Ministry of Pain
Footballguy
Let’s just jump right into week 4!
Baltimore at Cleveland
Steve McNair/Kyle Boller: If McNair is starting I like this match up a little less. He has done virtually nothing so far and is hampered by injuries. The Ravens would be better served to give him the week off and let him get healthy. Odds are they should beat the Browns. Cleveland has given up 11 TDs in 3 weeks and QBs have a 113.5 passer rating combined against them. And that includes the likes of McCown/CPepp, Big Ben and yes Palmer as well. 250+ yds a game to boot. Match up is good but can either of these guys exploit it?
Derek Anderson: I picked this guy up and cut him again this week. If you look at his schedule moving forward the next few weeks I don’t see a lot of great match ups for him and I think likely he will be riding the pine after Cleveland comes out of their bye week with a likely 2-6 record. He probably is not the future for Cleveland and I doubt they keep rolling him out once they are well behind in the standings. Baltimore is not as good against the pass as the run but unless you are in a must start 2 QB league, Anderson doesn’t make a lot of sense here.
Chicago at Detroit
Brian Griese: Grossman is being sent to the bench and I think barring an injury(something that could easily happen), but barring an injury I don’t think the move was done for a 1 week test trial. Let’s focus on Griese, and I have to say that I like him in this role. Most are disregarding him as a journeyman and that he couldn’t make it in other cities. He took over for John Elway, how was that ever going to be a winning situation for him…and he did really well when he 1st took over but I think most know Griese suffered from alcohol. And I think that is the main reason he was let go in Denver, he wanted liquor more than football at the time. And he isn’t the only person to ever do this, Kerry Collins suffered from a similar situation, yet when focused, Collins could produce decent FF numbers when given the right situation. I don’t count Miami as when he was there in 2003, the Dolphins were starting to nose dive and Wanny was killing the team. In Tampa Bay he did really well but was let go after his injury and Gruden wanting to pave the way at the time for Chris Simms.
This is lengthy I know but it needs to be said. If you link to Griese and his body of work, he has had some very impressive games. Now I doubt he will be asked to do a lot but at the same time, Chicago cannot run the football worth a spit right now so maybe Griese will throw the ball some on Sunday. Detroit is a great match up on paper. Griese is no McNabb but he has some weapons and I expect him to do well on Sunday. The Lions are giving up almost 280 yds a week and 2 TD…so Griese could easily throw for 250+ and maybe 2 TD on Sunday. Brian Griese has a lot more 300+ yard days on his resume than most would like to believe.
Kitna: not that you really need a reason to start him but both starting CB from Chicago are likely OUT for Sunday. Both Vasher and Tillman are top notch DBs, make no mistake about it, even if you didn’t know their names, those two make a very nice pair in the ole Tampa Two that the Bears run a lot of their pass defenses out of. Add to that, Brown is out for the season, and Lance Briggs may not be able to play, and oh did I mention Tommie Harris is gimpy? Even if Calvin Johnson cannot go for the Lions, they still have lots of weapons for Kitna to distribute the ball to and I think he can do fine in the dome on Sunday. Start him with pride.
Green Bay at Minnesota
Brett Favre: I am not hot on Favre this week. Traditionally he doesn’t play great in domes and I think this will be a pretty low scoring affair. The Vikes have held opponents to about 10-14 points a game so far, Favre isn’t going to light them up for 3 TD on Sunday, I assure you…course I said that last week in regards to him vs SD…but I really mean it this week.
Kelly Holcomb/TJax: Whichever, doesn’t matter, neither are good options really against anyone.
Houston at Atlanta
Matt Schaub: Played reasonably well last week without Andre Johnson…this week he is missing Johnson and Jacoby Jones, and likely Ahman Green out of the backfield. The Falcons are showing a 102.1 rating against QBs but they are only allowing 184/1 a game on defense…and Delhomee and Smith didn’t exactly light them up last week. I don’t think Schaub is a great play this week.
Joey Harrington: Throws for 350+ last week and they still lose. The Texans are not world beaters on pass defense but they are sort of in the middle. They just saw Peyton manning and crew, likely the Falcons’ WR will look a lot easier to cover for them, Joey is far to up and down to rely on anything. He could easily toss a 150 yd 3 INTs on Sunday as easily as he tossed 350+ last week.
