Then there's the rest of us, who hope that Romo's return will mean a surge for the fantasy stretch drive. It can't get any worse than Brad Johnson, can it?

Dallas not only lost two of the three games Romo missed with a broken pinkie, but the Cowboys lost a few points of swagger off their star. With Romo, Dallas scored more than 29 points per game. Without him, they averaged less than 14.

"I'm just going to go out there and do what I do," Romo said. "Just throw the ball, hopefully find the right guy that's open and get him the ball."

Sounds like a simple thought until you consider that in the three games with Johnson wandering around behind center, Terrell Owens had a total of 100 yards receiving, Marion Barber scored one touchdown and Jason Witten got hurt. Witten, a star tight end when he's healthy and Romo is on, is expected back in the lineup this week.

"We're going to do a couple of different things this week that will help us offensively," said Romo, who presumably was talking about actually scoring. "I'm excited about the second half of the year."

The remaining schedule is difficult from an NFL perspective, but encouraging from a fantasy standpoint. There are three games against NFC East rivals, home games against the 49ers and Seahawks, a visit to Pittsburgh and a home game against Baltimore.

Contest winnerThe Eagles defense did a commendable job on Plaxico Burress last week, which was just fine with reader Andrew Falloon, a Cherry Hill transplant living in Brooklyn.

We asked readers to project how many receiving yards Burress would accumulate and most guessed in the 60- to 90-yard range. Burress' one catch was for 17 yards and a score. Falloon's guess of 41 yards was the lowest, so he wins himself a Daily News Fantasy Football T-shirt.

Thanks to all for playing.

Three up* Philip Rivers, Chargers quarterback: Has thrown for 300 yards in three of the last four and will be facing a Steelers secondary thinned by injuries. San Diego, though, is 0-12 all-time in Pittsburgh.

* Antonio Pittman, Rams running back: It looks like he'll get the call against a 49ers defense that is suspect against the run. Is worth a risk as a flex player.

* Santonio Holmes, Steelers wide receiver: His two-game slump will end this week against the Chargers, who have the league's worst pass defense.

Three down* Tatum Bell, Broncos running back: Slowly step away from the transaction button and nobody gets hurt. You really shouldn't be thinking about any Denver running backs this week, especially a guy who was working at a cell-phone store last week.

* Frank Gore, 49ers running back: Admitted yesterday that he sustained a concussion Monday night. Has a nice matchup this week against the visiting Rams but might not be on the field. Hate it when that happens.

* Cadillac Williams, Buccaneers running back: While he deserves credit for persevering through a knee injury that cost him 14 months, Williams does not deserve a fantasy look. *

Daily News sports writer Ed Barkowitz, who thinks the Cowboys will go 5-2 to finish the season, also is a fantasy Football consultant for CBS3's Sunday morning Eagles pregame show. Send e-mail to

fantasyFootball@phillynews.com.