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To prepare you as best we can for your week of Fantasy Football, we've devised this series of previews for each NFL game. We'll give you a taste of what to expect, then rank each significant Fantasy contributor on a scale from 0-5 stars (with five stars suggesting can't-miss; a player or unit without any stars suggests you probably shouldn't start him under any circumstances). The rankings take the matchup into account, but injuries and other significant factors also contribute. You should be able to compare the ratings for the players on your team and make an educated pick on who should start -- and sit -- in your lineup . | | Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers
Thursday, 8:15 pm, Heinz Field | | It's safe to expect another one-sided affair as the Steelers are playing well and the Bengals are 1-8-1. Willie Parker has 100 total yards in every career start against the Bengals except for one, and 100 rush yards in all but two starts. There is no doubt that the Steelers plan for domination of the Bengals with running the ball (Mewelde Moore had over 130 total yards and three touchdowns in the earlier meeting between these clubs). That said, look for Pittsburgh to play off the run and throw for touchdowns as Ben Roethlisberger has silenced the Bengals over the majority of his career. Hines Ward has been particularly effective, too. Cincinnati's only option will be to throw on the Steelers, and that's not likely to be overly effective. Ryan Fitzpatrick is connecting with T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Chad Johnson on a fairly consistent pace, but with Ocho Cinco deactivated, that could be challenging. Our guess is Housh scores at least once since he has six touchdowns in his last eight against the Steelers (Johnson has one score in his last eight). It doesn't help that offensive linemen Levi Jones and Andrew Whitworth won't play for the Bengals, either. | | | Houston Texans at Cleveland Browns
Sunday, 1:00 pm, Cleveland Browns Stadium | | With Houston redefining the roles for Steve Slaton and Ahman Green, I like the team's chances to run well against a tired Browns front seven. Last week, Marshawn Lynch exploited them for his best game of the year and Cleveland has allowed a 100-yard rusher in four of six games. Slaton is a safe pick, and Green isn't bad if you are desperate. The Browns did a lot of rolling coverage to Lee Evans' side last week, and that played a role in shutting him out. Don't count on Andre Johnson to experience the same thing even though he's struggled with Sage Rosenfels in at quarterback. Houston should easily work the underneath stuff to Kevin Walter and Owen Daniels, too. Cleveland should also find success on offense so long as the Texans pass rush doesn't shake up Brady Quinn. The Bills came after Quinn on many of his passing downs and he was able to get the ball away clean, but that doesn't mean Houston's beastly pass rusher Mario Williams won't be able to get to him. The Texans have allowed three straight 100-yard rushers, music to Jamal Lewis' ears, and Quinn should work off of that and hit Braylon Edwards downfield. If Kellen Winslow misses the game, though, it might take more work for Quinn to hit open targets since after Edwards, the cupboard is pretty bare. | | | N.Y. Jets at Tennessee Titans
Sunday, 1:00 pm, LP Field | | If there's one thing we've learned about the Titans defense, it's that they are a good, efficient unit that won't break. But they will bend. Versatile running backs like Matt Forte, Maurice Jones-Drew and even Dominic Rhodes have totaled 90-plus yards in three of the Titans' last four games, and Jones has been solid through the air as well as on the ground (not to mention the play of Leon Washington out of the backfield). I don't see the Jets having to be more pass oriented, and they should be able to get away with a balanced attack so long as they don't fall behind. That said, look for the Titans to pressure Brett Favre and try to force him into throwing some interceptions. The matchups for Jerricho Cotchery and Laveranues Coles aren't enticing, but rookie tight end Dustin Keller should help open things up for New York as the Titans have struggled with tight ends for parts of this year, and Favre is looking for him more now than before. The Titans may adopt a similar game plan for this game like they did against the Bears, which is to say they'll ride Kerry Collins' arm. The Jets are strong against the run but the Titans have the kind of offensive line that can scheme for them. Still, Chris Johnson hasn't played well of late and sound 3-4 defenses normally don't have problems with outside speed rushers (Johnson at Baltimore in Week 5 is an example). Collins has played well with Justin Gage and Bo Scaife of late, and Brandon Jones has also started to garner some looks. Figure Collins to throw for over 200 yards in Week 12. | | | Minnesota Vikings at Jacksonville Jaguars
