The Lowdown

Two players - Joe Flacco and Steve Slaton - will continue making their cases for rookie of the year in this game, a crucial one for the Ravens, who hope to make a run to the postseason, and the Texans, who are trying to stay afloat in the AFC South. Baltimore’s solid defense has some cracks in it with the absence of Chris McAllister and the questionable statuses of Bart Scott and Samari Rolle, but Houston’s defense should offer some opportunities to Flacco and Co.

Love ‘em

Joe Flacco - BAL - QB - Flacco is looking better every week from every perspective. Last week he passed for 248 yards and threw 2 touchdown passes, extending his touchdown streak to three games. Houston’s pass defense is suspect, too, so things bode especially well for the rookie quarterback this week.

Andre Johnson - HOU - WR - Johnson had 41 receptions for 593 yards between weeks 5-8, before his streak of 9+ reception games was snapped at Cleveland. He did catch his third touchdown of the season in that game, however, and remains one of the league’s biggest threats at wide receiver.

Derrick Mason - BAL - WR - Mason had just 1 catch for 3 yards against the Raiders week 8, but has otherwise been solid for much of the season. He caught 9 passes for 136 yards and 1 touchdown last week in his fourth 6+ reception game of the season. Houston has struggled at time to stop the pass this season and Mason is labeled a “start” this week.

Hate ‘em

Steve Slaton - HOU - RB - Slaton has looked very good the last three weeks of the season, but there’s reason to suspect he stumbles against the Ravens, who have the NFL’s best run defense. Slaton’s yard per carry average has dipped below 4.0 in three of his past four starts and there’s a very good chance he doesn’t find the endzone Sunday.

Le’Ron McClain and Willis McGahee - BAL - RBs -McClain and McGahee have relatively comparable numbers - not that that’s a compliment - this season with a lot of inconsistency thrown into the mix. Both will have a hard time breaking 70 yards this week, though McClain is the best bet to score a touchdown. Still, I’d steer clear.

The Lowdown

Hasselbeck is out, the Dolphins are hot, and this game could wind up a blowout favoring the Dolphins. Miami is within one game in the AFC East and on a two-game win streak, while the Seahawks have one road win this season (and another victory at home).

Love ‘em

Seneca Wallace - SEA - QB - Wallace has filled in admirably while Hasselbeck has been MIA. The 28-year old quarterback has passed for 391 yards and 3 touchdowns (with no interceptions) in his last two starts and should see at least a little more success against the Dolphins, who rank 26th in pass defense.

Ronnie Brown - MIA - RB - It’s hard to love a back that has scored just once in his last three games, but there’s good reason to be looking forward to this week: the Seahawks can’t stop anything. And it’s consoling to know that the team’s Brown failed to score against - Baltimore and Buffalo - have pretty darn good defenses, a luxary Mike Holmgren’s squad lacks.

Hate ‘em

Julius Jones - SEA - RB - It’s hard to post good numbers in a RBBC system with two other healthy backs, and Jones has disappointed fantasy owners most of the season. He hasn’t carried for more than 61 yards or scored a touchdown since the Seahawks week 4 bye, and the Dolphins are solid against the run.

Greg Camarillo - MIA - WR - Ignoring his 111-yard performance at Denver last week, let’s just look at what he did before that. Nothing? Okay. He has one touchdown reception this season and was averaging 53 yards per game before Denver.

The Lowdown

The Lions are still gunning for that elusive first win of the season, while Jacksonville is trying to end its own losing streak of (currently) two games. The Jaguars have scored 30 points in just one game this season and less than 20 in four. Detroit, in perfectly opposite form, has allowed fewer than 20 once this season and more than 30 in four games. Seems like the perfect storm, right?

Love ‘em

David Garrard - JAC - QB - Last week snapped a four game touchdown streak for Garrard, but given how often he throws the football (at least 30 times per game most weeks this season), it only makes sense that he finds the endzone against the Lions. Plus, he’s a sure bet to pass for 200 yards.