NY Jets at Buffalo
Chad Pennington: This is a nice match up for the Jets and possibly a way for them to get back to .500 for the season. The Bills are giving up 280 yds and 2 TDs a game so I would look for a way to get Penny out there on Sunday.
Trent Edwards: Rookie QB, don’t expect much. Sure the Jets are allowing 260/2 TD a week right now, but Edwards will look like fresh meat to the Jets’defense. Maybe Lee Evans can get on track a little this week but Edwards should not be relied on.
Oakland at Miami
Culpepper: I think he is starting but you never know with this tricky Kiffin guy…if McCown is going to have to really be hurt before I would even trust the early reports. I might think CPepp would want to extract a little revenge on the Miami Dolphins for the way they treated him…and as a Phinsfan I am sort of hoping it happens as the management for Miami from ownership on down is a disaster. When I moved here, I never dreamed that radio station hosts here were so hooked on not irritating the management that they would sell the fans out. This place is unreal but I might save it for another thread. I expect CPepp to have a decent day if he starts.
Trent Green: Up and down is how to describe him right now. The Raiders are allowing 250/1.5 TD a week right now but only a 79 passer rating. Teams are completing about 64% of their passes though. Green should fare OK this week and likely land in the middle of the pack which is where he has been at most of the season.
St Louis at Dallas
Marc Bulger: How can you start him right now? 2 broken ribs on top of poor performance. I have to see something positive before I go wheeling him out and I own him in a lot of dynasty leagues. Cowboy sare giving up 250/2 TD a week, however they are 3rd in the league with a 66.9 passer rating to opposing QBs…WOW! Why is that? 6.8 yds per attempt is pretty low but they also have 8 interceptions on the season, so your QB might get a TD or two, but likely loses points to the interceptions. And Bulger threw a few last week, I expect him to again this week in another Dallas Cowboys BLOWOUT!!!
Tony Romo: Must start every week. I told people not to bench this guy last week…you have nothing to think about at this point…or do you? The Rams are allowing only 146/1 TD per week however the stat is misleading. The Rams are also giving out 101 passer ratings, and allowing a 65% completion percentage. Dallas has a pretty solid ground game and I expect them to run the ball well on Sunday, but I also expect them to go to the air anytime they want. Maybe Romo only posts 200/2 because it should be a blowout but he should not be benched about 99% of the time right now, really.
Seattle at San Fran
Matt Hasselbeck: With Shaun’s injury, I want to believe the Seahawks will try and pass more, however the Niners are only allowing 192/1 TD per game and a QB rating of only 81. I think Matt will do OK but with the new Niners secondary and Nate Clements back there, to look at what Hass has done to this point in Seatle as a measuring stick would be a false barometer IMO.
Alex Smith: Not doing anything well right now. The Seahawks are allowing 273 yds a game but they are not giving out a lot of TD right now…only 2 total on the season. Smith has to show he can actually light it up on someone before he will ever make a strong play on my list.
Tampa Bay at Carolina
Jeff Garcia: Good news is he hasn’t thrown an interception on the season. The bad news is he has only thrown 2 TDs and is not even avg 200 yds a game thru the air. TB is running the ball. Now with Caddy being injured and maybe out for the game, I like Garcia and the Bucs to trst the Panthers secondary a little more on Sunday. Garcia needs some one other than Joey Galloway to make a play. He has no WR2, TE, or real threat out of the backfield to break one off…I don’t think Garcia is a super play right now…but he is doing well as an NFL QB and leading his team.
Jake Delhomme: Let’s assume he is OUT, let’s assume if he plays because of the injury you would bench him anyways.
David Carr: Not against the Bucs who rank really strong against the pass…184/.5TD a week right now…71 passer rating, leave this one alone as I think Carolina is going to test the run defense of Tampa Bay.
Denver at Indy
Jay Cutler: Is he really playing better than Jake Plummer was a year ago? In terms of FF, I am not liking what I see here so far. I would not be starting Cutler in most leagues. The Colts defense is only allowing 190/.5 TD a week right now, they are one of the better pass defenses in the league.
Peyton Manning: Bench him this week…haha, no way you ever take this guy and sit him on your bench. Sure, the match up is tough but he has so many weapons and playing at home, the Broncos vaunted pass defense will take a little hit this weekend. They might be able to cover Marvin and Wayne with little help form the Safeties but who is going to cover the slot WR and Dallas Clark? Manning will be fine this weekend.
