In the preseason, I’m sure most people pegged this game as easy pickings for a Falcons squad that was considered a sexy pick to make it at least to the NFC Championship game.  The Falcons are 2-3 and only narrowly beat the Eagles at home (which looking at now doesn’t seem like quite the achievement it did then), and barely escaped with a road win against a rebuilding Seahawks team.  Unbelievably, the Falcons are lucky they aren’t 0-5 considering those two wins were by a combined six points.  The Panthers are 1-4, but the record isn’t quite indicative of how scrappy they’ve been, as Cam Newton’s play has kept them in every one of those losses; in fact, they haven’t lost a game by more than one score, and they could easily have been 3-2 or 4-1 had the ball bounced a little more in their favor.

This game will likely be very close, as this is a divisional rivalry game that will come down to whether Matt Ryan can play well enough in the Falcons’ balanced attack to keep Newton’s aerial show off the field.  The Falcons will need to win the time of possession battle, and to do that they’ll need to make use of a heavy dose of Michael Turner against the 27^th ranked rush defense, as well as some timely play-action passing.

For the Panthers, they’ll continue on with Newton leading the way, but they will also want to mix in some runs with Deangelo Williams, as they played probably their best game of the year last week with an attack that used the running game a little more to keep the Saints high-octane offense off the field as much as possible.  Make no mistake though, this is Newton’s show and the Falcons defense isn’t good enough to keep him contained, so it wouldn’t be a surprise for Newton to pick up his 2^nd win of the season in Atlanta.

Good Start:  QB Cam Newton, WR Steve Smith, WR Roddy White, TE Tony Gonzalez, RB Michael Turner
Middle of the Road:  TE Greg Olsen, RB DeAngelo Williams, QB Matt Ryan, WR Harry Douglas
Bad Start:  WR Brandon LaFell, RB Jonathan Stewart
  The ‘dream’ continues for the Eagles; and by that I mean the dream of a second win, which they’ve had since they fell asleep at the wheel in Week 2, and haven’t woken up even though they’ve driven the “Eagles Super Bowl Bus” off the road and into a bridge abutment… but I digress.  Last week, the Eagles once again fell into an early hole on the road to the Bills, and even though they had a valiant effort at the end to close to within one score, Michael Vick’s tendency to turn the ball over reared its ugly head once again.  The Eagles are now 1-4, and are looking more and more desperate by the week.
The good news is (for fantasy players anyhow) Vick is still putting up enough numbers to be an every week starter, even though he has more turnovers than a bakery, and is seemingly always one Vick dine-and-dash away from being knocked out of the game.  Lesean McCoy also continues on a torrid pace, and will almost assuredly end up in the top 5 of running backs in PPR leagues.

For the Redskins, they’ve gotten to 3-1 despite Rex Grossman’s play the last couple of weeks, as “Bad Rex” (the one that got kicked out of Chicago) has started to pop up.  The matchup against the Eagles will probably be won by whichever quarterback decides to give the ball away less; and luckily, Mike Shanahan is smart enough to realize that he can win as long as he gets the ball out of Grossman’s hands as much as possible.  Santana Moss will still have some decent numbers this year, but he’s a “meh” start this week matched up against the still effective Nnamdi Asomugha.

Speaking of Shanahan, you all know that he hates you, me, and every other fantasy football owner out there, right?  I mean, how else do we explain his pulling the plug on Tim Hightower in Week 4, only to insert Ryan Torain and watch him tear apart the hapless Rams defense?  Astute owners likely smelled the sweet scent of Shanahanigans coming a couple of weeks ago and off-loaded Hightower to an unsuspecting Shanahan backfield virgin.  And for those who think Torain is the bee’s knees, I have two words for you… Roy Helu.  And I have two more… Mike Shanahan.

Good Start:  QB Michael Vick, RB Lesean McCoy, WR Jeremy Maclin, RB Ryan Torain, TE Fred Davis
Middle of the Road:  WR Desean Jackson, WR Jason Avant, WR Santana Moss
Bad Start:  Any TE for the Eagles, RB Tim Hightower, WR Jabar Gaffney, TE Chris Cooley
  Those poor, poor Rams.  They limped into their bye week, battered and broken with a 0-4 record.  And what‘s waiting for the beleaguered Sam Bradford and his team on the other side of that restful bye?  Oh yes, a road trip to visit the Packers offensive buzzsaw led by Aaron Rodgers, and a sack-happy defense led by Clay Matthews, who will be more than happy to put more hurt on Bradford… as if he hasn’t suffered enough already.

