Week 6 Preview

      Week Six in the NFL is the winding down of the early season thoughts. We have an opinion on most teams now that are going to be hard to change now. So after this week it might be time to think about 2013 if your team is 1-5 or the dreaded 0-6 (we are looking at you Cleveland). It also is a time to get some confidence in your team, so long as they aren't planning a nuclear meltdown.

Thursday Night Review: Sorry Tennessee, but this is more about Pittsburgh. The Steelers have been sort of fading the last couple years; but we always sort of scoffed it of because, well, they are the STEELERS. This year seems very different however. Pittsburgh is an average team on offense this year, ranking 16th in points and 17th in yards. It isn't even the usual suspect in the offensive line, as the Steelers are tied for 18th in sacks allowed. The one not really average thing on offense is that they are number one on 3rd down, converting 52% of the time. Not really a big issue though. The issue is the typically highly touted defense has just stopped being that good. They are 16th in sacks, 19th in points allowed, and are only have forced 6 turnovers. It is just average, and don't be surprised if the 2012 Steelers are just average.

Game of the Week: Giants and 49ers gets the nod for the most intriguing game this week. Anytime you rematch the NFC championship game it is going to be highly anticipated. Throw in the fact it went into overtime last year, and the Kyle Williams redemption story, and it is hard to imagine this game won't be good. It is seeming like everyone is on the 49ers as the best NFC team, which is all too perfect for the "us against the world" Giants. Everyone feels like the 49ers are going to win, which is all too perfect for the "us against the world" Giants. There was an article on ESPN earlier this week about how the Giants feel disrespected, and no one really reconsidered if they have overlooked them. WHICH IS ALL TOO PERFECT FOR THE "US AGAINST THE WORLD" GIANTS. They are going to win this, get an article about how they are still one of the best, and then proceed to lose next week. 17-10

Upset of the Week: I was thinking last week after the first time writing this about picking against Cleveland every week. Feeling like they may only win 4 games, I would probably be best served picking against them every week and accepting the 4 losses. Then, this week felt like there were a lot of either good games or easy picks. So guess what? CLEVELAND PICK! Joe Haden is back so hopefully he covers A.J. much better than the Browns covered Victor Cruz last week. Also, as stated last week here, Cincinnati isn't all that great. So coming back to 3-3 is not that crazy for them. Add in a good day for Trent Richardson, and I think Cleveland gets rid of the doughnut. 31-24 Cleveland. More likely though, I am taking a loss for betting on any Cleveland sports team to win.

Almost Game of the Week: The number one offense, versus the number one defense. The Patriots against the Seahawks is going to be a lot of fun on one side of the ball. Problem is we are also going to have to see the Seahawks offense (opposite of fun), take on an improved (but not great) Patriots defense. This is going to be close for the first half, but Tom Brady is going to wear the Seahawks defense down. Also, I am really never sure if the Seahawks are going to be able to move the football forward. 24-6 Patriots, but it will be so much closer than the score.

Chalk These Up: Atlanta can't go 16-0, but they can go 6-0 since they are playing the Raiders. 34-17. Miami pulled off the good karma upset last week. I don't think they can keep the good feeling going against the improved Rams. 20-7 St. Louis. I see a Tony Romo bounce back coming, just not against the Ravens. 21-13. The Cardinals are really not a 5-1 team, but they got an ice cold Buffalo Bills at home. There is no circling the wagons this week, 10-3 Cardinals.

Rest of the League: Indianapolis goes to New York to take on the Jets. Andrew Luck is looking solid in his 4th year in the league while rookie Mark Sanchez is struggling. Wait... Luck is the rookie and Sanchez is in his 4th season? 24-10 Colts. Detroit is not this bad, and unfortunately the Eagles are going to see them on the wrong week. Lions take this one in order to avoid going 1-4, 38-31. Both the Chiefs and the Buccaneers  have looked, well just plain awful. The Chiefs have been THE WORST team at holding on to the football, but they have been so bad that I think they have to come back to the pack a little. They take care of the ball this week, and win 27-16. Vikings and Redskins is definitely going to be the most underrated game this week. The Vikings are still very under the radar and still very dangerous. As for the Redskins it does not get much more fun than Robert Griffin's squad. 24-23, Vikings are sneakingly 5-1. Sunday Night Football is filled with story lines this week, and is going to be filled with great football. Texans will leave the Falcons in the ranks of the unbeaten, but just because the Pack needs it more. 34-31 Green Bay. Last game of the week, the old noodle arm that could Peyton Manning goes up against the Chargers. As Matthew Berry pointed out, the Chargers are 31st in yards per pass attempt. Couple that with the fact that Phillip Rivers is also on pace for a great decrease in pass attempts. It looks like nervous Norv Turner just doesn't trust his quarterback anymore. Peyton's arm looks rejuvenated and the Chargers get hit with the wet noodle. 30-21 Broncos.

