Instant Accountability

Pittsburgh 31, Cleveland 28

Start: Ben Roethlisberger, PITT - As expected, another huge game by Big Ben today, who not only 3 for two TD's, but added a 30 yard TD on the ground (?!), as well as a 2 point conversion in a nice win over CLE...
Prediction: 238 yards, 3 TD's, 0 INT's.
Actual: 278 yards passing, 3 TD's (2 passing, rushing), 1 INT, 2 point conversion, 49 yards rushing.

Bench: Jamal Lewis, CLE - That's the Jamal Lewis we have grown used too... Another game with a YPC under 3.0. You think Phil Savage is patting himself on the back for that signing this year?
Prediction: 18 carries, 42 yards, 2 catches, 11 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 16 carries, 35 yards, 3 catches, 8 yards, 0 TD's, 1 Fumble Lost.

Philadelphia 33, Washington 25

Start: Reggie Brown, PHI - The yards were a bit lower than expected, but Brown did deliver a TD as promised (trying to pat myself on the back now, because it's about to get ugly)...
Prediction: 6 catches, 75 yards, 1 TD's.
Actual: 3 catches, 55 yards, 1 TD.

Bench: Jason Campbell, WAS - I will give credit where credit is due here, as Gusto did predict a big game for Campbell, who had one of his best games as a pro in the loss to Philly...
Prediction: 160 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT's.
Actual: 215 yards, 3 TD's, 0 INT's, 16 yards rushing, 1 fumble lost.

St. Louis 37, New Orleans, 29

Start: Marques Colston, NO - No TD, but another huge game for Colston, who got a lot of the yardage in garbage time late in the game...
Prediction: 7 catches, 105 yards, 1 TD.
Actual: 8 catches, 129 yards, 0 TD's.

Bench: Isaac Bruce, STL - If you took out the 20 yard TD he caught, my numbers were about right. Yeah, I missed on this one...
Prediction: 4 catches, 42 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 4 catches, 62 yards, 1 TD.

Buffalo 13, Miami 10

Start: Lee Evans, BUF - And this one... Losman didn't look like he was going to complete a pass in the first half, and only had 157 yards passing on the day. Keep an eye on Lynch's ankle, as any time missed will hurt Evans, especially in next week's game against the Pats...
Prediction: 4 catches, 95 yards, 1 TD.
Actual: 4 catches, 65 yards, 0 TD.

Bench: Jesse Chatman, MIA - Did I say I missed a few this week? This one was really bad as well, and I have finally joined the Chatman bandwagon. Huge game against the Bills, although it would have been nice to see him get a TD when he gets 32 touches...
Prediction: 14 carries, 59 yards, 2 catches, 13 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 27 carries, 124 yards, 5 catches, 25 yards, 0 TD's.

Green Bay 34, Minnesota 0

Start: Donald Lee, GB - I'm going to give myself a push on this one, seeing that he did get a TD. This was (shockingly) the Ryan Grant Show, who had almost 150 total yards and a TD. AP owners probably defecated in their pants after seeing him get injured late in the game. Why was he even in there at that point? So far they're saying it's just a sprained knee, but check back for updates later in the week...
Prediction: 6 catches, 75 yards, 1 TD.
Actual: 4 catches, 27 yards, 1 TD.

Bench: Sidney Rice, MINN - DNP (Hamstring Injury).
Prediction: 3 catches, 36 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: N/A

Jacksonville 28, Tennessee 13

Start: Bo Scaife, TEN - I think this miss actually bothered me the most. VY actually has a decent game yardage-wise, and Justin friggin Gage has 90 of them. I'm just going to start pulling a Gusto and telling you which studs to start each week...
Prediction: 5 catches, 55 yards, 1 TD.
Actual: 3 catches, 38 yards, 0 TD's.

Bench: Fred Taylor/MJD, JAX - I missed by just a little bit on this one, as Taylor/Drew had about double the amount of yards I had predicted, along with 2 TD's to rub it in my face a bit more. The Titans looked awful today, and Quinn Gray did a great job of handing off the ball...
Prediction: 75 yards rushing combined, 24 yards receiving, 0 TD's.
Actual: 146 yards rushing combined, 28 yards receiving, 2 TD's.

Denver 27, Kansas City 11

Start: Priest Holmes, KC - Holmes did okay in his first start in years, but didn't make the grade with regards to my predictions for him. This was primarily due to the fact that his QB is a mix of Damon Huard and Brodie "I shouldn't be in the NFL" Croyle. The only thing Croyle has going for him is a hot wife...
Prediction: 17 carries, 85 yards, 4 catches, 33 yards, 1 TD.
Actual: 20 carries, 65 yards, 2 catches, 14 yards, 0 TD's.

Bench: Jay Cutler, DEN- I'm going to be generous and take this one, as Cutler's numbers were very close to what I had predicted. Another bleh game for the immortal Jake Plummer's successor...
Prediction: 175 yards passing, 1 TD, 2 INT's.
Actual: 192 yards passing, 1 TD, 1 INT.

