Out on a Limb
Fantasy Football Predictions

Battle of the Unbeatens

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Battle of the Unbeatens

While it may seem just like last season when an AFC East game ended up being voted the game of the week every week, Dante Hall left me with little choice when he took one to the house (as predicted) and the Chiefs beat the Ravens (guess I can't win 'em all), setting up a showdown between two of the league's six remaining unbeatens this week in a matchup that could give either the Chiefs or Broncos some separation from the AFC West. With the Raiders faltering and the Chargers off to an 0-4 start, this division could quickly turn into a two horse race.

Game of the Week: Denver at Kansas City

When the Broncos have the ball: The most important news of the week is that Clinton Portis is planning on playing on Sunday, and he helps to create one of the most balanced attacks in the league. Streaky Jake Plummer can't be relied on to win too many games by himself, and having one of the league's top five tailbacks out of the lineup wasn't helping matters. Speaking of Plummer, though, he has been fantastic since heading to Denver and seems to be growing into coach Mike Shanahan's offense nicely. He's making fine use of his fine trio of receivers, and has found another great target in Shannon Sharpe. Plummer will have to try and take advantage of an improving, but still inexperienced Kansas City secondary, so expect him to hook up on a bomb to Ashley Lelie at some point, which could open up a little more for Rod Smith underneath.

When the Chiefs have the ball: Not a whole lot has changed since last week, and the Chiefs will obviously be looking to use Priest Holmes as their primary, secondary, and possibly even tertiary weapon in this game. The Chiefs do have to like the fact that Johnnie Morton stepped up and showed a little bit of his old self last week, and they'll need him to continue to emerge if they plan on staying unbeaten again this week. Tony Gonzalez finally got on the board with a touchdown catch last week, and is starting to look like he's pretty close to being healthy. Trent Green will have to try and use these weapons a bit, but his main job will be to either hand the ball off to Holmes or find him out in the flat. Green's done a solid job of finding ways to beat teams when they completely key on Holmes, but it was return man Dante Hall, not the Chiefs offense, that stuck the dagger in the Ravens last weekend.

Special Teams: As good as Morten Andersen has been this year (and over his illustrious career), and as much as he's the best place kicker of all time, he's just not quite as good as Jason Elam is at this point in time. That said, neither kicker is a weakness, and either could make a big field goal by the end of this one. While the Broncos have a couple of solid return men in Deltha O'Neal and Chris Cole, Dante Hall is the home run threat of the year for the Chiefs. With three touchdown returns (two on kickoffs and one on a punt) already this season, Hall is a threat to take it to the house every time he touches the ball. Elam needs to keep the ball away from him on kickoffs, and Micah Knorr should just try and angle all of his punts out of bounds.

Coaching/Intangibles: It's time for everyone to jump on the Dick Vermiel "third season" bandwagon. He took the Eagles to the Super Bowl in his third year with them (even though he lost) and took the Rams to the Super Bowl in his third season in St. Louis. In his third year with the Chiefs, he's off to a pretty solid start.... Mike Shanahan scripts his plays better than any coach in the league. He gets the most out of his team week in and week out, and is one of the best offensive minds in the NFL.

The Verdict: Portis will be the difference. With him making plays in the backfield, the pressure will be off Plummer, and he'll find ways to make Kansas City's secondary pay a few too many times. The Broncos are still the better defensive team in this matchup, and they should come up with a few stops against Priest and Co. Just keep the ball away from Dante Hall... Broncos 34, Chiefs 24

Lock of the Week: Cleveland at Pittsburgh - Am I insane? These teams played three times last season, with the Steelers winning by three points all three times, coming from behind twice. Fact is, that was a completely different Cleveland Browns squad. This year's version of last year's scrappy Browns just don't have the same zip in their step, and they've lost too much of their talent on defense. Tommy Maddox will tear apart their undermanned secondary as the Steelers win in a walk. Steelers 34, Browns 13

Upset Special: Detroit at San Francisco - There's some kind of bizarre theme running this week. Along with Mike Holmgren (and Ray Rhodes) heading to Green Bay and Tony Dungy heading to Tampa Bay, Mooch gets to take his first crack at the 49ers this weekend. He'll know their offense pretty well, but that won't necessarily be what puts the Lions on top in this one. The Niners are in turmoil right now, and the Lions really seemed to be putting it together last week against the undefeated Broncos. Lions 27, 49ers 23

And now, time to breeze through the rest....

