2010 WEEK TEN

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A VIEW FROM THE SIDELINE N HAR
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Surprise, Surprise!
Sure, there will program hasn’t been to a bowl don’t look as if they’re ready to
game since the mid-1990s. At quit playing football in early
always be traditional
7-2, the Bears are assured of a January. This is a young, tough
powers atop the bowl bid and could play and aggressive squad that has
football world, a team themselves into more than that. drafted players that hate losing.
like Alabama or the The Bears control their destiny The Buccaneers have taken
New England in the Big 12 South. Yes, the some chances with players who
Patriots. Baylor Bears. have had off-the-field issues in
past years - LeGarrette Blount,
But, this is the time How about at the Mike Williams
of year when mid-way point in and Aqib Talib
surprise teams the NFL where How about at the mid- to name a few.
go beyond being the Kansas City way point in the NFL But, in both
a surprise team Chiefs and the situations it’s
and become Ta m p a Bay where the Chiefs and w o r ke d a n d
tr ue, legit Buccaneers are Bucs are both 5-2. turned two
contenders both 5-2. The surprise teams
for titles. Example #1 is the Chiefs are atop into 2010
Baylor Bears. Art Briles’ the AFC West and contenders.

Lance and John have joined forces with Catch Lance with John Granato 6-10 am
Orangebloods.com this season, the University CST on 1560 The Game. Listen to John with
of Texas home on the rivals.com network. Sean “the Cablinasian” Pendergast from 3-7
Check out their work at orangebloods.com PM in the afternoon. www.1560thegame.com
 San Diego (3 - 5) vs. Houston (4 - 3)
November 7, 2010 - CBS 12 PM CST
Vegas Says: San Diego -3/51

R 2010 Ranking
111.6 ypg - 15th Run Offense 136.0 ypg - 6th

2010 ATS Record 315.2 ypg - 1st Pass Offense 231.0 ypg - 13th 2010 ATS Record
3-5-0 3-4-0
426.9 ypg - 1st Total Offense 367.0 ypg - 7th
2010 Over/Under 2010 Over/Under
5-3-0 26.2 ppg - 5th Scoring Off. 24.3 ppg - 9th 4-3-0

Last 5 games 83.1 ypg - 2nd Run Defense 104.7 ypg - 14th Last 5 games
Oct 31, 2010 W 33-25 Tennessee Nov 1, 2010 L 30-17 Indianapolis
Oct 24, 2010 L 23-20 New England 176.9 ypg - 1st Pass Defense 299.4 ypg - 32nd Oct 17, 2010 W 35-31 Kansas City
Oct 10, 2010 L 35-27 Oakland Oct 10, 2010 L 34-10 NY Giants
Oct 3, 2010 W 41-10 Arizona 260.0 ypg - 1st Total Defense 404.1 ypg - 32nd Oct 3, 2010 W 31-24 Oakland
Sep 26, 2010 L 27-20 Seattle Sep 26, 2010 L 27-14 Dallas
21.8 ppg - 19th Scoring Def. 28.1 ppg - 29th

Last Meeting: San Diego - 35 vs. Houston - 10 (10/28/2007)

When the Chargers have the ball...The Chargers are lighting it up through the air, but that doesn’t
mean that they completely abandon the run. This year, the Chargers are averaging 4.2 yards per carry and
are rushing for 112 yards per game, but their offense runs through QB Philip Rivers when it is all said and
done. Antonio Gates is as devastating as he’s ever been with Vincent Jackson off the field and the
Texans won’t be able to matchup with at all. That isn’t an opinion, that’s a fact. How much damage can a
tight end do? We’ll find out because Rivers will
wear that matchup out. The Texans pass rush isn’t
bothering QBs much and probably won’t bother Fantasy Scoop
Rivers, but he can be rattled into making some The Texans piss-poor pass defense combined
mistakes if you do a good job of blitzing him. The with the league’s leading pass offense equals a
Chargers lead the league in plays 20+ yards. start for most of the Chargers with the
exception of Ryan Mathews who only gets a
When the Texans have the ball... Gary RB3 rating from me. For the Texans, look for
Kubiak has felt the heat this week for the lack of Arian Foster get a ton of touches while
touches that Arian Foster received against the Schaub gets an average start rating. Be careful
Colts after Foster buried the Colts in the first starting Owen Daniels who is nursing an
matchup. Matt Schaub hasn’t been the same QB injury.
this year that he was last and at some point,
Kubiak is going to start leaning more heavily on
what is working best which is a running game that averages 5.2 ypc. The Chargers defense allows just 3.5
ypc and they won’t just roll over for Foster and the Texans. The Texans offense needs to be balanced
against the Chargers since their 3-4 front can limit the outside zone. Foster needs a good game in this
s p o t , but finding the middle of the field with a controlled passing attack would help as well.
The Z Key
Prediction: The stats look great for the Chargers but the win total
Chargers Special Teams
vs. doesn’t. The biggest problem for the Chargers all year long has been
Texans Special Teams their pathetic special teams units. If the Texans can outplay the
Chargers on “teams”, they can make this game much easier.

