It’s time for Week 2.
For some it’s a chance to start a winning streak.
For others it’s a chance to turn things around and get back to where they thought (or maybe hoped) they’d be.
With only one matchup featuring two winning teams — Jawz Attack and Chinese Organ Thieves — it clearly is the matchup of the week this early in the season.
Another four feature teams trying to go 2-0 with the opponent trying to stave off 0-2.
And lastly, the Jammers and Slackers, both 0-2, will battle for their first win.
Now, without further delay, let’s take closer look.
Jawz Attack (1-0) at Chinese Organ Thieves (1-0)
Series Record: First meeting
Matchup Notes: It's a slightly different look from Week 1 for the Jawz Attack.
Out is traded quarterback Matt Ryan.
In comes Marques Colston and Derek Anderson.
Of course, the first part is a big addition.
The latter raises question marks by name, but one has to look deeper to see why this move may have been a good one.
Anderson surprised the fantasy (and NFL) world with his 29 touchdowns and 3,787 yards in 2007.
In 2008 he got off to a slower start, as did the rest of the Browns, and the keys were handed over heir-apparent Brady Quinn. (We all know how well that went.)
But still, that was it for Anderson.
So what was the difference?
Well, in 2007 Anderson had Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow go for more than 1,000 yards — Braylon caught 16 TDs — and Joe Jurevicius added 50 receptions for 614 yards.
In 2008, Edwards made 25 fewer receptions for 400 fewer yards and 13 fewer TDs. And it wasn't ALL because Anderson wasn't getting the ball to him. In fact, Edwards was only targeted 11 fewer times in 2008. Instead, it was Edwards' diva approach and ball-dropping skills that cost Anderson in several games.
Now fast forward to 2010.
Anderson doesn't have to worry about Edwards anymore.
Instead, he has a class act in Larry Fitzgerald and an up-and-coming WR in Steve Breaston. It was a quiet game last week, but Anderson still hit nine different targets for 22 completions and 297 yards. He and Fitzgerald connected for a TD, too, and Breaston caught seven passes for 132 yards.
And this is coming off a preseason where Matt Leinart received most of the reps with the first team starters. That means Sunday's game against the Rams was the first time he's had a chance to play with the likes of Fitzgerald and Breaston.
Their chemistry will only get better.
So I'm starting to believe my uncle isn't so crazy after all.
In fact, I kind of wish I would have thought of it myself.
Still, as much as I praise this potential pickup, it will be put to the test right away in Week 2 against the Chinese Organ Thieves.
This marquee matchup features several big-name players and will be a great one to watch all weekend.
It could easily come down to Monday night when the Attack will send out Marques Colston and kicker Garrett Hartley in a possible comeback attempt.
At that point, I figure the Attack will need to be climbing back into the game.
The Thieves running backs have the edge with Adrian Peterson playing at home against MIami and LeSean McCoy going up against Detroit.
McCoy could be in for a big game because as was shown last week, the Lions had a strong interior defensive line, but they were week on the outside. That's why Matt Forte took a screen pass for 89 yards and caught a RB fly for 28 yards — both touchdowns. McCoy will get that chance, too. So will the Thieves Maclin against the NFL's worst pass defense.
I also expect Phillip Rivers to bounce back against the Jags in a big way, and Reggie Wayne to help Peyton win Manning Bowl II.
Meanwhile, the Attack have Marion Barber running against the Bears rejuvenated defense and Chad Ochocinco trying to catch passes over the middle with Ray Lewis lurking.
Also, the Giants Steve Smith had just five catches last week and will be limited in Week 2 by the fact that the G-Men know they want to throw Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs into the run-retarded defense in Indy.
At the same time, this could open up the play-action game, but that's where Hakeem Nicks comes in. Not Steve Smith.
Jammers Prediction: Thieves 121, Attack 110
Dottsville Toasters (1-0) at T-Money (0-1)
Series Record: T-Money leads series 5-3.
Last Meeting: Week 13 (2009), T-Money won 104.5-88.5
Matchup Notes: The Toasters lost just four games last year.
Two of them were to T-Money.
So here we are. Week 2. And the Money Man is looking to cash in on another divisional win over the Toasters.
