Installing Vince Young in your fantasy football lineup during the most critical part of the season isn’t going to make your team turn into the fantasy equivalent of the ’99 Rams or ’07 Patriots – just look at Young’s fantasy points-per-week on the graph below – but that doesn’t mean he can’t be at least somewhat beneficial.

True, he has thrown for over 175 yards just once in his last four starts, and has not thrown for multiple touchdowns in any of them, but at this point in the season, those fantasy owners who are in need of a quarterback for the fantasy playoffs have probably already made due with a lesser player at that position anyway, and instead have leaned on the strengths of their running backs and wideouts. Essentially, if you need a player like Young, you’re just looking for him not to kill you.

And any fantasy football owner who has used Young before is familiar with the pain he can cause. In 2007, for example, in his second season and with fairly big expectations after his rookie of the year campaign in 2006, he didn’t throw for 200 or more yards until Week 10, threw for multiple touchdowns in only three contests, and had more interceptions than touchdown passes in nine different games.

But the 2009 version of Vince Young is a seemingly different player, and one that needn’t be completely ignored by fantasy enthusiasts. Part of the reason for that is his match-ups the rest of the way. First of all, he has four home games over the next five weeks, including three straight at home from Weeks 14-16, which are dates that make up the fantasy playoffs in most leagues. But starting this week, really only two of his five match-ups that remain in the fantasy season could be deemed unfavorable – Week 13 against the Colts in Indy and Week 16 against the Chargers.

This week, however, he faces the Cardinals, who are just 27th in pass defense, and 18th (tied) in passing scores allowed. He follows that up with the Indianapolis game before facing St. Louis, Miami and San Diego. The Rams are 24th in the league in pass defense and 18th (tied) in passing touchdowns allowed, while the Dolphins are 22nd in pass defense and 12th in passing touchdowns given up. However, Miami and Oakland are the only two NFL teams to have given up four rushing touchdowns to opposing quarterbacks, and the Rams are one of just seven teams to have allowed at least two rushing scores to opposing signal-callers. On top of that, St. Louis and Miami are both in the bottom-half of the NFL in interceptions.

So, should you count on Young to single-handedly win you a fantasy championship? Of course not. But will he impede you in accomplishing that goal like he has in the past? Not if you use him wisely he won’t.

Week 10 of the 2009 season will most likely be remembered for the Colts-Patriots game and the controversial decision by Bill Belichick to go for it on fourth down.  But there were other stories elsewhere, many of which pertained to running backs.  Five starting running backs went down this past week, some with more serious injuries than others.  I will analyze both the short-term and long-term effects of these injuries as well as fantasy ramifications associated with them.

• Cedric Benson – After seven carries vs. Pittsburgh, Benson had to leave the game with a hip injury.  Coach Lewis says he will likely be a game-time decision, but Benson has never been praised for his toughness so don’t expect him to carry a full-load on Sunday, if he plays at all.  Expect Bernard Scott to receive the bulk of the carries with Brian Leonard getting his usual reps on third downs.  As for Larry Johnson?  Don’t expect anything more than a carry or two this week and don’t expect many touches for Johnson for the rest of the season.  LJ’s burst is gone and he hasn’t scored a TD or had a 20 yard run since December 2008.

• Ronnie Brown – Brown has injuries to both his right ankle and foot and with a game on Thursday vs. Carolina, there’s almost no chance of him being ready.  In fact, this is looking like an injury that could keep Brown out for a couple of weeks.  As of Tuesday, Brown was still unable to walk without the use of crutches.  Ricky Williams will definitely see an increase in touches and last week he received his first 20 carry game since 2005.  But someone still has to take over Brown’s role as the operator of the Wildcat; the one who receives the snap and then decides whether to run, pass, or handoff to Williams on the end around.  Look for that to be Pat White who had 45 rushing yards vs. New England, but just one last week vs. Tampa Bay.  White is only worth having on your team if you’re in a two-QB league and he has the potential to rack up somewhere between four and eight points per game over the next couple of weeks.  While that may not be much, I’d rather take my chances with White than with guys like JaMarcus Russell or Brady Quinn who have COMBINED for one fantasy point over the last four weeks.

• Julius Jones – With a bruised rib that’s causing bleeding in his lungs, Jones is unlikely to play Sunday vs. the Vikings and will probably be doubtful for Week 12 as well.  Justin Forsett will get the start and he was impressive last week in gaining 123 yards and scoring the first touchdown of his career.  However, the Seahawks will play Minnesota who is allowing the second fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs.  They have not allowed more than 84 rushing yards to a running back and Ray Rice is the only player to score a rushing touchdown against them.  Nevertheless, Forsett will likely get 18-20 touches and can be used as a flex play until Jones returns.

