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Studs

Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, NYG – I don’t think anyone was happier to hear about Kyle Williams being  inactive this week than Bradshaw, who had his first 100 yard rushing performance of the year. Oh and three TDs to boot.  Bradshaw was the top scoring fantasy player for week 6 and remains a top 10 RB for me down the stretch. But when Jacobs comes back, I see little chance of THIS big of a performance again this season.

Marques Colston, WR, NO – People forget just how good Colston is because of how Drew Brees spreads the ball around.  I am still a little worried about Colston because of the extra work that Jimmy Graham has been seeing, but Colston is just about the best flex option you could possibly have and it would be difficult to sit him down in my opinion.  Marques had 7 grabs for 118 yards and a TD on 11 targets. Brees did not forget about him.

Michael Turner, RB, ATL – Turner really lived up to my expectations this week. With Carolina having a very banged-up line backing corp, I really expected Atlanta to attack on the ground. They did not disappoint as Turner racked up 139 yards on 27 carries and he scored twice. Of all the teams to not quite look like what they were last year, Atlanta worries me the least. They are going to be a playoff contender and the only player REALLY under performing as of late is Roddy White.

Josh Freeman, QB, TB – Freeman finally had a good game! But one is not enough for me. I need to see Freeman get over 300 yards with mutliple TD’s again next week before I think too highly of him.  I would also like to see him able to get Mike Williams involved in the vertical passing game again soon. Williams did have 59 yards on a team-high 6 catches this week, but I want to see him back involved in the big-play again too or this offense will struggle again down the stretch.

Fred Jackson, RB, BUF – I have a feeling that if you drafted this guy, you are doing pretty darn well so far this season in your league.  Win or lose, Freddie Jackson seems to have a great statistical output.  This week against the Giants was no exception. After this game Jackson sits at #2 in the NFL in total yards rushing, #3 in total yards from scrimmage AND #1 in fantasy points among RBs. There are not many RB’s making more of a splash in the passing game and you simply cannot be caught dead with Jackson on your bench at this point.  Well… except this week since he is on bye.

Devin Hester, WR, CHI – Unless your league counts return yards, you really shouldn’t be too worried about going and picking up Hester. He has been a starting receiver for a couple of years now and has not been able to produce with any regularity. With that said, he single-handedly beat the Vikings on Sunday night with his TD catch and return TD. He is definitely ownable in 14 team (or more leagues) as well as leagues that do in fact count return yards… but my guess is he isn’t available in these leagues anyways. Keep him on your bench folks.

Frank Gore, RB, SF – What more can you say about the 49ers?! 5-1 is a VERY impressive start for a team, despite how terrible the rest of the NFC West might be.  Gore started the season really slow in the first two weeks, but now has three consecutive 100+ yard games and is living up to the preseason rank I gave him of #5 overall.

Duds

Roddy White, WR, ATL – White has been very underwhelming this season and he will remain a top 10 option on talent alone but he will continue to fall in my ranks with each mediocre performance.

Vernon Davis, TE, SF – I am surprised that the 9ers are being so efficient on offense without involving Davis more often. He remains one of the most talented TEs in football and as long as the team is winning, I am going to recommend that you start him.

Ryan Torain, RB, WAS – The Redskins did terrible this week and while it was mostly Rex Grossman’s fault, none of the three RB’s did anything to help out.  Torain was my favorite to see the most work and he only put up two points.

Jermichael Finley, TE, GB – The Packers are clicking on all cylinders and Aaron Rodgers has no shortage of targets to throw to. Finley will be fine and is one of the top TE’s for fantasy owners.

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Love

Michael Turner, RB, ATL – The Falcons need to prove that they are a Super Bowl contender this year and Turner has been their most consistent performer. Cam Newton has been a play maker and has been finding a way to put up numbers against EVERYONE he has played. With the Falcons’ defense not playing up to expectations either, I think a heavy dose of Turner is the best way for the Falcons to avoid an upset at home.

Miles Austin, WR, DAL – Austin is coming off an injury and I would expect him to have a slow start, but the Patriots score a ton of points and struggle to stop opposing QBs.  I don’t think Dallas wins this game, but Austin and Bryant should be in for big statistical performances as they will play from behind and have little trouble passing the ball.

