This is a tough week to call. Note for all you fantasy players out there: this is the first week teams will have a bye, so make sure you check your lineup and adjust accordingly. Also, warning: Willie Parker and Brian Westbrook are not likely to play due to injury.
- Falcons at Panthers*
- Browns* at Bengals - battle to see which Ohio team sucks more. I think Derek Anderson will step up his game and save his job by leading the Browns to victory. If not, get ready to see Brady Quinn as early as the 3rd quarter.
- Texans at Jaguars* - paging Sage Rosenfels...
- Broncos* at Chiefs - start every player you can from the Broncos. I'm pretty sure even the water boy might even catch a TD in this game for the high scorin' Broncos.
- 49ers at Saints*
- Cardinals at Jets*
- Packers* at Bucs
- Vikings at Titans* - the red hot "en fuego" defense of the Titans will have their hands full with Adrian Peterson, but sport a pretty nasty run game of their own on offense (with a more capable passing game as well)
- Chargers* at Raiders
- Bills* at Rams
- Redskins at Cowboys*
- Eagles* at Bears - the Eagles must protect Donovan, who is recovering from a nasty chest injury that has held him out of practice this week, or the Bears will steal this one
- Ravens at Steelers* - ditto for the Steelers, who can't let Big Ben take another beating like last week
Value of a 2nd Round Pick
Earlier in the pre-season, there were several high profile trades, all of them involving a 2nd round draft pick in 2009. Here's a breakdown of the major transactions:
- Jeremy Shockey to the Saints in exchange for a 2nd and 5th round pick in 2009.
- Brett Favre to the Jets in exchange for a 2009 draft pick. It's looking like the Jets will lose a 3rd round pick at the moment, but it could go up to a 2nd round pick, if the Jets squeak into the playoffs.
- Jason Taylor to the Redskins in exchange for a 2nd round pick in 2009 and a 6th round pick in 2010.
So you better be sure you're getting a great deal, player-wise, if you're going to give up that pick. The jury's still out, but since Taylor joined the Redskins, he's already been injured twice and won't be playing in the very important match against Dallas on Sunday, and at best they'll probably only get 1-2 seasons out of him. Shockey was shaky for the Saints and is now out for at least 4-6 weeks. And Favre is obviously struggling to produce in this new offense - by the time he masters it, they may only get 1-2 seasons out of him.
We'll see how the rest of the season goes, but right now it's looking like the teams that are receiving those 2nd round picks are going to have the last laugh.
Attention Al Davis...
It's a shame what Al Davis has done to the Raiders franchise in the last decade. It's a shame what he's doing to poor Lane Kiffin, who mistakenly thought that he'd get a fair shake as head coach, when he took the job that no one else wanted. Al, if you really don't like Lane Kiffin, that's fine. I mean, the Raiders improved under his watch and all, but if you want to undo all that progress, that's your perogative. But don't hamstring your team by creating a situation where you make their lives miserable because you're trying to make things SO uncomfortable for Kiffin that he'll quit, just so you don't have to pay him the rest of the 4 million you owe him. That's peanuts to someone like you, we all know that, and it just makes you look petty and shortsighted. Give the man his money and his walking papers, and attempt to let your team salvage an already terrible season with a head coach they know will make it through the season with them.
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