[The late afternoon Edition]
Monday Morning Huddle
Week 10 in the NFL
Two Minute blitz
A team on the Rise...
The Philadelphia Eagles are currently sitting in third place in the NFC East at 5-3 and are a team on the move. With the Cowboys falling to the Giants this past Sunday, the Eagles move past the Dallas in the standings and with a matchup with New York this week, they have an opportunity to get back into the NFC East race.
The Eagles have seen their team's health improve over the past couple of weeks and in it's last two games the offense has scored a total of 53 points and gained 851 yards on offense. With RB Brian Westbrook, WR Kevin Curtis, and WR Reggie Brown back in the line up the Eagles look poised to make noise in the East and challenge for the division. On Sunday the return of Brown was felt immediate with his 22 yard touchdown reception in the 2nd quarter. Curtis played with some resemblance of last season, catching 6 balls for 83 yards. The Biggest boost has to be the return of the team's dynamic running back Brian Westbrook. Just as he did last week, Westbrook was instrumental in the running game with 20 carries, as well as the passing game with 6 receptions. Perhaps the biggest surprise on offense came from the team's back up tight end Brent Celek (playing for the injured LJ Smith), who led the team with 6 receptions and 131 yards receiving.
The Eagles are not only healthy now, but they seem to be playing very well on both sides of the ball. In the team's past two wins, the leagues 5th ranked defense overall has recorded 6 sacks and forced 3 turnovers. They have also limited their opponents to a just 21 points combined. With a critical matchup with the Giants approaching, the Eagles are looking poised to make a run in the East and take flight!
MONSTERS OF THE GRIDIRON
Week 9 was another action filled week of excitement, crazy finishes, and spectacular performances on Sunday. Football fanatics and fantasy owners saw the best of the best, do what they do. Here were the very best, Week 9's Monsters of the Gridiron!
Monster QB
Donovan McNabb (Phi).....the Eagles quarterback was not just good, he was sensational leading his team to their third straight win. McNabb completed 28 of 43 passes (65% completion) while dissecting the Seahawks defense. The Eagles quarterback passed for 349 yards on the day and threw 2 touchdowns!
Monster RB
Adrian Peterson (Min)....a familiar face to the "Monsters Club," running back Adrian Peterson was spectacular on Sunday once again. In the team's Week 9 win over the Texans, Peterson carried the ball 25 times, ran for 139 yards (5.6 yds/carry) and added 1 yard touchdown run.
Monster WR/TE
Derek Mason (Bal).....the old savvy veteran was better than good this past Sunday, in the team's Week 9 victory over the Brown's. Mason was solid catching 9 passes for 136 receiving yards (15.1 yards/catch) and adding a 28 yard touchdown reception.
Week 8 Monsters...
Monster QB
Drew Brees (NO)
30 of 41 passes for 339 yards, with 3 touchdowns, no Ints.
Monster RB
Brian Westbrook (Phi)
22 carries, 167 yards rushing, 6 catches, 42 yards, 2 touchdowns.
Monster WR/TE
Steve Smith (Car)
5 catches for 117 yards and a touchdown.
IN THE MIX
If you paid attention to the action on Sunday, the you noticed the Dolphins' WR Greg Camarillo lighting up the Bronco's secondary. Quietly Camarillo has led the team in receiving and on Sunday, he was quarterback Chad Pennington's favorite target catching 11 passes. With Ted Ginn Jr emerging as the team's big play deep threat, expect to see Camarillo get more and more targets each week, as this Dolphin's receiver is definitely in the mix.
The Bengal's have not been a favorite subject of fantasy talk at 0-8, but it looks like the team may just have found a reliable source for it's running game. On Sunday in their first win this season over the Jaguars, RB Cedric Benson, ran hard and ran well, turning in the team's first 100 yard rushing performance this season. Benson carried the ball 24 times for 104 yards rushing and added a rushing touchdown. While yards on the ground have been tough to find for the Bengals in the past, it certainly looks like Benson will be in the mix as the team tries to build from it's Sunday performance.
With injuries continuing to plague their receiving corp, it looks like the Seahawks WR Koren Robinson, has taken huge steps forward as an important part of the passing game. In Week 9, Robinson caught 4 passes for 105 yards, but also turned in a scintillating 90 yard catch and run for a touchdown. As the Seahawks move forward and try to heal with the hopeful return of QB Matt Hasselbeck and WR Deion Branch, Robinson will continue to figure in the mix in coming weeks.
4th quarter timeout
fantasy notes from the past week....
With injuries abound this season, this season has become the year of the rookie running back. With rookies Matt Forte, Chris Johnson, and Steve Slaton pretty much opening the season as their teams' starters, as week approach Week 10, we could see a few more rookies making their first start this season. With injuries, benchings, and suspensions, we could see the Chief's Jamaal Charles and the Bronco's Ryan Torian makes starts in Week 10. In Arizona, the Cardinals jumped the gun this past Sunday and inserted Tim Hightower as the starter and in Baltimore, an injury elevated rookie Ray rice into starting action this past week as well. There no question that the youth movement has begun, the only question is where will we see the next move, Detroit? Carolina?
Following their Week 9 loss to the Ravens, in which critical mistakes down the stretch cost the team the win, rumors are all abound calling for a change in Cleveland. The 2008 season has not been a particularly kind for quarterback Derek Anderson. His overall passing numbers are down from a season ago, just 1,454 yards passing with 9 touchdowns through 8 games (projected for the season: 2900 yards, 18 touchdowns). In 2007 Anderson passed for more than 3,700 yards and threw 29 touchdowns leading the Brown's to a 10-6 record. This season the Browns are 3-5 and appear ready to hand the reigns over to back-up Brady Quinn. Fantasy owners should watch the news wires, this announcement could come any day.
With the final week of bye approaching, the final stretch of all fantasy leagues will begin soon. Injuries have played as big a part of your fantasy team's success as anything. If you managed to remain relatively healthy through the first 9 week, knock on wood, but if you've been caught by the injury bug as most of us have, there are some player names you need to eye for your second half run or turnaround. Fantasy Football difference makers to watch, in St.Louis WR Donnie Avery, in Arizona RB Tim Hightower, in New Orleans WR Lance Moore, in Houston QB Sage Rosenfels, and in Denver RB Ryan Torain to name a few. If these guys are available, pick them up now.
Check back every Monday for more Monday Morning Huddle!
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