1. Indianapolis Colts-

2. New Orleans Saints- The Saints have too many offensive weapons for even an elite defence to handle, but on the opposing side of the line of scrimmage, their front 7 aren’t Superbowl caliber. That may be the reason they won’t repeat, luckily, few depth chart changes have been made through the offseason, so their opponents are still lining up against the Superbowl champions.

3. Dallas Cowboys- Big D has a very big D, that wordplay was hardly a pun, but an accurate description of the Dallas Cowboys’ defence- big. I have a strong feeling that their defines will shine. Demarcus Ware is scary, no Running Back has the courage to run through that wall. Though the Dallas D can get burnt on a few plays. I wouldn’t call them a bend-but-don’t-break, but a better definition would break-but-don’t-bend. On the offense, the Cowboys are an amazing team to watch, with the exciting Tony Romo, and the egos of Roy Williams and Dez Bryant, not to mention the explosive 3-headed monster on the ground in Barber, Choice, and Jones.

Tier 1 (RBs)- ELITE

1. Chris Johnson- When you’re given the first overall pick in your fantasy draft, pick this guy. The best part of of owning this fantasy star is his consistency; without a game under 100 yards in his last 10 games.

2. Maurice Jones-Drew- Without the aging Fred Taylor in the Jacksonville Depth chart, MJD gets all the carries to himself. Be disappointed if Jones-Drew does find the end zone once every week.

3. Adrian Peterson- AD has the ability to single-handedly carry your fantasy team to a win in your weekly matchup. Though there are weeks where Peterson is virtually a non-factor.

4. Ray Rice- Last season, Rice’s defining moment was his second carry of his playoff career where he brought it to house for an 83 yard TD, and then repeated that later in that game. Thats what I expect from him next season, although, I’m worried about his lack of TDs.

Tier 2 (RBs)- 1st Round Backs

5. Steven Jackson- The St. Louis offence is improving, while still building around Steven Jackson, which means more Touchdowns for Stevie. Being one of the most talented running backs in league, Jackson should find the end zone 8+ times rather than 4 in 2009.

6. Frank Gore- With a mediocre passing game and a decent offensive line, gore should be able to pull off a 10 TD, 1300 yd season. But I can’t see him having a breakout year.

7. Rashard Mendenhall- Until Ben Roethlisberger comes back from his suspension, the Steelers will run it up the gut all season, and his elite offensive line won’t disappoint.

8. Ryan Mathews- To be a top 10 fantasy back takes a few years of solid NFL statistics, Mathews has none. Drafting a rookie with health issues in the first round is beyond risky, but if he drops to the mid-second round, go for him. After all, Ladainian Tomlinson was in the same situation 8 years ago.

9. Cedric Benson- If Benson runs like he did last year, he could turn out to be a top 5 back. Unfortunately, I doubt that assumption. I have a feeling that Cedric Benson’s numbers will simply plateau this season (in other words, they won’t live up to last year, but they also won’t plummet).

Tier 3 (RBs)- Solid Starters

10. Michael Turner- Michael Turner is not a 3-dimenional back, nor is he a decent goal line back, so if your 1st round pick doesn’t get TDs or receptions, are he gives you is measly rushing yards.

11. DeAngelo Williams- The Carolina Panthers’ running attack is so strong that a player who shares his carries can still be a top 10 back. The tandem of Williams and Stewart is fierce, and with a decent QB to play with, DeAngelo can receive some more receptions.

12. Knowshon Moreno- Once Kyle Orton and the Denver defence cooled off last season, the Broncos’ offence became ineffective. If the Broncos continue their patterns this year, Knowshon is a no-show.

13. Jamaal Charles- being the undisputed starter will help Jamaal tremendously. Although he exhibits a mediocre rushing ability, somebody on the Chiefs has to score the small amount of Touchdowns the Chiefs score.

14. Ryan Grant- Watching Ryan Grant run is like watch a train go by. He doesn’t make any sudden cuts, nor does he even turn, but he’s fast and whoever is brave enough to get in his way deserves a medal.

15. Shonn Greene- Without a 100-yard rushing game that wasn’t against Oakland or a TD that wasn’t against Oakland, we are supposed to believe that Greene can win the starting spot over LT and then top it off with a few rushing TDs.

1. Miles Austin- 5 uncanny fantasy weeks don’t bring a guy from NFL scrub to top 10 fantasy wideout. Another or Austin’s bust indicators is his wide-receiver competition. Romo has several talented weapons his huge egos. Dez Bryant, Roy Williams and Patrick Crayton will all have 50-reception seasons, but where does that leave Austin?