It shouldn’t be easy. Not with the way the running backs performed last week.
But did the Toasters get lucky?
It's possible. We know Chris Johnson is legit, but Matt Forte? Really? Was he for real with 33.5 points?
The easy, simple way out is we don't know yet, but there are reasons to question his Week 1 performance. First of all, he was up against the Lions defense that let him catch seven passes for 151 yards and two TDs.
Rushing-wise, Forte averaged a mere 2.9 yards per carry.
It won't get any easier against the Cowboys interior line.
Just as it won't be easy for Chris Johnson against the Pittsburgh Steelers, one of four teams to hold Johnson to less than 100 yards last season. Actually, he had just 57 yards (3.8 per) and no TDs.
The Steelers should be equally as tough on defense.
That leaves the Toasters looking elsewhere for the bulk of his points.
Matt Schaub should provide that in Washington. The Redskins run defense is better than the Colts and that will force Schaub to go to the passing game more.
But that's the only matchup that looks good for the Toasters. Calvin Johnson is without Matthew Stafford, and Johnny Knox and Darren Sproles were ineffective in Week 1. Sproles did have the rain hampering his chances.
T-Money's matchups are not much better, if he sticks with the lineup he has.
Frank Gore has to deal with New Orleans and Shonn Greene has to deal with two things — the New England Patriots and the adversity of last week's horrible, two-fumble performance. To add a third, he also has to worry about LaDainian Tomlinson's Jets debut. He was clearly the more effective back and it has to be a worry for Greene owners all over the world.
Kenny Britt didn't catch a pass and will have trouble doing anything against the Steelers, too.
But on the bench are T.J. Houshmanzadeh, Ahmad Bradshaw, newly-acquired Brandon Jackson and rookie sensation Dexter McCluster.
There's no reason why a few of those guys cannot get into lineup this week and help T-Money even up his division record at 1-1.
Jammers Prediction: Without roster changes, Toasters 111, T-Money 98. With, T-Money 122, Toasters 111
World of Noise (0-1) at Fear and Loathing (1-0)
Series Record: Fear leads 6-2.
Last Meeting: Week 13 (2009), Fear won 102.7-94.8.
Matchup Notes: Ah, the matchup of the two division rivals who have logos that are pictures of guys making funny faces at the camera.
What no one knew until now is that Noise's logo is a picture of him realizing that Chad Henne is a bust.
After 8.9 points last week, the Dolphins are one week closer to giving the ball back to Chad Pennington.
Until then, Henne will continue to hurt the Dolphins' chances, as well as the Noise's chances. Minnesota's defense did a great job of bottling up Drew Brees on the road, so at home against the Dolphins should be a piece of cake.
It also will hurt Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams' chances of scoring enough points to hurt the Fear.
Andre Johnson will have a much better week — he had just three catches for 33 yards in Week 1 — and Wes Welker will have a much worse week — he had eight catches for 64 yards and two TDs.
Johnson, as explained before, will be part of Matt Schaub's better week, and Welker is going up against the Jets defense.
That means Welker is either going to be covered by Darrelle Revis (if the Jets are smart) or Antonio Cromartie, who doesn't give up receiving yards, just penalty yards, which do not help the fantasy column.
Either Austin Collie or Dallas Clark, if not both, will garner some points, but it will not be enough to overcome Fear, even with Randy Moss on the bench.
(I told you, Moss. You don't want to mess with the Fear. He's not scared of benching talent.)
It may be a good move this week against the Jets, but for future weeks, I'm not so sure.
Still, Fear has favorable matchups all over the board: Jamaal Charles at Cleveland; Pierre Thomas at San Francisco; Jabar Gaffney against Seattle; Steve Smith (CAR) against Tampa Bay; and Mike Williams (TB) at Carolina.
The matchup I like the most, though, i Donald Driver against Buffalo.
It's the home opener. Aaron Rodgers had a sub-par start and will look to bounce back against the defenseless Bills, who do have a few good corners, but they will be busy worrying about Greg Jennings, which will open the door for Driver and Jermichael Finley.
With Pierre Thomas playing on Monday night, I like Fear to pull off some Monday magic again and open up 2-0 in the division.