Maurice Jones-Drew - JAC - RB - MJD has scored in 3 of his last 4 games and in 4 of his last 6 this season. And though he doesn’t have a lot of rushing yards going into this game, and thus much evidence to support thinking he will rush for 100 yards, let’s just take a good look at Detroit’s defense and ponder: who can’t run up, over, and around the Lions?

Calvin Johnson - DET - WR - Johnson is one of the league’s best fantasy wide receivers this season, and he’s been as good as gold the past four weeks. In that time he’s put together 18 receptions for 390 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns. And there’s a good chance Daunte Culpepper will probably try shaking the rust off this week by lobbing some deep balls Johnson’s way.

Matt Jones - JAC - WR - If you’re not in a PPR league, you can probably continue scrolling down to the next set of names. But if you appreciate lots of catches - Jones has caught 7+ the past three weeks - you might want to take a second look at him.

Hate ‘em

Kevin Smith - DET - RB - Smith might have four rushing touchdowns this season and two in the last three weeks, but there should be some definite concern over his lack of yards. He hasn’t rushed for at least 70 yards yet this season, which means fantasy owners are looking at a single digit week if he can’t find the endzone, and even when he does find the endzone owners are looking at a max of 10 points.

Fred Taylor - JAC - RB - You probably didn’t need me to tell you that Taylor should ride the pine (assuming you for some reason have him on your roster), but just to be safe I’d like to point out that Taylor hasn’t rushed a touchdown this season or carried the ball more than 10 times since week three.

The Lowdown

Uh-oh, it’s a defensive showdown Sunday when Tennessee travels to the Windy City after defeating another NFC North team, Green Bay. Meanwhile Chicago may be without Kyle Orton (which means Grossman could start) and Kerry Collins continues to leave fantasy players scratching their heads.

Love ‘em

Chris Johnson and LenDale White - TEN - RB - There isn’t a lot to love in this game, but these two runners have been incredible this season. Granted, they’ll face a stiff defense in Chicago, but take solace in this: Chris Johnson has rushed for at least one touchdown in his last three starts and in four of his last five starts, and he’s netted at least 90 yards in his last three starts; and LenDale White has scored 10 touchdowns this season and more than one in three games.

Matt Forte - CHI - RB - Okay, maybe “love” is a bit strong, but I do know this: the temperature could dip to freezing during the game, and wind could play a significant factor in the running game. Translation: Forte should get plenty of carries. Tennessee has a tough run defense, but Forte is a downhill runner who has scored in three of his last four starts. Chicago will probably try keeping the ball on the ground to prevent turnovers, and Forte should find the endzone at least once. Hopefully.

Hate ‘em

Anyone Who Considers Himself a Receiver or Part of the Passing Game - TEN/CHI - QB/WR/TE - In Tennessee, Kerry Collins has three passing touchdowns this season, and no one on the team has more than 1. In fact, no one on the team has at least 350 receiving yards this season either. And only one player (Bo Scaife) has at least 225. The top two targets in Chicago are tight ends, both of which play a solid role on gameday. Problem is, you have to wonder how often Chicago finds the endzone in this game and how many of those scores will be passing. Play it safe and keep them on the bench.

Consider this your cheatsheet to Sunday’s matchup between two unlikelies, the Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills.

Who’s Playing? Oakland Raiders (1-1) at Buffalo Bills (2-0)

What’s the Spread? Buffalo (-9 1/2)

When’s kickoff? 1:00 ET

Who won last time? Oakland

And before that? The Raiders hav won the past four matchups (dating back to 1999), 6 of the past 8 (dating back to 1992), and lead the series, 19-15

Why watch? Both of these teams were miserable last season but each is looking a little more than respectable this season, especially the Bills. JaMarcus Russell and Trent Edwards are passing the ball well and Darren McFadden looks amazing.

Anything in particular to look for? For sure. The most intriguing thing to see is these young quarterbacks. Neither has thrown a pick yet this season and both have a pair of touchdown tosses. Edwards has thrown the ball a little more frequently (and has a better completion percentage and, thus, more yards), but Russell can certainly hold his own in the lineup.

