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Week 6 Fantasy Football Inside Ticket
Authored by Carl Setterlund - 13th October, 2005 - 4:57 am
Playoff-bound teams and impersonators alike were able to pad their records at an astounding rate this season against the likes of Detroit, Kansas City, and St. Louis.
Between Lane Kiffin at Tennessee and openings at Clemson, Washington, Syracuse, Mississippi State and Purdue, there are fertile jobs out there.
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Week 6, week 6! Back again for more eh? I’ll admit, last week I was way off on a couple things. First of all, I told all of you to forget about Tatum Bell. What was I thinking? To be honest, Denver might be the team I know the least about, and I’ve learned my lesson, not to go out and predict something that I’m not educated enough to give good advice on. That’s in the past though, and I’m telling you that I’m going to be money on my picks this week. I’m also sticking to some of the more controversial predictions I made last week. Let’s take a closer look at what’s changed.
QB Rankings – Top 10
1. Peyton Manning, last week: 1
2. Donovan McNabb, last week: 2
3. Carson Palmer, last week: 3
4. Marc Bulger, last week: 5
5. Tom Brady, last week: 6
6. Daunte Culpepper, last week: 4
7. Brett Favre, last week: 8
8. Matt Hasselbeck, last week: 9
9. Drew Bledsoe, last week: not ranked
10. Eli Manning, last week 10
On the bubble: Trent Green, Mike Vick, Kerry Collins, Jake Delhomme
Peyton Manning is holding on to his top spot this week, but it’s not because he’s been dominant. It’s more of the fact that Donovan McNabb played terrible and that despite playing good again, I feel uncomfortable moving Carson Palmer to the top just yet. Daunte Culpepper continues to plummet after strong showings from both Bulger and Brady this past week. I had to move Favre and Hasselbeck up a little also because of strong performances.
Drew Bledsoe is the new face on here, putting up fantastic numbers in Dallas. What it looks like is another Bledsoe revival, similar to what we saw in his first season in Buffalo. I don’t see him falling off this list any time soon.
Quarterback notes:
- Look for Josh McCown to continue putting up big numbers, not because he’s really that good of a quarterback, but because he’s in the right situation.
Arizona has no running game and has to throw it all the time. On top of that, he’s got both Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin to work with. He might still throw as many interceptions as touchdowns though.
- Forget what I said last week about Mark Brunell being a respectable fantasy quarterback. That was an understatement. Joe Gibbs has brought out the Mark Brunell of old and we’re seeing a renaissance of sorts. Brunell is doing it against good defenses, indicating his stats might not be a fluke.
- What did I tell you? Donovan McNabb’s injuries are finally affecting his play. Luckily, he’s got a bye week to recharge. He will definitely be a top 5 quarterback.
- Trent Dilfer continues to show everyone that he’s actually a good quarterback. In a way I’m surprised, but as a New England fan, I know not to question Romeo Crennel’s coaching decisions.
- Shhhhh….. Jake Delhomme is flying under that radar again this year. After two bad games to start the year, Delhomme has posted an average QB rating of
106.6 over the past three games. A relatively easy rest of the season awaits.
RB Rankings – Top 10
1. LaDainian Tomlinson
2. Shaun Alexander
3. Edgerrin James
4. Tiki Barber
5. Brian Westbrook
6. Julius Jones
7. Priest Holmes
8. Willis McGahee
9. Corey Dillon
10. Domanick Davis
On the bubble: Lamont Jordan, Rudi Johnson
The running back rankings were really weird for me this week. I actually didn’t make any changes, because I didn’t feel that I could. Tomlinson and Shaun Alexander are both showing that they are the horses, absolutely carrying the running back class. And then there’s Edgerrin James still hovering right outside them, not quite at the same level, but still better than everyone else. Tiki Barber and Priest both had bye weeks so they weren’t able to do anything that would negatively affect their value. Brian Westbrook got shut down, but then again, Julius Jones didn’t do anything to move ahead of Westbrook. McGahee has been really solid lately, but I’m not sure about moving him up yet. Both Corey Dillon and Dom Davis showed the improvements that I predicted, but neither did enough to move up in the rankings.
Running Back notes:
- JUMP ON THE TATUM BELL WAGON RIGHT NOW EVERYONE!!!! Really though, I’m not going to do that again, because I turned out to be flat out wrong about Mike Anderson. I’ll just say to keep an eye on Bell.
- My early concerns that Carnell Williams couldn’t keep up his blazing pace seem to have been confirmed. I wouldn’t expect him to duplicate his success of the early couple weeks because Gruden and Co. will be cautious so that they don’t overwork him.
- I was getting ready to pick Thomas Jones as my sleeper, top 10 back for this year, however he just partially tore a ligament in his knee. He’ll be back soon, but I don’t think his impact will be quite the same. It will be interesting this week to see if Cedric Benson makes the most of his opportunity to shine.
- Sure, the Deuce McAlister injury is going to be devastating to the people who own him, but can you really say you didn’t expect it. You can’t deny that he is injury prone. Don’t feel bad though, I fell for it too in one league and picked him up in the early teens.
- My new sleeper top 10 back is Lamont Jordan. Kid has tons of talent, and the passing game will be good enough to take pressure off him, but not good enough to dominate the offense.
- I’m officially on the Jamal Lewis watch. He had a strong showing last week, but I still don’t think he’s the same Jamal of old, and Chester Taylor is getting plenty of work.
