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2007
Game Recaps- Week #5 |
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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 |
Cleveland showed surprising toughness but the juggernaut was just too powerful to stop. Tom Brady was near flawless once again and the Patriots did what everyone thought they were going to do beating the Browns 34-17. Cleveland did a good job of defending Moss, holding him to 46 yards on only 3 catches, but they forgot to cover everyone else in the process, paving the way for Benjamin Watson and Donte Stallworth to come up big in the process. |
Fantasy Impact |
Jamal Lewis went down with an injured foot in the first quarter (initial X-rays negative, MRI still to come) and Jason Wright took over in his absence. Wright could be an add in deep leagues, but that Cleveland offense still has a long ways to go. Watson had his first 100 yard of his career (college and pros) and may see some more involvement in the passing game now that he has shown to be a dependable target. If you have Laurence Maroney, you have every reason to cringe when Sammy Morris is mentioned. With Morris’ performance this season, Maroney could be seeing an even 50-50 split for the rest of the year. |
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Pittsburgh played its typical ball control (40 minutes time of possession) offense to cruise to 21-0 win over the offensively-challenged Seahawks. The Steelers kept the ball out of the Seahawks hands and beat their fatigued defense into submission. Big Ben (18/22, 206 yards, 1 TD) and Willie Parker (102 yards, 0 TD) were efficient again while the other QB/RB duo of Hasselbeck (13/27, 116 yards, 1 INT) and Alexander (25 yards, 0 TD) came up mostly empty. |
Fantasy Impact |
Najeh Davenport played the role of Jerome Bettis, stealing 2 TDs from the workhorse Parker. He is a pretty decent backup to have, but his production will be spotty. ‘Hawks FB Mack Strong injured his neck after getting hit hard on Sunday and will retire immediately. This deals another blow to the already struggling Seattle run game. Deion Branch was also injured (foot) and will be out for a few weeks. This means a moderate upgrade to Bobby Engram and D.J. Hackett until he returns. |
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Just when the nightmare for the Saints appeared to be over, Carolina fought back and won the game in the final seconds with a John Kasay 53 yard field goal to win 16-13. NO’s offense looked close to coming together for the first time this season, but stalled when it mattered most at the end of the game. Not that Carolina’s offense was that much better, but field position and turnovers put them in the position to tie the game with a 3rd quarter TD pass to the so-far ineffective Steve Smith. |
Fantasy Impact |
Drew Brees had the chains moving, but threw 2 picks and no TDs, continuing to struggle. Reggie Bush carried 21 times, showing HC Sean Payton has confidence in the bite-sized RB to carry a full load going forward. David Carr did nothing noteworthy and drags down Steve Smith’s stock considerably. DeShaun Foster got a 2-1 carry ratio to DeAngelo Williams, but neither look like they have much running room lately. |
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Hand Jason Campbell lemons and he makes lemonade. Campbell had a strong performance, even with only one healthy WR to speak of, and led the ‘Skins to a way too easy 34-3 win over the Detroit Lions. Washington kept the ball out of Detroit’s high scoring offense, and exposed their flaws at the line of scrimmage to dominate this one from start to finish. |
Fantasy Impact |
Jason Campbell looked sharp even with limited options, he’s a good play in deeper leagues from here on out. Kitna did what he’s always capable of doing, namely giving you a big goose egg on the scoreboard (106 yards, 0 TD, 2 INTs), but he’s still part of one of the higher scoring offenses in the league, so you’ll have to take the good with the bad unfortunately. Tatum Bell lost more carries to Kevin Jones and has limited value the rest of the season. |
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Brandon Jacobs returned from injury and teamed up with Derrick Ward for a combined 156 rushing yards in the Giants 35-24 win over the Jets. On the other side of the field, Thomas Jones and crew could only manage 55 yards on the ground behind the flaccid Jets offensive line, while Pennington threw 3 picks (the last one sealing the deal with 3 minutes left in the game). |
Fantasy Impact |
Plaxico Burress is beginning to look like a poor man’s Randy Moss. Still not practicing on his hurt ankle, he managed to put up 124 yards and a TD, his 7th of the year. Jacobs looks good to go but Ward has been effective, and this has the looks of a RBBC for the foreseeable future. Anyone on the Jets offense should be highly scrutinized before insertion into any lineup. With the offensive line play up there, things aren’t going to improve much for the remainder of the season. |
