S & D week 6

Studs and Duds: Week Six

Hey guys. So let’s get right into it… here are the players I think will be great and the players I would avoid in fantasy football for week 6.

STUDS:

Mike Sims-Walker
Last week he burned everybody with his last-second no-show for violating some unknown team rule. This week owners will be hesitant to play the little known Jacksonville receiver. Don’t be. The Jags play host to the horrifyingly terrible Rams. MSW is in line for 100+ yards without breakin a sweat.

Knowshon Moreno
He is one of those guys who is verging on ‘Is He An Automatic Start?’ status right now. This week will be a big positive for him, against a Chargers defense that just isn’t equipped to stop anybody.

Steve Smith, Carolina
This will be the first week that Steve Smith 1.0 outperforms Steve Smith 2.0.

Joe Flacco
Just a hunch that this Ravens-Vikings game is high-scoring and Flacco has a big day. In one of my yahoo leagues I chose to play Derrick Mason over Dwayne Bowe. We’ll see how that works out for me.

Donald Driver
Obviously all Packers are favorable against the Lions, but I believe Donald will actually have a better game than Greg Jennings. Jennings is the better deep-threat , but Driver’s the better possession guy and it’s so ridiculously easy to throw against Detroit. Driver has scored in two straight games against the Lions and won’t have any trouble keeping the streak alive.

Lee Evans
With Revis blanketing Terrell Owens and the Bills losing early, Trent Edwards will be looking deep in Evans direction repeatedly in the second half. At least one of those looks should be successful.

Brent Celek, Jeremy Maclin, LeSean McCoy
It’s easy to justify playing anyone against the Raiders, but now that Asomugha seems to be back to full health you can bet he’ll have DeSean Jackson covered. Along with McNabb and Westbrook (obvious plays), I’d start all three of these guys as well.

Jonathon Stewart
The Panthers will put up big points against Tampa Bay and Stewart should benefit in the second half with some garbage yards.

All Steelers, especially Willie Parker
This week is the perfect storm at Heinz Field: All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu returns to the field, Pittsburgh plays at home coming off consecutive wins, and they face the lifeless Browns, their favorite “rival” to beat up on. This should be nothing short of utter domination. Ward, Holmes, Roethlisberger are sure things. I also like Heath Miller in this game. But you may be surprised to know that I prefer Parker to the red-hot Rashard Mendenhall. Not sure why. I just think it’s still Parker’s job for a few more weeks.

Mohamed Massoquoi
Not sure how to spell his first or hi slast name, but now that M.M. is the Browns #1 receiver, I think he’ll produce accordingly. Which isn’t saying much, but it is something. In a game that they’ll certainly be losing, against an aggressive defense which lacks shutdown cornerbacks, the Browns will depend on M.M. for big plays to keep them in the game. I think he’ll come up with at least one.

David Clowney
This week’s Miles Austin.

David Garrard, Matt Cassel, Mark Sanchez
There are a LOT of really obvious starts at QB this week, chief among them Rodgers, Brady, McNabb, and Roethlisberger. But there are also a couple of starters on bye weeks and a few others with tough matchups. Garrard (against the Rams), Cassel (against Washington), and Sanchez (against Buffalo) are three guys I would play over, say, Warner (vs. SEA), Rivers (vs. DEN), or Favre (vs. BAL).

Brandon Jacobs
He should be an utterly obvious start every week, but he’s been outproduced by Ahmad Bradshaw a few weeks in a row now. After going on some radio show and complaining about his role in the offense, Jacobs seems to be a player in potential turmoil. I am concerned about his long-term role as the Giants RB, but I wouldn’t start benching him in fantasy football just yet. The Saints aren’t an easy matchup, but he’s still a stud, and he’s still the starter on the team with the best O-line in football.

Larry Johnson
Bet you didn’t expect to see his name of the STUDS list, did you? He’s a one-week hit against Washington, and by ‘hit’ I mean you can probably trust him for 60 yards and a TD. How ironic that Albert Haynesworth, the player I used to be obsessed with, is now the centerpiece of one of the most vulnerable defenses in the NFL. I wonder if they still think he’s worth $100 million.

