Cowboys @ Vikings

This is going to be one hell of a football game.  Both the Vikes and the Cowboys were popular Super Bowl picks and are now 1-3 struggling to stay alive for playoff consideration.  Neither team has really been able to establish a balanced offensive attack before last week.  The Cowboys have been among the worst rushing teams in the NFL but were finally able to get Felix Jones up over 100 yards last week vs the Titans on just 15 carries.  The Vikings made a high-profile trade to acquire Randy Moss to help them stretch the field and open up the passing game. On his 5th day back with his old team he was able to find the end zone in a losing effort to the Jets.  With some more time to learn the offense and scheme for their new weapon the Vikings should be able to get a big home victory to put them selves right back into the race for the NFC North.  They will be effective with an aerial assault against a secondary that looked foolish last week against the Titans.  Look for the usual studs to live up to their expectations. (Moss, Peterson, Harvin, Austin and Romo)  Stay away from Jones and Barber vs the front seven of the Vikes.

Ravens @ Patriots

I love playoff re-matches that occur in the first half of the season!  The Ravens ended the Patriots season last year and they will want their revenge.  The problem they will have won’t be the lack of Moss, but the inability of their defense to cover anyone down the field. Ray Rice had his best game of the season last week and if they are able to maintain that balance in their offense then I would expect a big game from Rice, Flacco  and Boldin.  The Patriots offense replaced Randy Moss with Deion Branch and will need to re-invent themselves.  Brady and Welker are the only fantasy players I trust against this great Ravens defense.  Many people have speculated that Welker is likely to see a lot of double coverage and his production should decrease as a result, but I don’t see that happening.  Welker is a possession receiver that runs his routes flawlessly every time.  You cannot double someone that is running a slant route because typically the double team would come from a safety and not someone lined up on the line of scrimmage.  If you put two people on Welker at the line, then you have one person on someone else and Brady will abuse this and get the deep play without Randy.  I like the Ravens in a very tough road game.

Saints @ Buccaneers

I am a sucker for divisional match-ups but with the Buccs beating the Saints last year and currently being higher in the standings, this game will show us the future of this division.  If the Saints fall this week then everyone will become a Buccaneers fan and for good reason.  Josh Freeman has been playing with poise and maturity that players his age don’t typically have.  Mike Williams rose ahead of a fellow (higher drafted) rookie, Arrelious Benn, on the depth chart and has scored in three of his first four games.  Smart money is on the Saints in this game and you can feel confident about starting any Saints you may have on your fantasy team (Thomas, Colston and Brees).  As for Buccaneers, Williams is too consistent to ignore at this point and is on his way to being a top 20 WR and if you are in a 2QB format you should be fine using Freeman as well.

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Love

Philip Rivers, QB, SD - Rivers did everything in his power to continue the Chargers dominance over the Raiders last week.  He has turned Malcom Floyd into a serious receiving threat and this week he gets to play the team that allowed the Lions to score over 40 points.

Joe Flacco, QB, BAL - Flacco had a tough start to the year, with some very difficult defenses.  Looking at the Ravens schedule now, they only have one bad match up for the rest of the year… the Steelers in week 13.

Ben Roethlisberger, QB, PIT - Usually I would be wary of a guy coming into his first game of the season in Week 6… but he has been practicing for 2 weeks and has one of the easiest match ups you could ask for.

Michael Turner, RB, ATL – The Philadelphia Eagles are allowing an average of 19 points per game to opposing running backs.  Turner has been consistent, productive and gets over 90% of the workload in the Falcons rushing offense, so 100 yards and a score seems automatic.

Matt Forte, RB, CHI – So far this season, RBs have not been too productive against the Seahawks because of how bad their secondary is.  The Seahawks are currently ranked 31st in the league against the pass and are allowing just over 300 yards per game and with Cutler expected back, we should see Forte having better receiving numbers than rushing again.

Mike Wallace, WR, PIT - The Steelers receivers have been waiting patiently for big-time play maker QB to get back in the lineup.  Now that he is here, how can you not like the home run threat that was even able to hook up for two scores with Charlie Batch.

Kenny Britt, WR, TEN – Britt and the Titans passing offense looked great last week against the Cowboys in a big win for them and their playoff hopes.  The Jaguars have allowed an average of 31 fantasy points per week to the opposing WRs.  Britt seems to be a shoe-in to get open deep a lot in this game.