The Rams might make a show of this game if Bradford wishes are granted and he can get some protection, his receivers stop dropping the ball, Steven Jackson stays healthy, etc… and if wishes were fishes, the Rams would own their own seafood market.  Unfortunately for the Rams neither wishes nor fishes are going to help them even stay close to the Packers at Lambeau.  The only hope the Rams have is if the Packers overlook them… and they’d have to overlook them by a season for the Packers to fall asleep enough for the Rams to pull off what would be the unlikeliest upset of the season so far.

For the Packers, this should be a high-scoring bonanza of epic fantasy points.  If you have any Packers receivers, you should start them as the Rams have no secondary to speak of.  In fact, the Rams don’t have much of a defense period, so even James Starks and Ryan Grant are fine plays this week.  This game has the potential of mirroring the 48-3 box score from the 49ers-Buccaneers game; and remember, the Packers are leagues better than the 49ers, and the Rams are an order of magnitude worse than the Buccaneers.  You could also get away with starting a Rams receiver or two, as they will be behind almost from the moment they get off the bus at Lambeau, so Bradford will be forced to the air early and often.

Good Start:  Any and all reasonable Packers.  (yes, even Donald Driver, James Jones, Ryan Grant, the equipment guy, and the beer guy in Section L.)
Middle of the Road:  WR Danario Alexander, WR Mike Sims-Walker, RB Steven Jackson. QB Sam Bradford
Bad Start:  The rest of the Rams
  How about that Curtis Painter?  Still not quite good enough to keep the Colts out of the Andrew Luck sweepstakes, but he has at least made the Colts interesting to watch again.  Painter has been much more competent than the dusty old shell that was masquerading as Kerry Collins in the first part of the season, and he’s breathed some life into the formerly moribund Colts passing game.  In fact, Pierre Garcon has vaulted his way into the top 10 of wide receivers in most scoring systems due to his four touchdowns in the last two weeks.  Now if only Painter can get Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark back into the act, all will be mostly right in Colts World fantasy-wise.

The Bengals have been winning football the old fashioned way… and by that I mean mostly boring fits of grind-em-to-death rushing mixed with a heavy dose of stifling win-by-attrition defense.  Andy Dalton has actually been a revelation at quarterback, as he’s more closely resembled a savvy veteran than wide-eyed rookie.  He’s also shown that AJ Green is by far the head of his WR draft class, as he has displayed flashes of the type of player that can dominate opposing cornerbacks at will.  Dalton has also made Jermaine Gresham a viable fantasy starter in leagues that require a tight end, although Gresham still does more blocking than most of his fantasy owners would like.  In fact, Gresham will probably be called upon to block a lot against Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, limiting his fantasy numbers this week.

This should be a fairly low scoring affair, as the Bengals don’t allow big plays or much scoring at all, while usually scoring just enough to win the game.  There are still some nuggets of fantasy goodness to be had here, but not as many as we would like.

Good Start:  WR Pierre Garcon, QB Andy Dalton, WR AJ Green, RB Cedric Benson
Middle of the Road:  QB Curtis Painter, WR Reggie Wayne, TE Jermaine Gresham
Bad Start:  The Colts running game, WR Austin Collie, TE Dallas Clark, WR Andre Caldwell, WR Jerome Simpson.
  The Raiders return home for the first time since Al Davis passed, and it will be sure to be an emotionally charged homecoming.  The Raiders will be looking to feed off the emotions of their fans as they take on a Browns team that is 2-2, but hasn’t looked great getting there.  Afterall, the two teams the Browns beat are still looking for their first win (Dolphins and Colts), and they were beaten handedly by the two teams they’ve played that have winning records (Bengals and Titans).

The Browns will have the difficult task of turning the game’s momentum, which will be in the Raiders’ favor right from the start with their home crowd’s rabid support.  Fantasy owners who count on Peyton Hillis will probably be hoping the fact that the Lindsey Lohan-esque scandals about him the media cooked up to make the Browns halfway interesting motivates him to punch through a vulnerable Raiders run defense.  Rumors abound of Hillis and his motivations for sitting out a game with strep throat, including insinuations that he sat out because of displeasure with his contract situation.  I dunno… maybe the guy was just really sick?  That’s a novel idea… but way too boring for the media, I guess.

