Week 6 Fantasy Headlines:
Justin Blackmon Racks Up 14 Catches for 190 Yards Vernon Davis Explodes: 8 Receptions, 180 Receiving Yards & 2 TDs Jimmy Graham Posts Goose Egg, Injures Ankle/Foot Chiefs Go 6-0; KC Defense Sacks Terrelle Pryor 10 Times Cam Newton Racks Up 4 Total TDs; Leads Panthers Past Vikings Texans Lose Stunner Despite 198 Total Yards From Arian Foster Nick Foles Powers Eagles Past Bucs with 4 Total TDs Packers Slip Past Ravens without Randall Cobb & James Jones Ray Rice Disappoints for the Second Time in Three Weeks Andy Dalton Breaks Out of Slump with 337 Yards and 3 TDs A.J. Green Racks Up 103 Yards & 1 TD In Win Over Bills Matthew Stafford Leads Lions Past Browns with 4 TD Passes Giants Fall to 0-6 Despite 106 Yards & 2 TDs from Brandon Jacobs
Game Summaries & Fantasy Commentary:
Thursday Night Game:
NEW YORK GIANTS
21
(0-6)
CHICAGO BEARS
27
(4-2)
Final
Fantasy Focus -- New York Giants: Thirty-one-year-old Brandon Jacobs gashed an aging and injury-depleted Bears defense with a surprisingly strong turn-back-the-clock outing (106 rushing yards and 2 TDs on 22 carries). Da'Rel Scott amassed 21 total yards on five touches before he left with a hamstring injury. David Wilson (neck) was inactive.
Two of Eli Manning's first five passes were intercepted (one pick-six). Manning (239 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs, sacked once) tossed three picks in the game, but two of the miscues weren't totally his fault. The G-Men tried to ride Jacobs to a victory, which is the main reason why Manning attempted only 26 passes.
The more-balanced attack dragged down the production of Victor Cruz (4-68-0 on five targets) and Hakeem Nicks (4-70-0 on eight targets). Rueben Randle (3-75-1 on five targets) hauled in Manning's only scoring strike. Brandon Myers posted a goose egg for the second time in three weeks.
Fantasy Focus -- Chicago Bears: Brandon Marshall (9-87-2 on 11 targets) dropped subtle hints through the Chicago media that he was wanted to be more involved, which explains why the Bears' top receiver was the preferred target of Jay Cutler (262 passing yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, no sacks, 3-20-0 rushing) in this contest. Cutler had little trouble picking apart a soft Giants secondary.
With Marshall gobbling up targets, Alshon Jeffery (1-27-0 on five targets; 1-15-0 rushing) followed up a career-best Week 5 outing with a dud performance. Jeffery and Cutler just missed hooking up on a couple of deep throws. Martellus Bennett (6-68-0 on seven targets) continues to play through injuries. He has caught at least five passes in three straight games.
Matt Forte (19-67-0 rushing and 6-44-0 receiving) didn't have much success on the ground against a Giants run defense that played the run tougher than expected. Forte has compiled 100-plus total yards in four straight contests.
Key Injuries: Da' Rel Scott (hamstring)
Fantasy Tips: Jacobs apparently still has a little gas left in the tank. No, he is not a safe every-week play, but Jacobs looks like a nice start in Week 7 against a Vikings defense that was shredded on the ground by the Panthers. With Manning chucking picks left and right, the G-Men will try to ride Jacobs as often as they can.
Don't give up on Jeffery. The talented second-year pro is at best the third option in the Bears passing attack, so he will post an occasion stink-bomb outing. The Chicago defense is struggling, so you can expect plenty of passing from Cutler and company going forward.
Waiver Wire Prospects: None
Early Sunday Afternoon Games:
GREEN BAY PACKERS
19
(3-2)
BALTIMORE RAVENS
17
(3-3)
Final
Fantasy Focus -- Green Bay Packers: Green Bay scored only one touchdown. James Jones (1-10-0) and Randall Cobb (4-53-0) were both knocked out of the game with knee injuries.
Aaron Rodgers (315 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, sacked three times, 5-21-0 rushing) still cobbled together a decent fantasy outing against a stubborn Ravens defense with Jordy Nelson (4-113-1 on 10 targets) and Jermichael Finley (3-75-0 on seven targets).
With the passing game hindered because of injuries, Eddie Lacy (23-120-0 rushing and 1-5-0 receiving) helped carry the offensive workload with his first career 100-yard game. Johnathan Franklin and John Kuhn touched the ball a combined five times.
Fantasy Focus -- Baltimore Ravens: Running behind an offensive line that is struggling immensely, Ray Rice (14-34-0 rushing and 3-15-0 receiving) and Bernard Pierce (6-9-0 rushing and 2-22-0 receiving) couldn't get anything going on the ground against a Packers defense that played the run much better than expected. Rice also was stuffed on three straight carries on a goal-line series. Rice has no 100-yard games this year and has topped 70 yards rushing in only one outing.
