FANTASY FOOTBALL IN-SEASON FEATURES

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Prediction: KC 10, CLE Line: 23 (CLE by 6.5)

Players to Watch: Dwayne Bowe, Trent Richardson

The 2-10 Chiefs come off their second win of the year and probably the least likely game to have a victory given the events surrounding Javon Belcher on Saturday. The Browns are 4-8 and on a two game winning streak. Basically this is as good as it gets for the Browns this year.

Pregame Notes: It could not have been more surreal last week with the murder/suicide before the game and then watching the Chiefs put up their most complete and solid showing perhaps all year. Brady Quinn completed 19 of 23 for 201 yards and two touchdowns. The previous week he went 13-25 for 126 against the Broncos. He had not scored all year prior to last Sunday. He had ruined the fantasy fortunes of pretty much everyone other than Jamaal Charles.

Admittedly speculation, but I would expect a return to the bad Chiefs on the road and now with some time to soak in what happened and let it affect them if it does at all. The Panthers were clearly not expecting the effort last week nor was anyone. I would expect it catches up this week and that any gains of week 13 will be mostly gone.

Jamaal Charles ran for 127 yards on 27 carries last week which gives him 3 games over 100 yards in the last four weeks. Charles continues to run hard and even in the worst of games for the Chiefs, he usually ends up with a decent start line. The season was over long ago but Charles is still a gamer and not letting it slow him down. This will be his first road game since week ten when he gained 100 yards and a score in Pittsburgh.

The Chiefs still trot out Peyton Hillis to take handoffs and then fall down though he did manage his first touchdown of the season just last week, making it all that much more surreal.

The only other player here with any fantasy value all year was Dwayne Bowe who really fell off as soon as Quinn took over. He has not gained more than 65 yards in any of the last four games and has not scored since week four. Chances are he'll be spending at least some time with an out-of-position Joe Haden this week.

Last week may have suggested that there was fantasy value to be had here but ring that one up to just a strange situation and a response that was surprising. That should catch up to them this week on the road and put them back to their seven week string of games that never had more than one touchdown.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB Jamaal Charles, KC	@DEN	60	0	3	20	0	0	0	0
The Chiefs' lone offensive weapon needs 44 yards to reach the 1,500-yard mark. He hit triple digits against a tough Broncos' run D in the earlier meeting, and you assume he'll get the carries necessary to hit his milestone. Then again, we've gone broke trying to understand what Romeo Crennel is thinking so there are no guarantees.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB Dexter McCluster, KC	@DEN	0	0	5	30	0	0	0	0
McCluster is putting up numbers that make him the Chiefs' WR1. That's more an indictment of KC's passing game than an endorsement of McCluster's productivity.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Jonathan Baldwin, KC	@DEN	0	0	5	60	0	0	0	0
Baldwin has the only Chiefs WR TD in the past two months. Sorry, that's just not enough to warrant a fantasy start.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Donnie Avery, KC	@DEN	0	0	4	60	0	0	0	0
Avery has been an inconsistent wingman to Reggie Wayne, and the last time Indy faced the Texans it was TY Hilton who had the more productive game. With playoff positioning at stake expect Andrew Luck to lean heavily on Wayne once again, and the Texans have a soft spot for TEs as well. That leaves Avery and Hilton splitting scraps, making either one a tough fantasy start.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Devon Wylie, KC	@DEN	0	0	3	40	0	0	0	0
Bonus points if you were able to identify Wylie as the "other" Chiefs' WR. Sorry, those bonus points do not translate to fantasy points.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
TE Anthony Fasano, KC	@DEN	0	0	2	20	0	0	0	0
Fasano only had one catch in the last meeting with the Pats. No fantasy value here.

	Opp	fga	FGM	xpa	XPM	ConFac
K Ryan Succop, KC	@DEN	2	1	1	1
The Chiefs have more games with single-digit points (five) than games with 20-plus (four). That means limited scoring opportunities for Succop.

Pregame Notes: This week is definitely as good as it gets for the Browns with remaining games against the surprising Redskins and then trips to Denver and Pittsburgh where it is not likely to be pretty. The defense has been playing well this year and only once allowed more than 25 points in any game. The offense is also coming together better with 20 points scored in each of the last three weeks against quality opponents and the Raiders.

Brandon Weeden threw for a career best 364 yards in Oakland last Sunday but only scored once. He has four remaining weeks to prove to the Browns that they already have their franchise quarterback and can focus on one of their many other needs in the draft and free agency this spring. Weeden only scored 13 times this year but his yardage has been healthy at least most of the time. Don't forget either that this team only passed for 12 touchdowns in all of last year and never passed for more than 280 yards in any game. Weeden's topped that in four different matchups so far.

Weeden is also balanced out by Trent Richardson who has become one of the better runners in the league and rushed in seven touchdowns on the year. He;s been good for more than 100 total yards each of the last three home games and those went against the Chargers, Ravens and Steelers. He's scored in over half of his games so far and has been a tremendous draft selection.

Ben Watson just turned in a season-best 80 yards on six catches but spends most weeks remaining under 30 yards as a receiver and mostly blocks for Richardson.

Weeden has also been saddled with a fairly motley crew of receivers though Josh Gordon is getting better and is the only Browns receiver with any real fantasy merit. He comes off a season best 116 yards and a score in Oakland and posted five touchdowns in all. There is little fantasy consideration in any other receivers here though on a rare occasion one will turn in a decent game and then disappear. Gordon is not worth a start other than against the weakest of opponents and even them only as a WR3 play.

The Panthers were surprised by the Chiefs last week. We'll see how long that lasts now in a road game with plenty of time to digest what happened and return to being the team they were all along.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
QB Brian Hoyer, CLE	@PIT	0	0	0	0	0	180	0	2
Figure Hoyer gets a chance to show what he can do as the #2 next year after the Cards bring in someone else.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
QB Thaddeus Lewis, CLE	@PIT	0	0	0	0	0	140	0	2
The practice squad player got called up with both Brandon Weeden and Colt McCoy questionable with shoulder injuries. Needless to say, not a great start no matter what.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB Montario Hardesty, CLE	@PIT	40	0	2	10	0	0	0	0
With Richardson out, Hardesty will take the start in maybe the worst possible venue to play.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Greg Little, CLE	@PIT	0	0	2	20	0	0	0	0
Little was held to just one catch for six yards in the last meeting. This may not be that good.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
TE Kellen Davis, CLE	@PIT	0	0	2	20	0	0	0	0
On the one hand, only three teams have given up as many TE TDs as the Lions. On the other hand, the Bears ignore the position as evidenced by Davis' one catch for three yards in the earlier meeting. So once again follow Jay Cutler's lead and ignore Chicago tight ends.

	Opp	fga	FGM	xpa	XPM	ConFac
K Shayne Graham, CLE	@PIT	2	2	3	3
The Texans put up 29 on Indy a fortnight ago, 17 of them courtesy of Graham. With Houston still playing for home field, plenty of reasons to like Graham's prospects again this time around.

	Opp	fga	FGM	xpa	XPM	ConFac
K Phil Dawson, CLE	@PIT	2	1	0	0
Never in PIT.

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