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Must Start:
Deion Branch @ CLE: In the three full games he played before getting
hurt, Branch went over 100 yards in two of them and scored in
the other one. After missing a few weeks with a sprained foot,
he should be ready to roll against a horrendous Cleveland secondary
that has given up 18 receiving touchdowns on the season, tied
with the Bengals for worst in the league.
 Lee
Evans v. CIN: Speaking of Cincinnati, we might as well start
the #1 receiver in Buffalo against them. Evans, after an extremely
slow start, is finally coming on with three good games out of
the last four. The change back to J.P. Losman won’t hurt Evans
since they spent all last season playing catch and that led to
some pretty decent numbers for Evans.
Reggie
Brown v. DAL: Another wide out who experienced a disappointing
start to the 2007 campaign, Brown is getting worked into the game
plan more and more. The Eagles will have to pass the ball to keep
up with the Tony Romo-led Cowboys offense. Everything depends
on Donovan McNabb having a good game and I think he has another
one this week.
Jerricho Cotchery v. WAS: Cotchery must have been praying for
a quarterback change and finally got his wish. Rather than catching
five yard slants from Pennington right into diving safeties, Cotchery
will now get to stretch the field a little with Clemens’
improved arm strength. While the Redskins aren’t an ideal
match up, Cotchery has been a consistent performer all season.
Going Out On a Limb:
D.J. Hackett
@ CLE: The forgotten man in Seattle, Hackett was being considered
for the top receiving spot before getting injured Week One. Nate
Burleson has conveniently played himself out of the starting rotation,
leaving at least the #2 spot for Hackett as he returns to play.
We’ve already talked about the Cleveland defense – they are far
from good.
Grab Some Pine:
Donte’ Stallworth
@ IND: While I don’t expect the Colts to completely shut down
the Patriots passing game, they are good enough that owners should
avoid playing a marginal receiver like Stallworth. Like any other
Patriots player, he could go off for a huge game at any time,
but the odds are strongly against it in this game.
Derrick
Mason @ PIT: Mason has been very consistent this year, with
at least five catches and 54 yards in every game. Going hand in
hand with that consistency, Mason has yet to go over 100 yards
in a game and has only two touchdowns. The Steelers defense is
one of the best and won’t have any problem shutting down the boring
and predictable Ravens.
Larry Fitzgerald/Anquan Boldin @ TB: Tampa Bay is playing some
really good pass defense, second in the league only to the Colts.
Dividing the 173 yards passing that the Buccaneers typically give
up among the potential Arizona targets quickly highlights that
either the Cardinals need to do better than most teams against
the Tampa Cover 2 or these guys need to snag a touchdown catch
in what will be a low scoring game.
Kevin Walter
@ OAK: Teams have decided it is easier to beat the Raiders on
the ground than through the air. With Matt Schaub expected to
be out for the game, Sage Rosenfels will spend a lot of time handing
the ball off to whatever running back is healthy in Houston. Walter
has had a nice run, but Oakland’s secondary is far more talented
than he is.
Nate Burleson
@ CLE: Readers should be able to tell by now that a lot of
stuff is going on in Seattle right now. The match up is right
in Cleveland, but Burleson is now the fourth receiver and has
displayed his lack of ability over the last few weeks filling
in for Branch and Hackett. Not only should he not be starting
on your team, he shouldn’t even be on your roster anymore.
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