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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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Bears vs. Lions

The Bears have something the Lions want. The title of “Division Champ”. They can’t win that this week but they can certainly help their cause considerably. The story of this game will be the Bears’ offensive line, which has played terribly this season.  The Lion’s front seven on defense has been able to make up for their secondary with a great pass rush.  Also, the run defense has been really good through the first four weeks and we can expect them to contain Forte on the ground. Don’t worry fantasy owners, he’ll get enough rushing yards to compliment his receiving total and remains a must-start and a top 10 RB. Cutler is a decent QB2 this week, should your league allow you to play two, and his receivers are all too inconsistent to be worth even a flex spot as even Johnny Knox has almost fallen outside of my top 40 receivers.  Calvin Johnson is quite possibly the MVP of the first quarter of the season with remarkable consistency as he has hauled in two touchdowns in every single game thus far. Stafford has also joined the ranks of the elite fantasy QBs. Injuries remain a long-term concern in my opinion but until that happens, he is still the guy throwing to Megatron and he has led the Lions to 4-0.  I like the Lions to win at home in the dome, but I would not be at all surprised if it was a relatively low-scoring game.

Packers vs. Falcons

Last year, the Packers handed the Falcons one of their only two home-losses of the season. That game also ended the season for Atlanta because it was in the divisional round of the playoffs. I actually like Atlanta to win this game in a shootout. The beat Green Bay at home last in week 12 of last season, but it was far from a shootout. This year, both defenses are not quite living up to the expectations that most of us had for them. This should make for a lot of big plays and Julio Jones is inside the top 25 at wide receiver for the first time, making him a very good flex play. Hopefully he can find his way into the end zone for the first time in his career. Most people are staying completely away from the Ryan Grant/James Starks situation, but I think Grant makes a pretty good flex play with six teams on their bye week. Starks did not impress me last week with Grant sidelined and the week before that, Grant outplayed Starks considerably. Rodgers, Jennings and White are all must starts as always.

Jets vs. Patriots

The Jets sure need a win to try and pull even with Buffalo for the number two spot in the division.  If they could pull it off and Buffalo loses to Philly, which I expect will happen, there would be a three-way tie at 2-2 atop the AFC East. That was fun wasn’t it? Let’s be serious, I like the Patriots to win this one handily. Rex Ryan’s defense has some explaining to do after two very mediocre performances in a row and an inability to contain the running game. I also don’t think Darrelle Revis can stop Wes Welker the way the Patriots have been using him over four weeks.  There is no one better at running shallow crossing routes to draw linebackers into trying to cover him and if the Jets really do force Revis to follow him all over the field, the rest of the Patriots receivers will be taking turns being open even deeper down the field. I also think the Jets offense will be able to be productive against a Pats defense that has struggled to pressure the quarterback.  If Sanchez can avoid stupid mistakes, Santonio Holmes could be in for a big day. I have him ranked is a viable WR2 or flex play. BenJarvus Green-Ellis is the most likely back in New England’s committee to see carries at the goal line, so he remains the highest ranked of the three. Stevan Ridley HAS out performed Law Firm over the past two weeks though and might be worth a flex play in deeper formats however.

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