By Zack Cimini
Notjustagame.com
Overall Record: 38-22
Dallas over Arizona
Buffalo over Cincinnati
Denver over Kansas City
Miami over New York Giants
Minnesota over Atlanta
Carolina over New Orleans
Oakland over Chicago
Tennessee over New England
Green Bay over Seattle
Jacksonville over San Diego
San Francisco over Detroit
Philadelphia over Washington
Pittsburgh over Cleveland
Indianapolis over Tampa Bay
By Zack Cimini
notjustagame.com
Every year Emmitt Smith has been on the other side of handing the Cardinals a loss. This time he will try to do it to his old team, and prove that the Cowboys should not have let him go.
So far the Cowboys look like they made the right decision in letting Smith go. Without him it has allowed Quincy Carter to be more comfortable with his surroundings, and young running back Troy Hambrick is playing solid football. In fact the Cowboys rank number one in the league in total offense, which doesn?t bode too well for the way the Cardinals defense has been playing.
Smith on the other hand is struggling big time. He has yet to have a break out game, and part of that reason is because the Cardinals abandon the running game very quickly. Cardinal?s fans are already getting impatient with Smith and want to see more of Marcell Shipp. Shipp established himself last season and is the future of this team at running back. So it will be interesting to see how many carries Shipp starts to take away from Smith as the year goes on.
The main reason the Cardinals brought Smith in was too sell tickets, and so far that has not helped the situation. Green Bay took over the stadium a few weeks ago, and Dallas fans have always had the home field advantage in Arizona. The key to this game for the Cardinals is their defense. The only game that the Cardinals played defense was against Green Bay and that led to a win. Controlling the football has also been a problem for the Cardinals. Last week against St. Louis they only had the football for 17 total minutes, which is ridiculous. Expect the Cardinals to come out and finally the pound the football, and stick with it through out the entire game.
By Zack Cimini
Notjustagame.com
Finally two of the three big play receivers broke out. Both Randy Moss and Marvin Harrison made their fantasy football owners day. If you had the combination of Marvin Harrison and Peyton Manning on your team, than you probably set a fantasy season high in your league. They put up over 80 fantasy football points combined, which is ridiculous.
As far as the football games went in general, the old NFC West continued to disappoint. San Francisco, Atlanta, and New Orleans have all played well below expectations. All three were expected to make the playoffs, and now look like they?ll be getting a high draft pick next year. Atlanta has a reason why they are not doing well, but San Francisco and the Saints have some questions to answer. Both have incredible talent and are playing like high school squads out there. Another loss or two for those teams and things could get real ugly.
Lets move on and look ahead into week five. Don?t forget the Rams, Jets, Ravens, and Texans all have byes.
Minnesota vs. Atlanta
This could be it for the Falcons season if they don?t win. A 1-4 start will be impossible even for Michael Vick to over come. With the way the Vikings offense is playing and the way the Falcons defense is playing, this game should already be over in the books. Like Chris Berman says though, that is why they play the game. Gus Frerotte looks like he will get his second start, and that should not be a problem for him.
Cincinnati vs. Buffalo
All of the sudden the talk of the Buffalo Bills has quieted down. They are still a great team, and will challenge for the division title. The problem is that they have not had Travis Henry the last two games, and people don?t realize how important he is to this team. This game could stay close if the Bengals defense can keep playing well.
Oakland vs. Chicago
Every year there is a team that looks like they will lose all their games, and Chicago is that team this year. Oakland barely escaped starting off their season at 1-3, and needs to try to keep up with Denver and Kansas City. The Raiders defense has been struggling, but there is no need to worry when Kordell Stewart is the opposing quarterback.
Arizona vs. Dallas
Get ready to see another week of the Cardinals stadium getting taken over by other fans. The Cowboys fans always make the trip to Arizona, and we will have to see if it has an affect this time. Emmitt Smith has yet to have a great game, and Cardinals fans already want to see more of Marcel Shipp. This will be a game for the quarterbacks and their receivers. Both Jeff Blake and Quincy Carter have great young receivers, and this could end up being a shoot out.
Seattle vs. Green Bay
Mike Holmgren makes yet another visit back to Green Bay, and this time he could end up on top. Seattle is undefeated and wants to stay that way, but will need their defense to play better. Brett Favre and the Packers offense finally looked in sync and should be effective against the Seahawks defense. Running backs love to have big games against their former teams, and we all know that Ahman Green started his career in Seattle.
Denver vs. Kansas City
Jake Plummer has already set a team record in Denver, but don?t get too excited. Plummer has had it easy in the first four games, and this will be his first game that he is tested. More than likely the Broncos will be relying on Plummer?s arm even if Clinton Portis is able to go. Denver?s game plan has to be to stop Dante Hall. Every time the Chiefs look like they are vulnerable he comes out and makes a huge play. Both of these teams like to move it up and down the field, and that always leads to turnovers. The team that wins the turnover battle will come out on top in this one.
