Week 7 Recap

SEAHAWKS 33, RAMS 6: Nothing to say about St. Louis here except yuck. Perhaps Randy McMichael put it best: "Right now I am embarrassed to be a (Ram). It is pathetic." Marc Bulger's return really didn't make much of a difference. The only thing St. Louis can hang its hat on is the pending return of Steven Jackson, and what better way to turn things around than by running wild against the Browns in Week 8? We can dream, can't we? ... It wouldn't hurt Shaun Alexander (19 carries, 47 yards) to make like Emeril and turn it up a notch either. He didn't get outrushed by Leonard Weaver this time, but ol' Maurice Morris (10 carries, 42 yards) wasn't far behind.

GIANTS 33, 49ERS 15: The New York defense had a big game as I thought they would against Trent Dilfer and a banged-up Niners line. Frank Gore had another blah day (88 yards) - I'm really not happy with him, or how they're using him, this year. Remember, this is a guy who was the league's leading rusher last year, and he hasn't cracked 90 in a game yet. For the Giants, they do have three competent runners (Brandon Jacobs, Reuben Droughns, Derrick Ward), but make no mistake, Jacobs is the leader of the pack: 107 yards and a TD for the big guy.

TITANS 38, TEXANS 36: This was actually a pretty crazy game, with Tennessee leading 32-7 entering the fourth quarter, Houston storming back to tie it in the final minute, and Kerry Collins leading the Titans on a game-winning drive. Rob Bironas made eight FGs in this game, setting an NFL record, so congrats if you started him - if you get 26 points from your kicker, you should usually win. Collins wasn't anything special, fantasy-wise, in a spot start for Vince Young, but Sage Rosenfels (four TDs) was after he replaced Matt Schaub.

PATRIOTS 49, DOLPHINS 28: Tom Brady makes me gag. SIX TD passes for the Chosen One today. Of course he spread them out (two to Randy Moss, two to Wes Welker, one to Donte' Stallworth, one to Kyle Brady of all people). Does this dude ever stub his toe or forget to zip up his fly, or is every aspect of his life perfect? The Pats didn't have much of a running game, even with Laurence Maroney returning, but it didn't really matter. The Dolphins had three rushing TDs - by Cleo Lemon, Jesse Chatman and Patrick Cobbs, if you Ronnie Brown owners were wondering. Brown's now out for the season (more on that later) - as if things couldn't get any worse for the Fins.

BILLS 19, RAVENS 14: Willis McGahee had a succesful return to Buffalo (114 yards, first TD of the season), but it was the Bills who had the last laugh. Marshawn Lynch (84 yards, TD) almost matched him on eight more carries. Lee Evans even did something (five catches, 98 yards), but his QB, Trent Edwards, was nothing more than adequate, so I'm not exactly buying it.

COWBOYS 24, VIKINGS 14: Tony Romo was good enough (31 for 39, 277 yards, 1 TD), certainly better than Tarvaris Jackson. Patrick Crayton didn't get involved much (two catches, 19 yards), but I guess it's a trade-off, because Terrell Owens (103 yards, TD) and Jason Witten (10 catches, 86 yards) did. And Marion Barber even hit paydirt against a stiff Vikings D. Adrian Peterson (63 yards, TD) was really all the Vikes had going on offense, which doesn't say much. He only managed about a fourth of last week's yardage - still not bad though.

LIONS 23, BUCS 16: If you had to pick one Buc to have a breakout game against the Lions' D, who would you pick? Joey Galloway? Nope, a very ordinary five catches for 56 yards. Ike Hilliard? He was good like I thought he would be (92 yards, TD) against that weak passing defense. But there was somebody better: Earnest Graham. Nineteen rushes for 92 yards, and, get this, 13 catches for 99 yards. Think he wants to give up that starting job to Michael Bennett? Doesn't look like it. For Detroit, Kevin Jones (15 carries, 76 yards, TD) and T.J. Duckett (four carries, 30 yards) basically shut the door on Tatum Bell (zero carries) doing anything useful from here on out. Think he's steaming right now after not getting traded at the deadline? Oh, and Jon Kitna didn't even throw for a TD in this one. Thanks a bunch.

SAINTS 22, FALCONS 16: Drew Brees (two TDs) is back everbody! Start him next week against San Fran. Reggie Bush finally made a play, bullying his way into the end zone for a key TD and salvaging a decent fantasy day. Byron Leftwich and Joey Harrington were both just OK against a poor Saints passing D. Roddy White was the main recipient (110 yards, TD). And you started the Saints' Pierre Thomas (28 rushing yards, TD) right?

REDSKINS 21, CARDINALS 19: Kurt Warner started after all, throwing two TDs, both to Anquan Boldin. Clinton Portis bullied his way to two TDs, and Ladell Betts (three carries, 12 yards) still isn't seeing the field. Jason Campbell (12 for 18, 95 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT) really wasn't helpful at all.


BENGALS 38, JETS 31: Somebody stop Kenny Watson! He rumbled his way to 130 yards and three TDs while subbing for Rudi Johnson. Not bad - in fact, that's better than anything old Rudi's done in a long time. It's weird, I was at Penn State around the same time as this guy and I have little-to-no recollection of him as a player, let alone an NFL player, yet he's stuck around the league for six years now. ... Laveranues Coles was a rare bright spot for the Jets (eight catches, 133 yards, two TDs) - I'm kicking myself for not starting him in one of my leagues. I know the Bengals' pass D is tissue-thin, but Coles had ONE catch last week. I thought I had a better option, but I should have known better.

