Instant Accountability

San Fransisco 20, Cincinnatti 13

Start: Arnaz Battle, SF - Shaun Hill actually had a pretty efficient game, completing 75% of his passes, throwing for a TD (Vernon Davis), and running for one as well, along with just under 200 yards passing. However, the receiver he looked for most was Darrell Jackson, who had one of his best games of the year (8 catches, 86 yards). Hill only looked Battle's way 3 times all game, resulting in a "miss" for me...
Prediction: 4 catches, 65 yards, 1 TD.
Actual: 2 catches, 23 yards, 0 TD's.

Bench: Chris Henry, CIN - I hate taking "misses" on WR that only catch one pass, but when it is a 52 yard TD... My yardage prediction was spot on, but I hadn't accounted for the TD. Another mediocre game for Palmer, with just the 1 TD against the 49'ers, and Johnson/Houshmanzedah both had less than 80 yards receiving. Not including his monster game against CLE Week 2, Palmer has just 16 TD's (& 15 INT's) in 13 games this year....
Prediction: 3 catches, 48 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 1 catch, 52 yards, 1 TD.

New England 20, NY Jets 10

Start: Jabar Gaffney, NE - As expected, the weather ended up playing a huge factor, as only 1 TD was scored between both offenses. Randy Moss had 79 of Brady's 140 yards passing, so needless to say, Gaffney failed to make much of an impact today. It was nice to see Maroney play so well, as the Pats will need games like that from him in January...
Prediction: 6 catches, 90 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 2 catches, 8 yards, 0 TD's.

Bench: The entire NY Jets offense - I'll give credit to Pennington, who actually did okay given the conditions, but the fact still remains that the Jets weren't able to get things going at all today, and if you take away Leon Washington's 49 yard run, they were only able to manage 41 yards on 16 carries...
Prediction: 1 TD, 1 FG, Less than 300 yards of total offense, at least 1 INT.
Actual: 0 TD's, 1 FG, 276 total yards, 1 INT, 1 fumble lost.

Carolina 13, Seattle 10

Start: DeShaun Foster, CAR - Surprising upset win for the Panthers in what looked to have been a putrid game to watch. No TD's were scored until the last minute of the game, when 1 was scored by each side. Foster was uneventful as usual (I should have known better), being outgained by Williams 72 to 47...
Prediction, 27 carries, 84 yards, 1 catch, 8 yards, 1 TD.
Actual: 18 carries, 47 yards, 0 TD's.

Bench: Shaun Alexander, SEA - 17 yards rushing looks horrible, but considering that one of his 7 carries was a 20 yard run, simple math says that he had 6 carries for -3 yards. I think it's finally time for Holmgren to give Alexander a seat on the bench, as most of his fantasy owners have done so already...
Prediction: 15 carries, 54 yards, 1 catch, 4 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 7 carries, 17 yards rushing, 1 catch, 6 yards receiving, 0 TD's.

Green Bay 33, St. Louis 14

Start: Donald Driver, GB - You know, I was really close in a lot of my predictions this week in terms of yardage, but it's so frickin hard to predict whether or not someone will score... Driver came within 1 yard of my prediction, had another solid game for PPR leagues, but this one's a miss because he didn't score. Oh well...
Prediction: 7 catches, 81 yards, 1 TD.
Actual: 5 catches, 80 yards, 0 TD's.

Bench: Isaac Bruce, STL - This prediction was made with the assumption that Berlin would be at the helm. (Warning: cop-out ahead). Had I known Bulger was starting, I would have bumped Bruce from this spot, as I figured he'd have close to 60 yards with his starting QB back. I'm going to be extremely generous to myself and call this one a push...
Prediction: 3 catches, 42 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 4 catches, 72 yards, 0 TD's.

Tennessee 26, Kansas City 17

Start: Dwayne Bowe, KC - Bowe did almost exactly as I had thought he would, with a decent game against a tough TENN defense. For some reason I felt that KC was actually going to win this game, and although they had the lead at halftime, the fact that Young didn't make any crucial mistakes today (see below), the small wager I had put on the Chiefs didn't pay off...
Prediction: 5 catches, 73 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 5 catches, 64 yards, 0 TD's.

Bench: Vince Young, TENN - Reverse the TD/INT totals, and I almost nailed this one... I'll give credit to Young, who helped keep TENN's playoff hopes alive with the win in KC today. If he can minimize the mental errors, he should be a serviceable QB in this league...
Prediction: 179 yards passing, 1 TD, 2 INT's, 30 yards rushing.
Actual: 191 yards passing, 2 TD's, 0 INT's, 32 yards rushing.

