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You might think that starting off the week with the top scoring running back would pretty much guarantee a win. I somehow watched my Devonta Freeman led franchise give away a big lead through a bunch of duds on my side and some surprises for him, including Lamar Miller and Blake Bortles. It doesn't feel good to get beat by Lamar Miller and Blake Bortles. But, it was a crazy week with 3rd string QBs lighting up good defenses (Landry Jones), fake punt calls, and a Bears game so rife with bad calls, only Lions fans and owners of Matthew Stafford, Golden Tate, and Calvin Johnson could appreciate. Let's hear if you survived week 6 or were helped out by some of this wackiness.
QUARTERBACKS
- Philip Rivers is really good. 500 yards against the Packers defense is a fantastic result. Rivers is steadily improving this year and while he isn't going to put up 500 every week, this is a team that needs to throw as Melvin Gordon and the running game has failed spectacularly. I love Rivers' schedule the rest of the way minus the week 13 match with Denver. He gets Oakland twice, Kansas City twice, Chicago, Jacksonville, Baltimore, and Miami. All of those teams can be had in the passing game. I have a league with Aaron Rodgers and Rivers and I'm seriously considering moving Rodgers to improve the team overall.
- That Colts / Patriots game was crazy for a lot of reasons, but Andrew Luck did not disappoint coming off injury, throwing for 312 yards and 3 scores, chipping in another 35 on the ground. This is a team built around Luck, they play their home games in a dome, and the schedule is pretty friendly outside of a week 9 date with Denver. He's going to be fine.
- I started Colin Kaepernick in a two quarterback league this week on a bit of a whim against the Ravens. I don't really like Kaepernick as a fantasy QB but he delivered a usable line with 340 yards and 2 scores. This is a boom or bust play - buyer beware.
- Teddy Bridgewater has a slightly higher ownership percentage than Jay Cutler on Yahoo! fantasy leagues (43% vs. 36%). Truly, I don't understand why you'd roster a guy who has a low ceiling and low floor over a guy with a high ceiling but to each their own. He currently owns a 3:4 TD:INT ratio (Cutler is 7:4). I wouldn't trust Teddy Two Gloves with my fake franchise and I'd be thrilled if I saw him on my opponents starting lineup.
RUNNING BACKS
- Let's talk a little more about friend of the column, Devonta Freeman. Freeman once again paced the field with 100 yards rushing, 56 yards receiving, and two total scores. He did his damage on only 13 carries as the Falcons insisted on reincorporating Tevin Coleman into the offense. I have Freeman in a keeper league and I'm quite frankly shocked at this production. I have a feeling Freeman is going to be on a lot of championship rosters this year. What would it take for any of you Freeman owners to part with him in a trade?
- We spotlighted Chris Ivory and his matchup against the stout Washington defense. This is a guy I've never had on any of my fake squads and I've been so skeptical of this year. No more - I'm a believer. 20 carries and 146 yards plus a trip to the end zone, I'm all in on Chris Ivory.
- LeSean McCoy showed some signs of life in his first game back from injury, picking up 90 yards and a score. The trading window for McCoy will slam shut after he plays the Jaguars this weekend so now is the time to try and snatch him away.
- The Seahawks sure look like they're a mess and Marshawn Lynch had a pretty disappointing day at home. Beast Mode is a personal favorite to watch in real life, but I simply have no confidence he will return your draft day investment this year. When you skimp on the offensive line, don't expect your running back to dominate. More 54 yard days could be in the making. I'd think hard about moving him if you can.
WIDE RECEIVERS
- Martavis Bryant lit up the Cardinals in the Steelers surprising win with 137 yards and 2 scores. Those of you who stashed and were brave enough to shove into the lineup this week were rewarded. Hat tip to all of you. On the other side of that game, John Brown went for 196 on 10 grabs. There really isn't a lot of consistency in that receiving tree. John Brown probably has the highest ceiling whereas Larry Fitzgerald has the highest floor. Michael Floyd is dead to me so we will speak no more of him.
- I don't know what's wrong with Randall Cobb, but if you believe in him going forward, put together a trade offer now. The Packers are on bye this week and he's done nothing to create confidence in his owner. If it's just an injury issue that will improve after the bye, this is the best and possibly only time to get him on your squad.
- Steve Smith Sr. ended up playing, missing only one game with that back injury, and putting up great numbers - 137 and 1. Of course, the injury reports forced me to keep him on the bench, where I lost by 1 point for my first loss of the year in that league. Still, great to have him back.
- Stefon Diggs followed up a solid game against Denver two weeks ago with a big game - 7 catches for 129. Diggs will be a popular waiver wire add this week so you'll need to ask yourself - do you really want to take a chance on a Teddy Bridgewater target?
TIGHT ENDS
- Our old friend Greg Olsen paced the field for tight ends this week with 131 yards and a score. Of course, I left him on the bench in favor of Antonio Gates because, well, I'm an idiot. Never bench Greg Olsen.
- Jimmy Graham finally had a game, grabbing 8 of 12 targets for 140 yards. If you drafted him, you're almost certainly stuck with him so any signs of life are great. If you happened to have grabbed Antonio Gates, I'd see if you can move Graham for something useful if his name still counts for anything in your league.
- Benjamin Watson had a career night with 10 catches for 127 and a score. If you somehow saw that coming, by all means, victory lap in the comments. Going forward, I wouldn't advise starting the 34 year old as more than an absolute flyer.
BEARS TRACKS
- Matt Forte - Well...that was disappointing. The Lions were giving up the 9th most fantasy points to opposing RBs. If you would've told me that Forte got 24 carries and we'd put up 34 points, I would've assumed he went for 150+ yards. 69 yards is a major disappointment but he didn't have a lot of running room and had a couple nice runs called back. He even had a 4 yard carry wiped away because of a 5 yard offside penalty. Forte did put up 16 points, but this should've been a monster game. Following the bye week, there will be a good number of tough run defenses (Vikings, Rams, Broncos, Washington).
- Martellus Bennett - 6 catches on 11 targets for 59 yards. You can get excited about Marty, but I'm not a fan of him as your fantasy tight end. I'm having enough trouble getting excited about him as our real life tight end. You'd like him to do more with 11 targets and the drops are adding up.
- Jay Cutler - 26 of 41 for 353, 1 TD, 1 INT. When the Bears figure out what they're doing in the red zone, Cutler is going to be a good play in fantasy. Until then, you can't trust him as more than a backup or your #2 QB in two QB leagues. I can live with 1 INT a game. I can't stand it when that pick is in the end zone to Alshon.
- Alshon Jeffery - Welcome back! Alshon grabbed 8 of 11 for 147 and a score. He also drew a pass interference penalty and was targeted on the Jay Cutler INT in the end zone. We were very close to a fantastic game for Alshon and I imagine that he'll have to be on his best game in the coming weeks. If you held onto Alshon and didn't trade him, don't move him now as he's a set it and forget it WR1.
Let's hear your thoughts in the comments. Anyone helped out by those terrible calls in the Bears game?