The Pros And Cons Of Week 6 (#FantasyFootball)

Marshawn Lynch on a 2-yard run is a sure thing unless you think like Pete Carroll or John Gruden. Really? How did anyone let this scenario happen again?

Fine readers of the Going For 2 fanbase my name is @TheBLeagueSays and I 100% believe that Stevie Wonder could have found Saquon Barkley like Odell Beckham Jr did last week. The more I think about it the more I believe that anyone but Eli Manning could have made that pass. Poor Eli…! And thank you for the awesome feedback and conversations following last weeks Pros and Cons – it seems to have struck a chord with the audience, I think we all agreed that the Tight End position is brutal. How about this as another example: considering The Colts had waived Eric Swoope on September 13th, only to add him back to their Practice Squad on October 2nd – I am certain no one saw him being a Top 3 Tight End by the end of Week 5 as he landed 3-3-44 Yards-1 TD; such is the nature of the beast! And I am absolutely looking forward to addressing Week 6 with you. Once again please remember that the articles I bring to you will be based on the Pros and Cons of players or scenarios that the Fantasy Football Community has split ideas on heading into future fixtures for your matchups.

 

So before we get started – Thank you, and enjoy!

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This week we witnessed history being made. Tom Brady and Drew Brees lit up the league this week and broke records as if it was just another day at the office. Brady broke Vinny Testaverde‘s record by throwing to his 71st different Receiver, which happened to be the Patriots new recruit, Josh Gordon. In doing so, he also hit his 500th career Touchdown and is just the third Quarterback in history to do so. Drew Brees went bonkers on Monday night against Washington and in the process and overtook Peyton Manning and Brett Favre to become the NFL’s new leader in Passing Yards which now sits at 72,103.

Also, we witnessed the ‘irresistible force’ take on the ‘immovable object’ as a Patrick Mahomes lead Kansas City Chiefs took on the vaunted Defense of the Jacksonville Jaguars. I’m not sure the score truly reflects performance but the Chiefs won the chocolates in the end, but I can’t help but think a future matchup in January is on the cards.

Speaking of comebacks, Andrew Luck, Carson Wentz, and Aaron Rodgers all led comebacks, kind of. I mean they all lost last week which I guess isn’t great (nor a true comeback)… But I don’t care, I’m far from a Packers or a Colts fan and as you know I am New York Giants kinda cat so you know my thoughts on anything Eagles (unfairly or not it’s your issue, not mine!) so whether they win or lose it isn’t something I’m into. What I care about is that I started Andrew Luck on a short week and he damn near put up 70 Fantasy points within four days. What I care about is Carson Wentz going back-to-back weeks of 20 points plus in scoring (I know, I know different leagues have different scoring systems – just go with it!) and likely to make it a third against a pathetic Giants secondary. And I also care about Aaron Rodgers doing what he does best too because when he does, it’s pretty, it’s oh so pretty to watch. And when they fire, everyone around them does too and that is what we are all about.

What I care about is that for Fantasy Football all of the above players were in the Top 10 of their position this week…hold up! What’s that you say? ‘@TheBLeagueSays you suck! Pat Mahomes didn’t finish in the Top 10 Quarterbacks in Week 5! Get your facts right!’ Huh… Well, how about that, he didn’t for the first time this ye… He didn’t finish in the Top 10 amongst Quarterbacks in Week 4 against Denver either? ‘Yeah @TheBLeagueSays, you moron he finished 11th that Week! Get it right!’ Damn it! Come on! 11th!? Geez… Tough crowd… Anyway…

So we are nearly (oh boy, don’t say it @TheBLeagueSays!) halfway through the Fantasy season (damn it, @TheBLeageSays, I told you not to say it!). Week 8 is a few short weeks away and we see teams head into their Bye Week or to London (which I still think is a stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid idea). And even though… Nope. London. Still on my mind. So stupid. I need to address this. Ok, here goes, I’m about to step outside the safety of my parenthesis. But before I do… These thoughts are my own – I cannot stress that enough – here goes:

