Heading into Week 6, it took a lot of balls (or desperation) to plug Dwayne Bowe into your lineup. On the season, he was only averaging 2.3 catches for 38 yards and 0.3 TD, but there was a sense that he’d have a chance for a nice game against the Texans, who have been bad against the pass this season. Well, Bowe (6-108-2) did have a nice game, and owners that were ballsy (or desperate) enough to plug him in were well rewarded. Looking at the KC backfield, Thomas Jones (20 touches, 110 yards, TD) and Jamaal Charles (20 touches, 117 yards) split the duties evenly, though Jones got both carries inside the Texans’ five yard line. Meanwhile, it looks like Matt Cassel (201 yards, 3 TD) is coming on after a poor start to the season. He now has six pass TDs in his last three games, and should have had another last week if not for a Bowe drop in the endzone. For the Texans, Andre Johnson (8-138-1) looks fine, and Owen Daniels (5-79) seems to be getting back to his old self. He was the second most targeted (7) Houston receiver. Kevin Walter was shut out. (He wasn’t even targeted.)
It looks like Seattle plans to use Marshawn Lynch (20 touches, 53 yards, TD) quite a bit. Justin Forsett (11 touches, 56 yards, TD) also got a lot of work. I’m starting to see him hit the waiver wire in a few leagues and he’s definitely worth rostering. Mike Williams 1.0 (10-123, 15 targets) was the big winner with Deion Branch gone, but Deon Butler (4-47-1) made the most of his four targets. Johnny Knox (5-120) was the only standout fantasy player for the Bears, who struggled offensively.
Speaking of Deion Branch (9-98-1), Tom Brady (292 yards, TD, 2 INT) certainly made him feel welcome, targeting his new/old receiver 12 times, which was the most of any Patriot player. I think it’s safe to cut Brandon Tate (0-0, 4 targets) whose potential value was torpedoed by the Branch trade. I actually had to start Danny Woodhead (16 touches, 115 yards) in two PPR leagues and was rewarded with a nice day thanks to his five catches. He actually got one more carry (11) than BenJarvus Green-Ellis (10 carries, 20 yards, TD).
I’m a Packer fan, and it was tough to watch Green Bay’s fairly impotent performance against the Dolphins. The Packers said this week that they wanted to get Greg Jennings (6-133-1) involved, and they succeeded. Unfortunately, that was their only success of the afternoon. Davone Bess (5-37-1) scored again for the Dolphins, but Brandon Marshall (10-127) was the big story for Miami in the passing game.
Philip Rivers (249 yards, TD, INT) had a rough game (for him), thanks in part to losing Antonio Gates (2-12) and Malcom Floyd (2-15) to injury. Gates’ foot was in a boot after the game and it reportedly “doesn’t look good.” Floyd injured his hamstring. Patrick Crayton (6-117) was the big beneficiary, especially with Legedu Naanee inactive for the game. Ryan Matthews (15 touches, 76 yards) got the lion’s share of the carries, but Mike Tolbert (3 carries, 3 yards, TD) got both carries inside the Rams’ 5-yard line. So for the time being, it looks like Tolbert is the Bolts’ goal-line back. For the Rams, rookie Danario Alexander (4-72-1) filled in for the out-for-the-season Mark Clayton, while the hype for Danny Amendola (3-19) was unwarranted, at least for this week. Alexander might be worth a flier in deep leagues, but no Rams receiver got more than five targets, and it’s going to be tough for anyone to emerge if Sam Bradford (198 yards, TD) is going to distribute the ball that evenly. I still think Amendola is the St. Louis receiver to own, especially in PPR leagues.
A lot of fantasy ‘experts,’ including yours truly, thought that Hakeem Nicks (3-8) was in store for a big day, but he was a big dud. Eli Manning (177 yards, 2 TD) finished with pretty nice numbers, though I thought he’d end up with more yards. Ahmad Bradshaw had a nice game (21 touches, 143 yards), but Brandon Jacobs (9 carries, 35 yards, 2 TD) vultured two TDs. For the Lions, Calvin Johnson (5-146-1) was iffy to play, but he obviously performed very well. The Lions had trouble running with Jahvid Best (12 carries, 16 yards), but he did have six catches for 31 yards to finish with decent numbers in PPR leagues. Brandon Pettigrew (6-71) continues to play well in PPR formats, as well. The Lions have likely lost Shaun Hill for the season due to a broken arm, though Matt Stafford is due back soon.
