QUARTER BACK
BYRON LEFTWICH
Jaguars
vs. Steelers
Leftwich
, one of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL
, had a fine opening day
with 237 yards and two touchdowns (one rushing) in a win against the Cowboys.
But the Steelers
have a knack for rattling good QBs. Leftwich
may not make any
big mistakes on Monday night, but he won't make any big plays either.
TRENT GREEN
Chiefs
vs. Broncos
The first serious injury of the season claimed Green, who suffered a severe
concussion after being hit in the head by Bengals
defensive end Robert Geathers
while scrambling. Green was taken off the field on a backboard and tests were
negative, but reports on Monday said he would most likely miss two games.
JON KITNA
Lions
vs. Bears
After treading water in last week's home loss against the Seahawks
, Kitna's
footing will be no steadier when he travels to Soldier Field
in Chicago
. Last
season the Bears
' defense didn't allow a passing touchdown at home after a Week
3 game against the Bengals
, Kitna's former team. That day, however, Carson
Palmer, not Kitna, was at the helm.
CHRIS SIMMS
Buccaneers
vs. Falcons
The southpaw's season debut went south in a hurry as he and the Bucs
' passing
attack were shut down by the swarming Ravens
, who picked off three passes. It
gets no easier against Atlanta
, which held Jake Delhomme
to 186 yards and a
pick behind John Abraham
's two sacks and two forced fumbles.
RUNNING BACK
COREY DILLON
Patriots vs. Jets
The venerable veteran started strongly against the Bills in Week 1 but was
quickly overshadowed by two big Laurence Maroney
runs. The Jets held the Titans
to 86 yards rushing on Sunday and should limit the Pats to around 120 yards.
That total, split between the two backs, will gut both runners' fantasy
value.
CHRIS BROWN
Titans vs. Chargers
Tennessee
sorted out its running back rotation in its loss to the Jets, using
Brown in the middle of the field (16 carries, 64 yards) and Travis Henry
near
the goal line (nine carries, 22 yards, two TDs). Neither will have value
against the Chargers
, who led the NFL
last season by allowing only 84.3 rushing
yards per game.
WALI LUNDY
Texans
vs. Colts
A darling of the preseason, this rookie sixth-round pick was snuffed by a solid
Eagles defense in his first taste of regular-season action, being limited to 32
yards on 11 carries. Don't look for Lundy
's numbers to improve against
Indianapolis
, especially since Houston
is likely to fall behind by a few scores
and turn to the pass to get back in the game.
KEVIN JONES
Lions
vs. Bears
After having great success against Chicago
at the end of his rookie season in
2004 (123 yards, one TD), Jones
was solved by the Bears
in '05, rushing for 88
yards and a TD over two games. Detroit
's new offense was in disarray at home
against the Seahawks
last week; now the Lions
must travel to Soldier Field
to
face the league's best defense.