In last week’s article, Cam Newton, Steve Smith Jr, and Brian Quick tried to make me look good while Frank Gore kept proving me and everyone that says he is done, wrong. This week, I’ve got a couple repeat players so let’s see if I can call them right for this upcoming week and as I say before every start and sit article, if you have a decision with a player that isn’t covered in this article, you can tweet me @pacman453323. So with that said, let’s get into the Week 6 Starts and Sits.
Starts: (outside of top 10 players of that position):
QBs
Ben Roethlisberger– Last week Big Ben didn’t have a bad game, but by fantasy football terms, it wasn’t good. I’m going to give hi another chance to make up for it against a Cleveland defense that let Jake Locker run through them before gettig hurt. I expect the same yardage as last week, but with two or three TDs instead of only one.
Eli Manning – Can you believe that Eli Manning has 10 TDs in the last four games? The Giants offense has seemed to come around after looking horrible through the preseason and the 1st game and half. The Eagles defense is living off turnovers, but they are giving up points left and right. I expect Manning to continue that trend in a high scoring Sunday Night Football game.
RBs
Branden Oliver – I talked about Oliver a little bit in my pickups article. Even though he is “supposed” to be a 1-2 week fill in, I think he has a chance to steal the job for good. Donald Brown has not been good and both him and Ryan Mathews seem to be made of glass. Oliver is a bigger Darren Sproles, which is a little scary.
Lamar Miller – This recomendation comes with a little asterisk. Knowshon Moreno was supposed to be out a few more weeks, but all of a sudden, it looks like he may play this week. If Miller can keep his 15-17 touches, he could have a big week, but if not, he could go back into a boom or bust player.
WRs
Pierre Garcon – A lot of people are frustrated with Garcon right now, but how can you really blame him that much. He was covered by arguably the best CB in the game in Richard Sherman. The Cardinals give up the 2nd most points to WRs and we saw las week that people can get behind their defense. Garcon has the speed to do the same.
Golden Tate – The Detroit Lions are considering benching Calvin “Megatron” Johnson due to an ankle injury that just won’t get better while playing. Whether he plays or not, Tate is the best WR, currently, to have on the Lions roster. He’s averaging eight targets and six catches per game and has two straight games with over 115 yards.
TEs
Owen Daniels – Since the injury to Dennis Pitta, Daniels has averaged seven targets for five catches and 57 yards. His role seems to be expanding each week. He can’t create as much separation as he used to with the Texans, but he can still put together a solid game. He has a much higher floor than most TEs.
Sits:
QBs
Cam Newton – I have to admit, it would be a bit of a risk to bench Cam because he’s the type that if he’s on, it doesn’t matter what defense he’s facing. However, I don’t think he’s completely healthy yet and he still has a lack of weapons. Cinncinati is extrmely tough at home and they need to gain some momentum back from the beatdown they took last week.
Ryan Tannehill – Before their bye, Tannehill had a great game, but it was agains the Raiders. The Packers have been a top 10 defense against QBs this year and I just don’t like the offense for Miami when they split time at RB. Wallace will probably score once, but overall, I can see a couple turnovers from Tannehill.
RBs
Doug Martin – The most yards Martin has rushed for this year is only 45 yards. He has not be good the entire year and the Ravens historically have a god defense against the run. That is continuing this year as they are the 5th toughest team in the league against RBs. He may never get back to the elite level he was two years ago.
Arian Foster – Here’s an interesting fact you may not know. Runing backs that play on Thursday Night Football, score about 4% fantasy points lower than their season average. I think it’s mostly because after taking 20-30 hits on Sunday, they only have 3 days to rest before getting back in there. Add that to the fact that Foster isn’t completely healthy right now and in my mind, you bench Foster.
WRs
Sammy Watkins – It seems like the insertion of Kyle Orton helped Watkins, as he received a season high 12 targets to go with seven catches for 87 yards. The problem is he now faces a Patriots team that is not only riding high after being discounted by the media, but they are also the best defense in the league against WRs. They are known for being able to take away opposing offenses #1 option, that’s obviously Watkins right now.
Keenan Allen – This is a bit of a controversial recommendation. Allen normally seems like a “safe start” every week because he not only goes deep, but he plays in the slot and goes across the middle. However, the one thing that Oakland does somewhat well is defense WRs. Now it’s most likely because they are so bad at defending the run that offenses attack that 1st, but stats are stats, and fantasy football is purely about stats, with a little luck.
TEs
Larry Donnell – I made the very unpopular comment to bench Donnell last week and he responded with one target and zero catches. I just feel he’s good, but not THAT good that when defenses key on him that he can still do it. Philly’s defense will likely target him again, which may open it up for others, but bad news for Donnell owners.
Those are your Week 6 Starts and Sits in the NFL. Enjoy the games.
