6B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
FANTASY
WEDNESDAY,SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
Eagles' trio finally shines in third game
This weekend featured explosive action from several players and teams in the NFL. Here are the top performers and the biggest disappointments from the weekend.
DYNAMITE
QB — Donovan McNabb (Philadelphia) was criticized last week for making comments about black quarterbacks being judged on a different scale than white quarterbacks. He certainly played
BY KELLY BRECKUNITCH
KANSAN SPORTS COLUMNIST
KBRECKUNITCH@KANSAN.COM
up to that higher judgment level on Sunday. He was back to Super Bowl form, throwing for 381 yards and four touchdowns. As good as the Dallas Cowboys have looked,
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Philadelphia's Donovan McNabb, sporting a throwback jersey, torched the Detroit defense Sunday. McNabb threw for 381 yards and four touchdowns.
McNabb will have to maintain this level of play if the Eagles want to compete in the NFC East.
WR — I vaguely remember picking Kevin Curtis (Philadelphia) as one of the big sleepers this year. Well on Sunday, Curtis proved that I should have. Curtis had 205 yards receiving in the first half, the most receiving yards in a half since Lee Evans had the same amount last season against Houston. Curtis finished the game with 221 yards receiving and three touchdown receptions. The Eagles want Curtis to continue performing in such a big way the rest of the season.
San Diego's LaDianian Tomlinson has struggled to match last season's stellar stats so far in 2007. Tomlinson rushed for 62 yards Sunday
RB — NFL.com reported that the Miami Dolphins thought about replacing Ronnie Brown with Jesse Chatman before the game on Sunday. Brown then came out and had his best performance of the season. Brown ran the ball 12 times for 112 yards and two touchdowns, and caught six passes for 99 yards and an additional touchdown. Brown almost led the Dolphins to a come-from-behind victory over the New York Jets and should be a big factor in the team's offense the rest of the season.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
TE — There is little argument about Antonio Gates (San Diego) being the best tight end in the NFL this season. Gates performs consistently every week. Against Green Bay this week, Gates hauled in 11 receptions for 113 yards. If the Chargers want to win games, though, their running back LaDainian Tomlinson will need to regain his 2006 form.
Def — Tampa Bay shut down one of the most potent offenses in the NFL. The St. Louis Rams couldn't get anything going and mustered only three points against
interceptions against Tampa Bay. Leinart and Bulger have two of the best receiving corps in the league and will need to be more efficient in getting these receivers the ball if they want to win.
WR — Has anybody seen Steve Smith? Smith (Carolina) was a ghost on the field on Sunday. Smith had only one catch for 10 yards. Let me repeat that: Smith had only one catch for 10 yards. Smith is one of the most explosive receivers in the game, especially for his size, but he had a rare off-day on Sunday.
Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers intercepted the Rams' Marc Bulger three times and sacked him once. They also forced one fumble. Tampa Bay is now tied for first place in the NFC South and has to feel good going into its division showdown against the Carolina Panthers next weekend.
Football next week
DUDS
RB — I should almost give it to LaDainian Tomlinson (San Diego) for failing to show up for the second week in a row, but when a team's starting running back gains only nine yards on 17 carries, there's definitely something wrong. Those were Cincinnati running back Rudi Johnson's numbers in the Bengals' game against the Seattle Seahawks. This is not the Super Bowl defense that Seattle had a couple of years ago, either. Johnson will need to bounce back when the Bengals face the undefeated Patriots on Monday Night
K — Matt Stover looked at the top of his game as the Baltimore Ravens beat the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Stover made both extra-point attempts and all four field goal attempts. Baltimore won the game when he kicked the last of his field goals, a 46-yarder, as time expired. According to *baltimoreravens.com*, Sunday's performance moved Stover into fifth place on the franchise's all-time scoring list with 1,745 points.
QB — You couldn't perform any worse than St. Louis' Marc Bulger this past Sunday, unless you were Arizona's Matt Leinart. Leinart completed only nine of his 20 passes for 53 yards, while rotating series with Kurt Warner. Bulger didn't look much better. Bulger was 17 for 26 for 116 yards with three
TE — Randy McMichael (St. Louis) was one of the premier free agents signed by the Rams in the off-season, but they have barely used him so far this season. On Sunday, McMichael had two catches for 13 yards. McMichael was an explosive player for the Dolphins last season, and if the Rams want to turn around their season, they might want to look McMichael's way more often.
Def — How hard is it to stop an offense that put up a combined 25 points in its first two games of the season? Apparently, it's almost impossible for the Detroit Lions. The Lions let the Eagles' Donovan McNabb throw for almost 400 yards and four touchdowns and allowed Brian Westbrook to rack up 110 rushing yards and 111 receiving yards. Eagles' receiver Kevin Curtis had 221 receiving yards. Philadelphia's offense put up 536 total yards and doubled the amount of points it had scored in its first two games. Detroit should rebound, though, when they face the nauseating Chicago Bears offense this weekend.
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K — Rian Lindell (Buffalo) is a victim of circumstance. The Bills' offense continued to play poorly. Buffalo scored only one touchdown, so Lindell kicked one extra point attempt and earned just one fantasy point. Buffalo couldn't even get into field goal range against the Patriots after the first quarter.
Edited by Chris Beattie
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