24 Hours 'Til Sunday — Andy Richardson

If they're going to have Thursday night games, I think they need to look at what games they schedule there. I mean, it's their network, and they make the schedule, so what are they thinking with Cincinnati at Pittsburgh and Oakland at San Diego? "OK, let's take a perennial loser, and send them out on the road to face the division rival that pounds on them twice a year." They've done this twice in four weeks, and the results were as bad as you might expect. I should add here that when they scheduled another of their Thursday games, Jets at Patriots, Brett Favre was retired and Tom Brady was still running around Central Park with Giselle on his two good knees. Again: They make the schedule; they can take whatever games they want. I think they can do better. Anyway....

Houston at Green Bay: Matt Schaub is starting. Looks like a break for Green Bay; Schaub's probably rusty and he doesn't make any fewer mistakes than Sage Rosenfels. Ryan Grant is fine, by which I mean healthy. And I guess it's a pretty good matchup, too. Still, I'm not feeling sad about dealing him away in my dynasty league last May.

Cleveland at Tennessee: Ken Dorsey starts for the Browns. I don't want to pick on him, so I won't, beyond saying I wouldn't go within a mile of anything to do with the Browns this week. Kellen Winslow is also out, and Braylon Edwards forgot how to catch. If there's a shutout in the NFL this week, this is where it will likely happen.

Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants: Plaxico Burress is out, in case you were living in a cave for the last week. Hamstring. And thigh, where he was shot. By himself. And a suspension. The matchup isn't too bad, comparatively. Brian Westbrook is apparently fine, but with him you always need to check Sunday morning anyway.

Jacksonville at Chicago: I feel like Jacksonville didn't give top effort at Houston Monday night. I'm not sure they'll give it here, either. I like Matt Forte. And the Bears D. Matt Jones is still playing for Jacksonville, his suspension still hasn't happened. He could be good here, albeit in a loss.

Minnesota at Detroit: Pat Williams (my mother-in-law's name, so I always find this amusing) and Kevin Williams are playing, which hurts Kevin Smith. I still like Calvin Johnson; too good to bench. This is Detroit's only chance to win a game the rest of the way. Go Lions. Shaun McDonald might not play and can't be used, not that he would be by many.

Cincinnati at Indianapolis: After the Colts put up only 10 points at Cleveland it's hard to guarantee a blowout win, but I will anyway. Check on Addai Sunday morning, as he's questionable. He'll probably play, but worth checking to make sure. For some bizarre reason the Bengals haven't put Carson Palmer on IR. What earthly reason could there be for playing him again this year? Get a nice shot on his elbow or something? Crazy. Ryan Fitzpatrick starts.

Atlanta at New Orleans: One of two good All-NFC South matchups this week. Should be lots of points; over-under is in the 50s. Deuce McAllister is eligible to play, but that doesn't mean he will or should be used anyway.

Kansas City at Denver: No Mark Bradley. Devard Darling will start. Will Denver even cover him? Debatable. Selvin Young looks set to return and get maybe 10 carries spelling Peyton Hillis.

Miami at Buffalo: No Trent Edwards. No other injuries of note. Game played in Toronto, so I'll tune in to see how many shots of snow their cameramen are able to find in the vicinity, since we all know it's always snowing in Canada, all the time. The game, however, will be played in a dome. Not a snowglobe.

N.Y. Jets at San Francisco: Nice matchup for the Jets' passing game. Nate Clements might not be able to play. Tougher matchup for the running game, but Thomas Jones is playing too well to bench. Brett Favre would be perfect for his career against the Niners but for the officials blowing a quick whistle on a Jerry Rice fumble two plays before the touchdown pass to Terrell Owens in the '98 playoffs. I'm sorry, but it's true. For San Francisco, Josh Morgan and Arnaz Battle seem set to return, which greatly reduces the value of the other San Francisco wideouts. I do like Vernon Davis this week.

St. Louis at Arizona: Everybody must have Hightower and Steven Jackson, because everyone is asking which of those two to start this week. I say if you can start a feature back against the Rams, you do it. Jackson is playing and healthy and stuff, but I still like Hightower better. Personally.

Dallas at Pittsburgh: Marion Barber is a gametime decision. I wouldn't use him anyway; even if he plays he won't do much here. FrankenRoethlisberger had a couple of limbs and organs replaced last week but is good to go. Great game, most likely, but advantage Steelers D.

New England at Seattle: This was originally supposed to be the Sunday night game -- thank heavens for flex scheduling. Seattle is getting healthy for the stretch drive! Too bad it doesn't matter. Oh, plus Matt Hasselbeck's back has acted up again so he's not going to play, which means Seattle won't spring the upset I was thinking might happen. Hasselbeck's absence is bad news for Seattle's receivers, offense, fans, stadium workers, etc. Wes Welker appears to be good to go, a relief for those of us who have no other options.

Washington at Baltimore: Of course, as Sunday night games go, this isn't exactly a thriller, maybe because I don't expect to see any points. Portis is a game-time decision. He's not going to run on the Ravens anyway. He's benched on my team. My early-season Jones-Drew for Portis trade looked great a little while back, not so much now.

Tampa Bay at Carolina: Could be a good Monday night game between two teams that nobody cares much about. No noteworthy injuries.

Enjoy the games.

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