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WR T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Cincinnati Bengals

HT: 6-1, WT: 197, Born: 9-26-1977, College: Oregon State, Drafted: Round 7

2008 Projections

2007 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Houshmandzadeh was Palmer's favorite target and caught nine of the 12 passes thrown his way, an excellent percentage. Most of the passes were of the short variety, as the Bengals attempted to control the clock. Houshmandzadeh had one red zone look, the fourth quarter TD catch that won the game. He is an obvious stud in PPR leagues, and like Rudi Johnson will have better yardage days against weaker opponents.

Week 2 - Houshmandzadeh was a favorite target of Carson Palmer all afternoon, catching eight passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown catch, a 23 yard pass, was very questionable, as it appeared he only had one foot in bounds but following official review the catch was ruled a touchdown. Outside of this catch and another five yard touchdown reception in the third quarter, Houshmandzadeh was largely a possession type receiver going over the middle for smaller portions of yards.

Week 3 - Houshmandzadeh was on a mission to teach the Seattle fans how to pronounce his name. How he did it? Twelve catches for 141 yards and a TD didn't hurt, and an unheard of 19 targets. What was so astonishing was that he just kept on catching them like he was playing on a whole different field from everyone else. For those keeping track, he definitely outshone teammate Chad Johnson. He also had a possible second TD negated by a holding call. He caught the ball going out of bounds in the end zone, but looked to be pushed out, so it may or may not have been ruled a catch if there were not penalty.

Week 4 - Houshmandzadeh was QB Carson Palmer's favorite target in the game and had another good outing against the Patriots. He caught his first pass on a one yard catch over the middle of the end zone for a touchdown. But he only had two catches for 12 yards in the first half. Houshmandzadeh stepped it up in the second half. He caught a 23 yard pass on the right side line in the third quarter to put the ball deep into New England's territory for his longest play of the game. He made a big catch on a fourth and long early in the fourth quarter for a ten yard gain. He would have eight catches for 88 yards in the second half.

Week 6 - Houshmandzadeh had another stellar game, finding the end zone twice on the day. He capped a nice opening drive by the Bengals with a 42 yard reception on a medium curl, beating the two defenders that were nearby.

Week 7 - Houshmandzadeh got winded early in the first quarter, but he came back and continued to run routes over the middle without fear. He was held in the end zone in the second quarter on what would have been a touchdown catch; instead it ended up being a short touchdown run by Kenny Watson. Houshmandzadeh caught a short touchdown pass in the red zone, extending his touchdown streak to six straight games.

Week 8 - Houshmandzadeh has a knack for the end zone, finding it yet again this week. He had a great day, catching seven of the nine balls thrown his way. He earned his touchdown, forcing himself through two defenders to break the plane. He had another opportunity earlier in the game but was tripped up by a defender.

Week 9 - Houshmandzadeh had a quiet day other than his touchdown reception. It seemed like the Bills tried to take him out of the game with their coverage.

Week 10 - Strangely, Carson Palmer did not look T.J. Houshmanzadeh's way in the first quarter, or the fourth for that matter, although the game was in had at that point. Houshmandzadeh was most active in the second and third quarters, pulling in six receptions for 45 yards.

Week 11 - Houshmandzadeh was the Bengals leading receiver with 87 yards on eight catches. He scored on a 19 yard touchdown to give the Bengals a 7-0 lead early in the game. Houshmandzadeh probably would have had a 100 yard day had it not been for him being injured late in the fourth quarter. He was seen walking around the sidelines, with an undisclosed injury. He ran crisp routes and often was targeted 12 times.

Week 12 - Houshmandzadeh had an effective game that was overshadowed by Chad Johnson as five of his receptions resulted in first downs, and he showed the ability to read the coverage and adjust his route to give Palmer a reliable target.

Week 13 - Houshmandzadeh caught his first three targets for a total of 24 yards on Cincinnati's initial drive, but the next five passes his way fell incomplete. One of those incompletions was a second quarter pass that hit him in the hands that probably would have went for a first down if he would have been able to hold on. His fourth and fifth grabs came in the second half and went for a total of 18 yards. Houshmandzadeh was targeted in the end zone on a fourth and goal play with the Bengals on the Pittsburgh three yard line, but the ball fell incomplete after hitting him in the hands. After catching a touchdown in his first eight games of the year, this was the third game of his last four that he failed to get into the end zone.

Week 14 - Houshmandzadeh was largely ineffective. His longest catch on the day was for fourteen yards.

Week 15 - In the first half, Houshmandzadeh was a reliable target once again catching three passes for 35 yards, all completions were for first downs and extending the Bengals drive. His biggest catch of the second half came on a fourth and five play, with three minutes left, and on a pass over the middle for 18 yards to keep the drive alive. He only had one other catch for nine yards in the second half. The 49ers did a good job of shutting down Houshmandzadeh and WR Chad Johnson on the Bengals rare trips to the red zone in this game.

Week 16 - Houshmandzadeh had a very quiet day, only catching two passes for 25 yards but he did manage a touchdown pass on a nice throw from Carson Palmer toward the corner of the endzone. Houshmandzadeh clearly beat his coverage on the play but it was Palmer's perfectly placed pass that was responsible for the touchdown.

Week 17 - Houshmandzadeh, who is Palmer's favorite receiver on third downs, caught a 17 yard pass over the middle on a third and long play on Bengals' first drive of the game. His next big catch would be an 18 yard reception late in the first half. His longest catch of the half would be a 23 yard catch with less then a minute left in the half. He finished the first half with three catches for 58 yards. He had six catches for 32 yards in the second half as he caught many short passes.