But don’t forget about Darren McFadden. He’s living up to the hype (surpassing it at this point, actually), averaging 7 yards per carry. He blew through the Jaguars last weekend with a 164 yard rushing performance that outgained last year’s rookie sensation Adrian Peterson. Michael Bush added another 90 yards last week, and the Raiders are already establishing themselves as having one of the league’s most effective running games.

Oakland will also the return of Javon Walker in a greater role this week. He’s been practicing and he’s another target for Russell to throw the ball to.

It will also be interesting to see how this Raiders defense deals with the Bills mighty “O”. The Raiders were trampled week one by the Broncos, 41-7, but the team came to play week 2 vs. Kansas City, winning handily, 23-8. Buffalo, meanwhile, has already taken down a pair of ‘07 playoff teams (Jacksonville and Seattle), scoring 34 points against the Seahawks and holding both teams to under 20 points (13 ppg allowed this season).

Did I mention that the Bills haven’t started a season 3-0 since 1992? Or that the Raiders haven’t won more than 5 games in a season since 2002. I reiterate: these are two franchises that been in the NFL’s basement lately, but both are showing a lot of promise in the early goings of this season.

Who will win? Buffalo is favored by 9 1/2 points, but if the Raiders can pull themselves together and run the ball effectively I think this can definitely be a close game. I’ll take the Raiders to cover, but the Bills to win.

Consider this your Cheatsheet to the Patriots-Jets game on Sunday.

The Essentials

Who’s playing? The New England Patriots (1-0) and New York Jets (1-0)

What’s the spread? New York (-1)

Where’s it at? New York

Who won last time? New England, 20-10; December 16, 2007

What about before that? The Patriots have won nine of the last ten meetings, but the Jets lead the series, 48-46-2

What’s the significance? The two most publicized storylines here deal with a guy who’s playing and another who isn’t. Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre won his first game as a New York Jet last week against the Dolphins and has brought some serious high hopes to his new franchise. New England, however, will be without quarterback Tom Brady, who was injured last week and will miss the remainder of the season. It also bears mentioning that this is an AFC East matchup and rivalry; head coaches Bill Belichick and Eric Mangini have a bit of a history. (They hate each other.)

What should I watch for? One of the main things I’ll be looking at is how the absence of Tom Brady will affect the Patriots playcalling tendencies. The safe bet is that the Patriots will focus their attention on running the ball effectively while Matt Cassell commands the offense. That should in turn affect the values of Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris, Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Jabar Gaffney, and Ben Watson.

In my opinion, Wes Welker’s value will be most effected. He’s a possession receiver in the purest sense of the term. Chances are, with Cassell under center, Welker will see fewer throws his way and that will hurt his overall worth in fantasy football.

Of course, I’ll also be watching Matt Cassell in his first NFL start. In fact, it’s his first start since he was playing high school football in sunny, Southern California. He looked good last week, passing for 152 yards and a touchdown in a winning effort. This week he’ll have a little more pressure to perform because the expectations will be raised a little. How he responds to that will be a very interesting storyline.

On the Jets side, I’m just looking forward to another week of Brett Favre. It’s odd watching him in a Jets jersey, but, surprisingly, it wasn’t a difficult transition to see him with the new franchise. And I live in Wisconsin, among the aptly-nicknamed cheeseheads. I think the general consensus is that most Packers fans have now bumped the Jets to number 2 (or perhaps 1a) on their lists of favorite teams.

Thomas Jones looked excellent last week, as well, rushing for 101 yards and a touchdown with a 4.6 yard per carry average. The Patriots have a better rush defense than the Dolphins, so it will be interesting watching Jones between the tackles this week.

Who’s going to win? I’ll take the New York Bretts at home in this one I wouldn’t be shocked to see the Belichick-coached Patriots pull out a win.

When the Denver Broncos take the field this Sunday against division rival San Diego the team will have an opportunity to show fans whether week one’s monster victory over the Raiders was because, well, it was the Raiders, or because this team really is that good. One thing that should certainly help: the return of Brandon Marshall. Last season’s leading receiver, Marshall is a tremendous assett to this offense in his role as the team’s starter. And after watching Eddie Royal tear apart the Raiders secondary, I can’t wait to see what this offense is capable of doing against a tougher opponent.