2. Michael Turner- It seemed like whenever I looked at the weekly injury report, Michael Turner was nearly always getting nicked up. Another downside on Turner is that his receptions will decline due to Jerious Norwood being the more reliable 3-dimensional back as well as a decline in TD’s due to Jason Snelling taking over the goal line rushes. You need a solid, versatile back in the first round, and if Turner’s stats this year are anything like what his last year’s numbers were, I wouldn’t touch this guy with a 10-foot pole.

3. Adrian Peterson- AD is inconsistent. In ‘09, Peterson rushed for under 4.0 yds/carry in 8 of his 16 games. At that rate, Peterson would have to rush for 35 carries for an effective fantasy week. Thought Peterson did remain healthy thought the season, at the 2nd overall pick, you need a back that can lead your team to victory every week.

4. Brandon Marshall- Migrating from a pass-happy system in Denver with Jay Cutler in ‘08 and Kyle Orton in ‘09 to a smashmouth offense with basically a sophomore quarter in Chad Henne in Miami will hurt his stats. The suspension isn’t nearly as concerning but it is more of the icing on the cake. Stay away from Marshall in the first three rounds if you want to win your league.

5. Marques Colston- In a mediocre 2009 season, Colston only achieved two 100-yard games all year. Drew Brees and the New Orleans passing game were on fire all season and have nowhere to go but down, leaving Hofstra star with under 1000 yards, a few TD’s, and couple of deteriorating injuries.

6. Jason Witten- Lets face it, TD’s are a fantasy necessity, and Witten is the last play Romo will pass two is the red zone this season with only 2 Touchdown receptions last year. Romo will be too busy taking caring of Dez Bryant, Roy Williams, Miles Austin, Patrick Crayton, Tashard Choice, Felix Jones, and Marion Barber III to pass to the reliable Jason Witten.

7. Eli Manning- Tom Coughlin hasn’t given this young quarterback too much to handle, and Coughlin learned that the hard way (55 interceptions from ‘05 to ‘07). Don’t expect too many fantasy points this season, escially with his passing options; Hakeem Nicks, Kevin Boss, and Steve Smith.

8. Ryan Grant- Grant’s numbers have diminished over his three years in the NFL, and the Packers have become increasingly pass-happy. The addition of multiple pass-blockers this off-season is an indicator of less rush and more pass.

9. Carson Palmer- Marvin Lewis will be leaning towards the rush this season. Cedric Benson will reach the 300-rush mark once again, leaving Carson with less passing attempts. With the Cincinnati passing game diminishing, Palmer is now left with Chad Ochocinco double-covered and not much else to pass to.

10. Larry Fitzgerald- With the absence of two key passing weapons (Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin), Larry will be double covered every game, which is a stat killer. This year, the Card’s can’t rally on the inexperienced mess of Matt Leinart, so Coach Ken will use his running game in Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells.

2. New England Patriots: Discard the 6-3 start, now look at the numbers. Their overall statistics make it seem like their up there with New Orleans and Indianapolis being that they are 3rd in the league in points against and 3rd in the league in points for. Unfortunately NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has chosen that the points for : points against ratio is not the deciding factor of who gets into the playoffs, therefore the Patriots have no chance of achieving home-field advantage and little chance of achieving a 1st round bye.

3. New Orleans Saints: Through the past few years, the New Orleans Saints have underachieved due to their lack of talent on defence. Now, they are able to manipulate their air-it-out style offence starring Drew Brees, and the Saints defence is stepping up as well. The Saints aren’t exactly on fire though, in fact some could suggest that they are slumping despite their 9-0. They started the season off with a bang while scoring 46.5 per game setting records left, right, and centre, then they started to simmer down as their scoring difference begin to be closer and closer, at this point of season, they have fought through 4 straight close games, 3 of 4 were divisional games and sooner or later they won’t be as fortunate. I will look forward to their Week 12 Monday Night Football match-up against the Patriots.

4. Minnesota Vikings: Whether it is Brett Favre or Adrian Peterson, you are going to get beat. Some could suggest that the Vikings aren’t one of the elite teams is the league, tell that the their 9-1 record. Lately, the Vikes have been flying under the radar the past few weeks but the chances of Clinching the NFC home-field advantage is anything but decided with Minnesota breathing down the Saints neck. If only these two NFC powerhouses met at some point this season, which would probably decide who would be the more Superbowl-ready team.

5. Dallas Cowboys: I don’t know, one week they are playing as if they are the best team in the NFL, two weeks, their offence is completely disabled. Hype is killing these Cowboys and the last thing I think they are years from a Superbowl title. This isn’t their year, perhaps next year Tony Romo and the Cowboys will regain their consistency. On the other hand, the Cowboys are far from out with a 7-3 record mid-season with the NFC East Divisional title a few wins away but overall, they don’t have enough poise and consistency to win their first playoff game since 1995.

