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Ricky Williams will take the drivers seat of Miami's Wild Cat Offense.

Yes, It’s Christmas in November. Much to the disliking of our wives & girlfriends, or husbands & boyfriends for our sisters out there, Thursday Night Football has returned. As league trade deadlines approach, we sadly lose the thrill of wheeling and dealing on a weekly basis. The good news is our fantasy fix extends to three days a week. Hopefully you’ve made the last minute adjustments in preparation for a playoff run. As we relinquish the ability to trade, waiver wire priority begins to play a more pivotal role as teams strive for fantasy  glory.

In this weeks Thursday Night Showdown, the NFL Network will host the Miami Dolphins vs. the Carolina Panthers. This would have been the ultimate tag-team title match of the best running back tandems in the league. With the injury to Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams will look to take command of the the Miami run attack and it’s Wild Cat Formation. Expect a split between rookie specialist Pat White and Williams at the command of the Cat. White’s role in the offense has been slowly growing. We have still yet to see a legitimate passing threat at the helm of  The Cat.

The two team’s running attacks are as parallel as possible. A deeper look into the stats show how closely the ground games stack up:

Carolina: 4th ranked rushing offense, averaging 156.2 rushing yards per game with 14 combined TDs on the season.

Both teams take a run-heavy approach in efforts to open up the aerial attack.  Chad Henne continues to mature, but as seen last week, mistakes and growing pains are expected. Then there is the turn-over prone quarterback of the Panthers. What was Carolina thinking when they signed Delhomme to his ridiculous extension in the off-season?

This will be a time-of-possession battle. The victor will be the team that protects the ball the best. Chad Henne and Jake Delhomme need to simply manage the game and not turn the ball over. Ronnie Brown’s absence will be evident, but Ricky Williams is fully capable of carrying the load. Brown has been placed on IR officially ending his season. Williams can now be considered a viable RB1 down the stretch. He should be in starting line-ups this  week and could be a steal of a trade just before the dead-line closes.

Let’s take a look at each player:

CAROLINA PANTHERS

Jake Delhomme – CAR – QB    
Delhomme looked like his former self last week as he re-connected with his lost love Steve Smith. There was a re-kindling with Muhsin Muhammad as well. Delhomme remains one of the more turn-over prone QBs in the league. Miami is vulnerable through the air, but the Panther quarterback should remain on fantasy benches.
 
DeAngelo Williams – CAR – RB    
DWill came on strong last year down the stretch. He looks to do so again this year as the Panthers attempt to regain their 08 form. He’ll continue to be the front-runner in one of the best one-two punches in the league.
 
Jonathan Stewart – CAR – RB    
Stewart continues to reportedly be struggling with his Achilies’ Injury, but his play would suggest otherwise. Stewart played the clean-up role vs. Atlanta last week as he made his way to the end-zone twice.
 
Steve Smith – CAR – WR    
Smitty had two very impressive first-half touchdown grabs before sustaining a rib injury while pulling in his second TD. Smith held onto the ball, but had to exit the game. He’s been able to practice all week and has yet to added to the injury report. It looks like he’s a go for Thursday Night vs. a Miami pass defense that has been giving up 239 yards a game through the air.
 
Muhsin Muhammad – CAR – WR    
Muhammad stepped up in Smith’s absence last week and posted a season high 6 catch 91 yard performance. Muhammad needs to step up and provide some respite to Steve Smith.
 
Dwayne Jarrett – CAR – WR    
Jarrett got some much needed experience in Muhammad’s absence, but there remains something to be desired by the former Trojan. Jarret came out of college with high aspirations, but has fallen short as he’s struggled to adjust to the pro game.
 
Jeff King – CAR – TE    
King has made a couple of trips to the end-zone this season, but his production is way too sporadic to be relied upon. He belongs a free-agent.
 
John Kasay – CAR – KI
This game could easily come down to a kick. The Carolina ground game will put Kasay in a position to score.
 
Panthers – CAR – DF
The Panthers’ D ranks 4th against the pass, letting up a measly 186 aerial yards per game. It’s on the ground where they struggle, giving up nearly 130 yards rushing per contest. Ricky Williams will earn his stats, but Chad Henne will face some pressure with Julius Peppers coming off the corner. Peppers continues to play through a broken hand injury which has limited his effectiveness.

