Chris Smith - Tidbits

QB Jeff Blake has two great games so far this season and one stinker. In the two good games, he has thrown for 631 yards and tossed 4 touchdown passes.

Both RB Emmitt Smith and RB Shipp are struggling to run the ball. Combined they have only 217 rushing yards on 62 carries.

Rookie sensation WR Anquan Boldin continues to impress. He has had 38 passes thrown his way and caught 23 of them.

WR Boldin is on pace for 123 receptions and 2016 receiving yards. Not bad for a 2nd round draft choice!

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons destroyed the Panthers in both games last season, winning by a combined score of 71 to 0.

Falcons' quarterbacks completed 40 of 47 passes (85.1%) against the Panthers in two games last season.

RB Warrick Dunn scored twice and T.J. Duckett scored three touchdowns against the Panthers last year.

Baltimore Ravens

RB Jamal Lewis is on pace for 2645 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns.

QB Kyle Boller is only averaging 8 yards per completion.

WR Travis Taylor is only averaging 20 yards receiving per game.

WR Taylor has only had 5 passes thrown his way over the last two football games.

Buffalo Bills

The Bills have won their last four home games and outscored the opposition 116 to 43.

QB Drew Bledsoe has thrown a touchdown pass in 15 of the last 19 games.

RB Travis Henry has had multiple touchdown games in six of the last nineteen contests.

RB Henry is struggling in 2003. He is averaging only 2.3 YPC

WR Eric Moulds has caught 4 or more passes in 27 of his last 32 games.

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers were shutout by the Falcons in both games last season.

The Panthers' running backs have only averaged 16 carries for 54 rushing yards against the Falcons in the last four contests.

The Panthers' running backs haven't scored a touchdown against the Falcons since the 1999 campaign (Tim Biakabutuka)

Chicago Bears

In four games against the Packers, RB Anthony Thomas has 56 carries for 170 rushing yards. He also has 67 receiving yards and 1 touchdown.

WR Marty Booker has 28 receptions against the Packers in his last four games for 288 receiving yards. He has only scored 1 touchdown though.

WR Dez White has caught 23 passes for 202 yards against the Packers in the last four meetings but didn't reach the endzone.

The Bears haven't scored more than 28 points against the Packers in the last eighteen games.

Cincinnati Bengals

RB Corey Dillon has 119 carries for 540 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns over the last five games against the Browns.

RB Dillon has gone over 100 yards rushing in five of the eight meetings against the Browns.

WR Chad Johnson had 4 receptions in each of the two games against the Browns in 2002 and scored a touchdown in each as well.

Cleveland Browns

RB William Green had his first 'decent' football game as a pro in week eleven last year against the Bengals. He gained 96 yards on 25 carries.

RB Green has only scored in five of his eighteen games (not including this week)

WR Quincy Morgan has never scored a touchdown against the Bengals

In eight games against the Bengals, WR Kevin Johnson has caught 44 passes for 713 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns.

Dallas Cowboys

QB Quincy Carter has had eight straight 200+ yard passing games.

QB Carter is averaging 14.7 yards per completion

WR Joey Galloway has regained his status as a fantasy star. He is on pace for 1456 receiving yards.

Cowboys' receivers were targeted 46 times in the first two games. I'd say there are enough passes to go around in Dallas.

Take away RB Aveion Cason's long touchdown run (63 yard scamper) and the Cowboys' running backs have only gained 165 rushing yards on 51 carries.

Denver Broncos

QB Jake Plummer has been on fire the last two weeks. He has completed 67.6% of his passes, thrown 5 touchdowns, run for a touchdown and thrown 0 interceptions.

QB Plummer has only thrown 34 passes total in the last two games. (Do you think he likes having a strong running game behind him?)

RB Clinton Portis is on pace to run for 1552 yards on the season despite battling a sternum injury.

WR Ashley Lelie is averaging an impressive 30.6 yards per reception. Even more impressive is that the longest is only 44 yards.

Detroit Lions

QB Joey Harrington is on pace to throw 677 passes. He is only averaging 10 yards per completion however.

QB Harrington has thrown no touchdown passes in the last two games against 6 interceptions.

Lions' running backs have only gained 164 rushing yards on 60 carries for a weak 2.7 YPC.