• Michael Turner – Turner has the dreaded high ankle sprain which could keep him out a couple of weeks.  The Monday re-signing of Aaron Stecker also indicates that Jerious Norwood may not return this week due to his hip injury.  That means Jason Snelling will receive the bulk of the carries for the time being.  Along with Justin Forsett, Snelling is probably at the top of waiver wire requests for Week 11.  Snelling has impressed when given the chance to do so as he had 129 rushing yards and 1 TD over his last two games.  The Falcons will see a rejuvenated Giants defense this week but the following week they take on Tampa Bay who has the second worst run defense in the league.  Consider Snelling a RB3 for the Giants game but then upgrades to an RB2 against the Bucs.

• Brian Westbrook – This is the most serious injury as Westbrook suffered his second concussion in the last month.  Though it hasn’t been confirmed yet, it appears that Westbrook may miss the rest of the season.  He’s always been able to bounce back from knee, ankle, and foot injuries but this is something that could affect his general well-being so look for the Eagles to shut him down.  Even though Philadelphia doesn’t like to run the ball, LeSean McCoy receives an immediate upgrade and should be a weekly starter in your lineup.  Fullback Leonard Weaver will also see an increase in touches and he had 108 rushing yards and a TD in the two full games that Westbrook was out.  Also, don’t be surprised if the “Michael Vick Experiment” gets another run as Andy Reid will do everything he can to get his struggling running game going.

It’s Monday, so it’s time to get going on our weekly routine of looking at targets from the previous day’s NFL action.

- Laveranues Coles, Cincinnati Bengals: Coles was targeted nine times in Cincinnati’s win over the Ravens this weekend. He came up with six receptions for 72 yards in what was his most productive day in a Bengals uniform. His nine targets tied Chad Ochocinco for the team high, and were four more than Andre Caldwell received. It was the most targets Coles had received in any one contest this season, and tied his total from the last three games combined.

- Dallas Clark, Indianapolis Colts: Clark had a whopping 16 targets en route to 14 receptions for 119 yards as Indianapolis eked by the Houston Texans on Sunday. Peyton Manning put the ball in the air 50 times during the contest, and nearly one out of every three of those throws was intended for Clark. The former Iowa tight end vaulted to fourth in the AFC and seventh in the NFL in total targets.

- James Jones, Green Bay Packers: With six targets in Green Bay’s debilitating loss to Tampa Bay, Jones now has 11 total targets in his last two contests, which is easily his highest two-game total of the season. Jones collected season highs with four catches and 103 yards in the game, along with a touchdown. With Jordy Nelson out of the lineup, Jones has taken advantage, and now has a touchdown reception in three of his last four games.

- Davone Bess, Miami Dolphins: Bess’s 14 targets were double the amount any other Dolphins player received in the team’s loss to the Patriots on Sunday. Still, he managed just six catches for 56 yards, and his lack of big-play ability is evident in the fact that he didn’t even have the most receiving yards on the team – Greg Camarillo did, with 71, despite getting the ball thrown his way just seven times.

- Lance Long, Kansas City Chiefs: If you haven’t heard of Long, don’t be alarmed; Sunday’s game was just the third time he suited up all season, and just the second time for the Chiefs. He was with Arizona in Week 1 before getting cut. But people will start to hear more about him now, considering the fact that he was targeted a team-high 11 times by Matt Cassel in K.C.’s loss to the Jags. Long wound up with eight catches for 74 yards in the game.

Other Week 9 target numbers of interest: Derrick Mason, 13; Earl Bennett, Casey Fitzsimmons, 11; Torry Holt, Pierre Garcon, Jeremy Maclin, 9; Michael Crabtree, 8; Maurice Stovall, Dwayne Jarrett, Malcolm Floyd, 7; Kevin Walter, Robert Meacham, 6; Chris Chambers, 4.

