Fred Jackson has been one of the best players in the N.F.L. early this season...will his success continue on Sunday?

Today the 3-1 Buffalo Bills will host the 1-3 Philadelphia Eagles in the, “isn’t this supposed to be the other way?” game of the day. The Eagles have struggled along their offensive and defensive lines while the Bills have beat up on the hapless A.F.C. West (the Chiefs and Raiders, though I actually think the Raiders are pretty good) and turned four picks on Tom Brady into an upset of the New England Patriots. The Eagles will be coming into this game looking to save their season, if the Eagles start their season 1-4 with 5 division games left and games vs New England, Chicago, and the Jets, the Eagles could find themselves on the outside looking in for the playoff picture. The Bills need this game to show the world that they were no flash in the pan the first three weeks of the season.

As always we’ll focus on the critical matchups that involve the young guys.But when you talk about the Eagles you realize there aren’t a ton of young guys (rookies and second year players) getting a lot of snaps, as this is becoming a veteran win now team.

Eagles injuries: Out: Trent Cole, Jason Peters

Bills injuries: Out: Chris Kelsay, Aaron Williams, Demetrius Bell, Torrel Troup, Chris White

Marcell Dareus vs Todd Herrmans and Kyle Williams vs Jason Kelce

Each team will have a rookie that has a tough battle ahead of him tomorrow. No one denies Marcell Dareus’s talents, even though he hasn’t put up the huge numbers this year (11 tackles and 1 sack). He has shown that he is an absolute load to move. The Bills don’t have a great pass rush (one could even say abysmal-4 sacks in 4 games), so they will need Dareus to be in the backfield a lot to help control (or at least slow down) LeSean McCoy and Michael Vick.

On the other hand the Eagles will start Jason Kelce who has been impressive at center, but he will be going up against last year’s Bills sensation Kyle Williams. Williams had an All-pro type of year last year and has been pretty good this year as well. This will be the best player Kelce has faced this season, will he  able to handle the excellent Williams, or will Williams create havoc in Vick’s face?

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Buffalo Bills vs the Philadelphia Eagles: What to watch for - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Michael Vick May Have left with a Concussion, But it was Pure Entertainment When he was on the field

In honor of the emmy’s being last night I thought I’d give you a breakdown of the emmy winners so far of the N.F.L. season.

Best Supporting Actor Comedy Series

Todd Haley, Kansas City Chiefs

The way the Chiefs have played this season has been nothing short of a top notch comedy. Nary have I seen such terrible play. The Chiefs have gotten absolutely blown out by the Buffalo Bills and Detroit Lions. Two teams that have long been the laughing stocks of the league.

What does Todd Haley reply to this with ” as far as I know they haven’t canceled this season”. Bravo, Mr. Haley! Master piece.

Oh wait, you’re trying to win football games? Yikes. The Chiefs are in for a bad, bad year.

Best Actor Drama

Ryan Fitzpatrick, Buffalo Bills

Ryan Fitzpatrick is seriously smart. He’s a Harvard man (the announcers of any Bills game won’t let you forget it), but on Sunday he was the best actor in the dramatic finish of the Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders. The Bills have long been a team who puts up a valiant effort to come back only to end the game with a pat on the back, a “that a boy” thanks for trying, a cold shower and a long lonely drive home. But on Sunday, Fitzparick showed up big. There were big hits. Big plays. And a dramatic finish. The Bills have beaten the Kansas City Chiefs (awful) and the always inconsistent Oakland Raiders to start the season 2-0, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves here, but this is precisely the kind of game the Bills ALWAYS lose, but they came up big on Sunday. Thanks in large part to Ryan Fitzpatrick (Fred Jackson also had a big say in the game as well).

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Emmy Winners…for week two of the N.F.L. Season - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Michael Vick is apart of the "Dream Team", but should he be on your fantasy team? (picture source nj.com)

We here at NFLmocks have our league draft on Wednesday night so to keep somewhat of a competitive advantage I’m not going to list my sleepers until after the draft, but here are a few players I don’t think will have great fantasy seasons in 2011.

