Wrap Up - Week 6

Start’em

Donovan McNabb, Eagles. Without his main weapon Bryant Westbrook, McNabb bounced back from a mediocre week last week to lead the Eagles to a big win. Correll Buckhalter filled in for Westbrook; and McNabb threw for 279 yards and 2 touchdowns. I think the key statistic for McNabb was that he averaged over 12 yards per completion. When the Eagles passing game is making big plays, they are going to be tough to beat.

Kyle Orton, Bears. Orton’s bandwagon is filling up fast. After this week’s game, more people are going to be looking to pick up Orton. I watched every play of this game and the Bears’ final drive was critical. The Bears’ deserved to win, but their Special Teams let them down. To me it’s simple--you have to kick the ball deep at the end of the game.

Marion Barber, Cowboys. Barber is a warrior. He took so many hits against the Cardinals on Sunday, but he kept getting up. The huge screen play that Barber scored on in the 4th quarter was highlight reel material. Barber only had 45 yards on 17 carries, but he added 11 catches for 128 yards and a touchdown. With Romo and Felix Jones out with injuries, Barber should put up big stats every week.

Le’Ron McClain, Ravens. Wow, not sure what happened to the Ravens and McClain this week. Possibly, the physical games they have played the last two weeks caught up with their young running back and aging defense. McClain was awful. He had 2 rushing attempts for -2 yards. He also fumbled. He finished the game with negative Fantasy points. Big loss for me.

Michael Jenkins, Atlanta Falcons. Jenkins is only owned in 15% of Fantasy leagues and he only has been played 5% of the time by Fantasy owners. He had two big catches in the very first Falcons’ offensive possession. It looked like with Roddy White banged up that Jenkins was going to have a great game. However, he only caught two more passes the rest of the day. Jenkins did make the play of the game with his 26 yard catch to set up the game winning field goal. Based on the big catch at the end, I am calling this a tie.

Sit’em

Peyton Manning, Indianapolis Colts. The Ravens killed me in a bunch of different ways. Manning was great against the Ravens; and Marvin Harrison might be back. Manning was 19-28 for 271 yards and 3 touchdowns. The 67 yard touchdown to Harrison seemed like old times.

Aaron Rodgers, Packers. Rodgers finished the game 21-30 for 208 yards passing and 2 touchdowns. He also picked up 23 more yards rushing with a touchdown and a fumble. Rodgers was superb. Although he did not pass for a lot of yards, he was able to get the Packers a win and put up 21 Fantasy points. I am officially off the “Rodgers is not Favre” bandwagon.

Steve Slaton, Texans. Tough week for the West Virginia product. Slaton finished the game with 15 carries for 58 yards. He was able to grab another Fantasy point with a 3 yard reception. Although he had a sub-par game this week, Slaton is a solid number 2 running back. The Texans’ passing game will continue to open up running room for Slaton.

Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars. I thought Jones-Drew would be limited by an injury, but he was forced to play most of the game after the Broncos knocked Fred Taylor out of the game. Jones-Drew came up with a huge performance. He carried the ball 22 for 125 yards and 2 TDs. He added 23 yards receiving. The Broncos’ defense continues to give up big games by opposing running backs.

Randy Moss, Patriots. This game might be what the Patriots are like this year on the road against a good NFL team. Moss looked disinterested. He finished 3 catches for 26 yards. Patriots’ fans better get prepared for more of this kind of game.

Totals: 5-4-1 (Overall 31-22-5)

My Picks

Wins: Saints, Dolphins, Jets, Lions, Jaguars, Packers, Chargers
Losses: Bears, Ravens, Panthers, Redskins, Niners, Cowboys, Giants
Total: 7-7 (Overall 50-35-3)

Fantasy Games. My teams are struggling, but I have a chance to get a win depending on how well Braylon Edwards plays against the Giants. My opponent is behind by 9 points, but he has Edwards and Kellen Winslow playing against the Giants. Luckily for me, Winslow is out, so I just need the Giants to stop Edwards. My big worry is the garbage time when Brady Quinn gets into the game and tries to force the ball to Edwards. Stay tuned. If you watched the game, you know Braylon Edwards had a monster game. I ended up going 0-2 this week in Fantasy.

Great Football Weekend! I watched parts of 9 different college and pro games this weekend. You could write a week’s worth of blogs about all the crazy plays and big performances this week. It is not hard to see why football has become so popular in this country. In addition to football, the MLB playoffs have been in full swing—this is one of the best months to be a sports fan.