The Saints go back on the road for the fourth time out of the last five games, after stopping off at the Superdome just long enough to stomp a mudhole in the Indianapolis Colts and improve their record to a 5-2.  And after laying 62 points in front of Caldwell’s perpetually befuddled visage, the Saints are rewarded by getting to face off against an almost equally bad Rams team this week.  The fantasy gods are certainly smiling on owners who are lucky enough to have a piece of that Saints offensive pie, as these same Rams let rookie DeMarco Murray smash the Cowboys’ team single game rushing record with over 250 yards rushing.  In fact, this is boiling up to be the perfect fantasy storm, as the Rams are allowing 410 yards and 28.5 points per game (ranked 29^th), while the Saints are averaging 467 yards and 34 points per game. 

For the Rams, things are actually starting to look up in terms of the offense.  Well, if you’re lying on your back in the gutter, the only way to look happens to be up; as long as no one is standing above you retching up their 40 of Pabst Blue Ribbon, that is.  Sam Bradford missed the last game with his high ankle sprain, but his new receiving toy, Brandon Lloyd stepped right in and put up a very decent 6 receptions for 74 yards stat line.  Steven Jackson is also looking healthy finally and running with authority.  Unfortunately for the Rams, they very well could be 0-8 before they start to realize their full offensive potential, and by then it will be too late to do anything but start planning out what kind of trade package they could get from some desperate team that wants to get into position for Andrew Luck.

Expect a relative shootout in this game; well, at least for the Saints.  Drew Brees will most likely throw more than three scores, with the usual suspects (Jimmy Graham, Marques Colston, and Darren Sproles) being the main beneficiaries, while the ground game will probably account for at least two.  The floor for scoring for the Saints in this game will most likely be 35 points, but in reality will probably be more than that, as the Rams couldn’t stop a toilet with a whole roll of Charmin.  The Rams should, however, be able to score more points than the Colts could muster, so Lloyd and Jackson could also end up with nice numbers.

Good Start: QB Drew Brees, WR Marques Colston, TE Jimmy Graham, RB Darren Sproles, RB Pierre Thomas (if Ingram is out), WR Brandon Lloyd, RB Steven Jackson
Middle of the Road: WR Robert Meachem, QB Sam Bradford (or AJ Feeley, if Bradford is out), WR Greg Salas
Bad Start:  WR Lance Moore, WR Devery Henderson, WR Danario Alexander, WR Brandon Gibson, WR Lance Kendricks
  One thing that the Jaguars can be proud of; they are the kings of winning ugly.  Not just run of the mill, last-call-at-the-bar-gotta-go-home-with-someone kind of ugly, but actual can’t-be-drunk-enough-to-touch-that-with-your-buddy’s-junk kind of horrifically ugly.  That game against the Ravens in front of a national audience set offensive football back about 50 years, as Jack Del Rio and rookie QB Blaine Gabbert didn’t seem to be aware that the forward pass has actually been an integral part of the NFL since before color television was prevalent.  Despite their passing ineptitude, you have to give some props to Maurice Jones-Drew, as he ran into the teeth of the Ravens defense, with the Ravens knowing that he’s getting the ball on just about every snap, loading the line of scrimmage with 9 and 10 defenders, and yet he still lives to fight another day for his fantasy owners.  The road should be an easier one to travel for MJD this week, as the Texans aren’t nearly as stout as the Ravens are on the defensive side of the ball.

The Texans come off a complete throttling of the Tennessee Titans, who were actually playing good defense until the Steelers exposed them like a bunch of drunk co-eds at Big Ben’s birthday party.  The Texans, sans Andre Johnson, continued that exposure with Arian Foster rolling up over 200 total yards and three scores, showing that even without their most explosive receiver, they can score on almost anyone.  The Texans might have more difficulty against the Jaguars, who have been playing surprisingly good defense all season long.  This won’t be a roll-over game for the Texans, as their scoring will bound to be muted, and the Jags may have a shot at this one if they can continue their stifling defense.

