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First & Ten

BJ VanderWoude

First and Ten:

 

Top Ten Things to Watch for in Week 11...

 

Brees Falling Behind

 

The Saints are 9-0 and Drew Brees is doing his job masterfully...yet from a fantasy perspective, he is lacking lately.  Since Week 3, Brees has 10 TD's and 7 INT's in 7 games...not exactly on the same level as Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or Aaron Rodgers. Brees was getting a lot of love as a high end QB, but he will have to pick up his TD's and cut down on INT's if he wants to remain an elite QB in fantasy circles.

 

2005 Draft Day Debacle

 

For the first time in their respective careers, Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers will meet on the field Sunday, with both as the starting QB's for their teams.   To say SF made a mistake taking Alex Smith would be a severe understatement, as Rodgers has morphed into one of the best young QB's in the league, while Smith had to battle injuries and performance issues just to get his job back...and he is still not safe.  This game is a must-win for both teams, so this one should be interesting.

 

Atlanta Vs NYG

 

The Giants are coming off a much needed bye week, after being losers of four straight games and having both their offense and defense in shambles.  Atlanta will be without Michael Turner, which should be a big blow to them, as he is what really makes their offense go.  Expect this one to come down to a field goal at the end.

 

Roethlisberger in for Big Day

 

The Pittsburgh Defense is starting to ramp up again, and with their offense firing on all cylinders, expect Roethlisberger to have plenty of opportunities against a weak KC defense.  Not helping matters is the fact that KC will be without Dwayne Bowe and will be starting Jamaal Charles and Kolby Smith at RB.  This should be ugly right from the start.

 

Forsett For Real?

 

Justin Forsett came into the league with the expectation from coaches being that he would be a pretty good special teams player and maybe a 3^rd down back.  Forsett has really impressed Seattle coaches though, playing much bigger than his 5-8, 190 lb stature would indicate and giving them a viable option after Julius Jones's injury.  Forsett is a very good at getting to the edge, and will continue to rack up catches as long as he is the starter.  He will be in for a tough test this weekend though against a staunch Minny defense and owner should get an idea of what to expect going forward.

 

Sleeper Alert

 

St. Louis has run through WR's like they are going out of style, so their newest starter Brandon Gibson, is getting very little attention.  What you need to know is that St.Louis traded for him from the Eagles, and after having less than a week of practice with his new squad, Gibson came out and put up very good numbers (7 catches, 93  yards).  He has earned the praise of Marc Bulger and gives the Rams a physical WR to match up with mighty might Donnie Avery on the other side.  Keep an eye on Gibson going forward, as he could provide owners with a spark coming down the stretch run.

 

San Diego Vs. Denver

 

After already dropping one game to Denver earlier this season, this is as big of a game as San Diego will play the rest of the season.  The Chargers must win this game to keep pace with Denver in the division, especially considering the AFC will probably have a 10-6 team get into the playoffs as a Wild Card. 

 

NYJ Vs. New England

 

Another awesome divisional game, with the Jets already coming out on top of the Pats once this season.  Couple that with the fact that NE lost a complete heart breaker to Indy last week and it seems as though we might get a glimpse of the ;F-U" Pats team of 2007.  Bill Bellicheck will stop at nothing, so expect Brady, Welker and Moss to all have MONSTER games.   The Jets will have to run the ball 40 times to have a chance in this game.

 

Steve Smith Starting to Rebound

 

While Carolina completely blew the game last night by abandoning the running game early, it was an encouraging sign to see Steve Smith getting his normal looks in the passing game.  Jake Delhomme was playing as bad anyone in the league at one point, but has since settled down enough to at least give Smith somewhat of his value back.  Smith has scored four TD's in his last four games and recorded 7 catches (his highest since week 2) last night.

 

To the Bench

 

JaMarcus Russell has easily played the worst of any starting QB this season ( Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson are tied for 2^nd), and his terrible play has finally caught up with him.  Even Al Davis is off his bandwagon, a scary thought when you think about it.  Trent Edwards has similarly lost the confidence of his team, and with a new head coach, Ryan Fitzpatrick is the new leader on Sundays.  Oakland doesn't have much talent on the outside so I don't think their stats will get much better, however with Terrell Owens and Lee Evans, Fitzpatrick actually has a chance to make these guys fantasy relevant again.