Cedric Benson, RB, CIN – Last week was a bit of a let-down for Benson owners, but he ran well and was far from a dud. This week he goes against the Colts who have not been able to stop anyone on the ground all season. Benson sees a lot of carries and Cinci tries to run first to take pressure off Andy Dalton, who will hear the footsteps of Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney all day.

Jake Ballard, TE, NYG – Buffalo struggles to defend opposing tight ends. Ballard has TD’s in two straight games and this is not something you can expect to continue after this week, but the numbers say that Ballard is likely to make it three games in a row this week against the Bills. He is still outside my top 10, but if you have to fill a gap for your bye week, Ballard has a pretty good shot at a nice statistical performance.

Daniel Thomas, RB, MIA – He hasn’t been active much, but he looks like a punishing runner when he is. Thomas goes against the Jets this week who have just had a terrible run game as of late and with Matt Moore at QB, Thomas will be the focal point if he is able to go.

Torrey Smith, WR, BAL – Smith had a breakout game in week 3 and then people kind of seemed to forget about him.  He did put up a goose-egg against the Jets the following week, but Flacco looked for him a fair few times and on one play specifically he beat Revis deep. The throw was just a hair too far, but if it had connected we would be talking about him like a top 20 guy right now. He has only had just one game with fantasy points so I don’t think he is a really smart start but with bye weeks upon us, if your digging deep for a flex play… don’t just look past Smith.

Hate

Eli Manning, QB, NYG – I see a lot of people have Eli inside their top 10 QB’s and that is crazy to me. The Bills’ secondary has been playing great as of late and Eli has been known to struggle with turnovers.  Buffalo leads the NFL with 12 INTs on the season and three consecutive games with a pick 6. Eli will keep his receivers’ stats up there, but I think that interceptions will keep him from crossing the 20 point mark this week.

Tim Hightower, RB, WAS – It’s not about his talent and it’s not about the match up. We just simply don’t know how the carries will be divided. I expect Hightower to be the third down back and Torain to see the most work. But I would NEVER bet on how Shanahan will use his running backs. Hightower is a flex play at best this week.

Darrius Heyward-Bey, WR, OAK – Playing with a Raiders receiver is a lot like playing Russian roulette for fantasy owners. Heyward-Bey has seen a lot of targets as of late, but I am not going to think that the emotional performances from Sunday are likely to repeat themselves. I have written about Darrius before as well as Jacoby Ford, Chaz Schillens and Denarius Moore over the past few season and not one of them were able to do anything consistently. Jacoby Ford is the receiver I want to start from this team if I need one and it is because they use him in the running game.

Isaac Redman, RB, PIT – Redman is the best bet to see the goal line carries even if Mendenhall was active, but he is not too likely to see much more work no matter who is inactive. Dwyer was just a better runner last week and if Mendenhall doesn’t go, I would rather start Dwyer over Redman.

James Jones, WR, GB – Don’t let one big game cause you to bring a guy from free agency straight into your lineup.  Any receiver can have a big game with Aaron Rodgers at QB and last week was Jones’ turn.  Odds are it’ll be a few games before he manages to make such an impact again.  Jennings, Finley and Nelson are all going to see more targets.

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Love

Michael Turner, RB, ATL – The Falcons are on the road and have not been playing that great so far this season.  They have gotten down early and this has minimized Turner’s impact on each of the first three games.  Do you think Seattle’s offense can get off to a blazing start and keep the Falcons passing the entire game? I don’t.  I don’t like the Seahawks’ rush defense and I think Turner might be in a for a really big game. Double digit points should be just about guaranteed.

Matthew Stafford, QB, DET – The Lions’ offense would be the biggest talk of the NFL if it wasn’t for the Bills and this week Stafford has a great match up against a weak Cowboys secondary. The Cowboys offense is banged up and could have troubles sustaining drives against the Lion’s VASTLY improved defensive unit. This will lead to a lot opportunities for Stafford and with Megatron pulling down 2 TD passes per game, there is no reason to not ride out the wave.

