Pro Football 101

Last week was a close call for our suicide pool pick. Thanks mostly to Favre’s horrendous play, the New York Jets, a 14-point favorite at home, needed a late game TD to pull out the 28-24 victory over the lowly Chiefs. For all of you still left in a suicide pool, please re-consider choosing Favre’s Jets for the foreseeable future unless you’ve got low blood pressure or a stomach to handle these things.

For week 9 of the suicide pool, we’re picking the Chicago Bears. They’re at home, coming off a bye-week, and playing a winless Lions’ team that hasn’t fared too well in the Windy City of late.

Here’s how we see this football game playing out. The only real threat that Detroit has on offense is Calvin Johnson, who is proving to be a beast at the receiver position. Aside from that, there’s not much to write about here. Defensively, we see Chicago doubling him (Johnson) for the majority of the afternoon and using its front seven to take away the running game and go after the QB. This should result in multiple turnovers and the opportunity for Chicago to take one back to the house for a TD. Offensively, the Bears will feature its running game (RB Matt Forte) in the early going and use this to set-up its passing game, which should have a field day vs. a poor Lions’ secondary. Look for Chicago to win this football game by at least 10 points – somewhere in the neighborhood of 28-14 or 31-17 – and that’s why they’re our suicide pool pick for Week 9.

Previous Suicide Picks:

Week 8: New York Jets

Week 7: Houston Texans

Week 6: Philadelphia Eagles

Week 5: Carolina Panthers

Week 4: Buffalo Bills

Last week, we had a tough one. 0 for 3 vs. the spread after going 3 for 3 the week before, but we did hit the money line. The Saints (+150) beat San Diego 37-32 in a game that featured a whole lot of offense and no defense. For this week, here’s who we at Pro Football 101 like:

Best Bets:

Indianapolis Colts (-6) vs. New England Patriots. News just came across the wire that both S Bob Sanders and RB Joseph Addai could be back for this showdown, and if that’s the case, game over. The Patriots have rattled off two consecutive wins, but those were at home and not on the road, and in their last venture away from Gillette Stadium they were trounced 30-10 by San Diego. Look for Peyton Manning to air it out in this game and the defense, which played relatively well Monday Night in Tennessee, to get an added boost from Sanders return and make life miserable for Matt Cassel and Co. The Colts are our best bet to win big this week.

Next in Line:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-8.5) vs. Kansas City Chiefs. In the Chiefs last game vs. a top ranked team, they were destroyed by the Titans 30-10, and this week they get the 2nd place Buccaneers in Arrowhead. In year’s past, we wouldn’t have touched this game as the Chiefs always came to play in their own backyard, but this year is different. In this football game, look for Tampa Bay to run early and often, and then target its outside play makers – WR Galloway and WR Bryant – for big plays in the passing game, while on defense, to take away the running game early in order to force back-up QB Tyler Thigpen into a number of mistakes. We could see this one ending in the vicinity of 24-10 or 27-7. One of the stronger bets.

New York Giants (-9.5) vs. Dallas Cowboys. If Tony Romo were playing, a) the spread wouldn’t be so large and b) we probably wouldn’t take the Giants if they were giving more than 3.5 points. Neither of those scenarios are the case this week however. The Cowboys come into this football game playing with its back-up QB Brad Johnson, with a depleted secondary, and having only scored 14 and 13 points respectively in each of the past two weeks. As for the Giants, they’re coming off an impressive road win over the Steelers and not much is needed to get them up for a game vs. the hated rival Dallas Cowboys. Offensively, look for the Giants to pound the ball early and then open it up with Eli Manning and the passing game, while on defense, look for the G Men to play a more aggressive style because they know Johnson doesn’t have the arm to beat them deep anymore. The Giants will win this game by 10 or more.

