Man did I have it wrong last week! My apologies…..by the way did anyone get a video tape of Belichicks aide handing an envelope to one fo the refs on Monday Night. I mean c’mon!!! I know that a Patriots undefeated record is good for the NFL and in particular the bookies, but even a half blind geriatric with cataracs and blood shot eyes from smoking a medical grade blunt could see that Gaffney did not have control of that ball before getting 2 feet in the endzone. All that aside it was a great week last week, the Cowboys reaffrimed the case for NFC supremecy, the Seahawks just barely eeked out a win in Philly and rookie sensation Adrian Peterson aka “Purple Jesus” came back in a big way, silencing any doubts about his fragility and rebound capabilites. Heres this weeks matchups with the spread and totals as well as the fantasy impact esch matchup has on your fantasy starters as fantasy playoffs are in full swing.
Thursday Night
The Bears continued to let the lead slip away last week as they dropped another game against the Giants of New York. Rex just isn’t that good and you have to wonder how they ever managed to get to the Superbowl last year. I mean he is putting up the numbers, he threw for almost 300 yds and 0 INT’s last week, but yet could not lead the bears to victory, Rex is just not the right guy for that team. Washington was playing for a fallen teammate, but fell short against the Bills who managed a last possesion drive to get into fieldgoal range and Rian Lindell sealed the Skins fate with a FG. The Bears have all but shut themselves out of the post season barring an act of god and I think they start experiment more with their young talent or at least start taking more risks. The Skins have to stay committed to Jason Campbell who is the future for Joe Gibbs and surprisingly Portis has stayed healthy throughout the season, but at 5-7 they only have pride to play for and I like them at home. Take the Skins and give the points. *Fantasy Impact: Adrian Peterson is the man in Chicago and should continue to put up numbers justifying a start. Portis can no doubt navigate the Bears run D and Chris Cooley should continue to be the first look for Campbell, all this said, you no doubt have to start the Bears D is you have them. In reality if you own any of these guys in the playoffs it is tough to start them, but fantasy rule #1 START YOUR STARTERS!
Sunday
Carolina
Jacksonville -10.5 37.5
Carolina finally broke that daunting winless at home streak and was lead by no other than 44 year old Vinny Testaverde. It did help that Trent Dilfer threw 4 INT’s one of which was returned for a TD. Now Carolina travels to Jacksonville where the Jags are hell bent on making the playoffs and narrowly beat out Indy in a nail bitter of a game. David Garrard was very efficient going 24 for 29 with 257 yds and 2 TD’s with only 1 INT. The Jags run defense kept Addai limited and kept the pressure on Manning, however the secondary was still suspect as Manning threw 4 TD’s and Reggie Wayne had 158 yds rec. This week I highly doubt that Carolina can contain the Jags offense while the Defense should have no trouble with Vinny(even though I will be rooting him). 10.5 points seem like alot, but at home the Jags are too tough, give the points. *Fantasy Impact: The Jags players are looking good Garrard is a great start, if you stuck it out with him throughout the whole injury ordeal. MJD is not that great, he was a total draft bust and add to the fact that Carolina held Gore to only 58 yds. Steve Smiff owners should be very concerned, but if Vinny watches the game tape he might be able to turn Smiff into a Reggie Wayne, but don’t get too excitied about it.
Tony Romo was all smiles last week as he put the whooping on his “supposed” idol Brett Favre and I will say it again, “The Cowboys are having way too much fun!” I mean they are no doubt the top team in the NFC and at their current pace should be able to lock up home field advantage. Romo went 19 for 30, 309 yards 4 TD’s and only 1 INT. Jon Kitna had a different outcome against the Viks and the return of Adrian Peterson. Kitna could only manage 260 yds in the air with only 1 TD against a less than noticed Vikings pass D. The Lions have turned themselves into a one sided pass offense which is ok against the Dallas D, but will not have enough fireworks going to beat the Cowboys. Although Dallas will no doubt win I really don’t like going against double digit dogs at home. The play is Detroit plus the points. *Fantasy Impact: All your Cowboys are good starts, the Detroit D has nothing going to make me think otherwise and if you had to choose between Marion Barber and Frank Gore, then Barber is definantly the play. If you own Detroit players and are in the playoffs then the Lions WR’s should have a decent game as well as Kevin Jones, if hes healthy, look the numbers the Pack players put up last week and you will know what I mean.