Mario Manningham, WR, NYG – The Giants face off against the Cardinals, who I think might have the worst pass defense in the NFL this season.  The currently are ranked 25th and have faced Carolina, Seattle and Washington.  None of these teams have top-end passing attacks and the Giants are coming off of a big game through the air against the most talented secondary in the league.  I have my concerns about their chances this year as well as the play of Eli Manning, but last week lessened them and the match up is just too good to ignore.

Ray Rice, RB, BAL – The Jets just did not look like Rex Ryan was in charge of the defense last week as Darren McFadden ran all over them to give his Raiders a big win.  Ray Rice is a premiere back in this league and after he shredded the Steelers in week 1, I am just simply not at all scared of what would normally be a poor match up.  I think the Ravens match up very well against the Jets and will win this game on the legs of Rice.

Rex Grossman, QB, WAS – The Monday night game was conservative and hard fought.  Grossman put up OK numbers and didn’t kill fantasy owners that needed to use him last week.  This week the Skins get to play the Rams in a dome. After watching Flacco tear the Rams’ secondary apart last week I think Grossman has a great chance for a really good game. St Louis is not as competitive so far this season as they were last year and I am choosing not to overreact to a mediocre offensive outing in an NFC East rivalry game.

Jermaine Gresham, TE, CIN – Buffalo has been an entirely different team this year.  They have been able to stop the run and put up huge numbers on offense. One weakness they still have is at linebacker. Last season the Bills allowed 11 TDs to opposing tight ends (worst in the NFL) and an average of 9.2 fantasy points per game (also worst in the NFL).  That average is down to 8.7 so far this year, but have only faced one legitimate TE (Gronkowski) and he tore them apart.  It is also worth noting that this weakness is why Wes Welker went crazy last week on short crossing routes.  I look for the Bengals to try and mirror this approach and with Dalton playing this well, it should be a relatively effective strategy.

Percy Harvin, WR, MIN – I won’t be shocked if Harvin doesn’t have a big day, but Harvin is the one spark that the Vikings have in their receiving corp and without Eric Berry, the Chiefs secondary is far more vulnerable to the deep play.  I personally like safe and consistent producers, but I can’t ignore the high likelihood of Harvin ripping off a long TD run or catch against this secondary.

Hate

Mark Sanchez, QB, NYJ – The Jets offense has become much more about the passing attack and I don’t think that is the kind of QB that Sanchez is best suited to be. So far he has proved me wrong and put up some quality numbers.  I do not think it is very likely to happen in this game and think that the Ravens will be able to force some bad decisions out of Sanchez. Don’t let his early production fool you, I do not think he is a legit #1 QB for fantasy owners.

Mike Tolbert, RB, SD – Most people thought that Tolbert was the guy you wanted to draft from the Charger’s backfield because he was available much later and likely to see a lot of goal line touches. This was affirmed in week 1 and since then, it looks like we were dead wrong.  I am not jumping ship yet, but the Chargers have not been playing inspired football in recent weeks and despite a good match-up I don’t think Tolbert is a very good start this week. I want to see how the work load is distributed in a couple weeks when the Chargers are back to their old selves again.  I wish I could figure out why they are so bad early in the year and so good late…

DeAngelo Williams, RB, CAR – What is it about all the RBs who received big contracts this off season? they all seem slow and unable to find a crease to run through.  Williams hasn’t been widely discussed as a bust because Chris Johnson and Frank Gore are taking all the heat, but he has just been awful as of late and Jonathan Stewart is clearly the guy worth starting if you need a Panther RB in your lineup.

Mike Williams, WR, TB – This has nothing to do with his recent performance really. I didn’t expect him to improve on last season much, if at all and the Buccs are a young team that is sstill establishing their identity. A big part of this identity needs to be LeGarrette Blount and he needs to see at least 20 carries to be as effective as they would like.   I think the Buccs will take a conservative approach and try and run early and often against a bad Colts rush defense. Williams is still the go-to guy when they need a big play through the air, but his targets will be down as there is not likely to be much need to take risks against the win-less, Peyton-less Colts.

