Week 8 in Review Oct 29, 2007

Week 8 in Review

Eagles 23 --- Vikings 16
In a game which featured a pair of 2-4 teams, it would seem that the loser would have a long road ahead of them if they had any playoff hopes. As we sit here on Monday morning, that team is the Minnesota Vikings. Donovan McNabb’s 333 yard and 1 TD effort was too much for the poor Minnesota pass defense. Reggie Brown had his biggest day of the season racking up 105 yards on 8 catches. Brian Westbrook ran for 46 yards and a TD and was also the beneficiary of McNabb’s lone passing TD. Kevin Curtis also had a decent day with 3 catches for 76 yards.

Kelly Holcomb threw for 88 yards and a TD, but left the game early and Brooks Bollinger replaced him. Bollinger threw for 94 yards on 7 completions. Adrian Peterson took over the bulk of the work in the backfield, but rushed for 70 yards and no scores. Chester Taylor had just six carries for the Vikes, who have now dropped to 2-5 on the year.

Giants 13 --- Dolphins 10
A muddy, sloppy, and messy London game ended in the Giants favor on Sunday. Eli Manning threw for just 59 yards, but ran for 25 yards, including a crucial 10-yard TD scamper. Speaking of the run game, Brandon Jacobs carried the rock 23 times for 131 tough yards. The weather did not benefit the passing game. Plaxico Burress caught just 2 balls for 14 yards and Jeremy Shockey caught 3 for 26 yards.

As for the Dolphins, Cleo Lemon threw for 149 yards and a TD to Ted Ginn in the 4^th quarter. Jesse Chatman ran well with 16 carries for 79 yards. Miami has now dropped to 0-8 and will head into the bye week along with the Giants. However, the Giants have won six straight now and will have two weeks to prepare for the Cowboys at the Meadowlands on November 11^th.

Steelers 24 --- Bengals 13
The Steelers and Bengals are going in opposite directions. With the win, Pittsburgh improved to 5-2 while Cincy dropped to 2-5. It’s going to get ugly in the Cincinnati locker room sooner than later. In the meantime, fantasy owners are just enjoying the season that TJ Houshmandzadeh is having. He racked up 81 yards on 7 catches and a TD. Chad Johnson caught 5 passes for 51 yards. Kenny Watson filled in for the inactive Rudi Johnson, who is still battling a hamstring injury, and ran for 88 yards.

The Steelers have shown that they’re not just about defense and the running game. Big Ben connected with Hines Ward twice in the endzone. Ward finished the day with 8 catches and 88 yards. Santonio Holmes caught 6 passes and totaled 87 yards. Willie Parker, meet the endzone. Fast Willie rushed 22 times for 126 yards and a TD. He is having a very consistent season, but the TD’s have not been there. Pittsburgh will host Baltimore next weekend in another key AFC North battle.

Lions 16 --- Bears 7
Add the Chicago Bears to one of the most unpredictable teams of 2007. After coming back against the Packers in Lambeau on a primetime game, the Bears came home and lost to Minnesota. Chicago then went on the road to Philadelphia and won on a game-winning last minute drive. Everyone hopped back on that Bear bandwagon as they were going to host the Lions, who embarrassed them in the 4^th quarter in Detroit a few weeks back.

Nevertheless, the Bears sent home their fans in disgust after another sad home loss. Brian Griese threw 4 interceptions and a TD to the rookie tight end Greg Olsen. The 3-5 Bears will head into the bye with a lot of questions.  

As for Detroit, they improved to 5-2 and that Thanksgiving Day game, which usually is a bore with the Lions, will be one to mark your calendars for as they’ll host Green Bay. Jon Kitna threw for 268 yards and no TD’s…again! Why? The ground game. The ground game is working for the Lions and it’s led by Kevin Jones, who scampered for 105 yards on 23 carries and a score. Roy Williams hauled in 8 catches for 77 yards while Calvin Johnson caught 2 for 44 yards. Detroit will host Denver next weekend.

Colts 31 --- Panthers 7
Kenton who? Running back by committee what? #29 and #36 splitting carries when? Joseph Addai showed that he is the #1 back in Indy as he ran 23 times for 100 yards and 2 scores, as well as a 4 yard TD reception. On Sunday, there was no committee, but with the way that NFL coaches maneuver their offenses, there is no guarantee that will be the case for the remainder of the year. In other words, don’t cut ties with Keith. Anyway, speaking of Indy stars, Reggie Wayne took advantage of a banged up Marvin Harrison and continued to be the #1 hauling in 168 yards and a TD on 7 catches. Peyton Manning threw 2 TDs and had 255 yards passing on just 15 completions. The 7-0 Colts will take on the 8-0 Patriots in Week 9… as if it needed more coverage...

Carolina looked like they had a shot to pull the upset after the 1^st quarter, but in the 2^nd half, they were blown away. Vinny Testaverde threw for 82 yards and an INT, but his day was shortened when David Carr took over. However, Carr only threw for 103 yards. Steve Smith owners will continue to miss Jake Delhomme as Smith had just 2 catches for 18 yards. DeShaun Foster played through a toe injury and ran for 62 yards and a score. Carolina dropped to 4-3 in the NFC South, which has the once 0-4 Saints just one game out of first place.

Browns 27 --- Rams 20
Derek Anderson continued his surprising success to most fantasy owners on Sunday. He threw for 248 yards and 3 TD’s. Braylon Edwards, who may be the #1 WR by year’s end, had 8 catches for 117 yards and 2 TD’s. Jamal Lewis played through an injured foot and rushed for 61 yards. Kellen Winslow caught 2 balls for 26 yards and a TD. Cleveland has become one of the most unexpected fantasy gold mines of 2007.

