Out on a Limb
Fantasy Football Predictions

Champs On the Ropes

The views expressed in this column in each week are in no way the combined view of all of our correspondents, and they certainly shouldn't be used for gambling purposes.

Champs on the Ropes

After getting blasted by San Francisco last weekend, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers find themselves in a sudden scramble to get into playoff position. While division leading Carolina suffered their first loss at the hands of the Titans, the Bucs are still two games back of Carolina at 3-3, and are tied with suddenly resurgent New Orleans for second place in the NFC South. With Seattle and St. Louis both seemingly headed towards double digit wins in the NFC West, no team seems to be emerging as the second major NFC Wildcard candidate. The Bucs will likely be competing with Green Bay, New Orleans, and one of the NFC East teams for that spot, and they have to take command with a big win at home this weekend.

The Big Tuna has restored the pride that so many have taken in putting on a Dallas Cowboys' uniform just six games into his first season as head coach. The defense is as phenomenal as advertised in Big D, and the offense hasn't been too shabby either. Troy Hambrick hasn't exactly made a lot of fans forget Emmitt Smith, but Quincy Carter is suddenly making Jerry Jones look like a genius for insisting on drafting him a few years ago. Joey Galloway, Antonio Bryant, and Terry Glenn, who is coming off of a bigtime three touchdown performance last week, combine to give the Cowboys one of the top receiving tandems in the league.

That said, the Cowboys haven't really had a major test so far this season. They played terrific on Monday night in New York in Week Two, which started their five-game winning streak, but their first six games this season haven't seen an opponent that's over .500. The Eagles and Giants were both playoff teams from last season, and many could poke holes in the win over the Eagles because of how many injury problems Philadelphia's had. A win against the defending Super Bowl champs would certainly go a long way in proving that this year's Cowboys are, in fact, for real.

When Dallas has the ball: Both of these teams rely on defense, defense, defense to win ball games. However, both offenses are extremely underrated. Quincy Carter has undergone an amazing maturation so far this season, but he'll still be hard-pressed to move the ball effectively against this Tampa defense. Carter has great mobility in the pocket, which will aid him, but Tampa hasn't had too much trouble stopping mobile QB's in the past (see their destruction of Mike Vick and the Falcons both times they played last year). Hambrick will be asked to carry a lot of the load on Sunday, and he should be. San Francisco ran all over the Bucs last week, gaining 212 on the ground and racking up 458 yards of total offense against the defense of the decade.

When Tampa Bay has the ball: Brad Johnson is coming off of his worst start in three years, and will be out to get back to his old ways. He doubled his interception total for the year last weekend in the loss to San Francisco, finding the wrong colored shirt three times. Johnson still racked up quite a bit of yardage through the air, but most of it was in an effort to come back from a rough start. Michael Pittman didn't get much of a chance to pound at the Niners' line last week, as they were behind the eight-ball early. Expect Jon Gruden to go to him a little more in the early going this week to create a better balance against one of the better defenses in the league. The Bucs simply can't afford to be one-dimensional this week. The Cowboys have quietly risen to the top of the defensive ladder in the NFL, and they've allowed a touchdown or less in three of their last four games. The Bucs certainly have a superior offense to the Cardinals, Jets, and Lions, though, and they should find some ways to get on the board in this one.

Special Teams: Automatica Gramatica certainly hasn't lived up to his nickname this year for Tampa. He's just 3/7 on field goal attempts, and the Bucs haven't been giving him as many chances as he's used to. Two of those attempts were blocked by Carolina earlier in the season, as well as his only missed PAT attempt. Like the rest of the Cowboys, Billy Cundiff has shown light years of improvement so far this season. Much of it goes back to the 'Boys Monday night win in the Meadowlands in Week Two, when he was 7/8 including a game-tying field goal with time expiring and the game-winner in overtime. Neither return game has really excelled so far this year, and both teams are middle of the road as far as coverage is concerned.

Coaching/Intangibles: This could be a terrific matchup, pitting one of the better offensive minds in the past five years in Jon Gruden against one of the better defensive minded coaches in the history of the game in Bill Parcells. Both have taken multiple teams to elite status in the past, and both are known for getting everything out of their players. Expect the same on Sunday. The Bucs have the homefield and they know that they have to come out hungry this week unless they want to start playing a lot more "do or die" games down the stretch. However, the Cowboys are on a fat roll right now, and have won five in a row. Their young players have gained a lot of confidence, but they'll have to make sure to temper it a bit and make sure not to play with arrogance against a defense as dangerous as Tampa's. The Cowboys need this one for respect.