Hakeem Nicks, WR, NYG - Nicks was a very fashionable sleeper this year and if you bought in, it paid off.  He quickly rose to the level of a WR1 and will stay a top 10 receiver unless he has a Revis-like match up.

Anquan Boldin, WR, BAL - The corner back situation in New England is pretty abysmal.  The Ravens offense is starting to click again and with a slew of great match-ups coming up, Boldin will have a monster 2nd half of the season.

Malcom Floyd, WR, SD - It would probably be pretty hard to talk you out of starting Floyd after last week and given they face the Rams this week.  You can’t expect 200 yards again, but 100 seems pretty reasonable to expect.

Tony Moeaki, TE, KC – This guy has made great catches consistently so far this year and is developing very nicely with Matt Cassel in the Chiefs offense.  Playing against the Texans can make your passing offense seem a lot better.  Look for Moeaki AND Dwayne Bowe to have big games this week.

Steelers, D/ST, PIT – The best defense in the league so far this year goes against a rookie QB that fell pretty far down in last years draft, Colt McCoy. This poor kid does not have a chance at being successful in this contest and the Steelers are a lock to dominate in every phase of the game.

Hate

Kyle Orton, QB, DEN – If you are starting him over whoever you drafted as your starting QB then you are expecting 300 yards and 3 scores, because that is what he has done thus far.  The Jets, with Revis active are one of the best two Defenses in the NFL.  If you still have that original starter on your team… use him.

Peyton Hillis, RB, CLE – He is banged up and going against the Steelers defense this week.  With Colt McCoy at QB, he should see plenty of carries but not so many yards or TDs are likely!

Roy Williams, WR, DAL – The Cowboys are in for a dog fight this week against a Vikings team that is also 1-3 and attempting to cling to Super Bowl aspirations from the preseason.

Matt Cassel, QB, KC – I don’t care how good the match up is, don’t do it.  He has not been able to put together any sort of consistency for fantasy owners that haven’t bailed out.  He just barely cracked my top 20 against a team allowing an average of almost 330 yards per game.

Willis McGahee, RB, BAL – The fact that Ray Rice got 2 goal line carries has me concerned for McGahee.  Stay away even if you’re having bye-week concerns if you can afford to.

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Studs

Matt Forte, RB, CHI - Mid way through the first quarter Forte was over 100 yards with two scores.  He finished the day as the top scoring player in fantasy this week after amassing 188 all purpose yards to pair with those two scores.  This big performance propelled the Bears through a game where their QB threw 4 INTs and their defense shut down a struggling Panthers offense that was missing its only decent receiver.  Forte has been a pleasant surprise for fantasy owners and should be in your lineup weekly.

Malcom Floyd, WR, SD – Lloyd had a career performance on Sunday in a losing effort that snapped a 13 game winning streak for the Chargers over the Raiders.  I was impressed with the progress that Floyd had made carving out a niche in that Chargers offense and he did not disappoint me after placing him in the top 20 ranked WRs.  One game is not enough to get him to crack my top 10, but you can be sure he will remain a WR2 from here on out.

Ray Rice, RB, BAL – I spent all week trying to talk people out of benching their round one pick.  I hope you can all breathe a sigh of relief now after a reassuring performance from Rice on Sunday.  What impressed me the most was that both rushing TDs came on goal line carries. You can still expect McGahee to get a few… but hopefully Rice will get his share of chances to punch it in as well.  Start this guy every week, regardless of match up and don’t think twice about it.

Brandon Lloyd, WR, DEN – Alright… fine.  He is a starting WR for fantasy football, but you are on a short leash Brandon! He has never stayed consistent this long, so keep riding the wave as long as Orton can keep finding him open deep down the field. If you see the dropped passes start coming back bail out and try to trade him before he flops completely.

Hakeem Nicks, WR, NYG – Nicks cracked the top 10 in the WR rankings for the first time ever and did not disappoint in the slightest.  After 130 yards and 2 TDs you have to consider this guy a must start for the rest of the year.  Don’t trade him away either… he is here to stay.

LeSean McCoy, RB, PHI - Not too much more you can ask for from a guy with broken ribs.  He broke a very nice TD run to top off a 148 yard performance in a big win for the Eagles over the win less 49ers.  I was skeptical about him going into the year, but not any longer.  He has turned out to be a gem for fantasy owners and they should consider him a GREAT RB2 no matter who is at QB.