We will have two 0-8 teams when we enter Week 10—The Rams and Dolphins are on Week 9 byes. St. Louis got off to a fast start leading 14-0, but when

Steven Jackson left the game with a back injury, things went south for the Rams. Jackson had 8 carries for 41 yards and a TD and Leonard rushed for just 33 yards on 15 carries. Torry Holt had a nice day with 110 yards and a score. Bulger threw for 310 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT in the Rams loss.

Titans 13 --- Raiders 9
It was a thriller in Tennessee…

Kidding.

Ill sum this one up short and sweet. Vince Young had 42 passing yards in his return from an injury. LenDale White ran for 133 yards on 25 carries, but Chris Henry hit paydirt with a 24-yard TD run to give Tennessee the lead.

Daunte Culpepper threw for 167 yards and a INT. Jamarcus is coming…and soon. LaMont Jordan ran for just 16 yards on 12 carries while Fargas ran for 61 yards on the same amount of carries. Jerry Porter and Ronald Curry had 46 and 45 receiving yards, respectively.

Jacksonville 24 --- Bucs 23
The Jaguars survived one week without David Garrard as they hope Quinn Gray can just manage the game until Garrard comes back. Gray completed only 7 passes, but wound up hitting Matt Jones for the game-winning TD with just minutes left in the 4^th quarter to give the Jaguars the win. Fred Taylor led the rushing attack for the Jags with 68 yards.

Jeff Garcia threw for 267 yards and a TD. He also threw his 1^st pick of the season…and his 2^nd…and his 3^rd. One of those went to the house, which kept the Jaguars in the game. Earnest Graham rushed for 62 yards while Michael Bennett scored his first TD as a Buc. Joey Galloway had 115 yards and a TD. Tampa Bay will face Arizona next week before their bye.

Chargers 35 --- Texans 10
Antonio Gates. Antonio Cromartie. Antonio Gates. Antonio Cromartie. That was the sequence in which the Chargers scored their first four TD’s. Philip Rivers threw for 3 TD’s with only 7 completions for 130 yards. Tomlinson rushed 17 times for 90 yards, but the Chargers blew this one open early and actually rested their players, unlike that team from Massachusetts. Along with his two touchdowns, Gates finished with 92 yards. Chris Chambers scored his first Charger TD and totaled 35 receiving yards. San Diego has now won three straight.

Houston has completely come back down to earth after their fast start. They are now 3-5 and are clearly missing Andre Johnson, however that is just one reason for their failures. Matt Schaub threw 2 INTs before leaving the game with another injury and Sage Rosenfels replaced him. He threw for 176 yards, a TD, and 2 INT’s. RB Adimchinobe Echemandu will be someone to keep on eye on as he rushed for 62 yards with Ahman Green inactive and Ron Dayne ineffective. Kevin Walter caught 7 passes for 77 yards.

Bills 13 --- Jets 3
Another Week 8 thriller took place in the Meadowlands as the Bills defeated the hopeless Jets. Again…kidding. However, Trent Edwards was replaced by JP Losman who threw an 85-yard game-clinching TD to Lee Evans with just minutes to go in the 4^th quarter. Evans finished the game with 138 yards and 5 catches. Marshawn Lynch rumbled for 80 yards on 21 carries for Buffalo.

The Jets had ample opportunities in this game, just like they’ve had in their other losses, but failed to convert. Thomas Jones ran for 70 yards and caught 5 balls for 34 yards. Chad Pennington was replaced in the 4^th quarter with the stronger arm of Kellen Clemens, who was cheered by the crowd, but then threw 2 interceptions. Granted, one was a hail mary, but they still show up on the stat sheet. Coles had just one catch for 13 yards and Cotchery had 5 for 47 yards. The New York Jets have quickly fallen to 1-7 while the Bills are 3-4 and continue to play tough week in and week out.

Saints 31 --- Niners 10
Patience is a virtue. Drew Brees is back. 31 for 39 with 336 yards and 4 TD’s. That is the Drew Brees that owners knew when they drafted him back in August. However, he may not be on those same rosters anymore. Marques Colston, an ideal buy-low candidate, scored 3 times and caught 8 balls for 85 yards. David Patten also hauled in 5 passes for 109 yards. Reggie Bush did not reach the endzone, but totaled 113 yards (64 rush, 49 rec) and had 7 catches. Reggie left the game with an apparent abdomen injury, but his status is unclear.

Alex Smith was unable to save the 49ers in his return as he threw for 190 yards and a TD. Vernon Davis was the recipient of that TD and also caught 6 balls for 71 yards. Frank Gore ran for 41 yards, but re-injured his ankle in the process. The Niners have now dropped 5 straight after starting 2-0.

Patriots 52 --- Redskins 7
The Patriots outscored the Giants + Bengals + Bears + Panthers + Jets and Redskins combined. It’s really starting to get out of control in New England. Tom Brady threw for 3 TDs, ran for 2 more, and had 306 passing yards. Laurence Maroney had 75 yards on 14 carries and caught 2 balls for 37 yards. Wes Welker caught 9 balls for 89 yards and a TD while Randy Moss had only 47 yards with a TD. The Patriots were up 38-0, but apparently that wasn’t enough as Brady threw a late 4^th quarter TD to boost his stats.

The Redskins didn’t do much on offense as Clinton Portis ran for 27 yards and caught 5 balls for 54 yards. Jason Campbell threw for 197 yards and a TD to Chris Cooley. Washington will travel to the Meadowlands to take on the Jets next week. 

MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
Packers @ Broncos

What magic will Brett Favre bring to Monday night? Will the Broncos be able to continue their momentum after a Sunday Night win?

I'll go with the home team. Broncos win in a good one.