FANTASY FURNACE

* Home team in CAPS

        N.Y. GIANTS over Seattle Seahawks- Eli Manning vs Tarvaris Jackson-Manning          over the first four weeks of the season is 8th in fantasy points among QB’s in Yahoo!          leagues and, even more telling is that he has only thrown 2 picks. The last two times          these teams met have been ugly- to put it mildly. Giants rocked the ‘Hawks 41-7 last          year and 44-6 back in 2008. If Brandon Jacobs sits this one out with a knee injury,              (he’s missed a couple of practices), figure D.J. Ware will fill in with 10-15 carries in            order to give Ahmad Bradshaw a blow. Seattle has to travel to the East coast on top            of everything. We like the Giants big!

Eli Manning unleashes one vs Seattle Seahawks. Photo: daylife.com

Oakland Raiders over HOUSTON TEXANS-    The Raiders beat Denver on                   the road and should have taken care of the Bills in Buffalo (they were up 21-3 going             into the 2nd half). Now they travel to Houston to play a Texan’s team without the               services of WR Andre Johnson, and Ben Tate, who is suffering with a groin injury.               This will force Matt Schaub to go airborne more than usual as Arian Foster will                   have the box stacked against him on most downs. Nice opportunity for the Raiders             to go 3-2 on the season with Cleveland, Kansas City, and Denver their next three                 opponents. Oakand’s our pick.

Jason Campbell looks to ''pass" through Houston this week. Photo:raiders4life.com

Green Bay Packers over ATLANTA FALCONS- We don’t believe the Packers,             still undefeated, will lose their first game of the season to a mediocre Falcons squad         that just squeaked by a lowly Seahawk team 30-28 and only was able to muster up             13 points in their loss to Tampa the week prior. Just too many weapons on the                   Packers with an equally able defense which should make this a one-sided affair. Last         year in the playoffs AT the Georgia Dome, the Pack blew away the Falcons 48-21.               We like Green Bay.

NFC playoff game vs the Falcons. Photo: upi.com

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS over Tampa Bay Buccaneers- The 49ers-sitting at              3-1- just won their last two games on the road, beating Cincinnati and then stunning          the Eagles 24-23 last week. We can’t see the Bucs, who have two of their three wins            coming against the winless Colts and Vikings, doing much against the defense                      minded 49ers in their building. That’s a tough- long road trip to the West coast and            we don’t think Tampa Bay will be able to contain Frank Gore. They gave up 120                  yards and 2 TD’s to Andre Peterson and 116 yards and a score to LeGarrett Blount              and Josh Freeman vs Atlanta 2 weeks ago. Going with the 49ers.

Frank Gore breaks a tackle vs Tampa Bay Photo: somuchsports.com

Tenneessee Titans over PITTSBURGH STEELERS- This was the hardest                    game for us to pick but we are going with the Titans to beat the 2-2 Steelers. With              RB Rachard Mendenhall listed as questionable, QB Ben Roethlisberger slowed by a            sprained left foot, but playing, and James Harrison out for the Steelers, we think                the Titans just might pull off the upset. The 3-1 Titans are coming off three wins in              a row including a convincing win over the Baltimore Ravens by 13. Don’t know for sure if  they’re for real, but this game against the Steelers will serve as a true litmus test for  them. Titans are our choice over ‘Reel Steel”.

*Last week 3-2

*Season to date 11-4

Titans! Titans! Titans! Photo: ee-titans1.png