Sunday, 1:00 pm, Jacksonville Municipal Stadium | | This is the Vikings' last outdoor/grass game this season, and they probably are thrilled about it. On grass, the Vikings are 0-4 with four passing touchdowns as Gus Frerotte and Bernard Berrian aren't legit threats in those situations. However, the running game has been fine on grass or turf; to wit, Adrian Peterson has two 100-yard games and five touchdowns in four outdoor games (Chester Taylor has another score). With the Jaguars' run defense a middle-of-the-road unit, figure the Vikings to get by on the ground game and not passing against a pretty good unit in spite of Kerry Collins' three touchdowns last week. The Jaguars will struggle unless they use Maurice Jones-Drew as more of an outside edge rusher and receiver. Problem is, the Jags have strayed from their running game in so many games this season that it's hard to expect them to do one or two specific things in the scheme. I don't see the Jaguars running the ball 40 times, though, and that's not going to be good for them, especially if Matt Jones is out. | | | Buffalo Bills at Kansas City Chiefs
Sunday, 1:00 pm, Arrowhead Stadium | | Marshawn Lynch should continue to be a do-it-all back for the Bills as the Chiefs defense still isn't at 100 percent and will have a hard time with him. The effort from the Kansas City defense last week was impressive, and they should follow the trend of defenses rolling coverage to limit Lee Evans' yardage while blitzing Trent Edwards. That said, the Chiefs have a total of six sacks this season, so finding a pass rusher to get to Edwards might be a problem. Lynch will be the catalyst of the Buffalo offense, of course. The Chiefs should do likewise with Larry Johnson, who will run against a Buffalo run defense that has allowed 13 rush touchdowns this season playing on a short week following their Monday night loss. Johnson may not get to 20 touches, but he should do well with what he gets. Tyler Thigpen may take a small step back here as Buffalo's secondary is playing well and just got done with an offense sporting a quality tight end. Figure Thigpen to get his passing yards but not the touchdowns he's been getting in his last few games as the Bills are one of the few teams allowing more scoring on the ground than through the air. | | | Philadelphia Eagles at Baltimore Ravens
Sunday, 1:00 pm, M& Bank Stadium | | Normally, the Eagles might take the pressure off of Donovan McNabb following a bad outing and use Brian Westbrook more than normal. But with the Ravens run defense still fearsome despite their meltdown at the Giants last week, it's hard to imagine that the Eagles will stick to the ground game -- especially considering how often they throw to begin with. Besides, if there's a way to take down the Ravens, it's traditionally been through the air, not on the ground. I would be shocked if Westbrook sliced the Ravens like the Giants did a week ago; they are usually tough to run on when their front seven is healthy. The Ravens like to pound the ball and should find it easier to run against the Eagles than throw. Perhaps one benefit of last week's blowout loss was the limited play of all of the Ravens' running backs, and they should see more carries go their way in Week 12. That said, Willis McGahee is still the main man in the mix, and he's got a shot at making some headway against the Eagles front seven. I like him as a No. 3 running back. Joe Flacco also could get back to 200 yards passing but little else; look for Todd Heap to have a decent day as the Eagles have struggled against tight ends in the past. | | | New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins
Sunday, 1:00 pm, Dolphin Stadium | | Huge game. The Patriots have got to like what they saw from Matt Cassel last week when he began connecting with Benjamin Watson and Jabar Gaffney while opening things up for the offense like Tom Brady last year. They're going to need him to throw as the Dolphins' pass defense remains the weak link on the team. The Dolphins have allowed one 100-yard rusher this season and none in their last four games with one rush TD in that span. They've come around against the run, a staple of Bill Parcells defenses, and the Patriots are the kind of club to try and exploit the weakness rather than attempt to fight the strength. Cassel should have another good outing, albeit not 400 yards good, and eventually Randy Moss is going to excel. This is a week he might do just that, with Wes Welker still a lock for at least six catches. Miami introduced the world to its Wildcat offense back in Week 3, and the Patriots were befuddled. They'll be ready for it now, but the Dolphins know better than to try and win with it again. Instead, figure that the Dolphins will be balanced with the run game and will throw downfield to Ted Ginn, Jr.. The Patriots' pass rush is a weakness and Ginn has done well when the ball finds a way into his hands, be it on deep routes or on gimmicky plays. The Patriots' run defense is now a question mark as they've incurred some injuries and might have trouble with Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, especially if the Dolphins find another way to create some misdirection and take out the spry Jerod Mayo from tracking down their rushers within the first five-to-10 yards from the line of scrimmage. | | | Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions
Sunday, 1:00 pm, Ford Field | | The Buccaneers won't miss Earnest Graham this week as Warrick Dunn should do well against the Lions' porous run defense, which allowed two 100-yard rushers last week and four in their last four games. That will take the ball out of Jeff Garcia's hands some, but he'll be interested in extracting some revenge against a Lions club that kicked him to the curb after one season. It only helps that the Lions run the same kind of defense as the Bucs. I wouldn't expect big stats from any Tampa Bay receivers this week, and if he's active, Cadillac Williams might see some carries if there's some garbage time. Offensively, the Lions will face off against a Tampa-2 defense much like their own, but it's not going to matter. Kevin Smith's string of good-to-great play should come to a crashing halt, and outside of Calvin Johnson, no one is doing well since Daunte Culpepper took over. With the Bucs playing well defensively (one 100-yard rusher, zero 100-yard receivers in last four games), expect the Lions to struggle again. | | | Chicago Bears at St. Louis Rams
Sunday, 1:00 pm, Edward Jones Dome | | Chicago should take what the game plan was last week and apply it here, using Matt Forte as the heavy lifter for the offense. The Rams' run defense remains a mess and bulky versatile backs like Forte have done well against them. The Rams have allowed 18 rushing touchdowns this season and five 100-yard rushers in six games. Forte's lead will give Kyle Orton the opportunity to regain his efficient passing ways and get a couple of touchdowns, with Greg Olsen, Rashied Davis and even the speedy Devin Hester to be the benefactors (Hester indoors on turf is always a nice low-end Fantasy option -- he has 160 yards and a score in three games indoors). The Bears will also be looking to prove that Ryan Grant's running performance was an anomaly, and they should be successful as the Rams not only won't have Steven Jackson but also lost big left tackle Orlando Pace for a couple of weeks. Pace was better on run downs than pass downs, so losing him hurts Antonio Pittman. Where the Rams might be successful is through the air; Donnie Avery and Torry Holt are decent enough picks as Chicago's pass defense has struggled. Both are candidates to score with around 70 yards receiving, and that would help Marc Bulger's bottom line, too. Both kickers aren't bad Fantasy starters, either. | | | San Francisco 49ers at Dallas Cowboys
Sunday, 1:00 pm, Texas Stadium | | It would be in the Niners' best interests to utilize Frank Gore as much as possible in an effort to keep the Cowboys offense off the field. Problem is, the Cowboys are expected to stack up against the run and force Shaun Hill to pass -- remember, their secondary isn't so weak anymore now that Terence Newman is healthy. In five starts dating back to last year, Hill has been dandy: 11 total touchdowns and three interceptions. But four of those five starts came against soft defenses and four of five starts have been in San Francisco. We're seeing Hill in a new element here, and it's hard to expect him to stay on his hot streak. You can expect Hill to be playing from behind, however, thanks to the Cowboys passing offense expected to be back on track. Marion Barber's statement game (namely the fourth quarter) last week should be considered a sign that the Cowboys will attempt to ride him for the next couple of games until Tony Romo's throwing hand and Jason Witten's ribs are back at 100 percent, which could be sooner than later. The Cowboys will take advantage of the 49ers' pass defense and should play better than they have in the last month. T.O. should also be motivated going against his first NFL team. | | | Oakland Raiders at Denver Broncos