While scoring may be a little hard to come by for both teams, there are still some fantasy nuggets of gold to be had.  Arian Foster probably won’t roll two bills and change along with a touchdown trifecta, but 150 total yards and one or two TDs wouldn’t be surprising.  Also, if Johnson is able to play in this game, he could have a decent game as well, and either way Owen Daniels probably has a good day as well.

On the Jags side of the ball, it’s hard to like anyone involved with such a moribund passing attack, but MJD is bound to have at least another good yardage game, and stands a good chance of getting into the endzone.  But stay far, far away from Gabbert and anyone else depending on him to get them the ball.
 
Good Start:  RB Arian Foster, TE Owen Daniels, RB Maurice Jones-Drew
Middle of the Road:  QB Matt Schaub, WR Andre Johnson (if he plays)
Bad Start:  WR Jacoby Jones, WR Kevin Walter, Every Jags player without the initials MJD
  Here’s a game that is bound to get ugly quickly, as the so far very underwhelming Cardinals go on the road to meet what has to be a very ornery Ravens team.  The Cards are an ugly 1-5, and so far the Kevin Kolb experiment has not paid any dividends.  The coaching staff still makes the excuses of Kolb not getting enough time with the offense and his teammates, he’s still learning, etc.  Well, it might be time for some Hooked on Phonics or Quarterbacking for Dummies, or some other means of education, because Kolb just looks like he isn’t getting it.  He also isn’t bound to “get it” suddenly with Ray Lewis and Hloti Ngata trying to eat his lunch on every play, so to expect anything but mediocrity again this week would be foolhardy.

The Ravens return home after looking stunningly bad on Monday Night Football at Jacksonville.  I didn’t think it was possible to look any worse than the Jaguars do on offense, but the Ravens managed to do just that.  The Ravens are bound to be angry on both sides of the ball, as they’ll all be looking to erase the memory of last week’s embarrassment.  That’s where the Cardinals come in, as they haven’t been able to get out of their own way on most weeks, and are most likely to be without their most consistent offensive weapon, Beanie Wells, due to injury.  That’s an odd thing to write; Beanie Wells = most consistent weapon.  Luckily, any on both sides of the ball, as they’ll all be looking to erase the memory of last week’s embarrassment.  That’s where the Cardinals come in, as they haven’t been able to get out of their own way on most weeks, and are most likely to be without their most consistent offensive weapon, Beanie Wells, due to injury.  That’s an odd thing to write; Beanie Wells = most consistent weapon.  Luckily, an injury to Wells puts the world back where it should be in terms of what we all expected Wells to do this year (or any year, for that matter).

With the Cardinals not able to muster much passing defense, ranking 29^thin the league in that category, expect the Ravens to take a lot more shots down the field, with both Torrey Smith and Anquan Boldin benefiting most from Flacco taking to the air.  In fact, Ed Dickson should also have one of his better games from the tight end position, as the middle of the field has been a weakness for the Cardinals this season.  After using the passing game to take an early lead, the Ravens should be able to open some decent holes for Ray Rice, who will rebound nicely after last week’s debacle.

The Cardinals probably won’t be worth much on offense against the #1 ranked Ravens defense, especially with the Ravens in front of their ravenous crowd.  With Wells likely out of commission, Alfonso Smith likely gets the start, which is good news for Ray Ray and the boys.  Larry Fitzgerald is probably the only play here, and even then it isn’t a good one considering Kolb couldn’t find him with a Garmin.

