Blitz Packages - Week 7
October 18th, 2002

Bye teams: Bengals, Giants, Patriots, Titans

Vikings @ Jets

Vikings: The defensive front four should produce well this week against a Jets OL that has been underwhelming at best. Johnstone and Mixon should be at 3-5 tackles, 1-2 sacks and 1-2 PDs. The TOP favors the Vikings by a whopping six minutes. Against a Jets team that has struggled all year I would be surprised to see that change. So don't expect much from the Vikings LBs. None should have more than 4-6 tackles. The Vikings DBs should be a good play, with Chavous at 4-2-0 2 PDs, Carter at 3-1-0 3PDs and Bradford at 3-5 tackles and 2-4 PDs.

Jets: The nice tackle totals should continue this week for Jason Ferguson and John Abraham (4-6 tackles for both) against a Minnesota team that is dedicated to feeding RB Bennett the ball. Give Ferguson a forced fumble as well. The Vikings are giving up over three sacks per game, so they both could get a sack too. LB Sam Cowart could also get a sack, and should have 6-8 tackles. Marvin Jones will be around 7-9 tackles. If the DL forces a fumble, one of these LBs should pick it up.The best play at DB remains Damien Robinson, who should get 5-7 tackles and 1-2 PDs.

Seahawks @ Rams

Seahawks: Other than rookie Robert Bernard, none of the Seahawk DL have been good fantasy starters. He was only good for one game as well, and now he's back on the bench. The Rams are only giving up 2.5 sacks per game over the past four weeks, so that doesn't look to change here. The best play is Chad Eaton, who had 2-1-1 last week. Antonio Cochran is a good long shot DL play if you need one since he has been the most consistent scorer there. Isaiah Kacyvenski is averaging 8-3-0 over the past month, including a great 9-4-0 outing week 6. He should be around 10 with Faulk running at him all day. Also start Marcus Bell until Anthony Simmons returns. He should get 7-1-0 and a FF. Reggie Tongue has been the best fantasy DB over the past month and with Faulk against him that shouldn't change. I have a gut feeling that Bulger will throw a pick and that Ken Lucas will get it.

Rams: Grant Wistrom makes a nice play this week. Give him 4-6 tackles and possibly a sack against a less than impressive Seattle OL. Damione Lewis had two sacks last week and should get 2-1-1 this week as well. Tommy Polley is your best play at LB, but he's questionable this week. He played last week though, so watch the injury report to see how he does in practice before the weekend. He should get 6-8 tackles if he does go. Otherwise Don Davis will be in and be at 4-3-0. Jamie Duncan should be in that tackle range as well but should also get a sack. But the guy to have is DB Adam Archuleta. He's putting up LB-like numbers, and remains a no brain start as long as the Ram O remains mired in the doldrums.

Bears @ Lions

Bears: The Bears get Philip Daniels back, but start him cautiously to see how rusty he is. None of the other Bear DL have been viable fantasy starters. After Urlacher, Roosevelt Colvin is your safest play, and best bet for LB sacks after Studlacher. Mike Caldwell filled in nicely for Holdman in week 5 with 9-2-0. He should come back down to earth this week and get 5-7 tackles. Mike Brown should be busy hitting James Stewart all day and be around 7-9 tackles and a PD. He's your most consistent scorer, but I have a gut feeling one of the Bear DBs will explode. For a long shot play the returning R.W. McQuarters.

Lions: Robert Porcher and the rest of the Lion DL have been totally invisible this season. The Bears don't look to make him better this week since they are averaging just over a sack per game. LB Chris Claiborne has been playing well lately and should hit 8-10 tackles. None of the other LBs are worth a play unless you're desperate and in a huge league. Too bad DB Walker is out, he'd probably have a nice day against a run oriented Bear team. Rookie Chris Cash has been money the past three weeks, getting 6-1-0, 8-5-0 and 10-2-0 the last three games. I've been waiting for one of the Lion IDPs to break out, and it looks like Cash is the guy. Todd Lyght has slowed dramatically since his Ram days, and will get picked on this week. Look for him to net 5-7 tackles and 1-2 PDs.