Money Line:

Green Bay Packers (+200) vs. Tennessee Titans. The 7-0 Titans are going to lose sometime this season, so why not this week? The Packers come into this game off their bye week and on a two-game winning streak. The Titans, while undefeated, weren’t exactly world beaters in their victory over Indianapolis on Monday Night. Defensively, look for the Packers to bring 8 men in the box to take away the Titans’ running game and allow their corners to play man-to-man coverage against a not-so-imposing Tennessee pass offense. And offensively, while we don’t see RB Ryan Grant having a huge game against a very good Titans’ run D, we do see QB Rodgers enjoying success through the air to WR’s Jennings and Driver. In what will be a close football game, we like the Green Bay Packers to pull off the upset 20-17, in what is our best money line bet of the week.

Must Starts:

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Kansas City Chiefs. Trust me, the Chiefs effort last week in New York was more a byproduct of the Jets horrific defensive play rather than a young team turning the corner (offensively). By all accounts, playing with Tyler Thigpen as your starting QB and Kobi Smith as your starting RB will lead to a lot of low scoring games, and we see another one this week. Look for Tampa to take away the running game early and then focus on pressuring Thigpen. They know that when under pressure, the young QB will turn the ball over and CB Ronde Barber and Co. will be ready for it. A top fantasy play this week.

2. New York Giants vs. Dallas Cowboys. If Romo were playing, this wouldn’t be such a safe pick, but as things stand now, the Giants are looking mighty tasty with QB Brad Johnson lining up behind center. The 40-year old is playing as if he’s 75, and that doesn’t bode well when facing a ferocious defense – it’s D-Line in particular - in their home park. We see the Giants getting up by at least 10 points in the 1st half and once they get a lead, they know what to do, as evidenced by their league leading 26 sacks. Look for a big fantasy effort by New York in this marquee football match-up at the Meadowlands.

3. Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Cincinnati Bengals. We can all agree that the 3-4 Jags have been a major disappointment this season – both fantasy wise and in general. But don’t worry, help is on the way. This week, Jacksonville tackles the lifeless Bengals, who are sitting at 0-8 and striving for eight more losses. With Fitzpatrick playing QB for Cincy, look for D Coordinator Williams to send pressure and force him into multiple turnovers and sacks.

4. Buffalo Bills vs. New York Jets. The Bills are a completely different team when playing in Orchard Park. This year, they’re undefeated at home while their only two losses have come on the road. Look for Favre, and his league leading 11 INTs, to turn the ball over a couple of times in this game as he tries to force balls into places he shouldn’t. Additionally, the Bills should also be able to get a lot of pressure on #4 and rack up the sacks as he prolongs plays looking for his receivers to get open. A double digit fantasy scoring day by Buffalo is a safe bet.

Sleepers:

1. Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Washington Redskins. The Steelers come off a hard fought loss to the New York Giants last Sunday and head on the road to face the Redskins this week. If there’s always once constant for the Steelers, it’s the defense. This week, we like the Steelers top ranked rushing defense to take Portis out of the plan, and if this happens, we see Campbell being forced into turnovers against Lebeau’s pressure packed defense. They’ll also rack up a few sacks in the process. The top fantasy sleeper pick.

2. Philadelphia Eagles vs. Seattle Seahawks. The Eagles bring their blitz happy defense to Seattle this weekend and get to face a team playing with its back-up QB (Seneca Wallace). With the exception of last week, the Seahawks have been horrible this year and we see that trend continuing this Sunday. In a game that the Eagles should be able to jump out to a nice lead, look for DE Cole and Co. to make Wallace’s life miserable and force the QB into a few ill advised throws that result in interceptions. They should also be able to get a minimum of 3 sacks, resulting in at least 10 fantasy points.

Must Starts:

1. Dallas Clark vs. New England. The Colts’ TE got “off the schneid” this past Monday with 2 TDs vs. the Titans. It’s hard to believe that it took the TE until week 8 of the NFL season to notch his first score. This week, against the hated Patriots, we see Clark adding to that total in what could be an aerial show by the Colts’ offense. Without S Rodney Harrison to man the middle, look for Clark to slip down the seam and notch 75+ receiving yards and one, maybe two scores.

