Pro Football 101

Must Starts

1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Detroit Lions

The Lions are making this pretty easy for us. Sitting at 0-10, whichever team is set to play them will be eligible for top fantasy billing. Look for Monte Kiffin (Bucs’ defensive coordinator) to go after Culpepper in this one and use his front seven to contain Kevin Smith and the running game. We see the Bucs forcing a few turnovers in this game and possibly taking one back to the house.

2. Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengals are already playing this football game without Carson Palmer, and today came news that they’d also be without star malcontent Chad Ocho Cinco. With only Houshmandzadeh to worry about, we think the Steelers will dial up a lot of blitzes and make life terrible for Fitzpatrick and Co.

3. Chicago Bears vs. St. Louis Rams

The Bears were horrible last week, but the Rams have been scraping the bottom of the barrel for some time now. They’ve scored three and nine points respectively in their last two games—and it wasn’t against particularly good teams either in the Jets and 49ers.

Look for the Bears to get after Bulger. Without having to worry about RB Jackson, we see Chicago having a big (fantasy) performance on Sunday.

4. Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers

Ever since Wade Phillips assumed defensive play calling duties, the Cowboys have responded outside of the shellacking the Giants gave them in the Meadowlands. Look for Dallas to contain RB Gore and then send DeMarcus Ware and Co. after Hill, forcing him into sacks and a few turnovers.

Sleepers

1. Denver Broncos vs. Oakland Raiders

The Broncos haven’t been particularly good on defense this season, but Oakland can make stars out of anybody. Playing in such disarray as Oakland is right now, look for Denver to have a big game defensively and force Russell into a few big mistakes.

2. Washington Redskins vs. Seattle Seahawks

Even with the return of Hasselbeck, the Seahawks were careless with the ball. Look for Washington to bring a lot of pressure at Hasselbeck and allow their quality corners to lock down Seattle’s receivers one on one. This should lead to sacks and interceptions.

Others with favorable matchups

1. Baltimore Ravens vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The McNabb/Reid combo is mired in a slump, and playing in Baltimore is not an easy thing to do. Look for Lewis and Co. to take Westbrook out of the game plan and force McNabb to beat them. The result is he won’t.

2. Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills

Trent Edwards has been playing Santa Claus of late: He’s been giving the ball (and game) away a lot over the past four. Playing in Arrowhead is never an easy proposition, so look for the young Chiefs to play a strong game and keep the turnovers coming.

3. Carolina Panthers vs. Atlanta Falcons

This pick isn’t as good as it looked the last time these teams played. Ryan is very efficient at home and is playing with a great deal of confidence. That being said, Carolina smells blood in the division, and we see Peppers and Co. creating some havoc down in Atlanta this Sunday.

Must Starts

1. Dallas Clark vs. San Diego Chargers. The Chargers’ D has a lot of holes in its secondary and Indy does a great job of allowing Clark to work the seam; the result should be Manning able to exploit that weakness.

In a game that we see San Diego offering little in the way of resistance to Indy’s offensive attack, look for Clark to be one of Peyton’s primary targets. Top fantasy billing: 75 yards and one TD.

2. Chris Cooley vs. Seattle Seahawks. When teams usually find themselves struggling as the Redskins are, the easiest way to rectify the situation is to simplify the offensive game plan. Look for Zorn to dial up a lot of short to medium passes to Cooley over the middle and for No. 47 to enjoy lots of success against a very suspect Seahawks’ secondary.

3. Jason Witten vs. San Francisco 49ers. Witten and Romo have got to be licking their chops about this match-up. Witten once again became a focal point of the Cowboys offense when Romo got back into the lineup, and against a porous 49ers’ pass D, look for that duo to once again come up big. 75 yards and one TD.

4. Tony Scheffler vs. Oakland Raiders. It’s no coincidence to Pro Football 101 that Scheffler’s return to the lineup has coincided with Cutler’s improved play. And in this game, against a demoralized group of Raiders, look for Scheffler to once again be on the receiving end of a lot of passes and finish with at least 75 yards and one TD.

Sleepers

1. Dustin Keller vs. Tennessee Titans. The Jets’ first-round draft choice has finally emerged as a playmaker for the offense, reeling in close to 200 yards total in their past two games. Versus a very stingy Titans’ defense this week, look for Favre to take advantage of the middle of the field and locate his young TE early and often. 60 yards and one TD.

2. Anthony Fasano vs. New England Patriots. In the last match-up between these teams, it was the Ronnie Brown show as the RB scored five total TDs. Look for Belichick to take No. 23 out of the offensive game plan which should open up opportunities for Pennington and his TE. We like Fasano to get a score in this contest.

Others with favorable matchups

1. Kevin Boss vs. Arizona Cardinals. Boss wasn’t asked to do much last week as the Giants ran all over the vaunted Ravens’ defense but this week has the potential of a shootout so look for Boss’s number to be called multiple times.

2. Tony Gonzalez vs. Buffalo Bills. Gonzalez, along with Bowe, is one of Tyler Thigpen’s go to receivers and the offensive system in Kansas City is designed to focus a lot on the TE. Look for Gonzalez to have a big day through the air as KC looks to extend the Bills losing streak.

3. Owen Daniels vs. Cleveland Browns. Rosenfels had a horrible game last week as the Texans came up short vs. the Colts in Indy, but we see him bouncing back against a not so stellar Browns defense. Look for Daniels to once again have a lot of passes thrown his way and to put one into the end zone.