Week 6 Previews

The Master improves record to above .500 with a 5-2 record (15-13 overall) in week 5.  Polk High and TigerMountain are looking to be the teams to beat.  The rest of the league (well except one team maybe) are all still in the mix, some more so than other.  This is probably not the time to stay still as a mountain unless you are one of the top teams.  Swift as a wind, here we go (oh and pretty ladies).

(1)  Polk High Panthers (5-0) vs (t-8) Phat Girlz (2-3)

The Girlz face a partner/spouse franchise of BFF for the second consecutive week in top-ranked PHP.  Both teams have some bye-week related holes to fill.  How well each team patches things up will determine the outcome.

The Panthers are running straight toward fattening Millie's college fund, and Ann Gregory must be nodding in approval in HOTlanta.  In their week 5 rout of the Goslings the Bundys adjusted well to the last-minuet Megatron scratch.  This week 6 is the challenging week with the Falcons facing a bye, deeming Ryan-Gonz connection unavailable.  Last week saw major contribution from non-HOTlanta players emerge, so the hole is maybe not as wide or deep as it seems.  Still Reuben Randle, F-Jax, and Ben G-E, all week 5 double-digit contributors, are not as reliable as the HOTlanta pair, and AJ's lack of productivity in the past weeks is a bit of a concern.  Bundy likes to have Megatron back and some ingenious waiver-wire pickup to avoid spoilers.

Conspiracy theory aside, Monique and the girlz got bitch-slapped by Colonel Mustard in a winnable game.  There were disappointments everywhere in the loss.  If Stafford can get Megatron back, he will bounce back.  So will Sproles, but now David Wilson has an injury concern and Lamar Miller is on a bye.  D-Bowe seems a prime candidate for the bust of the season.  Monique faces tough decisions.  With Alex Smith possibly starting for the Panthers in a fill-in mode, should she play D-Bowe in counter-titration?  Looks like she has to.  Denver defense playing against Jacksonville looks like a matter-of-fact replacement for the egg-laying Houston D and easiest decision to make in this otherwise question filled week. 

-PG even (tough one)

(2) BldgDW3LL1NGTh1nk1ng (3-2) vs (11) Trichotillomaniacs (2-3)

Both teams are coming off their biggest scoring output of the season in week 5 and have upward momentum.  The QB-WR double titration battle will be the key determining factor. 

The Chico Bandits beat the bankerz in the thrilling Dallas shoot out thanks to Romo and Dez hotness.  Ray Rice couldn't get much distance going but scored two TD in a clear sign of relief to the boyz.  New IDP pickup Daryl Washington's pick-6 was a bonus, and when the role players all contribute in respectful way, the result is the season's highest scoring total.  As is the case in New Orleans/TTM, this team relies on Romo not making mistakes and hooking up with Dez; unlike with Brees, Romo can easily fall apart on any given week.  This is probably not such week however, with Dallas facing the woeful Washington defense.  Amendola is probably ripe for picking soon as well, so the upside is there and the philosophers keep the flow of titration at the role player levels.

The Trix look to use the Lyfestyle treatment of week 5 as a stepping stone to climb up the rankings.  Orange Julius is securing his place among the elite tight ends of the league and provides the hair-pullers with upside beyond this season.  Vick was injured as anticipated for several weeks now, so back to Kap time.  It's looking like his week 1 performance was more a fluke than unveiling of a budding NFC star, and the Niners are running the ball with Gore more.  Arizona defense held Cam out of the endzone, so the matchup this week is tough for Kap and 49ers are still lacking receiver options.  As is the case with the Niners, the Trix heavy reliance on running game is starting to pay off.  Frank Gore is undestructive (knock on woods).  Even MJD got some production, and while the New England backfield situation isn't much of a help, the one in Oakland is mostly out of the General’s hands with Run-DMC traded to the bankerz.  In comes traitor Marshall at wide receiver, which made this team’s offense balanced and essentially better.  The General once again demonstrated his smooth move in the waiver wire in picking up new St. Louis starter Zac Stacey in week 5 before he was a popular Bleacher Report candidate, so the backfield depth is still there. 

