Instant Accountability

Dallas 28, Detroit 27

Start: Patrick Crayton, DAL - I'm done picking Crayton for this column, as he has done the exact opposite of what I had predicted in the past 2 weeks. Great comeback win for the Cowboys, led by a ridiculous 15 catches by Jason Witten...

Prediction: 5 catches, 80 yards, 1 TD.
Actual: 3 catches, 35 yards, 0 TD's.

Bench: Calvin Johnson, DET - Hopefully Gusto's man-love for Megatron has ended, as he put up another terrible game, even with Roy Williams out. If your team is still alive and you own Johnson, it would be wise to give him a seat for the rest of the year...
Prediction: 5 catches, 62 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 5 catches, 51 yards, 0 TD's.

Green Bay 38, Oakland 7

Start: Ryan Grant, GB - As mentioned earlier in the week, the Raiders were allowing 150+ yards rushing per game. Grant made sure to hit that number on his own, with an absolute monster game - 156 yards rushing in the blowout win. Michael Turner has one less potential destination next season...
Prediction: 28 carries, 124 yards rushing, 2 catches, 16 yards receiving, 1 TD.
Actual 29 carries, 156 yards, 2 catches, 6 yards, 1 TD.

Bench: Ronald Curry, OAK - Terrible game all around for the Raiders, as they had less than 250 total yards on offense. Porter had 3 less yards than Curry this week, but he did score a TD. Hopefully you don't have to rely on either of these guys though...
Prediction: 3 catches, 42 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 2 catches, 48 yards, 0 TD's.

Cincinnati 19, St. Louis 10

Start: Jeff Wilkins, STL - He did hit a long FG as I had predicted, but that was about it. The Rams just couldn't get it going on offense today, with the only TD coming on an INT return by Fahkir Brown...
Prediction: 3 FG's, at least one from 45+ yards, 1-2 XP's.
Actual: 1 FG (50 yds), 1 XP.

Bench: Rudi Johnson, CIN - Johnson looked like he was on his way to another awful game with just 9 yards on 8 carries (with a TD) in the first half. But with the Bengals focusing on the running game in the 2nd half, with 84 yards on 14 carries in what turned out to be a good game for Johnson...
Prediction: 15 carries, 52 yards, 1 catch, 9 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 23 carries, 92 yards, 1 catch, 1 yard, 1 TD.

Jacksonville 37, Carolina 6

Start: Fred Taylor, JAX - Man, is Taylor trying to make a run at a Pro Bowl berth or what? Another huge game, including an 80 yard TD run in the 4th quarter against the hapless Panthers, who have begun their focus on a high draft pick for 2008...
Prediction: 16 carries, 85 yards rushing, 2 catches, 14 yards receiving, 0 TD's.
Actual: 18 carries, 132 yards rushing, 2 catches, 26 yards, 1 TD.

Bench: DeAngelo Williams, CAR - Well, the Panthers offense had about 150 total yards today, so Williams' prospects of proving my prediction wrong was virtually impossible. 5 touches, 12 total yards - not good... Foster didn't do much either, with just 49 total yards.
Prediction: 9 carries, 35 yards, 2 catches, 15 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 3 carries, 7 yards, 2 catches, 5 yards, 0 TD's.

New York Giants 16, Philadelphia 13

Start: Amani Toomer, NYG - Toomer put up roughly half of what I had predicted for him, so needless to say, I missed on this one. Manning had a Garrard-esque game, with 200+ yards, 1 TD, and 0 INT's in the win over the Eagles. I still can't believe the G-Men are 9-4 - I don't know if they could beat any of the top 6 teams in the AFC...
Prediction: 6 catches, 70 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual:3 catches, 37 yards, 0 TD's.

Bench: Donovan McNabb, PHI - McNabb had a mediocre day in his first game back, but I still missed on this one, as he didn't throw any INT's. It'll be interesting to see if Philly does bring him back next year, as stated earlier this week...
Prediction: 220 yards passing, 1 TD, 2 INT's.
Actual: 179 yards passing, 1 TD, 0 INT's, 4 carries, 11 yards rushing.

San Diego 23, Tennessee 17

Start: Justin Gage, TENN - Yeah, so I'm getting throttled in my first round matchup, and Gage is just one of the many reasons why. I caught a good chunk of this game, and it was painful to watch. Vince Young is an awful, awful QB, averaging less than 6 YPA, along with 0 TD's and 2 INT's....
Prediction: 6 catches, 82 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 1 catch, 12 yards, 0 TD's.

