Late Week Wisdom

Well, we’re past the halfway point of most league’s regular season schedule and now is the time to position yourself for that playoff run. We’re still 2 week’s away from being done with the byes so make sure you have all of your Saints, Chargers, Bengals, 49ers, and Panthers on your bench. Let’s dive in.

Start

Kyle Orten QB CHI – One of the biggest surprises at QB of the first half, Orten lit up the Lions in their first meeting. They might try to establish Forte more in this game which will be outdoors in CHI, but Orten should still put up top 5 QB numbers this week. With Hester and Lloyd potentially back in the lineup, he’ll have all of his weapons available. (250 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT)

Chad Pennington QB MIA – I’m thinking Jets fans might be rethinking their desire to get rid of Pennington for Favre. Pennington has been much better and far more consistent than Favre and a lot of other QBs over the last 4 weeks. He’s got a great match up vs DEN this week and they might also pound the ball, but I think he’ll still look to go up top with his new favorite toy, Ted Ginn Jr. (185 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT)

Micheal Turner RB ATL – The one nice thing about Turner’s up and down season, is that you can pretty much predict when he’s going to have great games and when he’ll deliver a stinker. This is one of those weeks he should explode. OAK hasn’t been a stellar run defense and with the emergence of Roddy White and the maturing of Matt Ryan, the Raiders won’t be able to just stack the box. (135 yards, 2 TDs)

Earnest Graham RB TBY – KC has given up enormous games to many RBs this year. I think that streak continues this week for Graham. There is some concern that Dunn will steal half the carries, but with all his lingering injuries I don’t think he’ll get his normal workload. (85 yards, 2 TDs)

Matt Jones WR JAC – We all thought this guy wouldn’t be catching passes for at least 3 weeks. Well, I guess the NFL moves slower than most government agencies, so his appeal has yet to be heard. As of Thursday, he’s still practicing and all signs point to him starting again. He busted out last week with a whopping 16 targets. They have a great matchup vs CIN this week and if he’s starting for JAC, he’s starting for me. (75 yards, 1 TD)

Bernard Berrian WR MIN – Berrian has emerged as Frerotte’s main go to guy and this week’s opponent shouldn’t stand in his way of continuing that trend. HOU won’t be able to put much pressure on the QB and if they can establish the run, the play action pass will be wide open. (145 yards, 0 TDs)

Sit

Brett Favre QB NYJ – Like I mentioned above Favre just isn’t right. He’s throwing a lot, but many of those passes have been going to the other team. NY ‘s offense just isn’t in sync and they get to visit BUF this week. The weather might also be a factor and that doesn’t bode well for lots of deep balls. (215 yards, 1 TD, 2 OR 3 INTs)

Clinton Portis RB WAS – I’m guessing you’re surprised to see the NFL’s leading rusher on the sit list. Well, he’s dinged up for one and he’s also facing the league’s best rush defense. I think he’ll play this week on Monday night, but I wouldn’t expect the numbers he’s been putting up over the last few weeks. (65 yards, 0 TDs)

Ryan Grant RB GBY – Another RB facing an extremely tough run defense in TEN. Again, I wouldn’t expect huge numbers, but he should get a good number of carries. Look for a solid effort, but don’t expect big numbers. (55 yards, 0 TDs)

Terrell Owens WR DAL – TO has yet to put up an 100 yard game this year and has been disappointing over the last 4 or 5 weeks…and a few of those games were with Tony Romo. Going up against the Giants is a tough task and Brad Johnson just doesn’t have the arm strength to get Owens the ball deep. (45 yards, 0 TDs)