Minnesota at Atlanta - No Culpepper? No problem! Randy Moss is going up and getting anything that's thrown to him this year, and may have finally matured in the offseason. Falcons' starter Doug Johnson sure hasn't been as hot as Gus Frerotte was last week for the Vikes, but where the Falcons miss Vick most is in the running game. Vikings 27, Falcons 17

Cincinnati at Buffalo - Once? Twice? Could it be? Nah.... After taking the Bungles in two straight weeks (and actually watching them beat their in-state rivals last weekend), I think that our luck has run out with picking the Bungles for a while. The Bills will be happy to see a defense that isn't one of the top five in the league, and they shouldn't have any trouble getting their offense back on track. Bills 31, Bungles 20

Chicago at Oakland - The 1986 Bears gave the 1972 Dolphins a good run.... but this year they take another shot at perfection. Circle November 30 on your calendar Bears' fans, because that's your best chance at a win. And no, they don't play the Bucs, who were the last team that managed to go winless, finishing 0-14 in 1976. Raiders 37, Bank One Bears 6

Arizona at Dallas - Tuna gets to take his show back home after a three week (including the bye) stay visiting his old relatives in the Meadowlands. Quincy Carter and Troy Hambrick could have a field day against one of the most porous defenses ever to take the field in the NFL, even if what they really like to win with is D in Big D. Cowboys 27, Cardinals 10

Tennessee at New England - That schedule just never gets easy for the Pats, does it? McNair and the Titans found ways to annihilate a solid Steelers team at home, but they always have a little more trouble taking their show on the road. The Patriots need this one, or they risk falling two games back in what's traditionally the tightest division in football. Patriots 24, Titans 20

Miami at New York Giants - The Mammals looked awfully good in their first game in the Meadowlands, but now they'll get to take on the team the Stadium is named after. Both teams play stellar defense and have great tailbacks, but the home field and the actual threat of an air attack give the Giants the edge in this one. Giants 23, Dolphins 17

New Orleans at Carolina - The Panthers finally figured out a way to score on the Falcons last week, and should have little trouble finding ways to beat a Saints defense that gave up 55 last week. Look for Stephen Davis to pound away at the Saints front seven for a bit in this one before Jake Delhomme finally gets on track against one of the worst secondaries in the league. Panthers 24, Saints 13

San Diego at Jacksonville - Someone has to get off the schnyde in this one. Look for Ladainian Tomlinson to have his second straight big game in a row against an outmanned, but improving, Jacksonville defense. The Chargers' hapless revamped defense should have an easier time stopping the Jags than they did against the Raiders. Bolts 27, Jags 17

Washington at Philadelphia - If everything falls into place, the ball coach could have a nice sized lead in the NFC East by the end of the day. Donovan McNabb will make it difficult as he continues to get the Eagles back on track. Look for Philly to use a lot of blitzing in this one with their secondary so banged up. Eagles 23, Redskins 17

Indianapolis at Tampa Bay - In what could very well end up as the real game of the week, Tony Dungy heads back to Tampa to take on the defending Super Bowl Champions that he built. Peyton Manning is just in a zone right now, and that Harrison guy isn't too bad either. The Bucs will need to have their offense working in this one, as the defense might actually let someone find the end zone a few times. Whether he scores another touchdown in his career or not, let's hope that Warren Sapp never dances in the end zone again. Colts 20, Bucs 16

(Last Week in Parentheses)
On the Year: 33-11 (12-2)
Game(s) of the Week: 3-2 (0-1)
Lock of the Week: 2-1 (1-0)
Upset Special: 1-2 (1-0)

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