Week 9 Game Recaps

Kansas City Chiefs 20 at San Diego Chargers 28
Key Fantasy Players
Kansas City: QB Trent Green, RB Priest Holmes, RB Larry Johnson, TE Tony Gonzalez, WR Eddie Kennison, WR Samie Parker, K L. Tynes
San Diego: QB Drew Brees, RB LaDainian Tomlinson, TE Antonio Gates, WR Keenan McCardell, WR Eric Parker, WR Reche Caldwell, K Nate Kaeding

Go figure. This game had all the makings of a dual between two of the best running teams in the NFL. Instead, we saw the ball flying all over the field. Trent Green finally produced a game that was worthy of his lofty preseason ranking. Green jacked the ball up 43 times completing 31 of them for 347 yards 2 TD 0 Int. Hey Green, it's about time! This was the game that Gonzalez really wanted to shine so that he could show the world that he's still the best tight end in football. Gonzalez had his best game of the year catching 7 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown but he was still overshadowed by the great Gates. More on that later. Eddie Kennison also had his best game of the year, 115 yards 1 TD. With all that success in the air it's not surprising that the ground game suffered. We thought that we would see a steady dose of Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson but the two combined for only 20 rushes for 93 yards and 0 TD. Priest got hurt in the third quarter and the Chiefs had to play catch up so Johnson didn't see his number called much. This was a classic example of the team lost but Chiefs owners for the most part couldn't be happier.

San Diego is a pretty darn tough 4-4 team. This time they won without being carried by Tomlinson. Tomlinson did help his cause by throwing for a touchdown, his third of the year. Tomlinson finished with 92 all purpose yards. The real winner was the passing game. Brees finished the game 25/43 324 yards 3 TD 1 Int. All three of Brees touchdowns went to Antonio Gates. Gates tied a career high with those 3 touchdowns and set career highs with 10 catches and 145 yards. The Chargers got out quickly for a 21-3 lead at half time and that was enough for the defense. We were disappointed by the performance of Reche Caldwell. Caldwell is healthy and beginning to show some improvement in his stats. However, he laid an egg against the Chiefs. Caldwell finished the day with 1 catch for 16 yards. Caldwell was no better than a deep sleeper anyhow, but this performance underscores just how unreliable Caldwell is. Only play him if you have no other choice.

Fantasy Star: Antonio Gates - Sorry Gonzalez, but Gates is by far the best tight end in the game, period.
Fantasy Dud: Priest Holmes - 53 total yards without a touchdown and he left the game hurt.
Geek Alert: Priest Holmes - Holmes left the game in the third quarter with a mild concussion. Early prediction is that he will play next week.
Geek Watch: Trent Green passed for over 300 yards for the first time this year.

Philadelphia Eagles 21 at Denver Broncos 49
Key Fantasy Players
Philadelphia: QB Donovan McNabb, RB Brian Westbrook, WR Terrell Owens, WR Greg Lewis, K David Akers
Denver: QB Jake Plummer, RB Mike Anderson, RB Tatum Bell, WR Rod Smith, WR Ashley Lelie, WR Darius Watts, K Jason Elam

Philadelphia's big three fantasy stars, McNabb, Westbrook and Owens all had pretty good games and yet all is not well in Liberty Town. McNabb threw for 283 3 TD 2 Int, including a 91 yard touchdown pass to Owens. That touchdown helped the Eagles make a game of it early in the second half after falling behind to the tune of 28-0. However, the Eagles ended up getting blown away by the end of the game. They had no answer for the rushing game of the Broncos. After being held to almost nothing in the first half, Owens went off for 154 yards and that long touchdown. Westbrook had another typical Westbrook game, just as much receiving as rushing. Westbrook finished with 48 yards rushing and 56 yards receiving with a score. It's just our opinion but they need to establish the run more so that their defense can get a break. We don't expect too much to change in their philosophy, however. They are built to score through the air and they will succeed or fail with the pass.

