Halloween. Trick or Treat. You’d think there would be a clever opening in there somewhere. Turns out Chris Berman has a copyright on all of them. That’s fine – being clever is overrated anyway. Here’s a look at last week’s picks.
Time to Shine:
QB Jeff Garcia, Tampa Bay: Garcia did everything but get the Bucs into the end zone. Sadly, that’s really the only thing that matters in football. Miss.
RB Cedric Benson, Cincinnati: Benson would have been better off spending Sunday drinking on his boat. Miss.
RB Willis McGahee, Baltimore: Willis had about half the yards I predicted although he did get a score. We’ll call this one a push.
WR Marques Colston, New Orleans: European sounding name or not, Colston does not play well when on Greenwich Mean Time. Miss
WR Kevin Walter, Houston: 70 yards and two scores. I should listen to my gut more often. Hit.
Ride the Pine:
QB Peyton Manning, Indianapolis: His fantasy number don’t reflect how he played (which was poorly) but the rushing touchdown was enough to make this one a miss.
RB Mewelde Moore, Pittsburgh: Moore is making miracles happen in Pittsburg. Shame on me for doubting him. Miss.
RB Michael Turner, Atlanta: 58 yards on 17 carries. Turner reminds everyone why he was only a backup in San Diego. Hit.
WR Braylon Edwards, Cleveland: The Browns played pretty well, but it wasn’t due to Edwards. 64 yards and not much else. Hit.
WR Plaxico Burress, New York Giants: I don’t think 15 receiving yards was what Plax had in mind when he thought about making his triumphant return to Pittsburgh. Hit.
Week 8 Totals: 4-5-1
Overall Totals: 36-31-4
On to this week’s picks:
Time to Shine:
QB Dan Orlovsky, Detroit: In my never-ending quest to find obscure quarterbacks to plug into your starting line-up, I give you the Lions’ signal caller. He’s shown some improvement over the last two weeks, and with Chicago’s secondary still a little banged up, 200 yards and a couple of touchdowns is well within reach.
RB Ernest Graham, Tampa Bay: Graham has selflessly given up carries in order to fill in at fullback for the Bucs, but with Dunn a little iffy for Sunday, expect Graham to get more carries against an improving but overmatched Chiefs’ defense. 70 yards and a touchdown for Graham.
RB Tim Hightower, Arizona: While Edgerrin James sits on the bench filling out his AARP application, Hightower should see more carries this week. Playing the Rams, he should get a few goal line carries as well. Not a ton of yards, but put him down for a touchdown.
WR Rashied Davis, Chicago: Davis has won the job of “go to guy” mostly by default, but when it comes to Bear receivers, you take what you can get. What you should get out of Davis this week is 75 yards and a score.
WR Ted Ginn Jr., Miami: I know, I know, I’m a week too late with this one. Yet it’s hard to say how much confidence can help a receiver. Ginn has confidence in spades this week and going against a potentially Champ Baily-less Bronco secondary, Ginn could have his second big game in a row, this season, of his entire career. 80 and a score to TGJ.
Ride the Pine:
QB Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay: After watching what the Titans did to Peyton Manning last week, it’s a safe bet that Rodgers will have some difficulty moving the ball against this stingy defense. The Titans ball control offense may also keep him off the field more than his owners would like.
RB Marshawn Lynch, Buffalo: While the Jets offense has been up and down all year, their defense has been stout. Expect Lynch to struggle against them this week.
RB Steve Slaton, Houston: Houston will have too much success throwing the ball against Minnesota to bother testing the Williams brothers this week. Slaton’s carries will drop as will his production.
WR Terrell Owens, Dallas: T.O. may have 25 million reasons to live, but I can’t think of any good reasons to start him this week. Back-up QB, three sub-par performances in a row, and a Giants defense that loves making the Cowboys look bad. No go on T.O.
WR Santana Moss, Washington: Pittsburgh’s defense has a way of slowing down quarterbacks (ask Eli Manning). There’s no better way to slow down a young QB than to take away his biggest target. If the Skins are going to move the ball through the air, they’ll have to find someone else to catch the ball.
