FANTASY FOOTBALL PLAYER PREDICTIONS

There's no place like home… or at least, that's what the wizard told us. Apparently, however, some NFL players weren't listening.

The road warrior is a rare bird indeed, as it takes a special person to handle the travel, the opposing crowd, the nights in strange beds… well, okay, maybe pro athletes are used to that last one. But finding a player who ratchets up their game on the road is more rare than your luggage making it to its destination.

Yet they do exist. And as you come rumbling down the stretch in your fantasy football season, it would behoove you to identify those players who can block out the distractions and bring their A-game on the road.

You've already met the home boys; now get a load of the road warriors.

Quarterbacks
Peyton Manning, Colts
You might think Manning is limited to dome success, but he's tossed multiple touchdowns in 11 of his past dozen road games—and 12 of his 17 touchdowns this season have come outside the RCA Dome. The last time he failed to throw for at least 200 yards on the road, strangely enough, came in a dome: against the Rams in St. Louis in December of 2001. Don't be alarmed by the Colts' remaining road tests; Manning's comfort zone (which now includes Foxboro) extends well beyond the Indiana state lines.
Remaining road games: Week 11 at Cincinnati, Week 14 at Jacksonville, Week 16 at Seattle

Carson Palmer, Bengals
Need further proof that Palmer is maturing into one of the top quarterbacks in the game? After throwing five touchdowns (and seven interceptions) in his first five road starts, Carson has now tossed multiple scores in each of his last seven away from Paul Brown Stadium. Moreover, he's thrown just three picks in that span—and none in his last four, which encompasses visits to Chicago, Jacksonville, Nashville, and Baltimore. Ink up the stamp and mark it "official" on Palmer's NFL passport: he has definitely arrived.
Remaining road games: Week 13 at Pittsburgh, Week 15 at Detroit, Week 17 at Kansas City

Kerry Collins, Raiders
The commonly-held view of Collins is as a wide-eyed gunner who throws frequent interceptions and can't be trusted with the reins of a legitimate contender. That claim was certainly supported by a 77-85 touchdown-to-interception ratio on the road coming into this season. But maybe Kerry has finally matured; he's lifted that mark to an even 87-87 by throwing 10 road scores against just two road picks this season. In fact, he's posted multi-touchdown games in his last five away from the Black Hole, and four of his five multi-score games this season came while wearing road whites.
Remaining road games: Week 11 at Washington, Week 13 at San Diego, Week 14 at New York Jets, Week 16 at Denver

Running Backs
Julius Jones, Cowboys
Stick a microphone in front of any coach and they'll tell you the key to winning on the road is establishing a ground game; everything builds from that foundation. Why, then is it darn near impossible to find a back with better road stats than home numbers? That's just how tough it is to run the ball on the road in the NFL. However, Bill Parcells has been around the block a time or two and he knows darn well how critical that simple fact is. That's why, prior to Monday night's outing in Philly, Jones had at least 22 carries in every one of his seven NFL road starts. The results? An average of 108 yards and almost one touchdown per road game. By contrast, he has only three touchdowns in six home games and only one triple-digit outing in Big D as well. As Jones gets his feet back under him, expect Parcells to ride him like pack mule when the Cowboys hit the road from here on out.
Remaining road games: Week 13 at New York Giants, Week 15 at Washington, Week 16 at Carolina

Fred Taylor, Jaguars
Taylor got on the Jacksonville fans a couple weeks back after the team was booed heading off the field at halftime against the Texans. Considering that last year the Jags were shut out at home by the Texans with a playoff berth on the line and had just concluded a half in which they were tied with the worst team in football, they were well within their right to boo. But it also speaks to something else: maybe Freddy isn't comfortable playing at ALLTEL. After all, he's averaging nearly twice the rushing yardage on the road (114) he is at home (67), is rushing for better than five yards per carry on the road (versus barely four per tote at home), and he hasn't scored for the home crowd since December of 2003.
Remaining road games: Week 11 at Tennessee, Week 12 at Arizona, Week 13 at Cleveland, Week 16 at Houston

Wide Receivers
Marvin Harrison, Colts
Admit it: you travel with your teddy bear. Hey, whatever it takes to be comfortable in that big, strange bed, right? Consider Harrison to be Manning's teddy bear. Not only have six of Marv's eight touchdowns this season come on the road, he's scored in a ridiculous 11 of his last 12 road contests—15 touchdowns over that span. He's also racked up four 100-yard games in that stretch. In other words, you know where Peyton is looking when the Colts are wearing white.
Remaining road games: Week 11 at Cincinnati, Week 14 at Jacksonville, Week 16 at Seattle

Chad Johnson, Bengals
This isn't rocket science. If Manning is a road warrior and he looks to Marv, using the transitive property it's not tough to deduce that if Palmer is a road warrior, Johnson should be on this list. CJ has scored in five of his last seven road tests with Palmer at the helm; in the two he didn't score in, he finished with 91 yards. If Peyton tucks in Marv the night before a road contest, you can bet Carson is reading Chad a bedtime story.
Remaining road games: Week 13 at Pittsburgh, Week 15 at Detroit, Week 17 at Kansas City

Santana Moss, Redskins
Moss didn't demonstrate a particularly strong road trend as a Jet, but the move to DC has triggered something. Inside the Beltway, Santana has just one touchdown and is averaging 93 yards per tilt; outside the shadow of the Pentagon, Moss averages 112 yards per game and has an Abe Lincoln—that's four scores, for those of you not familiar with the Gettysburg Address.
Remaining road games: Week 13 at St. Louis, Week 14 at Arizona, Week 17 at Philadelphia

Keyshawn Johnson, Cowboys
Keeping it all in the family, Keyshawn matches Chad for ability to score on the road. Remember when Key couldn't find the end zone with a map and a flashlight? All it takes, evidently, is a plane ride because he's collected six touchdowns in his last eight road games. This season, he's scored four touchdowns in five road games.
Remaining road games: Week 13 at New York Giants, Week 15 at Washington, Week 16 at Carolina

Tight End
Chris Cooley, Redskins
Last season, Cooley confined the bulk of his damage to The District. This year, however, three of his four most productive games have come on the road, and both of his touchdowns have taken place away from Dan Snyder Stadium. Cooley is fast approaching every-week starter status in tight end mandatory leagues, but for certain he should be in your lineup when the Skins are traveling.
Remaining road games: Week 13 at St. Louis, Week 14 at Arizona, Week 17 at Philadelphia

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