CHIEFS 12, RAIDERS 10: Wow, a real barnburner in this one huh? My favorable forecast for Larry Johnson was spot on: 112 yards, TD against his own personal doormat, Oakland. Priest Holmes is back, but he's not exactly scaring me if I own Johnson. Good to see the old guy still breathing though.

BEARS 19, EAGLES 16: This was a battle of field goals until the fourth quarter, with Donovan McNabb hitting Matt Schoebel for a TD and Brian Griese returning the favor, hooking up with Muhsin Muhammad for the game-winner. Is it time to take notice of Griese after another 300-yard day? Perhaps. He does get the Lions next week, which is enticing .... Cedric Benson better do something in that game, too, because my patience is wearing thin, and so is the Bears'.

Photos courtesy of The Associated Press.

Week 7 start/sit

START

The New York Giants defense is full of sack machines, and the Niners have allowed 18 of those this year. Oh, and Trent Dilfer is starting at QB.

Carson Palmer apologized to his team for his disappointing play. He's still one of the top fantasy options out there, a guy you use every week no matter when - especially when he's playing the Jets.

Speaking of the Jets, Thomas Jones finally showed a pulse last week against the Eagles, and the Bengals D can be run on.

Larry Johnson is an obvious start against the Raiders. He's averaged over 100 yards in six career games against Oakland with nine TDs. Gotta be feeling good about LJ right now.

Patrick Crayton has four TDs in his past three games. He'll get another one against the Vikings, who have some difficulty against the pass (see Brian Griese last week).

SIT

On the other hand, Minnesota hasn't allowed a rushing TD all season. Not great news for Marion Barber or Julius Jones.

Jay Cutler hasn't lived up to the fantasy hype this season. Pittsburgh's D is no joke, the Broncos' O-line is banged up, and Cutler will be without the services of Javon Walker again.

Granted, Lee Evans did somehow torch the Ravens last year (145 yards, TD). But this is 2007, Evans has done nothing this year to give you any confidence in him, and Trent Edwards is in at QB for the Bills. And it's still the Ravens D.

There's a slim chance Rudi Johnson might play against the Jets, but I try to avoid those game-time decisions whenever I can. Even if Rudi suits up, he only got eight carries (for six yards) last week, so it's hard to expect much out of him. If you're really in a pinch, try Kenny Watson (55 yards and 68 yards the past two weeks).

LJ Smith has been maddening this year. He finally played last week after missing two games, caught one pass for eight yards, and is hurt again and doubtful this week. I wasn't very high on him to begin with this season but figured he was at least worth owning. Not anymore.

HOT PICKUPS - Week 7

RB Michael Bennett, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Bennett, acquired at the trading deadline from the Chiefs, is the kind of explosive runner the Bucs haven't had in a while and thought they needed now that Cadillac Williams and Michael Pittman have been sidelined. Pittman is a former sprinting champion and 1,000-yard rusher, but he's also been a bit of a journeyman lately. I believe eventually he's going to take the starting job in Tampa and relegate Earnest Graham to a short-yardage role, but that might take a while. Pittman recently compared learning to the West Coast offense to "learning Chinese." There may be some truth to that, but it's probably not a good sign that the Lions' Roy Williams, while he was slamming former teammate Jeff Garcia this week, said his 2-year-old understands the West Coast offense. Hmm. FOUR STARS (out of five).

RB Kevin Faulk, New England Patriots: Those who've been relying on a little Sammy Morris magic need to pick up this guy now that Morris has a chest injury and could be out for up to a month. Laurence Maroney (groin) might be back this week - or the secretive Pats might have had him "disappeared" for all we know. And Faulk may lose goal-line chances to Heath Evans or Kevan Barlow (brought in off the street for a workout this week) or, heck, the Pats may put Junior Seau in the backfield for all we know. Still, Faulk is a great speculative play this week against the awful Dolphins. FOUR STARS

WR Kevin Walter, Houston Texans: Walter had a huge day last Sunday out of nowhere against the Jaguars (12 catches, 160 yards) and now faces the division-rival Titans, who are susceptible against the pass. He's a risky play, as fellow wideouts Andre Davis or Jacoby Jones could be the flavor of the week for the Texans, but as long as stud Andre Johnson remains out, there are passes to go around. THREE STARS

WR Ike Hilliard, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Hilliard's shown a bit of a rapport with fellow geezer Jeff Garcia and has been a fairly steady target all year. Of course fellow senior Joey Galloway is the home-run threat in this offense, but Hilliard's held off youngsters Michael Clayton (who had a movie made about him) and Maurice Stovall for the No. 2 WR slot. I like Hilliard as a bye-week fill-in against the Lions (263 passing yards a game, 10 TDs). THREE STARS.

QB Vinny Testaverde, Carolina Panthers: Testaverde was kind of impressive last week, coming in off the street, throwing a TD bomb to Steve Smith and leading the Panthers to victory. It's impressive just to see a 43-year-old non-kicker out there running around. But before you go adding him, realize this guy played in college with Michael Irvin. Yes, the same Irvin who's been retired since 1999. Vinny used to backup Steve DeBerg. He could be most of his teammates' father. He might be good for about one TD to Smith a game. If that excites you, be my guest. TWO STARS

QB Tim Rattay, Arizona Cardinals: No thanks. ONE STAR