FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEKLY FEATURES

CIN (1-3) vs CLE (2-3)

Game Prediction: CIN 17, CLE 23

The Bengals come off their bye week fresh and healthy but the Browns are at home where they have not lost a game yet this year.

Update: Warrick is already counted out for this weekend with his shin injury.

Pre-Game Notes - CIN

The brutal schedule for the Bengals this year has led to an understandable 1-3 record but the defense has not shown any improvement from 2003.

Running Backs: Rudi Johnson comes off a much needed 123 yard effort against the Steelers with one touchdown. He only has two scores on the year and yet has been carrying the ball at least 22 times in every games. The Bengals are pleased enough with his performance so far to be working on a new contract for him to prevent him from becoming a free agent in the offseason.

Wide Receivers: Chad Johnson has only scored once this year and has two 99 yard games as his season best but that's actually about where he was last year at this time and he faced some top secondaries unlike this week. Peter Warrick missed the last two games with a shin injury but I am assuming he will return this week as a much needed third down and endzone target for Palmer. In his place, T.J. Houshmandzadeh has turned in two nice games of 116 and 53 yards.

Tight Ends: Three-headed monster and not one fantasy relevant.

Match Against the Defense: Rudi Johnson has never had a good game against the Browns, gaining only about 50 yards in both efforts last year when the two teams both won on the road. The Bengals 21-14 win in week four last year was all about a big game by Kitna throwing, not running the ball.

There's no reason why Rudi should not score once on the ground since six different running backs have already this year against the Browns and his yardage will depend on how well the Bengals can keep the game close on the scoreboard.

Palmer faces a secondary that has only allowed two passing touchdowns this year but primarily because opponents always run in their scores. He should have a shot at a decent game here against a team that has allowed six receivers to go over 80 yards. Assuming that Warrick returns, he gets the more favorable matchup though you can never count out Chad Johnson and if the Browns get a lead, the passing numbers here should increase.

Pre-Game Notes - CLE

The Browns have won both homestands against the Ravens and Redskins this year. After this week they host the Eagles and then travel to the Ravens so a win here is important before hitting a tougher stretch.

Running Backs: While Lee Suggs looked good in week four with 82 yards on 22 carries with one score against the Redskins, he only managed 30 yards on 11 carries against the Steelers while William Green produced 27 yards on only three carries. Look for the duo to continue the sharing scenario with Suggs, at least so far, taking the lead and early carries.

Wide Receivers: Last week, Andre' Davis finally posted both a touchdown and the first 100 yard effort by a Browns wideout. That comes one week after he had 93 yards on three catches against the Redskins. Davis is finally getting used by Garcia while Quincy Morgan has fallen off dramatically the past two weeks and only totaled three catches for 33 yards. Dennis Northcutt only matters in the rare game he catches a long pass which so far is about a 5:1 shot against happening.

Tight Ends: Steve Heiden returned to play last week but Aaron Shea had the lone passing touchdown. It was the first score by a tight end this year.

Match Against the Defense: In only four games, the Bengals have allowed four rushing scores and three 120+ rushing yard efforts to opposing running backs. They have been fairly tough against he pass by appearance only because opponents spend their time running all over them.

Expect that Garcia has a great chance for one score that would go to a wideout and Andre Davis has the best matchup and has been hot the past two weeks anyway. The Bengals have not allowed more than 69 yards to any wideout this year thanks to the ease of running the defense has donated.

This is definitely the game for Suggs to get on track. The only team that did not rip up the Bengals for big rushing yards were the Dolphins. Consider Suggs as your definite starter this week and there could even be enough left over for William Green to have some fantasy value this week as well.