Instant Accountability

Dallas 37, Green Bay 27

Start: Donald Driver, GB - Although he did haul in 7 catches, as predicted, I didn't expect him to go for less than 10 YPC. In PPR leagues, the numbers were acceptible, but these predictions aren't based on PPR leagues, so it was a miss...
Prediction: 7 catches, 105 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 7 catches, 66 yards, 0 TD's.

Bench: Patrick Crayton, DAL – This one should have been right on, as Crayton only had 42 yards on just 3 catches. Unfortunately, 2 of the 3 catches went for TD's, making it an 0-2 start for me on Thursday. Let's hope Sunday's games were better....
Prediction: 4 catches, 52 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 3 catches, 42 yards, 2 TD's.

San Diego 24, Kansas City 10

Start: Tony Gonzalez, KC - I'm sure all Gonzalez owners (including me) were extremely happy to see Huard back at QB this week, because basically, the only person he looks for in passing situations is Tony G. No TD's, but a huge game for Gonzalez, with 10 catches for 140 yards...
Prediction: 5 catches, 77 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 10 catches, 140 yards, 0 TD's.

Bench: Phillip Rivers, SD - Yes, SD won, but it was because Norv was smart (for once), and instructed Rivers to give the ball to LT all day (just under 200 total yards, 2 TD's). Rivers had another terrible game, completing less than 50% of his passes. Unless he can find a way to get back to Rivers version 2006, it is going to be 1 and out for the Bolts in the playoffs once again...
Prediction: 199 yards passing, 1 TD, 2 INT's.
Actual: 157 yards passing, 1 TD, 1 INT.

Tennessee 28, Houston 10

Start: LenDale White, TEN - I'm going to be generous to myself here and call this one a push, as White was on his way to a possible 100 yard game before suffering a shoulder injury midway through the 3rd quarter. Even with the injury, White still had 67 total yards and a TD. Chris Brown finished the game, with 46 yards rushing and a TD.
Prediction: 24 carries, 95 yards, 1 TD.
Actual: 12 carries, 60 yards, 1 catch, 7 yards, 1 TD.

Bench: Ron Dayne, HOU - Another nice game for Dayne, who is having his best season as a pro (who knew?). 86 yards on the ground, a surprising 25 yards receiving and a TD makes for a strong fantasy performance in a losing effort. Dayne looks like he can be counted on as a solid #2 RB for the fantasy playoffs...
Prediction: 16 carries, 60 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 18 carries, 86 yards, 3 catches, 25 yards, 1 TD.

Indianapolis 28, Jacksonville, 25

Start: David Garrard, JAX - Yes, he had two turnovers, including his first INT thrown on the year. But Garrard still had another strong fantasy day, completing 24 out of 29 passes for 257 yards and two TD's in the loss to INDY in a very good game to watch...
Prediction: 220 yards passing, 1 TD, 0 INT's, 4 carries, 19 yards rushing.
Actual: 257 yards passing, 2 TD's, 1 INT, 5 yards rushing, 1 fumble lost.

Bench: Anthony Gonzalez, IND - Perfect example of how one good game for a rookie WR doesn't make him a must start, even if he has Peyton Manning throwing to him. Gonzalez was set to prove me wrong with a TD catch, but it was called back for offensive pass interference. This guy should only be started in deep leagues going forward, as he cannot be counted on due to inconsistency...
Prediction: 5 catches, 62 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 1 catch, 22 yards, 0 TD's.

Buffalo 17, Washington 16

Start: Jason Campbell, WAS - So much for that hot streak, although you have to wonder what was going through the heads of the Skins after the tragic loss of Sean Taylor this week. The team collapsed in the 4th quarter, as the Bills came back to win a close one on a late FG by Rian Lindell...
Prediction: 280 yards passing, 2-3 TD's, 1 INT.
Actual: 216 yards passing, 0 TD's, 1 INT, 1 fumble lost, 19 yards rushing...

Bench: Lee Evans, BUF - As expected, Evans had a poor game, with just 51 yards on 4 catches. The numbers were a little higher than I had predicted, but 5 points is worthy of a bench in all formats. Edwards did a nice job spreading the ball around though, with 5 Bills getting 4-5 catches...
Prediction: 3 catches, 39 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 4 catches, 51 yards, 0 TD's.

Minnesota 42, Detroit 10

Start: Sidney Rice, MIN - Rice continued his mini-hot streak, with 53 yards receiving and a TD in the romp over DET. Don't be surprised to see him as one of the top WR sleepers in next year's fantasy drafts... Rice is worthy of being owned in most leagues at this point, but I wouldn't count on him being more than a #4 WR...
Prediction: 4 catches, 70 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 5 catches, 53 yards, 1 TD.

Bench: Jon Kitna, DET - I hit this one almost exactly, as Kitna threw for 260 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, and 3 fumbles (although he recovered 2 of them himself). Just an ugly day for the Lions all around, with a total of 16 yards rushing, including 3 carries for 1 yard by Kevin Jones... Is this it for Matt Millen?
Prediction: 265 yards passing, 1 TD, 2 INT's.
Actual: 260 yards passing, 1 TD, 1 INT, -5 yards rushing..

