Chris Smith - Tidbits

QB Josh McCown will start for the Cardinals this week.
The Cardinals have defeated the Panthers in each of the last two seasons.
McCown has only thrown 2 touchdowns this season while having 4 passes intercepted.
The Cardinals have lost seven games by more than 14 points this season.
RB Marcel Shipp has had five straight games with less than 100 yards rushing.
With three games left, rookie sensation Anquan Boldin is still on pace to catch 97 passes for 1422 yards. He is having one of the best rookie seasons ever.
Boldin is averaging 10.8 targets per game and has caught 57.9% of those passes (81 receptions)
Boldin is third in the NFL in receiving yardage.
The other receivers are averaging 10.9 targets per game and has caught 36.6% of those passes (52 receptions)

Atlanta Falcons

QB Michael Vick ran for 141 yards last week. That is the third highest single-game total from a quarterback in NFL history.
Vick also has the best single-game rushing effort of all-time (last year's 173 rushing yards against the Vikings)
The Falcons have 15 rushing touchdowns this season. That ranks them fourth in the NFL.
Falcons' quarterbacks have only 10 touchdown passes on the season and have thrown 19 interceptions.
RB Warrick Dunn and RB T.J. Duckett have rushed for a combined 1188 yards and scored 12 rushing touchdowns.
WR Peerless Price is 26th in the NFL in receptions and 30th in yardage.

Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens have lost their last three road games and are only 2-4 on the season.
The last meeting between the Ravens and Raiders was the AFC Championship during the 2000 season. The Ravens won 16 to 3.
The Ravens have put up a staggering 116 points during their three game winning streak.
RB Jamal Lewis has rushed for 1622 yards on the season. He only needs to average 126 yards per game to eclipse the 2000-yard mark.
Lewis is averaging a sizzling 5.2 yards per carry. That is a great feat for a big back.
Lewis is 159 yards ahead of his nearest competition (He has 1622 yards and the next closest is Ahman Green with 1463 yards).
Welcome back to the neighborhood Mr. Robinson. WR Marcus Robinson has 13 receptions and 6 touchdowns over the last three weeks.
Robinson has been targeted 24 times in his last three games.
QB Anthony Wright isn't putting up big numbers each week, but he is winning. He has thrown 7 touchdowns against 5 interceptions.

Buffalo Bills

Thanks to a stagnant offensive attack over the last two months, the Bills solid defensive efforts have gone unnoticed. They have only given up 52 points in the last five weeks.
The Bills scored 38 points in their first road game this season (against the Jaguars). In the following five road games, they scored only 45 points.
RB Travis Henry has rushed for over 100 yards in five of the last seven games.
Henry has rushed for 879 yards on 177 carries (5.0 YPC) over the last seven games.
Henry is now 9th in the NFL in rushing yardage after a slow start to the season.
QB Drew Bledsoe has only thrown 9 touchdown passes on the season. That is only 1 touchdown pass every 43.1 attempts.
Bledsoe has had eleven straight games without a 300-yard passing effort.
Bledsoe is now 12th in career passing yardage with 36,514 yards.
WR Josh Reed has caught 39 passes for 374 yards over the last seven weeks.

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers have lost three games in a row for the first time this season.
The Panthers are 3-5 over the last eight games.
The Panthers have lost their last three road games.
WR Steve Smith has gone six straight games without a 100-yard effort. Could that change this week against the porous Cardinals defense?
Smith has caught four or more passes in nine straight games.
Smith has been targeted 120 times on the season and has caught 61.7% of those looks.
RB Stephen Davis has averaged 3.4 YPC or less in three of the past four games.
Davis has only had one 100-yard rushing game in the last four weeks.

Chicago Bears

The Bears have won their last two home games against the Vikings.
The Bears are 4-1 in their last five home games.
In three career games against the Vikings, RB Anthony Thomas has never rushed for more than 53 yards in a game.
In four games during the '01 and '02 seasons, WR Marty Booker caught 24 passes for 382 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Vikings.
WR David Terrell is averaging only 6.9 yards per catch this season.
QB Kordell Stewart completed 13 of 21 passes for 137 yards and a score in the first game against the Vikings this season.

Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals are back at home after three straight road games.
The Bengals have won their last four home games after consecutive losses to begin the season.
RB Rudi Johnson is becoming a forgotten man in the offense. He only has 14 carries for 39 yards in the last two games.
RB Corey Dillon is getting the majority of the carries once again at running back. He has 39 carries for 201 yards in his last three games.
For the first time in team history the Bengals have two receivers (Peter Warrick and Chad Johnson) on pace to catch more than 85 passes this season.
Chad Johnson is having the best season from a Bengals receiver since Carl Pickens caught 100 passes back in 1996.
Chad Johnson is 8th in the NFL in receptions and Warrick is 12th.
QB Jon Kitna has completed more than 54% of his passes in every game this season.

Cleveland Browns

The Browns lost four starters to season-ending injuries last week (DE Courtney Brown, RB James Jackson, K Phil Dawson and G Chad Beasley)
QB Kelly Holcomb continues to struggle. Take away his one good game against the Cardinals and he has…
- averaged only 147.2 passing yards per game
- averaged only 4.96 yards per passing attempt
- averaged only 8.08 yards per completion
- thrown 7 touchdowns against 12 interceptions
The Browns leading receiver this year is Dennis Northcutt. He only has 51 receptions for 535 yards on the season.
Northcutt has caught 69.3% of the passes thrown his way this season.
RB Jamel White rushed for 101 yards against the Rams on only 16 carries. That was his first 100-yard game since week four last season (against the Steelers).

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys have lost 3 of the past four games by a combined score of 108 to 55.
The Cowboys are 4-1 against the Redskins in Washington over the last five seasons.
QB Quincy Carter has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns in seven games this season.
In his last seven games, Carter has thrown 7 touchdowns but had 13 passes intercepted.
RB Troy Hambrick has failed to earn the starting running back position long term. He is only averaging 3.3 YPC and has 5 touchdowns.
Carter threw for 196 yards and a touchdown against the Redskins earlier this season but was intercepted twice.
WR Terry Glenn caught 6 passes for 73 yards and a touchdown against the Redskins earlier this season.
Hambrick's last good game came against the Redskins back in week nine. He rushed for 100 yards and scored twice.

Denver Broncos

In his last seven games, RB Clinton Portis has rushed for 973 yards on 168 carries (5.8 YPC) and scored 9 touchdowns.
Portis is averaging 5.8 YPC on the season.
Portis has rushed for at least 106 yards in nine of his twelve games this season.
The Broncos are 7-2 with QB Jake Plummer at the helm this season.
Plummer hasn't thrown for more than 277 yards in a game this season.
Plummer has only thrown 2 interceptions in his last 224 attempts while throwing 14 touchdowns.
The Broncos final home game is this week against the Browns. After that they are on the road against the Packers and Colts.
WR Rod Smith has caught 62.4% of the passes thrown his way this season and is on pace for 81 receptions on the year.
WR Ashley Lelie continues to struggle in a big way. He has only caught 37.7% of the passes thrown his way on the season.
Lelie has only caught 2 passes for 9 yards in the last three weeks.

Detroit Lions

The Lions winless streak on the road has reached 22 games.
The Lions have scored under 20 points in ten of the 13 games this season.
The Lions haven't had a running back eclipse 100-yards this season. The last player to do so was James Stewart back in week ten of last season.
QB Joey Harrington has thrown 7 touchdowns and 14 interceptions over his last nine games.

Green Bay Packers

RB Ahman Green has only rushed for 137 yards on 43 carries in the past two weeks.
Green has only scored one touchdown in the past three weeks.
Green has caught 87.1% of the passes thrown his way this season.
Green has now scored 48 touchdowns in his last 59 games.
WR Robert Ferguson has caught 11 of the last 15 passes thrown his way (73.3%)
WR Javon Walker has caught 7 of the 10 touchdown passes by Packer receivers this season.
Walker has yet to enjoy a 100-yard receiving game as a Packer.
QB Brett Favre hasn't thrown more touchdowns than interceptions in a game since week nine (five straight games).
Favre is currently 3rd in career passing touchdowns with 337. He only needs 6 more to pass Fran Tarkenton.