Good Start:  QB Joe Flacco, WR Anquan Boldin, WR Torrey Smith, TE Ed Dickson
Middle of the Road:  WR Larry Fitzgerald
Bad Start:  QB Kevin Kolb, WR Early Doucet, WR Andre Roberts, RB Alfonso Smith
  On the surface, this looks like a game that the Colts might have a chance at winning.  After all, these two teams combined to lose their respective games last week by a score of 103-14.  Looking at it that way, you could say they’re equally putrid, and therefore it should be anyone’s game.  However, I implore everyone reading this (all two of you, including you, mom) to not ignore just how terrible the Colts are looking.  They have the look of a team that has simply quit on coach Caldwell, as they showed no real heart or effort in the midst of getting ground into the Superdome turf last week.  With all hope lost (except for the hope for the #1 pick, that hope is alive and well), the Colts appear disinterested and like they’re just going through the motions; the Titans on the other hand should be able to find the motivation to reverse their fortunes, as at 3-3 they are certainly not out of the race for their division.

The biggest question surrounding Chris Johnson is what went wrong?  Is he truly out of shape from holding out?  Is his offensive line struggling that much?  Or did he get his big pay day and decided to “find his beach” like so many Corona commercials, and has effectively checked out with money no longer a motivating factor?  From the look of it, the problem doesn’t lie with any one of these; in fact, it looks like all of them might be playing a factor in it.  Watching last week, Johnson went down a lot on first contact, he was able to find the openings that were there in the defense, and he looked like he was running in molasses with cement blocks on his feet.  It just isn’t believable that he suddenly lost his physical gifts; it is more believable that he just doesn’t have the motivation to use them to the full extent anymore.

Luckily for the Titans, they don’t have to completely rely on Johnson for their offense like they have in the past couple of years.  Matt Hasselbeck has done a good job with the passing game in most contests, but he has suffered some since he no longer has the deep threat teams have to respect in Kenny Britt, and teams don’t feel like they have to stack the box to stop a neutered Chris Johnson.  However, against the sieve like defense of the Colts, Hasselbeck and his crew of receiving threats should be good enough to have a decent day passing.

On the Colts side of the ball, things finally hit rock bottom in the embarrassment last week against the Saints.  Things can’t get any worse (the Titans aren’t going to drop a 70 spot on them, after all), but their fantasy prospects probably don’t get a whole lot better against the Titans.  Pierre Garcon remains the favored target for Curtis Painter, while Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark continue their long sad slide into fantasy irrelevancy.

Good Start:  QB Matt Hasselbeck, WR Nate Washington, WR Pierre Garcon
Middle of the Road:  RB Chris Johnson (last chance), WR Damian Williams, TE Jared Cook, QB Curtis Painter, WR Pierre Garcon
Bad Start: WR Reggie Wayne, TE Dallas Clark, RB Delone Carter, RB Donald Brown
  The Vikings visit the Panthers in what is shaping up to be one of the more intriguing matchups this week; and not because of any post season implications as the two teams have combined for 3 wins thus far.  This matchup is interesting because it features two rookie QBs that look like they’ve energized their respective teams.  We all know about Cam Newton and his single-handedly making the Panthers relevant again; but Christian Ponder sparked the Vikings last week and gave the Packers all they could handle in what appeared to be the toughest game of the year for the defending champs.

The best aspect of Ponder’s effect on the Vikings was how much better they were able to run the ball with Adrian Peterson.  With the Vikings actually threatening deep with Ponder’s live arm, Peterson wasn’t running against the constant eight man fronts and was able to gash the Packers for 175 yards, his best rushing effort of the year.  Peterson probably forgot what it was like rushing on an offense that had a threatening passing game, and fantasy owners should expect more of the same this week from him.  Hopefully the Vikings have learned their lesson trying to make do with past-their-prime quarterbacks (see: post text message Favre and Donovan McNabb) that were so far past their primes they appeared to curdle before our very eyes.

With the Vikings losing secondary members at an alarming rate to either injury or complete stupidity (see: Chris Cook), Cam Newton is preparing for an even better day passing than he normally would have.  Generally a rookie quarterback would have big problems with the likes of Jared Allen and the Vikings pass rush; but Newton is no ordinary rookie.  Newton has the uncanny pocket awareness and the physical strength and quickness to beat the Vikings rush, which may end up being the difference in this game.