With Torrey Smith (1-12-0 on four targets) bottled up all afternoon, Joe Flacco (342 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, sacked five times, lost two fumbles) hooked up with Tandon Doss (4-99-0 on six targets), Dallas Clark (4-81-1 on six targets) and Marlon Brown (3-71-0 on seven targets). Jacoby Jones (2-42-1 on two targets) made his return after missing four games due to a knee injury.
Key Injuries: Randall Cobb (knee), James Jones (knee)
Fantasy Tip: Somewhere in America, Donald Driver's phone is ringing. Seriously, Jones and Cobb both look very doubtful to play in Week 7, and Cobb's injury was the far more severe of the two. Nelson and Finley obviously will both be targeted heavily in the short-term.
Jarrett Boykin (1-43-0 on six targets) replaced Jones. Although Boykin and Rodgers didn't have any chemistry working in this contest, Boykin likely will get a serious shot at some playing time going forward. However, the second-year pro, who has five career receptions, has only flyer value.
Lacy has toted the rock 46 times in the last two weeks. Green Bay is dead serious about using him to establish a solid ground game.
Don't overreact to Smith's bad outing. This was only his first dud performance of the year. Rice's struggles are continuing, which means that Flacco will have to keep airing it out. It's hard to like Rice as anything more than a very shaky fantasy RB2 right now.
Brown started over Jones, but the two shared snaps, which obviously hurts the value of both.
Waiver Wire Prospects: Packers defense, Jarrett Boykin (flyer value), Jacoby Jones (depth value)
CINCINNATI BENGALS
27
(4-1)
BUFFALO BILLS
24
(3-2)
Final / Overtime
Fantasy Focus -- Cincinnati Bengals: There is nothing like a soft defense to make a struggling quarterback look good. Andy Dalton (337 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT, sacked three times, 7-17-0 rushing) snapped a two-game passing touchdown drought with his best outing of the season.
Welcome back, A.J. Green (6-103-1 on 11 targets). He racked up just his second 100-yard game of the year. Marvin Jones (3-71-1 on five targets) and Mohamad Sanu (5-44-0 on six targets) also were standouts on the stat sheet.
BenJarvus Green-Ellis (18-86-0 rushing and 0-0-0 receiving) amassed a season high in rushing yards. PPR league favorite Giovani Bernard (15-28-0 rushing and 6-72-1 receiving) tallied 100 total yards and scored for the fourth time this season.
Fantasy Focus -- Buffalo Bills: Do we have a quarterback controversy in Orchard Park? Just kidding. Recently promoted from Buffalo's practice squad, Thad Lewis (216 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs, sacked five times, 7-17-1 rushing) played much better than expected, compiling three total touchdowns.
With Stevie Johnson (back -- inactive) out of the lineup, Lewis relied heavily on T.J. Graham (4-74-0 on six targets), Scott Chandler (2-47-1 on four targets) and Marquise Goodwin (2-51-1 on three targets). Robert Woods (2-9-0 on six targets) was a non-factor.
C.J. Spiller (10-55-0 rushing and 2-11-0 receiving) and Fred Jackson (10-35-0 rushing and 4-13-0 receiving) split the backfield touches almost evenly -- to the continued dismay of Spiller owners.
Key Injuries: None
Fantasy Tips: Green-Ellis has carried the ball 37 times in the last two weeks. The Bengals obviously want him involved in the offense, but he is a touchdown-dependent flex option at best.
The outing from Jones was his best of the season. He has not caught more than three passes in a game and has scored just twice all season, so Jones is not waiver-wire material. Sanu offers only desperation bye-week replacement.
I'm very skeptical of Lewis and the Bills offense. What was a good Cincinnati defense had a letdown following a hard-fought Week 5 win over the Patriots, and nobody had any Lewis game film. Graham has flyer value only if Johnson is out of the lineup again next week.
Waiver Wire Prospects: None
DETROIT LIONS
31
(4-2)
CLEVELAND BROWNS
17
(4-1)
Final
Fantasy Focus -- Detroit Lions: Calvin Johnson (3-25-0 on eight targets) played limited snaps and didn't put a dent in the stat sheet, but his presence opened up an offense that sputtered last week without him. "Megatron" was quiet in his return from a knee injury, because, as expected, cornerback Joe Haden shadowed him most of the game. Johnson looked rusty and did drop a likely touchdown pass.
Matthew Stafford (248 passing yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs, sacked once) tossed all four of his scoring strikes in the second half to lead the Lions to a come-from-behind triumph. Backup tight end Joseph Fauria (3-34-3 on three targets) hauled in three of Stafford's four touchdown passes. Kris Durham (8-83-0 on 13 targets) topped Detroit in catches and receiving yards. Brandon Pettigrew (4-36-0 on four looks) was limited to blocking duties most of the afternoon.
Reggie Bush (17-78-0 rushing and 5-57-1 receiving) hit pay dirt for only the third time this season. Joique Bell (7-25-0 rushing and 1-8-0 receiving) left the game with a rib injury, leaving Bush to serve as the clear featured runner.
Fantasy Focus -- Cleveland Browns: Brandon Weeden (292 passing yards, 2 TDs, 2 INTs, sacked twice, 2-10-0 rushing) amassed a nice stat line,...
In The Spotlight - Week 6 In Review fantasysharks.comMon 10/14/13 9:00 AM