Fantasy Football - Week 6 Hate 'Em/ Love 'Em

Hate Em:

Drew Brees- facing the Giants #1 pass D and Brees hasn't looked so stellar the past couple outings, look for a heavy run game here.

Larry Johnson - at some point they are going to give Jamaal Charles a chance, this may be his week and LJ is on the drop list for all I'm concerned.

DeAngelo Williams - Bucs are one of the worst rush D's, but I look for Jonathon Stewart to get a bigger role this week and steal goaline carries.

Ray Rice and Willis McGahee- Vikings have not given up a rushing td all year so don't expect one here.

Marques Colston - don't expect big numbers out of him this week, will be a good red zone target, but don't expect big yardage.

Vincent Jackson - Denver's D has only given up 2 passing td's all year and I don't like his match up with Champ Bailey.

Chris Cooley - will be used more as a blocker than a pass catcher this week so don't expect the usual week for Cooley.

Love 'Em:

David Garrard- after last week's brutal performance, he will bounce back having Sims- Walker back will help.

Mike Sims-Walker - after missing last game due to a 'late night rendezvous' with a lady friend, expect him to go off against the terrible Rams D.

Pierre Thomas - did you know that Thomas has 12 td's in his last 9 games? against the Giants D you will see a heavy dose of the run game.

Brian Westbrook - Oakland's worst rush D vs a healthy Westbrook only equals a big game.

Knowshon Moreno - the Chargers are giving up 151 rypg, with that saying Moreno's workload has increased each week.

Aaron Rodgers, Greg Jennings, Jermichael Finley and Ryan Grant - love all the Packers this week vs the Lions. Coming off a bye week you will see big numbers from the big 4.

Matt Hasselbeck and Nate Burleson- both went off last week and I expect more of the same this week.

Braylon Edwards- obviously he became new best friends with Mark Sanchez, big numbers the rest of the year I foresee.

Bold, Daring Fantasy Football Predictions for 2009

Fantasy football drafts are coming up and I'm sure some of you have already partaken in a few, here's some bold predictions for the up-coming season.

- Donovan McNabb will finish as a top-5 QB

- Jonathan Stewart will finish with more fantasy points than DeAngelo Williams

- Calvin Johnson will finish with 1500+ yards and 15 scores

- Dwayne Bowe will finish the year as a top-10 WR

- Adrian Peterson will not finish as a top 5 overall fantasy player

- Steve Slaton will finish as a top-5 RB

- David Garrard will be a top-10 fantasy QB again

- Donovan McNabb will not miss a game this season

- Anthony Gonzalez will double his 664 receiving yards from last season

- Donald Brown will be a top-25 fantasy RB

- Maurice Jones-Drew will finish as the top fantasy RB.

- Tom Brady will have his best fantasy season yet!

- Jamal Charles will have a better fantasy season than Larry Johnson

- Greg Jennings will lead all NFC WR in scoring

- Joe Flacco will finish as a top-10 QB

- Dwayne Bowe will finish the year with the most receiving yards in one game

- Greg Olsen will finish as a top-4 TE

- Ryan Grant rushes for 1450+ yards and 10 TD

- Willis McGahee doesn't get injured before week 7

- Javon Ringer will finish with more fantasy points than Chris Johnson

TSF Head-To-Head Fantasy Football Showdown Preview!

Sorry for the ridiculously long title but this is epic. Stefan and myself (Joe) will be facing off head-to-head in our yahoo fantasy football league this Sunday pitting two of the greatest sports minds on the blogosphere against one another.

It's going to be intense and a lot of fun so I'm going to break down everything for everyone since you can't physically get into our league to see and then we'll let you know next Tuesday how the weekend shakes down.

Background
This is our league with friends from home (Bismarck, ND) and from our summer softball team(s). Another noteable blogger in the league is twins25 or Jon Reed from http://www.completesports.blogspot.com/. Anyways, our records going in have me (The PurplePussy Eaters) at 2-3 and stefan (Romophobic) at 3-2. That puts me in 9th (but tied for 7th) and stefan in 5th (tied for 2nd). So, as you can see it's a tight league. I'll be looking to even up with stefan and get back to .500 this weekend.

