Week 5 Matchups

Week 5 Fantasy Football Matchups
Buffalo Bills at Chicago Bears
October 8, 2006 - Soldier Field
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Fantasy Spin - Bills at Bears Fantasy Preview

This will be a spirited contest between an emerging AFC team and the class of the NFC. The Bears dismantled the NFC Super Bowl team from a year ago last week, making a statement to the rest of the league that not only do they have an outstanding defense, but an explosive offense to boot. New Buffalo head coach Dick Jauron has the Bills playing hard and winning ugly. Buffalo has been in every game and could easily be 4-0. Buffalo's Losman continued his subtle breakout season last week against the Vikings, establishing a career-high with 23 completions. Grossman saw his streak of 250-plus yard passing games end at three, but nonetheless managed 17 completions and a pair of TD throws against Seattle. Look for the Bears defense to hold Buffalo to two touchdowns or less, while Grossman continues his rise to the upper echelon of NFL signal-callers with an effective, if not spectacular, showing.

Buffalo - Losman (B), McGahee (Z), Evans (Z), Price (B), Buffalo D (Z)
Chicago - Grossman (S), Jones (Z), Muhammed (S), Clark (Z), Berrian (Z), Bears D (S)

Week 5 Fantasy Football Matchups
St. Louis Rams at Green Bay Packers
October 8, 2006 - Lambeau Field
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Fantasy Spin - Rams at Packers Fantasy Preview

A matchup of two great quarterbacks with St. Louis' Marc Bulger and Green Bay's Brett Favre. Favre is at a crossroad in his career and has been under heavy fire this year with poor performances that have him and the Packers at 1-3. Bulger enters the game without any interceptions through four games and is showing no ill effects from offseason shoulder surgery. The Rams defense has a plus-seven turnover ratio and has shown a new aggressive attitude with much more speed and athletic ability at the defensive back and linebacker positions. Green Bay will have the home crowd on its side, but it won't be enough to stop Linehan and the Rams' always-dangerous offense. Bulger will outgun an aging Favre, and will get help from a ground game solidified by the legs of Jackson.

Fantasy Spin - Titans at Colts Fantasy Preview

The Titans are still looking for their first win and are coming off a sound beating by the Cowboys. Tthe Colts are still undefeated after winning a barnburner against the Jets. The Colts found their run game against a rather porous Jets defense and are going to try and continue that trend on Sunday. Between not being able to stop the run and not being able to amount any consistent pass rush, the Titans are going to be hard pressed to keep this game close. Last week Joseph Addai (207 yards, 1 TD) carried the load for Indianapolis and ended with 84 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. Dominic Rhodes (189 yards, 3 TD) was also effective turning his 15 attempts into 75 yards and a TD. The Titans are certainly embarrassed after last week's performance against Dallas, but they are essentially in rebuilding mode with Young at the helm.

Fantasy Spin - Lions at Vikings Fantasy Preview

Both teams are coming off frustrating road losses. Ironically, Brad Childress, a former offensive coordinator with the Eagles, has his team playing very good defense, while Rod Marinelli, a former defensive line coach in Tampa, has seen his defense struggle. The Lions gained 370 yards of total offense against the Rams last week, but were still hurt by mistakes. Lions quarterback Jon Kitna (1,082 yards, 4 TD, 3 INT) threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns. Last week Chester Taylor (298 yards, 1 TD) carried the ball 10 times for 23 yards and No. 2 back Mewelde Moore (50 yards) added 17 yards on two attempts. This is a pivotal point of the season for the Vikings, and Childress is going to pound home the importance of heading into the bye week with a winning record. Minnesota will pound the Lions.

Fantasy Spin - Dolphins at Patriots Fantasy Preview

The Week 5 confrontation between the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins was one that the preseason prognosticators believed would be among the most important games to be played in the division in 2006, though the reality has not matched up to the hype in any way. his is a huge AFC East contest between a struggling Dolphins team and the new-look Patriots. The early optimism in Miami has been fading quickly due to the poor play of the offensive line and quarterback Daunte Culpepper. Every game has been ugly for the Dolphins this season. The Patriots were impressive last week in Cincinnati. Look for the Fins to play their most complete game of the season, and to enter the fourth quarter with a realistic shot of winning. Then, expect Culpepper to make a crucial mistake, Brady to take advantage, and New England to escape with a narrow victory.

