Lance Moore continues to thrive with Marques Colston out and I think he’ll still be roster worthy when Colston returns next week…If Ryan Fitzpatrick continues to start for Cincy, it’s okay to bench Housh and Ocho Cinco…Roddy White (9-112-1) is turning into a stud right before our eyes…Andre Johnson (10-178-1) has re-entered must-start territory…Marvin Harrison (3-83-2) rewarded loyal fantasy owners with a nice game against a good defense…Bernard Berrian (5-131-1) continues to thrive with Gus Frerotte under center. He’s in WR2/WR3 territory and should be started against mediocre or bad defenses…Torry Holt (5-23) didn’t have as good of a game as I expected, but the Rams looked a lot better as a whole…Santana Moss had a goose egg last week and went just 2-22 this week. He’s losing that consistency that made him great earlier in the season…Patrick Crayton (3-84-1) should be rostered. After a rough start, he has played pretty well over the last three weeks…None of the Seattle wideouts look like decent starts with Matt Hasselbeck out…Vincent Jackson (5-134-1) is a starter worthy wideout with Chris Chambers out of the lineup.
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It’s clear that RB2 duties in New Orleans belong to Deuce McAllister (15 touches, 72 yards). Pierre Thomas saw just three carries (for 18 yards)…The Raiders split touches between Justin Fargas (10 touches, 35 yards) and Darren McFadden (8 touches, 30 yards). Michael Bush saw just four touches (for 13 yards). This appears to be the plan when all three backs are (reasonably) healthy…Thomas Jones (20 touches, 78 yards, 3 TD) finally had a big game, but it’s doubtful that too many fantasy owners were starting him. I like Jones, but the Jets love to throw at the goal line…Chris Perry (13 carries, 14 yards) is playing dreadful football. He failed to score from inside the three yard line and dropped an easy catch…For a guy who’s averaging 5.6 yards a carry, Earnest Graham (5 carries, 11 yards, TD) sure doesn’t get a lot of work. The Bucs were running him at fullback for most of the game…Michael Turner (25 carries, 54 yards) put in another disappointing performance against a good defense. At least he’s predictable…The Baltimore running game was a huge disappointment against a bad Colts rush defense. Willis McGahee got knocked out of the game and his backup, LeRon McClain, only managed three carries (and fumbled once)…Maurice Jones-Drew (24 touches, 148 yards, 2 TD) capitalized on a Fred Taylor injury to post some big numbers. That’s just a glimpse of what he’ll do once Taylor finally retires…Correll Buckhalter (25 touches, 178 yards, TD) looked like Brian Westbrook, Jr…Ryan Grant (33 carries, 90 yards) looked a little better, but still failed to break off any big runs. The holes just aren’t there at the point of attack.
Matt Ryan (301 yards, TD) looks like the real deal. It’s rare for rookie QBs to have this kind of success, and when they do, it’s a great sign for things to come…Marc Bulger (136 yards, 0 TD) didn’t shine in his first start since being benched two weeks ago. He’s just backup fodder at this point…David Garrard (276 yards, TD) is looking much better over the last three games and is working his way back into fantasy starter territory…Aaron Rodgers (208 yards, 2 pass TD, rush TD) continues to put up good fantasy numbers. Despite the sore shoulder, he threw a strike downfield to Greg Jennings for a TD…Phillip Rivers (306 yards, 3 TD) threw for three TD for the fourth time in six games this season and has developed into an every week starter…Matt Cassel (203 yards, INT) hasn’t thrown more than one TD in any game this season.
It was amazing to watch the Patriots play the Chargers on Sunday night. New England is a completely different team without Tom Brady under center. And while that’s not an earth-shattering revelation, it’s something that shouldn’t be downplayed as much as it has at this point in the season.
This was a team that went 16-0 last year and outside of a few close calls, it steamrolled opponents on a weekly basis. Had they beaten the Giants in the Super Bowl, an argument could have been made that the 2007 New England Patriots were the greatest team in NFL history.
But as evidence by San Diego’s 30-10 rout on Sunday night, the Patriots are falling incredibly fast from their high perch. Even at 3-2, they’re not true postseason contenders. Not with Matt Cassel under center. And that’s not a knock on Cassel per se – it’s just reality. He’s an inexperienced player trying to lead an experienced team that is so used to having their quarterback know where he’s going to throw on every play and relying on him to make plays when things go haywire.
Without Brady, teams don’t fear the Patriots like they did last year. They don’t respect they’re swagger anymore and with each loss, you know Randy Moss is itching closer and closer to tanking it. It appears that not even Bill Belichick can save this team and it’s hard to hold that against him considering he doesn’t have his quarterback.
New England’s players and coaches have done a nice job trying to convince everybody that they’re fine without Brady – that they can win just as they did last year. But with Denver, Indianapolis, Buffalo and the Jets coming up over the next month and a half, the Patriots have a tough road to stay in the playoff hunt. Save for a Matt Cassel breakout performance, this team is in major trouble. And it’s amazing how fast a team can fall from grace after losing just one player. Even if that player is Tom Brady.
Irrelevant side note that means nothing: It was funny to hear Al Michaels essentially make a reference to gambling at the end of the game. The Patriots called a timeout so that they could run one more play in the red zone with two seconds remaining and while the game was already in the books with the Chargers up 30-10, Michaels noted that, “there are a few people very interested in this play here.”
Michaels said that because the over/under on the game was 45. Had the Patriots scored a touchdown, the total would have gone over. The only reason why his comments were interesting because the media is usually so hush-hush about the world of gambling. Maybe Al had some T.J. Duckett’s riding on the under? Al…you dog you.
With a roster that includes Tony Romo, Terrell Owens, Marion Barber and Jason Witten, the Dallas Cowboys are easily the most talented team in the NFC. But individual talent only gets you so far in the game of football.
The Cowboys’ 30-24 overtime loss to Arizona on Sunday might be an indication that Dallas is a bit overrated at this point. They’ve been the media’s darlings since preseason, but despite all of their offensive playmakers, the Cowboys are currently 4-2 and almost choked away a 17-0 lead against the Bengals last week. Worse yet, as Pacman Jones showed earlier this week and T.O. demonstrated by yelling at teammate Andre Gurode on the sidelines in Arizona, the team has shown signs of being dysfunctional.
Of course if the ‘Boys want to point fingers, they’ll have to direct at least some of the attention at the defense, which couldn’t stop Kurt Warner and the Cards’ offense from making big plays in the second half. And they did so without one of their top receivers in Anquan Boldin, who missed his second straight game while recovering from nasal surgery. Dallas even allowed Steve Breaston, Boldin’s replacement, to haul in eight catches for 102 yards and a touchdown.
Somehow the Cowboys finished with more total yards, fewer turnovers and held on to the ball longer, but still found a way to lose. Talent isn’t the issue with Dallas because they’re loaded. Having that talent come together to consistently win seems to be the issue.
And give the Cardinals credit – they’ve been unbeatable at home this year and they came up with big plays on Sunday (see their kickoff return for a TD to start the game and their blocked punt for a TD to win the game). If they can figure out a way to win the road (or at the very least look respectable), then they’re going to the playoffs. Because they’re clearly the best team in the NFC West this season.
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