FanHouse NflWeek4Previews

To get you ready for week 4, FanHouse is previewing all this week's games. Here is the Baltimore Ravens vs. Cleveland Browns preview.

2007 Records:
Baltimore Ravens: 2-1 (2nd in AFC North)
Cleveland Browns: 1-2 (t-3rd in AFC North)

Last Game:
Ravens 26, Cardinals 23
Raiders 26, Browns 24

When the Ravens have the ball: They will feed Willis McGahee the pill as much as possible. The Browns rush defense is second to last in the NFL, and they've given up the most points in the league. Sure, the Bengals offense shredded the Browns through the air, but with Steve McNair's health in question, the Ravens won't have a need to stray from the running game.

When the Browns have the ball: They'll air it out against the Ravens secondary. Jamal Lewis may claim to have inside info on the Ravens, but he's been bottled up in the two Cleveland losses, averaging well under four yards per carry. The Browns have great receiving weapons in Kellen Winslow Jr. and Braylon Edwards, and will look to attack Baltimore the same way Kurt Warner and the Cardinals did in the 4th quarter last week.

To get you ready for week 4, FanHouse is previewing all this week's games. Here is the San Diego Chargers vs. Kansas City Chiefs preview.

2007 Records:
Kansas City Chiefs: 1-2 (t-2nd in AFC West)
San Diego Chargers: 1-2 (t-2nd in AFC West)

Last Game:
Chiefs 13, Vikings 10
Packers 31, Chargers 24

When the Chiefs have the ball: They could come out throwing against the weak Charger secondary that the Patriots and Packers exploited. San Diego's giving up nearly 250yds in the air to opponents. Look for Damon Huard to get rookie Dwayne Bowe and veteran Tony Gonzalez plenty of action in the aerial attack. Bowe has caught touchdown passes in each of the last two weeks, and Gonzalez blew up for his first big game of the season last week. Larry Johnson will still see plenty of carries, but it's difficult to attack that potent Charger front seven.

When the Chargers have the ball: Expect them to hand the ball off to LaDainian Tomlinson who will have a huge week. The Chiefs defense has played well this year, but that's probably because they've matched up against weak passing attacks the last two weeks in Minnesota and Chicago. The Chargers will be wise to run straight at the Chiefs defense whose strength comes from the stellar pass-rushing ends Jared Allen and Tamba Hali.

To get you ready for week 4, FanHouse is previewing all 14 NFL games. Here is the Philadelphia Eagles/New York Giants preview.

2007 Records:

Philadelphia Eagles: 1-2 (t-3rd in NFC East)
New York Giants: 1-2 (t-3rd in NFC East)

Last Game(s):

Eagles 56 - Lions 21
Giants 24 - Redskins 17

When the Eagles have the ball: What Philadelphia does on Sunday night will be decided by the status of running back Brian Westbrook. If he's able to play, the Eagles will no doubt turn to him as their primary offensive threat. If he's not, the onus will be on Donovan McNabb and the wide receivers. And although McNabb really lit it up last week, he did so against the league's worst secondary. Then again, the Giants secondary hasn't played much better.

Defensively, the Giants will gameplan as if Westbrook is playing. Their main objective will be stopping him, and should he sit out, they'll be forced to adapt on the fly. Luckily for them, that would be the ideal situation. But in either case, they must play like they did in the second half versus Washington, and not the way they did for the first 10 quarters of the season.

To get you ready for week 4, FanHouse is previewing all 14 NFL games. Here is your Denver Broncos at Indianapolis Colts preview.

