Week 9 recap - Pt. 2

PATRIOTS 24: COLTS 20: Did this one live up to the hype? Yeah, I guess so. I don't feel any different, like it's been a life-changing experience or anything. But it was cool. Tom Brady still managed to pull three TDs out of his butt in a close battle, and the Pats' inevitable march into the history books continues. It took a Peyton Manning fourth-quarter fumble to seal the deal. ... Joseph Addai had an absolute whale of a game - 112 yards rushing, 114 yards receiving and a TD. Laurence Maroney, his counterpart and contemporary, had another disappointing day (59 yards), at least compared to what we were expecting out of him this season. On the other hand, you can't complain about the overachieving we've seen from Randy Moss and Wes Welker, who each added another TD catch to their 2007 stats.

COWBOYS 38, EAGLES 17: Isn't it weird how Terrell Owens played in his old stomping grounds in Philly, and we didn't really hear a peep about it in the national media this week? He did his best to get his share of the spotlight with 174 yards and a score as the 'Boys romped. They got pretty much everybody involved in the scoring action: Jason Witten, Marion Barber, Julius Jones, even star of stage and screen Tony Curtis all hit the end zone. And even in an awful offensive game for the Eagles, Brian Westbrook gave you your money's worth (155 total yards, TD). Always start him, I can't say it enough.

BROWNS 33, SEAHAWKS 30 (OT): Just when I was hyping up Derek Anderson and Cleveland's passing game, Jamal Lewis goes and busts out four TDs on the ground (and only 37 yards!). Our boy Derek did ring up 324 yards in the air, a bunch of those on his hook-ups with Kellen Winslow (125 yards). ... Seattle also did some aerial damage, with Matt Hasselbeck throwing for 318 and scores to Bobby Engram and D.J. Hackett. But that was because the Seahawks couldn't run - Shaun Alexander managed just 32 yards on 14 carries (an awful 2.3 average) before leaving with a knee injury. Alexander hasn't been right all year, and you almost want to say it might be best if he's done for the season now so you don't have to deal with starting him week after week and getting hardly anything in return. X-rays are pending, but start getting those Maurice Morris waiver claims in.

SAINTS 41, JAGUARS 24: I think it's safe to say the Saints are back. Hope you didn't give up on Drew Brees prematurely - all he did was zip his way to 445 yards and two TDs to Lance Moore and Hot Pickup David Patten. Good days for Reggie Bush (two TDs) and Marques Colston too (159 yards). ... And not a terrible game for Quinn Gray, at least fantasy-wise (354 yards, two TDs, three INTs), a huge bonus if you were desperate enough to start him. ... Forgettable performances by the Jags' RB tandem of Fred Taylor (54 yards) and Maurice Jones-Drew (28 yards). Unless of course your league allows individual return TDs to count, then you're thrilled about MJD's 100-yard scoring scamper on a kickoff.

REDSKINS 23, JETS 20 (OT): The Kellen Clemens era started well (23-for-42, 226 yards, one TD, zero INTs), except for the scoreboard. He's probably still not a good fantasy option, though, at least until Week 13 at Miami. ... Clinton Portis had the kind of game (196 yards, TD) you used to be afraid of every time you faced him. I guess we shouldn't spend too much time worrying about his durability for a while after this 36-carry effort. And even though Ladell Betts picked up 64 yards on nine carries, he's still bench fodder unless something unfortunate happens to Portis.

TEXANS 24, RAIDERS 17: If Brady and Manning played in "Super Bowl XLI 1/2," then just call this one "Super Bowl 1/2": Sage Rosenfels vs. Josh McCown, are you fired up yet?! I'm not even going there ... instead I'll talk about the running games. If you rolled the bye-week dice with either Justin Fargas (104 yards, TD) or Ron Dayne (122 yards, TD), you were handsomely rewarded. Ahman Green was hurting (eight carries, 28 yards) but scored a TD of his own. LaMont Jordan (four carries, 10 yards) is slipping into fantasy oblivion, and it's obvious he's not 100 percent.

Photos by The Associated Press.

