It was one of those home field advantage weekends where almost all (only 2 road teams won) the home teams won. Teams that surprised this week were Tennessee keeping it very close and shutting out the Colts in the first half. The Washington Redskins for only generating 3 points against a questionable Giants defense. The Jets and Chad Pennington for not being able to score a point in Jacksonville and throwing 3 picks while at it. Pittsburgh for being 1-3 after 4 games this season and New Orleans once again for being the most pleasant surprise at 4-1.
Off to the game capsules:
Detroit 17 @ Minnesota 26
After losing 2 tough games you knew Minnesota was going to win, didn’t you? Travis Taylor is now getting the receptions and TD’s and may be Brad’s most consistent target. Chester Taylor is also turning into a decent weekly play as this team is committed to the run. Makes you wonder where this philosophy was in Philly when Childress was the OC there – unless he really wasn’t calling the plays. Detroit is just pressing too much and Kitna has 6 INTs in the last 2 weeks, while Kevin Jones went back into fantasy hibernation. Kitna may be getting the calls to be benched soon in favor of McCown so keep an ear out for it. Roy Williams was injured after his 1 catch for 7 yard performance. Will Detroit get a win this year or are they going for the #1 pick – and if they do – please don’t let Matt Millen make the pick.
Tennessee 13 @ Indianapolis 14
This was a close call for the Colts. Is it me or does every team outside of Dallas seem to struggle with the Titans? The Colts were losing at half time and in what should have been a fantasy feast for the Indy squad on their home turf ended up being a come from behind victory. Manning only passed for 166 yards and had an interception, but redeemed himself with 2 TD’s. Harrison and Wayne each had a TD, but only 3 grabs each. Rhodes was the main back this week with 20 carries to Addai’s 13. Tennessee is playing better, but not doing enough to win. Young is a far reach from a fantasy prospect throwing for 63 yards and a pick, but showed value running for 43 qand a TD. Tennessee does get Houston in a few weeks so maybe they can find a win, other than that it may be tough.
St. Louis 23 @ Green Bay 20
Another close game made that way by a 46 yard Favre pass to Jennings late in the fourth quarter. If Driver was at 100% the outcome may have been different. Noah Herron was the surprise in this game for the Packers rushing for 106 yards and a TD and catching 5 more balls for 20 yards. I guess Herron is the one to have versus Morency when Green is out. For the Rams, Stephen Jackson did not score and was 2 yards shy of 100 rushing yards. Torry Holt found the end zone and so did Kevin Curtis, but Bruce only had 23 receiving yards in the win.
 
Buffalo 7 @ Chicago 40
Chicago is the NFC team to beat and they will be as it appears that they have an easy road to home field advantage in the playoffs. Their defense is stifling and the offense is clicking with Grossman, who tossed 2 TD’s yesterday. Cedric Benson has now also appeared back on the fantasy radar with 2 TD’s of his own; Jones had the bulk of the carries though. Berrian had 97 yards and a TD and Rasheed Davis had a TD as well. The Chicago defense sent J. P. Losman back to NFL pre-school by picking him off 3 times. The Buffalo D which was playing good was torched for 40 points in this game and were sent home wondering. Lee Evans was the main bright spot as one of 3 targets on the day and taking 94 receiving yards and the lone TD of Losman’s total of 115 yard 1 TD and 3 INT day. McGahee was a respectable 50 yards on 14 carries, but nothing that make a fantasy owner happy.
Cleveland 12 @ Carolina 20
Keyshawn Johnson had the lone passing TD in this contest with the other one coming from an int return for Carolina. Steve Smith had 6 catches for 62 yards and DeShaun Foster rang up 106 rushing yards. Carolina seems headed back in the right direction after opening the season 0-2 – so when Steve Smith plays they win. Cleveland was able to kick well. That is about where it begins and ends. Frye threw 2 INT’s and fumbled the ball away once. Droughts could only muster 65 rushing yards and Winslow was the main target having 8 catches for 55 yards. Cleveland has a decent defense, but the offense does not generate enough to keep them off the field and therefore they lose the games. The Oakland win may be the only one for them at this rate.
Washington 3 @ N.Y. Giants 19
Washington is again playing Jekyll and Hyde. Brunell was unable to follow up his great performance in Jacksonville last week and only threw for 106 yards, which means that Moss saw his chances for numbers die as well. The Giants D has been soft for the season, but perhaps they fixed some issues in the bye week. Portis had 76 yards rushing on 19 carries in the game. The Giants had a big performance from Tiki Barber rushing for 123 yards and Eli did his part playing well throwing 1 TD and 256 yards with no turnovers. Shockey disappointed but Burress asserted himself with 7 grabs for 69 yards and a score.
 