Kansas City at San Diego
Damon Huard: Decent match up on paper but Huard is not the type of QB you turn to in order to exploit a match up. I might like Bowe at the WR position again this week but I expect more pedestrian numbers from Huard this week. In fact, SD might try and get healthy on defense against the Chiefs.
Phillip Rivers: The Chiefs defense is actually not bad. Only 155 yds a game and only 2 TD have they allowed on the season. And a 71 passer rating on them. Rivers has a nice surprise game last week but I don’t look for him to do that well again this week. Allen is back on the KC DL as well, and that made a big difference for them last week.
Pittsburgh at Arizona
Ben Roethlisberger: The Cards are only allowing 210 yds and 2 total TDs on the season. Are they as good as the numbers indicate? Not sure but without Hines Ward, I don’t think Big Ben is a good play this week. I know that will irritate some of you as it seems many on the board bought into Big Ben and it looked great week 1 but the past 2 weeks have been anything but spectacular. Average day for Ben and crew.
Matt Leinart: No way, the Steelers are really good against the pass and 2nd in the NFL in passer ratings with a 62.5 against them. I’m not even going to play the Whisenhunt angle here, just let him sit this week.
Philly at NY Giants
McNabb: A must start
Eli Manning: With the Eagles secondary still banged up I like Manning this week a lot. They are fresh off a big win in Washington, the winner of this game will get back in the hunt at .500, I do look at those things. There is a lot play for here if you’re Manning and I expect him to do well. The Eagles are surrendering 250/1 TD a week but we saw what Kitna was able to do to them last week. If Dawkins and Lito Sheppard are back, it might be a little different.
New England at Cincinnati
Tom Brady: Must start. Cinci is giving up 257 and almost 3 TD a game.
Carson Palmer: Pats are only giving up 133 yds a game but they have not seen an offense as good at throwing the ball as what they will see on MNF…don’t over analyze the match up too much. Start Carson with confidence and just be thankful you have him every week.
Baltimore at Cleveland
Steve McNair/Kyle Boller: If McNair is starting I like this match up a little less. He has done virtually nothing so far and is hampered by injuries. The Ravens would be better served to give him the week off and let him get healthy. Odds are they should beat the Browns. Cleveland has given up 11 TDs in 3 weeks and QBs have a 113.5 passer rating combined against them. And that includes the likes of McCown/CPepp, Big Ben and yes Palmer as well. 250+ yds a game to boot. Match up is good but can either of these guys exploit it?
Derek Anderson: I picked this guy up and cut him again this week. If you look at his schedule moving forward the next few weeks I don’t see a lot of great match ups for him and I think likely he will be riding the pine after Cleveland comes out of their bye week with a likely 2-6 record. He probably is not the future for Cleveland and I doubt they keep rolling him out once they are well behind in the standings. Baltimore is not as good against the pass as the run but unless you are in a must start 2 QB league, Anderson doesn’t make a lot of sense here.
Chicago at Detroit
Brian Griese: Grossman is being sent to the bench and I think barring an injury(something that could easily happen), but barring an injury I don’t think the move was done for a 1 week test trial. Let’s focus on Griese, and I have to say that I like him in this role. Most are disregarding him as a journeyman and that he couldn’t make it in other cities. He took over for John Elway, how was that ever going to be a winning situation for him…and he did really well when he 1st took over but I think most know Griese suffered from alcohol. And I think that is the main reason he was let go in Denver, he wanted liquor more than football at the time. And he isn’t the only person to ever do this, Kerry Collins suffered from a similar situation, yet when focused, Collins could produce decent FF numbers when given the right situation. I don’t count Miami as when he was there in 2003, the Dolphins were starting to nose dive and Wanny was killing the team. In Tampa Bay he did really well but was let go after his injury and Gruden wanting to pave the way at the time for Chris Simms.
This is lengthy I know but it needs to be said. If you link to Griese and his body of work, he has had some very impressive games. Now I doubt he will be asked to do a lot but at the same time, Chicago cannot run the football worth a spit right now so maybe Griese will throw the ball some on Sunday. Detroit is a great match up on paper. Griese is no McNabb but he has some weapons and I expect him to do well on Sunday. The Lions are giving up almost 280 yds a week and 2 TD…so Griese could easily throw for 250+ and maybe 2 TD on Sunday. Brian Griese has a lot more 300+ yard days on his resume than most would like to believe.