6. Arizona Cardinals: Maybe their fans put too much pressure on them, maybe the expectations of them playing at home are too high, maybe they feed off disappointment, maybe its just a coincidence . Who knows, but for some reason, they 5-0 on the road and 2-3 at home. Anquan Boldin is back and Warner and Fitzgerald are excited, with a fairly easy schedule ahead of them and a 6-1 record in their past 7 games , there is no reason to count them out of the Superbowl race.

7. San Diego Chargers: Throughout the years, this team came from an offence owned by the running game, leaned more and more towards the pass and presently Ladainian Tomlinson averages 3.3 yards per rush and the Chargers are last in the league rushing the ball, but don’t worry, Phillip Rivers has got it all under control leading his team to a 7-3 start the the season. Though San Diego’s passing success is not all due to Rivers, with the most underrated Wide Receiver in the game in Vincent Jackson and the best Tight End in the NFL in Antonio gates, its pretty hard not to be able to put up his numbers.

8. Cincinnati Bengals: Fans are getting mixed messages by the Bengals. First they go and push around two of the toughest teams in the league to push around by sweeping both the Baltimore Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers 2-0, then they go and lose the following game to the Oakland Raiders 20-17 scoring just 3 second-half points while fumbling 5 times. Carson Palmer thought he had the game won with a 14-0 coming into halftime but started to get sloppy in the second half and the Raiders rallied back to win the game, but Cincinnati should be able to take advantage of a weak schedule of play Oakland, then Cleveland, then Detroit.

9. Pittsburgh Steelers: Pittsburgh should have been able to capitalize on Cincinnati losing an almost automatic win but while that game was being played, Pittsburgh did the same, losing an easy one to Kansas City. Just like the Bengals, Ben Roethlisberger thought he had the game won with a 17-7 coming into halftime but started to get sloppy in the second half and the Chiefs rallied back to win the game in overtime. Neither team played well at all, but it was a worse loss for the Steelers because they are now in a spot where they likely won’t win the Divisional Title and they are now in a tight race with the Jaguars, the Broncos and many others for the 2  AFC wildcard spots.

10. Denver Broncos: Don’t count them out just because they are slumping, I believe that the climax of their slump is over. They will be up and running just like the early-season Broncos by the end of next week, which is when Kyle Orton will be fully recovered from his ankle injury 3 weeks ago. The last thing that the Broncos want is to have to start Chris Simms next Sunday when they need a win to have a chance to get into the playoffs.

From a bunch of reckless hooligans running into each other to questionably the most complex sport in the world. Over Decades of improving the game, the NFL timeline has not led the fans or players to a position where NFL football is at all simple to understand. In fact, the lack of simplicity involving rules and intelligent gameplay are leading some quarterbacks to confusion and utter frustration.

Each year, offences and defences find ways to remain one step above the competition using the psychological approach, confusion. Though there is always a way to counter it, playbooks are getting thicker, fans are inserting more pressure, and coaches have higher expectations leading for a bit too much to account for as a Quarterback. The Quarterback position isn’t just run and catch, which is why the some Quarterbacks are failing miserably.

Take Jamarcus Russell, one of the most athletic players in the game. He has the body of a linebackers, a cannon for an arm and a little bit of speed to top it off. Judging by his statistics at the NFL rookie combine, the Oakland Raiders chose him first overall in the 2006 Draft. To this day, JaMarcus Russell has been a major disappointment to the fans of Oakland, but he still remains the starting quarterback. With stats like this: Passer Rating- 48.3, PYPG- 125.0, TD-INT Ratio- 1:4.5, Completion%- 48.4., it is surprising that he is so magnificent physically. Well theres no surprise at all actually, it is because he lacks the understanding of the game, he lacks the ability to read defensive packages, he lack the confidence to lead his team to victory using his awareness of the game of Football, and few have those abilities, even fewer are able to manipulate those abilities.

These days, defences can apply so much pressure on a Quarterback that he does not have the talent measure up. That is why more and more Quarterbacks are failing in the NFL (e.g. Derek Anderson, Jake Delhomme, Josh Johnson, Marc Bulger, Trent Edwards, Kerry Collins).

Though both AFC East teams are hot, there isn’t much question on who will win this divisional game. The New England Patriots are 4-0 at home this year and have outscored their last two opponents 92-7. On the other hand, last week, Miami beat the Jets in New York while two Touchdowns were scored off of kickoff returns by Ted Ginn Jr. Overall, the New England Patriots should be able to run away with a win and a decisive divisional lead. I do predict a close matchup, being that New England is spotty against the Wildcat formation.