1. The 49ers’ offensive line cannot create any running lanes.  Frank Gore only ran for 32 yards on 13 carries vs. Houston and he was often stuffed at the line of scrimmage-a sure indication of a poor run-blocking unit.  Some people may ask the question, “How did Gore run for 200 yards vs. Seattle?”  Well that was entirely Gore’s efforts (and Seattle’s lack of effort) as his two big runs were due to poor angles by the Seattle free safety.  What should have been eight yard runs turned into 80 yards runs because the safety was undisciplined.  If you take away those two plays, Frank Gore only has one rush of over 10 yards this season in 50 attempts.  With the insertion of Alex Smith and Michael Crabtree into the starting lineup the 49ers may turn to a more pass-friendly offense which will hurt Gore’s stock even more.
2. You can blame the Packers’ O-line for Greg Jennings lack of production.  Since Aaron Rodgers is not getting much time in the pocket due to the oncoming rush, the Packers have almost eliminated Rodgers’ 7-step dropbacks.  Those are the plays that Rodgers and Favre hooked up with Jennings with for many of his 21 touchdowns over the last two years.  Since there’s not much time for Rodgers to allow his WRs to run deep routes, the Packers have gone to a true west-coast offense which specializes in short-to-intermediate routes and running after the catch.  That makes Donald Driver the de facto #1 receiver in Green Bay as YAC is pretty much the only statistic that he beat Jennings in over the last two seasons.
3. LaDainian Tomlinson better not say a peep if he’s pulled during a goal line situation again.  A week after LT displayed his frustration on the sideline after being replaced by Darren Sproles during a goal-to-go situation, LT failed to score on all nine of his attempts inside the seven yard line vs. Kansas City.  For the season, Tomlinson has only scored one TD on 14 attempts inside the 10 yard line.  Even in 2008’s “down year” LT had more success as he scored 7 TDs in 25 attempts within the 10 yard line.
4. Sam Aiken, not Julian Edelman, is the Patriots’ #3 wide receiver.  Even though Edelman has more receptions and yards than Aiken, it’s only because he received more opportunities to play when Wes Welker was injured.  Both Welker and Edelman are slot receivers so Edelman naturally advanced to Welker’s slot position when he went down earlier in the year.  Aiken has assumed Joey Galloway’s old position of flanker and even when Edelman returns from his arm injury, he will likely only play when Welker needs a rest or in four-wide sets.  Although Aiken is third in the pecking order among Patriots’ wide receivers, this position has traditionally been very productive as former Patriots Donte Stallworth and Jabar Gaffney combined for 1600 yards and 10 TDs in 2007 and 2008.
5. The Bears are definitely a pass-first team now and it’s not only because they have Jay Cutler at QB.  The offseason addition of LT Orlando Pace and promotion of RT Chris Williams changed the culture of this Bears’ offense.  Williams is a finesse (pass) blocker and Pace no longer has the acceleration to get to the second level to block LBs.  Also, Greg Olsen has replaced Desmond Clark as starting tight end and while no doubt Olsen is the better receiver, Clark is by far the better run-blocker.  The numbers don’t lie: through six games Matt Forte has 35 fewer carries than what he has through the first six games in 2008.  These changes in mentality and personnel may ultimately make this Bears team better than last year’s, but it may also make Matt Forte a fantasy bust relative to the position he was drafted.
6. The Dolphins wide receivers scare absolutely no one and Tony Sparano does not seem to notice it.  After running for 80 yards and 3 TDs on his first nine carries, Ricky Williams touched the ball only one more time in the game-and it was on a reception.  Instead, Sparano had his QB who had started all of 2 career games throwing to the likes of Ted Ginn, Davone Bess, Greg Camarillo, and Brian Hartline-none of whom are over 6’1” or weigh more than 190 lbs.  Ginn looked particularly bad while dropping two passes and has yet to show that he’s anything more than a return specialist, and he doesn’t even do that well.  Hopefully Sparano will notice what got him the 21 point lead and go back to doing more of that.  In the two games Henne has won, the rushing attempts outnumbered the passing attempts 81-48.  In the loss to the Saints Henne threw 36 times compared to 30 rushing attempts (25 by Brown and Williams).  With a rematch with the Jets ahead, expect to see more of Ricky and Ronnie and less of the Ginn Man.
7. Jeff Reed can’t tackle.  ‘Nuff said

We’re four weeks into the season, and 28 of the NFL’s 32 teams have played their first four games. There was a lot to glean from these games, and an important aspect of fantasy football is recognizing trends and adjusting to them. This series of posts hopes to shed some light on all 32 teams through statistical analysis.

1) Pressure is affecting the play of Miami’s quarterbacks. Last season Chad Pennington was sacked 24 times. This season he and Chad Henne have already been taken to the turf 13 times, pacing for a season of 52 sacks. It’s led to fewer touchdowns and more interceptions. Pennington threw 19 and 7 last season; he and Henne are on pace for 8 and 12 this season.