HOUSTON - 27 VS. SAN DIEGO - 24 (OT)

 Tampa Bay (5 - 2) vs. Atlanta (5 - 2)
November 7, 2010 - Fox 12 PM CST
Vegas Says: Atlanta -9/44.5

R 2010 Ranking
104.9 ypg - 18th Run Offense 137.4 ypg - 5th

2010 ATS Record 216.9 ypg - 18th Pass Offense 233.4 ypg - 11th 2010 ATS Record
4-3-0 4-3-0
321.7 ypg - 21st Total Offense 370.9 ypg - 6th
2010 Over/Under 2010 Over/Under
3-4-0 19.4 ppg - 20th Scoring Off. 24.1 ppg - 10th 4-3-0

Last 5 games 149.4 ypg - 30th Run Defense 95.9 ypg - 6th Last 5 games
Oct 31, 2010 W 38-35 Arizona Oct 24, 2010 W 39-32 Cincinnati
Oct 24, 2010 W 18-17 St. Louis 210.4 ypg - 13th Pass Defense 260.3 ypg - 27th Oct 17, 2010 L 31-17 Philadelphia
Oct 17, 2010 L 31-6 New Orleans Oct 10, 2010 W 20-10 Cleveland
Oct 10, 2010 W 24-21 Cincinnati 359.9 ypg - 25th Total Defense 356.1 ypg - 23rd Oct 3, 2010 W 16-14 San Francisco
Sep 26, 2010 L 38-13 Pittsburgh Sep 26, 2010 W 27-24 New Orleans
23.3 ppg - 25th Scoring Def. 19.0 ppg - 10th

Last Meeting: Atlanta - 20 vs. Tampa Bay - 10 (1/3/2010)

When the Bucs have the ball...You’ve got to love the Bucs. They are no better than 18th statistically
on offense and yet they come into Sunday’s game at 5-2. One of the primary reasons for their success has
been the steady play of QB Josh Freeman. He has 8 TDs to only 3 INTs and he is making plays when it
counts. The Bucs have rushed for over 100 yard in 3 of their last 4 games and will try and keep their
running game going in this spot, but Atlanta has encountered much better rushing offenses than what they
will see Sunday. The Falcons are a better team and will outclass the Bucs unless Freeman and rookie WR
Mike Williams can hook up for a big day. Williams reminds me of Falcons WR Roddy White and will
need to play like it Sunday.

When the Falcons have the ball ... The Fantasy Scoop
Falcons come into this game knowing that the Bucs Mike Williams is in a must-start spot here
defense is stuck one way or another. Tampa’s rush for Tampa and I would probably look at
defense is allowing 5.2 ypc and has given up over 100 starting LeGarrette Blount if you are a little
yards rushing in all seven games that they’ve played. weak at RB. Cadillac Williams has to sit.
Atlanta will bring Michael Turner all day long and For Atlanta, start all the usual suspects and
when he gets tired, Jason Snelling will get to eat. look for Mike Jenkins to be a good waiver
At some point, Tampa will decide to sell out and wire pickup for at least this week.
keep 8 in the box with a single high safety shaded to
whichever side Roddy White is on. CB Aqib
Talib is very talented, but he’ll need help with White and when he gets it, Matt Ryan will have
opportunities to light the Bucs up with Michael Jenkins and Tony Gonzalez as the benefactors. If
Tampa succeeds on defense, it will be because they win the battle in the trenches.

