Week 10 Picks

NFL previews continue. Home team in CAPS.

PATRIOTS -3.5 Bills

The New England backfield continues to be a fantasy mess, Kevin Faulk is worth starting in PPR leagues and Green-Ellis in deeper leagues. At the time of this writing, Sammy Morris is listed as Doubtful, hopefully he'll be back in Week 11 to provide some stability to the Pats. Cassel and Welker should be solid plays this week. Randy Moss is still a must start. On the Bills side of the ball, QB Trent Edwards and WR Lee Evans should also be decent plays against a beleaguered Patriots secondary. Marshawn Lynch continues his disappointing campaign against an above average linebacking corp. The Pats may not be the fastest LBs in the league but they make up for it with experience -- Lynch is a runner that often ecounters contact behind the line of scrimmage and an RB that has been incorporated into the passing game more as the season progresses. I don't particularly think Lynch's style of running is conducive to a good day against the New England front seven.

Titans -3 BEARS

Mirror match anyone? Rex Grossman makes his triumphant return to the Chicago starting lineup against one of the best defenses in the NFL. Matt Forte and the rest of the Bears offense will have a hard time moving the ball against a defense that will likely have five to six Pro Bowlers. Forte is still a worthy start, though, because the Bears figure to use him in screens out or by putting him in space to take advantage of a Titan defense that gets incredible penetration at the line of scrimmage. On the Titans side of the ball, the Bears defense matches up well against what the Titans do well -- run the ball and attack the middle of the field with TEs -- but will be fighting an uphill battle at the line of scrimmage. The Bears' defensive line has been servicable against the run this season but will likely be pushed around by the Titans offensive line. This game probably comes down to turnovers and physical conditioning.

Saints +1 FALCONS

Reggie Bush won't be playing this week, expect another 300+ yard performance from Drew Brees and the New Orleans passing attack. The Saints defense can stop either the run or pass effectively, I imagine they will attempt to take away the run and make Matt Ryan beat them, as many other teams have tried so far this season. The rookie's poise and emergence of Roddy White has invalidated this strategy against several teams this season. Ultimately, this game is going to be pretty high scoring.

DOLPHINS -7.5 Seattle

Yes, the Dolphins team that was 1-15 last season is now a deceptive 4-4. The Dolphins have been in almost every game they've played this season and have used the Wildcat to great effect -- not just by being successful with the formation, but by playing to the strengths of the most accurate QB in NFL history, Chad Pennington. Seattle is still without Matt Hasselbeck and has significant injuries on both sides of the ball. This one could be a laugher pretty quickly.

Packers +2.5 VIKINGS

Jared Allen is likely not playing this game, which should make the Minnesota secondary an even easier target for Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings and Donald Driver. Brett Favre was always terrible in the Metrodome, but Rodgers has been poised and in control at every venue he's played at in his inaugural season. Adrian Peterson is the only Viking worth starting for fantasy purposes, the GB run defense isn't anything special anymore. Deeper leagues may want to consider the Minnesota TE Shiancoe, who has caught TD passes in three of his last four games.

Rams +9 JETS

Stephen Jackson may be out, but the Jets are so bad against the pass that this game should be close. Expect a lot of points through the air this week and for the Jets RB tandem of Jones/Washington to continue to be productive, especially in PPR leagues.

Ravens PK TEXANS

This is the makeup game from Week 2. Sage Rosenfels and the Texans passing attack may have a decent day against a hurt Baltimore secondary, but I'm not counting on anything this week from Steve Slaton. The Ravens are the best run defense in the league. Joe Flacco, Ray Rice and the rest of the Ravens offense shouldn't have much trouble moving the ball, as long as they avoid turnovers.

Jaguars -6.5 LIONS

If Orlovsky was playing in this game instead of Dante Culpepper, I would expect the Lions to notch their first win of the season. Jacksonville is a team in disarray without a real identity thanks to significant injuries early in the season. It is getting to be tough to pick them after they lost to the Bengals last week.

Panthers -9.5 RAIDERS

McFadden and Russell aren't playing for the Raiders this week. It wouldn't have made a difference. Congrats on 7-2, Carolina.

STEELERS -4 Colts

No Parker, limited Big Ben for the Steelers. That defense is still scary enough to come away with a win against a very disappointing Colts team.

Chiefs +14.5 CHARGERS

Remember, this is a Chiefs team that nearly beat the Jets and should have beat Tampa Bay. Tampa is at least a better team than the Chargers. San Diego is going to win and going to put up a lot of points coming off of bye with some of their offensive players getting healthy. However, on the defensive side of the ball they have a new defensive coordinator and are severely lacking in the talent department due to injury.

Giants +3 EAGLES

Here is your chance, Philly. Some of the fantasy plays on both sides of the ball may be dubious this week but this is, without question, the best game going. Probably the best Sunday Night game of the year so far.

CARDINALS -9.5 49ers

This matchup always ends up being pretty high scoring. Now that Mike Martz is in the mix on the SF side of the ball, expect a pretty good shootout. The Cardinals defense does look very good at times, though, so this could easily be a blowout. The Cardinals are 5-0 west of the Mississippi River. I have a feeling the press conference Mike Singletary gives after this game could be pretty epic.