Sunday Stylings

Some breaking news before the recap. The return of everyone's favorite Kobe themed blog is back. 'The Kobe Blog" is launching some time next week, take a read to enjoy it for yourself. I guarantee you'll be hooked.

I guess the Jets are frauds are after all. The Franchez should have been sued by fans after that performance: 10/29, 114 yards and 5 picks. I guess that’s what happens when you run into a juggernaut defense like the mighty Bills. Speaking of how bad the Jets are, you got beat by the smartest man in football, Harvard Alum Ryan Fitzpatrick. You may remember Fitzy from last season’s 4-12 Bengals.

Welcome back Tom Brady. Brady smashed the NFL record with 5 TD tosses in the 2nd quarter alone and finished the day with a mind boggling 29/34 for 380 yards and 6 TDs. Hope you didn’t start the Titans defense. The return of the prolific Patriots’ offense had a communist flare to it: the fantasy value was spread was distributed quite equally among the top guys. Moss had 3TDs and Welker 2 on top of 10 catches for 150 yards. Sammy Morris got hurt early which allowed the forgotten Laurence Maroney to chip in with 130+ yards and a score. Even the law firm of BenJarvis Green-Ellis got involved averaging 10 yards a touch.

Is this the return of the 2007 Pats offense? Who knows really, the Titans are an 0-6 team now, they’re hardly a litmus test of how New England can do against a defense that isn’t truly depressing. Fortunately for all Pats’ owners out there they get the comparably terrible Bucs defense across the pond next week. Except big things.

Besides Brady, it was a pretty good day for Quarterbacks in general. Not the ones I recommended of course but others put up some huge numbers. Brees, Schaub, Roethlisberger, Favre, and Flacco had huge games. Hopefully you weren’t like me and started Matt Hasselbeck. I think since it was sunny in Seattle and the sun caused a massive glare off his head, blinding his receivers. Stupid Hasselbeck, bald asshole.

I actually feel encouraged for the Lions despite a 26-0 loss to the Packers. In the absence of Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson the Lions didn’t show the glimpse of respectability they’ve had all season. These are legit players that are going to help Detroit rise from the ashes, eventually.

At the Rice-A-Roni Bowl in Baltimore, Raymond edged out the upstart Sidney. Ray Rice had 194 yards and 2TDs while Sidney had 176 yards on 6 catches. Ray has become a superstar in all formats but his 10 catches give him a total of 33 for the year and that makes him a top 5 PPR performer. The 33 make him first among running backs and fourth among all players. Try to buy him in all PPR formats from owners who don’t understand how valuable he really is.

This is the Deangelo Williams we all hoped he could be when he was drafted. Give him the rock and he’ll produce: 30 carries for 152 and 2 TDs, he even chipped in 20 yards receiving just for a lark. The Panthers look like they have righted the ship a little bit. If they are going to win they’ll do IT ON THE GROUND and that means a return to the fantasy scene for Jonathan Stewart as well. He may have been let go in your league and could be a nice asset off your bench the rest of the way.

Is that Michael Turner or Brian Westbrook? Two catches on consecutive plays? That’s 33% of his 2008 total. Don’t get used to that.

The Colts play the Rams next week, just a heads up. They’ll be your best bet for a pick up defense if you want to grab them.

Pick ups of the week

Sidney Rice (29% owned)- He has been the most consistent playmaker from the Vikings receiving corps since week three. Rice has earned Farve’s trust and is getting looks deep downfield. He’s a big body and has good hands and he’s put up double digits points three of the last four weeks, go get him.

Heath Miller (61% owned)- The passing Renaissances of the 2009 Steelers has made a fantasy superstar of Big Ben, he’s lucky Shaq isn’t patrolling any opposing secondaries. But it’s Heath Miller that has become a legend in his own right. Miller has become the go to guy in the red zone over the last three games and has posted 19,11 and 14 points over that span; anyone can use that kind of production from their tight end slot.

Laurence Maroney (15% owned)-

This is Laurence Maroney. He wants to be on your team, he'll do whatever it takes, whatever.

Ol’ Dreads has become fantasy relevant again. With Fred Taylor and now Sammy Morris succumbing to injury, the road back to glory was paved with snow for Maroney. If the Pats offense is even half of what they were today every week, Maroney will be scoring. Despite their penchant for the pass, New England does like to run the ball inside the 10 which means huge value for whoever gets those carries. Pick him up now and if he does nothing to keep it going, dump him, but his upside could be huge if Belichick decides to give him a diet of pigskin.

Hakeem Nicks (11% owned)- The Son of Stevie was a popular preseason sleeper and was mass dropped after getting injured in week 1. He now has three touchdowns in the last three weeks, each week since he has returned from injury. All seems to be well now and Eli is looking for him. The Giants get Arizona and San Diego two of the next three weeks making him viable option in those games. If you need a filler for bye week trouble he could do the trick.

Lance Moore (49% owned)- He’s back from injury and made an immediate impact. He caught 6 balls for 78 yards and a TD. He has a tremendous rapport with Brees and finally seems healthy. Moore was a top 20 receiver last year and is worth a pick up for his potential upside.

Injuries

Sammy Morris left the game with a knee injury in the first quarter. You should drop him or continue to ignore him on free agency, either way don’t own him, own Maroney instead.

Lendale White left the same game with a knee injury as well. White was barely ownable anyways and this should be the last straw.

Anquan Boldin left the game Sunday with a sprained ankle. He should be able to go in week 7 against the Giants but monitor his status. If it looks like he’ll be out for any extended period of time go see if Steve Breaston is still available. He’s still available in 33% of leagues.

Trent Edwards got concussed again, not a good sign. The same type of injury that caused hima great deal of problems last year. Feel free to cut Edwards and just remember not to pick up Ryan Fitzpatrick.

If you were one of the 2% of people who started Daunte Culpepper you were probably glad to see him leave with an injury after posting a line of 6/14 for 48 and a pick. You’ll be doing harm to yourself if you pick up back up Drew Stanton, so unless you’re a masochist, avoid him at all costs.

Donnie Avery left the game after catching a touchdown and bruising his hip. It’s unknown right now what the extent of the injury is, so hold Avery if you can, if better options are there, like a Johnny Knox, get them.