Besides, Fear has history on his side. Noise can’t seem to beat the Fear. Six losses in eight matchups. Soon Fear will hold the JFL record for wins against another opponent when he makes is seven over the Noise.
Eight should come later in the season.
Jammers' Prediction: Fear 120, Noise 101
Channel 4 News Team (1-0) at Graybill’s Generals (0-1)
Series Record: Generals lead 4-3.
Last Meeting: Week 13 (2009), NewsTeam won 112.8-105.4.
Matchup Notes: Well, Week 2 has to be better, right?
That's what the Generals are thinking. I mean, there's no way he can be held to 38.5 points again.
Nevertheless, 0-2 is likely.
Rodgers, as mentioned above, will have a great week, and I like DeSean Jackson against the Lions, but Tim Hightower and Jerricho Cotchery may be last minute changes for the News Team.
ESPN is projecting TDs for each, but Beanie Wells should be back to cut down on Hightower's carries and last I checked, Mark Sanchez is still the QB for the Jets. (Can you believe the Gamblers offered Mark Sanchez for Marques Colston?)
And Arian Foster, who could have beat the Generals 43-38.5 by himself last week, will need a lot of things to go right to equal the rushing yards he had last week. In all likelihood, the next time he will run like that will be against the Colts.
This leaves an opening for the Generals to knock off the mighty News Team, but its a little opening.
The key will be Joe Flacco and DeAngelo Williams. Flacco did just enough to lead his team to a win over the Jets last week and on the short week, he has to turn around and lead the Ravens into division rival Cincinnati's home stadium.
C.J. Spiller had a less than stellar debut — just 2.9 points — and Percy Harvin's sophomore campaign started off with just one catch for 12 yards. Michael Crabtree's sophomore campaign wasn't much better. He had two catches for 12 yards.
It was a tough week, and this week could be just as tough.
Jammers' Prediction: News Team 120, Generals 89
Real Houserville (0-1) at Team Boyer (1-0)
Series Record: Tied at 1-1
Last Meeting: Week 5 (2009), Houserville won 127.7-108.1.
Matchup Notes: Houserville was the unlucky loser last week.
This week, the Dawson Cry Babies will be the lucky loser who tries to beat Team Boyer.
It will be tough, but he should pull it off.
Greg Jennings and Jermichael Finley will have big weeks, as will Peyton Manning and the Eagles defense against the Lions and the mistake-prone Shawn Hill at quarterback.
That alone should be enough for the "Don't Call Me Villains" to beat Team Boyer, who opened the season with a win thanks to Tom Brady.
Brady will not reach the 30.5 points he had last week, but he still should get 15-20 points, and Michael Turner should find more success against the Cards defense after the Steelers held him 41 yards. Ryan Matthews also should get better against Jacksonville and hold on to the ball without a massive downpour.
And lastly, I like Joseph Addai to get some touches. After Manning threw 57 times last week in a loss, the Colts will surely try to run, especially since Addai averaged 4.4 yards per carry. It was just too bad that he had only 10 carries. I'd expect 18-20 this week and a TD.
The key for Boyer will be Turner and/or Matthews. One big weekend by them can easily turn this matchup around and cause the Real Housewhiners of State College to fall to 0-2.
Another key for Boyer would be to have the Packers defense against the Bills outscore the Eagles defense vs. the Lions.
Still, with Houserbunchedpanties having the edge with Manning this week, I'll take his unlucky squad to pick up a victory.
Jammers' Prediction: Houserville 130, Boyer 115
Jimmy Jammers (0-1) at Sunday Slackers (0-1)
Series Record: Jammers leads 3-1.
Last Meeting: Week 13 (2009), Jammers won 142.5-131.8
Matchup Notes: Ah, just another Jammers vs. Slackers matchup.
The Jammers had a rough week last week, scoring 101 points, but still losing and falling behind 0-1. But the good news is that it wasn't a divisional loss.
That's where the Slackers need for a first win because more important.
A loss this weekend would put him behind 0-2 in the division, a tough hole to dig out of when it comes to tie-breakers.
