Week 6 All-Sleeper Team

Here is my Week 6 all sleeper team, a full lineup of players most likely available in your league who may have a good week:

QB – Damon Huard: It looked like Brodie Croyle would be going for Huard, but Herm Edwards says Huard is all healed up and ready to go against a horrible Cincinnati secondary. Most likely available, could put up some good points this weekend.
RB – Kenny Watson: Mentioned him in a past post, could be starting with Rudi Johnson missing an entire week of practice. Averaging 5.2 yards a carry this year, he’ll be going against a below average KC run defense. Could come up huge in a game that may turn into a potential shoot out.
RB – Jason Wright: Another guy missing a whole week of practice is Jamal Lewis, meaning Wright will most likely get the start. He’s averaging 5.4 a carry and will be going against a bad Miami run defense. Excellent sleeper.
WR – Nate Burleson: With Deion Branch out, Burleson will make the start & will be going against a pretty bad St. Louis Rams secondary. Started out hot the first 3 weeks, then went up against some stiff secondaries in San Francisco & Pittsburgh & cooled off. Should be able to expose the Rams though.
WR – Brandon Jones: Been hurt all week but Jeff Fisher says he will play. He’s the Titians leading receiver & Vince Young’s more reliable target. Going against a tough Tampa Bay secondary, but most likely there aren’t any other receivers that lead their team in receiving that are available.
WR – Ike Hilliard: Has surpassed Michael Clayton on the team’s depth chart and has responded with 15 catches the last 2 weeks combined. Becoming a favorite target of Jeff Garcia and still widely available, a good play despite the tough matchup.
TE – Alex Smith: I said last week he was most likely the best available free agent TE & he responded with 2 TD’s! I’m picking him again even though I don’t expect 2 TD’s. Seems to be a reliable red zone target, but will be hit or miss every week.
K – Dave Rayner: I mentioned the Cincy-KC game might turn into a shoot out, so Rayner stands to benefit if that does hold true. He’s only 6 for 8 on attempts this year, but 3 of those makes are from 40 yards or beyond. A good choice this week.
DEF – NY Giants: A suddenly improved Giants defense will be going up against one of the worst scoring offenses in the league in Atlanta. They will be playing in Atlanta, but don’t let that deter you from using them this week.

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Rudi Johnson Isn’t Practicing – Watson To Start?

Rudi Johnson again has not practiced today, making his start this weekend against Kansas City very questionable. Kenny Watson would be next in line if Johnson can’t go. Is Watson a good play? Kansas City’s rushing defense has allowed 123 yards per game to running backs, including a fat 4.4 yards per carry. Watson certainly isn’t a sexy name, but did you know he has a career rushing average of 5 yards per carry? He’s averaging 5.2 yards per carry this year, including rushing for 55 yards on 13 carries against a tough New England run defense. All signs point to a positive game for Watson if he starts. If you are in need of a #2 RB or flex option this week because of BYE’s, there may not be a better option out there.

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Lemon-Aid

Ok, very cheesy title, but Cleo Lemon will get the start for the Miami Dolphins with Trent Green out. Many people are left questioning whether or not they should gamble on Lemon. He played most of the game against Houston last week & looked ok, but nothing eye opening. He did engineer a Dolphins offense to produce 19 points, but a 55% completion rate & 5.6 yards per attempt does not scream fantasy success. He will go up against a far weaker Cleveland secondary, so this game will tell us whether or not he’ll be a good fantasy sub. If you want to gamble, go ahead, but there are at least 16 other QB’s I’d play before him.

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Owen Daniels Quiety Having A Nice Season

This year has been a pretty good year for fantasy tight ends. There are 4 TE’s on pace for over 1,000 yards receiving and 2 more on pace for over 900 yards. Even more surprising, Owen Daniels, the starting tight end for the Houston Texans, is one of them. Now, it’s hard to say whether or not this is a by product of Andre Johnson being out or if Matt Schaub has simply found him as a reliable target. Another thing to keep in mind is that is best 2 games have come against Atlanta & Miami, not exactly powerhouses. Houston actually has a pretty brutal schedule coming up with tough defenses, with 5 division games in a suddenly tough AFC South, as well as San Diego, Oakland & Tampa Bay. It’ll be interesting to see how things play out. Daniels definitely should be owned in all leagues, but due to his lack of touchdowns (he currently has zero) he’s better suited as a back up & fill-in than a full time starter. Let’s see how his season plays out…

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Your Runningback Leaders For Week 5 Are…

…Kenton Keith, Najeh Davenport & Michael Turner!? Yes it’s true, most likely the RB leaders for Week 5 in your league are those 3.

Keith filled in admirably for an injured Joseph Addai, racking up 158 total yards & 2 TD’s. Najeh Davenport ripped off some nice runs & stole goal line carries from Willie Parker, totaling 96 total yards & 2 TD’s. Michael Turner had runs of 49 & 74 yards, a total of 147 yards & 1 TD, most of it in garbage time.