Last Week's Record (10-3)

Week 6 Fantsy Waiver Wire

      Week 6's Fantasy Waiver Wire was looking to be pretty boring, and then a couple backs got hurt. Now we are looking at a very intriguing grab for some guys who could potentially be lead backs for their teams. What makes it even more cloudy though is the fact that there seems to be a little bit of a competition for both the open spots. There are two upstarts that can will more than likely be thrown into the starting role this week, adding instant value to your fantasy team. Beware though, as their are some experienced reserves that will get healthy. Once these guys come back, they are going to be equally hungry to fill the void. So if the less experience player falters early, they might be quickly replaced. So with that here are some guys you should look to pick up, if you have space on your bench of course.

Alex Green and James Starks: Cedric Benson is out for 8 weeks because of a Lisfranc foot injury. This opens the way for Alex Green (0.8 percent owned) and James Starks (5.9 percent owned) to pick up the usual 40-80 yards, and possibly a touch down, Packers starting running backs seem to get. So which way do you go here? No one likes being that guy who picks up the one injury fill in just to lose their job. In my opinion I would go with James Starks here, he may be hurt at the moment, but once healthy he has a better grasp of the job and the NFL. Alex Green is definitely the more talented back in this situation, but he is very raw and it seems Mike McCarthy seems to agree. According to ESPN.com "McCarthy hinted towards Starks because of Starks' pass-blocking knowledge." Starks may not be the best running back out of the two for Week 6, but I believe further down the road (maybe even as early as Week 7) Starks will win this job. Don't forget that Starks was the guy who ran for 123 yards, breaking a Packers rookie record, during the Packers Super Bowl Run.

LaRod Stephens-Howling and William Powell: This is the running back situation for the more desperate fantasy teams out there. The Cardinals' offensive line is absolutely putrid, so don't go dropping a solid contributor for either of these two. As for the actual running backs, this situation between the experienced one (Stephens-Howling) and the younger gun (Powell). Stephens-Howling is definitely the one with the immediate value, he expects to start this week. The thing is that Stephens-Howling is so much more fit for a change of pace, being only 185 pounds. This is smelling like either a timeshare, or the Cardinals are going to pick up somebody else new to be the back. Unfortunately, this Cardinals line is so bad at stopping anybody from getting to the ball carrier that you should probably wait a week to grab anyone in Arizona. Just ask Beanie Wells or Ryan Williams owners.

Jahvid Best: My pro-tip last week is starting to get some buzz around him, even though he is not playing Week 6. He is not cleared just yet to play for Week 7, but after reading about how Best looked during training camp, I personally can't imagine him not playing against Chicago. Best is a former 1st round pick, a guy who (when healthy) carved up the Bears on Monday Night Football. The Lions NEED him to inject some buzz in this offense, as both a running back and a pass catcher. This can be a time share in the beginning with Leshoure, but Leshoure against the Vikings seemed really slow. Even if Best is getting around 12 carries and 7 targets a week, his speed will make up for the lack of immediate touches (even though 19 wouldn't be a small number).

Devery Henderson: Sure, this guy has been inconsistent for most of his fantasy football life. The thing is that the weapons around Henderson have been dwindling slowly. Meachem is in San Diego, Graham and Moore are both hurt. Henderson went from just a deep threat, to now probably being either the number 2 or 3 option in the Saints passing attack. Match that with this guys speed, and some other teams bye weeks, this could ignite like a wildfire. Now Moore could come back next week (this week is their bye), and Devery could go back to being the inconsistent deep threat. It is always frustrating to have that gets 24 on your bench who you are never comfortable to play. If Moore is out though, and you need a guy to play, this guy isn't not a bad choice.

Kendall Wright: In PPR, this guy should of been on your roster weeks ago. In other formats though Wright, who was looked at only as a short term value, Wright is still holding onto being a decent option. Kenny Britt still looks like a ticking time bomb ready to explode with points. If he can't go this week though Wright could be an interesting player Thursday night.

Brandon Gibson: Really interesting guy who is still a little bit low key, we have seen what Amendola has done being the Rams' number 1 receiver. Brandon Gibson was a bit of a sleeper to start the year, and then Amendola was a revolution in the first 4 weeks. Amendola is out though, maybe for the whole year, so Gibson is the top target now. Immediate value may not be there, but I find the upside very intriguing. 

Stretch Finds:

Last week we did some trade values, and they are very similar this week, so now we are looking at some stretch finds.

Shane Vereen: Could replace Woodhead in the pass game, and could get some rushes since Ridley may have ball security issues here. Question is Brandon Bolden may keep Vereen off the field now.

Kendall Hunter: He is securely at the number 2 spot for now, Gore could tire out or get hurt though. Hunter may shine in those pesky fantasy playoffs.

Really Any Cleveland Receiver: Some people are trying to talk themselves into Massoquoi, Norwood, or Gordon. Personally, I think it is too big of a mess and you should avoid it. There is a chance to get lucky and pick the right one, but can you really talk yourself into that guy?

T.Y. Hilton and Donnie Avery: Donnie Avery was a hot pick up a couple of weeks ago, but his value is come down. To me, he is better than Hilton but either one of these guys could be good.

Davone Bess: More defensive attention to Brian Hartline, makes Bess at the very least interesting.