Tennessee vs. New England
The Patriots offense is in disarray right now, and needs to get more consistency out of their running backs. If it doesn?t happen soon, you can expect both to be gone next year. Steve McNair has the Titans on fire and it does not look like there will be a let down any time soon with their schedule.
Miami vs. NY Giants
Just like the Cowboys, the Dolphins are making their second trip up to New York in less than a month. Miami will try to make it a 4-0 sweep of the New York teams. This looks like it will be the game of the week, and presents great matchups on both sides of the ball. The Giants and Dolphins secondary both think they are the best, and we shall see which one can step up to the challenge. Ricky Williams will be a factor in this one but if the Dolphins are going to win they?ll need Jay Fiedler to attempt some big plays down the field.
New Orleans vs. Carolina
The Saints use to roll over the Panthers, and now it is time for the Panthers to return the favor. No one knows what happened to the Saints defense, but it is long gone. On offense they haven?t had any production from their receivers, and part of that reason is because Aaron Brooks has struggled. The only player on their team that has been consistent is Deuce McAllister. A team comes together in games when they know that their coaches? job is on the line. We will be able to tell how much the Saints appreciate their head coach Jim Haslett in this one.
San Diego vs. Jacksonville
Byron Leftwich came out and showed that he will be the leader of this team. As for the Chargers they finally showed some offense, but it was their defense that ended up losing them the game. It is hard to believe that both of these teams are 0-4, but one of them will have to end their losing streak this week. The Jaguars seem to have the advantage with a better defense and Jimmy Smith back from suspension.
Detroit vs. San Francisco
Steve Mariucci is loving this opportunity. His old team is struggling and he has a chance to continue it. He will have Joey Harrington ready to play the game of his life, and the Lions team pumped up. Terrell Owens has disliked Mariucci from day one, and that should lead to Owens first break out game of the season. The Lions are hurting in the secondary, and if Owens does not have a big day than we know there is something wrong with Jeff Garcia.
Washington vs. Philadelphia
Washington?s lead in the NFC East is slipping away just as quickly as they got it. The Eagles finally got a win, and Donovan McNabb has even more self motivation after Rush Limbaugh?s comments. Washington?s offense has kept them in all of their games this season, and it will be up to Patrick Ramsey and Lavernues Coles to win this one.
Cleveland vs. Pittsburgh
The Steelers are off to there usual slow conventional start. These two teams have a hatred like no other and will leave it all on the field this week end. Tim Couch will get a shot at doing what he didn?t get a chance to last year, and that is defeat Pittsburgh. He knows if he can come out and have a great game he could remain the starter for the rest of the season.
Indianapolis vs. Tampa Bay
I guess every one has come full circle in the NFL, because coaches are always playing their former teams. Tony Dungy has the Colts clicking on both sides of the football, and this week they will need it from their defense. Dungy should be able to exploit the Buccaneers defense as well, because he knows all the tendencies of his old players.
By Zack Cimini
Notjustagame.com
Who do you think of when you think of the best running backs over the last five years? Names like Curtis Martin, Marshall Faulk, and Emmitt Smith will all pop into your head, but there is one name that people always leave out. His name is Stephen Davis and he continues to run the football incredibly well.
Unlike other veteran players this season, Davis is adding to a great career. He has single handedly carried the Carolina Panthers, and is the only reason that they are undefeated. In fact you could argue that he is the best running back in football right now.
Just look at what he has done. He changed a horrible team into a contender, and only great players can do that. You might as well give Stephen Davis the comeback player of the year award, because no one else is going to touch him.
Last year in Washington he struggled with injuries, and everyone counted him out. Instead of folding he signed with Carolina and looked forward to this season. Steve Spurrier didn?t want to give him another chance, and who could blame him? Davis had struggled with his knee injuries for a couple of years, and it was time for the Redskins to move into another direction.
What Spurrier forgot is that it usually takes two seasons for a running back to fully recover from bad knees. So now Davis is at 100 percent, and is on pace to have a career year. He has only played three games, and already has over 400 yards rushing. If he could get into the end zone a little more his fantasy football impact would be even greater. But with the way star running backs have started this season, you can?t argue with his yardage total.
It is funny looking at how solid Davis is compared to other veterans. In New York the Jets can?t get anything established with Curtis Martin. After many years of success, all of the sudden Martin can?t get it done. The same thing is happening with Emmitt Smith, Marshall Faulk, and Jerome Bettis.
It?s amazing how fast careers in the NFL go. I think what we?re seeing from the running back position is a changing of the guard. Just like when we saw it three or four years ago at the quarterback position. The ageless veteran quarterbacks in Dan Marino, Warren Moon, John Elway, Steve Young, Troy Aikman, and Randall Cunningham all declined at the same time. That is exactly what is happening to the great running backs that we are use to seeing over the last six to ten years. It is a cycle process in the NFL that will never go away. When the old veteran quarterbacks faded, young quarterbacks were able to fill in quickly. The same thing will happen now at the running back position, so get ready to hear some new great young players at running back.
