Arizona
Cardinals at Detroit Lions
Both squads try to stop a two week losing
snide. The Lions' Jeff Garcia and Joey Harrington
are banged up. Coach Mariucci isn't sure which
QB will start on Sunday. The injuries are
mounting for the Cardinals as well. Last year's
sac leader, DE Betrand Berry, has a torn pectoral
muscle and could be out for the season. Kurt
Warner returned under center last week. He
was intercepted 3 times and sacked four times.
Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts
The Colts are coming off a big win over their
AFC nemesis New England Patriots. Manning
and the Colts appear to finally be over the
hump as Manning won for the first time at
Foxboro last Monday night. The 1-7 Texans
will have their work cut out for them but
showed signs of improvement last Sunday in
a 7 point loss to Jacksonville in which they
held the Jaguars to just 88 yards on the ground.
Minnesota Vikings at New York Giants
Manning, who has made great strides since
last season, will try to keep the Giants unbeaten
at home where they are currently 4-0. Their
defense has only allowed 6 points and a total
of 288 yards in their past two games. The
Vikings are coming off a big win over the
Detroit Lions led by Brad Johnson who is filling
in for the injured Culpepper. Brad Johnson
always plays well at Giants Stadium where
in two starts he has completed 70% of his
passes for 520yards with 5 TDs and no INTs.
San Francisco 49ers at Chicago Bears
The Bears are riding a 4-game winning streak
and boast one of the top defenses in the league.
They have shown glimpses on the '85 Monsters
of the Midway. Rookie QB, Kyle Orton, continues
to get better each week and is the current
favorite for rookie of the year. The 49ers
are on their fourth QB of the season, 2004
second round draft pick Cody Pickett, as Tim
Rattay, #1 draft pick Alex Smith, and Ken
Dorsey, are all injured.
Baltimore Ravens at Jacksonville Jaguars
Kyle Boller will return under center for the
Ravens to try to put to rest a 3-game losing
skid. Safety, Ed Reed, and Linebacker Ray
Lewis, winners of 3 of the last 5 defensive
player of the year awards, will miss another
game this week. The Jaguars have won 3 of
their last 4. Byron Leftwich continues to
play well. He directed two scoring drives
of 80+ yards in the fourth quarter last week
to beat Houston.
Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills
With Priest Holmes out for the season Larry
Johnson will be getting even more carries
as we saw against Oakland last week when he
looked like a Pro Bowl back, rushing for 107
yards and two TDs, including the game winner
when he jumped over the pile with seconds
remaining. Buffalo is coming off of a bye
week, and despite being two games under 500,
they are sitting at second in the division
behind New England.
New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
The Patriots fell to 4-4 on the season after
going down to the Colts last Monday night,
and they look to avoid losing consecutive
games for the first time since December 2002.
Their 4 losses total the number they've had
in the previous 2 seasons. The Dolphins have
lost 3 of their last 5 but with a win Sunday
can overtake New England in the AFC East.
Miami's two pronged running attack of Ronnie
Brown and Ricky Williams is averaging over
5 yards per carry for 133 yards the past three
games, compensating for Gus Ferotte's 29th
ranking among NFL QBs.
Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders
The first place Broncos take on the last place
Raiders for the 90th time during the regular
season. Despite these teams being at opposite
ends of the AFC West, expect a close game.
Kerry Collins is having a phenomenal season
and Lamont Jordan is finally looking like
a feature back as he ran all over the Chiefs
in the first half last week. Denver's running
attack of Mike Anderson and Tatum Bell is
the second best in the NFL, combining for
1,366 yards on the season, and it has taken
some of the pressure off of Jake Plummer who
is having an excellent year, limiting the
costly INTs which have plagued his career.
New York Jets at Carolina Panthers
Despite a slow, 1-2 start the Panthers have
turned it around and are now one of the NFC
favorites for the Super Bowl. Despite one
of the best back fields in the NFC with Jake
Delhomme and Stephen Davis, the Panthers Defense
has made them a Super Bowl contender. They
have 15 sacks in their last three games and
17 during their winning streak. Brooks Bollinger
will be making his 2nd career NFL start for
the Jets for injured vet Vinny Testaverde.
Bollinger came in last week in the third quarter,
throwing for 2 TDs in a comeback attempt that
just fell short against the Chargers.
Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta is coming off a 17-10 victory over
Miami in which Michael Vick put up his best
passing numbers of the year. The Falcons also
boast the league's top ground game led by
Warrick Dunn. The Green Bay Packers are having
a dismal season at just 1-7-too bad for Favre
who strongly contemplated retirement after
last season. Favre has never lost more than
8 games in his previous 13 seasons at Green
Bay, but it looks as if that mark will be
surpasses this year.
Washington Redskins at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Washington is coming off a big win against
last year's NFC Champion Eagles which moved
them into 2nd place in the division along
side idle Dallas. Mark Brunell looks like
the QB he was in Jacksonville, scrambling
outside the pocket and making throws on the
run, while Clinton Portis mounts a solid ground
attack. After starting the season 4-0, the
Bucs have been sliding. They suffered a 34-14
defeat to Carolina last Sunday, and Brian
Griese's replacement Chris Sims continues
to struggle, throwing 2 INTs and losing a
fumble while being sacked five times last
week.
St. Louis Rams at Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks are 17-3 in their last 20 regular
season games at home under Holmgren. Shaun
Alexander is the NFL's leading rusher with
949 yards on the season. He rushed for over
170 yards last week with two TDs. The Rams'
skill players have been out hurt but are expected
back this Sunday. With Bulger, Holt, and Bruce
back the Rams will bring a much improved offense
to the table.
Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers
A rusty Charlie Batch took over the quarterbacking
duties for Ben Roethlisberger last week as
Roethlisberger endured knee surgery. It was
Batch's first start in four years. The Steelers'
leading rushers Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker
are also banged up and listed as questionable.
The Browns are coming off of a victory against
Tennessee last week after losing their three
previous games. Reuben Droughns is coming
off a stellar performance in which he had
a season best 116 yards on the ground and
added another 73 yards receiving.
Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles
Owens will not be in uniform again this week
as the Eagles take on the Cowboys Monday night.
It seems as though Owens' apology was too
little too late. Philadelphia, at 4-4, is
just a glimpse of the NFC powerhouse they
were a season ago. They are the leagues worst
rushing team, but Westbrook figures to get
more carries in TO's absence. Dallas is coming
off of a bye week which will allow running
back Julius Jones to return to the lineup.
Drew Bledsoe has risen from the dead and is
having a very solid season throwing the football.
Jimmy Boyd is a documented member of The Professional
Handicappers League.
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