-BDT -2.5

(3) ThePelicanBrief (3-2) vs (14) Pr1m0rdi4lLyfestylez (0-5)

The Pelicans look to join the upper echelon of the league with help from the bottom-ranked Lyfestylez.  The dawgz look to avoid staying winless. 

The Legal Thrillers put up over 128 pts despite Tom Brady being held to less than 5 pts.  The receivers Cobb, Welker, Nicks, and V. Davis all scored in double digits, and even CJ?K popped one 40+ reception and one touchdown to keep the mirage going.  The running game is fairly punchless, especially with CJ?K facing the stout Seattle defense in a cannibalistic matchup, but as long as the receivers pull up their share (and no reason to suspect otherwise for Welker and Cobb) the Grishamites shouldn't have any problem, especially against the Lyfestylez in under-speed-limit cruise control mode. 

The Primodial Ones are drifting in and out of the unconsciousness world and left a RB in a bye in the lineup in week 5.  With Schaub scoring in the negative with three other goose eggs in the lineup, they were the victim of the Toyota biggest blowout in the hands of the Trix.  At least no one is on a bye for the auto-control Stylez, so maybe they can pull it off for the season's first win.

-PB -8

(4) TakingTigerMountain (4-1) vs (7) Dijonnaise All-Starz

This is another QB-receiver double titration match, with Brees and Graham squaring off agaist A-Rodg and GB Jones.  The winner of this match will put themselves in a control seat as the season approaches midpoint.

Brees and Graham didn't hook up for a TD, and the Mountain Men lost.  TTM is hoping the trend won't continue.  Ahmad Bradshaw's season is over, RB Mathews finally gives a reason to be benched with his concussion, and it's Pierre Thomas's turn.  He probably will struggle to repeat his week 5 performance against the NE defense, and unless Bernard Pierce can vulture a TD (or two) in Baltimore and Spiller can avoid being vultured, the running game can't provide much upside.  Antonio Brown returns from a bye, but it's (former) teammate Mike Wallace's turn to rest and Speedy Johnson is limping.  Terrance Williams or Miles Austin can burn Washington secondary in a fill-in mode.

The Yellow Seedlings came out on top a bitterly fought rival match over the Phat Girlz.  They had the lowest winning score in week 5, so Colonel Mustard has no time to rest and contemplate.  A-Rodg and Jones picked up where they left off before their bye, and Arian Foster finally got the bulk of carries in Houston.  The rest of the team is filled with questions.  Fitz and Cruz are underperforming with their respective offenses.  Tight end is still lacking, and Colonel desperately needs a RB that can at least score in the positive consistently.  Against an annual playoff contender in TTM, the Expansion Yellows have a tough battle ahead this week.

-TTM -6.5

(5) GrossmanSachs (2-3) vs (13) SanFranciscoFerries (1-4)

No one from these two teams thought they'd be having losing records in week 6 of this now not-so-young season.  The bankerz and the Ferries are one and two in the points scored against column.  In a realm of another set of schedule g0dz, this match could have been a battle for the top spot of the rankingz.  In this current realm, this match is a must-win for the two franchises that are thirsty for wins. 

Fantasy football is 50% about your opponent, and the commissioner can attest to that better than anyone else this season.  The bankerz lead the league in both points scored for and points scored against by a significant margin, and they have a 2-3 record.  You can't do anything about the way your opponents play other than bang your head on a brick wall, and at least the commissioner's troops are putting up their share of numbers.  Peyton is finding the endzones more than several times every week in a record-setting pace.  The bankerz don't lack receivers of fortune either, even after trading away frustrating/frustrated Marshall to finally stop worrying about whom Jay Cutler will throw to.  Gordon, Jeffery, Jennings, Edelman, Blackmon, Gates, and Witten are all legitimate fantasy starters, and they still have Percy Harvin on PUP.  The backfield with AP and Gio is the current and future of NFL.  Don’t know if DMC can start rocking it soon in Oakland, but what the bankerz need here to avoid an upset is, maybe, just a little bit of luck.