New Orleans 31, Arizona 24

Start: Kurt Warner, ARI - I was a little high in the yardage department, but he made up for it with only 1 INT and hitting my high end for TD's in the loss to New Orleans. This one looked to be a shootout, and the two teams didn't disappoint, as Brees threw for 315 and 2, keeping in the hunt for a wild card spot and essentially eliminating any hope ARI has of making the playoffs this year...
Prediction: 310 yards passing, 2-3 TD's, 2-3 INT's, 1 fumble lost.
Actual: 233 yards passing, 3 TD's, 1 INT, 1 fumble lost.

Bench: Aaron Stecker, NO - Well, I guess the lesson learned here is that whichever player I strongly disagree with Gusto on in our WTF column, go with Gusto unless his name is Calvin Johnson (although he had a good game today - go figure). Fantastic game for Stecker, scoring two TD's along with over 140 total yards. The rushing yards were more impressive when you consider that none of his runs exceeded 15 yards. Yes, I'm eating humble pie for dessert tonight...
Prediction: 18 carries, 70 yards rushing, 2 catches, 13 yards receiving, o TD's.
Actual: 22 carries, 95 yards rushing, 6 catches, 46 yards receiving, 2 TD's, 1 fumble lost.

Cleveland 8, Buffalo 0

Start: Robert Royal, BUF - Predicting any WR/TE to have a good game in CLE turned out to be a nightmare, as no player from either team had more than 4 catches, and Braylon Edwards was the only one with more than 40 yards (all of it in the first half). Crippling loss for the Bills, who saw their playoff hopes dashed by a blizzard...
Prediction: 4 catches, 41 yards, 1 TD.
Actual: 1 catch, 9 yards, 0 TD's.

Bench: Joe Jurevicius, CLE - Jurevicius caught an ugly one for 25 yards in the first half, but was basically shut out the rest of the way, with just 1 more catch for 9 yards. He can be safely dropped in all leagues at this point...
Prediction: 3 catches, 37 yards, 0 TD's.
Actual: 2 catches, 34 yards, 0 TD's.

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

Jacksonville 29, Pittsburgh 22

Start: Willie Parker, PIT - Another ho-hum day for Parker, rushing for 100 yards (again), but not scoring (again). Tough miss for Gusto, as the extra yards didn't make up for the fact that FWP didn't get into the end zone. It's a shame this game wasn't shown around here (other than the last minute), as it looked to be a great one. I'll be honest, as a Pats fan, JAX seems to be the team that would matchup best against us. I wouldn't want to be the divisional winner that has to face them in the first round...
Prediction: 20 carries for 80 yards with at least 1 TD.
Actual: 14 carries, 100 yards, 2 catches, 9 yards, 0 TD's.

Bench: Fred Taylor, JAC - WOW. Has anyone checked The Mitchell Report to see if Fragile Fred is in there? Another huge, huge game from the biggest surprise of the season. Taylor now has almost 1,100 yards rushing on the season, and in facing OAK/HOU the next two weeks, is a legitimate RB1 at this point. Just an unbelievable season for Taylor...
Prediction: 14 carries for 60 yards.
Actual: 25 carries, 147 yards, 1 TD.

Tampa Bay 37, Atlanta 3

Start: Jeff Garcia, TB - TB scored 4 TD's today: 1 on the ground (Graham), 1 via INT return (Barber), 1 via Kickoff return (Spurlock), and 1 through the air. Garcia's #'s were actually pretty terrible, averaging just over 4 YPA, with just 109 yards on 25 attempts. It didn't really matter as the Bucs rolled, but TB fans have reason to be concerned if he has a repeat performance next week...
Prediction: 225 yards with 2-3 TD’s.
Actual: 109 yards passing, 1 TD, 1 INT.

Bench: Michael Jenkins, ATL - So much for the Chris Redman era! 4 of 15 for 34 yards and two INT's. Words cannot describe how bad he sucked today. Yes, TB has a strong defense, but this was like taking candy from a baby (it's been a long day, sorry for the Matt Berry-worthy line). Where's Mike Vick when you need him???
Prediction: 4 catches for 45 yards.
Actual: 1 catch for 5 yards.

Miami 22, Baltimore 16

Start: Derrick Mason, BAL - We'll give this one to Gusto, as although he only had about half the number of receiving yards predicted, he did find his way into the end zone, as the horrible, horrible Ravens couldn't finish off the worst team in football. Somewhere, the 1976 Bucs are celebrating with a few bottles of Private Stock...
Prediction: 7 receptions for 85 yards.
Actual: 4 catches, 45 yards, 1 TD.

Bench: Jesse Chatman, MIA - DNP
Prediction: 10 carries for 40 yards.
Actual: DNP

Indianapolis 21, Oakland 14

Start: Anthony Gonzalez, IND - More than halfway through the 4th quarter, my prediction that Bowe would outgain Gonzalez this week looked good. Then he caught a nifty 23 yard TD late in the game to give Gusto the nod. Man, I had a bad friggin week! Gonzalez had two solid games in a row for the first time this year in a close win over the Raiders...
Prediction: 5 receptions for 70 yards with 1 TD.
Actual: 7 catches, 86 yards, 1 TD.