If the Panthers do want to secure a win here, they’ll have to keep their good balance on offense, getting both DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart involved so Vikings have to at least respect the possibility of the run.  Stewart finally became the first Panther not named Cam Newton to score a rushing touchdown this season, which means that maybe finally other teams have to respect someone other than Newton around the goal line.

Good Start:  QB Cam Newton, WR Steve Smith, QB Christian Ponder, RB Adrian Peterson
Middle of the Road:  TE Greg Olsen, TE Jeremy Shockey, RB Jonathan Stewart, WR Michael Jenkins, WR Percy Harvin
Bad Start:  WR Brandon LaFell, WR Legedu Naanee, RB DeAngelo Williams, TE Visanthe Shiancoe
  Can things actually get worse for the Dolphins?  For about 55 minutes, they had total control over the Broncos and they actually looked like a halfway competent NFL team.  But of course, Tebow happens.   The Chosen One, the Golden Child, the biggest thing to hit the NFL since… well… pigskin, went from looking like a guy in over his head, tossing up floppy duck passes and getting sacked more than a cart full of groceries, to a guy that looked in over his head, tossing up floppy duck passes, getting sacked more than a cart full of groceries, but is still better than the Dolphins.  In those five minutes, Tebow simultaneously erased the ugliness of the first 55 minutes and erased the Dolphins’ chances of getting into the win column to save at least a modicum of respectability.

The Giants come off their bye week well rested, and at the very least were able to go into the bye with a hard fought win against a very respectable Bills squad.  Now, they get to have one of the few powderpuff teams playing currently, which is the perfect way to ease back into the NFL grind.  Of course, this game does look like it should be easy pickins’ for Eli Manning and the Giants, Eli has had a way of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory against foes the Giants have no business losing to.  It was not three weeks ago when they allowed a thoroughly unimpressive Seahawks team march right into the New Meadowlands and take the victory Manning almost single-handedly served up to them with his momentum killing turnovers.  If Manning can avoid making too many mistakes, this game should be a cakewalk for the G-Men, making most parts of their offense a worthwhile fantasy play.

For the Dolphins, their fantasy prospects don’t look nearly as good.  The Giants are usually tough at home, and the stout defensive line of Umenyiora, Tuck, and Pierre-Paul should thoroughly harass Matt Moore all game long.  The only Dolphin probably worth playing will be Brandon Marshall, if only because he has kept his trap shut this week and isn’t claiming to be “kicked out” by the 2^ndquarter.  Although, if he did get kicked out in the 2^ndquarter because he tried to start a fight with Giants players that would probably be the most entertaining thing that happens for the Dolphins’ offense.

Good Start:  QB Eli Manning, RB Ahmad Bradshaw, WR Hakeem Nicks, TE Jake Ballard, WR Brandon Marshall
Middle of the Road:  WR Mario Manningham, WR Victor Cruz, RB Daniel Thomas, WR Davone Bess
Bad Start:  RB Brandon Jacobs, QB Matt Moore, RB Reggie Bush, WR Brian Hartline, TE Anthony Fasano
  Matthew Stafford threw up his first real dud of the season as the Lions lost their second straight, while the Broncos, led by Tim Tebow, had one of the most improbable wins in recent NFL history.
 
Stafford could only manage 183 yards and a TD against the Falcons, who were able to harass him on a fairly consistent basis even though they hadn’t shown much of a pass rush for much of the season. He still hit Calvin Johnson with his TD pass and 115 of his passing yards, but he was clearly out of sync the entire day. The running game was OK at best. Speaking of Best, Jahvid did not play due to a concussion and his status for Denver is extremely iffy. If he can’t go, Maurice Morris and Keiland Williams will share the rushing load. Morris had 9 carries for 50 yards, and that looks pretty good at first blush. Take away his one carry for 31 yards, though, and that total doesn’t look so hot. But you could say the same thing about Williams. He had 9 carries for 44 yards but 18 came on one tote. It looks as though Williams will get more of the goal line looks but that’s not etched in stone. If you’re rolling with one of them you might lean toward Morris because he might be more involved in the passing game. You’re probably better off going in another direction entirely.
 
