Week 3 of the National Football League season is upon us, and there is plenty to talk about in addition to the Brett Favre-Packers countdown. From Mike Singletary's newfound attitude in San Francisco (which seems to be working better than Tony Dorsett's mouth), to the New York Jets not only taking down King Brady, but keeping him and the Pats' offense out of the end zone. And then, of course, you can't forget about the Manning brothers, who once again are showing the NFL world that they are the best at calling plays and winning football games.

As for fantasy football...

Well, all you have to do is read this column and visit the RapidDraft.com blogs every week, and I guarantee you will be champion someday. I hope you enjoy the new, revised version of the weekly forecast packed with even more than ever before.

Week 3 Player Watch
Matt Schaub: After laying an egg at home in Week 1 against the Jets, only to slice and dice through the Titans' defense on the road in Week 2, Schaub returns home this week as the Texans will host what looks like is going to be a very bad Jaguars team (particularly on defense). The question is which quarterback will show up? Will it be the 166-yard, zero-touchdown disappointment or the 357-yard, four-touchdown fantasy wonder man? How about somewhere in between?

Chris Johnson: Fantasy owners saw first-hand what Johnson is capable of on any given Sunday, and clearly with how badly the defense played last week it looks as though Johnson will have no problems getting plenty of touches the rest of the way. This week, Johnson will face a Jets defense that hasn't allowed a touchdown in 2009, and it's not like they've played two sluggish offenses. In Week 1, the Jets went to Houston and shut down a Texans offense that later scored four touchdowns last week against the Titans on the road. Last week, the gang green and white shut down fantasy immortal Tom Brady and the Pats high-powered offense. Will Johnson be shutdown, or will he break the Jets' latest defensive trend?

Greg Jennings: Fantasy owners probably never expected a donut from Jennings, especially because he was matched against a Bengals defense that allowed 23 touchdowns through the air last season. To be fair, though, Jennings did have his opportunities in Week 2, but dropped a few catchable passes. This week, the Packers travel to St Louis to face a Rams defense that has already allowed an average of 258 passing yards per game in 2009. And although they held their own against the Redskins last week, giving up just three field goals, in Week 1 against the Seahawks they didn't fair as well and allowed three passing touchdowns. I expect no donuts this week from Jennings, unless of course they're the second digit behind a two (20), three (30) or four (40). 


Obvious, Dubious, and Hideous Starts
Hopefully, this new approach to this part of the forecast is the right one.



Kansas City vs. Philadelphia

Obvious -- Brent Celek, Philadelphia defense, Lesean McCoy
Dubious -- Matt Cassel, Kevin Kolb, Dwayne Bowe, Brian Westbrook (Inj), Desean Jackson (inj)
Hideous -- Larry Johnson, Mark Bradley, Kevin Curtis

Green Bay vs. St Louis -- See game breakdown.


San Francisco vs. Minnesota
Obvious -- Adrian Peterson, Vernon Davis, Minnesota DST, Isaac Bruce
Dubious -- Brett Favre, Shaun Hill, San Francisco DST, Percy Harvin
Hideous -- Bernard Berrian, Frank Gore, Josh Morgan

Cleveland vs. Baltimore
Obvious -- Braylon Edwards, Willis McGahee, Ray Rice, Derrick Mason, Baltimore defense
Dubious -- Brady Quinn, Joe Flacco, Mark Clayton
Hideous -- Jamal Lewis, Cleveland defense

NY Giants vs. Tampa Bay
Obvious -- Cadillac Williams, Kellen Winslow Jr, Eli Manning, Steve Smith, Brandon Jacobs, Derrick Ward
Dubious -- Ahmad Bradshaw, Mario Manningham, NY Giants defense
Hideous -- Antonio Bryant, Mark Clayton, Tampa Bay defense

Jacksonville vs. Houston
Obvious -- Maurice Jones-Drew, David Garrard, Torry Holt, Matt Schaub, Steve Slaton, Andre Johnson (lock), Owen Daniels
Dubious -- Mike Walker, Kevin Walter, Jacksonville DST
Hideous -- Houston defense

Tennessee vs. NY Jets
Obvious -- Thomas Jones, Dustin Keller, NY Jets defense, Leon Washington
Dubious -- Chris Johnson, Jerricho Cotchery, Mark Sanchez
Hideous -- Tennessee defense, Justin Gage

Atlanta vs. New England
Obvious -- Matt Ryan, Tony Gonzalez, Roddy White, Tom Brady, Randy Moss
Dubious -- Michael Turner, New England defense, Wes Welker, Marty Booker
Hideous -- Atlanta defense, Ben Watson

Washington vs. Detroit

Obvious -- Clinton Portis, Santana Moss, Chris Cooley, Kevin Smith, Calvin Johnson
Dubious -- Jason Campbell, Washington defense, Ladell Betts
Hideous -- Matthew Stafford, Bryant Johnson, Detroit defense

Chicago vs. Seattle
Obvious -- Matt Forte, Jay Cutler, TJ Houshmandzadeh, Johnny Knox, John Carlson, Greg Olsen
Dubious -- Nate Burleson, Seneca Wallace, Earl Bennett, Chicago defense
Hideous -- Julius Jones, Matt Hasselbeck, Seattle defense

New Orleans vs. Buffalo

Obvious -- Drew Brees, Marques Colston, Jeremy Shockey, Terrell Owens, Lee Evans, Trent Edwards
Dubious -- Fred Jackson, Reggie Bush, Mike Bell, Lance Moore
Hideous -- Pierre Thomas, Buffalo defense, New Orleans defense

Miami vs. San Diego

Obvious -- Philip Rivers, Darren Sproles, Vincent Jackson, Antonio Gates, Ronnie Brown
Dubious -- San Diego defense, Ladainian Tomlinson, Davone Bess, Chad Pennington
Hideous -- Ted Ginn Jr, Chris Chambers, Miami defense

Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati
Obvious -- Carson Palmer, Ben Roethlisberger, Santonio Holmes, Chad Ochocinco, Hines Ward, Rashard Mendenhall
Dubious -- Cedric Benson, Willie Parker, Mewelde Moore, Laveranues Coles, Pittsburgh defense
Hideous -- Chris Henry, Heath Miller, Cincinnati defense

Denver vs. Oakland
Obvious -- Darren McFadden, Eddie Royal
Dubious -- Brandon Marshall, Louis Murphy, Zach Miller, Denver defense, Correll Buckhalter, Knowshon Moreno, Michael Bush
Hideous -- JaMarcus Russell, Oakland defense

Indianapolis vs. Arizona
Obvious -- Peyton Manning, Kurt Warner, Reggie Wayne, Larry Fitzgerald, Dallas Clark, Tim Hightower, Steve Breaston
Dubious -- Anquan Boldin, Pierre Garcon, Chris Wells, Joseph Addai,
Hideous -- Austin Collie, Donald Brown, Indianapolis defense, Arizona defense

Carolina vs. Dallas
Obvious -- Tony Romo, Jason Witten, Steve Smith, DeAngelo Williams
Dubious -- Dallas defense, Felix Jones, Muhsin Muhammad, Tashard Choice
Hideous -- Carolina defense, Jonathan Stewart

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Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by MrHuber on Sept. 25, 2009 at 1:27 p.m. (report)

Breaking News: The Giants have placed Safety Kenny Phillips on injured reserve due to an unhealthy knee. He's been hampered by arthritis in his knee since training camp, but a recent MRI revealed that the arthritis has gotten worse. The reason why I'm mentioning this is because I have Phillips in the IDP Insight, and wanted to make sure that everyone disregards picking him up.