MIAMI DOLPHINS
 
Chad Henne – MIA – QB    
Henne needs to simply protect the ball. He almost tossed the game away last week vs. the Bucs. Offensive coordinator Dan Henning has done a good job in allowing Henne to slowly grow. With Ronnie Brown out, Miami may become more reliant on the pass.
 
Pat White – MIA – QB    
Pat White will see more snaps at the helm of the Wild Cat with Brown out. White’s role has slowly grown. The formation has yet to be put to use with a legitimate passing threat. This could be the week that an aerial wrinkle gets put into play. White will make a considerable contribution, but his categorization as a QB will prohibit him from ever warranting a fantasy start.
 
Ricky Williams – MIA – RB    
Williams will find himself the head-liner for the first time in a long time. He has a favorable match-up vs. the 25th ranked rushing defense of the Panthers, who are allowing 128 rushing yards per game.
 
Ronnie Brown – MIA – RB    
Brown has already been ruled out for Thursday’s match-up. Speculation is suggesting the injury could be season ending.
 
Ted Ginn Jr. – MIA – WR    
Carolina has the 4th ranked passing D. Ginn has re-claimed his starters role, but there will be limitted opportunities available as Miami will continue to heavily rely on a run-first approach as Chad Henne attempts to adjust to the pro style of play. Ginn continues to disappoint as a receiver. His real impact has been felt on special teams. His addition back into the offense should not effect his return responsibilities.
 
Davone Bess – MIA – WR    
Bess continues to show flashes of promise, but his ceiling is limited by the style of offense. He should lead the team in receptions on a weekly basis, but the majority of his grabs are short dump-offs.
 
Greg Camarillo – MIA – WR    
Camarillo played well last year in spot duty as a nice bye week WR3 plug-in and play. After losing the end of 08 to a knee injury, the Italian Stallion has yet to return to form.
 
Joey Haynos – MIA – TE    
You’d figure an inexperienced quarterback would be more heavily reliant on his TE, but that has not been the case in Miami. He’s remains a desperation play at best.
 
Dan Carpenter – MIA – KI
The Miami offense is good enough to get in scoring range, but good enough to always find pay-dirt. This bodes well for Carpenter’s scoring chances.
 
Dolphins – MIA – DF
The Dolphins D will once again be without their self-proclaimed leader Joey Porter. His mouth has been bigger than his production this season. Miami will have their hands full with the Panther’s ground attack. Miami’s run defense has been surprisingly stout, keeping opponents under 100 yards a game.

Game Preview (Player Stat Projections)

Miami Dolphins at Carolina Panthers (8:20 p.m. Thursday, November 19, 2009)

Game Projections for Miami Dolphins:

QB-Chad Henne—-19 com./29 att.—-180 yards—-1 TD—-1 INT

RB-Ricky Williams—-21 ru.—-110 yards—-1 TD—-2 rec.—-15 yards—-0 rec. TD’s

RB-Lex Hilliard—-10 ru.—-42 yards—-1 TD—-0 rec.

WR-Davone Bess—-6 rec.—-54 yards—-1 TD

WR-Ted Ginn Jr.—-3 rec.—-31 yards—-0 TD’s

WR-Greg Camarillo—-5 rec.—-47 yards—-0 TD’s

TE-Joey Haynos—-3 rec.—-33 yards—-0 TD’s

K-Dan Carpenter—-8 points

D/ST- (8) points

Game Projections for Carolina Panthers:

QB-Jake Delhomme—-19 com./30 att.—-243 yards—-2 TD’s—-1 INT

RB-DeAngelo Williams—-19 ru.—-93 yards—-1 TD—-2 rec.—-20 yards—-0 rec. TD’s

RB-Jonathan Stewart—-13 ru.—-56 yards—-1 TD—-1 rec.—-8 yards—-0 rec. TD’s

WR-Steve Smith—-6 rec.—-93 yards—-1 TD

WR-Muhsin Muhammad—-5 rec.—-64 yards—-1 TD

WR-Dwayne Jarrett—-3 rec.—-31 yards—-0 TD’s

TE-Donte Rosario—-2 rec.—-27 yards—-0 TD’s

K-John Kasay—-7 points

D/ST- (6) points

Good luck in Week 11. The Brotherhood.

Chad Henne, DeAngelo Williams, Jake Delhomme, Jonathan Stewart, Pat White, Ricky Wiliams, Ronnie Brown Injury, Steve Smith, Thursday Night Football, Wild-Cat Offense

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