Houston Texans

RB Tony Hollings only managed 19 rushing yards on 18 carries last week while filling in for Domanick Davis.
Davis is averaging a solid 4.4 yards per carry this year. The other running backs combined are only averaging 2.7 YPC.
Davis has had six games where he finished with over 100 total yards.
The Texans are only averaging 16.2 points per game.
The Texans give up 140.0 rushing yards per game which ranks them 28th overall.
WR Andre Johnson has only caught 6 of the last 21 passes thrown his way.

Indianapolis Colts

RB Edgerrin James has rushed for 418 yards in his last four games on 116 carries (3.6 YPC). He has scored 7 touchdowns in that stretch.
WR Marvin Harrison has now caught 79 passes on the season despite injury problems. He is on pace to catch 97 passes for 1275 yards.
QB Peyton Manning is completing 66.5% of his throws this year and has tossed only 9 interceptions.
" Manning hasn't completed less than 60% of his throws in a game this year.

Jacksonville Jaguars

QB Mark Brunell will definitely not be back as a member of the Jaguars next season.
The Jaguars defense is getting very strong. They have only given up 33 points in the last four games.
RB Fred Taylor has rushed for 100 yards in four of the past five games. He has 617 rushing yards during that streak.
QB Byron Leftwich has a solid quarterback rating of 74.4 on the season. He has thrown 11 touchdowns and had 12 passes intercepted.
WR Jimmy Smith has averaged 5.1 receptions and 75.9 receiving yards per game since his return in week five.
The Jaguars rush defense has been awesome. They are only giving up 3.2 YPC and 84.2 yards per game.
The Jaguars are 0-6 on the road this season.

Kansas City Chiefs

The Chiefs are ranked 27th in the NFL against the run.
In the last five games, the Chiefs have given up 27.4 points per contest.
QB Trent Green has three 300-yard passing games in the last five weeks but the Chiefs have lost two of those games.
Green has thrown 20 touchdown passes and had only 9 passes picked off.
RB Priest Holmes only has 2 100-yard rushing games in the last eleven weeks.
Holmes leads the Chiefs in receptions this season with 62.
Holmes continues to put up huge touchdown numbers. He now has 19 rushing touchdowns on the season.
The Chiefs have five players with 36 receptions or more on the season.
The Chiefs are 6-0 at home this season.
WR Dante Hall has been targeted 21 times over the last three weeks and has caught 15 of those looks.

Miami Dolphins

The Dolphins had a quarterback throw for 300+ passing yards since week four of last season (25 straight games).
The Dolphins run-defense has been awesome. They are only giving up 3.2 YPC and have only allowed 7 rushing touchdowns all season.
RB Ricky Williams has only averaged over 4.0 YPC in a game twice all season.
Williams has only scored a touchdown in two of his past eight football games.
WR Chris Chambers has had 28 passes thrown his way in the last three weeks but has only caught 12 of them.

Minnesota Vikings

WR Randy Moss is having a tremendous season. He is on pace to catch 111 passes for 1689 yards and score 16 touchdowns.
Moss has been thrown to 150 times on the season.
Moss has now caught 504 passes for 8115 yards in his first six seasons. He still has 1001 more receptions and 14,122 yards to go to tie Jerry Rice (who isn't finished yet).
Moss has caught 73 touchdowns in his six seasons. He needs 120 more in his career to tie Rice.
RB Michael Bennett is averaging 4.9 yards per carry.
QB Daunte Culpepper has thrown for 20 touchdowns and rushed for 4. He has only been accountable for 11 turnovers (8 interceptions and 3 fumbles)
The Vikings are 3-3 on the road this season but have lost the last three by a combined score of 63 to 118.
In seven career games against the Bears, QB Daunte Culpepper has…
- averaged 213.4 passing yards per game
- thrown 8 touchdown passes and been picked off 4 times
- rushed for 223 yards and scored 4 rushing touchdowns
- never thrown for more than 234 yards in a game.
In eleven career games against the Bears, WR Randy Moss has…
- caught 56 passes for 1070 yards and scored 7 touchdowns
- had four 100-yard receiving games

New England Patriots

WR J.J. Stokes was released from the team.
The Patriots have had seven games where they failed to score 20 points this season.
The Patriots haven't had a 100-yard game from a running back this season and only one in the past two seasons (RB Antowain Smith last season in week nine).
Since the opening week disaster, QB Tom Brady has thrown for 15 touchdowns and only had 8 picked off.
WR Deion Branch has become the go-to guy in the offense. He has been thrown to 27 times in the last three weeks and caught 17 of them.
Branch has now caught 48 passes for 705 yards on the season.
The Patriots are 6-0 at home this season and haven't given up a touchdown in the last 16 full quarters (only given up 9 total points in the last four home games).
The Patriots have only given up 10 passing touchdowns and have 20 interceptions.