Bench: Antonio Gates, SD - The TD prevents this one from being a "hit", as Gates had just 4 catches for 32 yards (and said TD) prior to OT. An extra 25 yards in OT gave Gates double digit fantasy points on the day...
Prediction: 4 catches, 52 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 6 catches, 57 yards, 1 TD's.

Houston 28, Tampa Bay 14

Start: Earnest Graham, TB - I'll take this one, as even though Graham didn't cross the 100 yard barrier (shocking upset, by the way), any fantasy owner will take 100 total yards and 2 TD's...
Prediction: 26 carries, 104 yards rushing, 3 catches, 20 yards receiving, 1-2 TD's.
Actual: 15 carries, 61 yards rushing, 6 catches, 45 yards, 2 TD's.

Bench: Owen Daniels, HOU - The projection was right on, other than the fact that he caught a TD, which seemed to be the theme on my "bench's" today... Interesting game for Rosenfels, with just 209 yards passing despite the fact that he had 36 attempts. On the flip side, he threw 3 TD's, although he lost 2 fumbles. Needless to say, he doesn't belong on your roster next week if Schaub is still out...
Prediction: 3 catches, 31 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 3 catches, 20 yards, 1 TD.

Greg's Totals (Including Thursday's game): Starts: 4-4-0, Bench's: 4-4-0. Total: 8-8-0

Buffalo 38, Miami 17

Start: Marshawn Lynch OR Fred Jackson, BUF - Although neither scored, both Jackson and Lynch crossed the 100 yard barrier in the laugher against MIA, keeping BUF alive in the playoff hunt. Keep an eye on the situation in Buffalo, as it wouldn't surprise me to see a timeshare between the two to keep both guys fresh for the last 3 games of the season...
Prediction: Buffalo RB’s combine for 140+ yards from scrimmage with at least 1 TD.
Actual: 38 carries, 222 yards rushing combined, 0 TD's, 1 lost fumble.

Bench: Jesse Chatman, MIA - DNP (Ankle).
Prediction: 13 carries for 50 yards, 2 receptions for 15 yards.
Actual: DNP

Minnesota 27, San Francisco 7

Start: Sidney Rice, MIN - I think we here at THIMD jinxed Rice, as he had his worst game in weeks, despite a blowout of the 49'ers. The big story here was the fact that AP had 3 yards on 14 carries! Gusto called me from the Pats game to ask if he was hurt, as the stats on his phone said he had 0 yards rushing at one point....
Prediction: 5 receptions for 75 yards receiving with at least one 30+ yard catch or a touchdown.
Actual: 2 catches, 21 yards, 0 TD's.

Bench: Frank Gore, SF - Gore actually had a pretty good game despite the fact that his QB's today were Trent Dilfer and some guy named Shaun Hill, who threw his first NFL pass today, 1 month before his 28th birthday. Gore had 24 touches for 117 yards, although he lost 2 fumbles. Because of this, I'm going to give Gusto a push on this one...
Prediction: 85 yards from scrimmage.
Actual: 117 yards from scrimmage, 2 lost fumbles.

Seattle 42, Arizona 21

Start: Matt Hasselbeck, SEA - Gusto's "gimme" for this week, and it was a good one, as Hass had a monster game at home against the Cardinals: 4 TD's, no INT's, and 272 yards passing. As boring as the Seahawks are, Hass is one of the best QB's in the NFL...
Prediction: 230 yards with 2-3 TD’s.
Actual: 272 yards passing, 4 TD's, 0 INT's.

Bench: Edgerrin James, ARI - Edge hit Gusto's #'s almost exactly in terms of total yards, in another mediocre effort. I started Fargas over him the past two weeks, and although it paid off last week, James actually outperformed him this week. As a side note, the team I played in my league had the highest scoring game in the history of the league (in existence since the 90's). My team screwed the pooch anyways, so it's a fight for 3rd at this point...
Prediction: 20 carries for 75 yards, 1 catch for 5 yards.
Actual: 13 carries for 46 yards, 3 catches for 24 yards, 0 TD's.

