Must Start:
1. Donovan McNabb vs. Cincinnati. These are the types of games that #5 relishes. No pressure, no problem. The Eagles, still fuming from their 36-31 loss to the Giants, will look to come out and put a hurtin’ on the Bengals. And since the Bengals can’t stop anyone on the ground or through the air, look for McNabb and his receivers – in particular DeSean Jackson – to do some real damage with the deep ball. 250+ yards and two, possibly three TDs.
2. Peyton Manning vs. Houston. Not sure exactly what it is, but something just isn’t right with Indy’s running game this season. I’m not basing that statement off last week’s game, as no one runs well on Pittsburgh, but the Colts have yet to have a dominating effort on the ground in ‘08. This is making fantasy owners happy, though, as it’s forcing Peyton to do more with his arm. If Joe Flacco just lit up Houston this past weekend, then it’s scary to think what Peyton will do. 250+ yards and three TDs.
3. Drew Brees vs. Kansas City. Brees is a must start each week if only for the fact that he’s on pace to break Dan Marino’s single season passing mark. Regardless if his team wins or loses, Brees is putting up 300+ consistently. And when the Saints find themselves down by a bunch, it’s even better news for fantasy owners. Brees will probably eclipse the 400-yard mark, as he did in last week’s loss to Atlanta. Look for that dominance to continue once again and for Brees to put up another big fantasy effort vs. the Chiefs. 300+ yards and 2 TDs.
4. Ben Roethlisberger vs. San Diego. Big Ben has been hurt of late and his numbers have been a by-product of that injury, but this week he’s poised to turn things around. Last week’s effort vs. Kansas City only proved to me that the Chargers problems run much deeper on defense than suspected, and they’re not going to fix this ship in 2008. This bodes well for nearly every opposing QB they face from here on out. In a game where we think San Diego will have some success stopping the run, look for Ben and his receivers (Ward, Holmes) to play big vs. a soft San Diego secondary and for #7 to put up 225+ yards and at least two TDs.
Sleepers:
1. Matt Ryan vs. Denver. Ok, I am a believer. In all of my years of watching football, I can’t remember a rookie QB ever doing what Ryan is doing down in Atlanta. I know that he’s blessed with a pretty solid supporting cast-Roddy White is on the verge of stardom, Michael Turner is running well, and the other complements are performing well in their own right-but Atlanta’s offensive coordinator has actually opened up the play book for his rookie QB and Ryan is excelling. We haven’t seen anything like this since Dan Marino. This week the Falcons face Denver, and in case you hadn’t noticed, the Broncos’ defense isn’t its strong point. Look for Ryan to throw for his usual 200+ yards and two TDs in this one.
2. Matt Hasselback vs. Arizona. Word out of Seattle is that Hasselback will make his first start in over a month and is just about completely healthy from that knee injury he sustained vs. the Giants in Week 5. While the NFC West race is pretty much over, a glimmer of hope does remain for the Seahawks. Look for them to put it all on the line when the Cards head Northwest on Sunday. We expect to see Hasselback’s return rejuvenating the entire offense and in particular, the passing game, which has suffered in his absence. Look for him to take advantage of holes in the Cards’ secondary and post a strong stat line: 200+ yards and two TDs.
Others with favorable match-ups:
1. Eli Manning vs. Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens feature the #1 rushing defense in the league but are short-handed because of injuries to the secondary. Look for Manning and the Giants to rely a bit more on the pass than they did in Sunday’s victory over the Eagles and for Eli to deposit a few balls into the end zone.
2. Shaun Hill vs. St. Louis. After giving up 47 points to the Jets, who wouldn’t be a good play vs. the Rams? Hill mixed in some real positives to go with the negatives from his performance on Monday Night and we’ll see more positives out of him when the Rams come to town.
3. Jason Campbell vs. Dallas. While we see a resurgence from the Cowboys’ offense this week, we’re not ready to make that statement about its D until proven otherwise. The ‘Skins might be forced to play this game without star RB Portis so look Washington to rely a bit more on the arm of Campbell, which bodes well for the young QB.