Rookie WR Charles Rogers has been targeted 28 times in three games. He has caught ½ of those passes.

Green Bay Packers

QB Brett Favre is on pace to throw 32 interceptions. He has now thrown 18 interceptions in his last ten outings.

Since 1996, QB Favre has played the Chicago Bears fourteen times. Here are some interesting tidbits on Favre from those games:
- He has averaged 240 passing yards per game.
- He has thrown 27 touchdown passes in the fourteen games.
- He has only gone over 300 passing yards twice in the fourteen games.
- He has thrown 14 interceptions in the fourteen meetings.
- He has thrown at least 1 touchdown pass in every meeting between the teams.

RB Ahman Green has only scored 1 touchdown in the last four meetings with the Bears.

WR Donald Driver had nine receptions for 185 yards and a score last year in the two games against the Bears.

Houston Texans

QB David Carr had two of his better outings against the Jaguars last year.
- He completed 68.8% of his passes
- He passed for 412 passing yards and 2 touchdown passes.
- He rushed for 47 yards and scored 2 rushing touchdowns.
- He only had 1 interception in the two games.
Rookie WR Andre Johnson has been targeted 32 times in the three games. He has hauled in an impressive 56.3% of those targets.

RB Stacey Mack is only averaging 3.0 YPC and hasn't scored a touchdown.

RB Mack's longest run from scrimmage so far in 2003 is only 13 yards.

The Texans' running backs carried the ball 47 times against the Jaguars last season but only gained 112 rushing yards.

Indianapolis Colts

WR Reggie Wayne has been targeted 23 times so far. Marvin Harrison has been targeted 26 times.

The fantasy star at receiver for the Colts this season is Reggie Wayne. He has 15 receptions for 202 receiving yards and 2 scores.

What is wrong with WR Marvin Harrison? He is on pace for only 715 receiving yards. Last year he was on pace for 1536 receiving yards.

QB Peyton Manning has seen his YPA decrease every season since his second year. He has gone from 7.76 back in 1999 to a miserable 6.19 so far in 2003.

QB Manning has only thrown 3 touchdown passes in three games so far in 2003. Last season, he had already thrown 6 touchdowns.

QB Manning has only one 300+ yards passing game in the last ten contests.

RB Edgerrin James is averaging 24 carries per game. However he is only averaging 3.7 YPC.

Jacksonville Jaguars

RB Fred Taylor is on pace for 1430 rushing yards but has yet to score a touchdown in 2003.

The Texans bottled up RB Fred Taylor in 2002. He only gained 140 rushing yards on 38 carries and didn't score a touchdown.

QB Mark Brunell has a miserable 3.85 YPA over his last two football games (6.84 yards per completion)

The Jaguars rushed for 248 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns against the Texans last year (Stacey Mack added 92 rushing yards and 2 scores).

Jaguars' tight ends caught 10 passes for 137 receiving yards and a touchdown against the Texans in 2002.

Kansas City Chiefs

RB Priest Holmes continues to dominate. He has now scored 31 touchdowns in his last seventeen games.

RB Holmes is on pace for 2491 total yards and 37 touchdowns. Fantasy MVP so far? Yes!

QB Trent Green is on pace for 3568 passing yards but has already thrown 5 interceptions.

TE Tony Gonzalez is off to a very sluggish start. He is on pace for only 416 receiving yards and still hasn't scored a touchdown.

TE Gonzalez now has only 1 touchdown reception in his last 13 games.

Miami Dolphins

BYE WEEK (and I am sure RB Ricky Williams needs it after setting a franchise record with 42 carries. He is on pace for 496 carries.)

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings are averaging 161 rushing yards per game with an impressive 5.0 YPC average.

RB Moe Williams is on pace for 2064 total yards of offense.

WR Randy Moss has been targeted 29 times so far in 2003. He has only caught 16 of those passes.

QB Daunte Culpepper still hasn't thrown an interception (he had 6 interceptions after three games last season)

New England Patriots

After a horrible week one, QB Tom Brady has rebounded nicely. He has completed 65.2% of his passes over the last two weeks for 436 yards and 3 touchdowns.

RB Kevin Faulk has emerged as the go-to guy in the backfield. He is on pace for 875 rushing yards and 512 receiving yards. He still hasn't scored a touchdown.

