All-Out Blitz: Week 13

This week’s All-Out Blitz takes you around the league with our quick-snap overview for all 32 teams heading into week thirteen.
By George Kurtz, Senior Writer, The Fantasy Sports Forum

Arizona Cardinals:  QB Kevin Kolb should make his long awaited return this week from his toe injury, hopefully the month off will improve his accuracy…..Speaking of consistency, RB Beanie Wells had a career day rushing versus the Rams in Week 12, then again, it seems every back is having a career day against St. Louis…..LB Sam Acho may be a name you want to remember as he has taken over the starting role formerly belonging to Joey Porter, and looks to be the kind of pass rusher the Cards need now and in the future.

Atlanta Falcons:  WR Julio Jones is still dealing with a hamstring injury, he played last week but didn’t have a catch and only had a single target and now comes word that he missed practice Wednesday, the Falcons may have played this one wrong by not sitting Jones down for as long as it took to get him 100% healthy and now may have to deal with Jones not being at full strength for the remainder of the season…..More bad news for the birds is that RB Michael Turner sat out practice due to a sore groin Wednesday, not what you want to hear from a player that is coming off of off-season groin surgery.

Baltimore Ravens:  Chalk up the first battle of the Harbaugh brothers to the Ravens as they proved that the 49ers aren’t quite in their class yet, allowing nine sacks San Francisco in the game.  Offensively though, it would be nice if OC Cam Cameron found a way to get the ball in the hands of RB Ray Rice more often, especially in the passing game where it seems like the Ravens have forgotten what a weapon Rice can be when catching the ball out of the backfield.

Buffalo Bills:  Aren’t we getting tired of WRs being so selfish that they are costing their team games?  On Sunday Steve Johnson caught a TD pass and then decided to do a little dance, mimicking Jets WR Plaxico Burress shooting himself, and then mimicking WR Santonio Holmes “jet” dance, crashing into the ground which drew a 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.  This penalty forced the Bills to kickoff from their 20, their kicker wanting to crush the ball due to the penalty ended up shanking it, giving the Jets good field position, field position they then used to score a TD, as if that wasn’t bad enough, Johnson then dropped what would’ve most likely been a TD pass right in his hands, and couldn’t reel in another pass in the end zone, that was behind him, but could’ve been caught.

Carolina Panthers:  The Panthers running game seems to finally be getting untracked as DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart both had solid games last week, and now they get to play Tampa Bay, a team that has one of the worst run defenses in the NFL.

Chicago Bears:  QB Jay Cutler came out this week and stated that he doesn’t expect to play again during the regular season, that means Caleb Hanie will need to lead the Bears into the playoffs, Hanie did throw two interceptions last week but also was able to get the ball down the field with regularity…..OC Mike Martz’s name is being mentioned in connection with several head coaching opportunities, both in the NFL and collegiate level.

Cincinnati Bengals:   We all knew the Bengals season might come down to how they performed in their games versus Baltimore and Pittsburgh, well they lost their first game versus each, and now they have their rematch against Pittsburgh this week, a win would seem a necessity if they want to win the AFC North, or at least put themselves in a better position for a wildcard spot…..RB Cedric Benson missed practice Wednesday with a foot injury, a situation that bears watching as the season progresses.

Cleveland Browns:  Is there a more boring team to watch in the NFL than Cleveland?  I think not.  RB Peyton Hillis sort of came out of nowhere last week to have a solid game, still, he will be playing for someone else next season…..WR Greg Little may have the biggest upside of all the Browns receivers, but he also needs to learn how to catch the ball, he had quite a few drops last week.

Dallas Cowboys:  With the Giants once again suffering a second half collapse, the NFC East is there for the taking, and Cowboys seem to want it.  Not only that, but they are also getting healthy at the right time, WR Miles Austin could possibly return from a hamstring injury this week, and if not this week, then he should be back in Week 14 versus those Giants, in what could be a last hurrah for the G-men…..WR Dez Bryant will be the punt returner now in Dallas which may lead to him having a slightly lesser role in the passing offense, which Dallas can afford with the emergence of Laurent Robinson, who seems to be QB Tony Romo’s favorite target, especially in the red zone.

