Week 6 Thoughts & Observations

[Tom Kessenich]

Here are some random thoughts and observations as I wonder why I can put up big-time defensive scoring in every league except the one I really want to win:

The Rams ran 47 offensive plays, Sam Bradford had less than 120 yards passing and they still demolished the Texans. Maybe everything in Houston wasn't all Matt Schaub's fault after all.

Vince Young Tweeted on Sunday that he's ready to step in and help the Texans as their starting quarterback. So yeah, Houston, I guess things could get worse.

Speaking of the Texans, any one of the fans who booed Schaub when he got hurt should have their ticket privileges revoked. What a pathetic display.

I didn't give Zac Stacy a lot of love (or any, really) going into this week mainly because I was really down on the Rams' offense and I expected the Texans' defense to rise up. But the kid runs hard and brings a nice dimension to their offense. I'm gonna have to re-think my position on him.

Tom Brady. In a word. Wow. That was impressive.

New Orleans' defense on the final drive in a word. Unimpressive.

Here are the names of some of the guys who caught passes for the Patriots on their game winning drive - Austin Collie, Michael Hoomanuwanui, Aaron Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins. It's the 2013 New England Patriots, folks.

Just two games after returning from his first injury, Danny Amendola got hurt again. It's not crazy to wonder if maybe, just maybe, this guy isn't cut out physically to play pro football, is it?

I can't remember the last time the Packers had someone who ran with the power Eddie Lacy displays. He brings a completely different dimension to the Green Bay offense. And to think Ted Thompson kept trading down in the second round to avoid taking him until he couldn't avoid it any longer.

That 64-yard touchdown pass to Jordy Nelson was an absolute launch by Aaron Rodgers. He just wound up and fired a rocket.

Just like last season, the Ravens are spending the regular season looking like an absolutely ordinary football team. We'll see if they have another late-season run in them but right now they are a mediocre at best football team.

It's time to officially be concerned about Marques Colston. On a day when the Patriots sold out (successfully) to stop Jimmy Graham, Colston only caught one ball and was never a featured part of the New Orleans offense. Something's going on with Colston and it's not just a case of "Brees is going to spread the ball around because he has so many weapons to utilize" (which, by the way, is true).

It's four days later and I still can't believe what I saw from Brandon Jacobs against the Bears. Next time somebody asks me what a 2008 Flashback looks like I'm pointing to that.

Was there an easier offseason call to make than Jamaal Charles becoming an uber fantasy stud this season? Seriously, it was an absolute slam dunk. Elite talent combined with a head coach with rudimentary offensive knowledge equaled fantasy greatness. Everybody should've seen this coming. Props to all of you who didn't hesitate to pounce when his value slightly dipped after his ankle injury in the preseason.

Welcome back Vincent Jackson. Great to see you healthy again.

So much for Revis Island. DeSean Jackson spit all over it on Sunday.

Hmmm, maybe Nick Foles has a future as an NFL starter after all.

Knowshon Moreno fantasy stud. Go figure.

Calvin Johnson, Jimmy Graham, Marques Colston, Demaryius Thomas and Torrey Smith combined for eight receptions on Sunday. Kris Durham caught eight all by himself. Just like everyone expected.

Don't look now Miles Austin but you've been Pipped.

In a game against two of the worst pass defenses in the league, Tony Romo and Robert Griffin III combined for one touchdown pass. Somebody named Thad Lewis threw two all by himself for the Bills. Yup, that happened.

The one touchdown Romo threw was an absolute thing of beauty. Rolling away from the defenders and throwing off his back foot on a dime to Terrance Williams in the end zone. Very Favre-esque, Tony. Your idol would be proud.

A fluky touchdown last week for Chris Johnson may have inspired his owners to start him in a brutal matchup against Seattle on Sunday. That was a tough lesson to learn but the lesson is this - Chris Johnson is just a RB3 right now and you need to treat him like one. Sorry but it's true.