The Z Key Prediction: Both teams have lost to the Steelers and Saints, but the
Bucs CB Aqib Talib Falcons lost close games on the road while the Falcons were blown out
vs. both times on their own turf. Simply stated, the Bucs aren’t as good as
Falcons WR Roddy White their record and Atlanta is.

ATLANTA - 27 VS. TAMPA BAY- 14


NFL News and Notes
Peyton Manning is the best QB I've ever seen
and I'm pretty sure that he'll stand up to any
and all challengers from generations past or
generations to come.  There will be some haters
who try and knock him for potentially having "only"
one Super Bowl win, but it is hard to blame Manning
for that.  Manning can beat teams with rookies like
Garcon and Collie or he can beat you with an
undrafted free agent like Blair White.  Peyton will
take his 3rd string RB and get maximum production
out of him and this is all while working behind one of
the least talented offensive lines in all of pro football
over the last decade.
Winning in the NFL becomes much easier if
you are   making explosive plays.  If you can't
move the ball down the field in chunks of 20 yards or
more, it forces the offense to extend drives longer and
take better care of the ball on a "per touch" basis.  string safety and they have had injuries across the
Quarterbacks like Drew Brees, Peyton Manning and
Tom Brady can operate their offenses masterfully and
move down the field with long, sustained drives, but
there aren't too many other teams/QBs who can do
the same.  So who are the most explosive offenses
out there?  I counted each team's 20+ yard rushing
and passing plays and gave an extra point for every
rush or pass of 40+ yards.  I took that number and
divided it by the total games played.  Here are the
most and least explosive teams in football with their
corresponding record next to them.
Most Explosive Least Explosive
1. San Diego (3 - 5) 1. St. Louis (4 - 4)
2. New York Giants (5 - 2) T2. Carolina (1 - 6)
3. Denver (2 - 6) T2. Miami (4 - 3)
4. Oakland (4 - 4) T4. Baltimore (5 - 2)
T5. Pittsburgh (5 - 2) T4. Buffalo (0 - 7)
T5. Houston (4 - 3) 6. New Orleans (5 - 3)
7. Philadelphia (4 - 3) T7. Seattle (4 - 3)
8. Tennessee (5 - 3) T7. Cincinnati (2 - 5)
It is awfully early to proclaim a draft class a
hit or a miss, but the top two picks are playing
really well right now.  Sam Bradford's season
which includes 11 TDs / 8 INTs and 209 yards per
game has been nothing short of stellar considering
how badly his WR corps has been beat up.  It's hard
to knock the Rams for taking Bradford at this time.  running the zone read on the next level.
The same can be said for the Lions who resisted the
urge to take tackles Trent Williams or Russell Okung
and stuck with the best defensive player in the draft in
Ndamukong Suh.  Suh already has 6.5 sacks, an
interception and a fumble recovery for a TD.  I think
Suh is playing just as well as Kevin Williams at this
point and a Pro Bowl appearance could very well be in
the rookie's future this year.
The first half of his game against the Steelers
looked like more of the same, but Drew Brees
snapped out of his funk in the 2nd half. 
Defenses have clearly thrown Brees out of rhythm for
much of the year and his accuracy and confidence has
struggled because of it.  In the 2nd half against the
Steelers, you could see Brees begin to pick up
confidence and by the end of the game, he looked like
the Brees of old.
This year the Patriots have won with an All-
Pro guard missing, with undrafted free agents
getting the carries at RB and with their
supposed top WR option doing very little
before being traded.  The Colts are on their 3rd
board on offense at different times of the year.  The
Steelers came out and started 3-1 without Ben
Roethlisberger.  These teams are going out and
playing to win no matter who is missing and the
Green Bay Packers stopped worrying about who was
missing and went out with that same mindset and
b e a t t h e Je t s 9 - 0.   Wa s i t p i c t u r e p e r f e c t ? 
Obviously not, but stealing games like that when you
are depleted due to injuries is what will win the
Packers a division title.
This year's crop of QBs in the 2011 NFL Draft
will be a ver y tricky group for teams to
evaluate.  On one hand, Andrew Luck looks the
part of the next Peyton Manning, but he doesn't
always play with the consistency that you would like
to see.  He's clearly the top QB in the draft, however. 
Jake Locker is athletic, tough and able to make most
of the NFL throws, but he's more of an athlete than a
QB.  Ryan Mallett has great size and a big arm, but
he doesn't move around outside the pocket well and
his accuracy tends to break down at inopportune
times.  Blaine Gabbert had all kinds of momentum
until his last outing against Nebraska.  Christian
Ponder doesn't dominate the competition as often as
he should and Cam Newton has to prove that he can
be a consistent NFL passer because he won't be
 Alabama (7 - 1) vs. LSU (7 - 1)