Boy was I wrong about John Beck, I thought he would be the guy to break the losing streak, but last week against the Jets he looked awful! 5 turnovers! plus add to the fact that there is really no one there to take the pressure off him and I gotta say I fell for the guy, he is the future of the team, but right now he is going through baptism by fire. Now he has to head to cold ass Buffalo and take on a D that has of late has been reinvigorated(but they still aren’t that great). Edwards is back in the saddle in Buffalo, but he still isn’t putting up the kind of numbers he needs to even start thinking about postseason. Marshawn Lynch is still hurt, (I think) and there is virtually nothing to get excitied about in Buffalo, at least this season. As bad as Miami is playing I have to go with the home team here and 7 points should be manageable for Edwards. *Fantasy Impact: I wouldn’t start any players from either of these teams and if your in the playoffs I highly doubt you have any of them.
NY Giants
Philadelphia -2.5 42.5
All the praise and high expectations were wiped away last week after he threw 3 picks and failed to cap a gaming winning drive by throwing a pick on the 5 yard line. This is good news for McScrub owners who probably wouldn’t be very many of you. Westbrook was surprising held, but then again the Seattle D has been stepping up lately. I think that the Giants are turning mediocre real fast and with Brandon Jacobs still a little iffy I don’t like their chances. Philly will no doubt get it together this week and grind on the Giants. The play is Philly, but not because they are good, but that the Giants are really bad and seem to set themselves up for sabotage continueosly. *Fantasy Impact: If your in the playoffs there is a really good chance you have Westbrook and thats a good thing this week. Brandon Jacobs is looking like he will be sidelined, but keep checking the injury report. Burress is always a starter and if McScrub starts and you have to choose between him and Kurt Warner, start Warner!
Favre is hurt as of this posting and although he is expected to start backup Aaron Rodgers proved last week against Dallas that he is up to the challenge should Favre get pulled. Oakland is coing off their second win in a roll and I’m sure they are feeling pretty good about themselves, but that could just very well be their undoing. McCown is not doing anything particularly spectacular and Fargas has been getting some favorable matchups against shabby run D’s. (What happened to Lamont Jordan?) I think the Pack are waay too tough in the pass game for the Oakland secondary to deal with and Fargas will not have that great a day against the stingy Pack run D, so the play here is the Pack at home, give the points. *Fantasy Impact: Ryan Grant had a decent day against the Dallas D and is now facing a really subpar Oakland run D so he should eat plenty. Do not start Favre if you can help it, if they get up by a couple TD’s then he will no doubt get pulled. The Packers D is a good start as well.
St. Louis
Cincinnati -6.5 47.5
Gus Frerotte lead the Rams to their first home win this season and even though it was against the ghastly Falcons it is progress. Stephen Jackson seems to be healthy and getting back to full form. Cincy really let me down last week and Palmer looked uncharacteristcally off target, not sure what his deal is. Frerotte has filled in nicely in Bulgers absense, but if Bulger is healthy then he gets the start which may take a new rythem to work correctly, so they could have another hiccup, this makes me think that Cincy gets it together this week and uses that home field advantage to roll on them. Take Cincy give the points. *Fantasy Impact: Chad Johnson has been getting more and more looks lately which sucks for TJ owners, but I guess he had to come around sooner or later, Rudi Johnson should get some good stats and hopefully for my sake and my playoff aspirations Carson Palmer has a huge day! S Jax, and Tory Holt are great plays against the Cincy D.