2) No one on the team with more than one reception is averaging at least 10 yards per catch. The Dolphins passing game has no punch this season, so even though Davone Bess has 20 catches, he only has 157 receiving yards. And no touchdowns. Steer clear of the team’s wide receivers this season; even Ted Ginn has caught more than two passes in just one game this year.

3) No wide receiver or tight end with more than six receptions this season has a touchdown reception. Ricky Williams and Brian Hartline (who has 6 receptions) have each taken one reception to the house, proving that the passing game has been terribly ineffective this season and is unlikely to improve soon.

4) Ronnie Brown has been a stud this season, especially in the last three games. In that span he’s accumulated 366 yards from scrimmage and over 100 yards in each game; he’s also scored four touchdowns and averaged 5.3 yards per carry. This is shaping up to be another very impressive season for Brown … as long as he stays healthy.

5) Don’t forget about Ricky Williams. The offense has been rolling when running the ball, and Ricky Williams has played a significant role. He’s averaging 5.0 yards per carry this season, and he has more receptions than Ricky Williams thus far (8-6). He’s also scored a touchdown in three games this season, and has gotten at least 11 touches each of the past three weeks. Overall, his average fantasy points through four games is about 11 (assuming standard scoring).

(Below is a graph displaying Williams’ and Brown’s fantasy production each week of the season.)

Another week in the National Football League is (nearly) completed, which means another look at how targets around the league stacked up. Let’s see who all those quarterbacking William Tells chose as their proverbial apples this week.

- Ted Ginn Jr., Miami: The former ninth overall pick was targeted a total of six times on Sunday by the Dolphins’ quarterback duo of Chad Pennington and Chad Henne in their loss to the Chargers. Ginn’s total number of catches? Zero. This is significant considering that only three players in the AFC, and seven players in the entire NFL have been targeted more than the 27 times Ginn has this season. Unfortunately, he has just 13 catches to show for it. It means he’s unreliable as a fantasy option, and if you do have him on your squad, he should probably only be used if injuries or bye weeks force you into playing him.

- Vernon Davis, San Francisco: Davis, the sixth overall pick in the 2006 draft, is finally proving to be a worthy fantasy option after so many years of relative disappointment. Davis was targeted 10 times by Shaun Hill in the 49ers’ loss to the Vikings in Week 3, which were double the amount looks anyone else on the squad received. Davis, who is 16th in the NFC in targets, came down with seven of those passes, good for 96 yards and two touchdowns. He’ll be a good bet to thrive again next week when San Francisco takes on the lowly Rams.

- Justin Gage, Tennessee: Gage was targeted 10 times on Sunday in the midst of another Titans loss, this time to the Jets, but came up with only four catches for 37 yards. He’s been targeted 25 times so far this year, the sixth-highest total in the AFC, yet has only caught 13 of those passes for a measly 142 yards. After a very good showing in Week 1, many thought that Gage would have a year that could make him a possible WR2. That doesn’t seem to be the case, however. Considering how often Kerry Collins looks in Gage’s direction, he’s worthy of a roster spot on your fantasy squad, but only as a spot contributor.

- Mike Sims-Walker, Jacksonville: In a win over the Texans this week, Sims-Walker was targeted 10 times by David Garrard, and he hauled in six of those throws for 81 yards. It was the second week in a row he caught six passes. Sims-Walker is 20th in the AFC with 20 targets, and it seems obvious that he is the most dangerous receiving threat on the team, despite the presence of veteran Torry Holt. If for some reason he’s available in your league, snatch him up quickly.

- Other Week 3 target numbers of interest: Santana Moss, 14; Larry Fitzgerald, 13; Nate Burleson, 12; Bryant Johnson, 11; Derek Fine, Andre Caldwell, 9; Michael Jenkins, Mike Wallace, 8; Jeremy Maclin, 6; Eddie Royal, 3.

Baltimore Ravens (2-0) at San Diego Chargers (1-1): Ravens, 31-26

Notes on Baltimore:

Defense? Who needs defense? The Baltimore Ravens defense has been one of the league’s most porous against the pass through the first two weeks of the regular season. Granted their run defense still ranks first in the NFL (some things never change), but would you have believed me if I told you before the season that the team would allow 580 passing yards after two games? Doubtful.