Brandon Pettigrew
With Calvin Johnson doubtful and Stafford out, someone’s going to have to catch the ball for Detroit, and my first instinct was to think Bryant Johnson. I do think he’ll have an okay week, but not quite a STUD week. Against the shutdown corners in Green Bay and with their high-pressure defense, I think Pettigrew will have to be used as a safety option for Culpepper and will catch 6 or 7 balls for 80+ yards. I’m hoping he plays his best game yet and shows why he was a first round pick.

Donnie Avery
I drafted this buffoon in my two main leagues and had big expectations. After three weeks, Avery had totaled two fumbles and less than 100 yards; he was dropped in both leagues. But this week, with Bulger back under center and the Rams against the Jags (who rank 30th against the pass), and Laurent Robinson’s season-ending injury making Avery the #1 guy for St. Louis again, well… all the pieces seem to be there. But. This is the Rams.

Zach Miller
Three of the best tight ends in fantasy football are on bye weeks, so owners are looking for a one-week replacement. Jermichael Finley of the Packers seems to be the guy everybody’s going after. Wait just a second. You may remember that I have loved Finley since the preseason and think he’ll be a stud someday in the future … but Zach Miller of the Raiders is already a stud. Just because Finley plays against the Lions doesn’t mean he’s a sure thing. Why? Because Donald Lee is still the top tight end for Green Bay. I don’t know why. He shouldn’t be. But he is. Miller is the ONLY pass-catching option in Oakland, and against the aggressive Eagles defense JaMarcus Russell won’t have time to look past his first option. Miller’s numbers have been gaudy this year against good defenses. This week that will continue. Meanwhile, I don’t think Finley will have any more than 3 or 4 catches.

Jacksonville DST
You can’t go wrong with any defense against the Rams.

DUDS

LaDanian Tomlinson
I think LT is a DUD for the rest of the season, but especially this week. Not only is he facing the tremendously improved Broncos defense, but the Chargers can’t just keep Darren Sproles off the field. It’s more likely that LT will leave this game with an injury than he will score a touchdown.

Steve Slaton
Yet another lousy week for the first round (fantasy) pick. Houston’s offensive line is messed up, and Chris Brown is apparently the Texans new goal-line back. Plus the Bengals defense is actually decent.

Rush Limbaugh
His bid to buy the Rams was denied and he blamed it on “Obama’s America.” Really Rush? If you had tried to buy the Rams a season ago when GWB was President it would have been different? No, this had nothing to do with Obama. It’s called “Roger Goodell keeping a racist maniac from owning a team full of black guys.”

Eli Manning
There’s probably a better option on your roster or in free agency than Eli. Not only is he battling an injury, but he’s playing the Saints at the Superdome, one of the loudest stadiums and most difficult places for QBs to play. Nothing against the Giants, I just don’t think this is Eli’s week statistically.

Santana Moss, Chris Cooley
The Redskins are coming off a stretch of playing the Rams, Lions and winless Bucs. Now they face the 0-5 Chiefs. You’d think they could take advantage of those crummy teams and rack up some impressive stats, but they haven’t do so. Why not? Two words: Jason Campbell. The dude is terrible. Cooley and Moss are talented, but just can’t be of much value until they have a better quarterback throwing them the ball.

Cadillac Williams, Jamal Lewis, Kevin Smith
Typically, teams that are being blown out are less able to run the ball. None of these three RBs are particularly scary in the first place, but this week should be worse than normal for them.

Chris Johnson
I think the Titans will have to pass to keep pace with the Pats and besides that, Chris Johnson hasn’t been himself since his monstrous week 2 outing. Bench him if you have any legitimate alternatives.

The Balloon Boy
You know, that stupid kid in Colorado who was hiding in the attic while all of America panicked and thought he was 10,000 feet in the air in a stray hot air balloon. What a bunch of knuckleheads.

Ahmad Bradshaw
He’s still #2 on the depth chart and this one won’t be a blowout like the Chiefs and Raiders games.

Steve Smith, NY Giants
I just don’t think he can keep it up forever. Especially against Darren Sharper.

Terrell Owens
TO has basically been a complete non-factor this season. Against Darelle Revis I don’t seem him having a breakout game.

Michael Jackson
The guy's been dead for like three months and they still won't stop talking about him. It's not like he was some kind of philanthropic hero; he was a deranged lunatic who happened to be a great singer and dancer.

Well, that's all I got. Week six should be a really entertaining week. Excited to see if the Lions can snap their 18 game losing streak at Lambeau Field. Not optimistic, but excited.

GO LIONS.