November 6, 2010 - CBS 2:30 PM CST
Vegas Says: Alabama -6.5/44.5

Keys to the Game

R 2010 Ranking
186.9 ypg - 30th Run Offense 179.1 ypg - 34th
Sep 4, 2010 W, SJSU 49-7 253.9 ypg - 36th Pass Offense 138.8 ypg - 113th Sep 4, 2010 W, UNC 30-24
Sep 11, 2010 W, Penn St. 24-3 440.8 ypg - 23rd Total Offense 317.9 ypg - 101st Sep 11, 2010 W, Vandy 27-3
Sep 18, 2010 W, Duke 62-13 34.3 ppg - 24th Scoring Offense 25.5 ppg - 73rd Sep 18, 2010 W, MSU 29-7
Sep 25, 2010 W, Arkansas 24-20 113.4 ypg - 17th Run Defense 128.1 ypg - 38th Sep 25, 2010 W, WVU 20-14
Oct 2, 2010 W, Florida 31-6 178.0 ypg - 16th Pass Defense 149.5 ypg - 4th Oct 2, 2010 W, Tenn. 16-14
291.4 ypg - 11th Total Defense 277.6 ypg - 7th
Oct 9, 2010 L, S. Carolina 35-21 Oct 9, 2010 W, Florida 33-29
12.5 ppg - 2nd Scoring Defense 15.6 ppg - 10th
Oct 16, 2010 W, Ole Miss 23-10 Oct 16, 2010 W, McNeese 32-10
Oct 23, 2010 W, Tennessee 41-10 Trent Ingram is not Cam Newton - Two weeks ago, the Oct 23, 2010 L, Auburn 24-17
Oct 30, 2010 BYE Tigers possessed one of the best run stopping defenses in Oct 30, 2010 BYE
the nation. Drake Nevis and company were holding
Nov 6, 2010 @ LSU Nov 6, 2010 Alabama
offenses to 83 yards per game on the ground. Then, Cam
Nov 13, 2010 Mississippi State Newton happened. Sure, Newton is a sublime talent and Nov 13, 2010 ULM
Nov 20, 2010 Georgia State he’s without question the most dynamic singular offensive Nov 20, 2010 Ole Miss
Nov 26, 2010 Auburn talent in 2010, but the Tigers still gave up nearly 200 yardsNov 27, 2010 @ Arkansas
to guys not named Cam Newton. So, LSU had a week off
Proj. Offensive Starters to ready itself for the two headed monster named Trent Proj. Offensive Starters
Ingram - Trent Richardson and Mark Ingram. Dealing
QB 12 Greg McElroy Sr. with the two stud backs is one thing, but the prevailing QB J. Jefferson/J. Lee
RB 22 Mark Ingram Jr. thought coming out of the Auburn game was whether RB 34 Stevan Ridley Jr.
H 85 Preston Dial Sr. LSU’s defensive front could handle the punishing Auburn WR 10 Russell Shepard So.
WR 8 Julio Jones Jr. offensive line at the point of attack. If Newton accounted WR 2 Reuben Randle So.
WR 4 Marquis Maze Jr. for all of the rushing yards against LSU, you might be able WR 80 Terrence Toliver Sr.
TE 89 Michael Williams So. to rationalize that it was one transcendent player playing TE 19 D’Angelo Peterson Jr.
great. But, it wasn’t. That is the biggest worry for
LT 77 James Carpenter Sr. LT 78 Joe Barksdale Sr.
defensive coordinator John Chavis - can his front handle
LG 65 Chance Warmack So. LG 68 Josh Dworaczyk Jr.
William Vlachos and company to just be in position to
C 73 William Vlachos Jr. make tackles on Richardson/Ingram? If not, it’ll be a C 64 P.J. Lonergan So.
RG 75 Barrett Jones So. massively long day as Trent Ingram may roll for 275+ in RG 53 T-Bob Hebert Jr.
RT 52 Alfred McCullough Jr. Baton Rouge. RT 72 Alex Hurst So.
Proj. Defensive Starters 7 for 60 - The most valuable and most important player Proj. Defensive Starters
DE 92 Damion Square So. wearing a yellow LSU helmet on Saturday afternoon will be DE 94 Kendrick Adams Jr.
NT 99 Josh Chapman Jr. Patrick Peterson. He was instrumental in shutting down DT 95 Pep Levingston Sr.
wide receiver Julio Jones in last year’s game, but when he
DE 57 Marcell Dareus Jr. DT 92 Drake Nevis Sr.
left the field due to an injury, Jones took a short screen
LB 55 Chavis Williams Sr. DE 89 Lavar Edwards So.
pass 77 yards to the house for the game changing TD.
LB 30 Dont’a Hightower So. Peterson has struggled with cramps this year and missed LB 23 Stefoin Francois Jr.
LB 35 Nico Johnson So. key moments in big games (UNC and Florida come to LB 11 Kelvin Sheppard Sr.
LB 41 Courtney Upshaw Jr. mind). He can’t miss one play against Alabama; he must LB 22 Ryan Baker So.
CB 21 Dre Kirkpatrick So. play the entire 60 minutes. CB 17 Morris Claiborne So.
SS 4 Mark Barron Jr. Make a Play - The LSU offensive troubles have been well SS 15 Brandon Taylor Jr.
FS 37 Robert Lester So. chronicled throughout this season, but in the most FS 37 Karnell Hatcher Jr.
CB 28 DeMarcus Milliner Fr. important games of the season, key players stepped up to CB 7 Patrick Peterson Jr.
make big plays at the right time. Except against Auburn.
If LSU has a shot to win this game, Terrence Toliver,
Russell Shepard, Stevan Ridley must make something
happen to put pressure on the ‘Bama defense. Or else.
Conclusion - If Alabama is going to make a move in the BCS rankings, now’s the time. With games against LSU, Mississippi
State and Auburn down the stretch, Alabama controls its own destiny as it pertains to a national championship game visit.
Thumping LSU in Baton Rouge is hurdle number one for the Tide and Alabama will take care of that business this weekend.