So that's why the big dog has been promoted. Hakeem Nicks, who scored 26 points on the bench, gets the start, along with LaDainian Tomlinson.
Drew Brees will start, too. (What? No Mark Sanchez?)
And Brees' matchup in San Francisco could be tough. The 49ers are coming off a disappointing road loss and their defense is clearly better than what it showed last week. Brees struggled against the Vikings at home and Monday in San Fran could be tough.
Nonetheless, it's Brees and his resume says that he should have a better week.
That's not what the Slackers should worry about.
Instead, it's the injuries to Steven Jackson, Beanie Wells, Cedric Benson, Hakeem Nicks and Devin Aromashodu are all injured. Jackson had an MRI on his knee and that cannot be good. Hakeem Nicks did not make it through practice on Thursday wit his ankle. Wells is injury prone and the Cards are being quiet about his chances to play. They say he'll be back, but they said that last week until noon on Sunday when it was announced that he was inactive.
So what's this mean for the Slackers?
It means he needs to pay attention to the injury list on Sunday. Otherwise, he could wind up with another inactive in his lineup, and another loss.
That may be unavoidable, though.
The Jammers have a formidable lineup for Week 2.
Newly acquired Matt Ryan is heading up against Arizona at home, a team that allowed rookie Sam Bradford to throw for 253 yards and a TD in his debut.
The Falcons will be looking to open up at home and Ryan's favorite target is Roddy White, the Jammers' No. 1 pick in 2010. A big weekend for this duo will go well with Ray Rice and Larry Fitzgerald.
Rice is in Cincinnati where he had more than 130 yards and a TD in both matchups last season. After a slow start against the Jets, Rice should surely rebound this week.
And Peyton Hillis was enough of a pain in the Dawson that the Jammers picked him up and will start him along with Jerome Harrison in their game against Kansas City. Last week, they combined for 18 carries in a loss. Mangini will run the ball against the Chiefs or see 0-2 again and face the hotseat once again.
The Jammers seat will be hot if it's an 0-2 start, too. The Jammers has never started 0-2.
This will not be the year for that.
Jammers' Extremely Bias Prediction: Jammers 131, Slackers 99.
For some it’s a chance to start a winning streak.
For others it’s a chance to turn things around and get back to where they thought (or maybe hoped) they’d be.
With only one matchup featuring two winning teams — Jawz Attack and Chinese Organ Thieves — it clearly is the matchup of the week this early in the season.
Another four feature teams trying to go 2-0 with the opponent trying to stave off 0-2.
And lastly, the Jammers and Slackers, both 0-2, will battle for their first win.
Now, without further delay, let’s take closer look.
Jawz Attack (1-0) at Chinese Organ Thieves (1-0)
Series Record: First meeting
Matchup Notes: It's a slightly different look from Week 1 for the Jawz Attack.
Out is traded quarterback Matt Ryan.
In comes Marques Colston and Derek Anderson.
Of course, the first part is a big addition.
The latter raises question marks by name, but one has to look deeper to see why this move may have been a good one.
Anderson surprised the fantasy (and NFL) world with his 29 touchdowns and 3,787 yards in 2007.
In 2008 he got off to a slower start, as did the rest of the Browns, and the keys were handed over heir-apparent Brady Quinn. (We all know how well that went.)
But still, that was it for Anderson.
So what was the difference?
Well, in 2007 Anderson had Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow go for more than 1,000 yards — Braylon caught 16 TDs — and Joe Jurevicius added 50 receptions for 614 yards.
In 2008, Edwards made 25 fewer receptions for 400 fewer yards and 13 fewer TDs. And it wasn't ALL because Anderson wasn't getting the ball to him. In fact, Edwards was only targeted 11 fewer times in 2008. Instead, it was Edwards' diva approach and ball-dropping skills that cost Anderson in several games.
Now fast forward to 2010.
Anderson doesn't have to worry about Edwards anymore.
Instead, he has a class act in Larry Fitzgerald and an up-and-coming WR in Steve Breaston. It was a quiet game last week, but Anderson still hit nine different targets for 22 completions and 297 yards. He and Fitzgerald connected for a TD, too, and Breaston caught seven passes for 132 yards.