WR Deion Branch is becoming the most consistent receiver. He has 9 receptions on only 13 targets so far in 2003.

WR Troy Brown is struggling and has only caught 9 of the 19 passes thrown his way (for a paltry 69 receiving yards).

The leading receiver after three weeks (Branch) is only on pace for 651 receiving yards for the season.

New Orleans Saints

QB Aaron Brooks is off to a great start. He is on pace for 3456 passing yards, 21 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions.

QB Brooks lit up the Colts defense in the last meeting (week 10 of 2001). He completed 19 of 22 passes and tossed 2 touchdowns. He also ran one in.

WR Joe Horn in on pace to break 80 receptions for the fourth consecutive season.

In the last meeting with the Colts, WR Horn caught 8 passes for 148 receiving yards.

New York Giants

BYE WEEK (after two overtime games in a row, the Giants probably need a breather.) QB Kerry Collins in on pace for 3963 passing yards and 32 touchdown passes.

New York Jets

The Jets rushing attack has been non-existent. The team is only averaging 47.7 rushing yards per game and a horrible 2.9 YPC average.

RB Curtis Martin is on pace for only 709 yards rushing. The good news for Martin owners may be that last year he started even slower (54 rushing yards in three games).

QB Vinny Testaverde is playing pretty well. He is on pace for 3957 passing yards for the season.

QB Testaverde only needs 251 more passing yards to pass Joe Montana. (Just how important are statistics again?)

None of the three receivers (Curtis Conway, Wayne Chrebet and Santana Moss) have become the clear-cut top guy:
- Conway leads the way with 26 targets but has only caught 12 of them (46.1% of the throws directed at him)
- Chrebet has been the most effective receiver so far. He has caught 15 of the 21 passes thrown his way (71.4%)
- Moss has less targets than the other two (only 17 so far) but has caught 9 of them and has a great YPC (19.0)

Oakland Raiders

QB Rich Gannon has thrown 6 touchdown passes in the last eight games

In the first eleven games of 2002, QB Gannon threw for 321.4 passing yards per game, completed 68.9% of his passes and threw 22 touchdowns.

In his last eight games, QB Gannon has thrown for 208.8 passing yards per game, completed 59.8 % of his passes and thrown only 6 touchdowns.

QB Gannon has only run with the ball 2 times on the season for a total of 7 rushing yards.

QB Gannon has faced the Chargers eight times in the last four seasons. In that time he has:
- Passed for 259.1 yards per game
- Thrown 14 touchdown passes
- Thrown 5 interceptions
- Completed 176 of 279 passes (63.1%)
- Led the team to a 6-2 record over that stretch
WR Jerry Rice is on pace for 64 receptions, 768 receiving yards and no touchdowns.

WR Rice hasn't scored a touchdown in his last seven regular season games.

RB Charlie Garner is only carrying the ball 8 times per game. He is on pace for 501 rushing yards.

RB Garner caught 11 passes against the Chargers last season.

TE Doug Jolley is having a nice start. He is on pace for 59 receptions.

WR Tim Brown is on pace for only 37 receptions.

Philadelphia Eagles

QB Donovan McNabb's passing numbers are horrible through the first two games:
- He has completed only 37 passes in his 82 attempts (45.1%)
- His YPA is only 4.07. His YPC is also poor at only 9.02 yards per completion.
- He has yet to throw a touchdown pass in the first two games.
WR James Thrash has had 21 passes thrown in his direction. He has caught only 11 (for 126 receiving yards)

WR Todd Pinkston has had 16 passes thrown his way. He has caught only 5 of them (31.3%)

RB Duce Staley has only run for 31 yards on 12 carries. He does have 62 receiving yards on 10 receptions though.

The Eagles' running backs only carried the ball 21 times combined in the first two football games while throwing the ball 82 times.

Pittsburgh Steelers

QB Tommy Maddox is off to a great start. He is on pace for 4459 passing yards, 27 touchdown passes and is completing 63.6% of his passes.

WR Hines Ward has been targeted 32 times in the three games. He has caught 22 of them (68.8%)

WR Ward is on pace for 117 receptions, 1520 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns.

