Week 5 Fantasy Football Roundup | Sharapova's Thigh

Week 5 Fantasy Football Roundup

Posted by Matt Clapp | 10/09/2009 03:00:00 AM

Peyton Manning... good. The Titans' pass defense this year? Not so much.

The fantasy football roundup is finally back after a two-week absence due to me moving and not having Internet. I'm sure you've lost sleep over it.

How this works for those of you that are new to the roundups: I provide fantasy football projections, rankings, injury concerns, and other good articles I find across the web relating to this week in fantasy football...
Articles from around the web...

And some picks of my own(based on standard league scoring systems):

Week 5's Best

QB: Peyton Manning... Tennessee's defense is tied with Jacksonville for the worst pass defense in the NFL right now, allowing over 282 passing yards per game. Manning has thrown for over 300 yards every game so far, with multiple touchdown passes in three of the four games. Another huge week should be in store for the superstar quarterback .

RB: Adrian Peterson... Adrian's disappointed fantasy owners over the last few weeks after his 180-yard, three touchdown performance in week one. I like him to get back to dominating like that against the pathetic Rams.

WR: Andre Johnson... The Cardinals' pass defense ranks 30th in the league. This game should be a shootout and Matt Schaub will frequently be looking towards his favorite target to keep pace.

TE: Dallas Clark... At least seven catches each of the last three weeks, and now faces a pass defense tied for last in the league.

K: Stephen Gostkowski... The Patriots should be able to move the ball in Denver, but the Broncos have done an exceptional job of keeping teams out of the end zone. Gostkowski should get some field goal tries and is 11 of 12 in field goal attempts on the year.

D/ST: New York Giants... The Raiders are averaging 208.5 yards per game on offense. That's at least 38 yards less than anybody else is averaging on offense. JaMarcus Russell is missing his intended targets by 30 yards. Meanwhile, the Giants are allowing just 232.2 yards per game, which is the best rate in the NFL. Everything's set up for their defense to absolute dominate this week.

Sleeper Picks

QB: Brett Favre... I hate saying anything positive about him, or even mentioning his name for that matter. Regardless, he's playing outstanding football and faces the worst team in the NFL in my opinion, the St. Louis Rams. The Rams have just two interceptions in four games and have a pass rush that's below average. I like Favre to continue playing well this week, but still wouldn't put him as a fantasy QB1, and that's why I have him as a "sleeper". After this week, he faces Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and a Green Bay team in Lambeau that will surely be looking for a much better performance than we saw Monday night against their former quarterback.

RB: Ahmad Bradshaw... Bradshaw was very productive the last two weeks, totaling 168 yards on 26 carries combined in the games. The Giants should be up big early in this one, even if Eli Manning can't go or isn't 100%. The Giants will run the ball like crazy and let their defense give JaMarcus hell. Bradshaw should get plenty of touches, especially where it's out of hand and they want to give Brandon Jacobs a rest.

WR: Mohamed Massaquoi... This is the hot waiver wire suggestion, and for good reason. The rookie out of Georgia had eight catches for 148 yards in week four's overtime loss against the Bengals. He's a big target at 6'2", 208 pounds, with deceptive speed. With Braylon Edwards being traded to the Jets, Massaquoi could be the top target for Derek Anderson/Brady Quinn. The Browns are going to be playing from behind most every week, which means they'll have to throw the ball a lot. He could especially be valuable in PPR leagues.

TE: Dustin Keller... The second-year tight end has yet to reach double-digits in fantasy points(in standard leagues). He's going to break through soon. My hunch pick of the week.

K: John Kasay... The Panthers will be able to move the ball on the Redskins, but their one-dimensional offense is keeping them out of the end zone.

D/ST: Buffalo Bills... The 27th ranked defense in the league, but facing the Browns. I'd have any defense in the top 10 on the week they're facing the Browns.

Shit Picks

QB: Carson Palmer... Don't be fooled by the Ravens' pass defense rank of 23rd in the league. They're still top 10 in the league in each interceptions and sacks. At home this week in a big AFC North game, they'll bring their A-game against Carson and the Bengals. Avoid this matchup.

RB: Cedric Benson... Benson's been a big surprise this year, running hard and consistently gaining good chunks of yards. Against a Ravens defense that allows just 2.6 yards per carry though, he'll struggle to continue his success. Benson's not a fluke and should continue to have a solid year, but this is a week to stay away from him.

WR: Eddie Royal... The Broncos' wide receiver has been a major disappointment. I'm quite surprised as I expected him to really do well with Kyle Orton as a possession receiver, and he very well still may, but I don't think it happens this week. The Broncos don't want to get in a shootout with the Patriots. They want to control the ball, play good defense, and run the clock. Additionally, there's a chance it could snow in Denver on Sunday and that would only hurt the passing game.

TE: Kevin Boss... Eli Manning could be out. Even if he plays, the Giants are going to run the ball down the Raiders' throat. Don't expect Boss to get many targets.

K: Dan Carpenter... I don't like the Dolphins to get into the red zone very much against the Jets. Rex Ryan will have a variety of blitz packages attacking new Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne.

D/ST: Jacksonville Jaguars... Whether it's Matt Hasselbeck or Seneca Wallace at quarterback, the Seahawks should be able to put up points on a Jaguars defense that ranks 29th in the NFL.


Assuming I make it back alive from the Phillies/Rockies game Saturday night and am not too hungover, I'll continue to add projections, rankings, update the injuries to watch, and provide more articles from around the web. So keep checking back for updates.

If you come across any good articles that aren't on here, or have any yourself, don't hesitate to e-mail me: sharapovasthigh@gmail.com.

Update(10/9, 8:00 PM ET): Just made some injury status updates. I added Wes Welker and Jerricho Cotchery to the list. Welker is Questionable... again. He should be good to go though in Sunday's game at Denver.

Cotchery on the other hand has a very good chance to be out. He sounds more "Doubtful" than the "Questionable" status he's listed as.

Update(10/11, 12:09 PM ET): Eli Manning warmed up about an hour ago and apparently he feels fine after dealing with a foot injury. However, the Giants are likely to beat the Raiders no matter who is behind center, and they fear Eli could worsen the injury if he plays. It sounds like Eli will be active, but may not play. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts and then leaves when the Giants are up 50 by halftime.

In a similar situation, Lions rookie quarterback Matthew Stafford will not start, but is dressing as the #3 quarterback. All this means to you though, is that he's out. Not that you were actually going to play him against the Steelers(unless you're in a really deep league or a league that plays multiple quarterbacks).

Browns running back Jamal Lewis is active, but it's unclear how much he'll play. It looks like Jerome Harrison is going to get more touches than Lewis.

Eagles wide receiver Kevin Curtis is inactive. 2009 first round pick Jeremy Maclin will replace him.

UPDATE(10/11/09, 12:15 PM ET): Eli Manning will start against the Raiders. Again, the Giants should handle the Raiders without much trouble, so don't be surprised if Eli's replaced sometime during the game. Additionally, the Raiders have a very good pass defense, led by All-Pro cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, who basically takes away a side of the field to throw to. The Giants will likely pound the ball down the Raiders' throat.

UPDATE(10/12/09, 7:00 PM ET): Bob Glauber of Newsday and NFL Network reports that Jets wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery will play tonight. It sounded like Cotchery was doubtful to play in the last few days, so it's a bit surprising. It's also a bit annoying to fantasy owners like myself that chose worse plays over him at wide receiver assuming he'd be out. Monday night games can really be annoying for fantasy football.

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