Tebow led the first comeback from 15 points down with less than 3 minutes to play since 1970. I think I have that right; that’s one of those obscure stats that you hear one minute and forget the next. Anyway, the guy was lousy for the first 55 minutes before coming to life in the last five. He finished with 161 yards and 2 TDs passing, and added 65 yards and a two-point conversion rushing. He’s going to go up against a far superior defensive line in Detroit, so you might not expect the same kind of numbers. If he can have a good game against the Lions, though, then he might already be dangerously close to must-start status. Run-wise, the Broncos will be without Willis McGahee for this game and probably at least one or two others due to a broken hand. The under-achieving Knowshon Moreno and Lance Ball (who?) will carry the load.
 
Denver has allowed 247 yards and 11 TDs on the season, but 4 of those were surrendered to Aaron Rodgers. The Broncos were fairly solid against Philip Rivers (250 yds., 1 TD) and strong against Miami’s Matt Moore (197 yds., 1 TD). But the 1985 Bears could look good against Moore, and I’m talking about today, when their average age is somewhere around 50, give or take. Stafford is a notch below Rodgers and a notch above Rivers, so you could be looking at a strong 250-275 yards and 2 TDs. And I’ll take that. The Broncos have been decent against the run (118 YPG/4 TDs allowed), so it’s hard to give a ringing endorsement to either Morris or Williams until they prove otherwise.
 
The Lions, on the other hand, have been good against the pass (204 YPG, 8 TDs), and they have a much better defensive line than Miami. It’s really hard to envision Tebow having a great day in this one. Detroit’s run D has given up about 130 YPG on the ground but only 3 scores. Moreno and Ball don’t inspire a whole lot of confidence, though.
 
GOOD STARTS:QB Matthew Stafford, WR Calvin Johnson, TE Brandon Pettigrew
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD STARTS: QB Tim Tebow, RB Maurice Morris, RB Knowshon Moreno, WR Eric Decker, WR Demayius Thomas
BAD STARTS: WR Nate Burleson, WR Titus Young The Redskins’ early-season momentum ground to an official halt in a loss at Carolina, while the Bills were on bye.
 
Washington QB John Beck was great from a Fantasy perspective, throwing for 279 yards and a TD and rushing for a TD as well, but from Mike Shanahan’s perspective he wasn’t so hot, as he threw a pick and lost a fumble. It would be hard to imagine Shanahan pulling Beck to put Rex Grossman back in, but you never know. For now, we’ll assume he’s playing, and he could be a decent start. The problem is he’ll be missing his No. 1 receiver, Santana Moss, for 5-7 weeks with a broken hand. He’s also missing his No. 1 RB in Tim Hightower, who’s done for the year with a torn ACL. Ryan Torain and Roy Helu will carry the load on the ground. Considering how injury-prone Torain has been in the past, it might not be long before Helu is The Man. It’s really hard to make any sort of assumption based on last week, as they combined for only 3 carries for a whopping minus-6 yards. As far as who will be the No. 1 receiver in Moss’ absence? Who knows? The odds are that Jabar Gaffney will get the most looks, but that doesn’t mean you should rush out and put him in your lineup.
 
The bandwagon of Buffalo QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, filled to the brim just three weeks ago, has emptied out considerably. He did have 244 yards and 2 TDs in his last game against the Giants, but this does not look like that great of a matchup, plus Fred Jackson has exploded and taken a lot of pressure off of Fitzpatrick as a result. Steve Johnson has disappeared the last three weeks, averaging only 42 yards and scoring once.
 
Washington has been very stingy against the pass (218 YPG, 3 TDs) but somewhat susceptible against the run (118 YPG, 6 TDs). The Bills have been fairly generous against the pass (284 YPG, 10 TDs) and very generous against the run (136 YPG, 8 TDs). Both Torain and Helu, if they split carries, have the chance at a solid day. For now, it looks like Torain will get the larger share of the load.
 
