Games to Watch - Week 11 Nov 20, 2009 | More

Hello fellow Sharks! From now right up through Week 17, we’ll be giving our insight as to which games are the ‘games to watch’ each week. This is a heavy burden, as we know a lot of you have Sunday Ticket, too much free time, and an addiction to premium brews like Natty Lite or Yuengling. A lot of you know us from our weekly podcast on this site (the Fantasy PRE-Wind podcast), and our “Sine Lines” sport-toon (every Mon, Wed, Fri), or maybe one of our posts in the Tank. We’re just like you, though. We love a good football game, no matter who’s playing. All times Eastern:


Atlanta @ New York Giants – Sunday 11/22, 1:00pm

Picture this: it’s last Saturday and the agreement is to have a ‘work weekend’ at Dolfi’s place in order to put the finishing touches on his ‘Man Cave’. He’s got the 60” HD, he’s got the wet bar, he’s got the stadium seating. It just needs a little ceiling work from all the wires we’ve been running. Anyway, four friends show up to pitch in and Chris says “throw something on the TV while we are working”. The TV gets turned on and the FoodNetwork has some all day Thanksgiving special on. Fast forward 20 minutes. Instead of five men working, you have five men drinking beers at 10:30am, drooling over Turkey Tettrazinni (as well as Giada De Laurentiis to be quite frank). It went on like that for hours. The bottom line: we all showed up, but nothing seemed to be getting done. Take that same notion and transfer it to this game - you have something very similar; both teams keep showing up, but when it comes to playoff hopes or signs of life, not a whole lot is happening. Well on Sunday, something IS going to *have* to happen, if these two teams (both of whom have playoff hopes) want to keep hope alive, there are only 6 games left in the regular season. A sense of urgency and some passion might be the things missing, and while that might not be an easy pill to swallow for either of these teams, it’s needed like Giada’s Foccaccia Sausage stuffing.

About a month ago the Giants were mentioned with the league elite: Indy, New Orleans, Minnesota. But after a four game skid and a bye week, fans and critics alike are clamoring to see the Giants that were showing up for the first few games of the season. QB Eli Manning (2070yd/15TD/8int) had a stellar first month finding WRs Steve Smith (719yd/61rec/5TD) and Mario Manningham (491yd/34rec/4TD) in the end zone more than just a few times. The tandem of RBs Brandon Jacobs (617yd/2TD) and Ahmad Bradshaw (515yd/4TD) has a history of racking up yards, and although they have not had luck as of late, history could repeat itself Sunday as Atlanta’s 26th ranked rushing defense might not put up much resistance. The best way to describe the defense is slightly lopsided. It’s rare to have the 21st ranked team in points allowed, and at the same time have a defense that leads the entire NFL in fewest yards allowed per game. That being said, DE Osi Umenyiora (19tkl/5sack/3forced fum) and company look to strut their stuff and prove naysayers wrong as Atlanta comes to town, and the G-men (hopefully) climb back in the hunt to win the NFC East.

Aside from player/coach sideline scuffles, the Falcons have had a much more subdued season this year as compared to last. After a fast start, QB Matt Ryan (2008yd/14TD/12int) has struggled in keeping the Falcons’ offense moving. In his last five games, he is completing just 54.9 percent of his passes with 7 TDs and 10 interceptions. Last year’s incredible season for Roddy White (668yd/47rec/6TD) has cooled off a little bit this year, but partly because of the Falcons acquiring future Hall of Fame TE Tony Gonzalez (501yd/44rec/4TD). And now with RB Michael Turner (831yd/10TD) hobbled by an ankle injury last game against the Panthers, many wonder just where this Atlanta offense can go. Defensively, Atlanta lacks consistency and gives up far too many yards. However, 2nd year standout LB Curtis Lofton (90tkl/2forced fum) and the rest of the defense hope at least one past statistic holds true; the road team has won every meeting in this series since 1979 (a span of a dozen games).

We’re going to try the “work weekend” thing again this weekend, but this time we vow not to turn on the TV. And while deep frying a turkey is certainly going to be in the cards (after all, the FoodNetwork did give us some great ideas for a Thanksgiving spread that should help all of us gain a dozen pounds next week), just because we’re talking turkey here don’t think for a second that this game is going to lay an egg.


Indianapolis @ Baltimore – Sunday 11/22, 1:00pm

Lately, it feels like the world is spinning out of control. Sometimes the problems start small, like a single circuit board shorting out in the FAA computers this past Thursday, and mushroom into an air-traffic nightmare with over 2,000 flights being delayed. Sometimes a single problem can be meaningless to some people, but can spell the end of an era to others, like Oprah announcing that her network TV show will cease in 2011. And sometimes anticipated problems turn out to be nothing more than the media making a story out of nothing, like wondering if Sarah Palin will be inviting her daughter’s baby-daddy to Thanksgiving dinner. With all of the craziness going on around us, sometimes it’s nice to have a ‘sure thing’ to fall back on… like the love of your beloved family dog, Mom’s pot roast, or a good old fashioned slugfest between a couple of AFC playoff stalwarts, Indianapolis and Baltimore.