Both the Browns and the Raiders haven’t had impressive passing attacks this year, but Jason Campbell has looked competent enough to make the likes of Darrius Heyward-Bey a viable fantasy play for the last couple of weeks.  It does help that he has defenses stacking the box to stop Darren McFadden; if Campbell can continue to make teams pay with the play action pass, McFadden may find even more running room, which is a scary thought.

Greg Little will be getting the start for the first time this season, although that shouldn’t increase his snap count too much, as he was already playing enough that he just wasn’t a starter in name.  Still, being a starter means he should get at least a small uptick in snaps, and as we all know, snaps equals more opportunities, more opportunities equals more touches, and more touches equals more of a chance to have a fantasy impact.

Good Start: QB Jason Campbell, RB Darren McFadden, WR Darrius Heyward-Bey, RB Peyton Hillis, TE Ben Watson.
Middle of the Road: RB Michael Bush, WR Denarius Moore, QB Colt McCoy, RB Montario Hardesty, WR Greg Little.
Bad Start:  WR Jacoby Ford, TE Kevin Boss, WR Mohammad Massoquoi, WR Josh Cribbs, TE Evan Moore
  The Vikings finally got their first win in Week 5, but then again, they were playing against a pretty bad Cardinals team, so I’m not sure you can really count it.  Still, it does help a team’s confidence to get the winless monkey off their backs, and after a month of not tasting victory, that monkey had to be the size of the Grape Ape.  The Vikings now go on the road to face the Bears which promises to be a mostly defensive affair, with combined scoring by both teams to probably be less than what the Packers hang on the Rams on the same day.

For the Vikings, the key to getting a win will be Donovan McNabb; by that I mean as long as the Vikings avoid McNabb having to try to win the game, they have a shot at pulling the upset.  The offense these days works best running through Adrian Peterson, with McNabb doing the bare minimum to keep the defense honest.  That’s good news for Peterson owners, and bad news for anyone unlucky to have a piece of the Vikings passing game.

The Bears have a similar situation, as their offense works best going through the leading PPR running back in fantasy football, Matt Forte.  Forte is also Jay Cutler’s favorite receiver, as he apparently is the only player amongst the team’s starters that even resembles a competent NFL caliber receiver.  Seriously, if you combine the first three receivers on the Bears’ depth chart (Devin Hester, Johnny Knox, Roy Williams), you still wouldn’t get one good receiver; in fact, you’d get a fast guy that runs poor routes, has skillets for hands, and is as motivated as an overweight narcoleptic at Gold’s Gym… so in other words, somewhat below average.

This game will feature heavy doses of both running backs, but when forced to pass, Cutler is simply a better quarterback at this stage than McNabb, even though Percy Harvin and a one-armed baboon makes for a better receiving corps than what the Bears trot out each week.  Despite that, the Bears will probably get back on track this week at home while the Vikings may have to wait another five weeks to get their second win.

Good Start:  RB Adrian Peterson, QB Jay Cutler, RB Matt Forte
Middle of the Road:  WR Percy Harvin, TE Visanthe Shiancoe, WR Dane Sanzenbacher
Bad Start:  QB Donovan McNabb, WR Michael Jenkins, WR Devin Hester, WR Johnny Knox, WR Roy Williams
  The Dolphins forge ahead after their bye week to start the Matt Moore era, which sounds a lot like the “pre-Andrew Luck era”.  Chad Henne is lost for the season, but to be honest, he led the team to an 0-4 record, so it’s not like Moore is going to be a dramatic drop off.  In fact, if Moore manages to eke out a win here and there, it will be an improvement over what Henne showed during the first quarter of this season.

The Jets on the other hand return home after losing three straight road games, with things getting so bad that even Rex Ryan appears to be at a loss for words.  With a return to the “Ground and Pound” philosophy, the Jets actually played the Patriots rather tough, and at least didn’t get rolled like they did against the Ravens the week before.  With the passing game scaled back considerably, Mark Sanchez actually looked more in control and competent; which is not great when your highly prized “Sanchize” quarterback has to be reduced to the role of game manager just so your team doesn’t self-destruct every week.