Mike Williams, WR, TB – The Buccaneers are the surprise of the year for me at 3-1 and ahead of the Saints in their divisional race.  Mike Willams has been an even bigger surprise for fantasy owners as he has proven to be a VERY consistent producer and should now be considered a great WR3 or flex play.

Cedric Benson, RB, CIN - Benson had 144 yards on 23 carries in a losing effort for the Bengals who are spending too much time trying to pass the ball and are unable to close out games at the end because of it.  Benson has remained productive despite the fact that the losses keep piling up.  You can still feel confident in Benson as a RB2 or flex play unless they are going against a top-flight run defense and you have some solid alternatives.

Michael Crabtree, WR, SF - It was only one big game, but it sure looks as if the new Offensive Coordinator of the 9ers is looking to get Crabtree involved in this offense for once.  The 49 offense rallied nicely at the end of the game, but it takes a complete effort to win a game and Alex Smith struggled in the 2nd and 3rd quarters.  You can’t count on this type of performance after just one game, but if you have any bye-week issues or injuries go ahead and start him… it just might pay off in a big way.

Terrell Owens, WR, CIN – Despite the poor play of Carson Palmer, as long as the Bengals refuse to lean on the running game, one of the Bengals receivers will have a good game each week.  It will be miserable trying to predict which one it will be, so if someone thinks Owens is the real deal then sell high!

Jason Witten, TE, DAL - This guy was once the best TE in the NFL and this season has been a disappointment as he was unable to find the end zone. That finally changed the same week that he has his highest yardage total of the year.  If you drafted him, there is no reason to search for a replacement because I believe the Cowboys will look to this familiar face to try and salvage this disappointing season.

Shaun Hill, QB, DET -You only have one more week left to use this clutch fill-in for Matthew Stafford.  Calvin Johnson has a shoulder injury that has Jim Schwartz concerned.  That has me concerned about the Lions offense.  They have no receiver that can draw the attention of defenses and open up the run game.  If the Lions can’t run they won’t be able to pass without their deep threat and best red zone threat.   I would look elsewhere if you need a QB for next week.

Duds

Anquan Boldin, WR, BAL - The Ravens had a tough start to their schedule and since they were able to run the ball so effectively in this game, there was no reason to test the excellent coverage provided by Champ Bailey.  Match ups are excellent for Boldin for the next two games before their bye week… and are actually pretty good the rest of the season. (the only exception is week 13 vs the Steelers)

Chad Ochocinco, WR, CIN - Well, you drafted a headache with 85 this year.  TO is taking too much of his production to rely on Chad every week as a WR2, but I still think he is the best fantasy receiver in Cincinnati so your probably going to need to keep using him for another week or two and see if that changes.

Matt Schaub, QB, HOU - The entire Texans offense collapsed this week. Treat it as an anomaly but with the production of Arian Foster, Schaub is no longer an elite QB.

Greg Jennings, WR, GB -The Redskins were allowing over 300 yards per game through the air and Jennings was limited to just 2 points.  With Rodgers suffering a concussion and it being unlikely that he will be active next week, think twice about starting Jennings against an underrated Dolphins secondary with two weeks to prepare for the game.

Sam Bradford, QB, STL - Mark Clayton can’t have been the only reason for the Rams’ success.  There will be growing pains for any rookie QB, but after his recent success I was very surprised to see Bradford shut down by the Lions of all teams.

Arian Foster, RB, HOU – See Matt Schaub.

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Pickups

Danny Amendola, WR, STL - Mark Clayton has said that he believes his injury is season-ending.  Whether or not this is true, he will miss significant time and lose his rhythm in the offense and with Sam Bradford.  Amendola hauled in 12 catches for 95 yards on 19 targets in week 5, combine that with amazing catches like the one below from Week 4 and you have Sam Bradford’s new favorite target.

Michael Crabtree, WR, SF - The new Offensive Coordinator of the 49ers has done a good job thus far getting the ball in the direction of Michael Crabtree.  Last week was the best game of his young career, catching 9 balls for 105 yards and a score. If you own Crabtree you may want to wait a week before you start him… but if you have some bye-week concerns or injuries then go ahead and start him.

Roy Williams, WR, DAL – He isn’t getting his job back, but he does have Dez Bryant hovering just above my Dump List at the moment.  His emergence has provided the balance in the passing game that we thought Bryant would.  Opposing defenses can’t double cover both guys and still contain Felix Jones who had a big game in the Cowboys tough Week 5 loss.