Denver Broncos:  I know we all want to ride the Tim Tebow bandwagon and thank him for rescuing the Broncos season, and he does deserve some accolades, but let’s not forget that the orange crush are only averaging 16 points under Tebow, it’s the defense that deserves a bulk of the credit, as they are only giving up 12 points per game…..The leader of that defense and probably rookie defensive player of the year, LB Von Miller, underwent surgery this week to repair torn ligaments in his thumb and is unlikely to play Sunday versus Minnesota.

Detroit Lions:  DT Ndamukong Suh was suspended for two games for a stomping incident in the Thanksgiving game versus Green Bay, Suh very much deserved his suspension and needs to get his game under control, but what is even more disturbing were his comments after the game, he actually doesn’t believe he did anything wrong, explaining that he was just trying to regain his balance when he pushed the opposing players head in the ground and then stomped on his arm, pretty scary indeed if he actually does believe this is what happened.

Green Bay Packers:  Some thought the Lions might be the team to give the Packers their first loss, playing in Detroit, on Thanksgiving, on national TV, oh well, guess not…..Will this be the week they get their first loss, at the Giants, close to a must win for the G-men, I think not…..The Packers defense is certainly playing better than they were earlier this season as CB Tramon Williams is once again playing up to the potential that we saw last season.

Houston Texans:  First the Texans lose QB Matt Schaub for the season, than they lose Matt Leinart, certainly seems like you don’t want be a Houston quarterback, especially if your first name is Matt…..Rookie Tyler Yates will take over the QB duties and is unlikely going to be asked to air it out, the Texans are going to rely on their running game with Arian Foster and Ben Tate, their offensive line (which may be the best in the game), and a solid defense to keep them in games, have a feeling that final game between Tennessee and Houston in Week 17 will decide the division.

Indianapolis Colts:  Dan Orlovsky will start at QB this week instead of Curtis Painter, I’m sure that will enable the Colts to keep up with the Patriots offense this week…..TE Dallas Clark will once again miss this week’s game with a fibula injury…..The Colts are letting it be known that they would have no problem drafting QB Andrew Luck next season to pair with Peyton Manning.

Jacksonville Jaguars:  Pretty big week for the Jags, they put coach Jack Del Rio out of his misery and fired him, and on the same day owner Wayne Weaver announced that he had sold the team to a Chicago businessman who has agreed to keep the team in Jacksonville.  Keep in mind though that this is a verbal agreement, as there is nothing in writing that prohibits the Jaguars from moving.  Can you say Los Angeles?

Kansas  City Chiefs:  Coach Todd Haley has insisted all week that Tyler Palko will remain the starter at QB this week even though Kyle Orton is taking quite a few snaps with the first team offense, is there any doubt that Orton starts this week, not in my mind, especially not after watching Palko perform in his two starts with the team, besides, it would be a good story to see Orton start against his former team.

Miami Dolphins:  How ironic that WR Brandon Marshall makes a great TD reception with Cowboys QB Terrance Newman trying to rip his head off when he has dropped so many easier touchdowns this season…..RB Daniel Thomas is not getting much traction this season in what is looking like a lost season for the rookie…..K Dan Carpenter will be back this week as Shayne Graham has been released.

Minnesota Vikings:   RB Adrian Peterson is unlikely to play again this week as he still isn’t sufficiently recovered from his high ankle sprain, but Toby Gerhart isn’t the answer…..The Vikings did look to get WR Percy Harvin more involved in the offense, but there is only so much that can be done when you have a rookie QB and your best playmaker is sitting on the bench…..WR Michael Jenkins was placed on IR after having surgery for a torn meniscus.

New England Patriots:  WR Deion Branch was questionable coming into last week’s game and may have been on the bench for quite a few fantasy teams that didn’t want to risk that he would be inactive before a 4pm game.  What a shame, as Branch ended up having his best game of the season so far against a depleted Eagles secondary…..Anyone else notice that WR Julian Edelman has spent some time playing CB that past couple of games?  Troy Brown is revisited.

New Orleans Saints:  The only team that would seem to be able to stop the Packers in their quest for another Super Bowl championship are the Saints, they certainly have the offense to be engage in a shootout, and they opened the season in what was an extremely entertaining game…..RB Mark Ingram may have had what was a statistically good game against the Giants on Monday, but most of that came in garbage time when the game was all but over, Pierre Thomas did most of the heavy lifting although the Saints only use their running game to keep opposing defenses from going all out to stop their aerial attack.

