FANTASY FOOTBALL IN-SEASON FEATURES

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Prediction: TEN 20, BUF 24 (Line: BUF by 3)

Players to Watch: Bad Chris Johnson vs. Good Chris Johnson

This is bound to be a messy game that could end up in a number of directions because it is bad offenses going against bad defenses and most anything could happen. The 2-4 Titans come off an upset win over the Steelers and hit the road where they are 0-3. The 3-3 Bills come off an upset in Arizona as well and are 1-1 at home. Flip a coin.

The Titans beat the Bills 23-17 last season.

Pregame Notes: The Titans come off a nice win over the Steelers when they scored ten points in the final four minutes including a field goal as time expired. That was the first time since the Detroit win that the offense played up to expectations and the defense wasn't quite a horrible as it usually is. One question that should be answered this week is if it was just a good effort by all or that Matt Hasselbeck was the quarterback instead of Jake Locker? Hasselbeck has been named the starter again this week though Locker may return from his shoulder injury next week against the Colts.

Hasselbeck passed for 290 yards and one score against the Steelers but he only managed one score and 200 yards in Minnesota during week five. The passing offense has been assisted by the return of Kenny Britt to better health since he turned in a score on four catches for 62 yards but he still has moments of running the wrong routes and dropping passes. He has been replacing Kendall Wright for the most part even though Wright turned his eight targets into six receptions for 71 yards. Britt was thrown a team high 11 passes but only caught four.

Nate Washington quietly chugs along on the other side with right around 50 yards in every game and never more than four catches. Wright has been the primary and his 33 receptions on the year are ten more than any other player. The passing attack would do well to better integrate Wright while also spending so much time throwing incompletions to Britt.

Jared Cook is good for four or five catches per week with moderate yardage and he scored twice so far. He remains just outside of fantasy relevance in all but the largest of leagues and even then reception points help.

Last week the Titans finally scored their first rushing touchdown of the season but called in Jamie Harper for the honors just to screw every fantasy owner who already had enough injury without that insult. And HC Mike Munchak liked the move and plans on doing it again. Chris Johnson ran for 91 yards on 19 carries and credited his offensive line instead of throwing them under the bus as he usually does each week. This is a pattern of last season as well. His only two games of any note have been against the Texans and Steelers. Also the two toughest defenses. What happens is more that the defense does not worry as much about loading up against the runner plus much of what Johnson does comes later in the game. Against the Texans, he was given run draws later in the game when the Texans liked him running and chewing up the clock in the already decided game.

This is going to be an excellent test this week. The Bills are soft against the run. If Johnson can gain 90 yards on the Steelers and 141 on the Texans, then facing the Bills should be a feast. And in most cases last year, it would be the opposite. A big effort here by Johnson may signal some turnaround but that is hard to rely on when you know going in that he has four games with under 30 yards rushing.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
QB Jake Locker, TEN	JAC	30	0	0	0	0	190	1	0
Locker threw for 261 yards and one score in Jacksonville but shouldn't need to catch up this week. More than moderate yardage and one score is not likely and probably not needed.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, TEN	JAC	0	0	0	0	0	210	1	1
The Bills have busted out of the teens just once in the past month and a half. Sure, you could ask Fitzpatrick to match the three TDs he threw against the Jets back in Week 1... but it's more likely you get similar yardage (195) without the scores.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB Chris Johnson, TEN	JAC	110	1	1	10	0	0	0	0
Johnson only ran for 80 yards on 21 carries in Jacksonville but the Jags are allowing at least 120 rush yards in away games. Johnson should be a lock for 20 carries this week and a great shot at one touchdown.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB Shonn Greene, TEN	JAC	80	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
Greene remains the lead dog of this committee, and with no discernible passing game he'll get more than enough carries to produce helpful numbers against a Bills defense that's allowing more than 120 rushing yards per game to opposing RBs.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Kenny Britt, TEN	JAC	0	0	3	30	1	0	0	0
Britt only left Jacksonville with three catches for 25 yards but scored once there. He's the best bet for a passing score by far and has three touchdowns over the last five games. You just cannot count on more than about 40 yards from him.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Nate Washington, TEN	JAC	0	0	4	50	0	0	0	0
Washington hasn't scored for the last seven games but at least he is reliable for moderate yardage when at home.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Kendall Wright, TEN	JAC	0	0	2	30	0	0	0	0
Wright was held out last week with bad ribs but may be able to play this week. Still no reliable fantasy value in any case.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Kevin Walter, TEN	JAC	0	0	2	20	0	0	0	0
Walter was barely a blip on the fantasy radar before, and over the past month he's fallen off completely.