San Diego is 0-1, after the Carolina Panthers put together a last minute drive to defeat the AFC West champs. The Chargers are also without linebacker/playmaker Shawn Merriman, whose season ended when he opted for surgery instead of risking long-term damage to his knee. A smart move for sure, but it does make this Chargers defense a bit weaker.

Still, this is an excellent football team. The offense is capable of scoring a lot of points, with Philip Rivers at the helm and LaDainian Tomlinson carrying the football. The key this season will be consistency. Rivers didn’t have a lot of that last year, and it hurt the team some weeks. He looked good against the Panthers and, for San Diego’s sake, hopefully he can keep it up.

This weekend, the Chargers will face another tough opponent when they take the field against the Broncos. Both teams are more than capable of putting points on the board. They also share some similarities, with young quarterbacks and primary receivers on offense. (Both also have veteran wide receivers - Brandon Stokley and Chris Chambers - who contribute.)

Though it’s only week two, I think it’s fair to say that is a big game, especially for the Chargers. If San Diego starts the season 0-2, with a loss to the division leader, it will be an uphill battle the rest of the season. From Denver’s perspective, however, a 2-0 start to the season, with two division wins, is how any team would like to start the season. It’s especially important because both of these teams figure to contend for the division title at the end of the season. Getting a leg up early would be nice for either franchise. Consider it in baseball terms: it would be like the Red Sox starting the season with a 20-game losing streak while the Yankees begin with 20 straight wins. Tough start if you’re the Sox in that equation.

From a fantasy football perspective, this is going to be a fun game for owners of either team’s players. The Chargers have a solid defense, but, as I noted earlier, a key component is missing. And though Denver was able to contain the Raiders, Oakland had a number of head-scratching, “what were they thinking?” moments. Expect some solid scoring from both teams in this one.

First of all, let’s look at last season. And it’s a bit odd because, let’s be honest, he played just two complete games and was injured in the third. But take a look at his numbers:  he passed for 624 yards, 8 touchdowns, and just one interception. Span that across a season (I know it’s silly, but let’s do it for kicks) and he could have rivaled Tom Brady! That aside, Delhomme was still probably going to have a pretty darn good season last year. He might not have set any records, but it’s reasonable to suggest he could have thrown for 3,400 yards and 25 touchdowns.

And consider this: at the end of the season, Delhomme had just one touchdown pass less than Vince Young (and 16 fewer interceptions!).

But considering Delhomme over the past several seasons - his career even - it’s clear we expected too much from him, given his supporting cast. After all, the Panthers haven’t exactly been a team that could grind the ball out, so once defenses realized, hey, maybe if we stop the passing game we’ll shut down the offense, the Panthers struggled.

This season, the Panthers will be starting DeAngelo Williams, who averaged 5.0 yards per run and scored 4 touchdowns on 144 carries last season, and will be changing pace with bruising rookie runner Jonathan Stewart. Those two backs figure to give the Panthers a strong run support that will be able to keep defenses honsest.

The Panthers also added Muhsin Muhammad this season, the former Carolina wide receiver who has spent the past several seasons in Chicago. Both “Moosh” and former Seahawks receiver D.J. Hackett will be complementing Steve Smith, a wide receiver who has probably spent the past several season practically begging the Panthers front offense to add some depth to the position.

If Jake Delhomme is healthy when the season kicks off, and he can stay that way throughout the year, there’s no doubt in my mind he has the potential to have a season like he did in 2004 or 2005, when he was throwing for 3,400-3,800 yards and 24+ touchdowns. He just needs a little help from him teammates, and I think he’ll get it.

First of all, is Adrian Peterson the real deal?

He sure is. Peterson’s blend of size and speed make him one of the most dynamic runners in the NFL. He has the potential to break 2,000 yards and has set it as a goal for himself. Will he average 5.6 yards per carry again? Maybe, maybe not. But he will carry this team as far as they go, and I’m projecting him to finish with at least 1,500 rushing yards, 200 receiving yards, and 15 touchdowns.

