■ 24 October 2008 | 1:36 AM
First, Donovan McNabb is gone in the Fantasy Chatter contest.
Second, a few big-time players are starting to look questionable for Sunday, including Giants WR Plaxico Burress (shoulder, neck), Jets WR Laveranues Coles (concussion) and Rams RB Steven Jackson (quad). None of them have practiced the past two days. If they sit again Friday, that's not a good sign. I'll give a full recap when the injury report comes out Friday.
Last, here's three more Sunday previews:
Buccaneers at Cowboys, 1 p.m.: For Tampa Bay, start QB Jeff Garcia and WR Antonio Bryant. Garcia threw for 310 yards Sunday night against Seattle. Dallas' pass defense will be just as woeful with Pacman Jones, Roy Williams and Terence Newman all out. WRs Ike Hilliard and Joey Galloway are both dinged up, making Bryant a prime target. He caught six passes for 115 yards and 1 TD on Sunday. RB Earnest Graham, who has a TD in two straight games, is another good start. He should be near the end zone plenty against a Dallas team that allowed 34 points to St. Louis last week. Tampa Bay's defense is a good weekly start, but should do especially well teeing off on fill-in QB Brad Johnson. For Dallas, start anyone except RB Marion Barber at your own risk. Johnson threw 3 INTs last week, and that was against one of the worst pass defenses in the league. He got to 234 yards only because he needed to pass in the second half because Dallas was so far behind. Tampa Bay is a respectable 15th against the pass (201.1 ypg), so don't except even a 200-yard game from Johnson. TE Jason Witten, who caught six passes for 44 yards last week, is another good start, but the only safe bet is Barber. With the passing game hurting, he ran for 100 yards and 1 TD last week. Except a similar total Sunday.
Raiders at Ravens, 1 p.m.: For Oakland, start no one. Baltimore is first against the run (67.2) and fourth against the pass (176.7) and the Raiders' offense isn't good enough to overcome that. They're averaging 16.2 ppg, and they'll be lucky to reach that total. For Baltimore, start RBs Willis McGahee and Le'Ron McClain (as a No. 2 or flex). McGahee rushed for 105 yards last week while the Jets were running roughshod through Oakland's 24th-ranked run defense (136.2). McClain hasn't scored in two games, so he should be good for a few goal-line carries. Also start WR Derrick Mason. He is far and away QB Joe Flacco's top target, with 12 catches for 157 yards the past two games. And since Oakland rarely blitzes, Flacco should be able to find Mason. And start Baltimore's defense, which is allowing 16.7 ppg.
Chiefs at Jets, 1 p.m.: For Kansas City, start only WR Dwayne Bowe and TE Tony Gonzalez. New York's weakness is its 24th-ranked pass defense (229.8), and Bowe has 19 catches for 228 yards the past three games. QB Tyler Thigpen will struggle, but should find Bowe at least a few times. Gonzalez caught six passes for 97 yards last week, and should be a security blanket to a young quarterback. RB Larry Johnson will sit again with a team suspension. For New York, start and expect a huge day from RB Thomas Jones. Kansas City is last against the run (207.2, more than 39 yards worse than the 31st-ranked Lions' total of 167.5) and has allowed a league-worst 12 rushing TDs. Sit QB Brett Favre if you have other decent options. Favre hasn't eclipsed 200 yards the past two games, and has 1 TD to 4 INTs in that time. Kansas City's a respectable 13th against the pass (195.0), so running against them is the way to go. And with WR Laveranues Coles (concussion) and WR Jerricho Cotchery (shoulder) both ailing, the main targets won't be at full strength if they play at all. If both Coles and Cotchery sit, WR Chansi Stuckey is a decent fill-in. He's done next-to-nothing lately, but was a regular Favre target early in the season, so Favre would be comfortable going back to him if need be.
Saturday I'll update the injury news, and preview four more games.
Subscribe to this blog
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