Anquan Boldin, WR, BAL - Have you met Darrelle Revis yet Mr. Boldin?

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Studs

Wes Welker, WR, NE – Bill Belichick is the master of exploiting a defense’s weakness and despite the loss, week 3 was no exception.  Buffalo is now weakest in their line backing corp and the Patriots abused this group with Welker running a lot of shallow crossing routes and Gronkowski out matching the secondary and forcing safeties to get too deep to help cover Wes.

Fred Jackson, RB, BUF – He has just been incredible for a guy that has already turned thirty years old.  He hasn’t been a feature back long and has young legs, which has helped  him to an average yards per carry of over 6 yards. And there is no reason to be concerned with him sharing too much work with Spiller as the number of carries for each has been very one sided. Bottom line here is that Jackson is now a top 10 RB and he is still climbing as this offense has been incredibly productive thus far this season.

Jermichael Finley, TE, GB – Seven catches for 85 yards and three TDs. What a huge game to get from your TE position.  With Gates on his way to see a specialist and already having issues with his foot, I see Finley as the top fantasy TE in the NFL.  I’ve said it before, this guy is a nightmare to try and cover and Aaron Rodgers and the Packers know how to create mismatches with this guy. Look for a very productive season from Finley.

Torrey Smith, WR, BAL – Smith looked terrible in the preseason.  So much so that the Ravens went and traded for Lee Evans to ensure some depth and talent at the position as they were pretty sure that Smith wasn’t ready to be a play maker in this league. Oops. Smith’s first three catches in the NFL came in the first quarter of week 3 since Evans was hurt and all three were TDs.  Clearly no one told Smith he isn’t ready to be a starter and I don’t see how the Ravens don’t bump him up to #2 on the depth chart permanently after this performance.

Eli Manning, QB, NYG – My bad on this one. I hated Eli in this game and didn’t see how he could be productive against this Eagles secondary. The answer was apparently Jacobs out of the backfield and short routes to play-making receivers. Eli completed 23 passes for 254 yards and 4 TDs. Most impressive to me was the lack of an INT. My faith has slightly been restored in Eli and he think he is one of the better backup QB or QB 2 options out there again.

Calvin Johnson, WR, DET – Megatron had done nothing in the first half, like most of the Lions. But he was also a huge part of their comeback. Johnson finished over 100 yards and had two TDs for his third straight game. This guy is an absurd talent and your lucky to have him if you drafted him as this offense appears to be the real deal over the first three games.

Duds

Frank Gore, RB, SF – I am just disgusted with his lack of performance.  I had him ranked as my #5 overall player this season and it appears my faith in Gore and Coach Harbaugh were misplaced.  I think once the team gets used to their new system, he may rebound… but that hope is running out fast with each bad performance.

Michael Turner, RB, ATL – The Falcons can’t seem to get an early lead to save their lives.  This means that Turner’s touches are down and he simply isn’t making the most of them. I’m not as worried about him as I am Gore, but that is just because of how well the Falcons play at home.  Which means you should get a very solid game from Turner when they play in the dome.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB, NE – The Pats got up big early and the Law Firm was just not able to find creases in the Bills’ defensive front seven. They seemed to be there for Stevan Ridley later in the game but once Buffalo started to light up the Pats’ defense, Brady had to try and out duel Fitzpatrick and ignore the ground game.

Rashard Mendenhall, RB, PIT – The Colts really just have a bad rush defense, but apparently the Steelers have a worse offensive line.  I am very worried about Mendenhall the rest of the way. He remains a top 15 RB but he is certainly falling as this offense continues to struggle.

Philip Rivers, QB, SD – Zero TDs and 2 INTs against a bad Chiefs team is shocking for me. Rivers should have picked the secondary apart and he just didn’t.  They got the win and Rivers is still an elite QB so I am not worried, but this does look  like a little more than a slow start. It is time to get nervous, but not bench Philip.

James Starks, RB, GB – Just as soon as I thought Starks was the clear guy to own in this offense, Grant goes off and Starks implodes.  Expect the Packers to ride the hot hand and make it a nightmare for fantasy owners to try and decide which one is the guy each week.

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