Don’t think of this as busts or knocks on the players on the field in 2011, but rather players I’m avoiding on draft day. I’ll make two or three picks for each position. Keep in mind though, that if these players last a lot longer than usual they become value picks, but based on where they have generally been falling I’d stay away from them.

 Quarterback

Matt Ryan

The difference between Fantasy Football and Real Football. Players like Matt Ryan. On the field a young excellent quarterback in fantasy football? I don’t think he’s worth drafting because he is being over-drafted because of the addition of Julio Jones. The Falcons want to run the football, sure Ryan will put up good numbers. He’s a solid safe bet and if you can get him late it’s a good move, but don’t reach for him because he added Julio Jones. Jones still has to learn the playbook, WR is still one of the hardest positions in the league to grasp as a rookie and he did miss a lot of things because of the lockout. Love the player, probably not drafting him in fantasy football.

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Fantasy Football Busts - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Peyton Manning or Tom Brady?

Every year quarterbacks are ranked. Sometimes they are ranked in lists like you will see below, but other times they are ranked in echelons in the minds of fans, players, and football executives. Some quarterbacks are ranked “elite”. The “elite” group is comprised of the very best. They are true winners and leaders of their respective teams. The next group are the “very good” quarterbacks. They are the ones that are just below the “elite” group. Close to elite, but not quite there. They have great skills and have the respect of their teammates as well as other players around the league. Below the “very good” group are the “good/solid” quarterbacks. They have skills necessary to win, but there are usually questions that are keeping them from ascending the list. Each year there are players who perform well and analysts talk about whether they are “elite” quarterbacks. This off season, that man was Super Bowl winning QB Aaron Rodgers. After Rodgers won the Super Bowl, analysts were asking whether he was an “elite” quarterback. Many think he is while some think he will be very soon. It’s all up to personal interpretation With that said, here is my interpretation as to who are the Top 10 NFL Quarterbacks.

10. Matt Schaub
Schaub is an underrated quarterback because he plays for the Texans who have yet to find playoff success, but if his defense ever improved, he has the skills to take the Texans to the Super Bowl. He’s thrown for 4,000+ yards and 24+ touchdowns the last 2 years. Since becoming a starter for the Texans, he’s never dipped below 63% completion percentage. He’s also had a 90+ QB rating since becoming a starter. Schaub is a quarterback to keep your eye on. He’s already very good and with the Texans defense on the rise, he is bound to start entering the “elite” talk sooner rather then later.

9. Matt Ryan
After suffering through the Mike Vick fiasco, Atlanta moved firmly into the Matt Ryan era and has not looked back. Ryan is a young quarterback who is quickly approaching “elite” status as the Falcons continue to move towards the top of the NFC. Last year, Ryan had his best year throwing 3,705 yards, 28 touchdowns and just 9 interceptions leading the Falcons to a 13-3 record and a 1st round bye. His team lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, but Ryan is still a quarterback on the rise and a Super Bowl appearance would likely vault him to “elite” status like Rodgers.

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Top 10 NFL Quarterbacks - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Aaron Rodgers is the 11th Best Player on NFL Network's Top 100, but the 2nd Best Player if it was Up to the Fans (picture source: Lombardiave.com)

NFL Networks controversial top 100 players continued on Sunday night with the countdown from the 20th to 11th best players. Holding the 20th spot overall was Eagles quarterback Michael Vick.

Aaron Rodgers came in 11th, and as the fourth best quarterback in the league, which I think is fair. The argument could be made that he’s better than Drew Brees right now, but I think Drew Brees should still get his due until he’s dethroned.

Rounding out the 20th through 11th spots were:

20th Michael Vick

19th Clay Matthews

18th Nnadmi Asmougha

17th Haloti Ngata

16th Charles Woodson

15th Dwight Freeney

14th Larry Fitzgerald

13th Chis Johnson

12th DeMarcus Ware

11th Aaron Rodgers

The Entire list can be found here.

