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Must Start:
LaMont Jordan
v. KC: There are two concerns when it comes to Jordan. First,
is he healthy? Second, how many touches will he lose to Dominic
Rhodes? Even though Jordan was listed as doubtful last week, he
touched the ball 24 times versus San Diego. If he can, he will
play and carry the load against Kansas City. Rhodes is already
whining about not getting opportunities. I doubt that will endear
him to the coaching staff or make him a bigger part of the game
plan.
Thomas
Jones @ CIN: Twenty-five touches for 141 yards is nice. Know
what would be even better? A touchdown. Still scoreless this season,
Jones gets to face the lowly Concinnati Bengals defense. Everyone
else has ripped them up; Jones might as well too. He looked excellent
last week, Leon Washington still isn’t vulturing any carries,
and Cincinnati is a sieve. If Jones is going to score this year,
the table is set for it to happen this week.
Willis
McGahee @ BUF: He got 25 carries last week against St. Louis
and even managed his first rushing touchdown of the season. This
week the Ravens will travel to Buffalo and things will look eerily
similar. Kyle Boller will still be starting at quarterback so
McGahee will get a ton of touches. The Bills’ defense, like the
Rams’, can’t stop anyone. McGahee will still run like he is wearing
20 pound cleats and will bang and plod his way to a touchdown
and some yardage. Against Buffalo, a running back just has to
show up to get decent numbers.
Maurice Jones-Drew v. IND: The outlook for MJD was dismal going
into Jacksonville’s Week Four bye. He wasn’t getting
anything going on the ground or through the air with a high of
60 combined yards. Something changed over that week off because
MJD has returned with a vengeance, posting back to back good games.
The match up with Indy is better than you might expect. The Jaguars
will eventually be down by double digits and MJD will be in for
these obvious passing situations.
Going Out On a Limb:
Kevin Faulk
@ MIA: Faulk has been around for a while and always seems to get
30 to 50 receiving yards with the occasional draw play mixed in.
Laurence Maroney’s status for Sunday’s game is still up in the
air and Sammy Morris will be missing a couple weeks minimum. Running
backs are tough to find seven weeks into the season so, if Maroney
can’t go, Faulk will suffice to fill in for a week.
Grab A Gatorade:
Marion Barber v. MIN: There is something wrong with having a guy
named “Marion” on my team. It annoys me. The Vikings
are holding opposing offenses to 66 yards per game on the ground
while allowing billions of yards through the air. Everyone knows
how to play them. Another area of concern: over the last three
weeks Ms. Marion Barber has gotten 10, 14, and 10 touches.
Kevin Jones
v. TB: No one is questioning if he’s healthy. The real problem
is the Detroit offense. Mad Mike Martz has indoctrinated the team
into his pass-first mentality and the running backs are bearing
the brunt of the fantasy damage. KJ has regained his starting
job now that their bye is over, but wait another week or two before
plugging him into your starting lineup. Maybe having a better
back than Tatum Bell will inspire Martz to present a more balanced
attack.
Earnest Graham @ DET: Sure, he is the clear cut starter in Tampa
for another week or two until Bennett gets up to speed. Unfortunately,
it is also clear that he isn’t very good. A match up with
Detroit is usually good news, but owners must be truly desperate
to turn over their team to Graham. In the last two games he has
averaged 2.1 yards per carry and has no touchdowns.
 Marshawn
Lynch v. BAL: Lynch continues to toil in the shadow of fellow
rookie Adrian Peterson. Trent Edwards starting at quarterback
hasn’t hurt him too much considering how ineffective J.P. Losman
was. Neither quarterback is yet good enough to force defenses
to respect the pass. Lynch will see a steady diet of eight man
fronts all day and Baltimore is pretty good at stopping runners,
even on good teams. They have allowed only a single rushing touchdown
this year.
Cedric Benson @ PHI: Chicago is certainly committed to giving
Benson every opportunity to show the world he belongs in the NFL.
He hasn’t done anything this season to justify their confidence
in him, but the Bears management keeps feeding Benson the ball.
In two weeks he may find a little more running room against Detroit
but first he has to travel to Philadelphia, where they know how
to stop the run.
Wide Receivers
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