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The Dolphins (0-5) are now losers of 8 straight games and things don't appear to be getting better any time soon. With another concussion to QB Trent Green, the Fins will now turn to Cleo Lemon to bring some life to their offense. The star of the game was truly Kris Brown who set an NFL record with 3 FGs over 50 yards with two 54 yard FGs and another 57 yard FG to win the game with a second remaining. On the play that Trent Green got the concussion, DT Travis Johnson stood over Green as he lay on the ground and taunted the Miami QB, incurring a 15 yards penalty. |
Fantasy Impact |
Trent Green was not setting the world on fire with his play and Cleo Lemon is no superstar waiting in the wings. Lemon has little or no fantasy value in most formats. The fantasy impact players from this game are Kris Brown and Matt Shaub. Brown appears to be playing at a very high level and Schaub (despite his 2 TOs) threw for nearly 300 yards without the help of a quality WR corps and running game. |
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With 2 minutes left in the game, the Falcons had an opportunity from the 1 yard line to punch in a TD and tie the game. Instead, the Falcons were stopped and the game went downward from there. Vincent Fuller picked off Byron Leftwich for 76 yards for a TD. With 5 turnovers, the Titans escaped with an improbable victory. The Falcons also missed 3 FGs in the game. |
Fantasy Impact |
Coming off a bye week, the Titans offense looked terrible and Vince Young was the worst of show. Neither team could run the ball and neither team had any truly significant players at WR. Roddy White ended with 55 yards and again appears to be the best option at WR for Atlanta. Byron Leftwich replaced Joey Harrington in the second half after Harrington ws battered during the game. Leftwich did not look any better, going 2 for 8 with 1 INT for a TD that was the difference in the game. |
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On the last second of the game, the Chiefs finally ended their shutout on a 13 yard TD from Brodie Croyle. That however did not change the fact that KC was humbled in their own building by a Jacksonville D that held Larry Johnson to 12 yards on 9 carries. On the game, the Cheifs had 10 total yards rushing, which was the 2nd worst rushing performance since 1960. During the 4th quarter, Damon Huard bruised his shoulder which prompted the change to Brodie Croyle. |
Fantasy Impact |
Croyle is no fantasy threat and it is to be seen how long Huard is to be out. Regardless, Kansas City's offense is one of the worst in the NFL and Larry Johnson appears to be the biggest bust of the 2007 season. Ona positive note, Maurice Jones-Drew decided to show up this season and broke free for a 52 yard TD and ended with 82 yards on 9 carries. Dwayne Bowe continues to impress as he had 70 yards on 4 receptions...by the way...is this the same Dwayne Bowe that we saw on HBO. |
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With only 4 starters from opening day, the St Louis Rams offense pieced together a team for this weekend's game. The only thing is, they played well enough to have a late chance to win the game only to lose it on a 68 yard INt return for TD. In the game, Matt Leinart broke his collarbone and wa replaced by Kurt Warner. Like the old days, Warner led his team to 3 TDs and ran for 1 himself. |
Fantasy Impact |
Brian Leonard was a pleasant surprise, rushing for over 100 yards but the player of the game was Larry Fitzgerald who went for 136 and a TD. Anquan Boldin had to sit out the game with an injury and on the Rams side, Bulger missed the start with broken ribs. Gus Frerrotte was up and down in the game going for 262 and 3 TDs, however he threw for 3 INTs as well. On a side note, Steven Jackson does not appear to be ready for a return yet so Brian Leonard will continue to start in his absence. |
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Without five starters including Marvin Harrison and Joseph Addai, the Colts proved to be potent enough on offense to have no problem in putting away the upstart Tampa Bay Bucs. The Colts balanced their attack with Anthony Gonzalez, Reggie Wayne, and Dallas Clark each catching 7 passes and Kenton Keith ran for 121 and 2 TDs. The score of the game was not indiciative of how significant a rout it was. The Colts controlled the clock for over 38 minutes in the game and kept the Bucs from running all but 3 plays in the 3rd quarter. |
Fantasy Impact |
The biggest story from the game is that Michael Pittman was lost for 6-8 weeks with a sprained ankle. Ernest Graham carried the load for Pittman after the injury but was able to only gain 11 yards on 6 carries. Expect the Bucs to look for another RB to join the teamm, either via free agency or through trade. Mwelde Moore has been rumored to be a possible trade candidate. Kenton Keith for Indy showed all of the signs of being a tremendous fantasy player is Addai is to miss any further games. Pay very close attention to Keith in the future.
