FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEKLY FEATURES

NYJ (6-3) vs CLE (3-6)

Game Prediction: NYJ 17, CLE 13

Here's a game that will really effect the loser. The Jets have lost their last two games and will likely lose hope for the AFC East crown with a loss here. The Browns have lost their last three games and are now getting players ejected before the game even starts.

Update: Andre Davis has returned to practice and now is expected to play after missing time due to a toe injury.

Pre-Game Notes - NYJ

The Jets have three very "winnable" games coming up - CLE, ARZ and HOU before a brutal last four games which decides their fate.

Running Backs: Curtis Martin scored twice against the Ravens and carried the ball 28 times for 119 yards. That's a good recipe with Pennington out and likely to be replicated again this week. In spite of Martin's heavy load, Lamont Jordan only had three carries last week.

Wide Receivers: This group has been disappointing almost all season and with Carter at the helm the results were not any better than before. Santana Moss only had three catches but gained 75 yards. Neither Justin McCareins or Wayne Chrebet were a factor. With Moss, the only saving grace is if he catches a long pass or not. He did last week and Carter has the gun to get it downfield.

Tight Ends: Carter never knew what they were in Dallas and has not learned anything new since leaving.

Match Against the Defense: The Browns defense has been good against the pass this season and has only allowed three passing scores in the eight games that did not have a guy named McNabb playing. It's most likely that Carter will not score again and focus on not losing the ball while handing off to Martin.

Curtis Martin has a shot at another very nice game here against a team that has allowed eight different runners to score this year. It will take a lot of carries to top 100 yards but that is precisely what Martin is likely to be getting.

Pre-Game Notes - CLE

The Browns are quickly starting to unravel. Losing their last three games and taking to publicly threatening opposing quarterbacks and then spitting their way to ejections casts some doubt on how much control Butch Davis still has over the team. It was a tough three game stretch - PHI, BAL and PIT. But the residual effect of those will likely not help in their fourth straight challenging game.

Quarterback: Jeff Garcia has tailed off dramatically since his nice game over the soft Bengals defense. He only had 146 yards and no scores against the Ravens and then only managed to complete 7 of 16 passes for 110 yards and no scores last week against the Steelers. In both games he had one interception and lost a fumble.

Kelly Holcomb relieved him last week but HC Butch Davis has reiterated that Garcia is still the starter.

Running Backs: William "p-tooey" Green was a very late scratch last week and Lee Suggs was almost worthless alone. He only gained 38 yards on 18 carries and never caught a pass. After nine games, there has been only one 100 yard effort (Green vs CIN) and only three rushing scores all season.

There is a possible suspension looming for Green and I will update once that is known.

Wide Receivers: Andre Davis did not play last week with a bad turf toe and I am assuming he'll miss another game until he practices and is cleared to play. Randy Northcutt filled in last week and had 69 yards on only two catches but he's not scored yet this season. Antonio Bryant is slowly getting more involved but that's topped out at 43 yards on four catches so far in these meager passing times of Cleveland. The Browns have coincidentally not been throwing well since Davis went out of the lineup and are now playing with new-signee Bryant and #3 Northcutt as the starters.

Tight Ends: Aaron Shea has yet to produce much yardage this season but he caught his third touchdown last week on his only catch in the game.

Match Against the Defense: How well the running attack does will directly correlate to the chances of the Browns to stay in the game. Assuming that both Suggs and Green can play, they should have moderate success running since the play of Garcia lately will dictate to minimize the passing if possible, particularly with Davis still out.

Expect only a moderate effort from Garcia this week but a good chance to score once since all the opponents have so far this season. There have been no 300 yard games against the Jets and most efforts against them end up around 210 yards which is likely the high side for a struggling Brown's passing attack.

Randy Northcutt has the matchup that has produced the most scores, easily, by the Jets secondary but since he has yet to get a touchdown, it is not a lock to happen.