The Black & Blue Report, Week 15

By Brad Kurtzberg, Fantasy Football Insiders Senior Writer

Chicago Bears—The Bears are doing the right thing by starting Kyle Orton at quarterback. They already know what they have in Brian Griese but Orton has appeared in a regular season game since the finale of the 2005 season and the team needs to know whether or not Orton has any chance to become a starter or is even worth keeping around as a backup. In 2005 as a rookie, Orton led the Bears to 10 wins but the playbook was greatly reduced and he was told to keep things as simple as possible and not make any mistakes.

As for Grossman, his injury is not as serious as initially believed although he is still out for the rest of this season. Grossman’s contract expires at the end of this year and the Bears have to decide whether or not they want to bring him back and if so, at what cost. Grossman indicated he wanted to return to Chicago and have a chance to start. Whether or not Lovie Smith and company are still interested remains to be seen.

DE Mark Anderson had four sacks in the first four games of this season but has picked up only one since then. Last year, Anderson had 12 sacks despite only starting one game. His pass rush has really fallen off since the opening four games of this season although he’s still making tackles at roughly the same rate.

Bernard Berrian continues to be the Bears’ most reliable and dangerous receiver. Berrian had seven catches for 91 yards and a TD against Washington. That gives Berrian 23 more catches than the next highest Bear and 360 more yards. He also remains the only reliable deep threat for Chicago as Muhsin Muhammad has been only a possession receiver and Devin Hester is not enough of a factor in the offense yet.

G Roberto Garza has been playing well of late. While Chicago’s offensive line has suffered, Garza has been consistent. His biggest trouble is handling much larger defensive tackles but he operates well in space and has excellent quickness and works hard. Garza can also play tackle or center in a pinch and should be back next year on an offensive line that will see a lot of turnover.

RB Adrian Peterson’s long run in 91 carries this season is just 11 yards. That’s especially bad considering he started the last three games. Backup Garrett Wolfe has a long of 25 yards in just 12 carries and QB Rex Grossman, not exactly known for his scrambling, has a long of 12 yards in just 14 attempts.

The Bears will have their hands full trying to stop the Vikings’ Adrian Peterson on Sunday. In the last meeting between the teams, Peterson ran for 224 yards and the Vikings gained 311 as a team. Things do not bode well for the Bears this week as NT Anthony Adams and his backup, Antonio Garay, were both injured and are unlikely to play against Minnesota on Monday night. Darwin Walker had his arm in a sling due to an elbow injury. The other starting DT, Tommie Harris, has been playing hurt. The Bears have had trouble stopping the run when healthy. If they can’t slow down Peterson and Chester Taylor, they will have a hard time beating the surging Vikings.

Detroit Lions—Well, the 10-win prediction of QB Jon Kitna won’t be realized this year. After their five-game losing streak, the best the Lions can finish is 9-7.

While the Lions didn’t beat the Cowboys, they were successful at running the ball, something they had struggled to do almost all season long. The Lions had 152 yards rushing on 32 attempts and 3 rushing TDs. That allowed them to control the football and helped keep them in the lead until the final seconds against a vastly more talented Cowboys team. Mike Martz and the offensive staff should keep this in mind for the final three games on the schedule.

DT Shaun Rogers was dominating at mid-season but he has really fallen off in recent weeks. Apparently, Rogers’ knees have trouble staying healthy in part due to all the weight the big man carries. It has really limited his effectiveness. In the last five games, Rogers has no sacks and has been credited with only five solo tackles. When he is on his game, Rogers not only stuffs the middle of the line, he can be disruptive.

WR Mike Furrey’s production has really fallen off this year. Last season, he led the NFC with 98 receptions. After 13 games, he has less than half that with 48 grabs and only one TD. Even with Roy Williams out of the lineup, Furrey only had two catches last week. Part of this is because Detroit is spreading the ball around more this season. Four Lions WRs have more than 500 yards receiving through 13 games.

The Lions have difficult matchups with the Chargers this weekend. Detroit will be challenged to slow down RB LaDainian Tomlinson and to cover TE Antonio Gates. They represent the best offensive weapons on the Chargers.

Punter Nick Harris has been a bright spot of the Lions. Thus far, he’s had 19 punts downed inside the opponent’s 20-yard line and only four touchbacks.Critics say that QB Jon Kitna tips off defenders as to which side he is going to throw the ball to by the way he drops back to pass. This is definitely something the Lions’ coaching staff needs to correct right away.


Green Bay Packers—Brett Favre seemed no worse for his injuries last week and was effective although not spectacular. He threw for two long TDs against Oakland and only had one pass picked off.

Expect the Packers to emphasize the running of Ryan Grant down the stretch to prepare for the playoffs. As the weather gets colder in Wisconsin, the Pack will need to be able to run the ball even more. The offensive line is also improving at opening holes for Grant. By the way, Grant needs to average just a bit more than 85 yards per game for the last three contests of the year to reach the 1,000 yard mark for the season. That’s not bad considering he barely touched the ball in the Pack’s first six games this season.

CB Will Blackman finally made a major contribution last week, scoring on a fumble return on special teams and on a punt return. Blackman has played in only 10 games over two seasons because of injuries. The 2006 4th round pick out of Boston College has great speed and raw ability. All he needs to do is to stay healthy and he can make an impact down the stretch or in the playoffs.

The Packers expect to have TE Bubba Franks back in the lineup Sunday against the Rams after missing the previous seven games with a knee injury. Even if he’s 100 percent healthy, at this point, Franks will remain a backup to Donald Lee. Still, Franks is a good blocker and adds valuable experience to the team.

DE Aaron Kampman hasn’t recorded a sack in the last two games but should plenty of chances against the Rams’ banged up offensive line.


Minnesota Vikings—The Vikings suddenly find themselves in the driver’s seat for the sixth and final playoff spot in the NFC. At 7-6, the Vikings will need to win at least two and possibly all three of their remaining games to do it.

Both of the “Williams Brothers” had big INTs last week. Pat Williams had a big one but Kevin Williams returned his for a TD to give the Vikings a 7-0 lead just 14 seconds into the game.

The Vikings’ running game was inconsistent last week against the 49ers. They gained 117 yards on 31 carries which is not terrible except that 84 of those yards came on Chester Taylor’s TD dash in the second quarter. Adrian Peterson was held in check for perhaps the first time all season and was held to three yards on 14 carries. Part of the strategy employed by San Francisco was to bring their corners in on a run blitz. Play action passes could really exploit this defense if the Vikings can do it consistently.

Tarvaris Jackson had another efficient day. The best thing he has been doing in recent weeks is throwing the ball more accurately and not making mistakes. At this point in his career, Jackson has to not lose football games more than he has to win them.

Without DE’s Erasmus James and Ray Edwards, the Vikes will be thin at that position. Rookie Brian Robinson will likely get the bulk of the playing time with Jayme Mitchell spelling him on occasion.

WR Robert Ferguson had his best game in a long time against San Francisco. Ferguson grabbed 4 balls for 57 yards and a TD. He had been invisible for long stretches of the season. He won’t be back next season unless he can remain more productive.

The Vikings will look to duplicate the success they had running the ball against Chicago in their first meeting. Minnesota ran for 311 yards as a team against the Bears. If they gain half that much on Monday night, they should win the game.