Bench: Justin Fargas, OAK - Huggy Bear Jr. put up very good numbers against a depleted Colts defense, with almost 100 total yards and a TD. For some reason (the game literally just ended), Rhodes had all the carries on their last drive, preventing Fargas from having his 4th 100 yard rushing day of the year... (Editor's note: apparently Fargas had a knee injury, which explains why he didn't play during the final drive for OAK.)
Prediction: 16 carries for 60 yards.
Actual: 26 carries, 89 yards rushing, 1 catch, 7 yards receiving, 1 TD.

San Diego 51, Detroit 14

Start: Kevin Jones, DET - The Lions were down 17-0 after the first quarter, and 34-7 at halftime. Needless to say, Jones didn't get 100 total yards today, as Gusto had predicted. In fact, the number was closer to 10, as he had just 18 total yards in a pitiful loss...
Prediction: 17 carries for 75 yards and 3 receptions for 25 yards.
Actual: 5 carries, 16 yards rushing, 1 catch, 2 yards receiving.

Bench: Chris Chambers, SD - Uh oh, the Bolts might be back... Norv is finally starting to realize that the key to winning is by running the football... Complete and utter domination of the Lions today, as both LT and Darren Sproles had over 100 yards rushing and 2 TD's. Looks like the Chargers have Turner's replacement for next season already in place. What a free fall by the Lions this year. Could this finally be the year that Millen is fired? We shall see... Good call by Gusto on Chambers, who had a decent day (78 total yards), but it was all about the ground attack against DET...
Prediction: 4 receptions for 60 yards.
Actual: 4 catches, 69 yards receiving, 1 carry, 9 yards rushing.

Dallas, Philadelphia 10, Dallas 6

Start: Nick Folk, DAL - How many people saw this upset coming? The only player that was worth starting in fantasy ended up being Jason Witten, who has become the 1 TE in fantasy this year (another 100+ yard day). Romo was absolutely terrible today, with 3 picks, 2 fumbles, and 0 TD's in the loss to Philly. And "the experts" think that DAL could potentially beat the Pats in the Super Bowl? Better luck next year... Folk had just two FG's, both of which were under 35 yards...
Prediction: 8-12 points between XP’s and FG’s.
Actual: 2 FG's, 0 XP's.

Bench: Donovan McNabb, PHI - McNabb had a very efficient game, with 208 yards passing, 1 TD, and an impressive 53 yards rushing, or as much as the entire Cowboys rushing attack. Although the rumors are that this is McNabb's last year with the Eagles (refuted by the team, although not too many people believe them), he showed signs of life today, as the Eagles are poised to play the role of spoiler next week, facing the 7-7 Saints, who will likely need to win their last two games to have any shot at the playoffs...
Prediction: 200 yards with 1 TD and 1-2 turnovers.
Actual: 208 yards passing, 1 TD, 0 turnovers, 53 yards rushing.

Washington 22, New York Giants 10

Start: Plaxico Burress, NYG - The windy conditions in NJ made Eli Manning look even worse than he already is, which is saying a lot. Peyton's brother completed just 18 of 52 passes, along with 1 lost fumble. As a result, Burress's numbers were sub-par, with just 35 yards receiving in the loss to the Skins...
Prediction: 5 catches for 80 yards with 1 TD.
Actual: 3 catches, 35 yards, 0 TD's.

Bench: Clinton Portis, WAS - Portis must have been reading my praise of him in Gusto's underrated column, as he went off on the G-Men Sunday night, rushing for a buck twenty-six and a TD, which was the 6th highest rushing total of the week. Next week he faces a tough MINN rush defense, so don't expect him to have another big game in the finals...
Prediction: 18 carries for 70 yards.
Actual: 25 carries, 126 yards, 1 TD.

Minnesota 20, Chicago 13

Start: Adrian Peterson/Chester Taylor, MIN - Well, the Vikes "only" had 146 yards on the ground in Monday's win, but they did score 2 TD's, courtesy of AP. Because Gusto wasn't that far off, I'm going to give him a push here....
Prediction: 185 yards rushing as a team with at least 2 TD’s.
Actual:

Bench: Adrian Peterson, CHI - Gusto hit this one almost perfectly, as the other AP had a dismal game rushing the ball (26 yards), but did have 8 catches for 51 yards. In PPR leagues, most guys would take the 15 points, considering how this week went, but in terms of this column, it's a definite "hit"...
Prediction: 75 yards from scrimmage.
Actual: 77 yards from scrimmage.

Don's Totals: Starts: 2-5-1, Benches: 3-4-1. Total: 5-9-2.