Game Prediction: CAR 16, IND 24

Update: Here we go again. Reports are very mixed on Edgerrin James. At best, it will be a game-time decision on him though Dungy has sounded somewhat optimistic. On the other hand there is a very real chance that James is held out for one more week so that coupled with the bye week, he will get maximum rest before embarking on the rest of the season.There are some media accounts that say that James has an injury to his transverse process in his back which evidently is the popular injury this season. The Colts certainly did well enough without him in Tampa Bay. If he does not start, and given the questions I am going to assume that he will not, Ricky Williams will get the start again Even if he does play I would expect Williams to get more relief work than normal.

Dominic Rhodes was able to practice on Thursday and could be available but it appears that James Mungro sprained knee will likely keep him out.

Carolina Notes

Quarterbacks: The Panthers are following the old Baltimore plan. Play such dominating defense that the quarterback becomes a middle manager in the game. Jake Delhomme got his job by mounting a tremendous three touchdown effort at the end of the season opener for the first Panther win and has thrown only one since that game. Last week he had only 124 yards passing but a win is a win. The more important factor is that he does not make mistakes and has no interceptions to reduce the chances he gets to hand off to Stephen Davis.

Running backs: There are good free agent pickups and then there is Stephen Davis. Averaging 141 yards per game, Davis had his worst game in week one when he only gained 111 yards. Since then he has 140+ in every game. De'Shaun Foster gets eight to ten carries a game because all the Panthers do is run. After four games, there has been only once that Carolina threw more passes than handoffs to Davis and that was only a 27 to 25 difference. The biggest fear? He gets worn out or you really regret passing on him in the draft.

Wide Receivers: The only receiver that has done anything for Carolina is Muhsin Muhammad and even he has never had more than five catches or 61 yards in a game.

Tight Ends: Like other teams, here is where a small change is likely happening. The rookie Mike Seidman has two catches for 24 yards last week and starter Kris Mangum is primarily a blocker for Davis (along with ten other players). With such minimal throwing there is no great value here, but Seidman is starting to make himself known.

Match against the defense: The Panthers catch a small break by visiting the Colts after that lengthy and emotional comeback win on Monday. They could be tired still.

The Colts rushing defense has still been suspect and allowed good games to Fred Taylor (17-126) and Deuce McAllister (17-101) and even Michael Pittman (16-106). This fact is not lost on the Panthers.

The passing defense had been tremendous this season until the Monday night shoot-out but there is little reason to expect the Panthers to create a passing game overnight. The Panthers will follow their formula which is limited to Davis up the gut.

Indianapolis Notes

Quarterbacks: Peyton Manning proved that he was a "decent" quarterback last week when he mounted the greatest four minute comeback in the history of the NFL, playing as a visitor against the toughest defense in the NFL. He showed great poise and control and solid emotional stature by leading the comeback and never once running around screaming like a little girl "OH MY! I CANNOT FREAKING BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING" though I personally will admit to doing that. Just tremendous. Oh yes, and he has ten touchdowns in the past three games.

Running backs: Edgerrin James missed last week with his bad back after teasing the fantasy world with possibly playing. While the full set of his backups played in Tampa Bay, Ricky Williams (13-56, 2 TDs) served as the primary back. I am assuming that James is available this week.

Wide Receivers: If any player is "un-coverable", it is Marvin Harrison who had 11 catches for 176 yards and both scores in spite of everyone knowing who was going to get the throw. Reggie Wayne (4-59) and even Troy Walters (4-42) made big time catches along the way.

Tight Ends: While Marcus Pollard had more yards, Dallas Clark is getting more catches. Put them together and you have a stud tight end. Keep them separate and you have two solid tight ends.

Match against the defense:The Panther defense is concerned that it has allowed T.J. Duckett 100 yards and Deuce McAllister 124 yards after only allowing one 100 yard game all last season. Their concern should be more than they allowed Brad Johnson to throw for 339 yards and Mark Brunell to carve them up for 272 yards. The defense also failed to register a sack for the first time in nine games.

The Colts can fabricate at least a decent running game even without James and if he returns he will have a huge challenge to be the third 100 yard rusher against Carolina. That is unlikely. What is more important is how the Panthers can defend against Manning and company when they already allowed Keyshawn Johnson (9-102), Jermaine Lewis (90) and hobbled Joe Horn (4-56, 1 TD) to do well against them. Those players are not Harrison, Wayne and PollardClark (one name now).

Game Prediction: Stephen Davis will run well against a defense that comes off a short week. Carolina will not be throwing very well or very often. The difference in this game is if Manning and Harrison can rest up and get back to work without the distractions and letdown after their big comeback. Since they are more emotionally stable than I am, I like the Colts in a tough, much lower scoring game between two unbeaten teams.

* Fantasy point rankings calculated using standard Huddle fantasy points