Mulligan’s Fantasy Football Forecast, Week 6
It was kind of a weird Week 5 in the NFL last week. It seemed like every game either came down to the wire or was a blow out. There were two thrilling overtime games out west on Sunday and another heart attack inducing game on Monday night. Teams like Miami and Cincinnati won it in the final seconds while teams like the Giants, Falcons and Seahawks were in the driver’s seat from the coin toss.
For fantasy purposes, only three running backs, Cedric Benson, Jamal Lewis and Ahmad Bradshaw, rushed for over 100 yards in Week 5 and all three of those performances were a bit surprising. Nobody thought Benson could tear up the Ravens run defense, one of the best in the league. And while it’s not surprising that the Raiders gave up 100 yards on the ground to a running back, it is a bit surprising that it was Bradshaw and not Brandon Jacobs who tallied up those yards.
Most people didn’t even expect Jamal Lewis to play very much last week against the Bills and he ended up turning in his best performance of the season. So there were three big fantasy performances by running backs that the majority of fantasy owners were likely unable to cash in on. If you started any of these guys last week, your gutsy move paid off. Congratulations.
But, if you used common sense and kept these guys on your bench last week, well, you missed out. Stupid common sense.
It just goes to show you how unpredictable the NFL can be.
GOOD MATCH UPS
Brian Westbrook vs. Raiders defense: Westbrook had a less than spectacular return from injury last week against the Buccaneers, rushing for just 18 yards though he did score a touchdown. Many people believe Westbrook will again share carries with backup running back LeSean McCoy again this week but it shouldn’t hurt Westbrook as much this time around. The Eagles aren’t likely to throw the ball all over the place like they did against Tampa Bay because the Raiders pass defense is a better one. Not by much, but it is better. Look for Westbrook to be more involved and get some big fantasy points against the Raiders’ 31st ranked rush defense.
Matt Hasselbeck vs. Cardinals defense: As bad as the Tennessee Titans pass defense has been this season, the defending NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals’ pass defense has been even worse. The Cardinals are giving up over 300 passing yards per game, which is absolutely astounding to me. Are they only playing with ten guys on the field or something? Week after week teams are throwing the ball at will against these guys and I have no reason to expect this week to be much different. Look for big games from Hasselbeck, T.J. Houshmandzadeh and Nate Burleson.
NOT SO GOOD MATCH UPS
LaDainian Tomlinson vs. Broncos defense: At some point, the Chargers may need to make the decision to give Tomlinson’s starting job to Darren Sproles. That decision won’t come this week but Tomlinson has not been good this season and will draw another tough match up against the Broncos defense Sunday night. I wouldn’t expect him to be as bad as his seven carry, 15 yard performance against the Steelers, but that’s mostly because I don’t think it gets much worse. Owners of Tomlinson should bench him until he shows some signs of life.
Terrell Owens vs. Jets defense: The Jets defense was torn apart by the Dolphins offense on Monday night and you can bet your lunch money that Jets practices won’t be a happy place this week with Rex Ryan running the show. This doesn’t bode well for our old pal Terrell Owens at all. Expect Owens to see a lot of CB Darrelle Revis with occasional help from Pro Bowl safety Kerry Rhodes, making this Sunday another miserable one for T.O. and his fantasy owners (and Bills fans).
WAIVER WIRE WATCH
Matt Hasselbeck, QB, Seahawks: Any questions about Hasselbeck’s health seem to have been answered with his performance against the Jaguars on Sunday. Hasselbeck threw for 241 yards and four touchdowns and will draw some very favorable match ups in the next few weeks against Arizona, Dallas, Detroit and Arizona again. Now would be a great time to pick him up if he’s available in your league.
Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, Giants: Ahmad Bradshaw is currently sixth in the NFL in rushing yards. Seriously. He’s well ahead of guys like Maurice Jones-Drew, Matt Forte and Michael Turner, guys who fantasy owners used their first round picks on. He may not slow down anytime soon either with games against the Saints and the Cardinals coming up in the next two weeks. He’s still available in many leagues (or at least more leagues than he should be) and if yours is one of those leagues, I would advise picking him up. It can’t hurt to have the NFL’s sixth leading rusher on your team can it?
Jeremy Maclin, WR, Eagles: Tampa Bay focused its attention on DeSean Jackson last week and Jeremy Maclin made them pay for it big time. Maclin caught six passes for 142 yards and two scores against the Bucs last week after having caught just six passes for the entire season coming into the game. Donovan McNabb appears to be more willing to throw the ball Maclin’s way than Kevin Kolb was when he was starting in place of the injured McNabb. In deeper leagues, I would pick up Maclin and see what happens in the next few weeks as this game may be a sign of things to come.
Austin Collie, WR, Colts: A week after grabbing a career high six passes for 65 yards and a touchdown, Collie set new career highs with eight catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns against a miserable Titans defense. The good match ups keep coming for Collie as well as the Colts get the Rams, 49ers and Texans in their next three games. Collie is a good pickup in deep leagues for this stretch, or until Anthony Gonzalez returns.
Nate Burleson, WR, Seahawks: Matt Hasselbeck’s return from injury was good news for Nate Burleson, who roped in six catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns in Hasselbeck’s return. Burleson is actually second among NFL wide receivers in total targets with 49. The Texans’ Andre Johnson leads the league with 52 passes thrown his way so far. If Burleson is available in your league, it would be a good idea to grab him.
Miles Austin, WR, Cowboys: Austin had himself quite a day filling in for the injured Roy Williams last week. With his 10 catches for 250 yards and two touchdowns, albeit against the Chiefs, Austin is likely to see more balls thrown his way even when Williams comes back, making Austin a good pickup for those needing depth at wide receiver.
Teams on bye this week: Dallas, Indianapolis, Miami, San Francisco
Kyle Mulligan is a contributing sports writer for the Observer. He welcomes your feedback and can be reached at kjmulli@gmail.com.