Kitna: not that you really need a reason to start him but both starting CB from Chicago are likely OUT for Sunday. Both Vasher and Tillman are top notch DBs, make no mistake about it, even if you didn’t know their names, those two make a very nice pair in the ole Tampa Two that the Bears run a lot of their pass defenses out of. Add to that, Brown is out for the season, and Lance Briggs may not be able to play, and oh did I mention Tommie Harris is gimpy? Even if Calvin Johnson cannot go for the Lions, they still have lots of weapons for Kitna to distribute the ball to and I think he can do fine in the dome on Sunday. Start him with pride.
Green Bay at Minnesota
Brett Favre: I am not hot on Favre this week. Traditionally he doesn’t play great in domes and I think this will be a pretty low scoring affair. The Vikes have held opponents to about 10-14 points a game so far, Favre isn’t going to light them up for 3 TD on Sunday, I assure you…course I said that last week in regards to him vs SD…but I really mean it this week.
Kelly Holcomb/TJax: Whichever, doesn’t matter, neither are good options really against anyone.
Houston at Atlanta
Matt Schaub: Played reasonably well last week without Andre Johnson…this week he is missing Johnson and Jacoby Jones, and likely Ahman Green out of the backfield. The Falcons are showing a 102.1 rating against QBs but they are only allowing 184/1 a game on defense…and Delhomee and Smith didn’t exactly light them up last week. I don’t think Schaub is a great play this week.
Joey Harrington: Throws for 350+ last week and they still lose. The Texans are not world beaters on pass defense but they are sort of in the middle. They just saw Peyton manning and crew, likely the Falcons’ WR will look a lot easier to cover for them, Joey is far to up and down to rely on anything. He could easily toss a 150 yd 3 INTs on Sunday as easily as he tossed 350+ last week.
NY Jets at Buffalo
Chad Pennington: This is a nice match up for the Jets and possibly a way for them to get back to .500 for the season. The Bills are giving up 280 yds and 2 TDs a game so I would look for a way to get Penny out there on Sunday.
Trent Edwards: Rookie QB, don’t expect much. Sure the Jets are allowing 260/2 TD a week right now, but Edwards will look like fresh meat to the Jets’defense. Maybe Lee Evans can get on track a little this week but Edwards should not be relied on.
Oakland at Miami
Culpepper: I think he is starting but you never know with this tricky Kiffin guy…if McCown is going to have to really be hurt before I would even trust the early reports. I might think CPepp would want to extract a little revenge on the Miami Dolphins for the way they treated him…and as a Phinsfan I am sort of hoping it happens as the management for Miami from ownership on down is a disaster. When I moved here, I never dreamed that radio station hosts here were so hooked on not irritating the management that they would sell the fans out. This place is unreal but I might save it for another thread. I expect CPepp to have a decent day if he starts.
Trent Green: Up and down is how to describe him right now. The Raiders are allowing 250/1.5 TD a week right now but only a 79 passer rating. Teams are completing about 64% of their passes though. Green should fare OK this week and likely land in the middle of the pack which is where he has been at most of the season.
St Louis at Dallas
Marc Bulger: How can you start him right now? 2 broken ribs on top of poor performance. I have to see something positive before I go wheeling him out and I own him in a lot of dynasty leagues. Cowboy sare giving up 250/2 TD a week, however they are 3rd in the league with a 66.9 passer rating to opposing QBs…WOW! Why is that? 6.8 yds per attempt is pretty low but they also have 8 interceptions on the season, so your QB might get a TD or two, but likely loses points to the interceptions. And Bulger threw a few last week, I expect him to again this week in another Dallas Cowboys BLOWOUT!!!
Tony Romo: Must start every week. I told people not to bench this guy last week…you have nothing to think about at this point…or do you? The Rams are allowing only 146/1 TD per week however the stat is misleading. The Rams are also giving out 101 passer ratings, and allowing a 65% completion percentage. Dallas has a pretty solid ground game and I expect them to run the ball well on Sunday, but I also expect them to go to the air anytime they want. Maybe Romo only posts 200/2 because it should be a blowout but he should not be benched about 99% of the time right now, really.