Pittsburgh
New England -10.5 50
It got real scary on Monday Night for all the Pats fans out there and personally I think there was a payoff in the mix somewhere, Gaffney clearly did not have possession of the ball in that last TD. Anyways, this is the second time in a row that NE has almost blew it and neither Baltimore nor Philly is the caliber of team that the Steelers are. Pitt is not really blowing teams out of the water, but they are playing solid and consistant football, basically they are getting the job done no matter what. Brady and Ross have been off balance lately and I think that since they became a pass only team the balance has been shaken, Maroney is a jabroney and even the little giant Welker is getting held up lately. All this and I have to say that the spread is waay too big, the Pats have won their last 2 games by a combined total of 7 points! The play is Pitt plus the points. *Fantasy Impact: If your in the playoffs then you undoubtedly have Brady so keep the faith that he will get it down, but the days of averaging 30+ fantasy points is over so pick your lineup accordingly, not to mention the Pitt D is no slouch. Willie Parker is a great play based on the success that McGahee enjoyed last week against a usually respected Pats run D.
San Diego is finally atop the West at 7-5, which is where they were supposed to be a long time ago, LT is finally getting the ball and Norv Turner has stopped trying to reinvent the wheel which is what was killing them earlier in the season. Rivers has stopped turning over the ball every chance he gets and is finally just doing enough to get the W. Young really came through last week for the Titans who were on kind of a skid lately. Lendale White finally had a ok game last week and now hes injured which sucks for me, but I really didn’t like his matchup against the San Diego D anyhow. If Young can keep finding Williams and Gage despite the tough Charger secondary then I think they can make a game of it, this could be one of those 30-31 games so the 1.5 points could come into play which would make the play the Titans at home. *Fantasy Impact: If your in the playoffs with these guys then keep starting them, Lendale White is looking hurt and he split carries with Chris Henry anyways so its assumable that Henry will get all the carries this week. For some strange reason I like Bo Scaife this week to have a more than decent game.
Who the hell is Luke McCown??? Throwing for over 300 yards and 2 TD’s in his debut, this guy is pretty good and when Ernest Graham steps up and plays and takes the pressure off him, the Bucs are looking really good. At 8-4 the Bucs playoff plans are looking inevitable, they are on fire and they are doing it with a bunch of backup guys! It almost makes me think of John Madden’s Raiders who won the big game with a bunch of guys that nobody wanted. Houston is still plauged by injuries and they need to finish strong to have something positive to look forward to next season, they have all the tools now they just need to keep the starters off the IR list and get some coheision going. I don’t see it happening this week and so I like the Bucs to continue their playoff run and roll on Houston. *Fantasy Impact: If you have been starting Graham keep doing it. Old man Galloway has decided to start playing again so he might be a good pickup if you can find him on the waiver wire. Your rolling the dice if you play Houston players, but at this point you might not have a choice.
Seattle has been playing tough lately with 2 wins in a row on the road, but they just can’t seem to put teams away which is scary considering that Dallas and Green Bay are in the same division. The defense is playing the best they have all season and even the run game which is normally criticized held Westbrook to under 100yds on the ground, and Lofa Tatupu is leading the defense on terrorizing opposing QB’s with INT’s. Alexander is back, but I think they should stick with Morris(he is the future). Arizona is all beat up, both Fitzy and Boldin are hurt and will most likely be ineffective this week, which means Kurt Warner will be spreading it out with no real ”go to” guy. Edge will most likely have to carry the load which is not good when playing in Seattle. Bottom line, Seattle is looking for revenge after losing to these scrubs eariler in the season and now are in the position to put the hurt on them. Seattle is the play, give the 7 points. *Fantasy Impact: Hackett is out for the season so Engram is the man, I just wish he would stop fumbling the damn ball, I lost my matchup last week by 1 point and guess what, every fumble is -2 points!!! Alexander will most likely get the start, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him split carries with Morris. I also really like the Seattle D at home, they have been great on the road. Kurt Warner is a tough start, but if you had to choose between him and Bulger then Warner is your man. Edge will also be limited.