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This game started quickly for San Diego, who began the game by scoring on a 2 yard TD run by Philip Rivers. On the ensuing kickoff, Denver kick returner Brian Clark fumbled at the 23 yard line, where Brandon Siler quickly recovered the ball and ran it in for San Diego's second score. It never got much better for Denver, since they could never open up the running game due to the lopsided score. Denver's only score came on a 30 yard field goal with 1:15 left in the first half, and ultimately Denver lost by one of the largest margins in their history of home games (38 points). |
Fantasy Impact |
Denver looks awful now, having beaten only Oakland and Buffalo with last second field goals. Imagine how much worse they'll be without Travis Henry, who must serve a year-long suspension for his positive drug test. There's no word yet on how soon he must begin the suspension, but don't count on his legal appeal to keep it at bay much longer. Javon Walker missed the game, and his continued absence makes Denver a weak team offensively. San Diego had a lovely fantasy performance, with LT going for 140 total yards and Michael Turner 147 (with 74 coming on one play). Philip Rivers had a solid performance, with 270 yards and 2 TD's. |
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With Trent Dilfer playing for San Francisco, Baltimore won this game essentially the same way they used to when Dilfer was their QB - with field goals only. This game was largely a defensive struggle, with the Niners failing to score until there was 6 minutes left in the third quarter. Despite having nearly twice as many yards (315 to 163), the Ravens won by only 2 points. SF had a chance to take the lead with 2:37 left, but Joe Nedney missed a 52 yard FG attempt wide right. |
Fantasy Impact |
You can now add San Francisco to the list of fantasy black holes (Buffalo is another notable one, with the possible exception of Marshawn Lynch). Frank Gore has far too little around him to keep defenses honest, and as a result he had another 50 yard game with no TD's. Baltimore wasn't much better - you have to wonder if the coaching staff will wake up and dump McNair for Kyle Boller before they start to waste such great defensive performances. The only fantasy worthy performances on their side were Matt Stover, with 3 field goals, and the defense, who were 2 long pass plays away from a shutout and a sub-100 yard offensive day for San Fran. |
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Brett Favre started the game very hot, completing 19 of 22 passes in the first half for 243 yards. However, the score was only 17-7 in Green Bay's favor, largely because Charles Tillman forced 2 fumbles by rookie receiver James Jones. Both turnovers came in Chicago territory, which kept the Bears in the game. Green Bay's lack of a power running game became evident during the second half, when they couldn't grind enough time off the clock to keep the Bears from retaking the lead following 2 Brian Griese TD passes. In another comeback win attempt, Favre was intercepted to end the game, which brought him into a tie with George Blanda for the highest number of interceptions in league history (277). |
Fantasy Impact |
Despite 2 INT's, Favre had a great fantasy performance and you should keep starting him for the time being. Deshawn Wynn had another touchdown run, and it appears that he is emerging as Green Bay's go-to RB. Cedric Benson had 64 yards and a TD, and he is still Chicago's best RB option. With Griese doing a better job of protecting the ball, Chicago will be a better team than they were in the first 4 games, and you should watch the tight ends. Greg Olsen had a few great catches, and Greise likes to throw to his tight ends. |
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This game was unbelievable, and not just because Buffalo almost won. They absolutely should have, because they had a +5 turnover margin, scored twice on interception returns and again on a 103 yard kickoff return, and did a great job of confusing Romo all game. As rediculous as it sounds, Buffalo did all that, and LOST. They managed only 3 points offensively, and despite having only 1 turnover, it was an interception returned 70 yards by Terrence Newman. Dallas was down 16-24 with 3:45 remaining, and drove for a TD with 20 seconds left. The 2 point conversion failed when Jabari Greer knocked Romo's pass out of TO's hands in the end zone, and to all appearances, Dallas had lost. However, they recovered the onside kick with 18 seconds left, and after completing a couple short passes, attempted a 53 yard field goal with 2 seconds on the clock. Buffalo attempted to perform the Mike Shanahan-time out at the last second-routine, and it didn't work - rookie kicker Nick Folk nailed both kicks right down the middle with plenty of length. |
Fantasy Impact |
Though Trent Edwards has looked better than J.P. Losman, he is not fantasy worthy until he can reliably lead TD drives. Marshawn Lynch had 98 total yards and was Buffalo's only decent offensive player. On Dallas's side, TO dropped a lot more passes than he caught, and right now Patrick Crayton is playing the best football of any Dallas receiver. Jason Witten is still the best producer other than Romo, except in this game with his dismal 6 turnover performance (5 INT's and 1 fumble lost). Somewhat puzzling is the defensive performance by the Bills, who after Week 4 were the worst defense in the league. Don't expect them to come anywhere close to scoring 3 TD's on defense/special teams again this year. Teams will be able to drive the ball on them.
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