NFL Week 6 Fantasy Recap

by Stephen Keech (SBK) Last Updated 2013-10-16 00:35:55

What Worked

• Unconventional quarterback plays. Take a glance at the top 10 quarterbacks (list at bottom of article) for the week and you will find a list Nostradamus couldn’t predict. Cam Newton had the best day at the QB position, which wasn’t all that surprising, especially on the turf in Minnesota against a bad defense. After him, it gets ugly. Foles and Dalton were No. 2 and 3, followed by Stafford (who many thought would struggle against a good CLE defense). Joe Flacco, Mike Glennon, Brandon Weeden and Carson Palmer were also on the list. Aaron Rodgers was one of maybe three names that we thought would be in the top ten coming into the week that actually ended up there.
• Other than Vernon Davis, punting the TE position. Davis went off for 8-180-2 and led all players in points scored for this week (coming into Monday Night). The other high-end TE’s, like Jimmy Graham, Julius Thomas, Jordan Cameron and Jason Witten did not make value yesterday. Joseph Fauria was targeted three times yesterday and just happened to turn each of those into touchdowns. Kyle Rudolph went for 9-97-1, while Dallas Clark and Timothy Wright also posted very respectable lines.
• The running game of Denver and New England. If you played Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, it was definitely hard to see Knowshon Moreno and Stevan Ridley steal the red zone touchdowns. Both of these quarterbacks could have had huge days if not for an effective running game. Stevan Ridley was one of the most pleasant surprises of the day, running for 96 yards and two touchdowns. He ran with authority and looked good against a Saints defense that had been impressive the past few weeks. Moreno didn’t get much between the 20’s but looked great in the red zone, coming away with 3 TD’s and also making an impact in the passing game.
• High priced receivers with below-average quarterbacks. Vincent Jackson price had been on the decline coming into Week 6, but he should see a bump in salary after putting up a 9-114-2 line with Mike Glennon at the helm on Sunday. Brandon Marshall and Jay Cutler benefited from a porous Giants defense, hooking up for nine receptions and two touchdowns. Justin Blackmon was targeted a whopping twenty times (catching 14 of them for 190 yards) while Cecil Shorts left with an injury. Desean Jackson had a great start to the season but had tailed off with the rest of the Eagles (minus Shady), but re-emerged by catching six passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns. A.J. Green, Larry Fitzgerald, and Josh Gordon also produced successful fantasy games.
• Spending on running backs. Looking at the major qualifiers, most of the top-ten’s had some combination of Jamaal Charles, Arian Foster, Knowshon Moreno, Marshawn Lynch and LeSean McCoy. Reggie Bush and Alfred Morris also put up good games. Unless you struck gold with Stevan Ridley or Brandon Jacobs, paying top dollar for RB’s was a good strategy this week.