Here’s the thing. In no way, no how would we ever see the Boston Red Socks play the New York Yankees in a mid-season game in Argentina. Never will we ever see Real Madrid take on Barcelona in Utah for the battle for the top spot in the La Liga. Look I understand what the financial breaks for the NFL are and I get it. I can’t help but think that a team and towns like Philadelphia or Jacksonville who are currently two uber-relevant teams right now have been absolutely robbed out of this. But here’s a soft thought with no real substance behind it because being critical without any offerings is as ignorant as it gets, but why not send teams out to the U.K. for their preseason games instead? There would be less stress and pressure on the players, you don’t need to get all the logistics correct and you can take your time and actually promote the game over a full month as opposed to the ‘hit-and-run’ feel of one game every 3 weeks. How’s that for a compromise? Those who are overseas are mad for the NFL (and they are, my league of record is a 10 team league with 9 guys from England in our 8th year… I think it’s the 8th, either way, a shout-out to the AGS League) and are so hardcore for any sporting event they would watch crab racing if they could put a bet on it. They can take more time absorbing the game, see more players, and pay less for tickets and for those who are in the U.S.A they get, you know, an actual home game to go to because you wait 9 months to play only 8 games at home each year.

Someone, please, tell me I’m not crazy here?! But for now, that’s about all I have to say about that. Anyways, Seattle plays Oakland at Wembley this week. We get a team whose Quarterback had 13 completed passes of 21 attempts last week against a team who ‘can’t find a pass rusher’. Good, I hope the game flops, the NFL deserves that much…

Tangent aside: to get away from this rant I am going to completely sidestep to what I wanted to go over and that is a brief overview of how things have panned out so far. But before I get to that…

Did you know…

• That teams that start 5-0 have a 90% chance of making the playoffs and a 17.5% chance of winning the Super Bowl? This has happened 14 times already, so Kansas and the L.A. Rams, buckle up! Week 11 when they eventually meet; it may be a sign of things to come!
• That the Eagles have made the Playoffs every year that they have started 2-2 since 1990? I have them reaching the Conference finals and bowing out to the Vikings, but until then I can’t see anyone mounting an actual challenge on them in the NFC East right now.
• That in order for, say the Falcons, to reach the playoffs, to get to a 50% chance of getting to the Playoffs they would need to likely win their next five games straight while also pending positive results of teams in their Division. I have more to say on this a little further down – but if I were a betting man, the odds may not be better to back them as an outsider right now…

Alright, I’ve calmed down. Let’s crack on!

So what I have done is divvy up a few teams based on their records and go over a few things Fantasy-wise that could help you going forward;

5-0 – The Chiefs and The Rams: Pat Mahomes is currently the QB1 for the year and is sporting an RB1 in Kareem Hunt, a WR1 with Tyreek Hill and the TE1 in Travis Kelce for the year. It’s like last season and as if Alex Smith never left, right? The Rams have three players in the Top 25 of Wide Receivers… Oh and Todd Gurley! Jared Goff has been in MVP conversations already and I can’t see either team slowing down. Kansas is at New England and the Rams head to Denver this week but their next challenges really lay…when they both meet in Week 11 in L.A. Until then, fire them all up.

4-1 – The Saints and The Bengals: Drew Brees is timeless and looks like he could play for another five years. Everyone was concerned with the splits between Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram but I just don’t see a world where that will ever be an issue – they’ll continue to crush it like they did last year. Michael Thomas has had an amazing season so far too. This week the Saints have the Bye. I am interested in Cam Meredith, he is seeing more work in the slot and I would assume that Ted Ginn takes snaps back from Tre’Quan Smith. Andy Dalton and the Bengals have a tough matchup this week, AFC North Football is as physical as ever but the Steelers are leaking yards in the air. Tyler Boyd, A.J. Green and C.J. Uzomah are good plays this week and Joe Mixon looked as sturdy as ever last week coming back from a knee injury too. The Bengals have some tasty matchups over the next month which includes Kansas on the road followed by home games with Tampa and New Orleans. Points, Points, Points Points…