2. Tony Scheffler vs. Miami. Scheffler has been out for the past two games but thanks to the bye week, finally looks ready to retake the field. Against Miami’s defense, he should find a lot of open room down the middle of the football field where Cutler will look to hit his TE. Prior to the injury, he was Cutler’s 2nd favorite target and in this game, look for him to be thrown to between 6 to 8 times. 75 yards and a score.

3. Kellen Winslow vs. Baltimore. After being benched by the organization last week, look for Winslow to come back this week with a strong effort vs. the Baltimore Ravens. In the past four games, the Browns have begun to find their rhythm and are 3-1. We really like Winslow this week because of the mismatch he presents to Ravens’ LB’ers so look for him to break the 70-yard plateau and score a TD.

4. Kevin Boss vs. Dallas. For the 1st time this season, the Giants appeared to make a concerted effort to involve the TE more in the game plan. The result: 4 catches and a TD. Due to the respect that the other Giants’ receivers command, Boss always finds himself in one-on-one situations and we think his being one of the focal points of the passing attack will continue this week when the Cowboys come to town. 50-yards and a goal line score.

Sleepers:

1. Greg Olsen vs. Detroit. The last time these two played, the Bears annihilated the Lions 34-7 up in Detroit. In that contest, Olsen had a very nice fantasy stat line (3 catches for 87 yards). Look for him to be able once again to exploit the center of the field and when they line him up wide, to present mismatches for the safety the Lions assign to cover him. 50+ yards and 1TD.

2. Heath Miller vs. Washington. The Redskins have a very strong defense and are usually able to lock down opposing teams’ receivers because of their strong corner play. They also like to keep S Laron Landry about 20 yards deep to prevent the big play. That’s why we like TE Heath Miller in this football game. With so much energy being expended to take away Pittsburgh’s strong running game and outside passing attack (Ward and Holmes), we think Miller has a great shot to catch a lot of passes over the middle and once they get down to the red zone, be on the receiving end of a play action pass to the end zone. 50+ yards and 1TD.

Must Starts:

1. Reggie Wayne vs. New England. It’s been a tough couple of weeks for Wayne (and the rest of Indy’s receivers for the most part) but we like #87 to bounce back big time in their Sunday Night showdown with New England. This is the 1st time in about five years that the game isn’t for top billing in the conference. The Pats come to town with all sorts of injuries – especially in the secondary. We like the Colts to get back to what they do best – quick scores through the air – and we see Wayne putting up monster numbers fantasy wise. 100+ yards and 2 TDs.

2. Anquan Boldin/Larry Fitzgerald vs. St. Louis. It’s really a toss-up here for which receiver will put on a dominant performance this Sunday vs. the Rams. Heck, it could be both. Edgerrin James and the running game has not been much of a factor of late so the Cards have been forced to move the chains through the air. Look for both of these receivers to put up at least one score (in what we think will be a high scoring football game) and each break the 75-yard plateau.

3. Plaxico Burress vs. Dallas. This guy has been difficult to endorse of late but it appears that he’s finally ready to move past his childish behavior and get back to playing some football. The media has been all over him; even the original LT, the great Giants LB, came out yesterday and said no one is above the team in a Daily News article. If this message has reached the star receiver, then look for him to come back in a big way vs. the Cowboys and their depleted secondary. It’s true Dallas manned up last Sunday and played a solid game vs. Tampa, but it’s really not hard to do when the opposing team (Tampa) chooses to dink and dunk all day and never take a shot down the field. Against the Giants they won’t be so fortunate. Look for NY to once again establish its running game from the get go and then call Burress’ number early and often. 90 + yards and 1TD.

4. Andre Johnson vs. Minnesota. For as well as Johnson has been playing of late, it’s impossible to keep him off a must start list. He’s put up over 100 yards in four consecutive games and taken a few of those passes into the end zone. If he were a RB, we’d suggest sitting him against this tough Minnesota defense, but since he’s a receiver, he’s a top option. Pass defense is one area that this team struggles and we like #80 to put up another strong day fantasy wise with 100+ yards and 1TD.

