This column looks at the matchups of three “bubble” players each week – not guys you’ll automatically keep in the lineup week in and week out, but guys who are borderline starters depending on their matchups.

Week 8 Recap: I told you to play Emmitt Smith, play Tommy Maddox, and sit Corey Bradford. What Happened: Emmitt got 100+ yards, a touchdown, and the record. Tommy Maddox threw for 154 yards and 2 TDs in the first half, but was struck by the Bubble Curse in the third quarter and missed most of the second half. That’s three weeks in a row now that the QB I recommended starting was injured – Maddox last week, Jim Miller the week before that, and Mark Brunell the week before that. (It happened to Muhsin Muhammad earlier as well – the only non-QB to be struck by the curse.). In any event, Maddox finished with 172 yards and 2 TDs, not enough to have been much fantasy help. Corey Bradford was held to 16 yards receiving. Bubble Watch Record: 2-1. Season to date: 9-12-3.

Week 9 Bubble Players

RB Eddie George vs. the Colts

Eddie George generally hasn’t lived up to his fantasy owners’ expectations this year. He was struggling so badly early in the season that, a few weeks ago, an unnamed NFL GM reportedly opined that Eddie George was done – that the Eddie George we’ve grown accustomed to watching over the years would never return. George responded with back-to-back 100 yard games in his last two contests, so it appears that writing him off completely was a bit premature.

What can we expect out of George from here on out? I’m not overly optimistic. His last two big games came against the Jaguars and the Bengals – teams that have been pretty generous to opposing rushers this year. And George is still averaging only 3.3 yards per carry on the season, which isn’t very impressive. (George has never had a high YPC, but has racked up some lofty yardage totals in previous years by getting lots of carries.) So I’m not ready to say George will be a top 10 back during the second half of the season. However, I do like his prospects for having a third consecutive good game this weekend when he faces the Colts.

In their last four games (following their week 4 bye), the Colts have given up an average of 156 rushing yards per game on 5.3 yards per carry to a group of opponents (Redskins, Steelers, Ravens, Bengals) who are collectively averaging 122 rushing yards a game on 4.2 yards per carry. This is not a strong run defense.

The Colts are particularly vulnerable up the middle, where DTs Josh Williams and James Cannida have been overmatched. Neither one was expected to start for the Colts this year, but Ellis Johnson (who had started at DT for the Colts for the last 5 years) was released in a surprise move just before the season started, and rookie second round pick Larry Tripplett hasn’t been able to crack the starting lineup yet. Williams has decent quickness, but at 284 he is undersized for a tackle and ends up giving up ground. Cannida, likewise, can be driven off the ball: he plays too high and lets opposing linemen get underneath his pads.

On the other side of the ball, Titans’ center Gennaro DiNapoli and guards Zach Pillner and Benji Olson have played well recently, and the Titans have started to call more inside runs in the last few weeks than they had earlier in the season – and they’ve been having some success there. Expect them to attack the Colts by running George up the gut at them; and expect George to do some damage.

Projection: 20 carries, 85 yards, 1.2 TDs (17 yards receiving).

QB Chad Pennington vs. the Chargers

With Aaron Brooks, Trent Green, and Brian Griese all on byes this week, a lot of owners may be looking for a one-week fill-in at QB. Chad Pennington is worth considering.

Pennington was the Jets’ first-round pick in 2000, and after holding a clipboard for a couple of years, he’s playing pretty well now that he’s taken over the offense from Testaverde.. With four games under his belt, Pennington boasts a QB rating of 94.8, and has run the offense efficiently, averaging 8.37 yards per pass attempt. He’s got nice size, a strong arm, he plays under control, and is accurate when he has time to throw.

The Jets’ play-calling was bafflingly conservative in the second half of last week’s game against the Browns, but don’t expect the same thing to happen this week. The Chargers have one of the better run defenses in the league, and should hold Curtis Martin in check, forcing Pennington to beat them through the air. That has been the Chargers’ recent pattern: in their last four games, they’ve held opposing teams to less than 3.5 yards per carry, but have given up an average of over 300 yards per game through the air.

Moreover, the Chargers will be without SS Rodney Harrison this week, as he serves a one-game suspension. Undrafted rookie Vernon Fox will fill in; and although he’s played better than most people have expected him to, he has given up some big plays. The Jets have plenty of weapons for Pennington to spread the ball around to. Laveranues Coles and Santana Moss have come on strong recently, and Wayne Chrebet is as reliable as they come.

I expect Pennington to finish with decent numbers this week.

Projection: 23 of 31 for 253 yards and 1.5 TDs.

WR: Jimmy Smith vs. the Giants

There may not be a tougher player in the league than Jimmy Smith. Last year, he was hospitalized in the off-season with a severe illness, but battled back to finish second in the league in receptions. He’s now put together six consecutive 1000-yard seasons. Smith has good size and speed, runs excellent patterns, adjusts to the ball in the air as well as anybody I’ve ever seen, and can make the spectacular catch.

He’s struggled this year, however, coming into week 9 as only the 24^th most productive fantasy WR. The problem isn’t Jimmy Smith so much as his team situation (although Smith did drop a key pass last week late in the game when the Jags were down by two). After losing Keenan McCardell to free agency during the offseason, the Jaguars haven’t found a second receiver capable of taking any heat off of Smith. Patrick Johnson and Bobby Shaw have combined for only 27 receptions between them this year. Meanwhile, Brunell hasn’t played well since suffering a concussion two and a half weeks ago against Tennessee. Brunell says the concussion isn’t affecting his play, but there’s no disputing that his accuracy in the past couple games has been uncharacteristically poor.

Jimmy Smith will face CBs Will Allen and Will Peterson this week, two second year players who are showing a lot of promise. Smith will probably face Allen most of the day, since Allen has the better speed to stay with Smith deep. Allen is both quick and fast, changes direction well, is a fine overall athlete, and has normally reliable hands (although he did drop what should have been an easy interception last week against the Eagles).

Considering the Jaguars’ current struggles in their pass offense and the Giants’ solid pass defense (giving up 177 yards a game in their last four games), this may be a good week to give Jimmy Smith a rest. He’s still got plenty of good weeks left in him, but I’d be more comfortable letting the Jaguars’ passing offense get going again before I put Jimmy Smith in the starting lineup in his tougher matchups.

Projection: 61 receiving yards, 0.3 TDs.