Minnesota -8.5 39
San Francisco
Purple Jesus, what more can I say. Minnesota looks prime for a playoff run and it is something quite amazing seeing as who they don’t pass the ball. Adrian Peterson has recovered nicely and will lead a stoomping on the 9er’s this week who are so bad right now that it looks they don’t even want to be out on the field and I don’t blame them. The only thing I can think of to say is that Minnesota is not about to lose steam in San Fran and this should be treated as a tuneup game to get T Jackson more and more comfortable with the pass….baby steps. 8.5 is an unnatural number so buy it down to 8 and then relax, the buy down is just for insurance and it only costs an extra 10 cents. *Fantasy Impact: Don’t play anyone from San Fran, I don’t care if you have Gore. Peterson is huge this week in the playoffs and the Vikings D could break records!
Cleveland faultered last week against the Cards, but I don’t think it has much face value. They are still the feel good team of the year. Anderson will rebound and Lewis still takes the pressure off at the right moments. The Jets are coming off a win, but it was against the 0-11 Dolphins so I wouldn’t read too much into it. Thomas Jones finally came to play and Leon Washinton made more of a case for himself. Clemens didn’t do too bad and I think he is finally getting comfortable with the idea that he is the starter. The Jets season is over and Cleveland has way more to play for, that will alone give the Brownies the extra umff to get it done. Take Cleveland, give the points. *Fantasy Impact: You gotta start Anderson, Lewis, Edwards and Winslow, while on the other side I think that Leon Washington contiues to get goal line carries and vulture the TD’s from Jones. The Jets WR’s are all pretty banged up so I would stay away.
Niether of these teams are very good and both are plagued by injuries. I doubt this will be an explosive game and I foresee a ground and pound approach. Javon Walker is ready to play, but its tough to gauge his recovery, he hasn’t done much. Kolby Smith should enjoy limited resistance against the Denver D. The spread is this high for a couple reasons, Mile High, Cutler is better than Huard and the Broncos O line is better than the KC D line. the play is Denver. *Fantasy Impact: Travis Henry looks determined to no get suspended and is healthy so he will most likely be splitting carries with Selvin Young who is complaining about a sore elbow, but he will play. Stokley is still Cutlers #1 guy, but with the return of Walker its worth the gamble to start him, in my case I have no choice. Kolby Smith obviously, but I doubt you have him if your in the playoffs.
Sunday Night
Indianapolis -9.5 43.5
Baltimore
Baltimore is mad! They got robbed last week and I feel for them. Now its time to get back to business and play for the pride they have left, it can’t be easy playing the Pats on Monday and then follow it up with Indy on the short week. The Balt D played like they did when they were #1, but I don’t think that will last long. Indy got a scare from the jags last week and Addai was less then inspirational. I like Balt to win this one basically because I think Indy doesn’t want it bad enough. *Fantasy Impact: You have to start your starters and I’m sure you have plenty of them from Indy, they will have decent numbers, but nothing spectacular against this mean and angry Balt D looking for revenge.
Monday Night
This Saints gave up a tough loss at home and it was their defense that gave it away. Atlanta is absolutley horrible and the only signs of life seem to be Crumpler who was a big bust at the beginning of the season. This will be an ugly game no doubt, but the Saints have more talent which is the reason they will win and cover. *Fantasy Impact: I like the Saints running game this week so depending on how deep your league is Reggie Bush should eat and I like Brees to go for 300+ yds with a couple TD’s and as always a couple INT’s.
Not a GamblersPalace.com member yet? Click here for a FREE membership
Loading ...
Good call on Philly. The Vikes showed the way last week. Stuff the running game and force Manning to throw, then stand back and watch them implode.