Previewing Week 9
About the only piece of injury news from Thursday was that Colts RB Joseph Addai (hamstring) practiced and expects to play Sunday against New England. Assuming he stays healthy the next two days, he's a good start.
More teams should provide updates Friday, but until then here are three more game previews:
Jets at Bills, 1 p.m.: For New York, sit RB Thomas Jones. He has 278 rushing yards and 4 TDs (including one receiving) the past three games, but that was against three awful run defenses. Buffalo is 13th in the NFL against the run (99.3). QB Brett Favre, who has 3 TDs to 7 INTs the past three games, is a decent start, but don't expect much against the 13th-ranked pass defense (203.0). WR Jerricho Cotchery, who has 18 catches for 187 yards the past three games, is a good No. 3 or flex. For Buffalo, start QB Trent Edwards and WR Lee Evans. Edwards has two straight 220-yard games, and New York is 23rd against the pass (232.7). Evans has 17 catches for 305 yards and 2 TDs the past three games, and should see more passes with WR Josh Reed injured. Start RB Marshawn Lynch, even against the fourth-ranked run defense (82.6). Lynch has a TD in two straight games.
Cardinals at Rams, 1 p.m.: For Arizona, start QB Kurt Warner and WRs Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. Warner has four straight 230-yard games, and St. Louis is 26th against the pass (233.9). Start RB Tim Hightower, who should get plenty of goal-line carries against the 29th-ranked run defense (152.4). For St. Louis, RB Steven Jackson expects to play, but is a risky start. His thigh injury likely will keep him from taking a full load of carries, and Arizona is 12th against the run (96.4). WR Donnie Avery is a good bye week fill-in. He has 10 catches for 218 yards and 2 TDs the past two games, and Arizona is 21st against the pass (222.9). Sit WR Torry Holt, who hasn't cracked 80 receiving yards all season.
Ravens at Browns, 1 p.m.: For Baltimore, start RB Willis McGahee. He has a TD in two straight games, and Cleveland is 24th against the run (141.6). Sit RB Le'Ron McClain, the former goal-line carrier who hasn't scored in three games. WR Derrick Mason is a decent No. 3 or flex, but had only one catch for 3 yards last week, and Cleveland is 10th against the pass (195.0). For Cleveland, sit everyone. Baltimore is first against the run (64.3) and has allowed 1 rushing TD all season, making RB Jamal Lewis a good sit. Baltimore is third against the pass (178.1), making QB Derek Anderson, WR Braylon Edwards and TE Kellen Winslow good sits. Anderson has 4 TDs to 0 INTs the past three games, but struggled against a good Washington defense, and Baltimore's is a lot better than Washington's.
Saturday I'll update all the injury news, and preview some more weekend games.
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