For the Dolphins to have a shot against the Jets, they’ll need to take advantage of the suddenly vulnerable Jets rush defense and get Daniel Thomas on track.  If Thomas is limited by his lingering hamstring injury though, the Dolphins won’t be able to get a running game going because they’d have to rely on Reggie Bush.  And as we all know, that is never a good thing… the only thing you can count on Reggie Bush doing is being far more hype than substance.
The Jets should cruise to this victory, as Sanchez probably will not be forced to pass too much (a good thing), and the Jets should be able to rely on Shonn Greene’s running to close out the second half.  If the Dolphins fall behind, that will play right into the hands of the Jets defense; they’re at their best when they can reduce a team to being a one-dimensional attack, playing right into the strength of the Jets’ defense, its secondary.

Good Start:  RB Shonn Greene, WR Santonio Holmes, TE Dustin Keller
Middle of the Road:  RB Daniel Thomas, WR Brandon Marshall, WR Devone Bess, QB Mark Sanchez, WR Plaxico Burress
Bad Start:  QB Matt Moore, RB Reggie Bush, WR Brian Hartline, RB Ladainian Tomlinson

  Both teams are riding high, as the 49ers are 4-1 and coming off a throttling of Tampa Bay while the Lions are 5-0 for the first time since 1956.
 
It was hard to find fault with any facet of the San Francisco offense against the Buccaneers, as would be expected when a team explodes for 41 points (they added a defensive TD). Alex Smith was even good, with 170 yards and 3 TDs, two to Vernon Davis. Frank Gore seems to be playing with a pretty big chip on his shoulder as he followed up his 127-yard, 1-TD game against Philly with a 125-yard, 1-TD outing against Tampa Bay.
 
The Lions just keep rolling, and this week they actually showed a running game. Matthew Stafford was just OK by his 2011 standards, throwing for 219 yards and a pair of TDs to Calvin Johnson. Jahvid Best was the real story, however, with 163 yards and a TD. His outing comes with an asterisk, though, because 88 of those yards came on a single TD run that had “fluke” written all over it. When a guy can run that far and not even be touched, that is a fluke. Sorry.
 
San Francisco could present the Lions with their stiffest defensive test yet. The 49ers have allowed 264 yards per game through the air and their total of 7 passing TDs allowed ties for fourth-fewest in the league through five weeks. Conversely, the good times could come to a fairly abrupt end for Gore. Detroit is allowing nearly 115 yards a game on the ground but has surrendered only 1 TD. You’ll more than likely have to ride the hot hand and go with Gore, but temper your expectations based on the stats. As far as Best is concerned, if you run him you are buying Fool’s Gold. Best had not done squat before Monday, and I still say his totals in the game are incredibly misleading. Plus, the 49ers give up only 76 YPG on the ground and have yet to allow a running TD.
 
GOOD STARTS: QB Matthew Stafford, WR Calvin Johnson, RB Frank Gore, TE Brandon Pettigrew, TE Vernon Davis
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD STARTS: RB Jahvid Best, WR Michael Crabtree,
BAD STARTS:  WR Nate Burleson, WR Titus Young
 
  The Bills are looking to defeat their second straight NFC East foe while the Giants are still looking for answers after their extremely puzzling loss – at home – to the Seahawks.
 
Buffalo managed to put up 24 offensive points even though Ryan Fitzpatrick only managed 193 yards passing and one TD. Fred Jackson was the unquestioned star with 111 yards and a TD rushing and another 85 yards on 6 receptions. He has earned his place among the league’s elite running backs – at least through the first five games. Steve Johnson was shut down, which is understandable since he drew the attention of Nnamdi Asomugha. David Nelson had a TD, but Donald Jones will be out at least a month with an ankle injury. Naaman Roosevelt will probably get a lot of action in Jones’ absence.
 
Eli Manning actually had his best Fantasy game of the season against Seattle, and that’s saying something considering he had thrown 8 TD passes and averaged 266 yards in the three games prior. All he did was throw for 420 yards and another 3 scores. One of his TDs was pure luck and took a phenomenal catch by Victor Cruz, while another came on a deflection off of Cruz’ hands that led to the clinching TD for the Seahawks. But we’re talking about Fantasy Football here, and Manning has been unbelievable. Ahmad Bradshaw owners were bitterly disappointed. Bradshaw looked like a look for a big day with Brandon Jacobs being out, but he spit the bit by managing only 58 yards on 17 carries without a TD. Speaking of Cruz, he might be getting closer to supplanting Mario Manningham as the clear No. 2 wideout. He had 8 receptions for 161 yards and a score while Manningham had 5 for 56 and did not see the end zone.
 