Sleepers:

1. Donnie Avery vs. Arizona. This kid from St. Louis, the top receiver (2nd rd) taken in the 2008 NFL draft, has come on with a vengeance of late. And in the past two games, he’s torched both the Cowboys and Patriots to the tune of 218 combined yards and 2 TDs – both over 40 yards. This week, we see him continuing that trend vs. the Arizona Cardinals. One thing he has, which is difficult to defend, is world class speed, so once Bulger gets the ball to him deep, he’s gone. Look for him to break the century mark this Sunday and possibly grab one long TD.

2. Brandon Marshall vs. Miami. The Dolphins have a very strong defense against the run but are susceptible vs. the pass. This plays right into Denver’s hands as they are good in the passing dept but not so much in the running game. With TE Tony Scheffler back this weekend, it means teams won’t be able to cheat their safety over to help out vs. Marshall and that’s why we see him getting back to putting up solid fantasy numbers this Sunday. 100 yards and one, maybe two scores.

Must Starts:

1. Brian Westbrook vs. Seattle. After dealing with a multitude of injuries this season, Westbrook came back last week to post big-time numbers (22 carries for 167 and 2TDs) vs. the Atlanta Falcons. He also added another 42 receiving yards to cap off a day many fantasy owners have been waiting for this season. In this game, the Eagles head out to Seattle to face 2-5 Seahawks. This has all the makings of a dominant effort from Westbrook. The Seahawks have been destroyed on the ground all season and might be forced to play without stud LB Tatupu in this contest. Look for Westbrook to once again be the focal point of this Eagles’ attack and post similar numbers: over 100 yards and 2TDs.

2. Adrian Peterson vs. Houston. AP finally put up an effort vs. Chicago two weeks ago that was reminiscent of what we saw from him time and time again in 2007. He broke the century mark and had a TD of 50 + yards. In this game, the Texans are vulnerable on the ground and we look for Minnesota to take advantage of this weakness. Provided the contest is close, we see Childress relying heavily on the ground game and AP going for at least 100-yards with a score or two. And if Houston’s Safety begins to cheat up to help out vs. the run, watch for Peterson to get past the 1st level and take one 50+ yards to the house.

3. Steven Jackson vs. Arizona. This game is being played in St. Louis, on a fast track, and against a defense (Arizona) that isn’t particularly stout against the run. If Jackson returns, look for him to post another solid day on the ground as his line should provide lots of room for him to run behind. We also see Haslett making the running game a focal point of the Rams’ game plan because he realizes that the more time his offense spends on the field, the less time Warner and his collection of star receivers will be on it. Look for another solid fantasy effort from Jackson and he’ll get at least 100 yards and 2 TDs.

4. Ronnie Brown vs. Denver. One thing we know about this Broncos team is that its defense doesn’t stop anyone on the ground. In their Week 7 game at New England, RB Sammy Morris had eclipsed the 100-yard mark midway through the 2nd quarter. In this game, we see Miami trying to neutralize Denver’s strong passing attack by keeping the ball on the ground and feeding Brown and Williams. Brown is clearly the #1 back on this team and better of the two, so look for him to get a majority of the carries and in the process, reach the 90-yard mark with at least one score.

Sleepers:

1. Ernest Graham vs. Kansas City. Graham’s fantasy owners must be drooling as they see their back about to face the worst defense in the NFL. We like Graham’s chances to have a very strong game this Sunday because we see the Bucs offense controlling the ball for most of it. Defensively, Tampa will force a lot of three-and-outs which will put the ball back into the offense’s hands. And offensively, Gruden will look to wear down KC’s defense and Graham is the perfect back to do it. 100 yards and 1 TD.