Alabama - 23 vs. LSU - 14

 TCU (9 - 0) vs. Utah (8 - 0)
November 6, 2010 - CBS College 2:30 PM CST
Vegas Says: TCU -5/51

Keys to the Game

R 2010 Ranking
270.9 ypg - 9th Run Offense 191.5 ypg - 27th
Sep 4, 2010 W, Oregon St. 30-21 Sep 2, 2010 W, Pitt 27-24
214.8 ypg - 60th Pass Offense 258.1 ypg - 33rd
Sep 11, 2010 W, Tenn Tech 62-7 485.7 ypg - 11th Total Offense 449.6 ypg - 21st Sep 11, 2010 W, UNLV 38-10
Sep 18, 2010 W, Baylor 45-10 40.8 ppg - 9th Scoring Offense 45.3 ppg - 3rd Sep 18, 2010 W, New Mexico 56-14
Sep 24, 2010 W, SMU 41-24 98.3 ypg - 9th Run Defense 102.8 ypg - 14th Sep 25, 2010 W, SJSU 56-3
Oct 2, 2010 W, CSU 27-0 119.0 ypg - 1st Pass Defense 165.0 ypg - 10th Oct 2, 2010 BYE
Oct 9, 2010 W, Wyoming 45-0 217.3 ypg - 1st Total Defense 267.8 ypg - 6th Oct 9, 2010 W, Iowa St. 68-27
Oct 16, 2010 W, BYU 31-3 8.7 ppg - 1st Scoring Defense 14.1 ppg - 6th Oct 16, 2010 W, Wyoming 30-6
Oct 23, 2010 W, Air Force 38-7 Gamechanger #1 - Every head coach throughout the Oct 23, 2010 W, CSU 59-6
Oct 30, 2010 W, UNLV 48-6 country would love to have a player the caliber of TCU’s Oct 30, 2010 W, Air Force 28-23
Nov 6, 2010 @ Utah Jeremy Kerley. Sure, everyone would love to have a Nov 6, 2010 TCU
Nov 13, 2010 San Diego State great player, but Kerley is so much more than just a Nov 13, 2010 @ Notre Dame
Nov 20, 2010 BYE contributing player. He’ll return kicks and punts. He’ll Nov 20, 2010 @ San Diego State
Nov 27, 2010 @ New Mexico play in the slot at receiver and be one of the best catch Nov 27, 2010 BYU
and run threats in the MWC. He’ll line up at running
back when the Horned Frogs get into scoring range.
Proj. Offensive Starters Quite frankly, he’s the crutch for QB Andy Dalton and Proj. Offensive Starters
QB 14 Andy Dalton Sr. this Horned Frog offense. He’s averaging 134.4 yards QB 3 Jordan Wynn So.
total offense, nearly 13.9 yards per play, on just under
RB 34 Ed Wesley So. RB 4 Matt Asiata Sr.
nine touches per game. Against Utah, though, Kerley
H 85 Jeremy Kerley Sr. WR 1 Shaky Smithson Sr.
might need to push that number to 12 to 15 to put
Z 88 Jimmy Young Sr. significant pressure on the Utah defense. The Utes WR 85 Jereme Brooks Sr.
X 13 Antoine Hicks Jr. defense hasn’t been tested this season, but Kerley will be WR 11 Luke Matthews So.