49ers @ Saints

49ers: Both of these teams are very similar - they have good QBs, O lines and running games. The TOP favors the Saints by a bare minute. With things being this even there isn't a lot to recommend. DL Carter has been the best play but he shouldn't get more than 3-0-1. All of the LBs should be around 4-6 tackles, and Peterson could wind up with a sack. Give DB Parrish 4-6 tackles and 1-2 PDs and the others 3-5 1-2 PDs.

Saints: Darren Howard burst out last week, but I am going to remain bearish on him until he has a similar performance since he has been quiet to this point. Grady Jackson has been the best bet to this point and should get 2-4 tackles. LB Darrin Smith has been playing well lately, and he will be around 6-8 tackles. Charlie Clemons will be close to that too. Sedrick Hodge scored well week 6 but should get 4-2-1. Sammy Knight has been en fuego. There is no reason to think he won't play well against the 49er running game and should get 6-3-0 1-2PDs. Jeff Garcia has only thrown one pick in his last three games, so the pickings will be slim in that department for your Saint DBs.

Panthers @ Falcons

Panthers: Mike Rucker has been a stud and remains a must start. Julius Peppers is beginning to challenge him for that status as well. Give Peppers 2-1-1 1 PD and 1 FF. Kris Jenkins has been playing weel too and is worth a long shot play. Remember that LB Dan Morgan is out this week with a groin injury. Lester Towns is his back up, but should only get 6-8 tackles. DB Reggie Howard is doubtful with a bum ankle. Mike Minter should be the best DB play and get 7-9 tackles and 2-3 PDs. Deon Grant will be a little less than that at about 4-6 and 1-2 PDs.

Falcons: The Panthers are doing a good job protecting the QB, so don't look for a lot out of DL Kerney this week. LB Brooking is a stud. After him it's a crapshoot. John Holecek is the next best play. He should get 6-9 and a PD, provided that Overstreet does not return. Overstreet is probable but has been very fragile. He should be at 5-7 tackles. The Falcon secondary will be back at full strength this week with the return of Ray Buchnanan. He should be at 7-9 tackles, 1-3 PDs and probably an interception from the rusty QB Weinke.

Bills @ Dolphins

Bills: The Dolphins are protecting the QB very well, but Aaron Schobel should be able to bring pressure on Ray Lucas. Put him around 3-0-1. Pat Williams will be busy helping stop RB Williams, so expect something like 3-2-0. The TOP in this game is nearly dead even, so LB Fletcher should be in the neighborhood of 6-3-0. Keith Newman will be at 5-2-0. DB Coy Wire should have a good game, and hit 5-2-0 . Lucas should toss a pick, and I'll give it to Prioleau (2-1-0 2 PDs 1 INT).

Dolphins: The Bills are still averaging 3+ sacks per game, so besides Jason Taylor start Adewale as a #2-3 DL (2-1-1). Zach Thomas is still a must start even though his production is down slightly. LBs Greenwood and Rodgers are very erratic, so start them if you must. DB Brock Marion is the best play here but he's only getting 3-2-0. Every once in a while Bledsoe yaks up a game with a couple of picks, and given the way the Bills are giving up sacks I'll say this week is one of those games. Give Marion (3-2-0 2 PDs) and Surtain (1-0-0 2 PDs) them.

Jaguars @ Ravens

Jaguars: The Ravens aren't giving up many sacks (just over 1/game) over the last four weeks. But DL Spicer is in for Brackens and could get one. But he should be able to get 2-1-1. John Henderson has been playing well and will be at 3-2-0. T.J. Slaughter will start this week, and he almost has to be able to produce for the slumbering Wali Rainer. Give Slaughter 5-2-0 1 PD and hope for more. Danny Clark has been very erratic but could surprise this week since he'll be chasing down RB Lewis. Figure him at 6-8 tackles as well. Ditto for DB Darius.

Ravens: The TOP favors the Jags by 1.5 minutes, but it will be closer than that since the Fins are minus Fiedler and the Ravens have lost Lewis. The Dolphins aren't yielding many sacks at all so don't bother with any Raven DL. Remember that DL McCrary is out this week as well. LB Hartwell played well in relief of Lewis last week, and he should again this week (8-3-0). LB Boulware is your next best bet but he's a reach at 4-1-0. DB Baxter continues to play well and should be at 3-2-0 2 PDs. Ed Reed will hit 5-0-0.

