• 
• 
• 
• 

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

24 Hours 'Til Sunday — Andy Richardson

It's week 4. Do you know if your fantasy stars are playing?

A whole lot of players are listed as questionable this week. To play or not to play? Best guesses are coming up.

Atlanta at Carolina: I know the official Fantasy Index position is that the Falcons are going to get rolled in this one, and now's a good time to trade away Michael Turner. And maybe that's true. But I see a little bit of something special in this team, clawing its way out of the darkness that was the 2007 season -- franchise QB going to prison, head coach quitting with a note stuck in players lockers. I think they could do OK this year. No injuries of note here. Looks like Falcons' run-stuffer Grady Jackson will play, which hurts the Carolina tandem a bit. (Note: A week ago I wrote of Miami-New England, "Maybe the Dolphins can spring the upset of the season." Never mind that my next line was, "But I doubt it." Essentially I called that one. Oh yeah.)

Arizona at N.Y. Jets: I'm going to this game, because I think it's important to take a game in live and in person every year or two, plus I'm an embarrassingly devoted Brett Favre fan and I'll be wearing my brand new Favre jersey and everything. Needless to say I cringed every time he got hit by the Chargers last week -- which was an awful damn lot I might add, don't young NFL players respect their elders any more? -- and pretty much for the last two weeks, desperately afraid he'd miss this game. So yes, I paid a lot of attention to the injury reports out of Jets headquarters this week. Sounds like Favre will play, as will Laveranues Coles. I've already admitted my laughably biased view, but I'm seeing a big game for Favre and the Jets offense this week. Both offenses, perhaps. I'll tell you all about it in Monday's column.

Cleveland at Cincinnati: Lot of banged-up players here. Donte Stallworth's leg, Carson Palmer's elbow, Braylon Edwards' shoulder, Derek Anderson's ego. Stallworth won't play, but there's no way Palmer is going to miss the team he threw 6 TDs against in week 2 a year ago, and Edwards and Anderson will be fine, too. As we said in the Weekly, it's awfully risky to start Anderson, with Brady Quinn apparently stuffed in Romeo Crennel's jacket pocket so he'll be handy when needed. But I'd willingly start Edwards and all the other key offensive players here (save Stallworth). Defense isn't either team's bag right now.

Houston at Jacksonville: Ahman Green is questionable. Are there really people out there considering playing Ahman Green right now? I'm in a 14-team league - 14! - and he's not on a roster. Kevin Walter is fine to play, as are both Jacksonville runners and Jerry Porter.

Denver at Kansas City: I'm seeing some "Team of Destiny" talk with the Broncos. Just remember that one year ago, the Broncos won their first two games on a miracle last-second field goal at Buffalo (remember them rushing Jason Elam onto the field as the seconds ticked away) and then the overtime game against Oakland when Mike Shanahan gave us the late timeout to wipe out a game-winning Raiders kick. Point is you can't win with high-powered offense and lousy defense forever. I still like the Chargers in the AFC West. As for Kansas City, the good news is that they're healthy. The bad news is that a team this bad ought to be missing a few key starters, and they aren't. Just Brodie Croyle, who doesn't count. Funny moment in one of my leagues last week where somebody actually picked up Tyler Thigpen. Really! One Denver injury: Darrell Jackson is hurt and will miss the game. Shocker.

San Francisco at New Orleans: This game should be a high-scoring affair -- sadly, a whole lot of key players can't be used. No Shockey or Colston. David Patten, a hot pickup this week, is questionable with a groin injury; I've got him on one team and no way am I starting him. Lance Moore is worth a last-minute pickup if you're in need. Bryant Johnson is also questionable with a hamstring injury; can't use him either. There are some guys you can start when they're questionable -- Tomlinson, Favre, etc. Marginal wide receivers? Nope. Healthy players, however, like Brees, O'Sullivan, Bush, Gore -- hey, it's the 2000 election -- start 'em if you've got 'em.

Packers at Bucs: Bye-week desperation: I actually picked up Jordy Nelson to start this week. Roy Williams and Wes Welker on byes. James Jones hurt (he's doubtful; not going to play). Missed out on Lance Moore. Choosing between Jordy Nelson and Miles Austin, I opted for Nelson. Figured, go with the team who uses a lot of three- and four-receiver sets. But Austin is another possibility if you're desperate. For the Bucs, Joey Galloway is out. My great sympathy to Bucs kicker Matt Bryant.