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NFL Networks Top 100 Players: Aaron Rodges is 11th - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

Could Plaxico Burress be back in a Giants uniform? (supermediablog.com)

As most of you may know by know, Plaxico Burress was sentenced to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to weapon charges. After a long two years, Plaxico Burress will be getting out of prison on Monday. Now what does this mean for his football career once he gets out? Well he has already said to former head coach Bill Cowher that he would play again and that he is keeping in football shape while his tenure in prison. Will he draw interest from a team? I think he will for the reason of what happened to Michael Vick, where he was in prison a year for dog fighting then he turned out to be an even better Michael Vick last season. Being that, let’s take a look at five teams who may be interested in Plaxico Burress.

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5 possible destinations for Plaxico Burress once he gets out of prison - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

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Peyton Hillis the Madden 12 Cover Man? - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

There are bound to be lots of little changes in how decisions are made on all levels of the organization, but we are going to attempt to pinpoint the direction they may head by looking at the past of the guys making the ultimate decisions. A lot has been made on John Elway‘s comments on Denver QB Tim Tebow, but like most things concerning Tebow, they were blown out of proportion by fans. Elway continued later in the quoted story (and tweets) to say how much he does like Tim and hopes he can mature in the quarterback for the Broncos. What could possibly make this more of a non story is this quote from Elway when he was being courted for the position he now holds:

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Draft Strategy: Denver Broncos - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

1. Atlanta Falcons – Atlanta will move down when they stop winning.  Until then they look to be as good as any team out there, and solid in all phases of the game.

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2.  New England Patriots – Tom Brady is starting to show his fiery self again and will no doubt be ready to go against the trash talking Jets this weekend.

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3.  New York Jets – The Jets are in third here because of the 9-2 teams I trust their QB the least.  They can gain some separation and show what they are made of by sweeping their New England series this weekend.

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4.  Baltimore Ravens – The Baltimore Ravens are good.  We will know how good when they play Pittsburgh this coming weekend.

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5.  New Orleans Saints – The Saints are showing why they were Super Bowl champs last season.  They snuck by Dallas on Thanksgiving and have had a long week to prepare for a struggling Bengals team.

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6.  Philadelphia Eagles – The Eagles have been brought back to earth after they drubbed the Redskins, but Michael Vick is still playing great and this team has as many playmakers as any team in the league.

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7.  San Diego Chargers – Is there a hotter team in football in November and December?  You would think a team in a warm climate would struggle in the cold but Phillip Rivers has this team on his shoulders.  Once again we ask…is this the year the Chargers break through?

8. Pittsburgh Steelers – The Steelers played their best team football the 4 weeks Big Ben was suspended.  Since his return they have won but have not looked great.  A big test awaits them this week against Baltimore.

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9.  Chicago Bears – Their defense is fantastic and is carrying this team.  That could come in handy down the stretch and come playoff time.  Their offense is their weakness but at 8-3 who is complaining.

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10.  Green Bay Packers – Obviously pretty banged up the Packers are getting better and despite a loss this last weekend to Atlanta are a team with a stud QB that no one wants to play.

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NFL Power Ranking: Week 13 - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football

 Green Bay Packers (7-3) at Atlanta Falcons (8-2): After a tumultuous beginning to the season the Packers are back on track while knocking out their opponent’s coaches at a weekly rate.  They now take their NFL leading defense (Average 14.6 points against) into Atlanta to play one of the league’s top quarterbacks in Matt Ryan. Ryan has had a tremendous season and has a 92.9 quarterback rating to show for his efforts as he routinely connects with his favorite target TE Tony Gonzales. So how do I see this game? Although the Falcons have been a wonderful story for the NFL this season they will hit their wall this Sunday against the Packers. The Packers are on a 4 game winning streak and are fresh off the beating they unleashed on their rival Minnesota Vikings. Packers QB Aaron Rodgers will have a steady day with 23 completions on 31 attempts for 270-yards and 2 touchdowns. While his counterpart QB Ryan will have 17 completions on 42 attempts for 189-yards with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Ryan will be running all day long from a relentless defense as the Packers will win 31-17.

To read more of Jesse Zamarripa visit www.sportsbyjesse.com

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Week 12 Bold Predictions - NFL Mocks - NFL Mocks - Covering the 2012 NFL draft, Mock Draft Database, Scouting Reports, and Fantasy Football