Broncos @ Chiefs

Broncos: Denver isn't getting much pressure on the QB, and the Chiefs OL is doing good protecting the QB, so don't look for many sacks from Trevor Pryce (4-3-0). Kavika Pittman should have nice tackle totals thanks to Priest Holmes (5-2-0). LB Al Wilson will have an OK day and net 7-3-0 2 PDs. Ian Gold will be right behind him at 5-3-0. Deltha O'Neal will be in the thick of things and should get an interception (2-1-0 3 PDs 1 INT).

Chiefs: The Broncos are allowing three sacks per game so Eric Hicks (3-1-1) and Duane Clemons (2-0-1) are decent starts this week. LB Mike Maslowski is a great start at 5-5-0 and LB Patton could be a long shot play (start at 4-3-0 and hope for more) since the Broncos favor the run. DB Bartee gets picked on a lot and should again produce with 7-1-0 1 PD. Jason Belser and Eric Warfield will be right behind him at 4-3-0 and 1 PD. Shaunard Harts has had at least 8 tackles for the past two weeks and is a long shot play here.

Chargers @ Raiders

Chargers: This is another game where there won't be many sacks. Both teams are allowing two or less sacks per game. And with DL Marcellus Wiley out, Raylee Johnson will have a rougher go of it (2-1-1). Keep an eye on Seau and avoid having to make a call on him until Saturday or just before game time if you can. If he plays Seau should be good for 7-9 stops. Donnie Edwards should be around 10-12 tackles. Holecek makes a nice play since he will probably be called on to relieve Seau if he plays dinged (7-2-0). DB Harrison is fighting through injuries and remains questionable to play, although he did play last week and did ok (3-3-0 1PD). DB Ryan McNeil will be at 3-2-0.

Raiders: As with the Chargers, don't expect many sacks from your Raider DL. Grady Jackson should only have 2-1-0 so use him if you have no better options. LB Napoleon Harris is a better play at 8-2-0. Eric Barton should get 6-2-1, and Romo (5-7 tackles) has a chance to get the LB sack that I think will happen. Philip Buchanon could go back to the bench if reports are true that Charles Woodson will return this week. Rod Woodson should produce the best among the DBs at 4-2-0 2 PDs.

Texans @ Browns

Texans: This is a whole lot of ugly football. Neither team is protecting the QB well. Gary Walker and Seth Payne should have about 4-6 tackles and could get a sack. Given the problems the Browns have had protecting the QB they could do better than that. Jamie Sharper is the best play here (6-3-1), and Jay Foreman is ok at 4-4-0. Aaron Glenn is the best starter at DB and should again be around 5-2-0 1 PD.

Browns: The Texans are still allowing opposing DL to thrash QB Carr like Ali in Manila. So start your DL versus the Texans if you have them. This week Courtney Brown may actually get more than one sack (4-1-1 but hope for more). Kenard Lang makes a nice start with 3-1-1. With Wells running I don't expect a lot out of LB Holmes this week since I think he's too slow to keep up (4-3-0). Dwayne Rudd is a nice reach with 3-3-1. With all the injuries in their secondary it's getting hard for them to put a healthy unit on the field. Last week Earl Little did well, and I expect him to post similar numbers - 4-1-0 2 PDs.

Redskins @ Packers

Redskins: The Packers are allowing barely more than two sacks per game. That won't change with the geriatric Bruce Smith still unable to bring it. The Redskins DL are not fantasy starters. The TOP favors GB by a soild 3.5 minutes, second best this week. Good news for Arrington (3-2-1) and Armstead (4-3-0). Trotter has been quiet for a while and could break out this week if things go south in a hurry for the Skins. None of the Redskin DBs have been worth anything thus far and I don't see that changing this week.

