FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 6
BENCH/START WRAP-UP
October 14, 2003
Our streak of picking second tier QBs to start was broken this week, but we did manage to make some great start calls for other players. Marc Bulger, Derrick Mason, and William Green were some of our better calls while Jay Fiedler and Marty Booker lead our list of disappointments. We blame the Booker call on the Cubs. How you ask? … Join us as we take a look back at our fantasy football week 6 predictions for bench / start and find out.
Nostradamus (a.k.a. psychic)
Start:
Derrick Mason - There are times when we are right and then there are times when we are "scary" with the accuracy of our predictions (yeah, and every now and then we miss a couple too, but we won't worry about that right now). Prior to week 6, Mason didn't have a 100+ yard receiving game and had only scored 1 TD. Week 6 Mason blew all those numbers away with 6 receptions for 177 yards and 3 touchdowns. In leagues where big play bonuses are awarded, two of Mason's scores were over 40 yards. Basically, Mason won more than a couple of games for teams that started him.
Tiki Barber - We're sure that most Barber owners would have liked to have seen him reel in a few of those dropped passes (especially the one that would have been a TD). However, Barber's total yardage and 8 receptions made him a nice start in leagues that award points for receptions.
Marc Bulger - It was Falcons vs. Rams and we told you to buy lots of Bulger stock this week. Bulger didn't disappoint. With easily his best game of the year, he did whatever he wanted to against the helpless Falcons. With over 350 yards passing, 2 passing TDs and one rushing TD (two INTs took a little off the top), Bulger was the star of the game under the bright lights of Monday Night Football.
William Green - With his highest rushing performance of the season and a touchdown to boot, Green made many of his fantasy owners very happy this week. The Raiders are a very bad team right now and should create favorable match-ups for their fantasy opponents for the rest of the season. Let's just say we would hate to be playing against a fantasy team that has Priest Holmes next week when the Chiefs go to Oakland on MNF.
Travis Henry - Even though Henry didn't score, his 7 receptions and total yardage were a nice performance in leagues that award points for receptions. The fact that Henry was able to create something out of this game was amazing. The Bills were dominated by a very sad New York Jets squad. If you own Bills players, keep a close eye on the lack of quality of the offensive line. This situation could spell trouble down the line.
Bench:
Tim Brown - 14 yards receiving and no TD. That pretty much sums up Brown's performance.
Stacey Mack - Whew! 19 total yards! If followed our advice and benched Mack, you were more than pleased.
Ladell Betts - Betts pretty much had no chance against the Bucs.
Muhsin Muhammad - Steve Smith had a great game! Unfortunatley for Muhammad, the team could only find two balls and 10 yards for him.
Farmer's Almanac (a.k.a. not so bad/not so good)
Start:
Lamar Gordon - With nearly 100 yards rushing, Gordon posted a respectable game. If his hand wouldn't have been hurting him during the game, he would have had even more yards (Martz took him out late in the game to save his hand from punishment). Gordon was running very well, but then again, the Falcons have made several RBs look very good this year.
Anthony Thomas - The A-Train is starting to look good - this week he was only a few yards shy of 100. Granted the Bears have been playing some bad teams as of late, but these games might be just the confidence booster that Thomas needed to get back to form. We will find out if Thomas is ready to return to the ranks of the better fantasy running backs this coming week when the Bears travel to Seattle to take on a surprisingly stout Seattle squad.
Bench:
Brian Westbrook - Westbrook's yardage total was sad, but his TD kept us from nailing this prediction.
Rich Gannon - Gannon did manage to avoid turning the ball over and score a TD, but that was about it. His 165 yards weren't enough to warrant a quality start compared to the other QBs. However, it was enough to fill a spot on your roster.
Troy Hambrick - Hambrick found the end zone and found his way out of cellar dwellers.
Rod Gardner - Gardner broke 80 yards and broke our prediction.
Weather Forecast (a.k.a. oops better luck next time)
Start:
Jay Fiedler - Our streak of "I did the QB free-fall and hit bottom" pick of the week stops at 5. Fielder did throw a nice blow on the Williams touchdown run. Other than that, Fiedler was a disappointment.
Marty Booker - This just in… the Bears are very bad. The city of Chicago has used all, and we mean ALL, of its sports luck on the Cubs. (Aside: White Sox fans are trying to find out who in the h*** authorized this allocation of the city's luck.) Granted Booker got hurt and Dez White had a nice game in Booker's place, but that isn't much consolation to the fantasy teams that started Booker this week.
Kevan Barlow - We learned this from the Niners' week 6 game: Hearst is one tough mug and isn't going to let Barlow have a decent game until
both of his legs fall off. By the way, Barlow had a poor outing.
Bench:
No one this week!