St. Louis 28, Atlanta 16

Start: Warrick Dunn, ATL - Gusto is going to rake me over the coals for this one, and I apologize to the 3 of you that read this site and may have started him this week. Who knew that Gus friggin Frerotte would throw 3 TD's? Dunn had just 11 touches for 40 total yards in the loss to the Rams...
Prediction: 17 carries, 70 yards, 3 receptions, 22 yards, 1 TD.
Actual: 10 carries, 17 yards, 1 catch, 23 yards, 0 TD's.

Bench: Drew Bennett, STL - Almost hit this one exactly, as Bennett caught just 2 balls for 33 yards, despite the fact that Gus had 35 attempts and over 300 yards passing. Bennett is safe to drop in most leagues at this point, as both Bruce and Holt seem to be relatively healthy, and Steven Jackson is back to being a WR part time...
Prediction: 3 catches, 38 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 2 catches, 33 yards, 0 TD's.

Seattle 28, Philadelphia 24

Start: Matt Hasselbeck, SEA - Another stud "Start", another stud "Miss". Hass did throw 2 TD's, but had under 200 yards passing on the day, along with 1 INT, as he clearly missed THIMD favorite D.J. Hackett, out with an ankle sprain. The Hawks keep winning, but are so boring to watch (Fox was gracious enough to put this game on in MA)...
Prediction: 270 yards passing, 2 TD's, 0 INT's.
Actual: 187 yards passing, 2 TD's, 1 INT.

Bench: Reggie Brown/Kevin Curtis, PHI - I only get a push here, as although Curtis and Brown combined for 8 catches and 137 yards, close to my prediction for each, Curtis had 111 of them, including a TD. A.J. Feeley continues to show why he is a career backup QB, with 4 more interceptions. If McNabb is out next week, could it be Kevin Kolb time?
Prediction: No more than 4 catches, 60 yards receiving for each, with 0 TD's.
Actual: 6 catches, 111 yards, 1 TD for Curtis, 2 catches, 26 yards, 0 TD's for Brown.

Greg's Totals: Starts: 3-4-1, Benches: 5-2-1. Total: 8-6-2

New York Jets 40, Miami 13

Start: Thomas Jones, NYJ - Gusto missed a bit on the rushing yard total, but made up for it with the fact that Jones chipped in 25 yards receiving on the team that may finish the season 0-16. Seriously, I don't think I ever seen a worse team in my lifetime than the 2007 Dolphins, including the 1-15 Patriots from the Lisa Olsen/Rod Rust era...
Prediction: 22 carries for 90 yards with 1 TD.
Actual: 24 carries, 75 yards, 1 catch, 25 yards receiving, 1 TD.

Bench: Marty Booker, MIA - Marty wasn't the top Booker in terms of receiving yards this week, as Lorenzo had 63 yards on 6 catch, compared to just 36 yards on 4 catches. Terrible game for the Fins, who get to travel to Buffalo to face the pesky Bills next week. So what is the spread going to be against the Pats in Week 15? 30? 35? Ugly...
Prediction: 4 catches for 50 yards.
Actual: 4 catches for 37 yards, 0 TD's.

Carolina 31, San Francisco 14

Start: Trent Dilfer, SF - After a strong game last week, Dilfer went back to being the crappy QB we all know, with a whopping 4 INT's in the loss to CAR. When Methuselah (Vinny T.) outplays you, it's time to start thinking about post-retirement plans. Terrible, terrible game, even with the 2 TD passes...
Prediction: 225 yards and 2 TD’s.
Actual: 171 yards passing, 2 TD's, 4 INT's.

Bench: DeShaun Foster, CAR - Much to Gusto's chagrin, Foster actually had himself a very good fantasy day, with 58 yards rushing, 35 yards receiving, and a TD against the lowly 49'ers. Yeah, it took him 21 carries to get to 58 yards, but if you had to start him, I'm sure you didn't care. Williams had a big game as well with just under 150 total yards for the Panthers...
Prediction: 13 carries for 50 yards.
Actual: 21 carries, 58 yards, 3 catches, 35 yards receiving, 1 TD.

Arizona 27, Cleveland 21

Start: Jamal Lewis, CLE - Lewis fell a bit short of Gusto's prediction of rushing yards, but we'll give it to him because he almost made up for it with the 24 yards receiving. Not quite the shootout I had expected, but there were still some good fantasy days on CLE's side. Only one player had a really solid game for ARI...
Prediction: 20 carries for 95 yards with 1 TD.
Actual: 16 carries, 62 yards rushing, 3 catches, 24 yards, 1 TD.

Bench: Edgerrin James, ARI - With all due respect to Bryant Johnson, who very few people started today, Edge had his first big game in weeks, rushing for over 100 yards in the win over the Browns. Warner only thew for 169, but with the running game going well for once, he didn't have to throw it 40 times, and only had 1 turnover as a result, as the Cards kept their playoff hopes alive...
Prediciton: 16 carries for 65 yards.
Actual: 24 carries, 114 yards, 0 TD's.