Miami - Culpepper (S), Mcmicheal (Z), Chambers (S), Brown (S), Dolphins D (Z)
New England - Brady (S), Dillon (Z), Maroney (S), Watson (Z), Gabriel (Z), Pats D (Z)

Fantasy Spin - Buccaneers at Saints Fantasy Preview

Gradkowski, who accounted for 99 touchdowns (85 passing, 14 rushing) over his final three seasons at Toledo, will play in relief of Simms, who sustained a ruptured spleen in a 26-24 home loss to Carolina in Week 3. Simms could miss the rest of the season. The rookie will be looking downfield to wideouts Joey Galloway (10 receptions, 1 TD), Michael Clayton (9 receptions), and Ike Hilliard (7 receptions), along with tight ends Alex Smith (6 receptions) and Anthony Becht (6 receptions), on Sunday. The Saints seem to have everything going for them entering this game, a raucous home crowd and a rookie quarterback on the other side of the field ranking foremost among the advantageous elements. But New Orleans is still facing a pretty talented group of Buccaneers, one that is desperate to secure its first win of the year, and the Saints won't be riding the same wave of emotion that carried them against the Falcons two weeks ago.

Tampa Bay - Gradowski (B), Cadillac (S), Galloway (S), Clayton (B), A. Smith (B), Bucs D (Z)
New Orleans - Brees (S), R. Bush (Z), Mcallister (S), J. Horn (Z), Colston (S), Saints D (Z)

Fantasy Spin - Redskins at Giants Fantasy Preview

The Redskins are on a two-game winning streak and playing with a lot of confidence. Their offense has found its mojo with a healthy Clinton Portis and Mark Brunell, who is making full use of his weapons. The Giants think they are a Super Bowl team, but someone forgot to tell their opponents. New York needs a win badly to stay in contention in the division and keep its preseason Super Bowl hopes alive. It will have the luxury of playing at Giants Stadium on Sunday in trying to achieve that task. Manning will surely outduel Brunell on Sunday, but the main factor will be Barber and the Giants offensive line. Barber has played well against the Redskins of late, including his 206-yard performance at home last year. Coughlin's bunch is in dire need of a victory and will take the wind out of Washington's sails this weekend.

Fantasy Spin - Browns at Panthers Fantasy Preview

Last week the Browns finally got a win thanks to the Raiders but that took a big comeback in the second half against what is commonly considered the worst team in the NFL. The Panthers have now won two games and while neither were dominating victories, the Panthers look to be back on track. The Browns have some fantasy injury worries, with Joe Jurevicious (ribs), Reuben Droughns (shoulder) and Kellen Winslow (knee) all listed as questionable this week though only Winslow did not practice. All three are expected to play. Cleveland must find a way to protect Frye against a very good Panthers front seven. Defensive coordinator Mike Trgovac will focus on stopping RB Reuben Droughns and turn the Browns offense into a one-dimensional attack. Courtesy of Steve Smith look for the Browns to find their way into the loss column for the fourth time this season.

Fantasy Spin - Chiefs at Cardinals Fantasy Preview

The Chiefs still miss Trent Green but it didn't look that way last week with Huard turning in a great game against the 49ers. Johnson managed to just top 100 rushing yards and the whooping was thorough and complete. After this week the Chiefs go through a brutal stretch of games with PIT, SD and SEA to play so this week may be as good as the Chiefs will look for the next month. The Matt Leinart era has begun! After witnessing Warner lose yet another fumble and interception in Atlanta, HC Denny Green is pointing to his prized first round rookie to start the learning curve. Leinart came in last week and threw 5 of 8 for 49 yards and one lost fumble. Larry Johnson is averaging just over 24 carries and 98 yards per game. Still looking for his first truly positive moment in an Arizona uniform is running back Edgerrin James (272 rushing yards, 2 TD, 16 receptions), who has yet to tally a 100-yard game. In an evenly-matched game, expect the balance to tip toward the homestanding Cardinals.

KC - Huard (B), Johnson (S), Kennison (Z), Hall (B), Gonzalez (S), Parker (B) , Chiefs D (Z)
Arizona - Leinart (B), James (Z), Fitzgerald (S), Boldin (S), Pope (B), Cardinals D (Z)

Fantasy Spin - Raiders at 49ers Fantasy Preview

The Raiders are the unquestioned laughingstock of the NFL at this stage. Oakland has been mostly punchless during an 0-3 start, though Art Shell's team nearly saw a break in the clouds in last Sunday's home defeat at the hands of the Cleveland Browns. After being competitive and seemingly turning the corner, the 49ers were humiliated in Kansas City last week. How will they respond in their return trip home? Niners quarterback Alex Smith (906 passing yards, 3 TD, 2 INT) will be attempting to shake off his worst outing of the 2006 season. Look for Smith and Gore to have bounce-back games, the Niners defense to force a couple more Walter turnovers, and for Oakland to continue to be the embarrassment to the NFL.