	Opp	fga	FGM	xpa	XPM	ConFac
K Rob Bironas, TEN	JAC	2	1	3	3
Titans score too little to make Bironas a consistent scorer.

Pregame Notes: After getting violated by the 49ers in week five 45-3, the Bills bounced back with an upset overtime win in Arizona. While the offense was still struggling to pass, the defense showed up with a vengeance. This is a defense that allowed 97 points over the two prior weeks. Holding anyone to 16 points in their stadium made the Bills feel better for at least the one week. This week is a sort of respite with maybe the softest match-up left on the schedule and a bye week waiting on the other side.

Ryan Fitzpatrick is mirroring 2011 by starting out the year red hot. He passed for 12 touchdowns over the first 12 games but now have played two games without any scores. He has been below 200 yards in almost every game and the offense survives on what the rushing effort accomplishes. Fitzpatrick was throwing short scores early on but has been blanked and not passed for more than 153 yards since week four.

The rushing effort that started the year so well cooled off against solid rush defenses of the Patriots and 49ers but then showed up in Arizona where C.J. Spiller ran for 88 yards on 12 carries and Fred Jackson finally had a decent game with 53 rushing yards, five catches for 30 more yards and a touchdown. Jackson was stuck at 30 yard efforts until last week. Spiller too was ineffective for three straight games before bouncing back last Sunday.

The anemic passing stats in recent weeks have taken mediocre receivers and made them nearly worthless. Scott Chandler started the year with four scores in the first four weeks but hasn't scored since and only had one catch for four yards in Arizona. Stevie Johnson remains the only receiver with even a shred of fantasy relevance. After scoring in the first three games, - though with only 50 yards or so each time - he has not reached the endzone since and was being held to sub-40 yard games. In Arizona he improved with a season best 82 yards on six catches.

There will be some passing success this week but the Bills are going to kick the rushing effort into overdrive at home against the #29 ranked defense against running backs. Notch a win here and get decent of not big efforts from both Spiller and Jackson will make reaching the bye over .500 a much more relaxing week. Immediately upon returning from the bye are games at Houston and at New England so rushing success will be short lived.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB C.J. Spiller, BUF	NYJ	120	1	4	30	0	0	0	0
Spiller has hit triple-digit yardage the last four times he's received double-digit touches. No reason for the Bills to use anyone else, so Spiller can continue to lay the groundwork for next season's top 10 fantasy ranking.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Stevie Johnson, BUF	NYJ	0	0	6	70	1	0	0	0
Johnson is 65 yards shy of a third straight 1,000-yard season; there's your motivation.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR T.J. Graham, BUF	NYJ	0	0	3	40	0	0	0	0
Graham is Plan B in the Buffalo passing game, for those times when Stevie Johnson isn't open.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
TE Lee Smith, BUF	NYJ	0	0	2	20	0	0	0	0
With Scott Chandler out, Smith takes over the Bills' primary tight end duties. He's more of a blocker than a pass-catcher, so keep those expectations low.

	Opp	fga	FGM	xpa	XPM	ConFac
K Rian Lindell, BUF	NYJ	1	1	2	2
With Buffalo's offense struggling to break 20, you can do better for a fantasy kicker.

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