Seattle at San Fran
Matt Hasselbeck: With Shaun’s injury, I want to believe the Seahawks will try and pass more, however the Niners are only allowing 192/1 TD per game and a QB rating of only 81. I think Matt will do OK but with the new Niners secondary and Nate Clements back there, to look at what Hass has done to this point in Seatle as a measuring stick would be a false barometer IMO.
Alex Smith: Not doing anything well right now. The Seahawks are allowing 273 yds a game but they are not giving out a lot of TD right now…only 2 total on the season. Smith has to show he can actually light it up on someone before he will ever make a strong play on my list.
Tampa Bay at Carolina
Jeff Garcia: Good news is he hasn’t thrown an interception on the season. The bad news is he has only thrown 2 TDs and is not even avg 200 yds a game thru the air. TB is running the ball. Now with Caddy being injured and maybe out for the game, I like Garcia and the Bucs to trst the Panthers secondary a little more on Sunday. Garcia needs some one other than Joey Galloway to make a play. He has no WR2, TE, or real threat out of the backfield to break one off…I don’t think Garcia is a super play right now…but he is doing well as an NFL QB and leading his team.
Jake Delhomme: Let’s assume he is OUT, let’s assume if he plays because of the injury you would bench him anyways.
David Carr: Not against the Bucs who rank really strong against the pass…184/.5TD a week right now…71 passer rating, leave this one alone as I think Carolina is going to test the run defense of Tampa Bay.
Denver at Indy
Jay Cutler: Is he really playing better than Jake Plummer was a year ago? In terms of FF, I am not liking what I see here so far. I would not be starting Cutler in most leagues. The Colts defense is only allowing 190/.5 TD a week right now, they are one of the better pass defenses in the league.
Peyton Manning: Bench him this week…haha, no way you ever take this guy and sit him on your bench. Sure, the match up is tough but he has so many weapons and playing at home, the Broncos vaunted pass defense will take a little hit this weekend. They might be able to cover Marvin and Wayne with little help form the Safeties but who is going to cover the slot WR and Dallas Clark? Manning will be fine this weekend.
Kansas City at San Diego
Damon Huard: Decent match up on paper but Huard is not the type of QB you turn to in order to exploit a match up. I might like Bowe at the WR position again this week but I expect more pedestrian numbers from Huard this week. In fact, SD might try and get healthy on defense against the Chiefs.
Phillip Rivers: The Chiefs defense is actually not bad. Only 155 yds a game and only 2 TD have they allowed on the season. And a 71 passer rating on them. Rivers has a nice surprise game last week but I don’t look for him to do that well again this week. Allen is back on the KC DL as well, and that made a big difference for them last week.
Pittsburgh at Arizona
Ben Roethlisberger: The Cards are only allowing 210 yds and 2 total TDs on the season. Are they as good as the numbers indicate? Not sure but without Hines Ward, I don’t think Big Ben is a good play this week. I know that will irritate some of you as it seems many on the board bought into Big Ben and it looked great week 1 but the past 2 weeks have been anything but spectacular. Average day for Ben and crew.
Matt Leinart: No way, the Steelers are really good against the pass and 2nd in the NFL in passer ratings with a 62.5 against them. I’m not even going to play the Whisenhunt angle here, just let him sit this week.
Philly at NY Giants
McNabb: A must start
Eli Manning: With the Eagles secondary still banged up I like Manning this week a lot. They are fresh off a big win in Washington, the winner of this game will get back in the hunt at .500, I do look at those things. There is a lot play for here if you’re Manning and I expect him to do well. The Eagles are surrendering 250/1 TD a week but we saw what Kitna was able to do to them last week. If Dawkins and Lito Sheppard are back, it might be a little different.
New England at Cincinnati
Tom Brady: Must start. Cinci is giving up 257 and almost 3 TD a game.
Carson Palmer: Pats are only giving up 133 yds a game but they have not seen an offense as good at throwing the ball as what they will see on MNF…don’t over analyze the match up too much. Start Carson with confidence and just be thankful you have him every week.
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here.The Chiefs gave up 20 to the Texans, 20 to the Bears and 10 to the Vikings. They may not be a bad defense, but I don't think they're good, and I certainly don't think they're better than the Bears (of week 1 anyway), Patriots or Packers defenses. In fact I'm pretty sure they're not close to being as good as any of those.
There is only a couple guys that I would bench Favre for this week.
ossibly both DBs are OUT for Chicago
