Games to Watch - Week 3 Sep 25, 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:

San Francisco @ Minnesota – Sunday 9/27, 1:00pm

Picture this... Braun and Dolfi sitting around the kitchen table making a list of who they think they should feature in the ‘Games to Watch’ this week (really, we were making a list of what we thought made up the secret ingredients in Colonel Sanders original recipe chicken, but making game lists makes us sound like we earn our exorbitant FantasySharks salary). Then, in walks Braun’s 1st grade daughter. Pleasantries are exchanged, and the homework pops out: “Use these two spelling words in a sentence - Interesting and Unique”.

Hmmmm... interesting... unique .

Interesting.

Unique.

BAM! It hits us what should be a *fantastic* GTW this week - two teams defined by such words; two teams that are making an early run at an NFC Title; the only match-up of the week featuring 2-0 teams; the “interesting” Minnesota Vikings, and the “unique” San Francisco 49ers.

Considering who they’ve played, the Vikings haven’t really knocked anyone’s socks off starting out with a 2-0 record. This team certainly does have some of the NFL’s more “interesting” players. The aged, yet still youthfully arrogant, QB Brett Favre (265yd/3TD) makes his regular season home-debut, and interestingly enough, hasn’t throw an interception this season – a rarity for him in recent years. You also get to see NFL stud / fantasy favorite / fan favorite RB Adrian Peterson, (272yd/4TD) who has carried the workload for the Vikes so far. And although the ground game is a heavy push in the Twin Cities, when Favre does look to the air, WRs Percy Harvin (77yd/8rec/2TD) and Bernard Berrian (46yd/6rec) are the go two personnel. Last year’s fantasy surprise TE, Vishanthe Shiancoe (13yd/4rec/1TD), has been an early season disappointment to fantasy owners – but still has the ability to become a decent bye week fill-in. Defensively, the run stuffing unit ranks 3rd in the NFL with seven sacks, and has yet to allow a rushing TD this year. LB Chad Greenway has already equaled his interception total for his career (2) over the first two games – a pretty interesting stat if we say so ourselves. (And we do, since we’re the ones writing this column.

Unique = San Fransisco 49ers. “How?” you might ask? Well... let’s play ‘Captain Obvious’ for a minute… How many people think that’s it unique that the 49ers are actually 2-0? Let’s face it, most teams that go 7-9 the previous season, make a head coaching switch, and never sign their 1st round draft pick aren’t exactly the ones who upend the Super Bowl runner up from the previous year. Regardless of how it happened, Mike Singeltary (a unique character in his own right) and company find themselves leading the charge to Minneapolis looking to make it an unexpected (and unique – at least over the past few seasons) shot at 3-0. QB Shaun Hill (353yd/1TD) has emerged as the starter coming out of training camp with NFC West veteran Isaac Bruce (109yd/8rec) and TE Vernon Davis (72yd/7rec) on the receiving end of many of those attempts through the air. And Hill has another unique characteristic… he’s simply not that great of a QB by NFL standards (90.1 career QB rating), but he’s successful where it counts – the win/loss column. Hill is 8-3 as the San Fran starter – and that’s behind an O-line that resembles your grandmother’s lace curtains. About the only thing that isn’t unique is that RB Frank Gore (237yd/3TD/57rec-yd/8rec/1recTD) is still the focal point of this team. A surprisingly solid run-stopping D is helping keep San Fran competitive every week.

So there you have it – Interesting and Unique. Not to mention this is the only game on the docket this week with undefeated teams playing, Farve starting at home, and two of the NFL’s best RBs in Gore and Peterson. Not only is this going to be a great game, but it even helped Braun’s daughter get her homework done. (Side note: as interesting it was that those two words were being given to a first grader to comprehend, it was a unique experience for Braun to be getting his tax dollars worth – at least in this case.)

Tennessee @ New York Jets – Sunday 9/27, 1:00pm

Can anyone argue against the importance of science in sport? Although football is certainly a game, science has firmly impressed itself on the sport the last 20 years; from scientific diets of lineman, to medical improvements, to muscle regeneration, to computer generated game plans and tendencies. Here at the FantasySharks Laboratories (which really is the old break room, even if they did take out the vending machine that had all of the Chex Party Mix and replaced it with only those little lunch-box cans of Pringles - but we digress), we’ve come up with our own trademarked formula: Armchair Football Intuition (or AFI for short in the research field). Basically we sit around and predict which teams should win next week… um... yea. That’s the ticket. Using this powerful formula for AFI, we have determined that most people would look at the following game and would expect that the records would have been switched if we were predicting this game a month ago. Well, two gut-wrenching games for one team (Titans), and a new swagger in another (Jets) has changed all that. So, instead of what may have been expected to be a yawn of a game a month ago, you have a game where two teams face off with a top ranked rushing offense, versus a toped ranked defense.

Rex Ryan has brought more than just a few great quotes with him from Baltimore to the Big Apple; he brought one heck of a new defensive scheme. The Jets (and apparently were legally obligated to say “the J-E-T-S, JETS-JETS-JETS”) currently host the best defense in the NFL in rushing yards allowed, and also have allowed on average the 2nd fewest points (8.0ppg). This facelift has made Jets fans smile throughout the Meadowlands, but what keeps them grinning is the surprising play of the offense with newcomer QB Mark Sanchez (435yd/2TD/1int) under center. Helping the rookie off to a pressure-less start has been keeping the ground game going featuring Thomas Jones (161yd/2TD) and Leon Washington (118yd). When the Jets do decide to strike from the air, Sanchez has been finding WR Jerricho Cotchery (177yd/10rec) and TE Dustin Keller (116yd/7rec/1TD). Starting out 2-0 has been great for the Jets fans, but a repeat of taking down Tennessee as they did last year during week 12 would not only keep their momentum going atop the AFC East, but make the Jets fans forget that they are in the swamps of New Jersey.

