FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEKLY FEATURES

MIN (2-1) vs HOU (2-2)

Game Prediction: MIN 31, HOU 24

The Vikings come off their bye week to face the Texans - the "two wins in a row" Texans. If it took this long to get to consecutive wins, it's a bit early to hope for the trifecta quite yet.

Pre-Game Notes - MIN

The Vikings schedule is looking easier with each passing week and that's a good thing since they are starting to run out of healthy or non-suspended tailbacks.

Running Backs: Onterrio Smith's run of legal luck has run out and he's starting his four game suspension now. Unfortunately, Michael Bennett's bad luck has not stopped and he'll be gone the next two weeks until something else is discovered or he hurts himself yet again. That leaves a banged-up but ready Moe Williams and rookie Mewelde Moore left to start this week. Williams played very well last year in relief of Bennett until his return.

Update: Since Moe Williams is coming off a knee sprain, he's expected to mainly play on passing downs as the better blocker and leave most the rushing to rookie Mewelde Moore. I am changing the numbers to better aligm with their likely roles of both runners.

Wide Receivers: Randy Moss has five scores on the year and at least one in each game so far. When the defenses have devoted too much to stopping him, the trio of Nate Burleson, Marcus Robinson and Kelly Campbell get to have fun. Much more fun than the secondary. There's been no real trend beyond Moss so far - there's only been two non-Moss receiving touchdowns and Kelly Campbell and Nate Burleson have been more productive in yardage.

Tight Ends: Pure unfounded rumor really. Richard Owens rewarded waiver hounds in week three with two catches for 16 yards.

Match Against the Defense: If you can disregard Kerry Collins, and you really should, then all three opposing quarterbacks against the Texans have thrown for either two or three scores in their game and what's even better is that the wideouts catch those scores even though SD, DET and KC didn't really have any in the first place.

Expect a very nice game from Randy Moss this week and enough left over to reward one of the other three wideouts - most likely Nate Burleson's first score of the year though it could just as easily be for Robinson on a short endzone pass or Campbell on a fly pattern.

The Texans rush defense has allowed Tomlinson and Holmes to run wild, but also Amos Zereoue took off last week. The ground game should score at least once if Culpepper doesn't take in himself.

Pre-Game Notes - HOU

Getting that second win in a row out of the way allows the Texans to get back to being outgunned by opponent offenses.

Running Backs: Domanick Davis missed last week due to an ankle sprain and was very capably replaced by Jonathan Wells who turned in 105 yards on 26 carries with one touchdown. That was actually the best rushing game by any Texan this season. It was also the first 100 yard game of Wells' career. Tony Hollings filled in for six runs but only gained 22 yards in his first game back from a knee sprain.

Until later practice reports are available, I am assuming that Davis misses again this week and that Wells will take the next start. Updates as warranted.

Update: Domanick Davis has returned to practice now but is not participating fully yet. There is some expectation that he will play on Sunday but most likely he will be limited. I am inserting Davis, with lower numbers, into the lineup and removing Tony Hollings who is less likely to see time. Jonathan Wells is still the probable starter but could see some carries lost to Davis now.

Wide Receivers: Corey Bradford missed last week due to a separated right shoulder but is expected to return this week. He was replaced by Jabar Gaffney (4-48) against the Raiders but Gaffney should return to being the #3 this week. Andre Johnson had his first 100 yard game of the season last week and scored his second touchdown. He'll be in for plenty of action this week.

Tight Ends: Just say no. David Carr does.

Match Against the Defense: The effectiveness of the rushing game depends mostly on the scoreboard. Thanks to Culpepper posting so many points, only Thomas Jones has done much with 22 carries for 110 yards and a score. Brian Westbrook only managed 69 yards on only 12 carries as a more typical outing against Minnesota and there's a good chance that Jonathan Wells will not turn in 100 yard games each week. A very good chance. Excellent even.

There's no reason not to expect David Carr to have his biggest passing game this season. He could approach 300 yards if the run is abandoned and the Vikings secondary is not good enough in the nickel or dime packages to do much more than just slow down opponents. Andre Johnson should turn in a big game here with even Corey Bradford surprising if his shoulder is healthy again. If not, expect Gaffney to fill in well.