This is a Ravens team we’re not accustomed to seeing. Instead of a stout defense and run-heavy offense we’ve been treated to the league’s second highest scoring offense and a Joe Flacco on pace to throw 40 touchdowns this season. Before I get carried away, let me point out that the Ravens are running the ball enough rank 4th in yards and 1st in touchdowns. That hasn’t changed.

But would you have guessed a shootout against the Chargers? I wouldn’t have.

Notes on San Diego:

Philip Rivers has put up some impressive numbers in his first two outings, but he’s not putting up the numbers we saw last season. He passed for 436 yards against the Ravens this weekend, but he also threw two interceptions. He already has three this season; that’s as many touchdowns as he’s thrown, too.

But while Rivers has thrown a few passes to opponents, he’s also thrown a boatload to Darren Sproles. The 5th year running back leads the team with 12 receptions for 167 yards and a touchdown; he hasn’t been at all effective running the ball against two solid run defenses - Baltimore and Oakland - averaging just 2.6 yards per carry, but he does have a score. In all, he’s put up some impressive numbers through two games: 216 yards from scrimmage and 2 touchdowns.

Rivers’ second favorite target, Vincent Jackson, hasn’t been a slouch either. He has 11 receptions for 197 yards and 2 touchdowns; he’s split his receptions rather evenly and he’s caught a touchdown in each of his two starts. Expect him to be one of the top receivers in the NFL at the end of the season.

Cleveland Browns (0-2) at Denver Broncos (2-0): Broncos, 27-6

Notes on Cleveland:

Getting lit up two weeks in a row probably isn’t how head coach Eric Mangini envisioned his team beginning the regular season. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what’s happened. This week the Broncos - remember, this is a team that scored 12 points on Cincinnati a week ago thanks to a miracle - dropped 27 on Cleveland this week.

The team’s greatest weakness on offense is its running game. Though they’ve played two solid run offenses - Minnesota and Denver - it’s still a bit disappointing to see Jamal Lewis with just 25 carries for 95 yards. Come to think of it, it’s disappointing to see the team relying so heavily on Brady Quinn to carry the offense. He’s thrown just 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions so far, and it’s not too surprisingly considering his inexperience and the fact he’s been sacked 9 times already.

If anyone will emerge from this offense as a viable fantasy option - given the players who have had game time so far - I think the two safe bets are Braylon Edwards and Robert Royal. Don’t expect Edwards to put up fantastic numbers, but he does lead the team in receptions with 7; if a player touches the ball enough, he will gain yards and score touchdowns. As for Royal, Brady’s going to love him all season in the red zone; he already has 1 touchdown reception, and more are on the way.

Notes on Denver:

After watching Kyle Orton in the preseason there’s one thing I would have guessed: he’d throw at least one interception by now. Fortunately for Broncos’ fans, not only has Orton not thrown an interception, but his 2 touchdowns and 506 passing yards have helped lead the Broncos to a 2-0 record. He passed for 263 yards and 1 touchdown in this one, despite completing just 51.4 percent of his pass attempts.

Josh McDaniels has focused on playing small-ball for the most part this season, and that’s led to Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter getting plenty of touches; 47, so far. Buckhalter has been the more effective of the two, averaging 7.2 yards per carry and scoring a rushing touchdown. He’s also added 3 receptions for 41 yards, pushing his yards from scrimmage to 163. Not bad for a by-committee back.

New York Giants (2-0) at Dallas Cowboys (1-1): Giants, 33-31

Notes on New York:

The Giants have won their first two games of the season by a combined margin of 8 points. But a win is a win, no matter the margin of victory, so the Giants are currently sitting at 2-0 in their division after knocking off the Cowboys in the first of a three game road series. It was as back-and-forth as any game this season, the type of fantasy game all fantasy players relish.

Eli Manning passed for 330 yards and 2 touchdowns, sending 20 of his 25 completions to Mario Manningham and Steve Smith. In other words, no Plaxico, no problem. Manningham and Smith also combined for 284 of his passing yards and both his passing touchdowns. The Cowboys couldn’t contain either player, something defenses will struggle to do all season. Manningham and Smith currently have 29 receptions for 422 yards and 3 touchdowns. These guys are going to be as good as any receiving duo in the NFL this season.

Notes on Dallas:

Let’s start with the good; then we’ll get to Tony Romo. Marion Barber and Felix Jones rushed for 210 yards in the game, scoring 2 touchdowns and averaging a combined 8.4 yards per carry. The Giants held Clinton Portis to 62 yards last week. Dallas did not, in other words, face a terrible run defense. Props to Barber and Jones who now have 234 and 118 yards from scrimmage, respectively.