2007 Records:
Denver Broncos: 2-1 (1st in AFC West)
Indianapolis Colts: 3-0 (1st in AFC South)

Last Week:
Jaguars 23, Broncos 14
Colts 30, Texans 24

When the Broncos have the ball: The Broncos need to get a big game from Travis Henry if they hope to control the clock and keep their defense off the field. They didn't get that against the Jags last week and it cost them the game. The Colts want their linemen to shoot the gaps and get upfield, much like the Jags, so the offensive line will have to be quicker off the ball to create gaps for Henry to exploit. When they put the ball in the air the Broncos need to keep Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis from rushing Jay Cutler's throws. If Cutler can utilize his tight ends (and if Daniel Graham can actually catch the ball) it would occupy Bob Sanders and stop him from forcing the ball into the jaws of Indy's Cover-2. The running game is the key, though, because if Henry can find the second level it would slow down the Colts line which would then make Cutler more likely to find Javon Walker and Brandon Marshall for big gains.

To get you ready for week 4, FanHouse is previewing all this week's games. Here is the Seattle Seahawks vs. San Francisco 49ers preview.

2007 Records:
Seattle Seahawks: 2-1 (t-1st in NFC West)
San Francisco 49ers: 2-1 (t-1st in NFC West)

Last Game:
Seahawks 24, Bengals 21
Steelers 37, 49ers 16

When the Seahawks have the ball: This could be a big game for Shaun Alexander. The 49ers are holding opposing quarterbacks to just 192 yards per game, but they're allowing 142.3 on the ground. The Seahawks, without a true number one receiver to draw heat, will have a tough time navigating the 49ers outstanding secondary.

The 49ers make the secondary's job easier by bringing a lot of pressure, and the Seahawks' offensive line is not what it used to be. But the 9ers are weak at nose tackle, and their linebackers are having to fight off too many blocks to get to the ballcarrier. If the Seahawks can get Alexander on track early and then continue to ride him, it could be a long day ....

When the 49ers have the ball: ... because the 49ers can't score. They've got the 31st-ranked offense in the league (they rank below the Chiefs, Vikings, Browns, and the cast of Necessary Roughness in that regard). Alex Smith hasn't developed as he was expected to, Frank Gore is still shaking off the rust of an inactive preseason (while also dealing with the death of his mother and a bad offensive line), and none of the receivers have made an impact.

Of course, the 49ers' marquee receiver is Darrell Jackson, who'll be playing his former teammates for the first time. The Seahawks' pass defense has been underwhelming, and Jackson could post a revenge game against the management he feuded with.

To get you ready for week 4, FanHouse is previewing all 14 NFL games. Here is your New York Jets at Buffalo Bills preview.

2007 Records:
New York Jets: 1-2 (2nd in AFC East)
Buffalo Bills: 0-3 (t-3rd in AFC East)

Last Week:
Jets 31, Dolphins 28
Patriots 38, Bills 7

When the Jets have the ball: The Bills defense has been decimated by injuries and their performance shows the toll they've taken. They rank last against the run, last against the pass and don't figure to improve now that leading tackler Paul Posluszny has been placed on injured reserve. That bodes well for second straight good games from Thomas Jones, Chad Pennington and Laveranues Coles. The Jets should be able to sustain long drives against the depleted unit and won't have to do anything too creative to move the ball.

To get you ready for week 4, FanHouse is previewing all 14 NFL games. Here is the Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions preview.

2007 Records:
Chicago Bears: 1-2 (t-3rd in NFC North)
Detroit Lions: 2-1 (2nd in NFC North)

Last Game:
Cowboys 34, Bears 10
Eagles 56, Lions 21

When the Bears have the ball: Remember when Brian Griese was starting in Denver? He was supposedly immature, his teammates didn't like him, had an ego, possibly maybe fell down a driveway once, and was considered by all accounts a failure. Now? He's possibly the last piece in bringing Chicago to the Super Bowl?

The Bears aren't capable of making it to the Super Bowl, but Griese will improve this squad. He'll force defenses to at least sort of respect the pass. Luckily, he's playing maybe the worst secondary in the league, one that let Kevin Curtis catch 800 yards and 26 touchdowns last week. That should be a good welcome-back matchup for Griese. Who will benefit the most from the switch at quarterback? Besides the defense, who might get a chance to, you know, rest, it might be Muhsin Muhammad. Rex Grossman had a connection with Bernard Berrian, the more conservative Griese might take a shining to Muhammad, the more experienced, consistent possession receiver.

