Out on a Limb
Fantasy Football Predictions

Panthers Hungry for Some Tuna

The views expressed in this column are in no way compiled from the thoughts of all of our correspondents. They certainly shouldn't be used for gambling purposes.

Panthers Hungry for Some Tuna

You just have to love the parity that's on display in the NFL every year. Who, for instance, would have thought that the Panthers and Cowboys, a combined 12-20 a year ago, would be playing in a game that looks crucial to homefield advantage in the playoffs? When the two teams meet in Dallas this Sunday, that will be on both of their minds, though.

At 8-2, with a three game lead on the New Orleans Saints, the Carolina Panthers (7-9 in 2002) have all but clinched their spot in the postseason. That three game lead looks a lot more like four when you consider that the Panthers are 5-0 within their division (arguably the best division in football a year ago), including a sweep over New Orleans. With Atlanta, Arizona, and Detroit still remaining on their schedule, a division title appears imminent. More importantly, they currently have a one game advantage over Dallas, Philadelphia, St. Louis, and Seattle for the best record in the conference, and they can now set their sights on homefield advantage throughout the playoffs.

After their loss to the Patriots last week, the Cowboys (5-11 a year ago) suddenly find themselves in a dogfight for the NFC East crown. The Philadelphia Eagles, losers of three of their first five, have reeled off five wins in a row, and pushed themselves into a tie with last weekend's win over the struggling New York Giants. Dallas has struggled to put points on the board lately, but they still boast the NFL's top defense, which seems to keep them in every game. While Philly is surging and pushing them for the division crown, the Cowboys still find themselves just a game behind the Panthers in the battle for homefield advantage, and would currently hold the tiebreaker over the Eagles within the division.

Game of the Week: Carolina at Dallas

When the Panthers have the ball: There's still no secret about how the Panthers like to move the ball, but Jake Delhomme has added a lot more balance to this offense in the past two weeks. Delhomme, who threw for an average of just over 150 yards per game in the Panthers' first nine games, has thrown for 594 in the past two weeks against the Bucs and Redskins. Stephen Davis will still be the focal point of the offense this week in what figures to be a tight, low-scoring affair. The Cowboys don't have a weakness defensively, as they're tops in the league against the pass and second against the run. For Carolina to put some points on the board, the offense will have to be clicking on all cylinders.

When the Cowboys have the ball: The Cowboy offense seems lost lately. One of the top offenses in the league about a month ago, they've scored just ten points in their last two games. Troy Hambrick will see a lot of work, as they cut his competition for carries, Adrian Murrell, on Thursday, but Hambrick has only really had one strong effort (21-100-2 against the Redskins in Week 9) in the past six weeks. Quincy Carter started out strong at Quarterback, but his passer rating is just 50.4 over the past month. He'll have to use his mobility in the pocket to give him extra time to find Joey Galloway, Terry Glenn, and Antonio Bryant. The Cowboys will have to hope for their defense to set up a lot of short fields for them, because they're going against a pretty solid Carolina defense, led by a dominant front four.

Special Teams: Fro-master Rod Smart will be back on the field for the Panthers on Sunday, and he's been the only real threat on kickoff returns for either team. Steve Smith will clearly be the best punt returner on the field for either team on Sunday, as well. If either team returns a kick, expect it to be the Panthers. John Kasay finally missed a couple of field goals last week, but he's still amongst the best in the league so far this season. Billy Cundif isn't really a slouch either, but he just isn't getting enough work lately for Dallas to matter much.

Coaching: John Fox seems to be on his way to Coach of the Year honors at this point, and he's leading a team which had virtually no expectations heading into the season on a pretty magical ride right now. Bill Parcells has been there and done that, and is still one of the game's terrific motivators. If for no other reason, the Cowboys will have a bit of an edge because of Parcells' experience with big games.

The Verdict: Expect the Cowboys to fall for a second straight week in this one. The Panthers are rolling right now, and their offense finally has that much-needed balance. Dallas doesn't look like they could score on a peewee football team right now, and it shouldn't take much of an offensive effort to beat them. Panthers 16, Cowboys 9

Lock of the Week: Tennessee over Atlanta - The Titans finally looked human offensively last week, but their defense stepped up. The Falcons have started to look more like a football team in the past two weeks, and most of this has been because of Warrick Dunn and his 340 rushing yards. The buck stops here, though. Tennessee hasn't allowed a 100-yard rusher all season, and that shouldn't change this week. With an offense capable of destroying a very suspect Falcons defense, the Titans should have little trouble forcing Atlanta to throw the ball quite a bit. Doug Johnson will be back under center this week, and he hasn't exactly looked like the second coming of Joe Montana this year. Titans 34, Falcons 7

Upset Special: Washington at Miami - The Dolphins are an absolute mess lately, and the Redskins look like they're starting to click a bit. Miami is hopeful that Jay Fiedler will be able to return under center on Sunday, but it shouldn't matter much. Teams can key on Ricky Williams no matter who the Quarterback is, and Miami's just not capable of putting a lot of points on the board because of it. The 'Skins won't dominate offensively either, but they should be able to do enough. Redskins 17, Mammals 13

And now, we celebrate the Buckeyes loss to the Wolverines a bit...