Week 9 recap - Pt. 1

PACKERS 33, CHIEFS 22: Man, is that Brett Favre great or what? OK, he had a rough first half, but he got the job done (360 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs), tossing both scores to Greg Jennings. The big headline here for K.C. is Larry Johnson's foot injury. No word on the severity yet, but it could be time to grab Priest Holmes, who scored on a 2-point conversion run. More on that when we get some more info. ... Packers RB Ryan Grant was serviceable in his starting debut (19 carries, 55 yards; four catches, 37 yards). It helps that he's involved in the passing game on days like this when they can't run. ... Tough break for Donald Driver owners (99 yards) in leagues that give bonus points for 100-yard games). Don't you hate when that happens?


VIKINGS 35, CHARGERS 17: Holy crap! I know you started Adrian Peterson, but if anybody out there was expecting this, I give you kudos. The kid set the single-game rushing record with 296 yards, beating Jamal Lewis' old mark by a yard. I think this just settled it, I'm probably already moving Peterson up to the No. 2 slot on my 2008 running back rankings, right behind LaDainian Tomlinson. ... Speaking of LT, he was all the offense the Bolts had (Antonio Cromartie also returned a missed FG 109 yards for the longest scoring play in league history). In one of my leagues I played against a guy who started Philip Rivers, Antonio Gates and Chris Chambers and they combined for zero TDs. That made me smile. Pretty shocking performance against what had been a terrible pass defense.


BILLS 33, BENGALS 21: Lee Evans came up big as I had hoped (165 yards, TD), doing most of his damage in the first half. Then Marshawn Lynch led the way late, rushing for a score and throwing another one. He totaled 153 yards on the ground. I'd be looking forward to starting both those guys next week against Miami. ... More bad news for the Bungles: Chad Johnson had to be carted off the field after a hit. Sounds like a neck injury but nothing too serious. Still, it's not terrible news if you have T.J. Houshmandzadah, who scored again. Carson Palmer threw another one to Jeremi Johnson but Cincy couldn't do anything on the ground. Rudi Johnson and Kenny Watson had just 11 yards apiece, although Watson salvaged a decent day with 90 receiving yards. I don't really know what to make of this offense right now, and I'd be a little nervous about next week's game at Baltimore.


LIONS 44, BRONCOS 7: Pretty awful showing here by Denver, and hard to explain. They did essentially nothing except a meaningless Brandon Stokley TD in the waning moments. They also lost Jay Cutler to a lower leg injury and Travis Henry to a knee injury. Henry says his isn't serious, but no word yet on Cutler's. What a mess. Patrick Ramsey ... But anyway, how about those Lions? Their scorers weren't exactly who you'd expect (Mike Furrey, Shaun McDonald, TJ Duckett and two defensive scores). But Jon Kitna's prediction is looking pretty good right now, though the remaining schedule is pretty daunting.


FALCONS 20, 49ERS 16: No Frank Gore in this one, but we can't say it was much of a surprise. Those who spot-started Maurice Hicks (49 yards, TD) or Michael Robinson (67 yards) at least got something to show for it. ... Warrick Dunn toughed out a big day (27 carries, 100 yards, TD). Still waiting for backfield mate Jerious Norwood to get involved, though - six carries for 39 yards (6.5 per carry, compared to Dunn's 3.7). They also gave the ball to fullback Ovie Mughelli down at the goal line for a TD. It's getting frustrating if you stashed Norwood on your bench and thought he'd be getting more work by now.

BUCS 17, CARDINALS 10: Not a whole lot of surprises in this game. Jeff Garcia was efficient (18 for 28, 196 yards, TD, no INTs). Kurt Warner wasn't (10 for 30, 172 yards, 0 TDs, 2 INTs) against a decent D. Joey Galloway (84 yards, TD) is still a threat. Earnest Graham had a big day (124 yards, TD) but it helps that he got 34 carries as the Bucs held the ball for an amazing 43 minutes of possession. That also meant the Cards weren't running, which spelled doom for Edgerrin James (nine carries, 15 yards), although he did punch it into the end zone in the fourth quarter.