What Disappointed Us

• The Cowboys. DeMarco Murray looks great during the first few drives, scores a touchdown, and then leaves with an injury before halftime and doesn’t return. Murray is always an injury risk but this was a tough blow. Dez Bryant, who was supposed to torch one of the leagues worst secondaries, had just five catches for 36 yards. Miles Austin didn’t catch a pass, and Tony Romo failed to crack the top ten QB’s this week. Last but not least, Jason Witten stunk up the joint with just three catches for 27 yards. This one’s a bit personal, but I played Miles Austin in quite a few lineups (where he was dirt cheap) and got absolutely zero production out of him.
• Adrian Peterson and Calvin Johnson. Peterson certainly deserves a pass with the death of his son lingering over him, but for those of us who thought he’d have a career day running angrier then ever, it didn’t happen. Megatron was a game-time call but decided to give it a go, and his price had dropped severely on a few sites (mainly Draftstreet), making him an intriguing option for some. Joe Haden and a nagging injury kept him from having a big day, which isn’t too surprising considering Haden’s success against other #1 wideouts. A price-drop for both of these guys will make them especially appealing in the coming weeks.
• Cecil Shorts and Chad Henne. One look at Blackmon’s day tells you how little Shorts was involved. His injury obviously played into his poor day, but with Chad Henne back under the helm (Shorts led the NFL in targets with Henne in the lineup), it looked like Shorts would rack up plenty of garbage time targets. He didn’t get the chance, and Justin Blackmon stole the show once he got his. Henne was a disappointment as well, throwing two interceptions and no touchdowns.
• The Denver aerial attack. Wes Welker had a nice day, but other than that, this unit did not put up nearly enough points to account for their salaries. Peyton Manning wasn’t a top 10 QB for a week?! How could this have happened? The Broncos put up 35 points, but Knowshon Moreno stole the red-zone touchdowns and forced Peyton to settle for 295 yards and two touchdowns. Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker, and Julius Thomas also underperformed (for their standards, of course). Hopefully this causes a price decrease in a few of these guys.
• Garrett Graham. Everyone couldn’t wait to get the other Graham in their lineup with the news that Owen Daniels would be out awhile, but he put up just two catches for 25 yards. The Houston passing game (and the Texans as a team) was not clicking, and it didn’t get any better after Matt Schaub left the game with an injury (to a booing home crowd). T.J. Yates happened to throw a pick-six of his own, and Graham just could not get anything going against a Rams defense that did a nice job with everyone except Arian Foster.
• Wide Receiver in-game injuries. Of course, these things happen on a regular basis, but there were more than a few notable names to leave games early this week. Randall Cobb, James Jones, Cecil Shorts, Danny Amendola, and I’ll even throw Jimmy Graham in here so I can mention how little Marques Colston stepped up while Graham had Aqib Talib draped all over him. For those who know how well New England takes away the opponents best weapon (by using shadow CB Aqib Talib to drive them nuts, along with a little help from other defenders), Colston was a nice under-the-radar option that did not pan out even with the injury to Graham. I had also thought Torrey Smith left due to injury because of how little he contributed, but no, he just had a terrible game against a not-so-good Packers secondary.
• RGIII to Pierre Garcon. I had this combo in quite a few GPP’s, and that did not work out so well. I was afraid of Brandon Carr shutting down Garcon, but I figured his volume of targets should still make him worthwhile against an otherwise vulnerable Cowboys secondary. Six catches for 69 yards is by no means a bad game, but for what you had to pay to get Garcon, it definitely was not enough. I had also thought RGIII could use the bye week to rest his legs and get his running game going once again, and while he did look much quicker evading the pass rush and less hampered by his knee, it didn’t translate to fantasy points. If you stacked or mini-stacked the Sunday Night game, you were severely disappointed.
• The Ravens and Packers. Save for a long touchdown by Jordy Nelson, the Packers aerial attack could not get it going against the Ravens on Sunday. James Jones left on the Packers second play and Cobb exited before halftime, forcing the run game to contribute more than usual. Eddie Lacy actually racked up 120 yards on 23 carries and looked impressive doing it, but not finding the end-zone puts a huge damper on a running back who isn’t active in the passing game. Rodgers day wasn’t too depressing, but you need more from him. Other than Joe Flacco, the Ravens typical weapons also failed to meet expectations (and didn’t come close). The aforementioned Torrey Smith pulled in just one reception, while Ray Rice racked up just 49 yards on 17 touches. Unless you channeled your inner Nostradamus and played Dallas Clark, success was not found with Baltimore skill-position players.