TE 84 Evan Frosch Sr. a quantum physics mid-term if he gets the touches he TE 81 Kendrick Moeai So.
LT 61 Marcus Cannon Sr. should. LT 75 John Cullen Jr.
LG 55 Kyle Dooley Jr. LG 72 Caleb Schlauderaff Sr.
Gamechanger #2 - Kerley isn’t the only game changer
C 76 Jake Kirkpatrick Sr. on the field. Utah’s uber player is Shaky Smithson and C 77 Zane Taylor Sr.
RG 78 Josh Vernon Sr. his ability to change field position or put pressure on the RG 54 Tevita Stevens So.
RT 70 Zach Roth Sr. TCU defense equates to what Kerley can do for the RT 70 Tony Bergstrom Jr.
Proj. Defensive Starters Horned Frogs. Smithson has two punt returns for Proj. Defensive Starters
touchdown this season and has the opportunity to turn
DE 90 Stansly Maponga Fr. the field position in favor of the Utes. This is the type DE 96 Junior Tui’one Sr.
NT 57 Cory Grant Sr. of game in which field position is that much more DT 98 Sealver Siliaga Jr.
DT 94 D.J. Yendrey So. important. These two teams are accustomed to flying DT 44 Dave Kruger So.
DE 96 Wayne Daniels Sr. up and down the field, but not against defenses like DE 94 Christian Cox Sr.
MLB 35 Tanner Brock So. these. That being said, field position is paramount; LB 52 Matt Martinez Jr.
SLB 43 Tank Carder Jr. Smithson can slip one tackle on a punt return and put LB 32 Chaz Walker Jr.
SS 28 Colin Jones Sr. the Utes in scoring position at a time when Utah truly LB 18 Chad Manis Sr.
needs it.
FS 3 Tejay Johnson Sr. CB 27 Brandon Burton Jr.
WS 9 Alex Ibiloye Sr. Unsung hero - Utah left tackle John Cullen has been a S 2 Brian Blechen Fr.
CB 27 Jason Teague Sr. pleasant surprise for the Utes offense this season. In the S 33 Justin Taplin-Ross Sr.
CB 7 Greg McCoy Jr. first game of the season, Cullen’s first start of his career, CB 21 Lamar Chapman Sr.
he was faced with slowing down pre-season All-
Americans Greg Romeus and Jabaal Sheard. No worries.
He was instrumental in shutting them down. Cullen
will now face one of the MWC’s best this week, TCU’s
Wayne Daniels. It’ll be the biggest test of Cullen’s
career to this point and he must survive for Utah to win.
Conclusion - Utah QB Jordan Wynn experienced a nightmare last season in Fort Worth and needs to eradicate that from his
memory with a strong game at home in this one. Unfortunately, TCU’s defense is still good enough to give him huge problems.

TCU - 27 vs. Utah - 20