Every once in a while, JNR & MC will debate on who to start in a given week. This week we have two face-offs. We've come to our own conclusions, and after reading, hopefully you will come to your own.

WEEK 3 FACE-OFFS

JNR would start Peyton Manning at Tennessee: Close call, but I'm going to have to go with Peyton Manning. Clearly, the Colts have been content on grinding out games. That might be because defenses have been dropping more guys into coverage (e.g., Jax), forcing the Colts to pound the ball. But that isn't going to be the case against Tennessee this week, and its 4-6 blitzing defense. Tennessee knows only one thing: come fast and come often. They're not going to drop 8 guys into coverage. So, I like Peyton's chances this week of airing it out...probably to the tune of 300 and 3 scores.

MC would start Drew Bledsoe at Oakland: I gotta go with Drew Bledsoe on this one. Peyton and the Colts have been content to run the ball when given the opportunity so far this season, and I don't see this game being any different. The Colts D will shut down Tennessee's offense, while Indy will hand to Edgerrin James to churn out yards through the ground game. Tennessee's defense is very aggressive, but this will wear them out. All the more reason for the Colts to run and protect their lead in the second half. On the flip side, the Cowboys D will have their hands full with Randy Moss, in what promises to be a barn burner in the Black Hole. This will be a high scoring affair with Bledsoe throwing early and often to keep pace with the Raiders one-dimensional, vertical passing attack.
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JNR would start Fred Taylor vs. Denver: I know Anderson had a beauty of a game on Monday night, but, come on! We're talking about a Denver Broncos' RB. Odds are that he'll re-injure his ribs in practice, Shanahan will tell no one, and then Ron Dayne is suddenly starting on Sunday, while Anderson is inactive. Start Taylor-- he ran hard last week with 37 carries. I think Jacksonville will try to grind it out on the ground.

MC would start Mike Anderson at Jacksonville: Despite Fred Taylor's huge amount of carries Sunday, he only averaged 2.6 yards per carry, not even breaking the century mark in yards. However, Mike Anderson's carries have gone up exponentially every week (4 carries in week 1, 15 carries in week 2, and 20 carries in week 3). Coming off his rib injury, he showed no signs of difficulty running the football, and Mike Shanahan showed no signs of lightening his normal workload. As for Taylor, he's going up against the D-line that dominated Kansas City's vaunted offensive line and held Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson to 75 yards total and 0 TDs. In this game, Mike Anderson is the back I would start over the recently inconsistent Fred Taylor.
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