The boatpeople pulled off the major upset of the week in beating the then-undefeated TTM, but it wasn't a real surprise even with Alfred Morris on a bye.  Torrey Smith is a real WR1, and Knowshown Moreno is the clear backfield beneficially of Mile High Feast, rock scissors or paper.  Bush, Morris, and Lacy are all capable runners out of the backfield.  Ted Ginn Jr keeps connecting with struggling Cam Newton.  The stage is set for Gronk to make a long-awaited 2013 debut.  At some point, he will have to play to get the contract he wants, right?  The Ferries are banking on him.

-GS -8

(6) Tusken Raiders (3-2) vs (12) the Goslings (2-3)

Generally a man of few words, Sun Tzu still doesn’t usually lack things to say when it is time to speak.  Every once in a while, he will remain silent to prove a point.  This is such match.  It’s not that there’s nothing to say, just so you know.  Ok, I’ll mention injuries, both teams are losing stars to the infirmary for the rest of the season.  The key to winning is, filling these voids obviously.  Hew.

The Sand People knocked off struggling HSNB and the upswing is there.  But the buzz around the league is that this upswing is unsustainable now.  We are finding out Julio is out for the year, and Raiders are hoping HOTlanta cool down is not contagious to Planet Tatooine.  They have a big hole to fill and lack the piece to do so.  Jamal Charles and D-Jax have been pretty consistent, but Jordan Cameron finally came out of the hyper-space-warp mode and was fairly average in week 5.  DeAndre Hopkins is the wild-card, but Gary Kubiak’s offense is likely to rely heavily on Foster and Tate with Schaub facing public execution in Houston so the upside for Hopkins is limited.  Now, can we really expect much more than a freakish catch-n-flip from Jerome Simpson?  The master doesn’t think so, but, keeping with the theme, hey, you never know.

The Goslings just didn’t have much pop against the Hot-town Top-Ranking.  At least the injury in the birdland is on IDP Clay Matthews, so the hole here is not as big or deep. Outside of Shady McCoy, their roster is full of average roster-fillers at the moment.  Andrew Luck still looks like one-more-playoff experience away from joining the elites of NFL, so Luck-Wayne train is just not as fearsome as some others in the league.  Le’Veon Bell is quite possibly the … em … Jerome Bettis of the next-generation Steelers RB, but he can’t not be a rookie just like that.  The birds just hope the growing pains aren’t going to be as severe, with stout Jets and Ravens D coming up. 

- Goslings even

(t-8) HomeSpunNeckBloodz (3-2) vs (10) AEthernauts (2-3)

Both teams are coming off disappointing losses against tough opponents and are in a major rebound mode.  Too bad two teams can’t win a match.

The Spinsters aren’t exactly in a hyper-centrifugal state right now.  The downward movement for the birthday boy started when Cutler was benched.  Probably he’s glad the Hoyer mess was quickly cleaned up, and it’s back to Cutler’s insulin injection time.  Ok, as an aspiring medical professional, I shouldn’t make fun of the sick and injured.  With Cutler’s target Martellus Bennett in the opposing lineup, HSNB needs receivers Andre Johnson and V-Jax to come through this week.  Otherwise, with Matt Forte being the only explosive option out of the backfield, the Spinnerz offensive struggle may linger on. 

The Nauts have been fairly consistent with offensive pieces complementing each other.  They just hope that everyone will have good games instead of one here and another there like it’s been the case.  The backfield is looking pretty decent with DeMarco and LynchMob plus welcomed surprise of Jacquizz Rodgers (on a bye this week and then S-Jax is returning).  Nevertheless Cam Newton is the engine of the team, and he and Steve Smith failed to pick off where they left off before their bye.  Cam just is either too restrained or too timid to find anything but the DBs hands with the ball.  The space travelers better teach this young kid that the world is not that scary a place.  Let’s start with Minnesota defense, they are pretty vulnerable.  This team ascends and descends with Cam. 

-Nauts -3.5