What Surprised Us

• Joseph Fauria. Among many no-names having big days, Fauria was probably the most surprising. Megatron and Reggie Bush owners were surely disappointed by Fauria’s day. He saw just three targets, all in the red-zone, and turned them all into touchdowns. Stafford has looked his way near the goal line before this year and found success, so he is starting to trust his young TE. I actually liked him in college (he was productive at UCLA last year) and I think the rookie can continue to grow as a player and steal even more work from Brandon Pettigrew in the receiving game from here on out.
• The Rams scoring breakdown. Corey Harkey (who?) and Lance Kendricks caught TD’s from Bradford in the first half, followed by Brian Quick and two defensive touchdowns. Not that the Texans allowing defensive touchdowns is suprising, but this may have been the most unproductive fantasy day for any team considering how many points they scored. Tavon Austin, Jared Cook and Austin Pettis combined for four catches and 60 yards, while Zac Stacy couldn’t find the end-zone despite 18 carries and the team protecting a lead.
• Larry Fitzgerald. After Adam Schefter had reported Fitz was 50/50 to play in this game, I didn’t think he would suit up with the Cardinals playing on Thursday this week. Fitzgerald toughed it out and hauled in a 75-yard touchdown, and finished with 6-117-1 on 12 targets. Considering the 49ers were second against opposing wide-receivers coming into this game, anyone who was still interested in Fitz probably got scared off by his injury.
• Brandon Jacobs. So nowwww the Giants decide to start pounding the rock. Jacobs was very excited to get a start for the Giants after spending a few years as a backup, and he really took advantage. He rushed for 106 yards on 22 carries, finding the end-zone twice. The Giants couldn’t get much else going but Jacobs at least gave them a chance to stay in this one. Anyone who took a chance on him in Thursday night leagues had a huge advantage going into Sunday.
• Wide Receivers in general. As is the case on most Sunday’s, we saw several receivers have big games who no one saw coming. Brandon LaFell, Riley Cooper, Marvin Jones, and even Kenny Stills to a lesser degree put up numbers that not many could predict.
• A few cheap RB’s. Chris Ogbonnaya, Andre Ellington, Mike Tolbert, and Jacobs were amongst the most productive low-salary RB’s. Ellington has been splitting work with Mendenhall, but against the Niners defense, things did not look good for either guy. Ellington still managed to shine with 92 total yards on 12 touches (five catches) and a touchdown. Ogbonnaya was very productive in the receiving game, racking up 61 yards and a TD on seven receptions. Tolbert is a notorious vulture, and stayed true to his reputation by scoring on a one-yard plunge in addition to a 10-yard TD reception.

What to Take Away

• It’s no secret, but targeting the Eagles secondary is a very useful strategy. Vincent Jackson went from having no touchdowns with Josh Freeman to hooking up with Mike Glennon for two scores on Sunday. The Philadelphia defense simply can’t stop receivers, especially guys with bigger frames like V-Jax. The Cowboys travel to Lincoln Financial Field for Week 7, and Dez Bryant will be in every one of my lineups.
• Justin Blackmon is the real deal. He has been somewhat of a question mark during his time in the NFL but we saw exactly what he is capable of when he is treated like a No. 1 target. Of course, any receiver who sees 20 targets should put up a nice game, but Blackmon nonetheless impressed many of us. If you were smart and went with him over Shorts (unlike myself), you reaped the benefits.
• Spending at QB, for the most part, did not work out. Take away Cam Newton and Matthew Stafford, and none of the top nine scorers were priced amongst the top 15 on most sites. Brees, Brady, Rodgers, Romo and RGIII were not worth what you paid for them.
• Knowshon Moreno is even more entrenched as the Broncos No. 1 back. His pass blocking was what first bought him playing time, but the two younger RB’s behind him have pushed Moreno to another level. I’m not convinced he is a ‘different’ player, but playing for an offense as flawless as this one really helps his cause. Ronnie Hillman lost another fumble, and Montee Ball saw just three carries, so there is absolutely no reason not to trust Moreno going forward.
• Jamaal Charles has become the most consistent top-flight RB. You can argue that AP is more talented (and you’d be right), or even that LeSean McCoy is the game’s top RB, but I’ll take Charles. Andy Reid has transformed him into an extremely effective back in all situations, as he has not had fewer than five catches in any game since Week 1 (in addition to his impressive rushing totals). He is not being supplanted by another option at the goal line and is a home-run threat every time he touches the ball. Again, you can’t go wrong with Adrian Peterson, but I like what Charles brings to the table in PPR leagues a bit better.

Top Performers By Position: Week 6

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This Week’s Top Performers: Running Backs – Full Point PPR

This Week’s Top Performers: Wide Receivers – Full Point PPR

This Week’s Top Performers: Tight Ends – Full Point PPR

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