The Verdict: Is Dallas for real? Time will tell, and it would be less than shocking to see them pull this one out. In short, though, Tampa has too much to lose in this game and they won't let it get away. The Bucs put themselves in a major hole last weekend, and they have to start rolling now. Expect them to come out with the heart of a champion and do that today. Bucs 23, Cowboys 17

Lock of the Week: Tennessee over Jacksonville - The Titans are firing on all cylinders right now, and there should be more growing pains for Lord Byron this week. Even coming off of their bye week, the Jags just don't have the talent up front to deal with a nasty Tennessee defense, and McNair will manage to find holes in Jacksonville's secondary. Tennessee always gets better as the season wears on, and there's no reason to think they'll struggle at all this week after a comfortable win against a tough Carolina team last weekend. Titans 34, Jaguars 13

Upset Special: St. Louis over Pittsburgh - It was a bit of a shock to see that the Steelers were favored here, despite the fact that they're playing at home and coming off of a bye week. If Pittsburgh's second ranked defense has shown any weakness, it's been when an offense spreads the field, which Mike Martz will have the Lambs doing just about all day. Marc Bulger will be looking to have a big homecoming in Pittsburgh, and the Steelers will have trouble moving the ball against the Rams underrated defense. Rams 34, Steelers 23

Detroit at Chicago - Could the NFC North be any more depressing? Someone will win this game with a safety. Bet on it being the Bears. Bears 2, Lions 0

Seattle at Cincinnati - The Bengals showed last week that they can still put a lot of points on the board, but now their defense will have to see one of the better balanced offenses in the league on the other side of the ball. Jon Kitna will get a little action going against the coach who let him walk a few years ago, but the Seahawks just have too much for them on both sides of the ball. Seahawks 31, Bengals 27

New York Giants at Minnesota - The Giants really need this one badly, but destiny just isn't on their side right now. They should lose their fourth straight game coming out of their bye week, all against teams that appear headed for the playoffs. Culpepper and Moss should have an easy time of it in this one, and the defense should finally be able to put a team away as the Vikes just keep on rolling. Vikings 34, Giants 17

Cleveland at New England - You never know which Cleveland team is going to show up, and this week will be no different. Either they'll head out onto the field and be unstoppable or they'll lay another egg like they did last week. With the Patriots, what you see is what you get. Take consistent play over the rollercoaster Browns this week. Patriots 27, Browns 17

Carolina at New Orleans - This game's a lot more dangerous than it looks for the Panthers, but the Saints still haven't proven anything with their three wins so far this year. The Panthers had to hold on late against the Saints at home, and now they'll take their show to the Super Dome, where the crowd and the turf play into New Orleans' hands. Nevertheless, expect the Panthers to get their running game going again this week and rebound from a tough loss to Tennessee last weekend. Panthers 23, Saints 17

Denver at Baltimore - Clinton Portis is suddenly a lonely man in Denver, with no quarterback to get the ball to the receivers to add balance to the Broncos' offense. That never bodes well against a team with as many defensive weapons as the Ravens, particularly if they're going to be fired up as they try to come back from a devastating loss to the Bungles last week. Ravens 20, Broncos 17.... Lewis 120, Portis 95

San Francisco at Arizona - At this point, Bill Bidwill would probably consider 100 tickets sold to this week's game a packed house. Luckily, the Niners' fans travel. Marcel Shipp should have another decent day as the only legitimate weapon in the Cardinals' offense, but Garrison Hearst and Kevan Barlow could combine for 400 rushing yards against a defense as bad as Arizona's. Niners 37, Cardinals 20

Houston at Indianapolis - The Colts won't have to worry about hearing footsteps behind them this week. Peyton and Marvin should be ready for another tune-up after their bye week before they brace for a defensive struggle against Miami next week. Colts 34, Texans 10

New York Jets at Philadelphia - The Chad will be back in action on Sunday, and the Jets are starting to get on a little bit of a roll. Too bad the Jets can't play Houston every week. Take Donovan and his injured thumb as the Eagles try to make up some ground in the NFC East. Eagles 23, Jets 16

Buffalo at Kansas City - Fresh off of another escape on Monday night against the Raiders, the Chiefs get to shuffle off to host Travis Henry and Buffalo. Henry finally found his ground game last week, and he'll need to have a big day for the Bills to even stay in this one. The Chiefs keep letting teams hang around, and it's going to bite them some time soon. It won't be this week, though. Chiefs 34, Bills 31

Miami at San Diego - There's no crying in football! A lot of fans were whining about the field down in Miami last week because the Marlins were still playing baseball. South Florida deserved a championship, and it's not like the Mammals ever seem to give it to them, so the Fightin' Fish did. There should be some great play from the backs in this one, and bank on Ricky over LT because one team has a defense and the other just has a seive. Mammals 27, Bolts 13

(Last Week in Parentheses)
On the Year: 56-30 (7-7)
Game(s) of the Week: 3-5 (0-1)
Lock of the Week: 4-2 (1-0)
Upset Special: 2-4 (1-0)

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