Our Lineups
Joe (The PurplePussy Eaters)
QB- Eli Mannings at Cleveland
WR - Roddy White vs Chicago
WR - Brandon Marshall vs Jacksonville
WR - Steve Smith at Tampa Bay
RB - Marion Barber at Arizona
RB - Ronnie Brown at Houston
TE - Kellen Winslow vs NYG
WR/RB - Tim Hightower at Dallas
K - Josh Scobee at Denver
D - Dallas at Arizona

Stefan (Romophobic)
QB - David Garrard at Denver
WR - Andre Johnson vs Miami
WR - Laveranues Coles vs Cinci
WR - Steve Breaston vs Dallas
RB - Steve Slaton vs Miami
RB - Steven Jackson at Washington
TE - Owen Daniels vs Miami
WR/RB - Jamal Lewis vs NYG
K - Jason Elam vs Chicago
D - NYJ vs. Cinci

Predictions
Yahoo has Stefan predicted to win 135.75 - 132.88. Which is basically a tossup. I think it's going to be really close but I like my chances. Who do you think will win and why?

It's going to be a great weekend in fantasy football (and ND pheasant opener!) we'll be sure to let you know how this one turns out!

Fantasy Football Rankings: Wide Receivers

1. Randy Moss
With the display Moss put on last season it's hard not to have him in the number one slot. We all know Moss is a tremendous player with skill and talent and as long as he has a good QB he will put up great numbers. Moss should be the first WR pick of every draft.

2. Reggie Wayne
Wayne is somewhat young. He had his best season yet in 2007. With Peyton Manning throwing to him and the Colts' high-powered offense look for Wayne to put great stats again.

3. Terrell Owens
You know Owens is going to get thrown to quite often. He'll have his games where he catches everything and just puts up a boatload of numbers. As long as Tony Romo is himself Owens should be above most.

4. Braylon Edwards
Edwards had a breakout year last season. The Browns are on the rise and with Kellen Winslow a big target and Dontae Stallworth in town, teams won't be keying too much on just him. He may not put up 16 TD again but he is still a top 5 WR.

5. Larry Fitzgerald
Fitz is a two time pro bowler and had another impressive season even after a couple of games with struggling QB Matt Leinart. The Cards have a very explosive offense with many weapons, as long as their QB is producing you know Fitzgerald will too.

6. Andre Johnson
Johnson had an impressive start last year until he suffered a knee injury. The Texans were 2-5 without him and 6-3 with him. Expect Johnson to be a top fantasy WR as long as he stays healthy.

7. Marques Colston
Colston may not have done as well last year than he did in 2006, but you know what they say about 3rd year receivers right? If I were you I would listen to the trend as the 3rd year is a break out year for most WRs. Expect Colston, Drew Brees and the Saints to have a huge year.

8. TJ Houshmandzadeh
TJ "Whosyomomma" was the main target of Carson Palmer after a down year for Chad Johnson. He is coming off his best year yet in which he caught 112 passes for 1143 yards and twelve touchdowns.

9. Anquan Boldin
Another Cards WR who could have either an outstanding season or just an okay one depending on the QB play. Boldin has tremendous talent and you know he will thrive in an offense such as Arizona's.

10. Chad Johnson
Johnson may have struggled last season but we do know what he's capable of. I am expecting him to get back up to par and have another typical "Chad" season. Look for the Bengals to be improved even with all of the off and on field distractions.

11. Plaxico Burress

12. Roy Williams

13. Steve Smith

14. Santonio Holmes

15. Torry Holt

Fantasy Football Rankings: Running Backs

As TSF starts a new Fantasy Football edition to it's blog, here's our rankings on running backs. Our first projections were on the quarterbacks.

1. LaDainian Tomlinson
LT led the league in rushing yards once again. He should be an even bigger part of the offense as Norv Turner has indicated. He's a threat everywhere, he'll run all over you and catch on you too. LT should be the top pick in every league, he'll rack up the points.

2. Adrian Peterson
After a phenomenal rookie season expect even better numbers from AP. He has a great blocking line in front of him and as the season goes along he will get more and more carries as Chester Taylor's dwindles. He might be the best "runner" of all the running backs out there and he'll be the focal point of a team with a mediocre QB.

3. Brian Westbrook
Westbrook is probably the most complete back out there. He rushed for 1333 yards and 7 TD and caught 90 passes for 771 yards with 5 TD. He's the most consistent back as well as he rushed for over 100 yards 6 times last season.

4. Joseph Addai

Addai comes into the 2008 season as the clear number one back in Indianapolis. With a high-powered offense of the Colts, he will rack up the yards and TDs.

5. Steven Jackson
Jackson had a bit of a down year last season after a torn groin and injured back sidelined him for 4 games. His numbers should improve quite a bit as the Rams offensive line is healthy. As long as he stays healthy himself he should stay atop the fantasy charts.