Prediction:

31-24 New England

Matchup Rating:

9/10

Washington Redskins @Atlanta Falcons

Washington is terrible and is 0-3 on the road, Atlanta is an upper-echelon team and is 3-0 at home. Doesn’t sound exactly like much of a tight game. Playoff-wise, Washington has no change being in last place in the most intimidating division in the league. Atlanta, on the other hand, probably won’t win their division since the New Orleans Saints are 1 of 2 undefeated teams in league, but they should be capable of making the playoffs by the Wildcard. Overall, this game is an easy one, perhaps a major blowout. Washington is used to those.

Prediction:

34-13 Atlanta

Matchup Rating:

2/10

Green Bay Packers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The whole world has lost one hour due to daylight savings time, except for the people who are planning on watching this game, they will lose 4 hours. Tampa Bay, being 0-7, is half-way to matching the comparable 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-14). The Buccaneers are so hopeless that the starting Running back for the Florida Tuskers of the United Football League is claiming that his team can beat them. Obviously, thats a lie. The best players in the United Football League are all NFL alumni where their NFL careers didn’t live up to what they expected (e.g. J.P. Losman). Green Bay has just come off of a gutless loss to the Minnesota vikings and they are out for revenge. Overall, There aren’t too many likely outcomes where this game won’t be one-sided.

Prediction:

41-14 Green Bay

Matchup Rating:

3/10

Kansas City Chiefs @ Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars are a very unpredictable team. One week, they blowout the Titans 37-17, the following week, they got blown out by Matt Hasselbeck and the Seattle Seahawks 41-0, the next week, they beat the St. Louis Rams 23-20, and last week, the Jags lost 30-13 against the struggling Titans. Judging by their win-loss pattern, the Jaguars are in for a home-win vs. Kansas City. On the other side of the line-of-scrimmage, we have the Chiefs, who have lost by 11 or more 4 times this season. Overall, neither team is showing any signs of improvement lately and I don’t have a decisive opinion on who will win, but if I had to chose, I would say Jacksonville, being 2-1 at home.

Prediction:

27-23 Jacksonville

Matchup Rating:

3/10

Houston Texans @ Indianapolis Colts

Both AFC South teams are playing astoundingly and #1and #2 in the AFC South are in for an interesting matchup, being that in the Texans next three games will be against the Colts. Both teams have a ridiculous passing game in Matt Schaub and Peyton Manning, both teams have struggling rushing games, and both teams are in for playoff births. Overall, you can never doubt Peyton Manning, he has led his team to 16 straight regular-season victories and he will likely extend his streak to 17 this week.

Prediction:

31-24 Indianapolis

Matchup Rating:

7/10

Arizona Cardinals @ Chicago Bears

The monsters of the midway are eager to finally play in a matchup suitable for their caliber of play. They are struggling for a playoff spot, being 3rd in the competitive NFC North. Chicago cannot afford another lose anytime soon. If they are going to compete for a Wildcard spot, this is the type of game that you have to win, especially at home. Overall, Arizona is 3-0 on the road but Chicago is 3-0 at home, so both teams will be in their element this week, but Chicago has something to prove in this game. Chicago should pull this one off.

Prediction:

21-17 Chicago

Matchup Rating:

8/10

Baltimore Ravens @ Cincinnati Bengals

Baltimore is out for blood in this AFC North. Cincinnati is too. This game may be out of the Bengal’s reach, despite earlier this season, Cincinnati beat the Ravens in Baltimore, the Ravens have been playing at an incredibly high level lately. The Ravens are coming off of a confidence-boosting win over the 6-1 Broncos with ease (30-7). Overall, Baltimore in a team on a mission and that Week 7 lose to the Vikings is fuelling them for a possible Bengals-beatdown.

Prediction:

34-23 Baltimore

Matchup Rating:

9/10

Carolina Panthers @ New Orleans Saints

How ’bout them Saints? Right now, New Orleans seams virtually unbeatable. There are no signs of rust thought the team. When Drew Brees doesn’t beat you, Running backs Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush, and Mike Bell will. When the rare occasion occurs of the Saints offence being ineffective, they will beat you with their defence, leading the league in defensive Touchdowns (8). Overall, the Carolina Panthers have limited weapons on offence and defence, the Saints will win with ease.