Packers: The Redskins surrendered an astounding seven sacks last week. So if you have GB DL, start them. Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila (3-0-1) and Cletidus Hunt (1-2-1) should do well. Kampman could show up again too. LB Wayne is the best play at LB for the Pack at 4-2-1. It's a good thing that Ramsey is likely to struggle due to his OL. Because with the Packers secondary hurting so bad they should be in trouble. All of their starting DBs are on the injury report this week. Rookie DB Anderson exploded last week for 11-1-0 1 PD 1 INT. He won't get close to that against the skins (3-1-0 1 PD 1 INT). If he does better than that again he'll get more love from me next week.

Cowboys @ Cardinals

Cowboys: Don't look now, but the Cards are not giving up many sacks. So don't be surprised if Greg Ellis (2-2-0) and La'Roi Glover (1-2-0) struggle. Dexter Coakley is a manimal. But after him it's a wasteland. Kevin Hardy is the next best play at 3-2-0 and 1 PD. Roy Williams has been solid and that won't change (4-2-0). Rookie Derek Ross has been playing well the last two weeks and will be at 5-2-0 1 PD.

Cardinals: DL Kyle Vanden Bosch has been a spot play this year. But against a suspect Cowboy OL, this is a spot to play him (three tackles and a sack). As Emmitt Smith continues his glacial pace towards the rushing record, playing the LBs opposing him are a risky proposition. Two out of three weeks the LBs have done poorly (wk 6 CAR LB Allen 3-1-0 was best on his team, Wk 5 NYG LBs Barrow and Jones both 5-0-0, Wk 4 STL LBs Duncan and Davis were best at 7-0-0). Ronald McKinnon and Ray Thompson are the best plays here, but don't expect more than 4-2-0. Oh Kwamie, where art thou? He has pulled a vanishing act worthy of Houdini. None of the Cardinal DBs have distinguished themselves, and they are all averaging about 4-1-0 per game. Figure they'll get that each week until one breaks out. Don't mess with them unless you have no other options.

Buccaneers @ Eagles

Buccaneers: The Eagle OL has been porous. They have allowed an average of nearly 4 sacks per game the last three games. So start Warren Sapp for sure, and Simeon Rice makes a nice reach this week with 3-1-1 1 FF. LB Brooks is a no-brainer, and LB Quarles makes a nice #2 LB with 5-4-0. Given the kind of pressure you should expect to see, he should toss a pick (hopefully, no more cookies). Ballhawks Ronde Barber (5-7 tackles, 2-3 PDs) and Brian Kelly (3-5, 1-2 Pds) are the prime suspects to get it. I have a feeling that if they do get an INT they'll take it to the house. That's what the old gut says anyway.

Eagles: The Bucs have protected QB Johnson well, but Hugh Douglas is a stud and you can't just sit him. But don't expect much from anyone else. Shawn Barber (4-5-0) and Carlos Emmons (4-4-0) are the best LB plays for the Eagles this week. DB Brian Dawkins has been a stud and he should stay that way (4-5-0 2 PD 1 INT). Give Bobby Taylor 2-1-0 1 PD and Troy Vincent 3-1-0 2 PDs.

Colts @ Steelers (MNF)

Colts: The Steelers haven't given up many sacks, but when they do it's in bunches (five week one to NE and four week five to NO). Give Chad Bratzke 3-1-1 and Scioli 1-2-1. Mike Peterson is playing well again and he (4-2-1) and Washington (3-1-1) should be good plays against Bettis. LB Morris has been a total disappointment but could actually be a good supporting play this week (4-6 tackles). Normally the SS would be the DB to have here, but with SS Bird down, FS Bashir has been the safest play (5-1-0). DB Macklin played well last week and I expect him to continue that here as a nice reach (2-1-0 2 PD 1 INT).

Steelers: The protection the Colts OL usually affords Manning has slipped a little lately, and the Steelers could take advantage. Any of the Steelers DL remain a risk since they are in a 3-4, but Aaron Smith could again surprise with a sack (4-2-0). The LBs should get the sacks though, so after Porter start Gildon (7-9, 1 sack) and Farrior (6-8 tackles). With the expected pressure from the Steeler LBs, Manning should throw an interception. Figure DB/CB Dewayne Washington will get it (3-4 tackles 2-3 PDs). Chad Scott will be a #3 DB at best (3 tackles and a PD).