And this is coming off a preseason where Matt Leinart received most of the reps with the first team starters. That means Sunday's game against the Rams was the first time he's had a chance to play with the likes of Fitzgerald and Breaston.
Their chemistry will only get better.
So I'm starting to believe my uncle isn't so crazy after all.
In fact, I kind of wish I would have thought of it myself.
Still, as much as I praise this potential pickup, it will be put to the test right away in Week 2 against the Chinese Organ Thieves.
This marquee matchup features several big-name players and will be a great one to watch all weekend.
It could easily come down to Monday night when the Attack will send out Marques Colston and kicker Garrett Hartley in a possible comeback attempt.
At that point, I figure the Attack will need to be climbing back into the game.
The Thieves running backs have the edge with Adrian Peterson playing at home against MIami and LeSean McCoy going up against Detroit.
McCoy could be in for a big game because as was shown last week, the Lions had a strong interior defensive line, but they were week on the outside. That's why Matt Forte took a screen pass for 89 yards and caught a RB fly for 28 yards — both touchdowns. McCoy will get that chance, too. So will the Thieves Maclin against the NFL's worst pass defense.
I also expect Phillip Rivers to bounce back against the Jags in a big way, and Reggie Wayne to help Peyton win Manning Bowl II.
Meanwhile, the Attack have Marion Barber running against the Bears rejuvenated defense and Chad Ochocinco trying to catch passes over the middle with Ray Lewis lurking.
Also, the Giants Steve Smith had just five catches last week and will be limited in Week 2 by the fact that the G-Men know they want to throw Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs into the run-retarded defense in Indy.
At the same time, this could open up the play-action game, but that's where Hakeem Nicks comes in. Not Steve Smith.
Jammers Prediction: Thieves 121, Attack 110
Dottsville Toasters (1-0) at T-Money (0-1)
Series Record: T-Money leads series 5-3.
Last Meeting: Week 13 (2009), T-Money won 104.5-88.5
Matchup Notes: The Toasters lost just four games last year.
Two of them were to T-Money.
So here we are. Week 2. And the Money Man is looking to cash in on another divisional win over the Toasters.
It shouldn’t be easy. Not with the way the running backs performed last week.
But did the Toasters get lucky?
It's possible. We know Chris Johnson is legit, but Matt Forte? Really? Was he for real with 33.5 points?
The easy, simple way out is we don't know yet, but there are reasons to question his Week 1 performance. First of all, he was up against the Lions defense that let him catch seven passes for 151 yards and two TDs.
Rushing-wise, Forte averaged a mere 2.9 yards per carry.
It won't get any easier against the Cowboys interior line.
Just as it won't be easy for Chris Johnson against the Pittsburgh Steelers, one of four teams to hold Johnson to less than 100 yards last season. Actually, he had just 57 yards (3.8 per) and no TDs.
The Steelers should be equally as tough on defense.
That leaves the Toasters looking elsewhere for the bulk of his points.
Matt Schaub should provide that in Washington. The Redskins run defense is better than the Colts and that will force Schaub to go to the passing game more.
But that's the only matchup that looks good for the Toasters. Calvin Johnson is without Matthew Stafford, and Johnny Knox and Darren Sproles were ineffective in Week 1. Sproles did have the rain hampering his chances.
T-Money's matchups are not much better, if he sticks with the lineup he has.
Frank Gore has to deal with New Orleans and Shonn Greene has to deal with two things — the New England Patriots and the adversity of last week's horrible, two-fumble performance. To add a third, he also has to worry about LaDainian Tomlinson's Jets debut. He was clearly the more effective back and it has to be a worry for Greene owners all over the world.
Kenny Britt didn't catch a pass and will have trouble doing anything against the Steelers, too.
But on the bench are T.J. Houshmanzadeh, Ahmad Bradshaw, newly-acquired Brandon Jackson and rookie sensation Dexter McCluster.
There's no reason why a few of those guys cannot get into lineup this week and help T-Money even up his division record at 1-1.
Jammers Prediction: Without roster changes, Toasters 111, T-Money 98. With, T-Money 122, Toasters 111
World of Noise (0-1) at Fear and Loathing (1-0)
Series Record: Fear leads 6-2.