These are nice stories, but Addai will be back after the Indy BYE week & Turner got most of his carries when the game was out of reach. The real concern is probably for Willie Parker owners, who saw Davenport get 3 of the 4 goal line carries. Could be an anamoly, but you’ll want see how things play out the next few weeks.

Even with these strong performances, they are still the back ups, but it shows how important it is to own backups if you own stud running back. If you are an Addai, Parker or Tomlinson owner & don’t have any of these guys on your roster, you better get them while you can.

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Leinart Out, Warner In

The Cardinals won’t have to rotate QB’s anymore, as Matt Leinart has a broken collarbone & will be out for awhile. Kurt Warner will take over play calling duties and looked OK yesterday. The fact that he didn’t do spectacular against a beaten down Rams defense raises some question marks, and it gets tougher as the next 3 passing defenses he faces are: Carolina, Washington & Tampa Bay. He’s got some great matchups down the road with Detroit, Cincinnati, Cleveland & New Orleans, plus with the weapons he has, he could be a pretty lethal starting QB. Pick him up if you are in need of QB depth, but don’t start him unless you need to. Let’s see how he plays these first couple games before relegating him to starter.

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Week 5 All-Sleeper Team

Here is my Week 5 all sleeper team, a full lineup of players most likely available in your league who may have a good week:

QB – David Carr: I know, filling in last week for Jake Delhomme, he didn’t look so good. But he gets a putrid Saints secondary this week & has Steve Smith on his team. Could throw a good game.

RB – Aaron Stecker: With Deuce McAllister done for the year & Reggie Bush not a full time back, Stecker could see plenty of opportunities this week against the Panthers.

RB – Ron Dayne: Ahman Green will be a game time decision, but if you want to gamble, start Ron Dayne, who will be going against a horrible dolphins run defense.

WR – Bryant Johnson: It looks like Anquan Boldin will be out this week against a bad St. Louis Rams team. Johnson will get the start & may be able to produce a respectable game.

WR – Andre Davis: I’ve talked about him in past posts. He’s been productive with Andre Johnson & Jacoby Jones out & goes against a bad Miami defense. GREAT sleeper.

WR – Brandon Jones: He leads the Titans in receptions & receiving yards. Granted it’s not much, but he seems to be becoming Vince Young’s primary receiver. They go against an average Atlanta defense this weekend.

TE – Alex Smith: There is no reason behind this except I need to fill out my roster and isn’t owned in many leagues. Probably the best available free agent tight end, but it’s not saying much.

K – Shaun Suisham: The Redskins will play a Lions team that is giving up 30 points a game. There will be plenty of opportunities for Suisham.

DEF – Arizona Cardinals: They get to play a Rams offense that is scoring 9.8 points a game & is coming off an impressive win against Pittsburgh. Oh, and they go against backup QB Gus Frerotte. Need I say more?

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Andre Davis A Good Start This Week

With injuries to Andre Johnson & Jacoby Jones, Andre Davis stepped up last week and had a good game, 117 yards & a TD. With Johnson not participating in practice & Jones limited, it seems Davis will get another start again. In Week 3 when Jones went down with an injury, Davis had 4 catches for 70 yards, so clearly Matt Schaub is having no problem finding him. With Houston facing a weak Miami Dolphins secondary this week & Davis the likely starter, don’t hesitate to use him as a flex option or #2 WR.

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Anderson Deserves A Spot

On ESPN.com, look at the Top 6 QB’s: Romo, Brady, Manning, Palmer, Favre & Derek Anderson. SAY WHAT?! Sure enough, Anderson is #6 & is only owned in 14% of the leagues. Now, his stats are a bit inflated due to the monstrous game against the Bengals, but he has proven steady the last 2 weeks against Oakland & Baltimore. Things get a bit tougher this week with New England, but outside of another game with Pittsburgh & Seattle, there isn’t a defense on his schedule that scares you, and yes, this includes Baltimore. Now that the Brady Quinn talk has stopped (at least for now), Anderson is showing good poise and making sure to find his dangerous weapons in Braylon Edwards & Kellen Winslow. He certainly isn’t a #1 Fantasy QB yet, but his match ups show he can be quite serviceable in spot starts.

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Travis Henry May Face Year Long Suspension

When Travis Henry signed with the Denver Broncos, they gave him 22.5 million reasons not to smoke pot. Apparently, that wasn’t enough. If he thought he was in trouble by having to pay 9 different women child support, he may be in even more trouble with a possible year long suspension looming for a repeat violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy. In any case, this is about fantasy implications, so who would be next in line in case Henry is toast? If you own Henry, hopefully you already have his back up, Selvin Young. If not, you better get on it, because this kid has been impressive, running for 138 yards on 15 carries. The third string is Andre Hall, but it is doubtful he would figure into the equation, especially since he has zero carries on the year. The Broncos always have running backs playing fullback so if injuries or situations like this occur, they can interchange them. So most likely they would either move Cecil Sapp or Mike Bell from fullback to running back to back up Young. Until things are more clear, don’t waste a roster spot on Sapp or Bell, but Young is a must have pick up right now if available.

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