TITANS 20, PANTHERS 7: A pretty no-nonsense matchup here. The Titans are built on that time-tested philosophy of running the ball and stopping the run, and that's what they did here: Their guy, LenDale White rushed for 100 and a TD, while DeShaun Foster had a predictable 63-yard, no-TD effort, while DeAngelo Williams was basically a non-factor. That's LenDale's third straight C-note, for those counting at home. It's also Steve Smith's second straight game of fewer than 20 receiving yards. You have David Carr (15 for 27, 107 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) to thank for that. I actually thought Carr could succeed if pressed into duty this year - what was I thinking?

Week 9 Start/sit

START

It’s been nothing but bad news for Travis Henry lately, but finally here’s something to get excited about: His drug suspension appeal hearing has been pushed back, he’s probable this week, and he’s playing the Lions. I see him and Denver having a big day on offense.

On defense, it’s a different story for the Broncos. The Lions’ Kevin Jones is in a groove (105 yards last week, four TDs in past five games), and Denver’s downtrodden run D won’t be able to stop him.

Can’t believe I’m saying this after how he looked at the start of the year, but Lee Evans is sizzling right now (236 yards, two TDs in his past two games) and could hook up with buddy JP Losman for a bomb or two against the Bengals.


SIT

I find it hard to justify starting a WR a week after he had zero catches, so I’d hesitate to play Vincent Jackson. Granted, the Chargers probably won’t have a lot of trouble passing on the Vikings, but you saw what happened last Sunday. Jackson’s fourth in the pecking order behind LaDainian Tomlinson, Antonio Gates and Chris Chambers.

Frank Gore has been a shell of his ’06 self, and when you factor in his gimpy ankle and his status as a game-time decision, you might want to look elsewhere, even though Atlanta is a pretty appetizing foe.

DeShaun Foster has been getting right around 60 yards a game lately, and although he scored last week, the Titans, owners of the NFL’s top-ranked rushing defense, haven’t allowed a TD on the ground since Reggie Bush scored twice in Week 3.

Pats-Colts: Must-see TV

This could be the greatest football game ever.

OK, maybe we're getting ahead of ourselves, as we so often do in this era of hype. Sunday's Indianapolis Colts-New England Patriots game has a long way to go before it replaces the 1958 NFL Championship or the Ice Bowl, but it at least looks like the most intriguing regular season matchup of 2007.

The two juggernauts are in the midst of a budding rivalry and seem to be the class of the NFL. They're also both putting undefeated records on the line, something you just don't see too often at this point in the season. I'm guessing the TV ratings for this game should be just a tad better than they were for the World Series.

It won't just be Colts and Pats fans and degenerate gamblers watching, either. If you play fantasy football, there's a good chance you or your opponent will have at least one player taking part Sunday, and a lot of matchups are going to be decided by what goes down at the RCA Dome.

With that in mind, let's break this one down from a fantasy perspective:

QUARTERBACKS

These two lads get all the headlines, and deservedly so. Peyton Manning's been a fantasy stud for years, and Tom Brady is a clear-cut MVP choice - in fantasy and real life - at the season's midway point. (Manning has a big edge as an SNL host, however.) It's interesting to note, however, what they did in two head-to-head showdowns last year: Manning finally exorcised his New England demons, throwing for more than 300 yards and three total TDs en route to his first Super Bowl title, while Brady threw for just one score and five interceptions in two losses.

It's hard to imagine Brady being that bad again, especially with the superhuman roll he's been on, but Indy's pass defense has allowed just 165 yards a game and five touchdowns this season, both tops in the league. New England isn't that far behind at 181 passing yards a game but has surrendered 10 TDs through the air. You simply must start both QBs, but a four-TD blitz might be hard to come by for either guy.





RECEIVERS

The league's two best WR corps will be on display. New England's Wes Welker (five TDs in the past three games) is getting steady looks and is an obvious start, as is Randy Moss, who's scored in all but one game this year. Donte' Stallworth is a risky play, as always, but he's had a couple notable outbursts this year and isn't a bad speculative play.

Marvin Harrison hasn't been his usual studly self because of a knee injury, but word is he sat out last weekend at Carolina to heal up for this game, so start him if he's active. Reggie Wayne should be in your lineup regardless, while rookie Anthony Gonzalez has done nothing of note yet and should be benched.