Last Meeting: Week 13 (2009), Fear won 102.7-94.8.
Matchup Notes: Ah, the matchup of the two division rivals who have logos that are pictures of guys making funny faces at the camera.
What no one knew until now is that Noise's logo is a picture of him realizing that Chad Henne is a bust.
After 8.9 points last week, the Dolphins are one week closer to giving the ball back to Chad Pennington.
Until then, Henne will continue to hurt the Dolphins' chances, as well as the Noise's chances. Minnesota's defense did a great job of bottling up Drew Brees on the road, so at home against the Dolphins should be a piece of cake.
It also will hurt Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams' chances of scoring enough points to hurt the Fear.
Andre Johnson will have a much better week — he had just three catches for 33 yards in Week 1 — and Wes Welker will have a much worse week — he had eight catches for 64 yards and two TDs.
Johnson, as explained before, will be part of Matt Schaub's better week, and Welker is going up against the Jets defense.
That means Welker is either going to be covered by Darrelle Revis (if the Jets are smart) or Antonio Cromartie, who doesn't give up receiving yards, just penalty yards, which do not help the fantasy column.
Either Austin Collie or Dallas Clark, if not both, will garner some points, but it will not be enough to overcome Fear, even with Randy Moss on the bench.
(I told you, Moss. You don't want to mess with the Fear. He's not scared of benching talent.)
It may be a good move this week against the Jets, but for future weeks, I'm not so sure.
Still, Fear has favorable matchups all over the board: Jamaal Charles at Cleveland; Pierre Thomas at San Francisco; Jabar Gaffney against Seattle; Steve Smith (CAR) against Tampa Bay; and Mike Williams (TB) at Carolina.
The matchup I like the most, though, i Donald Driver against Buffalo.
It's the home opener. Aaron Rodgers had a sub-par start and will look to bounce back against the defenseless Bills, who do have a few good corners, but they will be busy worrying about Greg Jennings, which will open the door for Driver and Jermichael Finley.
With Pierre Thomas playing on Monday night, I like Fear to pull off some Monday magic again and open up 2-0 in the division.
Besides, Fear has history on his side. Noise can’t seem to beat the Fear. Six losses in eight matchups. Soon Fear will hold the JFL record for wins against another opponent when he makes is seven over the Noise.
Eight should come later in the season.
Jammers' Prediction: Fear 120, Noise 101
Channel 4 News Team (1-0) at Graybill’s Generals (0-1)
Series Record: Generals lead 4-3.
Last Meeting: Week 13 (2009), NewsTeam won 112.8-105.4.
Matchup Notes: Well, Week 2 has to be better, right?
That's what the Generals are thinking. I mean, there's no way he can be held to 38.5 points again.
Nevertheless, 0-2 is likely.
Rodgers, as mentioned above, will have a great week, and I like DeSean Jackson against the Lions, but Tim Hightower and Jerricho Cotchery may be last minute changes for the News Team.
ESPN is projecting TDs for each, but Beanie Wells should be back to cut down on Hightower's carries and last I checked, Mark Sanchez is still the QB for the Jets. (Can you believe the Gamblers offered Mark Sanchez for Marques Colston?)
And Arian Foster, who could have beat the Generals 43-38.5 by himself last week, will need a lot of things to go right to equal the rushing yards he had last week. In all likelihood, the next time he will run like that will be against the Colts.
This leaves an opening for the Generals to knock off the mighty News Team, but its a little opening.
The key will be Joe Flacco and DeAngelo Williams. Flacco did just enough to lead his team to a win over the Jets last week and on the short week, he has to turn around and lead the Ravens into division rival Cincinnati's home stadium.
C.J. Spiller had a less than stellar debut — just 2.9 points — and Percy Harvin's sophomore campaign started off with just one catch for 12 yards. Michael Crabtree's sophomore campaign wasn't much better. He had two catches for 12 yards.
It was a tough week, and this week could be just as tough.
Jammers' Prediction: News Team 120, Generals 89
Real Houserville (0-1) at Team Boyer (1-0)
Series Record: Tied at 1-1
Last Meeting: Week 5 (2009), Houserville won 127.7-108.1.
