Week Five Preview - Combines vs. Brentwood Bears

The Inland Empire Fightin' Combines (2-2) take on Western Division leader Brentwood Bears (3-1) this weekend. The Combines look to knock off their second straight division leading team. FightinCombines.blogspot.com takes a look at the matchups...

Quarterback: Matt Hasselbeck (Bears) vs. Michael Vick (Inland Empire) - Hasselbeck is a stud. He is one of the best quarterbacks in the league, so what's the problem? Shaun Alexander is the problem. Alexander has scored most of the fantasy points while Hasselbeck has been able to relax a bit and not throw so much. A matchup with St. Louis may force him to throw more and thus score much more. Vick has been solid not making many mistakes, but he has not thrown for over 200 yards yet and has failed to score big fantasy points except for 21 points in week 2. Advantage: Bears

Running back 1: Tiki Barber (B) vs. Kevan Barlow (IE) - Tiki Barber is the leading rusher in the NFC? You can't be serious but amazingly, he is. He has had three 20 point weeks but faces Dallas, one of only three teams that hasn't given up a rushing touchdown this year. Barlow has been disappointing with only 64 yards in the last two games. However he faces Arizona who is 30th in the NFL in rushing defense. Advantage: Even

Running back 2: Emmitt Smith (B) vs. Michael Pittman (IE) - Smith surprised everybody by scoring 22 points last week and looks like a young man again. He faces San Francisco who has allowed six rushing touchdowns this season. Pittman faces New Orleans, who Smith scored the 22 points against. The Saints make the ancient look young so Pittman should have a huge game. Advantage: Combines

Wide Receiver 1: Eric Moulds (B) vs. Andre Johnson (IE) - Moulds has posted double digits in each game this season due to scoring a touchdown each week so far. A very solid receiver who should score at least 15 points every week. Johnson is an emerging star on an emerging team. QB David Carr is coming into his own and Andre is his favorite target. They face Minnesota who is 30th in passing defense and is the only team without an interception. Advantage: Even

Wide Receiver 2: Laveranues Coles (B) vs. Donte' Stallworth (IE) - Coles has posted two 100 yard games this season but has yet to get into the endzone. Faces a tough Baltimore defense. The Saints in general have been a huge disappointment thus Stallworth has been too. Faces a Tampa Bay team who despite major struggles has only allowed an average of 153 yards passing. Advantage: Bears

Wide Receiver 3: Bobby Engram (B) vs. Jerry Porter (IE) - Engram gets the leftovers in the Seahawks offense. Those leftovers have been plentiful. Hasselbeck should throw more so Engram could get a few more catches. Porter only caught two passes last week from new QB Kerry Collins but was thrown at many more times but was overthrown or interfered with. Collins seems to favor Porter and should get plenty of opportunities against Indianapolis, the leagues worst passing defense. Advantage: Combines

Tight End: Jeb Putzier (B) vs Eric Johnson (IE) - Putzier has been pretty good emerging as the Broncos number one tight end. He had a team high 42 yards last week. Johnson is banged up a bit and may not play. If he does play, he sadly is San Francisco's most potent receiving option posting 113 yard last week. Boy the niners suck. Advantage: Combines

Kicker: Gary Anderson (B) vs. Kris Brown (IE) - Anderson is 45 years old and has played for 23 seasons now. The Titans offense hasn't been great, thus Anderson hasn't had much of a chance to use his ancient leg. Brown has been awesome kicking two field goals of over 40 yards last week and a 49 yarder in week three. Should get some opportunities against a bend but don't break Minnesota defense. Advantage: Combines

Defense: Giants (B) vs. Steelers (IE) - The Giants average defense plays the surprisingly good Dallas offense. The Steelers are the NFL's fifth best defense and take on the leagues 31st ranked Cleveland offense. You do the math. Advantage: Combines

Overall: Both teams are missing their number one running backs. If the Bear's Priest Holmes were playing they would be a huge favorite. Without him, the Bears are very average. The game will come down to three big questions. Can Tiki Barber continue to be so damn good or will he come back to earth where he belongs? Will Matt Hasselbeck have to actually play or will Shaun Alexander hog all the scoring? Will Michael Vick finally break out and throw for a couple of touchdowns?