New England 34, Pittsburgh 13

Start: Hines Ward, PIT - WOOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!! Man, what a fun 2nd half today! When the road to 16-0 is home games against the Jets and Miami, followed by a trip to face Eli "I'm Going To Have A Deer In Headlights Look The Entire Game" Manning... Ward was a non-factor today, with just 39 yards receiving on 5 catches. He did have a goal line carry as well, but got stuffed by the outstanding Patriots defense. Good call Anthony Smith!
Prediction: 6 catches for 80 yards with a TD.
Actual:

Bench: Laurence Maroney, NE - The Pats ran the ball 9 times today, so needless to say, Maroney did not have 70 yards from scrimmage. 0 catches, 18 yards rushing, and another disappointing day for a guy that was drafted in the first 2 rounds in most leagues this year... On the bright side, an upset win by ATL this week means that the Pats would currently hold the 3rd pick in the 2008 draft, so maybe we can get our hands on Arkansas RB Darren McFadden...
Prediction: 70 yards from scrimmage.
Actual: 8 carries, 18 yards, 0 TD's.

Denver 41, Kansas City 7

Start: Kolby Smith, KC - I haven't seen the highlights of this one yet, but the box score for Smith is baffling; 14 touches for 10 yards? Against the Broncos? If someone would like to tell me what ringers the Broncos imported for the game, I'll give them a THIMD t-shirt. We don't have a logo or any t-shirts yet, but someday... Big miss for Gusto here, as well as....
Prediction: 20 carries for 100 yards, 2 catches for 15 yards.
Actual: 13 carries, 12 yards rushing, 1 catch, -2 yards receiving, 0 TD's.

Bench: Selvin Young, DEN - Good ole Mikey strikes again! I feel bad for owners of our dad, as it appeared that Henry would have been in line for the start today. Surprise! Young rewarded all of those Bronco fantasy players that left him in their lineup today, rushing for 156 yards on just 17 carries, or 9.2 YPC. Next week I'll be back to listing "Denver RB" in my rankings...
Prediction: 5 carries for 20 yards, 3 receptions for 30 yards.
Actual: 17 carries, 156 yards, 0 TD's.

Cleveland 24, NY Jets 18

Start: Jamal Lewis, CLE - The Jets actually stayed with CLE all game, losing only by 6. Lewis continued his strong season with 137 total yards and 2 TD's. He doesn't get much publicity, but Phil Savage gets a big thumbs up for signing Lewis, who looked washed up going into this season...
Prediction: 100+ yards from scrimmage with 1 TD.
Actual: 21 carries, 118 yards, 3 catches, 19 yards, 2 TD's



Bench: Kellen Clemens, NYJ - Despite the fact that Clemens didn't throw a TD, this still qualifies as a miss for Gusto, as Clemens threw for 286 yards, and also ran for a TD (along w/2 INT's) in a losing effort. Cotchery had a great game in a surprising start, going over 100 yards receiving.
Prediction: 195 yards with 1 TD and 2 INT’s.
Actual: 286 yards passing, 0 TD's, 2 INT's, 3 carries, 8 yards, 1 TD rushing.

Indianapolis 44, Baltimore 20

Start: Anthony Gonzalez, IND - Fantastic call by Gusto here, as Gonzalez easily had his best game of the year, going off for 134 yards and 2 TD's in a rout of the Ravens. If he was available in your league prior to last night's game, expect him to be plucked off the waiver wire this week...
Prediction: 5 catches for 65 yards and 1 TD.
Actual:

Bench: Derrick Mason, BAL - Kyle Boller and Troy Smith combined to complete 22 of 30 attempts, but for only 165 yards, for a miserable YPA of 5.5. To top it off, Mark Clayton had 90 of the yards, resulting in Mason having one of his worst games of the year...

Prediction: 5-7 receptions for 65 yards.
Actual: 3 catches for 30 yards, 0 TD's.

New Orleans 34, Atlanta 14

Start: Marques Colston, NO - Big game for Colston, who hauled in 9 catches for 92 yards and 2 TD's. The Falcons secondary had no answer for him or David Patten, who had 9 catches as well. Colston is on pace for over 1,200 yards receiving on the year, so I think it's safe to say he avoided the dreaded sophomore slump...
Prediction: 5 receptions for 80 yards with 1-2 TD’s.
Actual: 9 catches, 92 yards receiving, 2 TD's.

Bench: Warrick Dunn, ATL - After having 4 strong games in a row between Weeks 9-12, Dunn has really started to show his age the past two games. After last week's performance of 17 yards on 10 carries, he followed it up with 3 yards on 6 carries, giving him a robust 20 yards on 16 carries the past 2 weeks. It looks like Norwood may finally get a shot at the starting gig, so unless you have no other options (which you should), Dunn should not be playing for your team the rest of the year...
Prediction: 65 yards from scrimmage.
Actual: 6 carries, 3 yards, 1 catch, 11 yards, 0 TD's.

Gusto's Totals: Starts: 5-3-0, Bench's: 4-2-2. Total: 9-5-2