We finally got a Drew Brees game (263 yards, 3 TD, INT) from Drew Brees, who hasn’t been his normal stud self early on this season. Unfortunately, we’re still waiting on Marques Colston (5-53), who has 30 catches on the season but no touchdowns. Robert Meachem (4-71-1) seems to be coming on, but be careful not to give up too much as he only got five targets for the game. Chris Ivory (16 touches, 175 yards) did this week what I needed him to do last week, before I cut him. Sigh. Anyway, he’s a nice runner and it looks like he’ll be the main ball carrier going forward in Pierre Thomas‘s absence.
Ben Roethlisberger (257 yards, 3 TD, INT) made a literally triumphant return, finding Mike Wallace (3-90-1), Hines Ward (5-54-1) and Heath Miller (2-50-1) for scores. On the flip side, Peyton Hills (18 touches, 90 yards) had a decent game in PPR leagues, but failed to find the endzone this week. Colt McCoy (281 yards, TD, 2 INT) didn’t look dreadful in a bad, bad situation, so he could be used in good matchups in two-QB leagues going forward. Benjamin Watson (6-88-1) was his favorite target, and the TE delivered. He’s worth an add as well, especially in PPR leagues.
DeSean Jackson (78 total yards, 2 TD) scored twice before being knocked out of the game with a head injury. Jeremy Maclin (7-159-2) picked up the slack and finished with the day’s best fantasy line from a receiver. All of this helped Kevin Kolb to 326 yards passing and three scores against just one interception. Matt Ryan (250 yards, 2 TD, INT) threw both of his TDs to Tony Gonzalez (3-19-2), while Michael Jenkins (5-99) returned to have a pretty big day. Michael Turner (15 carries, 45 yards) was a big disappointment in a very good matchup.
Out in Denver, LaDainian Tomlinson‘s two TDs saved his fantasy day, as the Jets’ RB ran for just 55 yards on 16 carries. Shonn Greene (9 carries, 43 yards) is clear backup now, though he ran the ball better than LT2 did. Braylon Edwards (4-42-1) led the Jets in targets (8), but Jerricho Cotchery (4-18 on 7 targets), Dustin Keller (3-75 on 6 targets) and Santonio Holmes (4-47 on 5 targets) were almost as involved. Not much to write about with regard to the Broncos other than the fact that Knowshon Moreno (12 carries, 48 yards) made his return and was decent against a very good run defense.
Alex Smith (196 yards, 2 TD) is reportedly on a short leash, but you wouldn’t know it from those numbers. Still, he was on pretty thin ice before hitting Michael Crabtree (4-57-1) on a 32-yard TD strike at the end of the third quarter. Crabtree is startable, but with Smith as his QB, you never know what you’re going to get. For the Raiders, Darren McFadden owners should be pleased with Michael Bush‘s lackluster performance (20 carries, 47 yards) in a pretty good matchup with a vulnerable 49er rush defense. I suspect once McFadden is ready to go, he’ll get RB1 touches going forward. We will see. Jason Campbell (83 yards, 2 INT) had a QB rating of 10.7, and will make his way to the bench once Bruce Gradkowski is ready to play. I’d leave Zach Miller (2-48) on the bench as long as Campbell is under center, or at least he can prove that he can find the Raiders’ best receiver on a regular basis.
As expected, the Dallas backfield continues to shift towards Felix Jones (24 touches, 93 yards), though he only averaged 2.3 yards per carry. Marion Barber (13 touches, 46 yards) played second fiddle for the second consecutive week. Miles Austin (2-13) had a very quiet week but had a 68-yard TD pass called back due to offensive pass interference. He was targeted just five times. For the Vikings, Percy Harvin (3-21) had a quiet day in the passing game, but he rushed the ball twice (18 yards) and returned a kickoff for a TD. After a big 2009, Visanthe Shiancoe (0-0) wasn’t even targeted. Given all the depth at the TE position this year, Shiancoe can be cut.
In the night game, Ryan Torain (20 carries, 100 yards, 2 TD) had a good game, which was fairly predictable given the Colts’ struggles stopping the run. Chris Cooley (5-37) left the game with a concussion, which will open the door for Fred Davis (3-23). We won’t know how severe it is until later this week, but Davis was terrific when Cooley was sidelined last season. Joseph Addai (17 carries, 128 yards, TD) also left the game and was reportedly woozy walking to the locker room. If he misses any time, Donald Brown (who didn’t play) figures to be first in line for carries while Mike Hart (11 carries, 43 yards) would back him up. Peyton Manning (307 yards, 2 TD) split his targets almost evenly between Pierre Garcon (4-103-1, 7 targets), Reggie Wayne (6-71, 9 targets), Austin Collie (7-57-1, 9 targets) and Dallas Clark (6-52, 9 targets). No other Indianapolis receiver got more than two targets. This passing game can support four fantasy receivers against the weaker secondaries in the league.