New York Giants:  That’s three straight losses and counting for the Giants and now they get to face the undefeated Packers, lucky them…..RB Ahmad Bradshaw will once again miss the game with his foot injury, without him the Giants haven’t been able to generate much of a rushing attack, leaving to much pressure on the Giants defense and passing attack…..The good news is that WR Victor Cruz has become one of the better slot receivers in the NFL as his huge game Monday night versus New Orleans can attest to.

New York Jets:  QB Mark Sanchez has been taking a lot of heat in the media and from the fans for how he has performed this season, but he did throw four TD passes last week although that came with only 180 yards and a pick…..The Jets defense was roasted pretty good by a Buffalo team that was looking lost on offense in November and was without RB Fred Jackson, let’s see what they do this week versus Washington, another offensively inept team.

Oakland Raiders:  RB Darren McFadden is unlikely to play once again this week as he still isn’t recovered from his foot sprain, there are some who believe that even when he does return Michael Bush should still start over him and McFadden should be used sparingly to keep him healthy, that’s not going to happen, Bush is a really good player, but McFadden is a game breaker…..For those who care, QB Jason Campbell started to throw the ball around this week, have a feeling Campbell will make a good backup quarterback for someone next season.

Philadelphia Eagles:  QB Michael Vick will once again miss this week’s game, the third straight, which will give Vince Young another opportunity to show that he can be the starting QB for a team next season…..WR Jeremy Maclin is also out for this one, once again Riley Cooper should get the start in his place…..WR DeSean Jackson was benched for most of the 4th quarter last week after dropping a couple of TD passes, been a rough year for Jackson who believes he should be paid like one of the top receivers in the game, but his attitude and play may make that unlikely.

Pittsburgh Steelers:  S Troy Polamalu suffered another concussion last week, his second one this season, and though the Steelers state that he will play this week, one has to worry whether this is going to become a habitual thing as Polamalu has been having concussion issues since his college days…..QB Ben Roethlisberger didn’t have a great game versus the Chiefs Sunday night, was it just a bad game, or is his thumb a bigger problem than the team and Ben are letting on.

San Diego Chargers:  After their sixth consecutive loss last week the Chargers season is all but over, their play calling in OT left something to be desired, RB Ryan Matthew got them into field goal position, but rather than continue handing him the ball they gave it to Mike Tolbert who couldn’t do much with it and ended up trying a 53 yard FG instead of a more manageable try, Norv Turner coached not to lose here, rather than to win…..WR Malcolm Floyd was back on the practice field this week and might actually play this week.

San Francisco 49ers:  The 49ers need to fix their offensive line in a big hurry, that was nine sacks they gave up to Baltimore, not to mention there was little no running room for Frank Gore, something that should be solved this week against the Rams…..What should be of concern to Gore owners is that coach John Harbaugh admitted this week that the 49ers offensive scheme limits to what Gore can do in the passing game.

Seattle Seahawks:  WR Sidney Rice was placed on IR this week with a concussion, this was pretty much a bust of a first season for Rice and the Seahawks…..QB Tavaris Jackson has been practicing in full this week, the first time since suffering his pectoral injury, he could have a better game than expected against a depleted Eagles secondary…..One has to believe that Seattle will be looking for a different starting QB next season.

St. Louis Rams:  WR Brandon Lloyd has played up to expectations since being acquired from the Broncos, so much so that one has to wonder if the Rams can’t come to a long term contract extension with Lloyd, that they might franchise him…..Speaking of Lloyd, the pick the Rams will send to the Broncos will not be a 5th rounder since Lloyd will catch 30+ passes this season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers:  What is it with professional athletes and guns?  It comes out this week that QB Josh Freeman had to take five stitches to his thumb after getting it caught in the recoil of a gun while firing it at the range, for his part Freeman stated that he will no longer fire guns during the season, how nice of him…..The Bucs play the Panthers twice between now and the end of the season, fantasy owners should take note and not forget about RB LeGarrette Blount, who should have a field day against that defense.

Tennessee Titans:  Let’s hear it for RB Chris Johnson who finally had a big game last week, of course it came against the Bucs, a team that is horrendous against the run, but still, better late than never, and the Titans will need him if they want to catch the Texans in the AFC South.

Washington Redskins:  RB Roy Helu once again looks like the starting back for the Skins, but I certainly wouldn’t risk anything valuable that Shanahan won’t change his mind when he wakes up Sunday…..WR Santana Moss returned Sunday and although he didn’t have a big game, he also didn’t report any setbacks with his hand.

This post was written by George Kurtz