Matchup Notes: Houserville was the unlucky loser last week.
This week, the Dawson Cry Babies will be the lucky loser who tries to beat Team Boyer.
It will be tough, but he should pull it off.
Greg Jennings and Jermichael Finley will have big weeks, as will Peyton Manning and the Eagles defense against the Lions and the mistake-prone Shawn Hill at quarterback.
That alone should be enough for the "Don't Call Me Villains" to beat Team Boyer, who opened the season with a win thanks to Tom Brady.
Brady will not reach the 30.5 points he had last week, but he still should get 15-20 points, and Michael Turner should find more success against the Cards defense after the Steelers held him 41 yards. Ryan Matthews also should get better against Jacksonville and hold on to the ball without a massive downpour.
And lastly, I like Joseph Addai to get some touches. After Manning threw 57 times last week in a loss, the Colts will surely try to run, especially since Addai averaged 4.4 yards per carry. It was just too bad that he had only 10 carries. I'd expect 18-20 this week and a TD.
The key for Boyer will be Turner and/or Matthews. One big weekend by them can easily turn this matchup around and cause the Real Housewhiners of State College to fall to 0-2.
Another key for Boyer would be to have the Packers defense against the Bills outscore the Eagles defense vs. the Lions.
Still, with Houserbunchedpanties having the edge with Manning this week, I'll take his unlucky squad to pick up a victory.
Jammers' Prediction: Houserville 130, Boyer 115
Jimmy Jammers (0-1) at Sunday Slackers (0-1)
Series Record: Jammers leads 3-1.
Last Meeting: Week 13 (2009), Jammers won 142.5-131.8
Matchup Notes: Ah, just another Jammers vs. Slackers matchup.
The Jammers had a rough week last week, scoring 101 points, but still losing and falling behind 0-1. But the good news is that it wasn't a divisional loss.
That's where the Slackers need for a first win because more important.
A loss this weekend would put him behind 0-2 in the division, a tough hole to dig out of when it comes to tie-breakers.
So that's why the big dog has been promoted. Hakeem Nicks, who scored 26 points on the bench, gets the start, along with LaDainian Tomlinson.
Drew Brees will start, too. (What? No Mark Sanchez?)
And Brees' matchup in San Francisco could be tough. The 49ers are coming off a disappointing road loss and their defense is clearly better than what it showed last week. Brees struggled against the Vikings at home and Monday in San Fran could be tough.
Nonetheless, it's Brees and his resume says that he should have a better week.
That's not what the Slackers should worry about.
Instead, it's the injuries to Steven Jackson, Beanie Wells, Cedric Benson, Hakeem Nicks and Devin Aromashodu are all injured. Jackson had an MRI on his knee and that cannot be good. Hakeem Nicks did not make it through practice on Thursday wit his ankle. Wells is injury prone and the Cards are being quiet about his chances to play. They say he'll be back, but they said that last week until noon on Sunday when it was announced that he was inactive.
So what's this mean for the Slackers?
It means he needs to pay attention to the injury list on Sunday. Otherwise, he could wind up with another inactive in his lineup, and another loss.
That may be unavoidable, though.
The Jammers have a formidable lineup for Week 2.
Newly acquired Matt Ryan is heading up against Arizona at home, a team that allowed rookie Sam Bradford to throw for 253 yards and a TD in his debut.
The Falcons will be looking to open up at home and Ryan's favorite target is Roddy White, the Jammers' No. 1 pick in 2010. A big weekend for this duo will go well with Ray Rice and Larry Fitzgerald.
Rice is in Cincinnati where he had more than 130 yards and a TD in both matchups last season. After a slow start against the Jets, Rice should surely rebound this week.
And Peyton Hillis was enough of a pain in the Dawson that the Jammers picked him up and will start him along with Jerome Harrison in their game against Kansas City. Last week, they combined for 18 carries in a loss. Mangini will run the ball against the Chiefs or see 0-2 again and face the hotseat once again.
The Jammers seat will be hot if it's an 0-2 start, too. The Jammers has never started 0-2.
This will not be the year for that.
Jammers' Extremely Bias Prediction: Jammers 131, Slackers 99.
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