- The way Pittsburgh runs a ball control, running oriented offense, if they had a noteworthy running back, he would be, well, a pretty noteworthy running back. As it stands though, the carries are divvied up enough that Fast Willie Parker, Jerome Bettis and Duce Staley will only ever have average fantasy value.
WR Rankings – Top 10
1. Terrell Owens, last week: 1
2. Randy Moss, last week: 2
3. Torry Holt, last week: 4
4. Chad Johnson, last week: 3
5. Steve Smith, last week: 7
6. Marvin Harrison, last week: 6
7. Anquan Boldin, last week: not ranked
8. Hines Ward, last week: 8
9. Larry Fitzgerald, last week: not ranked
10. Plaxico Burress, last week: 10
On the bubble: Jimmy Smith, Terry Glenn, Keenan McCardell
TO had a down week, as did pretty much all of Philadelphia, but Randy didn’t even play, so I don’t know if I could warrant moving him up a spot. I put Torry Holt and Chad Johnson right about at the same level, but Holt’s production has been just a hair better. Steve Smith has continued his outstanding play making a jump over Harrison and the injured Darrell Jackson. Harrison has such a great track record, but has really been disappointing this year. Both Boldin and Fitzgerald move into the top 10 because they absolutely carry the Arizona offense. As usual, Hines Ward has been a rock and stays right at 8. Burress had a bye, but had been absolutely outstanding prior.
Wide Receiver notes:
- The Dallas receiving core continues to show it is going to be one of the most productive units in the league. Against a strong Philly secondary, Terry Glenn had one of the best weeks of any receiver. Glenn should be this year’s surprise revival player, like Muhsin Muhammad last year.
- Watch the progress of Antonio Bryant in Cleveland. He has always had the talent, but has been a tease most of his career, but it really seems like this season he is growing into a role as Trent Dilfer’s number one target.
- With injuries to both Darrell Jackson and Bobby Engram, Joe Jurevicius is in a position none of us expected him to be in. He is the number one receiver for Matt Hasselbeck, a very able quarterback. Jurevicius is going to have a lot of fantasy value over the next few weeks.
- I’ve got a question: Who exactly is Michael Vick’s number one receiver? But more importantly, does it matter?
- The real Drew Bennett is finally standing up. He had what could be a breakthrough game against Houston last Sunday and he’s going to be seeing four straight mediocre to weak secondaries.
- Someone keep an eye on the Jets and Bills receivers, a change of signal caller could be just what the doctor ordered. Both Eric Moulds and Laveranues Coles had good weeks last Sunday.
TE Rankings – Top 5
1. Antonio Gates, last week: 2
2. Tony Gonzalez, last week: 1
3. Jason Witten, last week: 3
4. Jeremy Shockey, last week: 4
5. Randy McMichael, last week: 5
There comes a point, where there is one tight end producing like he should be, and then there’s one who isn’t which is the reason for the flip-flop.
Otherwise, all the other top 5 have been performing steady and like I’d expect them too. Jason Witten needs to take it up one more step though, or
he’s at risk of losing #3.
Others to watch: Again, LJ Smith is right there with the top 5, and what I really should do is make him 5a. Both Jerramy Stevens and Ben Troupe are living up to their lofty expectations for this year and are valuable
contributors. Two teams whose tight ends I like are Cleveland and New England. Steve Heiden is consistent and productive and in deeper leagues Aaron Shea is even worth a look. Tom Brady finally got his tight ends
involved last week, something people were expecting more of. Daniel Graham’s production should be a little higher than what it is and Ben Watson is a big play threat. Flying under the radar right now is Todd Heap who looks like he’s getting it back together.
Notable Kicker of the week: Kicker is one of the most unpredictable positions in fantasy sports. I tried to draft Adam Vinatieri in most of my leagues and it’s left me with an all-time great kicker who is average
fantasy material this year. Akers and Stover have been huge disappointments, as have been Vanderjagt and Elam to an extent. This week’s notable kicker is John Kasay. The Panthers have one of those good but not
great offenses which often leave Kasay with a 40+ yard field goal. Even better for fantasy owners, is that Coach John Fox feels comfortable putting Kasay out there to try 50 yarders. Kasay has tried five so far this year making three.
Notable Defense of the week: This week’s notable defense is Lovie Smith’s Chicago squad. They have one of the best playmaking secondaries in the league with Mike Brown, Jerry Azumah and Charles Tillman. Because of a lackluster offense, the Bears defense is on the field a whole lot, which means they have a lot of opportunities to make big defensive plays. At the
same time, they are good enough that they don’t allow many points either.
Buy Low: Last week’s ‘Buy Low’ would have made you rich if you followed it (like I did). Domanick Davis finally had his coming out party in week 5.
This week’s buy low is Joe Horn. He started out strong but has recently been suffering from an ailing hamstring. He is finally back and going close to 100% again now after missing two weeks. Take advantage of the manager who is short of memory or who has not been following why Horn’s production has dropped.
Sell High: This week’s sell high is Stephen Davis who has thus far been a goal line truck. Seven touchdowns make him a hot commodity on the open market. However, long term I don’t see Davis as much more than a glorified TJ Duckett. His knee is still bothering him and I just don’t think he can keep up the pace. I think a player with more long term value could be acquired right now for Davis.
That’s this week’s fantasy football rankings. Use it right RealGMers.