Sunday, 4:05 pm, Invesco Field at Mile High | | This isn't such a terrible matchup for the Raiders, who are normally forced to run the ball more than most teams that play from behind. That favors them here as the Broncos' linebacking corps is thin and the run defense as a whole is weak (13 rush TDs allowed). Justin Fargas isn't a terrible play here -- he had over 100 total yards in the earlier meeting this year and rushed for 146 yards and a score in their late-season meeting in 2007. Think No. 3 running back with him while giving Darren McFadden more time to prove himself and get back into the swing of seeing close to 15 touches per game (he had just four last week in a close game). Even with the re-emergence of Ronald Curry and tight end Zach Miller last week, the Raiders passing game cannot be trusted. However, the Broncos pass defense can be trusted against Oakland. Denver's running game, on the other hand, should shine. Peyton Hillis should be in starting Fantasy lineups simply because the Broncos will be able to run on the Raiders, and Hillis will likely see the majority of the carries. He also has great hands and should be on the field in most situations. Jay Cutler did well in the season opener against the Raiders (300 yards, two touchdowns) and should be able to pass wherever Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha isn't. That may impact Brandon Marshall, who has never scored on the Raiders (four career meetings). | | | Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons
Sunday, 4:15 pm, Georgia Dome | | As much as the Panthers would love to ride DeAngelo Williams much like they have in their last three games, the reality is that he's never done well against the Falcons (55 carries, 213 yards, zero TDs). I think the streak bends but won't break as Atlanta tends to give up shorter touchdown runs than longer ones. Jonathan Stewart has the better shot to score, but both running backs remain appealing. The Panthers need them to be good as Jake Delhomme has been bad on the road and in a funk over his last two games against really soft defenses. Part of the problem might be that the Panthers are running wild, taking the ball out of his hands, but he's also been off target and not making good decisions, things that have been hidden because Carolina's been winning. He's not reliable, and that makes his receivers, especially Steve Smith, a question mark (even though Smith has caught at least five passes in all but two games this season). The Falcons will struggle in their offensive efforts as the Panthers defense has been playing great all season. Michael Turner faces off against a run defense that has allowed five scores on the ground and two 100-yard rushers all year. He could be in for a long day, and that will go double for Matt Ryan, who was uncomfortable in the pocket against the Broncos last week as they double-covered Roddy White. Ryan threw for just 158 yards in his first meeting against the Panthers. | | | N.Y. Giants at Arizona Cardinals
Sunday, 4:15 pm, University of Phoenix Stadium | | This is a good matchup for the Giants; just by doing what they do best, they should be able to control the clock and keep the Cardinals' offense from rolling. Whether Brandon Jacobs plays or not, look for New York to run the football and grind against the Cardinals' front seven. Surprisingly, Arizona has only allowed one 100-yard rusher and just seven rush TDs this year, but their opponents are usually forced to throw to keep up with the offense. The Giants won't have to do that as much, but I would expect Eli Manning to throw for over 200 yards with a shot at two scores. After all, Arizona has been awful against the pass this year and the hot play of rookie cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie won't translate well with the efficient, spread-out Giants pass game. In Arizona's three losses, Kurt Warner has turned the ball over eight times. In Arizona's seven wins (seven!), Warner's given up the rock four times. But the Giants have the defensive scheme to pressure Warner and force some mistakes, like they did last week, or via fumble. Warner will still have his yards and touchdowns -- the Giants can't put a cap on that -- but he'll have his share of turnovers. Additionally, the Cardinals aren't expected to run the ball as their offensive line and rookie starter Tim Hightower haven't been physical or effective in their last two games. That will lead to more passing attempts for Warner and more chances for the Giants defense, and of course Cardinals offense, to make plays. Like any Cardinals game, don't be surprised to see this one end with a high score. | | | Washington Redskins at Seattle Seahawks