3-2 – The Ravens and The Bears (Chicago is 3-1 due to the Bye Round in Week 4): If someone had told you at the start of the year that Baltimore and their bunch of rag-tag Receivers who had never played a game together would look as competitive as they do then I’d call you a liar. Alex Collins (RB24 Standard Scoring, RB27 PPR) has lost some work to Javorius Allen (RB21 Standard Scoring, RB17 PPR) in most aspects of their games, and for a guy who was selected anywhere from the 3rd to 5th Rounds that is a huge concern. Chicago, well, are an improvement from the John Fox era was likely, but that Defence – my god, they’re amazing – but Mitchell Trubisky has made some improvements too. Trey Burton (A Pros And Cons favorite) is adapting well and Allen Robinson is growing into his role too. Taylor Gabriel has shown flashes since his arrival and Tarik Cohen is starting to establish a bigger role too, something Jordan Howard enthusiasts are concerned about.

2-3 – The Eagles and The Texans: Philadelphia (just moved to 3-3 with an easy win over the New York Giants on Thursday Night Football), much to my chagrin are going to find their feet once Carson Wentz does. I don’t want to hide excuses for a slowish start behind his knee injury – but comfort and faith in something like that can be hard to recover from, Wentz though has an incredible head on his shoulders and I’m sure he will be fine. If you waited on Alshon Jeffrey – good for you, he fell in Drafts and could end up in that WR2 range if all goes well. And Zach Ertz, prior to Thursday nights matchup with the Giants, is currently fourth overall in Targets. In the League. Unbelievable hey! The Texans are another team that has battled injuries. Like Wentz, Deshaun Watson had knee surgery and after a booming rise slowed down, I like his schedule coming up but let’s see him continually improve upon last year first before we get crazy on him as a 5th Roun pick again, yeah? DeAndre Hopkins is going to DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller has continued his high paced output from last season when he is on the field with Watson, while Keke Coutee out of nowhere has been a bit of a Target monster in a few of the last weeks too. Here is what we know – schedules aside – both teams Divisions are completely up for grabs. The Eagles could legit lose the next 3 games straight and I wouldn’t believe they still won’t top the Division. The same kind of goes for Houston. Tennessee doesn’t look good – at all – but somehow they and Jacksonville (who have also plodded along at times) haven’t taken the ‘bull by the horns’ and claimed the AFC South. I think if Houston can get their act together, no team in that Division can put up the points they can and if so it would be hard to keep up with and stop in making a run to the playoffs.

2-2-1 – The Browns and The Vikings: Kickers have killed both teams and their records could be better if they didn’t bomb out in this department. Otherwise, we could be looking at a couple of 4-1 teams right now. I love David Njoku over the next month as the Browns (after this weeks matchup with the Chargers who take Tight Ends souls) see Tampa, Pittsburgh, Kansas and Atlanta – all games where the Tight End can play a prominent role as all four teams mentioned above are in the bottom five for points against by the Tight End position. Kirk Cousins has fit into a similar situation; an Offensive Line that can’t protect him. The difference this time around is that I can’t believe he has ever had a Stefon Diggs or Adam Thielen around to bail him out. Kyle Rudolph is a continual Top 8 Tight End and Dalvin Cook is yet to get going, but as the season gets old he could be the X-Factor they need to take the next step forward. Hopefully, he doesn’t pull a hamstring when doing so…

1-4 – The Falcons: If any team can make a comeback it would be the Falcons right? I mean the Top spot is probably out of reach, but a wildcard spot the way the entire NFC is shaping up is still a possibility. Look their secondary had been destroyed by injuries and are conceding points like its going out of fashion. But let’s look at the positives, Julio looks great. Mohamed Sanu has played well. Calvin Ridley looks like he fits right in and is the leading Receiver for Touchdowns with six. Matt Ryan has played out of his skin. I’m interested in their backfield. I don’t trust (the uber talented and one of my favorites) Devonta Freeman is always hurt, it seems. Tevin Coleman is in a contract year and could be on the way out and Ito Smith is starting to work his way into the rotations. Tampa, New York Giants, Washington, and Cleveland are up in the next month – each game is completely there to be won. If you can buy low on anyone, do so – they’ll likely be in for more high scoring games and are all worth a play.

