I have a hard time believing that my Bears are REALLY that bad. But apparently they are, getting monkey stomped on national TV by the hated Packers. At half time I was wishing that Butkis, McMichael, Dent, Singletary and Sayers would suit up and go after the Pack. Even at their advanced football ages they would be an infusion of talent. I could just see Butkis, running flat out at 3 MPH, clotheslining and growling over the inert form of a hapless Packer, in my mind. Even on plastic knees he'd be a needed upgrade, as would an obviously out of shape McMichael. And Dent still looks like he could strap on and go. And Samurai, well, he's still the same. Then I woke up and realized that the Bears could go 2-14.

Which brings me to another thought. Since the Bears seem to have suffered a brain fever and are acquiring washed up or over rated players, they probably will trade that top 5 pick AGAIN. I hear that Ki-Jana Carter is still out there. Maybe we could coax Ryan Leaf to QB.

And now for something completely different. While Rush Limbaugh's comments were out of line, according to our constitution he had a right to say them. I am very annoyed that, in the name of political correctness, Limbaugh was essentially forced out, even if he was wrong to say it. I think that owners and the media could care less about the pigmentation of their QBs as long as they win.

If you have a tie between your #2 and #3 LB or #2 LB and #2 DB, I highly recommend that you go and read our Rushing and Passing matchups. When in doubt, start your LBs/SSs/DBs that are playing against RBs we say that have good or great matchups, and DBs that are playing against WRs that have good or great matchups. They will be on the field a long time, increasing your odds for high tackle/PD/INT numbers. Questions? Email [email protected] .

Rookie Watch

• DB Rashean Mathis JAX is starting. He is getting about 5 combined tackles a week, making him a #2-3 DB if you need a waiver or bye fill in.

TOP Watch

• TOP this week favors Minnesota (faces Falcons) by 4 minutes, San Fran (Lions) by 4, Washington by 4 (Eagles), Dallas (Cards) by 3 and Pittsburgh (Browns) by 3. That said, I think the Philly/Was game could get you into trouble since the Redskin O matches up well with the hurt Philly D, especially their young secondary.

Blitz Packages

Bye Teams - Jets, Rams, Ravens, Texans.

DL

• John Henderson/JAX
  Henderson has been having a great year to this point. He has 10-4-0.5 2PD 1 FF in the last three weeks. He seems to be finally delivering on his promised talent and is a nice waiver grab if you can get him cheaply, since his past behavior makes him a risk.
• N.D. Kalu/PHI DL
  Kalu makes a good spot start here. The Redskins are still allowing a bunch of sacks per game. Hopefully you will start him, have him perform well, and then move him to the baitfish in your league.
• Chris Hovan/MIN DL
  As with the Eagles, the Vikings have a great sack potential here against the porous Falcon OL. Hovan and his DL buddies are a great one week play based on this potential.
• Renaldo Wynn/Bruce Smith/WAS DL
  Although the 'Skins are giving up a lot of sacks, so are the Eagles. We'll find out how pathetic the Redskin DL is for sure here, since they draw such a nice match.

Other teams allowing a lot of sacks:
Bears, Browns, Raiders, Steelers, Titans, Patriots.

LB

• Falcon LBs
  I think that the Falcon LBs will make a good start this week. Minnesota has a TOP advantage over them (see TOP watch, above). The last two weeks, the LBs facing the Vikings got 5-8 tackles per game. Week 3, Lions LB Barret Green got 9 (5-4). I think that the Falcon LBs could wind up in the high end there since their offense does not match up well with the Vikings defense.
• Rocky Boiman TEN
  Yes he had a great one week performance, and yes he is starting due to an injury. The thing I liked best about him was his heady, instinctive play and his top speed. The man can really motor.
• Scott Fujita KC
  Fujita exploded last week with two sacks. Otherwise he's averaging a solid 6-2 per week. He's almost a #1 LB in a 10 team league with those numbers. I liked his talent last year, and thought the Chiefs got a steal when the grabbed him in the 5th. I believe he'll continue to perform at that level as long as he stays a starter.
• Travian Smith OAK
  This is Romanowski's backup. In his first start he got 7-1-0. Those make him a #2 LB. I'd take a shot on him in a very deep league.

DB

• Eagle DBs
  Hart is filling in well for the injured Brian Dawkins. He's a nice #2-3 DB right now (3-6 tackles/game). If you need a ballpark figure, give them 5-8 tackles per game, and start accordingly.
• Dre' Bly DET
  Bly has a favorable pick match against Jeff Garcia. Garcia has thrown 5 INT's the last three weeks.
• Anthony Henry CLE
  Henry is facing the suddenly turnover-prone Tommy Maddox. He is averaging 1.66 INT's a game as well.

Other favorable INT matchups:
Brian Russell/Brian Williams/Viking DBs (QB Johnson, 6 INT); Fernando Bryant/Jaguar DBs (QB Brees, 5 INT).