The Broncos are 6-0 and now they get Von Miller back from his suspension. That's not fair, is it?

I'm not sure what to tell you Minnesota, but if that's the best you can do coming out of a bye and with the added incentive of playing hard for a distraught teammate you might as well pack up and call it a season. That was embarrassing.

Speaking of the Vikings, I'm putting the odds on Josh Freeman starting Week 7 at 100%.

On a night when Tony Romo and RG3 failed to take advantage of sensational matchups I guess it's only fitting that the season premiere of "The Walking Dead" was a little mundane.

Somewhere Rob Gronkowski owners are taking solace in the fact that while they have no idea when Gronk is coming back at least he had the same number of receptions in Week 6 as Jimmy Graham did.

So there's that.

I guess.

Not sure why the Lions didn't understand this last week but this week they got Reggie Bush involved in the passing game and lo and behold, good things happened. Imagine that.

If Justin Blackmon can eliminate his desire to be a knucklehead, he's going to be a superstar in this league.

Teams reportedly are contacting the Giants about the availability of Hakeem Nicks. If he is dealt, Reuben Randle could be a Top 20 fantasy WR. Randle owners, you could be sitting on a potential gold mine.

Montee Ball had great hands at Wisconsin. He rarely fumbled and was a gifted receiver out of the backfield. I have no explanation for what's going on with him in Denver so far other than he might be completely mentally mucked up.

Three of the most prominent NFL reporters in the business all waved massive red flags about Larry Fitzgerald's status on Sunday due to his second hamstring injury of the season. Some of the Cardinals' best beat writers issued the same level of trepidation. This caused fantasy owners to quickly pull Fitzgerald out of their lineups which was the prudent move to make given the dire reports. So what did Fitz do? He caught six passes for 117 yards, including a 75-yard touchdown when he outran everybody on the field. I'm not sure what to tell you other than it was the kind of day where even if you made the right call you got absolutely punished for it.

By the way, those are the toughest days to deal with as a fantasy owner. Nothing worse than making the proper call and getting little (or nothing) to show for it. That seemed to happen a lot in Week 6.

Speaking of the Cardinals, they did an excellent job of holding Vernon Davis under 200 yards receiving in the first half on Sunday.

It's a damn shame DeMarco Murray can't stay healthy. He's so good when he's on the field. Sadly, it was just a matter of time before he got hurt again.

On a day in which they dominated the Raiders, the Chiefs had to struggle to win at home because their quarterback lacks the ability to make high-impact, game-changing plays. If there's an Achilles' heel with Kansas City, that's it. Alex Smith can only get you so far with his pedestrian ability.

The Steelers won convincingly on Sunday but once again we learned that if you're going to start a running back against the Jets you had better lower your expectations considerably. Better yet, find another option unless your guy is a stud talent. That Jets' run defense is nasty.

Tony Romo, Sam Bradford and Alex Smith all failed to top 170 yards passing on Sunday. And won. If you predicted that going into the day can you tell me what the Moneyball numbers are going to be this week? Thanks.

My apologies for touting Chad Henne as aggressively as I did last week. I guess it could make me feel better that Kurt Warner (who knows a thing or two about quarterback play) was also convinced Henne would have a big day against the Broncos. All I can say is it should've happened. It absolutely should've happened. The reason why it didn't? This game is absolutely nuts a lot of the time.

So Vegas, about that 28-point spread you gave the Broncos. Want to re-think that one?

And finally, if you started Nick Foles, Brandon Jacobs, Khiry Robinson, Kris Durham, Riley Cooper, Joseph Fauria and the Rams' defense this week nobody wants to talk to you for the rest of the week so stop gloating.

[BONGIZMO]

Great stuff as always Tom. on two teams where I have suffered with Fitz, with no late players not already in my lineup to sub, I had no choice but to put in Tavon. Now that was painful...Fitz has his best game, gets injured again so he likely won't be in my lineup anytime soon, and Tavon gets like two snaps in a game the Rams run away with. Oof!

