Sideline Reporter

Welcome everyone. There's a new format this week. From now on (instead of just two or three) you'll find a list of the thirty teams that are playing each week. They'll be listed in order from BEST MATCHUP on down to WORST MATCHUP. Weight is given to both yardage and touchdowns. Obviously, since there are more teams listed, there will be a reduction in witty commentary. That might be a good thing. Anyway, on to the rankings for the week.

1. St. Louis Rams at Carolina -- The Rams scored FOUR rushing TDs last week while padding their lead. Expect more of the same for the rest of the season.

2. Washington Redskins at Detroit -- With a still ailing Westbrook, the Redskins will rely on Davis and the ground game. Detroit will have some trouble stopping it.

3. Denver Broncos vs Kansas City -- Whether the QB is Miller, Brister, or Griese, the Denver ground game has held its own. The Chiefs don't play as well on the road and have actually been vulnerable against the run. Gary will have a good week.

4. Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona -- The Cardinals can not seem to stop a quality running back. Staley is certainly in that category.

5. Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Minnesota -- Do you think that Tony Dungy will try to ease the pressure on King and rely on his ground game? I'm sure that the Vikings know that as well, but they still won't be able to stop Alstott (with a little bit of Dunn).

6. Jacksonville Jaguars vs Pittsburgh -- Don't look for Taylor to see action in this Thursday night affair. Expect James Stewart to find lots of room against a shockingly weak Steelers run defense.

7. San Francisco 49ers at Cincinnati -- The Bengals are not very good at stopping the run (although they have moved to more of a 4-3 defense in an effort to better defend opposing backs). Charlie Garner is the lone bright spot in the 49ers offense (he's that dim, fading speck that you can barely see).

8. Cincinnati Bengals vs San Francisco -- Corey Dillon owners are elated to see the 49ers come to town. The Bengals will not get behind early this week, so Dillon will stay in the game plan.

9. Arizona Cardinals vs Philadelphia -- The Eagles are fresh off allowing the Colts to rush for 200 yards. That's pathetic. If Pittman returns, expect a big day from him. If he doesn't, think about Mario Bates.

10. San Diego Chargers vs Cleveland -- The Browns are terrible against the run. The Chargers can't run. Something has got to give here.

11. Pittsburgh Steelers at Jacksonville -- One gets the feeling that this game could be a low-scoring affair. If so, then Bettis will be a big factor.

12. Tennessee Titans at Baltimore -- The Ravens are excellent against the run, but there's just something about George this year.

13. Indianapolis Colts at Miami -- It sure is tough to put the Edge this low, but against the Dolphins AT Miami is a real tough matchup for anybody.

14. Dallas Cowboys at New England -- Not only is James at #13, but Emmitt is sitting at #14. What's up with this list? I just don't like the Cowboys on the road.

15. Detroit Lions vs Washington -- Normally, the Redskins defense will allow a lot on the ground. However, betting on the Lions running game hasn't been a good play. Expect a better than average performance from Hill and Irvin.

16. New York Jets at NY Giants -- Curtis Martin seems to be able to roll up the yardage against anyone. Don't expect too many TDs though.

17. Oakland Raiders vs Seattle -- At one time, the Raiders were an awesome running team. However, they've had exactly one TD in their last four games. That's not good at all.

18. Seattle Seahawks at Oakland -- Seattle is not a running team. Oakland is good against the run.

19. Carolina Panthers vs St. Louis -- If the Rams get out to an early lead (boy, what are the chances of that?), then the Panthers will be forced to the air.

20. Baltimore Ravens vs Tennessee -- The Ravens ground game has disappeared over the last three weeks (one TD in that span). Meanwhile, the Titans have allowed only one rushing TD in their last four games.

21. Kansas City Chiefs at Denver -- The Broncos haven't allowed a rushing TD in the last five weeks. Meanwhile, the RB by committee approach in Kansas City is losing its effectiveness.

22. New Orleans Saints at Atlanta -- Without Ricky Williams, the Saints really have no running game. Williams may not play again this week.

23. Green Bay Packers at Chicago -- What's going on with Dorsey Levens? The Bears are actually very good against the run.

24. Chicago Bears vs Green Bay -- Enis hasn't exactly been setting the world on fire lately.

26. New York Giants vs NY Jets -- Name three healthy Giants RBs. Note: Charles Way is on IR now. That makes it tough doesn't it?

27. Atlanta Falcons vs New Orleans Saints -- Does anyone have Ken Oxendine on their fantasy roster?

28. Miami Dolphins vs Indianapolis -- The Miami ground game has been pretty bad. One TD in the last four games just doesn't seem like a Jimmy Johnson team.

29. Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Bay -- Minnesota scored on the ground last week. That brings their four game total to, hmmm, let's see....ONE rushing TD. That's not a good matchup against the stellar ground defense of Tampa Bay. Besides, it doesn't take a mental heavyweight to realize that the Vikings are a passing team.