Minnesota at Tennessee: Let's not forget that Kerry Collins had one of the best games of his career against Minnesota, in an NFC Championship Game (while with the Giants) after the 2000 season. As for this game, it's going to be interesting. Irresistible force meets immovable object twice, with both teams hoping to run all day and both very strong against the run. This is a week when it's reasonable to bench Adrian Peterson (officially questionable, limited in practice Friday) and avoid Titans rookie Chris Johnson. I'm not planning to play either if I can help it. The Titans are for real.

Buffalo at St. Louis: Oddest news item of the week was the word that Marc Bulger didn't want to play for Scott Linehan anymore. Really? Doesn't feel loyalty to the coach that scapegoated him for his horrible team in a desperate attempt to avoid being fired? Shocking. Marc will be back in the lineup two weeks from now (assuming Trent Green gets through this game, that is) and he won't be playing for Linehan anymore. Out: Drew Bennett and Roscoe Parrish.

San Diego at Oakland: Another big suicide pool confrontation. The Chargers haven't lost a game in this series since 2003. Darren McFadden's toe is apparently really bothering him; the dreaded "gametime decision." Liimited in practice Friday. I wouldn't start him. I think he'll be active but might get half the carries at most, and I just can't see the Raiders offense doing much here. Tomlinson will play and he's made a career out of facing Oakland.

Washington at Dallas: Only noteworthy injuries are on defense: Roy Williams for Dallas, Jason Taylor for Washington. The score in this meeting last year was 28-23 Dallas (4 Romo to Owens TDs), but I think Dallas is a shade better this year. After Owens got shut down in Green Bay I'd expect him to get a lot of throws this week -- gotta keep the guy happy, after all. You wouldn't like him when he's angry. For anyone who says the Cowboys can't win it all with Wade Philips, remember, they won it all with Barry Switzer. Couple of random notes on the NFC East: The division's only losses thus far have been to other NFC East teams - Philly to Dallas, Washington to the Giants. Against the rest of the NFL, they're a collective 8-0. It's like when I was a kid in the 80s again, and Dallas, Washington and the Giants were in all those Super Bowls over a 10-year stretch (whenever San Francisco didn't make it). Nutty.

Philadelphia at Chicago: These teams can't meet up without my thinking of the Fog Bowl playoff game, which Wikipedia tells me was 20 years ago -- man, I'm old. A game where you could barely see what was happening on the field because the fog was so thick. Cameras couldn't pick up the action, players couldn't see the sidelines or yard markers...just crazy. Anyway, both Donovan McNabb and Brian Westbrook are questionable. The guess here is that McNabb (who practiced Friday) will definitely play and Westbrook (who didn't) likely won't. Most owners will need to make lineup decisions before it's determined if these guys are active or not; it's the Sunday night game. Tight end L.J. Smith is doubtful; can't believe I traded for this guy after week 1 in order to get 1 catch over a three-week period. Ouch. Two very good defenses here so I'm not seeing anybody -- including guys we know are playing, like Matt Forte -- putting up huge numbers. I'm sure the announcers will talk a lot about DeSean Jackson tossing away a touchdown early against the Cowboys. Assuming Westbrook is out, he will probably be Philly's best chance to score this week; don't see Correll Buckhalter doing much against what's been a very tough run defense so far.

Ravens at Steelers: Monday game, so just briefly: sounds like all of Baltimore's backs will play (Le'Ron McClain and Willis McGahee, along with former Huguenot -- congratulations if you know what school that references, my wife's alma mater -- Ray Rice), so I'm not expecting big anything from any of them. Cornerback Samari Rolle is out for the Ravens; with he and Chris McAlister out a year ago, Roethlisberger threw 5 TDs in a half. This time McAlister is still playing and the Ravens D is better (and Roethlisberger's protection is worse). Brief comment on Rashard Mendenhall sending a text message to buddy Ray Rice about having a big game against the Ravens D: Dude. First have a game of any production whatsoever against ANYONE, then talk big.

Enjoy the games.

• Comments [1]

Readers' Comments

Add a Comment

Already a registered user? Please sign in to add comments.

To add comments, you must become a registered user of our site. To register, please click here.