Oakland 34, Denver 20

Start: Justin Fargas, OAK - Fargas had one of the best fantasy games of the day, with 164 total yards and a TD in a convincing win over the 5-7 Broncos. The Raiders may be bad, but their offensive line is among the best in the league, as Fargas moves closer to being an RB1 for the fantasy playoffs...
Prediction: 110 yards from scrimmage.
Actual: 33 carries, 146 yards rushing, 2 catches, 18 yards, 1 TD.

Bench: Javon Walker, DEN - We didn't get this game televised in MA, but based on his #'s, my guess is that he is still extremely hobbled by the knee injury suffered earlier in the season, with just one catch. Until you hear that Walker is 100%, it's highly advisable to keep him on your bench...
Prediction: 4 receptions for 40 yards.
Actual: 1 catch, 7 yards, 0 TD's.

Tampa Bay 27, New Orleans 23

Start: Reggie Bush, NO - Bush had a very sub-par game in the loss to TB, with just 77 total yards and 0 TD's. 2 of his 3 catches totaled 0 yards, and TB did a good job at containing the entire NO offense all day, despite only forcing 1 turnover (lost fumble by Bush). Look for Bush and the Saints to bounce back, with games against ATL an ARI upcoming...
Prediction: 110 yards from scrimmage with 4-6 receptions.
Actual: 12 carries, 64 yards rushing, 3 catches, 13 yards 0 TD's, 1 fumble lost.

Bench: Joey Galloway, TB - Only 1 TB player had more than 45 yards receiving, and McCown threw for 313 yards. Guess who had the monster game? Yep, it was Galloway, who continued his dominance over NO, even without Garcia. Considering that he had all but 11 of his 159 yards in the 2nd half, Galloway owners checking the game online probably expected more! Either way, a great performance...
Prediction: 3 catches for 45 yards.
Actual: 7 catches, 159 yards, 0 TD's.

New York Giants 21, Chicago 16

Start: Adrian Peterson, CHI - Bears fans were probably screaming at their TV's today, asking Lovie Smith why he didn't pull the plug on Benson earlier in the season (he may have never made the switch if Benson didn't get hurt!)... Very nice game for Peterson, with just under 150 total yards on 29 touches, although he didn't score as Don has predicted. Grossman actually had a decent game as well, despite being sacked 6 times. Eli looked pretty terrible again, but the Giants pulled out the win with 2 scores in the 4th quarter...
Prediction: 85 yards from scrimmage and 1 TD.
Actual: 22 carries, 67 yards rushing, 7 catches, 82 yards receiving, 0 TD's.

Bench: Jeremy Shockey, NYG - It was almost if Manning forgot that Shockey was one of his best options, as Shockey only had 2 catches for 25 yards on the day. But because Derrick Ward was on his way to a monster game (185 total yards, 1 TD), Shockey can be commended more for his blocking this week. While that doesn't help fantasy owners, Giants fans will take a "W" any whch way they can...
Prediction: 4 catches for 38 yards.
Actual: 2 catches, 25 yards, 0 TD's.

Pittsburgh 24, Cincinnatti 10

Start: Heath Miller, PIT - As was the case in last week's ugly game against MIA, the only WR/TE that had a meaningful fantasy game was Hines Ward, who had a monster game - 11 catches, 90 yards, and a TD. Miller? Not so much... 4 catches for a total of 30 yards isn't going to make too many fantasy owners happy, even in PPR leagues...
Prediction: 5 receptions for 65 yards with a 25+ yard catch or TD.
Actual: 4 receptions, 30 yards, 0 TD's.

Bench: Rudi Johnson, CIN - While Johnson only had 34 yards rushing, which was below Don's prediction, the TD makes this a miss for Gusto this week. Johnson actually was on pace for a decent game, with just under 20 yards rushing after the first quarter (with the TD as well), but as CIN fell behind, they abandoned the run for the most part, along with the fact that the field condition was terrible for the 2nd straight game at Heinz Field...
Prediction: 17 carries for 65 yards.
Actual: 14 carries, 34 yards, 1 TD.

New England at Baltimore

Start: Stephen Gostkowski, NE - Gostkowski maintained the status quo for the most part, albeit with fewer extra points than usual. Due to the wind factor, he only attempted 2 FG's, nailing both of them, along with 3 PAT's in the nail-biter against BAL. And a big "eff" you goes to all of the BAL defensive players that were crying about the officiating after the game...
Prediction: 3 field goals and millions of extra points.
Actual: 2 FG's, 3 PAT's.

Bench: Willis McGahee, BAL - McGahee continued his strong season with a monster game, racking up close to 160 total yards and a TD. As a Pats fan it was extremely frustrating to watch him make play after play, although they were successful in keeping him under wraps towards the end of the game....
Prediction: 12 carries for 50 yards, 2 receptions for 10 yards.
Actual: 30 carries, 138 yards rushing, 4 catches, 21 yards, 1 TD.

Don's Totals: Starts: 4-4-0, Benches: 3-5-0. Total: 7-9-0