There is no reason to believe that Manning won’t have another huge game against Buffalo, as the Bills are giving up 283 YPG and have allowed 10 passing TDs. But they haven’t exactly been shutting down opposing run games either, giving up 138 YPG and 5 scores. If Jacobs misses another game or is limited, Bradshaw should have a good chance of redeeming himself. New York is middle of the road against the pass (251 YPG, 5 TDs) but generous against the run (122 YPG, 5 TDs). Look for Fitzpatrick and Johnson to rebound while Jackson should once again be huge.
 
GOOD STARTS: QB Eli Manning, QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, RB Ahmad Bradshaw, RB Fred Jackson, WR Hakeem Nicks, WR Victor Cruz, WR Steve Johnson
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD STARTS: WR Mario Manningham, WR David Nelson, TE Jake Ballard, TE Scot Chandler
BAD STARTS: RB Brandon Jacobs (knee, doubtful)
  Jacksonville’s season keeps slipping down the drain while the Steelers dominated Tennessee at home for a much-needed win.
 
There’s not a lot that needs to be said about the Jaguars. Maurice Jones-Drew is the only Jaguar worth any Fantasy consideration.
 
Pittsburgh exploded on the Titans, led by 5 TDs from Ben Roethlisberger. Jonathan Dwyer (who?) came out of nowhere to gain 107 yards on 11 carries. Don’t rush to the waiver wire just yet, though, as 76 of those yards came on one tote. Odds are that Rashard Mendenhall will play, but even if he doesn’t Isaac Redman will more than likely see most of the action. Mike Wallace is Mike Wallace – a stud. Enough said. Antonio Brown was reminded that Hines Ward is still a member of the Steeler receiving corps. While Brown had only 2 receptions for 23 yards, Ward hit paydirt twice and had 54 yards on 7 receptions.
 
Pittsburgh seems to have solidified its run defense somewhat, but is still vulnerable to a premier back such as Jones-Drew. The Jags are in the middle of the pack against both the run and pass, with a defense that seems inferior to Tennessee. While we will never predict 5 TDs for any quarterback, obviously, there’s no reason to believe Roethlisberger won’t have another big day as long as his offensive line continues to keep him upright.
 
GOOD STARTS: QB Ben Roethlisberger, RB Maurice Jones-Drew, WR Mike Wallace
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD STARTS: WR Hines Ward, WR Antonio Brown
BAD STARTS: All other Jaguars
 
  The Ravens could have snuck in a little golf last week since they were on bye, while the Texans did what they do best – put up impressive offensive numbers yet still find a way to lose.
 
Since Baltimore didn’t play, there’s no real way of re-hashing how they did, is there? So…
 
…moving on, the Texans once again moved the ball up and down the field very effectively. The problem was they only put up 20 points, and that wasn’t enough to beat Oakland. Matt Schaub surprised everyone by throwing for 416 yards and 2 TDs without Andre Johnson, who is not expected to play in this one either. Schaub looked like he might have had a chance to add a rushing TD to that total, but he chose to pull up and try to flip it in the end zone as time ran out. The pass was intercepted. A Raider defender said Schaub choked and could have easily run it in, but replay wasn’t so conclusive. Arian Foster showed that his hamstring injury looks like it’s in the rear-view mirror. He had only 68 yards rushing on 22 carries, but he made up for it with 5 receptions for 116 yards. Joel Dreesen came out of nowhere to catch 5 balls for 112 yards and a TD, while Owen Daniels added 89 yards on 7 catches. Those of you banking on Jacoby Jones to shine in the absence of Johnson were bitterly disappointed. It is amazing that he was targeted 11 times yet could only manage 1 reception for 9 yards. That doesn’t exactly bode well for any future Fantasy production while Johnson remains on the sideline.
 
Baltimore comes into this one fresh off its throttling of the Jets in Week 4. The Ravens have allowed only 3 passing TDs and give up only 212 yards per game, while the run defense has been even stingier, allowing only 1 TD and 72 YPG. Houston’s defense suffered a massive loss, as Mario Williams is gone for the season with a torn pectoral muscle. With Williams, they gave up 7 passing TDs but only allowed 208 YPG, and against the run the Texans allowed 106 YPG and 3 scores. Williams’ absence should definitely have a detrimental affect on the Texans’ ability to rush the passer, which should give Joe Flacco more time to look downfield. This could make Torrey Smith worth some serious starting consideration. The downside for Ray Rice owners is that Flacco might not have to check down nearly as often as usual. But that’s merely logic – and we’ve seen pre-game logic getting tossed out the window time after time.
 