New Orleans Saints

The Saints are 8-13 lifetime against the New York Giants.
RB Deuce McAllister had his 100-yard rushing streak end at nine games last week when the Buccaneers held him to 69 rushing yards.
McAllister is on pace to finish with 1799 rushing yards on the season.
In his last six games, QB Aaron Brooks has only averaged 200.5 passing yards per game.
Brooks hasn't thrown an interception in the last three weeks.
WR Joe Horn has been thrown to 33 times in the last three weeks and has caught 16 of those chances.
The Saints are only giving up 19.2 points per game over the last nine weeks.

New York Giants

In five straight losses, the Giants have been outscored 44 to 118.
RB Tiki Barber has 6 fumbles on the season.
Barber has 301 touches on the season (245 carries, 56 receptions) but has only scored 3 touchdowns.
WR Amani Toomer has only caught 40.6% of the passes thrown his way this season.
Toomer is on pace to finish with only 64 receptions but is on pace to reach 1137 receiving yards.
RB Dorsey Levens has been a bust as the change-of-pace back. He is only averaging 3.0 YPC.

New York Jets

The Jets are officially eliminated from the playoff hunt with only 5 wins on the season.
WR Santana Moss has gone four straight games without reaching 100 yards receiving.
Moss has been targeted only 91 times on the season but has caught 57 of those passes (62.6%)
After a hot start, QB Chad Pennington has cooled off. He only has 3 touchdown passes in the last three weeks (against 4 interceptions).
RB Curtis Martin isn't having an awful season but he can't find the endzone. Still only has 1 touchdown on the season.
Martin jumped ahead of O.J. Simpson into 12th place in career rushing yardage. Martin now has 11,247 yards.
The Jets are 3-3 at home this season.

Oakland Raiders

The Raiders 3-10 record is the worst ever since they joined the NFL back in 1970.
QB Rick Mirer has only thrown 2 touchdown passes in 152 attempts.
WR Jerry Rice has only caught 6 of the last 21 passes thrown his way (28.6%).
RB Tyrone Wheatley continues to carry the load at running back. He has 95 carries in the last five weeks with 3 touchdowns scored.
The Raiders are 3-3 at home this season.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles are 3-7 lifetime against the Dolphins.
QB Donovan McNabb has only 1 interception in his last 180 attempts.
McNabb has completed 64.0% of his throws over the last seven weeks.
The Eagles have won eight straight games and ten of the last eleven.
The three-headed beast at running back (Staley, Buckhalter, Westbrook) has run for 1335 yards on 280 carries (4.8 YPC).
WR Freddie Mitchell continues to get some looks. He has been targeted 13 times over the last three weeks and caught 8 passes.
What a forgettable year for Todd Pinkston. He has been thrown to 16 times over the last three weeks but has caught only 3 passes.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers are a surprising 14-1 against the Jets lifetime.
The Steelers are 3-0 against the Jets in the 'Bill Cowher' era.
The Steelers are 2-4 on the road this season.
The 'Bus' is rolling again. RB Jerome Bettis has 71 carries in the last three weeks for 261 yards and has scored twice.
Bettis jumped into 9th place in career rushing yardage with 12,077 yards.
QB Tommy Maddox has a decent quarterback rating of 78.0 despite the offensive lines woes for the team.
WR Hines Ward has caught 82 passes on the season to go along with 9 scores.
WR Plaxico Burress has now caught 54 passes on the season for 775 yards but has only scored twice.

San Diego Chargers

The Chargers are 1-6 lifetime against the Packers.
Despite playing for a terrible team, RB Ladainian Tomlinson is on pace to rush for 1551 yards (5.3 YPC), catch 92 passes and score 13 touchdowns.
The Chargers are 1-5 at home this season.
QB Doug Flutie has managed to throw 9 touchdown passes against 4 interceptions (although some of that was in garbage time in lopsided losses).
WR David Boston has caught 18 passes for 290 yards and 3 touchdowns in the last three weeks.