6. Clinton Portis

The Redskins are an up-start team right now and I expect them to be improved again. Portis is the clear-cut RB in the Skins' offense and he'll get the goal line touches as well. He'll continue to be one of the highest in attempts and touches as Washington looks to boost it's running game even more.

7. Frank Gore

With Mike Martz in for the Niners, look for Gore's numbers to rise. As long as the offense can generate Gore should put up some fantastic numbers.

8. Marion Barber
With Julius Jones out Barber is now the main man in Dallas. Barber is so consistent and he'll get you those extra yards with his strength. Expect Barber's touches to go up even more, which should mean even more scores.

9. Marshawn Lynch

Lynch was a surprise out of Buffalo last season. I took a chance at him and it helped me quite a bit. He's Buffalo's every down back now and with Trent Edwards as the QB expect more of a focus on Lynch.

10. Willis McGahee
Even though he struggled in the beginning of last season he still ended as a top 10 back. Last season he made his first career pro bowl and he caught a career high 43 passes. With his consistency the last 7 games of 2007, Willis looks very promising for this season.

11. Larry Johnson

12. Ryan Grant

13. Jamal Lewis

14. Maurice Jones-Drew

15. Brandon Jacobs

Fantasy Football Rankings: Quarterbacks

1. Tom Brady
Who would have said otherwise? Brady was amazing last season throwing for 4806 yards and 50 TDs. I highly doubt he will repeat those numbers or anything remotely close to them but Brady should still be the number one QB. He should put up some freakish numbers again though.

2. Peyton Manning
If you need a QB you can trust it's Manning. He is no risk for injury at all and you know what you're going to get from him. He's going to continue to rack up the yards and TDs as long as he can walk and throw a football.

3. Drew Brees
I really like Brees. He should continue to put up some great numbers with the offense that he's in. I think he'll have an even better season than last year. Now that Jeremy Shockey is in a Saints uniform expect defenses to focus less on Marques Colston and cover more of the middle of the field.

4. Tony Romo
Romo will put up similar numbers again since he has Terrell Owens to throw to. But the Cowboys have such a balanced offense that helps out quite a bit.

5. Carson Palmer
Bearing no injury Palmer should have a somewhat similar season to last year, possibly even better. I think the Bengals will be a tad bit improved, even with all of the off-field problems. With all of the targets there's no reason not for Palmer to improve his stats.

6. Ben Roethlisberger
The Steelers struggled during the early part of 2007 but as the season wore on they looked better and better. Look for the Steelers to continue that momentum in this season. I think Big Ben can start off hot right away, which is also why I am a big fan of WR Santonio Holmes as well.

7. Derek Anderson
Anderson must show that last season was no fluke. I think he will continue his tremendous play. The Browns have a good chance to make the playoffs this season. And with the addition of Dontae Stallworth to go with Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow, I don't see why not.

8. Donovan McNabb
If McNabb can stay healthy you know he will put up some good numbers. You know he's capable of putting up some godly stats but he can be too inconsistent as times as well. The Eagles still don't have a big-time WR but they do have quite a few capable ones.

9. Matt Hasselback
Hasselback has always put up some consistent and fairly good numbers. He has a decent WR crew and he always racks up the points at home.

10. Jay Cutler
Cutler should be improved with another year under his belt. He has some good targets to throw to in Brandon Marshall, Darrell Jackson, and TE Tony Scheffler. Expect the Broncos to pass a little more this season.

11. David Garrard
I am a big fan of Garrard. He throws the ball with such consistency and he can run as well. He will get you some rushing TDs of his own here and there and you know he will convert when it counts in the red zone.

12. Marc Bulger
If there's one QB who's high risk/high reward it's Bulger. He could break out and have an amazing season at any time or he could be a bust and get injured like last season. Anyways, I still like Bulger, he's has some deep threats and you know Steven Jackson will take some pressure off him.

13. Eli Manning
I don't know what to expect from Eli after he won the Super Bowl. Who know's how he'll perform. But I think he's a safe bet if you desperately need a QB in the mid to late rounds of your draft. I think the offense will be improved a bit, Plaxico Burress should be solid again and Sinorice Moss will be much improved.

14. Matt Schaub
Schaub has one heck of an arm. He has a great number one target in Andre Johnson. If the Texans can find any sort of run game, the sky's the limit for Schaub and Johnson.

15. Philip Rivers
Rivers should be good again, but not great. All of his numbers were down last season. But he is just putting a lot of pressure on himself and his team with his arrogant ego. But he still has some quality targets in Chris Chambers, Antonio Gates, and Vincent Jackson.