Even if they had to weather some close-calls, the Indianapolis Colts are one of the NFL’s only two undefeated squads through their first nine games. Payton Manning (2872yd/20TD/7int) is having one of his best seasons ever in terms of efficiency, and has been masterful in directing the Colts offense this year. WR Reggie Wayne (879yd/69rec/8TD) and TE Dallas Clark (768yd/64rec/3TD) are the prime beneficiaries of Manning’s prowess, but Joseph Addai (440yd/6TD) has been a bit of a surprise to many fantasy pundits, especially when the Colts were bringing in Donald Brown (226yd/2TD) to help an ailing rushing attack. If Manning is the biggest reason the Colts are 9-0, then the Indy D runs a close second. Ranked 1^st in scoring defense and 4th in take-away/give-away, the Colts D has become one of the NFLs finest units this season. DE Dwight Freeney (9.5sack/1forced fum) isn’t just a Madden favorite – he’s the heart and soul of a D that may propel Indy to a Super Bowl this year.

Baltimore was anything but its standard image at the start of this year; the offense was scoring in bunches and leading them to wins, and the defense looked like a shadow of its former self. But while the rest of the world is spinning out of control, the Ravens are back in control – of their own fate. QB Joe Flacco (2199yd/12TD/7int) needs to avoid turnovers and simply make two or three efficient drives a game for Baltimore to be successful. RBs Ray Rice (662yd/6TD) and Willis McGahee (236yd/5TD) really carry the offensive load on their broad shoulders, with a little help from guys like WR Derrick Mason (530yd/36rec/4TD) tossed in for good measure. The Baltimore D has regained their standing as one of the NFL’s finest, with LB Ray Lewis (75tkl/2sack/1forced fum) and his leadership helping the Ravens to their current spot as a top seven ranked defense in almost every defensive category of note.

Sure, the world around us is changing at an alarming rate, and not always for the better – like the Post Office putting the kibosh on the volunteer program of responding to letters addressed to Santa at the North Pole that started all the way back in 1954. But it’s nice to know we still have NFL match-ups like Indy / Baltimore to show us that even though things always change and evolve, at the core they are exactly what we grew up with – great offense, great defense, and hard-hitting NFL action.


San Diego @ Denver – Sunday 11/22, 4:15pm

Many of you have never met Braun (consider yourself lucky), but the reason we bring it up today is that he has a really unhealthy habit. No - not smoking; and he can go weeks without any alcohol. His unhealthy habit is binge eating. Now usually it involves chicken wings, crab legs, or even scrapple, and Braun gains 15 pounds in a month. Then he goes and eats a head of lettuce with croutons each day for a week and drops the weight right off. Unhealthy - yes. The weird part is that you wouldn’t even recognize him when he packs the weight on; he gains it all in his neck like Bill Bixby turning into the Hulk (Braun’s no Lou Ferrigno - more like Chris Farley in Tommy Boy). You get the point though; he’s thin one week, a balloon the next. The same thing goes for the two teams in this ‘Game to Watch’. In their first meeting, a white-hot Denver team beat up on a slumping San Diego. One month later, the roles are reversed, and suddenly a division that was dominated by one of them has these two teams matched up with the winner taking the AFC West lead.

Riding a 4 game win streak, QB Phillip Rivers (2476yd/16TD/6int) has had a two wins over NFC east teams, and has orchestrated a mid-season comeback after starting the season 2-3. And while the backfield has struggled, with LaDainian Tomlinson (385yd) and Darren Sproles (184yd/1TD) splitting the workload, the receiving game has picked up the slack with this turning into a career year for WR Vincent Jackson (732yd/43rec/7TD) and another solid season for sure-handed TE Antonio Gates (668yd/49rec/2TD). But the one group who has come alive during the four game win-streak is on the opposite side of the ball. Defensively, the Bolts rank in the middle of the NFL with a so-so 326 yards per game allowed, but Shaun Phillips (42tkl/5sack/4forced fum) and Shawne Merriman (29tkl/4 sacks) have made the entire unit come alive the past four contests and, as mentioned earlier, know they are the key to a successful run into the post season.

A gimpy Kyle Orton (2031yd/11TD/4int) temporarily might spell trouble for the Broncos, but fortunately they do have some other things they can rely on. Although slowed as of late, the tandem of RBs Knowshon Moreno (520yd/2TD) and Correll Buckhalter (364yd/1TD) have had flashes of brilliance, and WR Brandon Marshal (602yd/6TD) is performing at team MVP form – regardless of how rocky his training camp was. Denver's defense has struggled to stop the run in its three losses, but the defense on the season does rank in the top six in both points allowed and yards against. Make no mistake; even though the Broncs have lost their last three, DE Elvis Dumervil (31tkl/12 sack/2forced fum) and the Bronco’s D are very formidable. They aren’t going to be a walk in the park for any team that faces them – especially not a division rival.

These teams seem to be headed in different directions. One is binging; the other is fasting. The Broncos have lost three in a row after a 6-0 start, while the Chargers have won four straight. The Chargers could deliver a knockout blow in this game from which the Broncos may not recover. The Broncos can regain their early-season momentum in one fell swoop, but besting their division rivals. We live for games like this one – and you aren’t going to want to miss it either. And just 3 hours or so after kickoff, we’ll have a much clearer picture of what team in the AFC West will be fattening up on a divisional offering en-route to the playoffs and which team will be dieting on a very unsatisfying slice of humble pie.