NFL Fantasy Preview: Week 10

My legs were pounding, my heart racing. 

I took a sliver of a second to wipe the perspiration from my forehead with the back of my hand. The noise was almost deafening now—my head throbbed like a crazed monkey banging on a brand-new drum set. 

I just had to keep running, resist looking behind me—nobody would catch me anyway...

I finished my business and spit out my dead gum next to the caged, pink freshener that lay at the bottom of the wall toilet.

I glanced at myself in the mirror and realized I was the only one in the men’s room. Then I juked left, jigged right, and made a little kick step to shake off an entire field of imaginary defensive backs. 

“Touchdown,” I screamed. 

That’s what it must feel like to be Adrian Peterson, I thought. 

I washed up and went back to the office.  My daydreams would have to wait until Sunday for more inspiration.


Week Nine of the NFL season could’ve set a record for setting records.

We counted five special teams touchdowns, including the longest return of all time—not to mention the best ever single-game rushing performance...by a rookie no less. 

It’s too bad that four of the five teams with special teams touchdowns lost their games: Jacksonville, San Diego, Seattle, and Cincinnati, with Cleveland as the only winner. 

To top it off, we finally got a break from the talking heads and actually got to see the Biggest Show on Hype—the 7-0 Colts vs. the 8-0 Patriots.

Our take on the least important, most important regular season game of all time:

After a 4-to-3 vote in favor of a Patriots win (I sided with the Pats), most of us were completely confused by a Pats’ game plan that featured none of what had earned them their 8-0 record. 

Seems like The Sweatshirt outthought himself and decided to play a game of keep-away like a scared schoolgirl. 

It took until the fourth quarter for Bill Belichick to remember he'd made tremendous upgrades to his wide receiver corps to compete with this very good Colts team. 

Suddenly, Randy Moss grew six inches taller than the tallest Colts DB and became one of the greatest, most talented wide receivers of all time. 

Then the game was over. 

In between, there was enough good football to whet our appetites for the possible playoff battle between these same two teams.


Here’s our take on what looks like an amazing Week 10...

CIN @ BAL

Judging from the Monday night play of Baltimore and the wavering play of Cincinnati, we shouldn’t be surprised at anything that happens in this battle of teams trying to stay out of the AFC North cellar. 

Honestly, Baltimore’s offense looks like a JV squad that would struggle to score points against Notre Dame. WR Mark Clayton is the only playmaker, and he hasn't even gotten looks. 

Of course, if you're a Chad Johnson owner you should be making arrangements for his replacement with his neck injury in question at this point.  Really, you should have already been looking for options as his play has wavered as much as his team these last few weeks. 

Then again, he should be able to go and Baltimore’s pass defense shouldn’t be any better than it was in Week Nine, giving up five passing touchdowns from only 16 pass attempts. 

RB Willis McGahee went out of last week's game with a concussion, so you’re gonna want to keep an eye on him.  If healthy, he will be counted on to have a big game against a Cincy defense that will certainly stack the box to stop the run. 

WR Chris Henry has been activated and is practicing, so you will want to see how his touches affect those of both Chad Johnson and T.J.—if he even gets on the field before he gets into trouble again.

BUF @ MIA

Clearly, Buffalo has a better chance to win under J.P. Losman; arguments to the contrary are just plain false. 

Coaches and experts who give the nod to conservative offenses over dynamic offenses are usually wrong, especially when they have an offense in the bottom 10 percent of the league. 

The story in this game may be the birth of QB John Beck.  At this point in the season, teams that are out of the picture are well advised to begin getting reps for their future.

Beck and WR Ted Ginn should get significantly increased looks for the rest of the season. 

CLE @ PIT

Many experts point to the first meeting between these teams in Week One of the season in which Cleveland was dominated from the start and had to play from behind. 

The excuse was that Cleveland was starting QB Charlie Frye, but in actuality Frye only threw 10 passes on the day and was replaced by Derek Anderson very early in the game. 