Denver just took a huge step in staking their claim as one of the best teams in the AFC. Denver ran the ball and threw the ball at will on the Eagles. They jumped out to a 28-0 lead in the second quarter before the Eagles scored. The two headed monster of Mike Anderson and Tatum Bell were at it again. Anderson finished with 126 yards and a score while Bell finished with 107 yards and two scores. If you listened to our radio segment we accurately told you that this setup will likely continue throughout the year and that there is plenty of fantasy points for both owners. There will be games where one back does better than the other, but as a whole you should play both backs. Rod Smith led the team again in receptions with 5 and a score. Smith continues to produce enough to keep him in your lineup. Many people figured that he was done probably two years ago, but he's still producing. Denver goes into the bye week as one of the hotter teams in the league.

Fantasy Star: Jake Plummer - The snake is back! 4 touchdowns without an interception, congrats to those of you that started Plummer.
Fantasy Dud: Greg Lewis - Lewis needs to step up to help out T.O. 1 catch for 15 yards is not stepping up.
Geek Alert: Defensive End Jevon Kearse left the game in the first half with a shoulder injury and didn't return.
Geek Watch: Now that the Eagles have been blown away in two games, will they feature the run a bit more?

Buffalo Bills 16 at New England Patriots 21
Key Fantasy Players
Buffalo: QB Kelly Holcomb, RB Willis McGahee, WR Eric Moulds, WR Lee Evans, K Rian Lindell
New England: QB Tom Brady, RB Corey Dillon, WR Deion Branch, WR David Givens, WR Andre Davis, K Adam Vinatieri

Buffalo let this game slip away. They had the lead late in the fourth quarter and if they could keep the ball for 1 or 2 first downs they could've run out the clock. Instead, Kelly Holcomb had the ball stripped from him deep in Bills territory and there goes the game. Buffalo dominated this game in every statistical category except the one that counts, the final score. Kelly Holcomb, 20/33 263 1 TD 1 Int, continues to put up alright numbers when compared to the average NFL quarterback, but compared to Losman, Holcomb's numbers look fantastic. Most of Holcomb's yards went to Eric Moulds (9 catches 125 yards 1 TD), who looks like the Moulds of old. It's time to keep Moulds in your lineup every week again. The reason that the Bills were able to dominate the time of possession is because of the legs of Willis McGahee. McGahee was a monster once again. He finished the day with 31 carries for 136 yards. The Bills now drop to 3-5 and are in danger of losing the season if they don't win their next game in two weeks.

This was a game that the Patriots desperately needed and as the good teams usually do, they won even when not playing their best. The Patriots had all the emotion when Teddy Bruschi made his improbable return to the football field after suffering a mild stroke earlier in the year. Bruschi made several decent plays but his affects were far more reaching on an emotional level. On offense not much was happening until the second half of the ball game. That's when Tom Brady started connecting with Deion Branch. Branch made several key catches and he finished the game with 3 catches for 92 yards and a touchdown. Branch almost had another touchdown but he was downed at the one. Brady finished the day 14/21 199 yards 1 TD 0 Int, not the best day for a fantasy quarterback but he's almost always reliable for 200 and a touchdown. Another guy who doesn't get a ton of yards but has a knack for finding the endzone is Corey Dillon. Dillon didn't even start the game but he did score two touchdowns on 72 yards rushing.

Fantasy Star: Eric Moulds - He seems to have been reborn with Holcomb as the starting quarterback.
Fantasy Dud: Lee Evans - 1 catch for 14 yards. All the magic seems to be with Moulds and Holcomb.
Geek Alert: Corey Dillon didn't start the game and he only entered after Patrick Pass was injured.
Geek Watch: Will Corey Dillon play next week? We will keep you informed.