Prediction:

37-14 New Orleans

Matchup Rating:

3/10

Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles

Now that is Sunday Night Football at it’s finest, and it couldn’t be at a better time during the season. These teams are playing at their peak performance-wise. Dallas has won three-in-a-row while Donovan McNabb is back and better than ever with a 103.2 passer rating and a 9:1 Touchdown: interception ratio. Overall, Dallas has a lot of hype about them coming into this divisional game, but remember the last time these ow teams played in Philadelphia, 44-6 Cowboy-beat-down. Phillie has the advantage.

Prediction:

33-27 Philadelphia

Matchup Rating:

10/10

Tennessee Titans @ San Francisco 49ers

Being at home is an overrated advantage. So far this season, the home teams have only won 52% of their games, even though some idiots argue that the home team has a 51% chance of winning the coin-toss. Tennessee made their first win this season last week against the Jaguars and are looking like the 2008 Titans, perhaps their drought is over. Meanwhile, San Francisco came scarcely close to beating the undefeated Indianapolis Colts. Overall, the Titans are explosive with Vince Young, a little too explosive for San Francisco.

Prediction:

28-23 Tennessee

Matchup Rating:

4/10

Detroit Lions @ Seattle Seahawks

Please avoid this game, the final score in irrelevant. Nobody even cares. Detroit, other than beating Washington in Week 3, the Detroit Lions have not won a game since the 2007 season. Seattle, on the other hand, Seattle is equally bad, being outscored in the past 2 games 65-20, last may not look like much but when you divide that score by two, you will see what I mean. Overall, I don’t care, this matchup does not deserve my time or opinion.

Prediction:

27-17 Seattle

Matchup Rating:

1/10

San Diego Chargers @ New York Giants

San Diego is closer to the AFC West Divisional Title than you think. San Diego’s last 6 games of the season are easy, as 4 of the 6 teams that they play have all won 2 or less games this year. New York is farther from the NFC East Divisional Title than you think, they have to outplay Dallas and Philadelphia while on a three-game losing streak. Also, their next five are all difficult (San diego, Atlanta, Denver, Dallas, Philadelphia). Overall, New York is too talented to let up a 4-game losing streak.

Prediction:

37-31 New York

Matchup Rating:

7/10

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Denver Broncos

I don’t care who you are, when you play in Denver and have bad second-half statistics, you had better be ready for a beating. Denver Is heartbroken about the beating they took last week in Baltimore and should start to be a little worried about their divisional stance. Pittsburgh just came off a bye last week and are eager to get back to work. Overall, I have no doubt in the Broncos defence, they’ll pull this one off.

Prediction:

30-21 Denver

Matchup Rating:

6/10

Lock:

Over/Under: Jacksonville @ Tennessee Under 44.5: Again, Vince Young is the last quarterback to lead his team to half of 44.5 points. Both team will have to rely on their offence to win the game due to the lack of offensive explosiveness on sides off the ball. In 6 of 7 of their last games together, the score has been under 44.5.

2. Peyton Manning/Indianapolis Colts- The Hall-Of-Famer 34-year-old is looking vigorous as ever and age is not an aspect at all. Indy relies on Peyton like no other team in league but there is no reason to change their ways with a 116-48 record with Peyton Manning as the starting quarterback. But with a terrible running game and a struggling defence, that could be a load that even Peyton Manning will will struggle with. But until then, Peyton alone is an unstoppable offence.

3. Denver Broncos- The ultimate goal of sports is to win the game, and that is exactly what Kyle Orton is doing. When Orton starts to lose football games is when we should be judging his performance, until then, what more do you want from a Quarterback he has led you to 6-0. Though Denver’s amazing start is mainly due to their incredibly easy schedule so far and their stellar defence only letting in 11.5 points against per game. The Broncos schedule has been a walk in the park, but they are going to get whats coming to them sooner or later playing New England, then San Diego, then Baltimore, then Pittsburgh, then San Diego again, then the New York Giants, now there is no walk in the park.

4. New Orleans Saints- Their defence is holding up, their rushing offence 2nd in the NFL (170.7 yards/game) and Drew Brees has 9 passing TDs, but most importantly, they have a 4-0 start to the season and nothing seems to be slowing them down. When you slow down Drew Brees’ passing game, Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush and Mike Bell rise to the occasion. It a pick-your-poison situation. 3 of 4 teams have chosen Brees.

5. Minnesota Vikings- Brett Favre has surprisingly earned himself a round of applause, which is exactly what Minneapolis has given him. Another pleasant surprise is that Adrian Peterson’s healthiness is at it’s highest of his NFL career. The most astonishing part of this winning streak is that Favre is playing rather conservatively. The stats don’t lie, 104.7 passer rating and an 8:1 TD to Interception ratio. Now that Favre has settled in, the Vikings are about to make their way into the top tier of the NFL.