Week 6

Hello everyone. After a 3-day hiatus in Chicago, I am back writing, and ready to analyze week 6. As we venture towards the middle of the 2008 NFL season, injuries are playing a big part in fantasy football lineups, and actual real football lineups everywhere. That's why I am going to make my all-injured (not playing or questionable) fantasy football team for week 6, and let me tell you, it's pretty impressive.

QB: Tom Brady (New England)
RB: Brian Westbrook (Philadelphia)
RB: Willie Parker (Pittsburgh)
WR: Marques Colston (New Orelans)
WR: Anquan Boldin (Arizona)
TE: Kellen Winslow (Cleveland)
Kicker: Shayne Graham (Cinci)

So..you look at this roster, and you have the 2007 MVP, the running back with the most total yards from scrimmage in 07', two wide receivers who were top 10 in their position before the season, and a TE that was second behind Jason Witten for most receiving yards for a tight end last year. Fantasy football lineups have been obviously been affected, a trend that will obviously keep going as the season moves on. And to think..it's only week 6.

Speaking of week 6, here are the matchups and my picks. I went 9-5 last week, so view and decide with caution.

1) Ravens at Colts
Verdict: Colts are coming off of one of the best come from behind victories in the past decade, but are not facing the Texans this week. They are facing the Ravens, who after coming off a tough 13-10 loss to the titans, are going to be angry, which doesn't bode well for a Colts offense that is last in rushing and a Ravens defense that is among the leagues best.
Pick: Ravens 20-17

2) Bears at Falcons
Verdict: Falcons are playing pretty good football right now at 3-2. It's just that they are playing the Bears, who are playing even better football right now at 3-2. Look for Urlacher, Briggs, and the rest of the Chicago Defense to focus there Sunday on making Matt Ryan wish he was still in college. With that said, if Orton makes mistakes like he has in his teams' two losses, this could get interesting.
Pick: Bears 24-14

3) Lions at Vikings
Verdict: It just gets worse for the Lions. They are 0-5, and now they are 13 point underdogs to the Vikings, as they come home after a big win on Monday night against the Saints. Translation= Lions are going to 0-6.
Pick: Vikings 31-10

4) Raiders at Saints
Verdict: Tom Cable's first game as coach for the Raiders should be interesting to say the least. In one sense, it could be a blowout if Oakland does not come out with their A-game against a Saints offense that is among the league's best. However, if Jamarcus Russell can get going on a Saints defense that gave up 3 TD's to career journeyman Gus Ferrotte (when he was in his prime), this could be an upset special.
Pick: Saints 31-24

5) Bengals at Jets
Verdict: Last time we saw Brett Favre, he was in the midst of throwing 6 TD passes against the Cardinals. I am not saying he is going to put up those vintage numbers again, but against the Bengals young defense, it's definitely a favorable matchup for him, which means it's a favorable matchup for the Jets.
Sidenote= Harvard-Alum Ryan Fitzpatrick will make his second-start of his young career. That means Carson Palmer's elbow injury is very serious.
Pick: Jets 27-10

6) Panthers at Tampa Bay
Verdict: I really don't know what to choose here. These teams are basically the same on paper. Good offense, even better on defense. With that, I think the Panthers have a better offense, and the Bucs have a better defense. Offense wins games, defense wins championships. Too bad this isn't the Super Bowl.
Pick: Panthers 17-13

7) Rams at Redskins
Verdict: The bad news is that the Rams are 0-4 and have already have fired their coach Scott Linehan. The good news is that the new regime under Jim Haslett will start on sunday, at home. Neither of these factors will matter though, as the Redskins have just come off two huge wins over the Cowboys and the Eagles, and will most likely not have a letdown against the lowly Rams.
Pick: Redskins 34-14

8) Dolphins at Texans
Verdict: After the Texans catastrophic loss against the Colts, they are now 0-4 and are on life-support for reviving their season. A year ago, if they saw the Dolphins on their schedule, they would have felt relief. Not this year, as multi-dimentional RB Ronnie Brown, and a energetic Miami Defense has put the Dolphins right into the thick of the AFC East divisional race.
Pick: Dolphins 24-16

9) Jaguars at Broncos
Verdict: Yes, the Jaguars experienced their first version of Karma last week. On sunday night, after eeking out all sorts of victories earlier in the year, they failed to do so against the Steelers, a team who they did that to in last years' wildcard round of the AFC playoffs. This time, the Jaguars don't have to play the Patriots, they get to play a young, flashy, Broncos team that can sure score points, but have not proven that they have been able to stop anybody.
Pick: Jaguars 31-27

10) Eagles at San Fran
Verdict: The Eagles have loss 2 straight, and are without RB Brian Westbrook and WR Reggie Brown for Sunday's matchup against the 49ers. Now, most experts would say the Eagles, without their 2 top offensive threats and lacking confidence, will throw up an egg against an oppertunistic San Fran defense lead by all-world LB Patrick Willis. Well, screw conventional wisdom.
Pick: Eagles 38-14

11) Packers at Seahawks
Verdict: Both of these teams are struggling right now, with the Seahawks losing 44-7 to the Giants last week, and the Packers losing their last 2 games. This is a battle of the hampered quarterbacks, as both Matt Hasselback and Aaron Rodgers are currently plagued with injuries. Point blank, Rodgers is younger and can recover easier, and the Packers have stud wide receiver Greg Jennings healthy, and the Seahawks have WR's Deion Branch and Bobby Engram on the mend and WR Nate Burleson out. Advantage goes to the Packers.
Pick: Packers 27-17

12) Cowboys at Cardinals
Verdict: How bout them COWBOYS? The good news, at least for me is, they have been struggling the past two weeks. TO has been complaining, Adam " Soon to be suspended Pacman" Jones is back in trouble, DaMarcus Ware is looking human, and Tony Romo seems quite pedestrian, it's been somewhat enjoyable for me to watch. Still, while it might be a shootout, I can't see any reason how the Cowboys will lose to Kurt Warner (who's dedication is in question after he admitted that he thought about retirement after the Cardinals week 4 loss to the Jets) and the rest of his Cardinal teammates.
Pick: Cowboys 31-23

13) Patriots at Chargers
Verdict: A rematch of last years' AFC Championship. Both teams are missing their most important pieces of their respective team, with New England's QB Tom Brady and San Deigo's Shawne Merriman both being on the sidelines not in uniform for the game. The one difference is that the Chargers still have LT, something they didn't have in the AFC Championship last year.
Pick: Chargers 24-17

14) Giants at Browns
Verdict: Here are the facts. The Giants are coming off a 44-6 spanking of the Seahawks. The Browns are 1-3, and this game could quite frankly determine the fate of QB Derek Anderson's career. The desperation involved adds to the fact that this game has all the makings of an upset. Too bad the Giants are the best team in the NFL, and played a much better desperate team in the Super Bowl last year, and won.
Pick: Giants 28-13

Those are my picks for the week.
Go Philles and Eagles.