Scott

[bald is beautiful]

The Shorts injury hurt Henne. Shorts would have helped Jax move the ball and finish drives. The Broncos couldn't even stop Blackmon even though he was Jax's only weapon out there. Champ Bailey is just a body out there now, like Urlacher was last year.

[Tom Kessenich]

The Shorts injury hurt Henne.

True. But he still threw for more than 300 yards but couldn't get any touchdowns. Everything shaped up the way some of us anticipated - heavy passing attack, ability to move the ball through the air. Everything was there except for the touchdowns. But I guess on a day when Knowshon Moreno is the best fantasy option on the field there's no reason to think anything will go according to plan.

[David U Kennedy]

Great Stuff!!! I almost got beat by Brandon Jacobs and Chris Ogbonaya this week. That would a been hard to take. Thank you Cam, VJax, and Vernon!!!!!

[Money]

[quote]Not sure why the Lions didn't understand this last week but this week they got Reggie Bush involved in the passing game and lo and behold, good things happened. Imagine that.[quote]

Th packers did a nice job of stuffing the middle vs Bush last week. His damage this week was done in the second half as Calvin Johnson became more involved. With Calvin not even suited up last week the packers simply keyed on Bush. The Lions half time adjustments last week were non existent vs Green Bay. It was like they simply gave up. They are a different offense with Johnson on the field, obviously.

[Tom Kessenich]

I agree Joe but the lack of adjustments by the Lions last week against Green Bay to utilize Bush more as a receiver were startling. The Packers have major issues in terms of pass defense. There is no way they could handle Bush as a receiver if used intelligently and creatively. The Lions failed miserably to do that last week. To their credit they did a much better job this week against a better defense.

Speaking of the Packers, Cobb expected to miss at least weeks with a knee injury. James Jones has a chance to play this week.

[BLACKHAND]

hard to get on revis. how in the world do you get a lockdown corner and not have him man to man on the best reciever. insane

[nails]

all i can say if i could get victor cruz back on track pairing him up with blackmond and vernon on primetime, team could be dangerous for weeks to come.. although i did lose demarco murray. what a shock.!.. but i do pat myself on back.. i picked up randle this week.. however i can't see starting him even against lowly eagles D. tough decisions ahead. very tough.

one observation Tom .. Carolina D is for real.. they continue to shut down Good offensive players.. They do it week after week.. i would think twice before starting RB's against them. i think the minnesota giants game next week is going to be UGLY but funny to watch.. AP could elapse 300 yards running and ELI manning could throw for 500.. it's going to be NUTS.. mark my words.

Later all..

[David U Kennedy]

all i can say if i could get victor cruz back on track pairing him up with blackmond and vernon on primetime, team could be dangerous for weeks to come.. although i did lose demarco murray. what a shock.!.. but i do pat myself on back.. i picked up randle this week.. however i can't see starting him even against lowly eagles D. tough decisions ahead. very tough.

one observation Tom .. Carolina D is for real.. they continue to shut down Good offensive players.. They do it week after week.. i would think twice before starting RB's against them. i think the minnesota giants game next week is going to be UGLY but funny to watch.. AP could elapse 300 yards running and ELI manning could throw for 500.. it's going to be NUTS.. mark my words.

Later all..

I wouldn't be too excited to have Joseph Randle. If Dunbar gets healthy he is the starter with Murray out. Randle averaged 1.5 per carry. 11 for 17 yards against the Redskins vaunted defense. Dallas will probably pass more with Murray out.

Anybody else think Pep Hamilton is doing a horrible job in Indy. DHB starting over Hilton. Featuring Richardson behind a weak offensive line. Andrew Luck is a awesome talent. Shouldn't they be using him? Colts are 4-2 but could be much better. DHB cant catch.