WR Plaxico Burress has been targeted 29 times in the three games. He has caught 18 of them (62.1%)

WR Burress is on pace for 96 receptions, 1531 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns

It is RBBC in Pittsburgh. Amos Zereoue has 42 carries (for 173 yards) and Jerome Bettis has 24 carries (for 80 yards)

San Diego Chargers

QB Drew Brees is continuing to struggle. He has thrown 6 interceptions in three games. He is only averaging 9.9 yards per completion.

QB Brees threw 3 interceptions against the Raiders in the last meeting between the teams (week fourteen of last season).

WR Eric Parker is on pace for 59 receptions and 761 receiving yards

RB LaDainian Tomlinson is only averaging 17.3 carries per game. Last year he averaged 23.2 throughout the entire season.

RB Tomlinson is on pace for 96 receptions. He is only averaging 5.8 yards per catch though.

RB Tomlinson has 96 carries against the Raiders in the last four meetings for 324 rushing yards and 4 total touchdowns. He also has caught 18 passes.

San Francisco 49ers

QB Jeff Garcia has a low 6.18 YPA through the first three games.

QB Garcia has seen both his completion percentage and his YPA decrease over each of the four seasons (including this one)
- His completion % has gone from 63.3% during the 2000 season to 56.2% so far this season.
- His YPA has gone from a strong 7.63 YPA back in 2000 to a mediocre 6.18 YPA this season.
RB Garrison Hearst is off to a strong start. He is averaging 5.3 YPC, 11.0 per reception and has scored 2 touchdowns

RB Kevan Barlow has only averaged 3.7 YPC, 6.8 per reception and has scored 1 touchdown.

WR Terrell Owens has been targeted 35 times. He has caught 20 of those passes (57.1%)

WR Tai Streets has been targeted 24 times. He has only caught 11 of those throws (45.8%)

Seattle Seahawks

BYE WEEK (this team has caused serious acid indigestion in fantasy circles the last two weeks. First WR Koren Robinson sits out and then RB Shaun Alexander is late). It is us, the fantasy owners who need a BYE WEEK from the Seahawks.

St. Louis Rams

WR Isaac Bruce only caught 5 passes for 60 yards against the Cardinals in two games last season.

WR Torry Holt caught 8 passes for 148 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Cardinals last season.

QB Marc Bulger completed 63.8% of his passes against the Cardinals last year for 564 passing yards. He threw 4 touchdowns.

4 of QB Bulger's eight career interceptions have come against the Cardinals.

QB Bulger has had seven games over 225 passing yards in his brief career so far.

RB Lamar Gordon got some action against the Cardinals last year in week fifteen. He ran for 23 yards on 8 carries and caught 2 passes.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

BYE WEEK (How about Warren Sapp on pace for 107 receiving yards <grin>). The 'Refrigerator' has been reborn.

Tennessee Titans

QB Steve McNair is having a great season. He is completing 65.3% of his passes, has thrown for 659 yards, tossed 5 touchdowns and only has 1 interception.

In his last four meetings against the Pittsburgh Steelers, QB Steve McNair has put up these numbers:
- 248.3 passing yards per game
- 5 touchdown passes and 5 interceptions
- 25 carries for 98 rushing yards and 1 touchdown
- 60.5% completion rate
RB Eddie George has faced the Steelers thirteen times in his career and put up these numbers:
- 835 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns.
- 3.1 yards per carry
- 99 receiving yards
WR Derrick Mason has caught 24 of the 33 passes thrown his way in 2003 (72.7%)

WR Mason has faced the Steelers five times since he became a starting receiver and put up these numbers:
- 28 receptions
- 418 receiving yards
- 0 touchdown receptions

Washington Redskins

QB Patrick Ramsey is thriving in the 'Spurrier System'. He is on pace for 4741 passing yards on the season.

WR Laveranues Coles has become a top-tier receiver. He is on pace for 123 receptions and 2085 receiving yards.

WR Coles has caught 23 of the 32 passes thrown his way (71.9%).

WR Coles has had five or more receptions in sixteen straight games.

WR Rod Gardner has caught 17 of the 29 passes thrown his way (58.6%).

WR Coles had 5 receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown against the Patriots in his second meeting with them last season. He was shut out in the first meeting.