THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2007
SPORTS
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» FANTASY FOOTBALL
Week four lineups feature familiar faces
Here are some NFL players to play and a few to sit during your Fantasy Football match-up this weekend.
PLAY'EM
BY KELLY BRECKUNITCH
KANSAN COLUMNIST
KBRECKUNITCH@KANSAN.COM
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Quarterback Tony Romo has led the Cowboys to the NFL's second-best total offense. He is a must-start for any Fantasy Football team.
Pittsburgh Defense: The Steelers enter Sunday's contest against the Cardinals allowing about eight points per game on defense. The Steelers also enter the game with the second-best overall defense in the NFL. Arizona's Matt Leinart struggled against the Baltimore defense and Edgerrin James could not get in gear in the running game all day last Sunday. After Sunday, Cardinal's coach Ken Whisenhunt said that Leinart would remain the starting quarterback, according to NFL.com. However, he obviously will struggle against one of the best defenses in the NFL.
projected stats
Green Bay running backs
20 carries
37 yards
Play'em
Randy Moss
10 catches
131 receiving yards
1 touchdown
Tony Romo
24/31
342 passing yards
3 touchdowns
Thomas Jones
24 carries
133 rushing yards
2 touchdowns
Sit'em
T.J. Houshmandzadeh
4 catches
43 yards
Sit'em
Jay Cutler
21/27
196 passing yards
2 Interceptions
Thomas Jones, New York Jets running back; Buffalo has allowed at least 100 rushing yards to every starting running back it has faced this year. Jones is coming off his best performance of the season in a victory against Miami. Jones rushed for 110 yards on 25 carries in that game. The Bills may actually put up some offense on Sunday, but their defense will not be able to stop Jones.
Randy Moss, New England wide receiver: The rejuvenated Moss has looked great in the Patriots' offense. Moss has had more than 100 receiving yards and one touchdown catch in each game so far this season. In the big Monday night game this week, the Patriots will face a Cincinnati defense that is 19th in passing defense and 29th in overall defense. Moss should burn the Cincinnati secondary all night long.
Tony Romo, Dallas quarterback:
Last year's season-ending mismanled field goal snap must have haunted the Cowboys quarterback throughout the off-season. Romo shows no signs of remembering that moment. He has led the Cowboys to a record of three wins and zero losses. The Cowboys' passing offense is fifth in the NFL., and their total offense is second only to the Patriots. The Cowboys will take on a victoryless Rams team on Sunday that has been decimated by injuries, and Romo should have a big day.
SIT'EM
Any Green Bay running back:
The Packers have enough trouble
figuring out who will carry the
load in their backfield on any given Sunday, but this week they will face a Minnesota defense that is third in rushing defense in the NFL. Packers Brandon Jackson, DeShawn Wynn and Vernand Morency — if healthy — will be in for a long day on Sunday and should see a lot of purple helmets from a turf-level view during the game.
Jay Cutler, Denver quarterback: Cutler had had mixed results so far this season. He has thrown for 795 yards, but he has also thrown four interceptions to only three touchdowns. The Broncos will face the Colts' eighth-rated passing defense
on Sunday, and the young quarterback will face a tough test. Granted, the Broncos are not a pass-happy team, Cutler could have limited production on Sunday.
T. J. Houshmandzadeh, Cincinnati wide receiver: The Bengals will face the NFLS top-ranked defense on Sunday. The Patriots' defense resembles a stone wall in that they let no player get by the line of scrimmage. The Patriots are second in passing defense, so the highly touted Bengals receiver might struggle. Houshmandzadeh will be under the spotlight on Monday night, but he will have a tough time getting
anything going on offense.
St. Louis defense: The Rams go into Dallas on Sunday to face the Cowboys, who have the second highest total offense in the NFL. The Rams failed to move the ball against the Buccaneers defense, and if they fail to do so against the Cowboys, their defense will fatigue quickly. It does not help that St. Louis has suffered so many injuries so early this year. The Cowboys should roll over a weak Rams defense.
— Edited by Jeff Briscoe
NFL
Johnson should play Sunday despite resting sore hamstring
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Running back Larry Johnson sat out a second straight practice Thursday with a sore hamstring, a bad sign for a Kansas City offense that's scored only two touchdowns in three games.
Johnson, the two-time Pro Bowler who has struggled after missing almost the entire training camp in a contract dispute, is expected to play Sunday at San Diego, coach Herm Edwards said.
The guys got a sore hamstring. So we're trying to rest it."
Bennett has carried only 16 times for 45 yards for the Chiefs (1-2), and has a 2.8-yard average.
"It's not so bad where he can't run," Edwards said. "He's sore. What we don't want to do is put him in a position where he really hurts it."
Among the Tiger faithful, Alden, 49, has always been a polarizing figure, and remains so. But on Wednesday, the man who has led Missouri's athletics department for nearly a decade signed a two-year contract extension he hopes will keep him around for the foreseeable future.
With the botched firing of men's basketball coach Quin Snyder fresh in their minds, university curators met behind closed doors in March 2006 to consider getting rid of Alden. He survived — and hours later publicly introduced Mike Anderson as Snyder's successor.
"I'm ready. I'm definitely ready."
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Not too long ago, Missouri athletics director Mike Alden was fighting for his professional life.
"We talked about this back in 1998. Missouri was a destination place for us," Alden said on football coach Gary Pinkel's weekly radio show. "We're looking forward to being here, hopefully for a long time."
"It's just sore. It's not like it's pulled or anything." Bennett said. "They're just monitoring it, being safe about it."
he said. "But Larry will be ready. He's just resting it and getting the treatment he needs. He was able to jog and run around good today inside our practice bubble."
Johnson, who referred to his problem as "a little knickknack" on Monday, managed only 42 yards on 24 carries last week against a Minnesota defense that was stacked up at the line to stop him.
With an undefeated football team ranked No. 20 nationally and an up-tempo men's basketball team that can guarantee excitement, if not a 20-win season, Alden seems content to remain in the background. Through a spokesman, he declined an AP interview request.
In the meantime, Edwards denied that starting quarterback Damon Huard may be benched in favor of
backup Brodie Croyle. Edwards said his remarks had been misunderstood on Tuesday when he said he had thought about putting Croyle in the game in the second half against Minnesota last week.
Alden still active in Columbia
BIG 12 FOOTBALL
ASSOCIATED PRESS
So did interim university system president Gordon Lamb, whose signature graces the contract extension that boosts Alden's guaranteed annual salary to $525,000, a $70,000 increase.
Behind an offensive line which has just two players in the same position they played last year, Johnson has only 140 yards on 50 carries for an average of 2.8 yards that is far off the pace he sat while rushing for a team-record 1,789 yards in 2006.
His backup, Michael Bennett, said he expected Johnson to be at full strength by Sunday.
He also receives a $200,000 annual annuity, a $30,000 increase. The contract was set to expire in 2010 but now runs through 2012.
Mizzou chancellor Brady Deaton, Alden's boss, said the raise and contract extension reflect the university's confidence in Alden.
The latest deal is the seventh contract amendment and extension signed by Alden since his original agreement nine years ago. He previously spent two years as athletics director at Southwest Texas State University