 yards and Shaun Alexander looked to be marginally affected by the wrist cast. Expect the Hawks to keep rolling and should be respected as a top team in the NFC.
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Denver came out pounding the ball with Travis Henry, and piled up over 160 rushing yards in the first half alone. However, the Broncos proved that you can't kick field goals and expect to beat the Colts - they were down 14-13 at the half despite their rushing total. Marvin Harrison was injured (knee) in the 2nd quarter, and did not return. Manning was still able to lead scoring drives on 6 of Indy's last 8 possessions, both by calling his own number on a TD sneak and handing the ball off to Addai. Denver didn't challenge much after halftime, getting outscored 24-7 to end the game. |
Fantasy Impact |
With Harrison out next week, expect Wayne and Clark to have increased production. Manning's stats should not be affected. Addai is establishing himself as a solid fantasy RB, with another 100 yard performance (136 yards and a TD). Travis Henry had a sprained ankle in the game, but returned and rushed for 131 total yards. Keep starting him, although it may be worth picking up Selvin Young, who rushed for 81 yards in this contest. Jay Cutler hasn't had great fantasy stats so far, and it could be a long season if you are starting him. |
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San Diego clearly wanted to get LT into the game plan early and often, and it worked well in the first half. However, he didn't get many yards after halftime, as the Chiefs made a comeback after a 16-6 first half deficit. KC scored 24 unanswered points, including a fumble return TD and a 51 yard pass from Huard to Dwayne Bowe. San Diego fans started chanting Marty Schottenheimer's name as the Chargers lost, in sheer disgust for the monumental mistake it was to hire perennial loser Norv Turner. Turner will have difficulty finishing the season with his job, especially if they lose more than 8 games (which appears likely at 1-3). |
Fantasy Impact |
LT and LJ both looked much better this week, rushing for 132 yards and a TD and 123 yards, respectively. LT's 6.6 yards per carry was much improved from his dismal performances so far this week, and fantasy owners for both star RB's have to breathe easier after these Week 4 performances. Bowe has had some impressive stats lately, especially this week when he had 164 receiving yards and a TD. If you listen to the Dominate Your League weekly podcast, you would have picked him up 2 weeks ago before he exploded. Tony Gonzalez also had a very solid game. |
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In a comically bad offensive performance, it became obvious just how much Philly's offense flows through Brian Westbrook. With Westbrook unavailable, McNabb played like garbage, and not even a 100 yard rushing performance by Correll Buckhalter could push the Eagles into the end zone. The Giants defense suddenly looks very formidable, with 12(!) sacks, mostly against backup Winston Justice. Umenyiora alone had 6 sacks, a team record. Philly had 15 penalties for 132 yards, including an illegal forward pass penalty against McNabb that negated a touchdown pass. |
Fantasy Impact |
McNabb returned to the ugly form of his first 2 games, with a completion rate under 50% and only 138 yards passing. Expect Westbrook to return after the Eagles' bye week - otherwise they can't expect to win. The Giants DEF/ST performance is not going to be repeated, because most of it came against a backup lineman, but they have still looked great for the last 6 quarters. The improved defense gives the Giants offensive players more chances to get on the field, but it also reduces the chances of Eli Manning getting into a shootout. Burress caught another TD, increasing his season total to 6. As long as he's in the lineup, Manning will toss the ball his way. |
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Predictably, the Patriots never trailed in this game, showing once again why many people think they could go 16-0. Amazingly enough, New England has scored in all 4 quarters of all 4 games so far. Cincinnati kept it close for most of the first half, but once Randy Moss caught an awe-inspring TD pass with 4 minutes left in the half, it was painfully obvious that any effort by the Bengals was delaying the inevitable. Despite a very good defensive effort from New England, Palmer was able to find Houshmandzadeh for 10 catches and 100 yards with a TD. Chad Johnson had 53 receiving yards and no TD, which might qualify as having been stopped, though Johnson would never admit as much. |
Fantasy Impact |
The Patriots won. Again. Does this surpise anyone? Oh year, Randy Moss caught 2 more TD's and Tom Brady is completing 79% of his passes. New England once again scored over 30 points, meaning there is a lot of fantasy production to go around. Against a very good Patriots defense, Carson Palmer showed why he deserved the #1 pick by threading the ball in to Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh (100 yards and a TD) effectively. Sammy Morris had a great performance with 117 yards and a TD, showing once again how dumb any team is to give up players to New England. This could be a RBBC nightmare for Maroney owners.
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