Indianapolis Colts (2-0) at Miami Dolphins (0-2): Colts, 27-23

Notes on Indianapolis:

How does Peyton Manning do it? The reigning NFL MVP needed less than 15 minutes to beat the Miami Dolphins on the road. Literally. The Dolphins controlled the ball for over 45 minutes in this game. Manning and the Colts needed 23 pass attempts and 11 runs to put up 27 points to beat the Dolphins, who ran more than twice as many (83) plays.

Manning was deadly with his throws, completing 14 passes for 303 yards and 2 touchdowns. Dallas Clark lit it up as his go-to guy, catching 7 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown. Consider those numbers for a moment: Manning averaged more than 21 yards per completion and Clark averaged 26.1 yards per reception. Unbelievable.

Manning might not have Drew Brees’ numbers, but watch out NFL: Manning doesn’t need half a season to hit his stride this year.

Notes on Miami:

This was a tough loss for Miami whose offense did almost everything right on offense this game. They converted on over 70 percent of their third-down attempts and controlled the ball for three quarters of the game. Unfortunately, they also scored just two touchdowns - both by Ronnie Brown, the star of Miami’s offense.

Chad Pennington averaged just 5.5 yards per attempt in the game and he threw an interception in the endzone to end the game. Despite Miami’s best efforts, which included just one punt and a score or near score on every drive, the Dolphins fell short this week.

That said, Ted Ginn had a great week, hauling in 11 passes for 108 yards. This isn’t a passing offense, though, so don’t be surprised if he breaks 100 receiving yards just once or twice more this season, if that.

Tennessee at Pittsburgh and Miami at Atlanta Game Recaps

This is part one of a series of posts breaking down the week one games of 2009. The rest of the post-game articles are coming soon!

Tennessee (0-1) at Pittsburgh (1-0): Steelers, 13-10

Notes on Tennessee: Looking for someone to blame as a knee-jerk reaction in this one? Look no further than Rob Bironas. Tennessee’s kicker hit on just one of his three field goal attempts; in a game decided by three points, those field goals were the difference. (In case you’re wondering, Steelers’ kicker Jeff Reed hit both of his attempts.)

If you’re looking further than that, consider the running game. LenDale White and Chris Johnson combined for 23 attempts and 85 yards, neither averaging at least four yards per carry. That forced the passing game on Kerry Collins. Collins attempted 35 passes, completing about 63 percent and hitting on a touchdown. Unfortunately, he threw a foolish interception, something he must avoid in the future if the Titans are going to have success in these types of games.

Tennessee Stud: Justin Gage – 7 receptions for 78 yards and 1 touchdown

Tennessee Dud: Chris Johnson – 15 carries for 57 yards and 1 reception for 11 yards
Notes on Pittsburgh: Roethlisberger was forced to pass the ball a lot in this one while the running game struggled, amassing just 33 yards (36, counting Roethlisberger’s one carry). He ended up passing for for 363 yards and 1 touchdown in a game in which the offense scored just 13 points. Surprised? The Steelers’ quarterback also threw a pair of interceptions. Interestingly, neither resulted in points for Tennessee.

Hines Ward played quite well for the most part in this one, but he nearly costed Pittsburgh a chance to win after he fumbled the ball inside the 10 yard line. Aside from that gaffe he finished with 8 receptions for 103 yards. Overall, the team looked sloppy on offense, but the passing game contains loads of promise if Roethlisberger doesn’t turn the ball over so often.

Pittsburgh Stud: Santonio Holmes – 9 receptions for 131 yards and 1 touchdown

Pittsburgh Dud: Willie Parker – 13 carries for 19 yards and 1 reception for 5 yards

Miami (0-1) at Atlanta (1-0): Atlanta, 19-7

Notes on Miami: I wrote in a preview of this game that I didn’t think the Dolphins would score more than 20 in this game, but I didn’t expect the scoreboard to read “7” at the end, either. The problem was fumbles and turnovers: tight end Anthony Fasano caught 2 passes for 10 yards – and fumbled twice, both of which were lost. In the end, Miami turned the ball over 4 times (Chad Pennington threw a pick and lost a fumble), which was just too much to overcome.

The team was relatively effective running the ball, however: Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown combined for 82 yards on 17 carries and the offense as a whole rushed for 96 yards in the game. That’s not a big total, but carries didn’t happen quite as often as Miami might have liked.