Pierre Garcon, WR, IND – No one expected there to be only one TD in this game and that it would go to Mike Hart.  Peyton Manning had a pretty bad game by his standards with below a 60% completion percentage, but Garcon was on the field for most of the 2 WR sets and led the team with 14 targets. The Colts are banged up and seeing Manning look to Garcon that much definitely means he deserves a spot on someone’s roster in every league.

Kenny Britt, WR, TEN – A general rule of thumb recently is “don’t start your Titans receivers” is still in effect… but the Cowboys don’t have a terrible secondary and Vince Young made them look pretty silly. Britt is a home-run threat and if you are in serious trouble at the WR position, he could have a couple of huge games in good match-ups this season.

Buccaneers, D/ST, TB – In week 8 they are at Arizona, at home against the Panthers in Week 10, and facing the Redskins, Lions and Seahawks in Weeks 14-16 for your playoffs.  If you are struggling with your defense, snatch these guys up after their second 14 point game of the season.  The Buccaneers are the real deal.

Ryan Fitzpatrick, QB, BUF – What is this? Consistent play from a QB in Buffalo? REALLY? Over 200 yards, 3 TDs and no INTs for Fitz this week make him a surprisingly valuable backup QB.  I know had I went with him over Sam Bradford this past week, I would have won my match-up.  I know it feels dirty to pickup a Bills QB… but as long as you don’t need one in Week 6 Fitz needs to be seriously considered.

Felix Jones, RB, DAL – When I was on @ThaSPORTSKRIB last Thursday, we all joked about how it is an annual tradition that the Cowboys “want to give Felix Jones more touches”.  While I don’t blame us for taking it with a grain of salt… looking back we should have upgraded him a bit more than we did.  It appears to finally be something they are going to DO rather than TALK ABOUT.

Marcedes Lewis, TE, JAC – It seems that every week a TE makes this list… and that speaks to the depth of the position that I have been talking about all season.  If you need someone this week, look no further after the Titans allowed Jason Witten’s best game of the year.

Steve Johnson, WR, BUF – You will need to be in a deep format, or major injury/bye week concerns… but since that sure does happen Steve Johnson has 4 TDs in the past 3 games.  Too bad he is on the Bye in week 6, but keep an eye on this surprisingly productive receiver from a bad offense.

Dump List

Ladell Betts, RB, NO - Ivory and Betts split carries evenly this week, but Betts will lose almost ALL of his carries when Thomas returns.  Ivory is a much better pass catcher and third down back that Ladell is despite catching 5 passes this past week.  The fumble he had also makes it more likely that the Saints look to Thomas to handle the goal line duties as well.

Mark Clayton, WR, STL - Usually I don’t put injuries in this list… but not everyone closely watches the Rams and Lions so they may not be aware of his injury yet.  Get rid of him.

Lance Moore, WR, NO – Given the recent struggles of the Saints offense, I am staying far away from everyone but Brees, Thomas and Colston.  Moore did nothing in Week 5 and proves to be too inconsistent to ever be comfortable with him in your lineup.

Kevin Walter, WR, HOU – Andre Johnson WILL get his targets and catches.  He is too difficult to cover anywhere on the field.  Jacoby Jones was always the guy that soaked up too many targets for Walter to be valuable to fantasy owners.  Jones was out this week and Walter did terribly.  He wasn’t alone as a disappointment on the Texans, but I couldn’t start Walter if I owned him so why keep him?

Kenneth Darby, RB, STL - I still got some Darby questions this week.  Steven Jackson is the reason that Steven Jackson is so productive.  It has NOTHING to do with the offensive line, or the QB.  He has the ability to overcome any obstacles his own team can throw at him.  Darby is not that guy and even remotely considering him with a healthy Jackson is a terrible idea.  He isn’t even a valuable handcuff… go get Javon Ringer or something.

Jason Snelling, RB, ATL – A terrible game against the Browns brings Snelling out of fantasy relevance almost as quickly as he emerged.  The Falcons don’t use him unless they have to and unless you want him as a handcuff to Turner he needs to go!

Legedu Naanee, WR, SD – If you were wondering why you saw that much of Buster Davis… Naanee left early with a hamstring injury.  He was on the bubble before this game and getting hurt pushes him to the Dump List.  You can do better than him.

Cadillac Williams, RB, TB - The RB situation in TB is a mess.  A successful mess.  They will ride the hot hand until someone proves that they deserve feature carries.  No need to own any TB RB so drop Blount if you picked him up last week too.

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