When the Lions have the ball: They're gonna score. Say what you will about Roy Williams and his opinion of the Bears, but the Lions have proved they can score even in the worst circumstances, and the Chicago defense is but a shell of its former self. Injuries have decimated the squad, and while they're still very good, they don't have the intimidation factor that was working for them last year. Teams can score on this defense. It's been proven.

And in typical Detroit fashion, it will be through the air. The Bears top two corners, Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher, could miss the game, and safety Mike Brown has already been lost for the season. Their replacements aren't too big of a drop off, but what happens when the Lions go four-, five-wide? The Bears will be pulling people from the crowd for depth.

To get you ready for week 4, FanHouse is previewing all 14 NFL games. Here is the Pittsburgh Steelers/Arizona Cardinals preview.

2007 Records:

Pittsburgh Steelers: 3-0 (1st in AFC North)
Arizona Cardinals: 1-2 (3rd in NFC West)

Last Game(s):

Ravens 26 - Cardinals 23
Steelers 37 - 49ers 16

When the Cardinals have the ball: It looks like first-year head coach Ken Whisenhunt found a solid, but somewhat odd mixture to keep the ball moving last week. Like the Tennessee Titans did with Kerry Collins and Vince Young early last year, the Arizona Cardinals used a quarterback by committee on Sunday. Although it began with a slight injury to Matt Leinart, it quickly became apparent that shuffling the two quarterbacks got the job done.

Defensively, the Steelers have been dominant and they will look to continue that trend on Sunday. It's unlikely their gameplan will change despite the Cardinals unique quarterback situation. As the saying goes, "if it's not broken, don't fix it." However, they may pay a little extra attention to Edgerrin James who, ironically enough, was the last player to rush for 100+ yards against them.

To get you ready for week 4, FanHouse is previewing all this week's NFL games. Here is the Oakland Raiders-Miami Dolphins preview.

2007 Records:
Oakland Raiders 1-2 (t-2nd in AFC West)
Miami Dolphins: 0-3 (4th in AFC East)

Last Game:
Raiders 26-Browns 24
Jets 31-Dolphins 28

When the Raiders have the ball: Much has been made about Daunte Culpepper's return to Miami ... but, honestly, is it that big of a story? I mean, Culpepper logged in a total of just four games in a Phins' uniform. The man that Miami needs to focus on is LaMont Jordan, who will get a heavy workload this week against a defense that has been run on all season. Oakland has been running the football well, anyways, and should keep that going here.

To get you ready for week 4, FanHouse is previewing all this week's NFL games. Here is your Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers preview.

2007 Record:

Carolina Panthers: 2-1. (T-1st in NFC South)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 2-1. (T-1st in NFC South)

Last Week:

Buccaneers 24, Rams 3.
Panthers 27, Falcons 20.

Last Meeting:

Nov. 14, 2006. Panthers 24, Buccaneers 10.

When the Panthers have the ball: As the chance grows that David Carr will start ahead of Jake Delhomme and his sore elbow, we can expect to see a slightly different offensive package. Carr is not as reliant on Steve Smith as Delhomme, so he may spread the ball around a bit more. Whether they catch it remains the big question. The Bucs shut down the running game last year -- 78 yards on 30 carries -- so Jeff Davidson might want to find a way to change that.

When the Bucs have the ball: As bad as the Panthers running game was the last time these teams met, the Bucs were worse, gaining only 69 yards, and Cadillac Williams still has sore ribs. On the other hand, Jeff Garcia remembers this defense. He also remembers exploiting the weaknesses in its secondary last year in Philadelphia. He could get plenty of opportunities to do that again -- the Bucs' rebuilt offensive line has allowed only six sacks in three games, and Carolina's pass rush has disappeared this year. The fact that Carolina is shuffling its linebackers around doesn't help.