RUNNING BACKS

If you Joseph Addai owners were worried about his health and the emergence of Kenton Keith, last week's three-TD effort should have you sleeping soundly. The Patriots' D (86 rushing yards a game) will present a challenge, but Addai is clearly the go-to guy on the ground.

Laurence Maroney hasn't filled up the stat sheet like many expected (zero TDs), and Indy is no longer a pushover against the run (107 yards a game). He's a good No. 2 fantasy option but no slam-dunk.

TIGHT ENDS

Dallas Clark is a top-five fantasy tight end and a great option this week. The Pats' Benjamin Watson isn't far behind, but he's been hampered by a high ankle sprain, so veteran Kyle Brady could be a decent plug-and-play. Unfortunately, linebacker Mike Vrabel (10 career catches, 10 TDs) isn't available in most leagues.

Hot pickups - Week 9

RB Ryan Grant, Green Bay Packers: The Pack’s played musical chairs with its running back situation, but newcomer Grant seems to have found his place with 22 carries for 104 yards against the Broncos on Monday night. Granted, Denver’s run defense can’t stop anybody, but Mike McCarthy basically named Grant the starter after the game. You can’t pass up somebody like that, especially if you’re thin at RB. FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)

RB Selvin Young, Denver Broncos: He's been on savvy fantasy players' minds since the start of the season simply because of Denver's habit of making RB chumps into champs. He's become an even hotter commodity in recent weeks with Travis Henry battling injuries and staring at a possible drug suspension. We got our first glimpse Monday at what a Young-led Broncos backfield might look like with Henry on the bench, and it was good: 124 total yards for the rookie from Texas, plus another 48-yard run that was called back on a holding penalty. If for some reason Young hasn't already been scooped up in your league, now is the time to act. FOUR STARS

RB Adimchinobe Echemandu, Houston Texans: Houston's been through as many running backs lately as there are letters in good ol' Adi's name. If you haven't already heard of him (and let's face it, why would you have?) Echemandu, a fourth-year player from Nigeria (by way of Cal) was just picked up off the practice squad to replace former fantasy flame and fellow Nigerian Samkon Gado, who was cut. Echemandu was called to duty last week against the Chargers with Ahman Green still rubbing Bengay on his creaky knees. He busted out 62 yards on 11 carries in San Diego and caught two passes for 11 yards - nothing earth-shattering, but it's as good as anything Green and Ron Dayne have done lately, and it's a surprising amount of work for a guy who up until a week earlier had been a glorified tackling dummy. Echemandu did "tweak" his knee during last Sunday's game but was able to play through the injury and has already practiced this week. If Green's still out this Sunday against Oakland there's a decent chance Echemandu will at least get half the carries and perhaps beat out Dayne altogether for No. 2 on the depth chart. That's reason enough to give him a look in deep leagues. THREE STARS




QB Kellen Clemens, New York Jets: The Gang Green faithful have been calling this kid's name since the preseason, and they finally get their wish this Sunday, with Clemens officially being named the starter against Washington and Chad Pennington headed for the bench. The second-year signal-caller from Oregon is still a little, uh, green, but has at least one major advantage over Pennington: a big-league arm. He's also got two nice targets to work with (Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery), though it has yet to be seen if he's ready to take advantage of them. I wouldn't recommend starting him this week against a red-faced Redskins defense that just got taken to the woodshed by New England, but Clemens is an interesting long-term prospect, and he does have some attractive matchups (at Miami, Cleveland) on the schedule in December. THREE STARS

WR David Patten, New Orleans Saints: The former Patriot seems to have secured the Saints' No. 2 receiver slot. Patten caught five passes for 109 yards in Sunday's win over San Francisco, his second 100-yard output in three games. Make no mistake, the much bigger and younger Marques Colston is still the team's top red zone target, but Patten seems to have distanced himself from Devery Henderson and Lance Moore when it comes to getting more consistent looks, and with Drew Brees looking more and more like the stud he was last year, that's good enough. THREE STARS

Photo by The Associated Press