Overall, the offense was passed significantly more than it ran the ball: 30 pass attempts and 20 carries. That’s a 60-40 ratio. Also, that doesn’t include the four pass attempts that resulted in sacks, pushing the ratio closer to 2:1.

Miami Stud: Ricky Williams – 7 carries for 39 yards, 2 receptions for 19 yards and 1 touchdown

Miami Dud: Anthony Fasano – 2 receptions for 10 yards and 2 lost fumbles

Notes on Atlanta: Tony Gonzalez is going to give defenses headaches this season. Michael Turner is a huge threat running the ball, but Matt Ryan was working the play action to perfection in this one, often targeting Tony Gonzalez.

Turner himself accounted for just 65 rushing yards on 22 carries. That’s just a tad under 3 yards per carry, a total he’s probably not proud of. On the other hand, Miami was so focused on Turner they forgot about Ryan who passed for 229 yards and 2 touchdowns. This is another game in which he flashed his potential in a big way: look out, NFL.

Atlanta Stud: Tony Gonzalez – 5 receptions for 73 yards and 1 touchdown

Atlanta Dud: Roddy White – 5 receptions for 42 yards

Here’s a few thoughts on the teams that played Thursday Preseason games in Week 3 

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS

It is not clear how head coach Raheem Morris is going to leave his mark on this team. I don’t see any areas of emphasis. Overall TB seems to be heading for a repeat of their 2008 performance.  Byron Leftwich looks like he’s got a slight lead for the starting quarterback job over McCown, but unfortunately he looks like the same old Leftwich…clumsy, with a long windup, questionable accuracy, a fumble machine, and injury prone. He didn’t do anything to convince me he’s going to do any better or worse than he has everywhere else he’s been.  He’s likely to be replaced sometime during the season for performance or injury reasons. There don’t appear to be any particular WRs or TEs that Leftwich has as a favorite. Stevens and Winslow have been invisible.  TB is going to stress the running game with the three good RBs in their stable. The coaching staff likes Cadillac Williams better than any of their other RBs….when he’s healthy. He seems to be running well with no lingering signs of his knee injury from 2008, so maybe he’s healthy enough to claim his stake as the top RB.  Not sure he has a lot of value as the top RB of a three headed RB monster though.  Derrick Ward seems to be healthy and likely to contend with Earnest Graham for the #2 spot. Defensive coordinator Jim Bates seems to be having a positive impact on TB Defense, it seems very solid.  

MIAMI DOLPHINS

The offense wasn’t able to do much of anything productive against Tampa Bay. The wildcat formation wasn’t used and the game plan seemed pretty vanilla. Not sure if their lack of success was due to the Tampa Bay defense or Miami play calling. Based on this performance, Chad Pennington seems set for another average season. I don’t see anything that makes me think he’s up for a great improvement or let down from last year. Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams look healthy enough to try and match their performances from 2008.  Defense looks ok, but is sprinkled with older veteran defensive lineman and linebackers, which worries me. 

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES

Vick played the second down of the game, so he’s clearly going to be in the mix during the season using him for trick play situations. Most of the downs he played were gadget plays.  McNabb looked fine and is doing a good job spreading the receptions around. DeShaun Jackson looks just as good as he was last year. Very elusive and agile. McNabb seems to like him. Looks like Jackson is going to be returning punts/kicks again this season.  Jason Avant is getting a lot of attention from McNabb too and makes good catches. Westbrook did not play in this game. Not sure how how many carries LeSean McCoy is going to steal from Westbrook, looks like he’s going to be the #2. If Westbrook continues to get hurt, he’s obviously going to be picking up a lot of slack. McCoy isn’t quite as elusive as Westbrook, but he’s pretty good. Eagles don’t have a power running game as usual. Eagles defense looks good as expected.  

JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS

David Garrard looked like his typical self, but took a big hit and was out for several plays. I don’t expect Garrard to do much better or worse than he did in 2008. Torry Holt is a nice addition to the receiving corps and will help balance their attack, but I don’t think that Holt is going to have a major effect.  MJD is looking ok, but doesn’t seem to be running north/south like he usually does, insteand is spending more time running sideways. I’m wondering if the o-line isn’t opening the holes like they did last year or the year prior. Is their power running game compromised by the o-line play? Line seems to be allowing sacks too. MJD screens were very effective though.  Jags defense looks good, but not great. 