Sunday, 4:15 pm, Qwest Field | | Even with cornerback Marcus Trufant expected to play, this matchup is solid for the Redskins. The Seahawks aren't expected to pressure Jason Campbell too much, giving him time to make reads and throw to Santana Moss, Chris Cooley and rookie Devin Thomas (six catches in his last two games). When Campbell can connect and read the defense, he's at his best. But he might not have to throw much if Clinton Portis is healthy enough to practice some this week and play in the game. Portis should have at least 100 yards against a Seattle run defense that's allowed three rushing touchdowns in its last two games. Also, Redskins coach Jim Zorn used to work in Seattle and certainly knows the Seahawk offense like the back of his hand. Matt Hasselbeck was considered to be a sleeper Fantasy passer, but between injuries and an offense that can't run the ball consistently, he might not deliver much this week. He'll struggle with the Washington defense that's faced with a simple matchup. Controlling Bobby Engram has been easy for defenses so far, and even with Deion Branch back last week, Hasselbeck wasn't at his best. The Seahawks are a loss away from going into full-bore rebuild mode, just in time for coach Mike Holmgren to retire. Even though they are far from home, the Redskins should roll here with Portis leading the way. | | | Indianapolis Colts at San Diego Chargers
Sunday, 8:15 pm, Qualcomm Stadium | | Two Fantasy heavyweights have incredible matchups here. The Colts should try a balanced approach against the Chargers, especially since Peyton Manning's last trip to San Diego ended with six interceptions and because the Colts are slower offensively and defensively on grass than on turf (especially Marvin Harrison). But the reality is that the Chargers can't stop anybody from throwing the ball, and Manning should be a lock for 300 yards and a couple of scores. Dallas Clark figures to play a key role as the Bolts have had trouble with opposing tight ends for much of the year (they've let them total 25 catches for 271 yards and two scores in their last three games!). Joseph Addai will also see plenty of work and should help offset the passing game. The Chargers can combat this with a heavy dose of LaDainian Tomlinson. Indianapolis' pass defense, while battered, has been consistent for much of the season while they've been unable to stop anybody from running on them. Don't be surprised one bit to see Tomlinson top 25 touches and be a factor well into the fourth quarter. That should result in big points. Meanwhile, it will take some workload off of Philip Rivers' shoulders, but he should still be just good enough to post a touchdown, albeit without a ton of yardage. | | | Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints
Monday, 8:30 pm, Superdome | | When New Orleans stopped Adrian Peterson earlier this year, they essentially dared the Vikings to throw on them by stacking the box. Since then, that method has either not worked or not been implemented, and running backs have done well against the Saints. Ryan Grant is on fire and getting a ton of work, so there should be no doubt that he's a big part of what the Packers do in Week 12. Between him bursting through the line and Aaron Rodgers mixing in some controlled passing with a couple of deep lobs to Greg Jennings, the Packers should have their way here. Meanwhile, Drew Brees will have a slight challenge against Green Bay's cagey secondary. While the Packers might not struggle too much with covering Marques Colston, Lance Moore and Devery Henderson (who is great on turf), the reality is that if a defense gives Brees time to throw, he's going to be effective. The Packers have a measly 17 sacks this year, which simply speaks that much more to the quality play of their secondary. Even with the Packers' front seven not presenting a stiff challenge, the Saints are at their best when they are passing, and they are sure to do a lot of that here since the Packers won't have a hard time scoring. Both kickers are going to do well while neither DST is worth starting. |
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Dave Richard
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