Greg's Totals: Starts: 3-3-1. Benches: 2-4-1. TOTAL: 5-7-2

Atlanta 20, Carolina 13

Start: DeShaun Foster, CAR - It's good to see that I wasn't the only one with crappy predictions (edit: this was before I looked at the rest of his picks). This looked like a miserable game to watch (was it even televised in ATL/CAR?), as CAR had 0 TD's on offense against the Falcons, which is beyond miserable...
Prediction: 105 yards rushing with 1 TD.
Actual: 59 yards, 0 TD's.

Bench: Michael Jenkins, ATL - C'mon Gusto, what percentage of leagues even own Jenkins at this point? This is the equivalent of me telling everyone to bench LJ this week...
Prediction: 3 catches for 40 yards.
Actual: 1 catch, 6 yards.

Cincinatti 21, Baltimore 7

Start: Chad Johnson, CIN - Much to my happiness (my opponent has CJ), Johnson had a strong first quarter, and disappeared for the last 3. Johnson owners have to be worried with the 99 yards receiving Chris Henry had in his first game back, as it is clear that Palmer feels comfortable looking down field for him (as well as in the red zone, as evidenced by his 9 TD's last year)...
Prediction: 105 yards receiving and at least 1 TD.
Actual: 73 yards receiving, 0 TD's.

Bench: Steve McNair, BAL - Another gimme, although I thought he'd at least go for 200 this week. We may have seen the last of Mr. McNair, as he was benched in favor of Kyle Boller in today's game. At this point, Boller actually gives the Ravens a better chance at winning...
Prediction: 180 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.
Actual: 128 yards passing, 0 TD's, 1 INT.

Chicago 17, Oakland 6

Start: Cedric Benson, CHI - Good call by Gusto with regards to the yards/TD, but wow, 29 carries to get 76 yards against a poor Raiders defense? The only explanation I have is that Benson has some compromising photos of Lovie Smith with Romeo Crennel, because he has no business as a #1 RB in the NFL...
Prediction: 20 carries for 80 yards with a TD.
Actual: 29 carries, 76 yards, 1 TD.

Bench: LaMont Jordan, OAK - Has any player fallen off the face of the earth as quickly as LaMont Jordan? I didn't see him on the inactive report, but he didn't get so much as 1 touch this week. Fargas had a nice game in his 2nd start of the year at tailback though...
Prediction: 6 carries for 20 yards.
Actual: No Line...

Dallas 31, NY Giants 20

Start: Patrick Crayton, DAL - The inconsistent Crayton delivered almost the exact numbers that Gusto predicted in a win over the Giants that wasn't as close as the score indicated. You have to wonder how much he'll see the ball if/when Glenn comes back...
Prediction: 75 yards and 1 TD.
Actual: 66 yards, 1 TD.

Bench: Amani Toomer, NYG - Toomer had a bad game? Really? A very solid career is winding down for a close for one of the Giants' best receivers of all time. Manning focused almost exclusively on Shockey today, who had the best game of his career in the loss to DAL...
Prediction: 4 receptions for 45 yards.
Actual: 3 catches, 37 yards, 0 TD's.

Arizona 31, Detroit 21

Start: Kurt Warner, ARI - Warner owners never know if he is going to finish the game each week, and although Rattay came in briefly and threw for a TD, Warner still had a very nice game, although we could have done without the turnovers....
Prediction: 240 yards and 2 TD’s.
Actual: 259 yards passing, 3 TD's, 1 INT, 1 Fumble Lost.

Bench: Shaun McDonald, DET - McDonald actually his second straight game with at least 5 catches and 70 yards. But I'll give this one to Gusto as a push because of the lost fumble...
Prediction: 5 catches for 50 yards.
Actual: 6 catches, 73 yards, 1 Fumble Lost.

Indianapolis at San Diego

Start: Dallas Clark, IND - Clark has been declared out for the big matchup against SD, along with Harrison and Gonzalez. Sounds like a heavy dose of Addai/Wayne is coming...
Prediction: 60 yards and 1 TD.
Actual: DNP

Bench: Philip Rivers, SD - Should Rivers even be owned in your league at this point? Too bad the Chargers decided to keep him and ship off Drew Brees, because they might be 7-2 at this point if they hadn't drafted Rivers. Just an awful, awful game in a win against the Colts...
Prediction: 190 yards with 1 TD and 1 INT.
Actual: 104 yards passing, 0 TD's, 2 INT's, 1 Fumble Lost.

San Fransisco at Seattle

Start: Matt Hasselbeck, SEA - As promised earlier by Mike Holmgren, the Seahawks came out slinging on Monday night, with Hass throwing the ball time and time again to start off the game. At one point he was on pace for 60 passes, but with the game well in hand, he "only" had 40 attempts. Very promising game for the Hawks, who hope to maintain the momentum going into this week's matchup with Da Bears...
Prediction: 250 yards with 2-3 TD’s.
Actual: 278 yards, 2 TD's, 1 INT, 16 yards rushing.

Bench: All San Francisco wide receivers - Well, since Alex Smith threw for only 114 yards total, and the 49'ers got shut out, I'd have to say Don nailed this one pretty well. The big question is, will the Pats have the #1 overall pick in 2008? The way SF is playing right now, it's a definite possibility...
Prediction: 9 receptions for 110 yards and 0 TD’s.
Actual: 8 receptions for 102 yards and 0 TD's.

Don's Total's: Starts: 4-2-1. Benches: 6-0-1. Total: 10-2-2.