Given the way Cleveland’s offense has played in the last few weeks, one might expect a different result but we find that hard to believe.  Cleveland will be playing in Pittsburgh this time, and they simply cannot stop the run. 

Although Willie Parker’s knee is a bit banged up, he will go and most likely have a huge game.  The Steelers should dominate time of possession and simply go to their winning formula of running the ball and playing increasingly aggressive defense as they accumulate more points. 

The only way this game could be different is if Cleveland goes up early in the game, forcing a less than healthy Roethlisberger to press and cause a turnover which leads to points. 

At home, we believe the probability of that is just less than 1-in-4 at best, given the possibility that Big Ben is more hurt than he admits, and considering the past two years of history between these teams. 

What we expect is large fantasy receiver accumulations in the first half and large running back accumulations in the second half.  RB Najeh Davenport could be a flex option here.

DEN @ KC

Everyone expects Priest Holmes to be the feature back now that RB Larry Johnson is out indefinitely.  We all hope this is true, because from what we have seen and heard from Holmes' interviews, he appears to be chomping at the bit at the opportunity to show that he still has it. 

We don’t doubt Priest, but rookie RB Kolby Smith will also get looks, to the point where they may split carries evenly. 

An upgrade to the Chiefs passing game may occur as well, but perhaps not this week.  Denver should have both starting corners healthy for the first time in a while, and QB Jay Cutler is not completely healthy, which could have a lot to do with the ability to sustain offense this week. 

WR Dwayne Bowe’s production is also something to look over as his looks have dropped considerably recently.  He also is nursing a slight hammy after Week Nine.

IND @ SD

Indy is near the top of the league in least points allowed, and we see a different San Diego team each week. 

SD will not be helped by the fact that they just lost DE Luis Castillo with an ankle injury for at least six weeks.  If you're desperate, it wouldn't be a stretch to start the Colts defense with the idea that San Diego may have a hard time putting up over 20 points. 

Of course, if you have better options available, use them. 

We believe Tampa Bay and Indy are the best Cover 2 defenses in the league—and traditionally this means receivers have a very difficult time accumulating yards and touchdowns. 

TE Antonio Gates is the only player of the receiver corps that we would go with here.  WR’s Marvin Harrison and Gonzalez  and TE Dallas Clark are all highly questionable. 

Expect a ton of running from the Colts and a possible sleeper start from Aaron Moorehead.

JAC @ TEN

QB David Garrard’s ankle is getting better, to the point where he is questionable for this week's game. 

The Titan defense at home is a pretty good risk here for a start. 

All QB Vince Young has been doing is winning football games.  His critics keep saying that his passing must improve in order for them to consider the Titans contenders, but we believe Vince can do anything...even more so under pressure. 

The Titans have only lost to the Colts and the Bucs when VY left the game in the third quarter with his quad injury. 

We wouldn’t bet on any fantasy studs in this game because to win, Jacksonville will most likely need to pass.  WR Reggie Williams had a big game last week against New Orleans, but you would be taking a huge risk by starting him this week. 

There are definitely better options with more certain upside.  

CHI @ OAK

RB Justin Fargas should be getting the start here against a Bears defense that has been struggling against the rush. 

We recommend starting Fargas only if you're desperate.  It's possible that he'll have some success in the running and passing games—but with the offensive turnover, particularly with the quarterbacks, there's much uncertainty in Oakland. 

On the positive side, Oakland does play KC and DEN in Weeks 12 and 13—IF Fargas is still starting by then.

DET @ ARI

If QB Kurt Warner can stay healthy, we believe he can be the best value pickup for the remainder of the season. 

The Cards have THE easiest remaining schedule in  the league, playing teams like DET, CIN, SF, CLE, SEA, NO, ATL and STL.  WR Larry Fitzgerald is really in a groove with Warner, and Warner is probable with his elbow injury. 

We look for the Cards to make a late season run—at least offensively. 

This game is really important to Detroit as well because it represents a swing game for them.  If they lose here, they have a chance to go on a losing streak with a remaining schedule that's quite difficult. The Cards are a team Detroit should beat...if the Lions are as good as they think they are. 