2. Chris Johnson vs. Green Bay. This rookie is fast, and this rookie is good. He’s added a whole different dimension to the Titans’ offense and he’s a big reason why they’re 7-0. The Titans formula this year has been run, run, and run a little more, and we don’t see that changing in this game. Look for Johnson to have his number called at least 15 times and to eclipse the 75-yard mark with a shot at a TD vs. a GB defense that’s better vs the pass than the run.

Must Starts:

1. Peyton Manning vs. New England. Although the Colts were beaten on Monday night, you saw two signs that must be considered encouraging going forward: the offensive line was fully intact and Peyton was given time to throw the football. He wasn’t sacked once in the entire game. The result: a 3 TD performance against what might be the best defense in football. This week, the Patriots bring its shoddy pass defense to town. Playing against this decimated secondary, we like Manning to have a huge game – one of those from yesteryear – with 300 yards and 3 to 4 TDs.

2. Kurt Warner vs. St. Louis. The Cards head into St. Louis this Sunday and bring with it their top-flight passing game. Going against the 3rd rated team vs. the pass last week, Warner put up huge numbers (381 pass yards and 2 TDs) in their narrow defeat to the Panthers. With the return of Anquain Boldin, it gave him his full complement of receivers to work with thus making it even harder for opposing teams to defend the pass. Look for Warner to put up 250+ yards and 2 or 3 TDs against a very suspect Rams pass defense.

3. Marc Bulger vs. Arizona. Things got off to a very rough start for Bulger this year but have really picked up of late. With the insertion of rookie WR Donnie Avery into the lineup three games ago, it has elevated Bulger’s game because he now has the deep threat he’d been missing and another weapon opposite Tory Holt. In this game, the Cards are vulnerable to the pass. Jake Delhomme put up just under 250 yards and 2 scores last week and we envision similar results from Bulger in what should be a high scoring affair. Look for 200+ yards and a few scores.

4. David Garrard vs. Cincinnati. The Bengals have pretty much been the antidote all year for quarterbacks looking to get healthy (fantasy) stat wise. Last Sunday, against the Texans, the Bengals alllowed Matt Schaub to go 24 for 28 with 280 yards and 3 TDs. In this one, we see the Jags looking to establish the running game early, but since their offensive line has been decimated by injury, that hasn’t been something easy to come by. To pick up the slack, they’ll need Garrrard to step up in this football game and we see 200+ yards and at least 2 TDs.

Sleepers:

1. Matt Schaub vs. Minnesota. While the Vikings are almost impossible to run against, the same can’t be said about the pass. Two weeks ago vs. the Bears, in a game that was perceived as a defensive battle going into it, the (pass) defense was torched by QB Kyle Orton as the Vikes lost 48-41. In this match-up, we see Schaub continuing his hot hand and putting up solid numbers for the 3rd consecutive week. Look for he and WR Johnson to continue their fine season and the QB to get at least 250 yards with a score or two.

2. Jay Cutler vs. Miami. Two weeks after being humiliated on national TV, 41-7 to the Patriots, the Broncos are ready to get back to action vs. the Dolphins this Sunday in Denver. The Dolphins have been very good against the run this season but are vulnerable vs. the pass. Since we don’t expect Denver’s running game to be much of a factor, look for Cutler to get back to what he does best – airing it out – and for WR’s Marshall and Royal, and TE Scheffler, to be the recipients of a lot of passes. 225 yards and 2 TDs.

Absolutely. Well, almost absolutely. The Colts need to win this Monday night or its dominance of the division is all but over. For the last five years, the three other teams in the division (Jacksonville, Tennessee and Houston) all knew that their best shot at the playoffs was via the Wild Card. That’s because Indianapolis put a stranglehold on the division and was one of two or three elite teams in the NFL. Coming into this season, people still felt that that was the case. After seven weeks, it’s plain to all that it’s not.

Prior to the 2008 season, the only major news out of Indy was that Peyton Manning was forced to have a minor operation on his knee and would be held out of the pre-season while he recovered. Aside from that, everything seemed in place for another run. But during the last pre-season game, injuries began to take their toll, and when long time center Jeff Saturday went down with an injury, the offensive line began to look out of sorts.