That’s a lot of info there, pal, so get on with it @TheBLeagueSays, what are…

THE PROS

Marshawn Lynch revenge game!!!

Seattle over the past month has faced a few decent Running Backs like Todd Gurley, David Johnson, Ezekiel Elliott, and Jordon Howard. This week they face cult hero and former Seahawk Marshawn Lynch, who faces off against Seattle for the first time since he was a Buffalo Bill back in 2008 where he popped off for 18-76-1 TD. This year more than the last Lynch looks like one of the bargains for Fantasy Football in 2018. He is a lead back, who fell into (roughly) the 5th Round in redraft leagues as the RB23 and RB24 in Standard Scoring and PPR respectively but currently, he sits around the RB15 mark 6 Weeks into the year. Lynch is averaging 14.02 Standard Scoring Points per Game which has been helped by crossing for 3 Touchdowns so far.

The issue on Lynch is when the Raiders look to be chasing a game, he gets dropped for Jalen Richard. And that’s fine for this week, Seattle isn’t really a team that blows teams out of the water either. They’ve only really had one ‘blow-out’ 24-13 win at home against Dallas a few weeks back. In their last month, Seattle conceded an average of 107.75 all-purpose yards and 1 Touchdown per game to lead Running Backs.

So can Marshawn Lynch be an RB1 this week? I think very much so! Fire him up!

Cooper Kupp…

Could this lad be the most underrated player we have in the NFL and Fantasy Football this year?

 

Cooper Kupp is currently 28th overall in Standard scoring and 17th overall in PPR. That is complemented by a 41-30-438 Yards-5 TDS. Now I can’t stand extrapolating numbers because this is Football and the only thing which is predictable as it is indeed unpredictable and add in another cliche and another cliche and so on and so on… But it still has him on track for a 131-96-1401.6 Yards-16 TD season which doesn’t seem too far fetched to happen based on how well the Rams have been playing. Now, I see and love the hype and numbers behind Adam Thielen because he has been going off but he was a 3rd to 4th Round Pick in Standard Scoring and PPR redrafts whereas Cooper Kupp had an 8th Round value in the same formats whilst being possibly the 4th option in a Rams Offense powered by a Todd Gurley Run (and Receiving) game plan, with new Recruit Brandin Cooks and Robert Woods who is as slippery as anyone in the game who at times was also a forgotten man.

Some did, but not many, expected Kupp to play a more expanded role than what he had last year. The arrival of Brandin Cooks had everyone somewhat guessing what the trio’s roles would be without going beyond what Sammy Watkins (somewhat) provided in 2017. Ironically last season (for players who had a minimal 10 Targets) Kupp, Woods, Watkins and Cooks all landed in the Top 15 of Wide Receivers in Completion Percentage in the opposition Endzone. Currently, this season Kupp has done a lot of his work in this area and is 11-7-3 TDS so far which makes it more impressive that there are only 5 other Wide Receivers with those honors and Kupp is currently second on that list behind Michael Thomas.

I know I could expand on Cooper Kupp and the Rams but to be honest we could be here all day. I just wanted to give him a shout-out for having the start of the season he is having. Not many expected Kupp right now to be in the Top 5 of Wide Receivers in PPR and Number 2 Wide Receiver in Standard Scoring. But he is, and the way the Rams are playing I don’t know if he falls outside the WR1 range for the rest of the season.

THE CONS

If we don’t learn from the past…

Really, Oakland? Really?

You’re not going to give Marshawn Lynch the rock on the goal line but let Derek Carr throw it instead? Really?

Really?

What did you think would happen?

Really?

Damn it, John Gruden, you have called enough games to know that that is a bad, bad idea.

