FANTASY FOOTBALL IN-SEASON FEATURES

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Prediction: CLE 14, IND 24

Players to Watch: Montario Hardesty, Austin Collie

The Browns lost last Sunday in a fourth quarter crumble and now hit the road where they were only 2-6 last year. The Colts were one of the biggest disappointments of week one when they were manhandled by the Texans who took delight in making the Manning-less Colts look very, very ordinary. Back at home the Colts can regroup and make a stand against a weaker Browns team.

QUARTERBACK: Colt McCoy struggled in the new offense and completed only 19 of 40 passes for 213 yards but had two touchdowns against only one interception. Aside from one long completion to Mohamed Massaquoi, McCoy had little success with his wideouts and relied more on tight ends and tailbacks as receivers.

The Colts still have a better than average pass defense that held Matt Schaub to 220 yards and one score. Expect a moderate game from McCoy if even that good.

RUNNING BACKS: Peyton Hillis had a surprisingly tough time against the Bengals when he gained only 57 yards on 17 carries but he added six receptions for 30 more yards. He'll be better this week against a Colts defense that gave up 167 rush yards to the Texans and this game should be more about the run than the pass for both sides.

Montario Hardesty did play a role but only ran five times for 18 yards. In a game that should feature more and better rushing, it will be notable to see how much action Hardesty is given this week. If he will be just a relief guy or part of a committee.

WIDE RECEIVERS: Mohamed Massaquoi was the lead receiver last week with 77 yards on three catches but most of that came on a 56 yard completion. No other wideout here had more than one catch or 13 yards in a very disappointing start for the new Pat Shumur offense. There is no fantasy value among any of these wideouts so far and it may be a while before it happens.

TIGHT ENDS: McCoy settled on his tight ends a lot last week. Ben Watson had three catches for 45 yards and Evan Moore gained 35 yards on his three receptions and both tight ends scored. Until the passing game gets longer with time, these tight ends are the best bet for receivers in Cleveland where they use two just to even water them down in fantasy value.

Pregame Notes: Bad enough to lose Peyton Manning for a while but even tougher to discover that maybe your team was nothing but him. It certainly looked that way against the Texans who had no problem ravaging the Colts in all aspects. Kerry Collins may not be the answer if Manning remains out all year but he is the best they have and in fairness, he is still very new to team and will be better. Just holding on to snaps will be an upgrade.

RUNNING BACKS: The score was so out of hand so early last week that the Colts only rushed 15 times for 64 yards and Joseph Addai caught two passes for 13 yards. Pretty bad. Consider too that they gave nearly split carries to both Addai and Delone Carter. This is the defense that allowed Cedric Benson to gain 121 yards and a score (on a 39-yard run) and on the road will not be any better. The backfield split is going to kill whatever meager fantasy points may lie there.

The Colts need a reassuring win and at home get a chance for just that. Look for some marginal success from the running backs.

WIDE RECEIVERS: Here lies the Manning difference. Reggie Wayne still played well with 106 yards and a score on seven catches. But the only other wideouts with any catches at all was Pierre Garcon with 39 yards on three receptions. Austin Collie? Not one. And again - about half of Wayne's stats came late in the game. This week will be a good opportunity to work with the wideouts and get Collins on the same page with them. If he still only tracks with Wayne and not the others, it is a bad sign for the offense that will become very one dimensional. There is no fantasy value with Garcon and Collie for now. If Austin Collie again goes without a catch, you can pretty much expect it will be weeks before anything good happens.

TIGHT ENDS: Dallas Clark is still a big part of the offense, but the offense itself has become small so his four catches for 39 yards is good only compared to the others. Expect Clark to have more value ongoing and this week he goes against a secondary that gave up 58 yards and a score to Jermaine Gresham.

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