Fantasy Spin - Jets at Jaguars Fantasy Preview

This is an interesting match-up between two of the more surprising teams this season. The Jets have exceeded expectations at least offensively with Pennington not only passing well but staying healthy. The Jaguars were unstoppable in two home games against the Cowboys and Steelers. The Jags want to be a strong running team, but were able to rush for only 33 yards (2.2 yards per carry) against the Redskins. They will try and re-establish their power running game against a weak New York run defense. Pennington is second in the AFC with 1,015 passing yards and tied for second with six touchdowns. Running back Kevan Barlow scored twice in the shootout against the Colts, and is now tied for the NFL lead with four rushing touchdowns. Veteran running back Taylor has also revved up the engines for games with the Jets, churning out 359 yards and two touchdowns in three career meetings. A big, physical defense should be able to smother New York's attempt at a running game and force Pennington to the air, where the Jaguars' have been historically successful in limiting his effectiveness.

New York - Pennington (Z), Barlow, (B), Coles (S), Cotchery (Z), Baker (B), Jets D (B)
J -Ville - Leftwich (Z), Taylor (S), D. Jones (B), M. Jones (Z), Williams (S), Lewis (B), J-Ville D (S)

Fantasy Spin - Cowboys at Eagles Fantasy Preview

T.O returns to Philly. This is the first game Terrell Owens has played against his former team, and it is in Philadelphia. The fans should have a nice warm Philly welcome for Owens. The Cowboys are playing solid football on both sides of the ball and need a win on the road to stay in the hunt for the division title. This is a very big game for both teams but the Eagles have many question marks going into this game that may not be resolved until game time which comes three hours after the first kick-off of the day. Donte Stallworth is doubtful to play this week. Brian Westbrook was a surprise scratch last week and it is still undetermined how much of that was him being unable to play versus saving him for this week. Reggie Brown is also listed as questionable. Drew Bledsoe is throwing at least one score in every game and has two in each of the last two match-ups thanks to playing Washington and Tennessee. Jason Witten continues to languish in relative obscurity with Owens and the rushing game taking over. Look for McNabb to be sharp on a day when he will have much to prove, and be the difference maker in a Philly win.

Fantasy Spin - Steelers at Chargers Fantasy Preview

The Super Bowl champions had two weeks to remedy some of what ails them and prepare for this cross-country road trip to San Diego. Both teams want to establish a power running game, stop the run on defense with their 3-4 schemes and then attack the quarterback once the offense becomes one-dimensional. Pittsburgh's disappointing start can be attributed to its struggles on the offensive side of the football. The Steelers have averaged only 16 points and 286.7 total yards through their first three games. Philip Rivers has acquitted himself well so far in his first season as San Diego's starting quarterback, although he hasn't been asked to do much yet. The Chargers run the football almost 65 percent of the time. Tomlinson won't have the easy lanes he's been accustomed to against Pittsburgh's stout defense and Rivers still has to prove he can make plays in pressure spots. Look for a rebound game out of Roethlisberger.

Pittsburgh - Roethlisburger (Z), Parker (S), Ward (S), Wilson (B), Miller (Z), Steelers D (S)
San Diego - Rivers (Z), L.T. (S), Gates (S), Mccardell (Z), Parker (B), Chargers D (S)

Fantasy Spin - Ravens at Broncos Fantasy Preview

This game pits two teams that could be meeting again in the playoffs. Denver QB Jake Plummer played much better in his last start, but the Ravens' defense will be the best unit he has seen this season. Baltimore has put together the first 4-0 start in their history and is one of only three teams, along with Indianapolis and Chicago, to remain unbeaten through the season's first four weeks. The Broncos have held their own on defense as well, having yielded an average of only 10.3 points over their first three games. Also they haven't lost a regular-season contest at Invesco Field since a 25-24 setback to Oakland on November 28, 2004. Jamal Lewis who has only one touchdown on the year and has not gained more than 86 yards in any game this season. Of the seven touchdowns scored by the Raven's offense, Heap has four. Javon Walker has been more reliable for fantasy points with two recent games of 79 and 130 yards which included both touchdowns against the Patriots in week three. This is a chance for Plummer to show that his week three performance was not just because the banged up Pats secondary was in town. Field advantage and the strong leg of kicker Jason Elam should be enough to knock the Ravens off their unbeaten perch.

Baltimore - McNair (Z), Lewis (Z), Mason (Z), Heap (S), Clayton (Z), Ravens D (S)
Denver - Plummer (Z), M. Bell (B), T. Bell (Z), Walker (S), R. Smith (Z), Broncos D (S)