Chicago Bears 19 at Detroit Lions 13
Key Fantasy Players
Chicago: QB Kyle Orton, RB Thomas Jones, RB Cedric Benson, WR Muhsin Muhammad, WR Justin Gage, K Doug Brien
Detroit: QB Jeff Garcia, RB Kevin Jones, WR Roy Williams, WR Charles Rogers, WR Mike Williams, K Jason Hanson

The Bears headed into Detroit expecting a street fight for the division lead and that's exactly what they got. Because of their warrior-like defense, they were able to come out on top and grab sole possession of the NFC North Division. Kyle Orton may not be a great fantasy QB, but he is sure playing like a winning QB for the Bears. Orton completed 17 passes for 230 yards with 1 TD and 0 interceptions. He may not put up huge numbers, but he could be a guy that you can stick in there if you are trying to fight through an injury or bye week situation. His only TD pass went to WR Muhsin Muhammed who caught 4 balls on the day for 49 yards. The Bears most productive WR on the day was rookie WR Mark Bradley. Bradley was targeted 5 times on the day and caught every one of them for 88 yards before he left the game with a knee injury. Bradley is supposed to have further tests done on the knee, but at this point, it's unknown how long he will be out. Justin Gage will step into the starting spot vacated by Bradley, but we don't see much value in Gage from a fantasy perspective. Thomas Jones was having another productive day before he went down to injury late in the contest. Before Jones left, he carried the ball 22 times for 72 yards and also caught 3 balls out of the backfield for 25 yards. The Bears expect Jones back for next week though. The interesting point to this was that Adrian Peterson took Jones' place in the lineup, not rookie Cedric Benson. Benson did get some action and was key in overtime, gaining 35 yards on only 3 carries. If Jones keeps getting banged up, Benson could get his chance.

The Lions fought hard in this division matchup, but just didn't have the horses to keep up when all the chips were down. Jeff Garcia started at QB for the second straight game and did nothing spectacular other than take more hits than a hippie at a Grateful dead concert. Garcia took an absolute pounding and one has to wonder how long he can last this season before he gets injured again. He completed 23 passes for 197 yards with 0 TDs and one VERY costly interception that was returned for the winning score in overtime. To Garcia's credit, he doesn't have much to work with on offense. With Roy Williams, Charles Rogers and Kevin Johnson all out of the lineup for different reasons, Garcia was left to throw to rookie Mike Williams and Scotty Vines. Vines was his favorite target of the day, catching 5 balls for 61 yards, but look for his role to diminish once Roy Williams returns to the lineup next week. Mike Williams had a disappointing day, catching only 2 balls for 27 yards. His breakout game last week was followed up by this flop against a tough defense. Kevin Jones had another average day on the ground, carrying the ball 18 times for 66 yards, but he was able to find the endzone once this week. Jone also caught 5 balls out of the backfield, but only accumulated 13 yards on the receptions. Look for his to have better games the next two weeks when his competition isn't so fierce. Also look for Garcia's numbers to get better with Williams and Rogers returning to the lineup in he coming weeks.

Fantasy Star: Kyle Orton - Not huge fantasy numbers, but still a big time performance.
Fantasy Dud: Mike Williams - Followed up his big game in Cleveland with a dud at home.
Geek Alert: Roy Williams - Should be back in the lineup next week.
Geek Watch: Jeff Garcia - Will the return of Williams and Rogers ease the pressure on the aging QB?

Jacksonville Jaguars 21 at St. Louis Rams 24
Key Fantasy Players
Jacksonville: QB Bryon Leftwich, RB Fred Taylor, WR Jimmy Smith, WR Reggie Williams, WR Matt Jones, K Josh Scobee
St. Louis: QB Marc Bulger, RB Stephen Jackson, RB Marshall Faulk, WR Torry Holt, WR Isaac Bruce, WR Kevin Curtis, K Jeff Wilkins

The Jags headed into St. Louis after a week layoff after a bye week and came up just short of a victory. The Jags put the load of the offense on Fred Taylor's back and he responded like a Mack truck, gaining 165 yards on 22 carries and 1 TD. Taylor was downgraded this week to questionable with a bone bruise on his ankle, but looked %110 when he ran off a 71-yard TD run. Taylor's owners had to be bummed if they had him on the bench. Is it me, or are NFL coaches playing games with the injury reports this season? Byron Leftwitch didn't put up the kind of numbers you would have expected out of him, going up against the Rams porous pass defense. Leftwitch completed only 18 balls for 213 yards with 2 TDs and 1 interception. His main target for the day, surprisingly, was WR Ernest Wilford. Wilford was targeted 7 times and caught 6 balls for 145 yards and 1 TD. It seems that teams are trying to take Jimmy Smith away from Leftwitch, which has the third-year QB looking elsewhere for playmakers. Speaking of Jimmy Smith, owners had to be a bit disappointed in his numbers. Smith only caught 2 balls for 27 yards and 0 TDs. Smith was targeted 6 times, but just couldn't come through for fantasy owners. Matt Jones scored a TD for the second game in a row and is becoming a red-zone target because of his size and hands. He ended the day with 4 catches for 38 yards and the TD.