Really? I’m at a loss for words with this… Speechless. I am without speech.

Marshawn Lynch needs to get John Gruden and Pete Carroll in a pub this weekend after their game in London, knock back a few pints of lager and explain to them how a 5’11, 220lb Running Back can, you know, maybe drop people when running at maximum speed from short distances and knocking people over in the process – oh, and is something a paid specialist like himself is great at – and score a Touchdown? Maybe he could help a team win a Super Bowl in the process? Maybe we don’t trust Derek Carr over a beast like Lynch. A beast. I mean the guy’s nickname is literally BEASTMODE, you would think a guy with a name like that would know how to be aggressive enough to (I don’t know) run hard at a goal line? Why aren’t we running it with Marshawn Lynch on the goal line again?

Here is the thing that I can’t process about it all. Currently, the erratic Jared Cook and aging Jordy Nelson are your best Receivers. It’s not even Amari Cooper anymore, he’s in no-mans land right now. And knowing that these two are your best options on the goal line you still trust Derek Carr to land it to one of them?

Really?

And not Marshawn Lynch?

Really?

It literally cost Seattle a Super Bowl and you thought you could do it better?!

I can’t even…

The NFC East is decided…

I will keep it simple.

This NFC East Division in 2018 was, is and should only ever have been Philadelphia’s to lose. There I said it. I feel dirty about it being a Giants homer, but here we are. There was always going to be a presumed slow start for the former Champions due to injuries and rehabbing players, a loss of coaching personnel and roster turnover – whatever you think might have slowed them down, it probably did. It would have been naive to think it was going to be smooth sailing from the start. This, to me, is where Dallas, New York, and Washington needed to capitalize, but have somewhat failed in the attempts to do so.

Funnily, it felt as if the same people who were questioning the Patriots results a few weeks ago are the same people who were calling for the Eagles to fail too. Feels like that was forgotten pretty quickly also…

The Eagles haven’t been blown out in any of the games they have lost, quite the contrary. In their three losses this season, the biggest margin of loss was by six points when a Nick Foles lead team lost in Tampa in Round 2. Ok, it could be worse. They had a three-point overtime loss away in Tennesee was followed by a two-point home loss to the Vikings in back-to-back weeks which is extremely out of character for this team. While this was going on, New York looked like they have set the ‘implosion’ in full motion while Dallas and Washington, although both have a couple of handy wins still haven’t convinced anyone that they can be there by the end of the regular season.

The reality is that Dallas has no one to catch the ball, Alex Smith has forgotten how to throw the ball and Eli Manning right now should be in Boca playing racquetball.

PROJECTIONS

All projections are for the respective Players ceiling

Marshawn Lynch: Carries; 16 / Yards Per Carry; 4.9 / Yards; 78.4 / TDS; 1 / Targets; 3 / Receptions; 2 / Yards Per Reception; 5.0 / Yards; 10

Cooper Kupp: Targets; 11 /  Catch Rate; 74% / Receptions; 8 / YPC; 14.33 / Yards; 114.64 / TDS; 1

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SUMMARY

I have said a lot this week. Apologies for that!

I have mentioned the legends that are breaking records. I have, with you, relived some bone-headed playcalling on a simple goal-line run. I have brought up the rise of a young Receiver who is getting it done quietly. I have spoken about a team at 3-3 on the climb looking to prove they were no fluke and a run at the holy grail isn’t beyond them just quite yet.

I also don’t think playing games in London are a good idea. But let’s never speak about that again…

And as I have said a so much, I will say that there is everything to play for this week, and I am looking forward to seeing it all play out.

I want to thank you for getting this far and taking in everything I have presented. Set your lineups accordingly and check out the DFS and Weekly Content all the hard-working staff is pumping out to get you best prepared. Also – download the Going For 2 app, then and rate, review and share with your loved ones. You all deserve it!

You can as always follow and find me at @TheBLeagueSays and offer any view or conversation about this. Let’s all get better together!

Once again, Thank you and Enjoy!

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