This could be a tough game for Detroit in Arizona if Kurt Warner can stay away from the opportunistic Lions defense.

ATL @ CAR

Ever since losing QB Jake Delhomme, the Panthers have struggled offensively, both running and passing.  We believe Carolina needs to maximize their ability for big plays and one of the ways to do this is with RB DeAngelo Williams and DeShaun Foster. 

It is also hard not to start WR Steve Smith given his history with Atlanta, even though his fantasy value has plummeted given the quarterback change. 

QB David Carr is slated to get the start, but we feel that coach Fox is not naming a starter because he wants to see how QB Matt Moore progresses in practice this week.  Moore may be able to get the Panthers more big plays. 

Last time these two teams played, QB Joey Harrington had his best game of the season, passing for 361 yards and 2 TDs, so he may be a good lesser-known start this week.

Also keep an eye out for RB Warrick Dunn, given RB Jerrious Norwood's banged-up ankle.

DAL @ NYG

We at TheSecretFFF are really excited about this game between the cream of the NFC East. 

Steve Smith is trying to make a comeback but is still questionable for Sunday’s game.  Rueben Droughns and Brandon Jacobs will look to get the majority of carries, with RB Derrick Ward still suffering from a bad ankle injury. 

We would simply start whoever you would normally start and insert Droughns for Ward if you were looking to start him.  Jacobs has had a few really nice weeks and should have some goal-line opportunities at the least. 

How much he is used, though, remains to be seen, because he's often most effective in situations where he is needed to run out the clock.  If the Giants are in a shootout, a more versatile, pass-catching RB like Droughns may be quite effective. 

MIN @ GB

Everyone is saying start WR Greg Jennings as if he is some new, undiscovered receiver.  The fact is, most weeks, every receiver for Green Bay is a start. 

James Jones, Donald Driver, Jennings, and TE Donald Lee are all starts here. 

The least-talked about performer here is WR Sidney Rice, who we raved about a few weeks ago.  If Minnesota even needs to pass the ball, they will look to Sidney for their big plays.  He and TE Visanthe Shiancoe are the options that match up well with the Green Bay secondary.

STL @ NO

Not much out of the ordinary to expect here.  St. Louis will look to get their first win, and NO should be careful not to overlook the once-explosive Rams.  We expect WR Torry Holt to have big game potential as well as WR Isaac Bruce to get looks here. 

RB Steven Jackson is again expected to go.  All the usual starts on the Saints side.

PHI @ WAS

Another spell-binding NFC East matchup here. 

Many people are putting the Redskins in their top five NFC teams. We have some reservations about this...although we would love it to be true, as I grew up a Redskins fan. 

The Skins don’t significantly outplay Philly in any area and this game should be no different. 

RB Clinton Portis had his best game since 2002, further solidifying our preseason prediction about his performance.  Matching his 200-yard Week Nine performance will be close to impossible. 

Washington receivers traditionally don't play particularly well against Philly.  A potential sleeper here could be TE L.J. Smith of Philly who has been absent much of the season with a groin injury.  He has received increased looks over the last few weeks. 

SF @ SEA

Speaking of JV squads, San Francisco looks absolutely terrible. Coach Mike Nolan is running out of excuses to cover up for QB Alex Smith.  Saying that he has not played well is an understatement. 

The problem is we still don’t even know what SF is even capable of.  After six straight losses, they need to see what they have on offense with increased looks to TEs Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker and WRs Darrell Jackson and Arnaz Battle. 

Living in SF, it seems that all we ever see is the 49ers on defense. 

We won’t remind you that preseason we recommended not drafting RB Frank Gore against everyone’s disapproval. Even so, he may be available this week, coming off an ankle injury. If he's healthy, this could be a nicer matchup for him. 

For the Seahawks, QB Matt Hasselbeck looks to have a big game, along with WR Bobby Engram and maybe D.J. Hackett as well.  We're still waiting on the health of WR Deion Branch.