We think that Mike Martz leaving the Rams was the best thing to happen to Stephen Jackson. Jackson would have never had the game he had against the Jags if Martz was the coach, since the ex-head boss despised running the ball. Jackson had an outstanding day, totaling 200 yards of total offense and 1 TD. Jackson carried the ball 25 times for a total 179 yards rushing and also caught 2 ball for 21 yards and a TD. The Rams may have a chance to contend in the NFC if they get healthy and keep running the ball like this. Just because Jackson gained almost 200-yards on the ground, it didn't mean that the Rams passing offense was shut down. Jamie Martin had a better week that last week by completing only 13 passes for 200 yards, but threw 2 TDs and 3 interceptions. If you're in a league that subtracts for intereceptions, those numbers had to hurt. Kevin Curtis had another strong day, stepping in for Isaac Bruce, with 3 catches for 105 yards and a TD. Expect Curtis' production to go down a bit in the coming weeks with Isaac Bruce coming back from injury, possibly this week.

Fantasy Star: Stephen Jackson - Finally getting a chance to shine.
Fantasy Dud: Jimmy Smith - Expected more against the Rams pass D.
Geek Alert: Ernest Wilford - Will he take the heat off of Jimmy Smith?
Geek Watch: Kevin Curtis - Will his production stay at a high level when Isaac Bruce returns to the lineup?

Minnesota Vikings 13 at Carolina Panthers 38
Key Fantasy Players
Minnesota: QB Daunte Culpepper, RB Mewede Moore, WR Nate Burleson, WR Travis Taylor, K Paul Edinger
Carolina: QB Jake Delhomme, RB Stephen Davis, RB DeShaun Foster, WR Steve Smith, WR Keary Colbert, K John Kasay

The Vikings headed into Carolina wanting to show everyone that their win over the Packers was no fluke. Well, they failed………miserably. The Vikings looked lost and pathetic once again and to add insult to injury they lost their starting QB, and fantasy flop, Daunte Culpepper for the season to a knee injury. Culpepper went down late in the first quarter, so he didn't give you much fantasy value before he went down, completing 3 passes for 28 yard and rushing once for 18 yards. Brad Johnson filled Culpepper's shoes after he went down and didn't perform all that bad considering the circumstances. Johnson completed 13 passes for 162 yards and 1 TD. You may want to think about picking Johnson up since the Vikings still have some playmakers left on the offense. He shouldn't be your No. 1 QB, but maybe a guy that you can throw in there in case of emergency. The leading receiver for the Vikings was Marcus Robinson with 4 catches for 77 yards and a TD. We thought that Robinson's role would diminish with Nate Burleson coming back from injury and rookie Troy Williamson coming on, but he has really stepped up. It will be interesting to see who Johnson prefers throwing the ball to for the rest of the season. Mewelede Moore always seems to produce some fantasy points and he did it again this week against a tough Carolina D. He rushed the ball only 9 times for 30 yards, but was able to find the endzone again with a 4-yard TD run. Moore is an all-around threat on the field and always finds a way to produce. Jermaine Wiggins had a poor game catching only 3 balls for 36 yards. The Culpepper injury may affect Wiggins production the most, since he was Culpepper's favorite target.