GOOD STARTS: QB Matt Schaub, QB Joe Flacco, RB Ray Rice, RB Arian Foster,  WR Anquan Boldin
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD STARTS:   TE Owen Daniels, TE James Cassey, WR Torrey Smith,
BAD STARTS: WR Jacoby Jones, WR Kevin Walter
 
  The Cowboys licked their wounds over the bye while the Pats took care of business against the Jets. This one is shaping up as a Fantasy feast.
 
Tony Romo had a week to rest his broken ribs, so he should be as close to 100 percent as he will be for the rest of the season. And he should have Miles Austin as well as Dez Bryant.
 
The Patriots just keep rolling along offensively. Tom Brady had a ho-hum 321-yard, 1-TD game while BenJarvus Green-Ellis made an emphatic claim to the No. 1 running back slot in New England with 136 yards and 2 TDs. Stevan Ridley looked like nothing but a pretender, as he had a pathetic 13 yards on 7 attempts. He may be relegated back to the role of spectator, especially if Danny Woodhead can return. But again we’re talking about Bill Belichick here – you never know how he’s going to use his RBs. The only sure thing in the Patriot offense besides Brady is Wes Welker, who, again, had a 100-yard receiving day. He finished with 124 yards on 5 catches.
 
This game has the potential of being not only one of the most exciting games of the season so far, but also one of the most intriguing. Dallas defensive coordinator Rob Ryan served the same role for Cleveland last season when the Browns confused and confounded Brady and the Patriots in a 34-14. In that game, Brown defenders never committed to a spot before the snap and were able to make Brady move on a consistent basis. The Cowboys have been fairly solid for the most part on defense this season against the pass, giving up 230 yards a game and 7 TD. Run-wise they have been stellar, giving up 61 YPG and 1 TD. If Dallas can pull off Ryan’s game plan, Demarcus Ware could have a field day. The Browns were able to do a great job of harassing Brady and they didn’t have any pass rusher near the caliber of Ware. Brady is still a must-start, of course, but if the Cowboys have success his numbers could take a downturn. And if (man, there are a lot of “ifs” in this part of the article) Dallas maintains its excellence against the run, Green-Ellis’ numbers could really suffer.
 
New England was finally able to limit an opposing quarterback to less than 200 yards, as Mark Sanchez managed only 166 last week. Before you scoff at that, remember Sanchez does have 8 passing TDs and a couple of 300-yard games under his belt so he’s not a complete joke. That performance “reduced” the Patriots’ YPG allowed to 326. Are they starting to figure some things out defensively against the pass? If they can limit a powerful Cowboy offense that will come in with all its vital pieces back in place, that answer will obviously be a resounding “yes.”
 
GOOD STARTS: QB Tom Brady, QB Tony Romo, WR Wes Welker, WR Miles Austin, WR Dez Bryant, TE Jason Witten, TE Aaron Hernandez, TE Rob Gronkowski
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD STARTS: RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB Felix Jones, WR Deion Branch
BAD STARTS: WR Kevin Ogeltree, WR Chad Ochocinco

  New Orleans did what it needed to do in a win over the Panthers while the Buccaneers were outclassed and humiliated in every conceivable fashion by San Francisco.
 
As long as the Saints emerge from their last game healthy, there will be no need to waste your time with a re-cap.
 
Similarly, there’s no need to delve into whatever that was Tampa Bay threw out there against the 49ers. It was complete, abject failure. To make matters worse, LeGarrette Blount sprained a knee and his status for New Orleans is up in the air at best. Look for Earnest Graham to get the start while Kregg Lumpkin also gets some action.
 
Maybe Josh Freeman can rebound at home, since the Saints have allowed 10 passing TDs and nearly 250 yards per game. New Orleans is middle of the road against the run, giving up 108 YPG and 4 TDs. The Buccaneers have given up 9 passing TDs and an average of 254 YPG. Look for both of those numbers to rise considerably after Drew Brees gets done with them. They’re also giving up 123 YPG on the ground, so Mark Ingram could be a nice play here.
 
GOOD STARTS: QB Drew Brees, QB Josh Freeman, RB Mark Ingram, RB Darren Sproles, WR Marques Colston, TE Jimmy Graham
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD STARTS: RB Earnest Graham, WR Mike Williams, WR Robert Meachem, TE Kellen Winslow
BAD STARTS: RB LeGarrette Blount (knee, doubtful)
 

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