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers are 9-2 lifetime against the Bengals.
The 49ers are 0-6 on the road this season. Of those six losses though, two came in overtime and another was a one point loss.
RB Kevan Barlow ran for 154 yards against the Cardinals last week.
WR Terrell Owens had his first multiple touchdown game of the season last week.
What a game for Jeff Garcia last week. He accounted for 6 touchdowns (4 passing and 2 rushing). It was against the Cardinals though.

Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks continue to do poorly on the road. They are now 1-5 on the season and have lost five straight.
WR Darrell Jackson has caught 58 passes for 984 yards and 8 touchdowns this season.
Jackson has caught 20 passes for 324 yards and 4 touchdowns in the last three games.
WR Koren Robinson has disappointed this year. He has only caught 51 passes for 748 yards and 3 touchdowns.
WR Bobby Engram has had a surprising year by catching 5 touchdown passes.
In two games against the Rams, QB Matt Hasselbeck has thrown for 559 yards and thrown 3 touchdown passes.
RB Shaun Alexander has had five 100-yard rushing games this season.
In three games against the Rams, Alexander has rushed for 167 yards and scored two touchdowns.

St. Louis Rams

The Rams are 6-0 at home this season, averaging 35.8 points per game.
RB Marshall Faulk has had four straight 100-yard rushing games for the first time since 1999.
Faulk is now 14th overall in career rushing yards with 10,779 yards.
Faulk is now 5th overall in touchdowns with 127.
The Rams have won five games in a row.
WR Torry Holt has enjoyed eight 100-yard receiving games this season.
Holt only has one touchdown reception in his last five games.
In four games against the Seahawks, Holt has caught 23 receptions for 332 yards and 1 touchdown.
In his last two games against the Seahawks, Marshall Faulk has only gained 44 rushing yards on 24 carries.
Back in week seven of last season, Faulk gained 235 yards from scrimmage and scored 4 touchdowns against the Hawks.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccaneers have only won two games at home this season.
In his last four games, RB Thomas Jones has carried the ball 46 times for 261 yards (5.7 YPC) and scored twice.
In his last four games, RB Michael Pittman has carried the ball 43 times for 146 yards (3.4 YPC) and scored no touchdowns.
In the first five games this season, QB Brad Johnson completed 65.8 % of his throws and tossed 13 touchdowns against 3 interceptions.
In his last eight games this season, Johnson has only completed 59.6% of his throws and tossed 10 touchdowns against 11 interceptions.
Johnson hasn't thrown for more than 275 yards in the last five games.
WR Keenan McCardell has cooled off as of late. He does have 23 receptions in the last three weeks but for only 244 yards and no touchdowns.
WR Charles Lee has had 24 passes thrown his way in the last three weeks and has caught 17 of them.
RB Michael Pittman has only caught 7 of the last 20 passes thrown his way.

Tennessee Titans

The Titans are 23-16 lifetime against the Bills.
The Titans lost their first home game of the season last week. They are now 5-1 at home.
The Titans have gone seven straight games without throwing for 300 yards.
In his last three games, RB Eddie George has averaged more than 4.0 YPC. He hadn't done that since the 2000 season.
Despite fighting injury problems now, QB Steve McNair continues to do well. He has thrown 22 touchdowns and only 6 interceptions on the year.
WR Derrick Mason has gone over 1000-yards receiving on the season. He is currently sitting at 1032 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns.
WR Justin McCareins has 240 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns in the last three weeks.

Washington Redskins

QB Patrick Ramsey is done for the season with his injured right foot.
The Redskins are 3-3 at home this season.
The Redskins are 2-3 in the last five games. They lost the three games by a combined 8 points.
QB Tim Hasselbeck has completed 55.3% of his passes since becoming the starting quarterback in week twelve.
WR Laveranues Coles went over the 1000-yard mark this past weekend.
RB Trung Canidate is up to 600 rushing yards on the season and is averaging 4.2 yards per carry.
WR Rod Gardner has had a disappointing season. He only has 52 receptions for 543 yards on the season (he has scored 5 touchdowns though).
Bruce Smith is now the all-time Sack leader with 199 career sacks.