30. New England Patriots vs Dallas -- At times, Dallas is absolutely awesome against the run. At times, New England couldn't run down a waterfall.

1. St. Louis Rams at Carolina -- Who else but Kurt Warner should top the passing list? He'll be here next week as well.

2. Atlanta Falcons vs New Orleans -- So I'm a week late on Chandler. I still love this matchup.

3. Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Bay -- The Buccaneers are an amazing defense, but they seem prone to bad moments. There will be a few bad moments this week as George goes to Carter and Moss.

4. Carolina Panthers vs St. Louis -- The Panthers will be behind quick, so look for Beuerlein to have to air it out just to stay close. Great news in fantasy football.

5. Cleveland Browns at San Diego -- Look out for Tim Couch. If he's not throwing a pair of TDs in a game, he's running for scores. Will he be the 2000 version of Manning? While that's still very much in doubt, there is little question that he'll have a good week against the deflated Chargers.

6. Green Bay Packers at Chicago -- Favre looks to be recovering fairly well from the thumb. Still, shouldn't he have thrown more than two TDs against the 49ers?

7. Arizona Cardinals vs Philadelphia -- Yep, the Cardinals passing game is sitting at #7. Jake Plummer will be a hot fantasy QB for the rest of the season. This week he'll torch the Eagles.

8. Detroit Lions vs Washington -- The Redskins are still horrible on defense. Frerotte or Batch (be sure which one starts this week) will have a good outing.

9. Oakland Raiders vs Seattle -- While a great fantasy defense, the Seahawks do give up a ton of yardage. Expect Gannon to have a very good week.

10. Baltimore Ravens vs Tennessee -- Tony Banks has four TDs in his last two games. The Titans defense isn't that good statistically. Isn't fantasy football based upon statistics?

11. Indianapolis Colts at Miami -- This is very low for Manning. However, some strange things have happened to some very good QBs while playing at Miami. Use a ton of caution this week.

12. Cincinnati Bengals vs San Francisco -- Did you ever thing the Bengals QB would be a better option than the 49ers QB? Jeff Blake will be a good option for many fantasy teams this week.

13. Denver Broncos vs Kansas City -- Brian Griese will get the start and do quite well. Remember, the Chiefs usually don't play too well on the road.

14. Kansas City Chiefs at Denver -- Grbac hasn't done much lately, but the Broncos have allowed two TDs in each of the last four weeks.

15. New England Patriots vs Dallas -- Bledsoe is slumping something awful. Think we might see Deion score this week?

16. Washington Redskins at Detroit -- Have the wheels come off this offensive machine or what? Johnson has exactly four TDs in the last four games. The Lions are good on defense.

17. Jacksonville Jaguars vs Pittsburgh -- I like the idea of Coughlin opening up the offense, but the Steelers defense is still one of the best against the pass. Brunell will struggle with consistency this week.

18. Seattle Seahawks at Oakland -- At least Kitna wasn't on national television when he threw his five picks. Part of me thinks that Holmgren will have the young QB bounce back well. The other part of me knows that Oakland has allowed two passing TDs in their last four games.

19. Chicago Bears vs Green Bay -- It seems like the Jim Miller magic has waned just a tad. The Packers are looking like that just might belong in the playoffs.

20. Dallas Cowboys at New England -- There's just something not right with the Cowboys on the road. Aikman might not see 150 passing yards.

21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs Minnesota -- I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd sure feel better with Trent Dilfer playing. Yikes! What a statement. The Vikings are not a quality defense, but the rookie King is basically an unknown quantity.

22. San Diego Chargers vs Cleveland -- I realize that Harbaugh just threw for 400+ yards, but do you want to bet on that happening again? The Browns are pretty good against the pass.

23. New Orleans Saints at Atlanta -- It looks like Billy Joe the 1st will be back at QB. Expect the Falcons to bounce back from that Sunday Night showing with a stellar defensive effort.

24. New York Giants vs NY Jets -- In deciding between Collins and Lucas, the coin came up heads.

25. New York Jets at NY Giants -- Ray Lucas had one good game. That's probably one more than he'll have the rest of the season.

26. Miami Dolphins vs Indianapolis -- To say the Dolphins offense is struggling is like saying five INTs is a bad day at the office. My goodness...FIVE picks on Turkey Day. WOW!

27. Pittsburgh Steelers at Jacksonville -- I like Tomczak a lot more than Stewart, but playing against the Jaguars secondary AT Jacksonville is no picnic.

28. Tennessee Titans at Baltimore -- Throw out the rushing TDs and McNair is a horrible QB. The Ravens could stop the Titans to all FGs.

29. Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona -- Expect the return of Jake Plummer to invigorate this Cardinals team. Besides, McNabb isn't a passing threat just yet.

30. San Francisco 49ers at Cincinnati -- I never thought I'd say it, but the 49ers are easily the worst offense in the NFL.

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