 
GOOD STARTS: RB Fred Jackson, RB Ryan Torain, WR Steve Johnson
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD STARTS: QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB John Beck, RB Roy Helu, WR Jabar Gaffney, TE Fred Davis
BAD STARTS:  TE Scott Chandler, WR David Nelson, WR Anthony Armstrong
 
  The bad news is the Seahawks lost to the Browns, 6-3, in the ugliest game of the season. The worse news is that they play the Bengals, and Cincinnati has a better defense. The good news, if there is any, is that they’ll be playing at home. The Bengals will be coming off a bye week.
 
There’s really no reason to waste a lot of time on Seattle’s putrid performance. Charlie Whitehurst couldn’t even hit the century mark passing, and no runner cracked 40 yards. Maybe Marshawn Lynch could have done better, but he was a late scratch with a back problem.
 
This one’s going to be pretty short and sweet, considering the Bengals didn’t even play. QB Andy Dalton has turned into a decent Fantasy start, especially in deeper leagues, while WR A.J. Green is showing signs of becoming a stud. Cedric Benson will sit this one out while serving a one-game suspension. Bernard Scott will see most of the carries in Benson’s absence.
 
Seattle is decent against the pass (250 YPG, 6 TDs) and just OK against the run (105 YPG, 5 TDs). Temper your expectations for Dalton, but if you’re in a bye week pinch you might give Scott some consideration. The Bengals… ah, why bother? After last week, if you’re considering any Seahawk then you have to be pretty damn desperate.
 
GOOD STARTS: WR A.J. Green
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD STARTS: QB Andy Dalton, RB Bernard Scott, WR, Doug Baldwin, RB Marshawn Lynch, WR Sidney Rice, WR Jerome Simpson, TE Jermaine Gresham
BAD STARTS: RB Leon Washington, RB Justin Forsett, WR Mike Williams
 
  The Steelers smoked Arizona on the road while the Patriots are coming off a bye.
 
Ben Roethlisberger has been on fire lately, with 9 TDs in his last three games. And against the Patriots he’s done well, averaging 233 yards and 2 TDs in the five meetings he’s had with New England. That’s a pretty good sample size in regard to Roethlisberger going up against a Bill Belichick defense – the Patriot D is made up of interchangeable parts and never has relied on a star system, so it really doesn’t matter if some of the players that Roethlisberger previously faced aren’t there anymore. Rashard Mendenhall continues to be maybe the most frustrating (supposedly) upper-echelon players in Fantasy Football. He was stymied against Houston (9 carries, 25 yards), absolutely tore up Jacksonville (23 carries, 146 yards) and then did squat against the Cardinals (13 carries, 32 yards). If form holds against what has been a really bad pass defense most of the season, the Steelers should attack mainly through the air with Mendenhall maybe getting a few carries and possibly a couple of goal line opportunities. Hines Ward had to miss a good portion of the Arizona game after leaving with a sprained ankle, but we all know how tough he is, so I’m expecting him to play. If for whatever reason he doesn’t, that could open the door for Antonio Brown to put up solid-to-big numbers.
 
Tom Brady. Enough said. Rob Gronkowski/Aaron Hernandez. Enough said. Wes Welker. Ditto. The only real mystery surrounding the Patriot offense is who will get most of the carries. You would think that BenJarvus Green-Ellis will be that guy, but Belichick has had an extra week to find ways to screw with Fantasy Football owners, and Green-Ellis wasn’t that impressive against the Cowboys in Week 6, with 14 carries for only 58 yards. The Steelers have been a little more vulnerable against the run this season, allowing 107 YPG and 5 TDs, but does that mean The Law Firm is in for a big day? Who knows? But at least it looks like he’s a safe play as a No. 2 running back this week.
 