What’s to make of the passing game? And, more specifically, what can we expect from Tarvaris Jackson?

He’s a young quarterback with limited potential playing in an offense that will run the ball 60% of the time. In short, he’s not a fantasy starter and he’s a bit of a stretch as a QB2. Luckily, the Vikings added Bernard Berrian to his repertoire, increasing his projections to a degree. The Vikings are going to have an adequate-at-best passing game, but the success of Jackson and Co. depends very much on Adrian Peterson. If AD has a great season, the Vikings passing game will benefit. But if he’s under-utilized, injured, or just plain ineffective, this team will struggle mightily on offense.

Bernard Berrian - what does he bring to the table?

Berrian can stretch the field and is the first Vikings receiver since Randy Moss to have that kind of potential. Of course, most who remember his days with the Bears can recall that he lacked consistency. There were times when he flat out dropped passes he should have caught - and there were times when he made spectacular catches. Still, he’s a massive upgrade at the wide receiver position in Minnesota, and he should be drafted as a solid lower-end WR2 or very good WR3. I’m projecting for at least 70 receptions, 1,000 yards, and 6 touchdowns.

Are the Vikings the favorites in the NFC North?

At this point it’s difficult to say. If Brett Favre returns to Green Bay, one has to think the Packers are the favorites. But if Tarvaris Jackson has a good season for the Vikings, Minnesota could win the division. At this point, I’d give the Packers a slight (very slight) edge over the Vikings because I have more faith in Green Bay’s passing game than Minnesota’s, but this is definitely a case in which it’s too close to accurately call.

Is Larry Johnson finished as an elite fantasy back?

Johnson, in my opinion, is a very talented back who was - at least to some extent - the product of a system that had one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. When the seams of that started to come apart last season he struggled. Now, having said that, I should also point out that Johnson did begin to catch his stride in the several games before his season-ending injury. In weeks 4, 6, and 7 he broke 100 yards rushing with a respectable 4.4 ypc average, and he scored his only touchdowns of the season in weeks 6, 7, and 9. I think he’ll have a better year this season. I don’t expect him to produce like a top five fantasy running back this season, but I do expect him to play the entire season like he began in 6 last year. Project for at least 1,300 rushing yards, 350 receiving yards, and 12 touchdowns and draft him in the mid-late first round.

What’s going on with the Chiefs quarterback situation - is Croyle really the guy?

Evidently, yes. The latest word is that the Chiefs may consider shopping Damon Huard because Tyler Thigpen - yes, Tyler Thigpen - may have earned the number two spot. I must admit that I was a little surprised when the Chiefs didn’t draft a quarterback high, but the team apparently has faith in Croyle, who was pretty mediocre last season, completing 56.7 percent of his passes and throwing 6 touchdowns-interceptions. Still, Chiefs o-coordinator Chan Gailey believes Croyle can be a franchise quarterback (”there’s no question” he can). Personally, I don’t think he has that kind of potential, but I’ll be interested to see how he responds to the change in coordinators.

Alright, so is Dwayne Bowe a good fantasy pick?

Bowe, who emerged as a rookie last season to be the Chiefs go-to wide receiver, is definitely a good fantasy pick. I do question how many touchdowns he’ll score and how the passing game will change with Croyle as the primary passer, but Bowe remains a good WR2. He might break 80 receptions, and I definitely expect at least 1,100 yards this year with 8 touchdowns.

Is Tony Gonzalez still a fantasy stud at tight end?

Absolutely. Gonzo, who had one of the best seasons of his career last year, continues to amaze me. I don’t know if he’ll repeat those numbers (99 receptions, 1,172 yards, and 5 touchdowns) but I do know that Croyle is going to be looking his way a lot. Even at age 32, I think that Gonzalez is a top three tight end (maybe four if you value Winslow a little higher) who should have another great season with at least 80 receptions, 1,000 yards, and five touchdowns.

Where will the Chiefs finish in the West?

Third, behind San Diego and Denver with a 7-9 record. Kansas City has potential, no doubt about it, but I don’t think they’ll reach it this season. Croyle lacks experience and I’m not sold on the offensive line.