People who don’t follow the game so closely would think that a team with offensive weapons such as Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison, Dallas Clark, and Joseph Addai would still be able to get the job done, but in football, that’s just not the case.

If a pass play calls for a ball to be thrown to a specific spot on a timing route, the line needs to give the QB time. Otherwise, the receiver won’t be where he needs to be (often resulting in an interception) and the QB won’t be able to execute the play which was designed on the clipboard. And for a passing game to be effective, which is something the Colts have excelled at for years, there needs to be a solid running game to complement it. When the line is consistently getting beaten off the ball as it has been this year for Indy, holes become smaller for shorter amounts of time and teams find themselves stuck in a lot of 2nd and 10 and 3rd and 9 plays which are very difficult to convert.

On the other side of the ball, a team needs its defense to make stops/plays in order to get the ball back into the hands of the offense. Unfortunately for Indy, and this has been alluded to before, the loss of star S Bob Sanders has been catastrophic to the unit. He’s the wild card. The Colts love to move him around as he’s equally adept at stopping the run as he is playing in pass coverage. Now, without his presence in the middle of the field, teams pretty much run at will on the Colts and this leaves Manning and his play makers on the sidelines for long periods of time. The problem with this scenario is when the offense does get on the field, often times they’re cold and out of rhythm after sitting for so long.

So as the Colts head into this Monday Night showdown against the 6-0 Titans, they’ve gotten a little healthier, minus S Bob Sanders and possibly RB Joseph Addai for tonight, but this game has extra importance for them. Maybe not to their overall playoff cause – this is the most open year in nearly a decade in the AFC – but definitely to their division cause. And that’s why I think Indy will play with an added sense of urgency because falling four and a half games back at the half way point will be a nearly insurmountable lead to overcome.

Anyone still calling this New York Giants team a fluke? I hope not. It wasn’t easy for the champs, in fact, it was one of the most physical NFL games to this point, but the Giants overcame a 14-9 deficit to score 12 unanswered points in the 4th quarter to steal the 21-14 victory in Pittsburgh. They turned things up so much in that 4th quarter that they limited Big Ben and his offense to just two yards. That’s not a typo. You can tell a lot about a team by how well they respond to adversity and this Giants’ team, dating back to last year, has come up its biggest in pressure situations. While the game wasn’t pretty from an offensive standpoint, Eli Manning made two huge throws late in the 4th quarter – a 30-yard pass to Toomer on 4th and 7 from the 37 and then on the go ahead TD drive, a 25-yard pass to Smith on 3rd and 7 – and he, along with the defense, helped move the Giants to 6-1.

The Cowboys saved their season… well at least for the time being with a 13-9 victory over Tampa Bay at home. All things considered, it was a pretty impressive effort for Wade Phillips and Co. because the team had to overcome the anemic play of QB Brad Johnson. Defensively, perhaps Phillips calling the plays did have an effect because this unit looked nothing like what we’ve seen over the past few weeks. With the win they moved to 5-3 and now head to New York for a critical mid-season match-up with the Giants.

Mike Singletary got off to a rough start in his coaching debut. The 1-5 Seahawks came into San Francisco and rolled the Niners 34-13. What’s more amazing than this outcome however, is it left Seattle just two games out in the NFC West. Unbelievable what parity has done to this league. One positive for the Niners however was Singletary’s handling of TE Vernon Davis. After Davis made a short catch late in the game, he hit S Brian Russell in face and was flagged for a personal foul. Singletary had some choice words for his TE when he came off the field and after a short discussion, sent him to the showers midway through the 4th quarter. I’m not sure what Singletary’s fate will be at the end of the season, but you can bet that the culture is going to change up there with his no- nonsense approach.