Ohio State's wins by more than a touchdown: 5
Ohio State's wins by less than a touchdown: 5 (including a one point win over Penn St. and a three point win over San Diego St.)
Ohio State's Overtime wins: 3
Strength of Schedule or not, Ohio St. clearly isn't the second best team in the land.

Indianapolis at Buffalo - The Bills found a way to lose to the Texans last week, and once again scored a measley ten points. That's just not going to cut it against the high-flying Colts... whether Marvin Harrison plays or not. Colts 30, Bills 6

Pittsburgh at Cleveland - The Browns sure wish that they could play Arizona every week, but there are a lot of teams with that same wish. Pittsburgh showed us again on Monday that there's certainly no doomsday defense this year. These two teams always play better when they're playing each other, though, with the Steelers usually coming through with a late win. Look for much of the same here. Steelers 24, Browns 20

San Francisco at Green Bay - The Rat should be starting again this week for the Niners, but the key to the game will be how San Francisco does defending the run. Green Bay has been very average at Lambeau so far this season, going 2-3, but now the temperature's starting to drop. The Pack can smell blood in the water with the Vikings falling apart lately, and they should be able to use that to motivate themselves even more this week. Packers 23, Niners 20

Detroit at Minnesota - The strangest thing about the Vikings slide? All four of their losses have come to teams that are either at or below .500.... in fact, the combined record of those four teams is 14-26. That said, they simply won't find a way to lose to the Lions this week. They will try, though, as the Lions have usually found a way to play them close over the past few seasons. Whether Harrington has any weapons for Detroit or not, this one will be a slugfest. Vikings 34, Lions 31

Jacksonville at New York Jets - Jack Del Rio has certainly gotten his team to show some fight in the past few weeks, splitting against two of the AFC's best. Look for their defense to give The Chad and the Jets fits while Fred Taylor picks apart the worst rushing defense in the league. Jaguars 23, J-E-T-S 17

New Orleans at Philadelphia - After the first three weeks of the season, not many figured that either of these teams would be thinking playoffs, but they're both still in the hunt. That should all change this week, when the Eagles hand the Saints their sixth loss. Donovan McNabb has found a way to spread the ball to all of his receivers lately, even if none of them are really very good. Look for that trend to continue this week, and look for New Orleans to struggle in the cold weather like they always do. Eagles 27, Saints 13

Seattle at Baltimore - The Seahawks just haven't looked like the same team on the road so far this season that they are at home, but the Ravens couldn't score against a team of unborn fetuses right now. Look for Shaun Alexander and the Seahawks to take advantage of playing with a short field for most of the day, and look for the 'Hawks to move to 8-3 on the year. Seahawks 27, Ravens 6

New England at Houston - The Texans continue to fight, and they're now 2-1 against the perrenially powerful AFC East. That said, they're about to face the AFC East's best, and Bill Belichik could be staring his second straight shutout in the eye. Patriots 30, Texans 10

Chicago at Denver - The Snake looked good in his return, and he'll welcome an opportunity to face the boys from the Windy City in the thin Mile High air this weekend. Clinton Portis will be the dominant factor in this one, though, as he should surpass 1,000 yards by the time it's over for the second straight season at the start of what could be a brilliant career. Broncos 37, Bears 17

St. Louis at Arizona - Marc Bulger didn't really get well against the Bears last week, but a chance to face the Cardinals, who got absolutely annihilated through the air last week, should be a nice cure for him. This one should be over early, but Mike Martz will find a way to let Arizona back into the game by refusing to run the ball. The Lambs should hold on, though. Rams 30, Cardinals 20

Oakland at Kansas City - Chad Johnson came through with his guarantee last week against the Chiefs, but look for them to start a new winning streak this week as they host the Silver and Black. With Rick Mirer under center, the Raiders can forget about hanging with the Chiefs offense. Chiefs 34, Raiders 17

Cincinnati at San Diego - The Bungles no more... the Bengals find themselves at 5-5 and have the inside track on winning the worst division in football right now. Their defense should be able to hold down the Charger offense enough so that they can take advantage of one of the worst defenses in the league, particularly through the air. Bengals 27, Chargers 14

New York Giants at Tampa Bay - This is more evidence that they shouldn't set the Monday Night schedule before the season starts. This game will combine to have two of the most disappointing teams in the league this season, but the Champs should be the ones who are out to make a statement to the rest of the league this week. Their defense will be out to annihilate a Giants offense that's been pretty ho-hum so far this year, while the offense will benefit from the removal of one of the worst locker room presences in football. Bucs 31, Giants 6

(Last Week in Parentheses)

On the Year: 92-52 (9-7)
Game(s) of the Week: 6-6 (1-0)
Lock of the Week: 7-3 (1-0)
Upset Special: 4-6 (1-0)

Note: The column will run a special edition next Wednesday for the two Thanksgiving games.

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