So “who’d a thunk it?” A Titans team with a record of 0-2? Further still - how many would expect a 0-2 team to boast arguably the best rushing tandem in the league with Chris Johnson (254yd/2TD/98rec yd/10rec/1recTD) and LenDale White (53 yds)? Not many we’d wager. (We would though - we’ve been known to wager on how many times Joe Theismann talks about how great he is during an average telecast; current record 62.) QB Kerry Collins has put up respectable numbers (460 yds/3TD/2int) and even WR Justin Gage (105yd/9rec/1TD) has helped become a threat for opposing teams’ defenses – so why do the Titans find themselves winlpess? The simple fact of the matter is that an overtime loss in Pittsburgh, coupled with a nail biter against the Texans, has caused this team that was expected to be in first - to tumble to worst, in a very competitive AFC North race. With plenty of time left to get things back on track, the Tuxedoes are counting on the likes of Kyle Vanden Bosch and the defensive line (2nd in rush yd against) to keep up their solid work and hope for better play from their secondary, who are ranked 32nd in the league in passing yd against.

Hey, we do our best to avoid picking one ‘Game to Watch’ at the same time of day as another - but this is truly another great match-up, and it’s on a different network so it is very possible to flip between both or watch it in split-screen. Trust us; this is going to be another great one that might have squeezed in under your radar, if you didn’t have two football junkies like us manning the control tower. Jets – you are a ‘go’ for fly by… repeat… a ‘go’ for fly by.

New Orleans @ Buffalo – Sunday 9/27, 4:05pm

Most of the time, we sit down and scan the schedule to pick the best games of the weekend for our readers – but sometimes those games pick us instead. This one was a real no-brainer. We get to see the NFL’s #1 passing offense, the New Orleans Saints, go head-to-head with one of the NFL’s top rushing offenses, the Buffalo Bills – and the Bills #1 RB, Marshawn Lynch, has yet to even play a down this season. And lest you think this game’s offense might not live up to this marquee billing, keep in mind that the Bills sport the NFL’s 31^st ranked pass D, and New Orleans comes in with the league’s 21^st ranked overall D. All of that adds-up to a game that should be as exciting a track meet as watching Usain Bolt race D.C. Comic’s “The Flash”. (We predict that Bolt would win, only because he didn’t have those silly little wings on the side of his head causing wind drag.

New Orleans is the powerhouse of NFL offenses right now, racking up a staggering 936 yards of total offense in just two games – including 421 yards against a pretty solid Eagles D last weekend, on the road no less. QB Drew Brees (669yd/9TD/2int) is already nearing the 1,000 yard mark in just two games, and his nine TDs are putting him well on pace to have a shot at breaking Tom Brady’s record of 50, set just two seasons ago. WRs Marques Colston (128yd/11rec/3TD) and Devery Henderson (174yd/8rec/1TD) are big reasons why Brees is making the opposition look foolish so far this season. Not to mention TE Jeremy Shockey (80yd/8rec/2TD) is finally starting to earn some of the cash the Saints threw his way last year. The RB corps is in some disarray, with Pierre Thomas still yet to play a game, and questionable for this weekend, and Mike Bell (229yd/1TD), who has been leading the team in rushing, also questionable for this game. Kardashian boy-toy, Reggie Bush (97 rec yd/8rec), will still get his share of swing passes, no matter who the starter is. The Saints D leaves a lot to be desired, however - giving up a whopping 384 yards of passing to a kid who never started an NFL game before last week (Philly’s Kevin Kolb), even with three interceptions.

The Bills are even more surprising in emerging as one of the NFL’s better offenses, considering that a week before the season they canned Offensive Coordinator Turk Schonert due to their dismal showing in the pre-season. Alex Van Pelt has taken over the play-calling, and the Bills are looking solid on offense, especially in the run game. RB Fred Jackson (220yd run/108yd rec/11rec/1recTD) is leading the team in both rushing AND receiving – not too shabby for a guy that is only the BACKUP to Marshawn Lynch. (Trust us – if the Pelt and the Bills don’t find a way to keep Jackson involved in the game-plan, even when Lynch comes back next week, they are going to be sorrier than two teens relying on the “rhythm method”.) QB Trent Edwards (442yd/4TD/1int) has already been called out once by his team’s new off-season WR acquisition, Terrell Owens (98yd/5rec/1TD), but hopefully, they’ll be able to put aside their differences for at least one season before T.O. becomes insufferable in yet another NFL town. WR Lee Evans’ (57yd/4rec/1TD) production has slipped this year, but his numbers could improve if T.O. helps draw coverage away from Evans as the season progresses. Too bad Buffalo sports the NFL’s 28^th ranked defense or they could actually be more dangerous than they are.

The scoring should come in bunches in this contest, and with two defenses this shaky, it’ll be interesting to see if either team manages to slow the opposition down, let alone stop them once or twice. So grab that two-foot sub, settle into your favorite chair, dial your bookie and bet the over, and wait for the starter’s pistol to set these two off on an offensive race which promises to be every bit as fun and unpredictable as co-ed nude underwater Twister.