Switching to AFC, the San Diego Chargers dug an even deeper hole for themselves with a 37-32 loss to the Saints in England. Luckily for them, they’re in a similar situation to the Seahawks. With this defeat, the Chargers fell to 3-5 yet only remain 1 1/2 games back of the Denver Broncos in the AFC West. And in case you didn’t catch Denver’s game last Monday, they were dismantled 41-7 by the Patriots. So it’s safe to say their lead isn’t insurmountable. As mentioned in an article earlier this week, we said San Diego needed to do two things to fix its season: get Tomlinson running the football consistently and begin to play pressure defense. Well they got one solved today. Tomlinson ran wild and ended up with 105 on the ground and another 65 and a score through the air. Unfortunately for the defense, they didn’t bring pressure and Brees ended up torching them. It’s about time the “fire Ted Cottrell” petitions get handed out in San Diego because a change is long overdue.

Bills’ fans can calm down a bit now. After jumping to a 4-0, and then 5-1 record, people were asking whether the Bills were now serious Super Bowl contenders in ESPN chatrooms. As we’ve said before, they have a nice little team in Buffalo that should make the playoffs, but legitimate Super Bowl contenders? no way. They were blown out in Arizona a few weeks ago and were beaten prettily handily (25-16) by Dolphins yesterday. Until a team can learn to win on the road, and do so consistently, all Playoff/Super Bowl talk is premature. Especially when the hated New England Patriots have managed to not only get back into the race, but tie themselves for the lead after its 23-16 win over St. Louis.

Lastly, the other team in the AFC East that received so much hoopla prior to the season, the New York Jets. They are bad, and so is Favre. They barely escaped Sunday with a 28-24 victory over to the lowly Kansas City Chiefs at home. In one afternoon, the defense managed to make 3rd-string QB Tyler Thigpen look like an All-Pro and the Chiefs defense look like a top-10 unit with three picks against old man Favre. I know everyone in New York was happy about the release of Chad Pennington in order to get him, but in case you didn’t notice, the Dolphins are now just one win behind the Jets and Pennington has led his team to victories over the Patriots, Chargers and Bills this year. Who have the Jets beaten? Nobody.

Don’t let anyone fool you; this is a huge football game today for the Dallas Cowboys. A team that was virtually given an uncontested walk into the Super Bowl by media and experts alike prior to the season is now on the verge of falling into last place in the NFC East.

Today’s game vs. Tampa Bay represents the 1st of three big tests for the Cowboys. After Tampa, they get the Giants in New York and the Redskins in Washington. There’s an outside chance they’ll have QB Tony Romo back for the Redskins game, which is after the bye, but realistically, this team is staring 4-6 right in the face. And if they do fall to two games under .500, things will get very ugly in down in Big D.

They’d be two games behind the Redskins (at the very least) with two head-to-head losses, and with its loss to NY, they’d fall even further behind the division leaders while Philly, sitting at 3-3, is now heading into its easy part of the schedule and has the ability to make some headway with Westbrook back in the fold.

Unfortunately for Jerry Jones, who recently mortgaged the near future to get WR Roy Williams in an attempt to solidify this team’s chances at a Super Bowl, things are looking very bleak… almost as bleak and the US economic situation. While the US is waiting for the bailout to take effect, everyone in Dallas is waiting for their own “bailout” to take effect in the form of Tony Romo returning.

When reports surface that he’s out until mid-November minimum, we don’t think they’re false. If they rush Romo back, they risk losing their star QB for the rest of the season if he damages that pinkie further, so it’s better to take their chances for at least the next two games to see what transpires before calling #9’s number. If the team does end up 4-5, they’ll have no choice but to expedite Romo’s return to try and salvage the season.

So as the Cowboys head into Sunday’s game, don’t look at this match-up as just another game at the midpoint of the season, which oh by the way is vs. a very tough, disciplined team. For Dallas, it’s virtually a do or die situation because if they lose, which we think will happen, they’ll sit at 4-4 with two scary match-ups on the horizon. And should they lose both of those games to fall to 4-6, they’ll put themselves in a near impossible position of trying to overcome a huge deficit to earn a post season berth.

That’s why today’s game is big. Much bigger than for most at this junction in the season.