ST. LOUIS RAMS

Marc Bulger did not play (Injured). Kyle Boller started the game instead of Bulger and looked average, but was able to move them down the field pretty consistently. However, I think this says more about the Bengals defense than Boller’s skills. The Rams in general looked flat…the flash of years past is now completely gone.  Steven Jackson only played one series and looked hesitant, maybe it’s lack of motivation for preseason games… Samkon Gado got much more work and looked better. Defense was not good, but seemed good enough to keep the Bengals in check. 

CINCINNATI BENGALS

Carson Palmer did not play (Injured). JT O’sullivan started the game instead of Palmer and looked mediocre. The Bengals look out of sync on offense with O’sullivan, it might be a long season for the Bengals without Palmer on the field. C85 didn’t have many catches and the WR corps in general were invisible.  Cedric Benson looks quick and is zipping through the holes that the o-line is opening. Never thought I’d say this, but he might be the bright spot on this team. The Bengals defense had trouble stopping Boller, so I don’t have much hope that they are going to put up much of a fight against better teams. This might mean that Palmer may rack up tons of junk passing yards in come from behind attempts all season long….that is if he can stay on the field.

• Green Bay’s first team defense has yet to allow a point this preseason and has nine takeaways.  It looks like the transition to the 3-4 is working out just fine.  On third downs and obvious passing situations, the Packers are running a Nickel 2-4-5 with only two down linemen.  The blitzers can them come from any of the four LBs or even the secondary.  Pittsburgh is the only other team that uses that alignment on a regular basis and I heard they had a pretty good D last year.

• Ricky Brown will start the season at MLB for the Raiders.  Brown was in competition with last year’s starter Kirk Morrison for the job but Morrison dislocated his elbow vs. San Francisco.  He is expected to miss about a month and Brown’s performance will determine if Morrison comes back as the MLB or slides over to the strong side. Brown is off to a good start after intercepting Alex Smith a week after sacking QB Jon Kitna of Dallas.

• Second year player Malcolm Kelly is the frontrunner to start at WR opposite of Santana Moss.  That would put Antwaan Randle El back in the slot where he’s more effective.  Randle El and Moss are both 5’10” while Kelly is 6’4” so in addition to the regular looks he’ll get as starter, he will also be a huge, literally, red zone threat.

• Potential Sleeper: WR Earl Bennett.  After not catching a pass and only dressing for 10 games last season, Bennett has started both preseason games opposite Devin Hester.  He also is reunited with former Vanderbilt teammate, QB Jay Cutler, who helped him become the all-time leading receiver in the SEC.

• There will not be a QB controversy in Denver-Kyle Orton is the clear cut starter.  Orton was efficient, and looked comfortable, in Denver’s loss to Seattle.  In fact I would say he looked more like Tom Brady than Matt Cassel did last year in coach Josh McDaniel’s offensive scheme.  Besides the horrendous Jake Plummer-esque left-handed interception, Orton made all the right progressions, threw it to whomever was open, and didn’t force the ball into tight spots.  But it is clear the Broncos lack the deep threat of Brandon Marshall.  Nearly all of Orton’s passes were on three-step drops and required the WR to make the big play and gain YAC.

• WR Troy Williamson has all but sealed up one of the starting jobs at receiver in Jacksonville.  Attempting to shed his label as a “bust”, Williamson had 147 receiving yards vs. Tampa Bay and now has 221 yards in two games.  He replaces Matt Jones as the team’s deep threat and even though Jacksonville is a run-first team, last year Jones averaged 63 yards per game in 12 games which projects to over 1,000 yards in a full season.

• Pat White has yet to operate the Wildcat for the Dolphins yet.  The coaches want him to get familiar with taking a snap from under center as he rarely did that while at West Virginia.  However, the Dolphins have implemented designed runs from the QB position for White.  Don’t be surprised if White is NOT used as a Wildcat QB early in the season as Ronnie Brown is the only Dolphin to run it so far this preseason.  But as he gets more comfortable with the playbook, White should be the primary Wildcat QB in the latter half of the season.

• Look for Rashard Mendenhall to have a big fantasy impact in terms of touchdowns.  The Steelers envision him as their future starting RB as early as next year as Willie Parker’s contract expires at the end of this season.  For now Mendenhall will be relegated to being the goal-line back.  As great as Willie Parker is at running the football, he has trouble finding the endzone.  Over the past two years Parker has 557 touches but only seven touchdowns or a ratio of one touchdown for every 80 touches.  Mendenhall’s main competition for the job is Mewelde Moore who has not yet played in preseason and has not practiced since August 4 due to a hamstring injury.