GOOD STARTS: QB Tom Brady, QB Ben Roethlisberger, WR Wes Welker, WR Mike Wallace, WR Antonio Brown TE Rob Gronkowski, TE Aaron Hernandez
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD STARTS: RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB Rashard Mendenhall, WR Deion Branch, TE Heath Miller
BAD STARTS: It’s hard to identify one. If you have a viable Patriot or Steeler, you’re going to start him.
  The Indians beat the Mariners, 6-3, while the 49ers were off.
 
Cleveland was as putrid as Seattle offensively. Colt McCoy didn’t crack the 200-yard mark and threw a pick, Montario Hardesty had 95 yards but it took him 33 carries to get there, and you know it’s a bad day for the receiving corps when backup RB Chris Ogbonnaya (5 rec., 43 yards) is your leading pass catcher. The Browns just need to take last week’s game film and burn it. Speaking of Hardesty, while it looks like Peyton Hillis will start, Hardesty should get a lot of action as well. But as you’ll see below, the matchup against the 49er run D looks lousy.
 
The 49ers are coming off a win over the previously undefeated Lions in which Frank Gore ruled the day with 141 yards and a TD. The Browns have allowed almost 120 yards a game on the ground, yet only 2 rushing scores. So while Gore is a good bet to get you some bonus yardage points, don’t be shocked if he doesn’t hit paydirt.
 
Overall, both defenses make it hard for opposing ground games to score. The 49ers are even stingier than Cleveland; it is the only defense not to have allowed a running TD and they only allow 75 YPG. And there’s not a lot in this matchup that suggests either team will have much success through the air, either. Cleveland is giving up 171 YPG and has allowed 8 passing TDs, while San Francisco is more generous from a yardage perspective (261 YPG) but has given up only one more passing TD. This game could very well end up 31-28 or something like that, because you never know, but on paper this looks like a middling game at best from a Fantasy perspective. It shouldn’t be 6-3 bad, but it probably won’t be much better. A final score of 10-6, anyone?
 
GOOD STARTS: RB Frank Gore
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD STARTS: QB Colt McCoy, QB Alex Smith, TE Vernon Davis, WR Michael Crabtree, WR Greg Little
BAD STARTS: RB Montario Hardesty, RB Peyton Hillis
  Dallas rolled the Rams behind a record-setting day by RB DeMarco Murray while the Eagles took the week off.
 
Murray was amazing, rushing for 253 yards and a TD. Take away the 91-yard scoring run and he still had a phenomenal outing, averaging 10 yards a carry. And Tony Romo was still solid, with only 166 yards passing but 2 TDs. Dez Bryant had 90 and a score while Jason Witten (5 rec., 35 yds.) had the other TD. Miles Austin helped a lot of his Fantasy owners to a loss, however, but stunningly managing only 2 catches for 16 yards.
 
The Eagles should be pretty healthy from an offensive standpoint going into this one. While Michael Vick hasn’t been otherworldly like he was in 2010, he’s still a significant weapon who can probably be trusted to put up strong numbers against the Cowboys. If you have LeSean McCoy, however, while you’re definitely going to run him you might need to temper expectations. Dallas has allowed only 70 YPG and 2 rushing TDs. Jeremy Maclin looks to be the unquestioned No. 1 receiver in Philly, with 37 receptions versus 24 for DeSean Jackson.
 
The Eagles have allowed only allowed 2 TDs to opposing wide receivers this season. Depending on who Nnamdi Asomugha covers all day, either Austin or Bryant could be a big gamble this week. Philly has been susceptible to the run, however, allowing 124 YPG and 6 TDs, so Murray should have ample opportunity to prove that his breakout game was not a fluke. That could also hurt Romo’s numbers.
 
GOOD STARTS: QB Michael Vick, QB Tony Romo, RB LeSean McCoy,  RB DeMarco Murray, WR Jeremy Maclin, TE Jason Witten, WR DeSean Jackson, WR Miles Austin, WR Dez Bryant
MIDDLE OF THE ROAD STARTS: TE Brent Celek,
BAD STARTS: RB Tashard Choice, WR Jason Avant, WR Laurent Robinson
 

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