Tampa Bay 21 @ New Orleans 24
Joey Galloway is alive and well and living in Tampa Bay. He had 110 yards receiving and a TD and the Cadillac was cruising with 111 yards, but the real story was Bruce Gradkowski filling in for Simms throwing for 221 yards and 2 TD with no INT’s although he did fumble it. This looked like it was going to be a win for the Bucs when a punt late in the 4th quarter landed in Reggie Bush’s hands and 65 yards later it was 6 for New Orleans and that is where the Saints improved to 4-1 on the season. Deuce MCAllister had a great day rushing for 123 yards and a TD and Reggie Bush had 11 catches for 63 yards, Brees was OK throwing for 1 TD and only 171 yards. The year of surprise is alive and well in New Orleans.
Miami 10 @ New England 20
Miami’s defense played well, but their offense, led on this day by Joey Harrington let them down again. Sure Harrington threw for 262 yards and completed more than 50% of his passes, but he threw 2 INT’s. He brought McMichael back to life with 84 yards and 7 catches, but Chambers continues to languish in mediocrity with 5 catches for 29 yards, Welker on the other hand seems to steadily be gaining momentum and seems to be the #2 WR with Booker injured now. Ronine Brown scored, fumbled and had 39 yards rushing. New England just gets it done. Maroney had more carries on this day 18 to 10, but Dillon had more yards 45 to 38. The guard is changing and Maroney is on the proper side to support. Tom Brady was mediocre, but managed 2 TD’s with his 140 yards passing. Troy Brown had 58 yards receiving and a TD. Ben Watson chipped in with 33 yards on 4 catches.
Oakland 20 @ San Francisco 34
Another chance to win squandered by Oakland as their 2 quarterbacks were responsible for turning the ball over 5 times. LaMont Jordan did OK considering they were behind with 71 yards on 12 carries, Justin Fargas kicked in 63 more yards on 8 carries. Randy Moss had his name called again with a TD pass and 53 yards receiving, but Ronald Curry had 94 yards on 4 catches. San Francisco continued its up and down season of offense this week by bouncing back with Frank Gore rumbling for 134 yards running and 38 receiving but no end zone fun. Alex Smith had 3 TD’s and an INT on 165 yards passing. Arnaz Battle had 2 TD grabs and 37 yards receiving, Bryant only had 27 yards receiving.
N. Y. Jets 0 @ Jacksonville 41
This was probably one of the Jets and Chad Pennington’s worst days. Jacksonville scored early and often running at will. Fred Taylor had 111 yards and a TD, Jones-Drew had 59 yards and 2 TD’s. Leftwich was not accurate, but threw for 140 yards and 2 TD’s with no picks. Reggie Williams is the main target with Jones out grabbing a TD and 53 yards; Wilford is a has been at this point and should be dropped. The Jets main weapon was Leon Washington who rushed for 101 yards on 23 carries. Pennington had only 71 yards passing and left little fantasy value to the WR’s with Cotchery getting 49 of those yards. Coles only had 19.
Kansas City 23 @ Arizona 20
Leinart had a nice debut for Arizona leading them to 2 quick first quarter scores, he threw for 253 yards and 2 TD’s with one INT. This game was looking like an Arizona upset until Larry Fitzgerald was injured – keep an eye on this one. Bryant Johnson replaced him and had 82 yards on 6 catches. Anquan Boldin had a TD and 71 yards, James ran for 71 yards and caught for 44 more. Damon Huard played well again throwing for 288 yards and 2 scores. Latty Johnson was the main target with 106 yards receiving and a TD and added another 36 on the ground. Samie Parker had the other TD and 5 catches for 37 yards, Kennison had 4 grabs for 48. The Chiefs have weathered the Trent Green storm so far by getting back to .500 with Damon Huard. Gonzalez has been bad, but Johnson is paying dividends for drafting him.
Dallas 24 @ Philadelphia 38
The return of T.O. Dallas was allowed to hang in the game so long that they were driving for a tie when the pass was picked off in the end zone by Eagles cornerback Lito Sheppard and returned 102 yards for the TD. Owens only had 3 grabs for 45 yards and was seen complaining on the sideline all game. He was also seen short arming a pattern over the middle. Bledsoe did run a TD in, but fumbled the ball away one time and threw three picks. Glenn led the receivers with 61 yards and Julius Jones quietly had a decent outing getting to 100 yards on the ground and 22 more from receiving. McNabb does not seem to have a bad game in him this year. He threw for 354 yards and 2 TD’s and ran another in. The Eagles did not run well – only 52 yards on the day, not that that is new, but it does cause issues at the end of games not being able to control the clock. Westbrook did score on the ground and had 33 rushing yards and another 53 yards in the air. Hank Baskett played for Stallworth and had a good day catching 3 balls for 112 and a TD, Reggie Brown also had a TD with 79 yards on 4 catches.
Pittsburgh 13 @ San Diego 23
Pittsburgh looked like they would have the game in the first quarter limiting Tomlinson to -2 yards and getting up 10-0 early. Even aftert he bye week “Woe”thlisberger tossed another 2 picks against a tough San Diego D and not TD’s. Hines Ward had 4 grabs for 49 yards and Willie Parker had 57 yards rushing with a TD and another 26 receiving. He was the only fantasy plus for Pittsburgh. San Diego saw a bit of a break out game from Rivers as he threw for 242 yards and 2 TD’s with 1 INT. Eric Parker caught 5 passes for 86 yards and Antonio Gates was running routes again getting a TD and 55 yards. The disturbing stat for Tomlinson owners is this one 13 carries for 36 yards and Michael Turner had 11 carries for 56 yards. Does that seem right? Is this a RBBC now? Tomlinson did have 8 catches for 34 more yards, but is this a signal that his time is done? We will find out next week against San Francisco for sure.
 
Monday Night Game:
Baltimore @ Denver
Monday night football sees the undefeated Ravens traveling to Denver to play the confusing Broncos. The Ravens D will try to pen in Tatum Bell and control Javon Walker so look for Rod Smith to have a decent night and expect it to be a kicker duel featuring 2 of the best. McNair should try to play more than 2 minutes in this game, but do not expect much out of the running game and look for McNair to air it out to win the game. F the Broncos can keep the score down they may have a shot late in Denver with the thin air, but I think their play in New England was flukey.
Prediction: Ravens 23 - Broncos 17
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