Watch out folks, the Carolina Panthers are really gaining some momentum. Jake Delhomme had his best game of the season, fantasy wise, by tossing for 431 yards and 3 TDs on 21 completions. Delhomme seemed to do whatever he wanted to do against a Vikings defense that has been a huge disappointment this season. Delhomme's favorite target, again, was WR Steve Smith. Smith had a HUGE day, catching 11 balls for 201 yards and 1 TD. Smith is playing better than ever after coming back from a broken leg in 2004 and is a guy that you must have in your lineup each week. We predicted that Stephen Davis would get back on track in this game and he didn't disappoint, gaining 40 yards on 17 carries and finding the endzone twice! Davis won't get you many yards on the ground but is gold in scoring only leagues since he had a nose for the endzone. Keary Colbert finally made a significant fantasy contribution by scoring a TD, but he only caught 2 balls for 32 yards. It's pretty clear that Smith is the Panthers No. 1 guy and Colbert will only get a few charity throws per game. He is a liability in anyone's starting lineup despite his TD this week. DeShaun Foster had a decent day running the ball, carrying 12 times for 51 yards. It's hard to justify starting Foster since he and Davis share the load and Davis gets most of the scoring opportunities.

Fantasy Star: Steve Smith - With over 200 yards of receptions, how can he not be a stud?
Fantasy Dud: Jermaine Wiggins - Culpepper's injury may affect him the most.
Geek Alert: Brad Johnson - Will he be able to steer the Vikings ship in the right direction now that Culpepper is done for the season.
Geek Watch: Daunte Culpepper - Some are saying this injury could keep Culpepper out for parts of 2006 as well as this season.

MONDAY NIGHT RECAP
Baltimore Ravens 19 at Pittsburgh Steelers 20
Key Fantasy Players
Baltimore: QB Anthony Wright, RB Jamal Lewis, TE Todd Heap, WR Derrick Mason, WR Mark Clayton, K Matt Stover
Pittsburgh: QB Ben Roethlisberger: RB Willie Parker, RB Jerome Bettis, TE Heath Miller, WR Hines Ward, WR Antwaan Randle El, K Jeff Reed

Despite missing two of the best defensive players in the league, Baltimore almost pulled of the upset. Baltimore put quite a scare into the Steeler home crowd but they couldn't finish off a late drive and it stalled around mid field. Anthony Wright, 25/44 252 yards 1 TD 2 Int, showed good poise in the pocket despite frequent blitzes from the Steelers. Wright was forced to put the ball up 44 times because once again there wasn't much of a running game. Lewis tip-toed his way for 61 yards. We know that the Steelers have a pretty decent defense, but Lewis needs to show some fire. Chester Taylor didn't help his cause as a full time back, but he did continue to gain receptions. Taylor caught Baltimore's lone touchdown to go along with 55 yards receiving. Derrick Mason played like he always does, dependable. On several occasions Mason caught a key third down pass to keep drives alive. Mason had seven catches for 91 yards. The true fantasy hero in this game was Matt Stover. Pittsburgh isn't the easiest place to kick field goals, but Stover had field goals of 22, 40, 47 and 49 yards. Baltimore may be one of the best 2-5 teams ever.

This was another huge divisional game for the Steelers. This time they used a career high 30 pass attempts by Big Ben to control the game, not the usual game plan of running the ball down the throats. Despite the career high pass attempts, Ben still only threw for 177 yards although he did manage two touchdowns with one interception. The touchdowns both went to rookie tight end Heath Miller. Because of the great running game, Ben is able to set up the play action and he is able to choose from a couple of different receivers. His receiver of choice right now is Miller. Miller has at least one touchdown in the last 4 games and 6 for the year. Willie Parker got the start again this week and he led the rushers with 63 yards. Bettis came in to spell Parker and made a couple of great fourth quarter runs to keep the clock running. Bettis finished with 22 hard earned yards. He has seen his production scaled back as Miller's production has increased. Hines Ward led the Pittsburgh receivers with 75 yards. If the Steelers players aren't getting touchdowns then their value is limited. They don't get enough yards to be worth a start unless they are scoring.

Fantasy Star: Heath Miller - Miller is Big Ben's favorite red zone target. We could see Miller being one of the elite tight ends in the league by this time next year.
Fantasy Dud: Chester Taylor - 8 rushes for 9 yards will not dethrone Jamal Lewis.
Geek Alert: Big Ben - Ben twisted his other knee in the first half but was able to play through the injury. He should be fine for next week.
Geek Watch: Quincy Morgan contributed with two catches and may see his playing time increase but we still don't see much fantasy value.