1. The Steelers-Eagles game was about as brutal an experience as you'll have as a fantasy owner. Michael Vick: turnover machine. LeSean McCoy: underwhelming (though he scored a TD to save his day). DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin: not much going on. And that's just the Eagles! On the Steel side, Ben Roethlisberger threw for just 207 yards and accounted for zero touchdowns, Mike Wallace did next to nothing, and Antonio Brown dropped two passes that could have been TDs (but did okay otherwise). Rashard Mendenhall was the best of the bunch, showing that he's fully recovered from ACL surgery. Sorry, Isaac Redman; your days are numbered.

2. Robert Griffin III may be concussed, but I'm not about to recommend Kirk Cousins despite his day-making 77-yard touchdown to Santana Moss. Griffin may play this week, too.

3. Boy, Mike Shanahan has thrown us all a curveball with Alfred Morris, hasn't he?

4. Interesting to note Brandon Bolden's 14 carries – for the second straight week, he carved out a good-sized role in the high-volume New England offense.

5. If we could draft all over again, Demaryius Thomas would have to be one of the top five receivers selected despite his fumbling issue (three this year). Had he held onto that ball on Sunday, he would have had over 190 yards and a touchdown – not that you can complain too much about nine catches for 188 yards even with the lost points for the fumble. Besides, everyone had a tough time holding the ball in New England this week.

6. It looks like all that was holding Marques Colston back was his foot – and now he's over it. He's been Drew Brees' go-to guy in consecutive weeks, piling up a nasty 18 catches for 284 yards and four touchdowns. In the three games before, he'd caught a grand total of 10 balls for 160 yards and no touchdowns.

7. I still hate being a Jets fan.

Running Backs

Alex Green, GB – Cedric Benson left with a foot injury Sunday and is reportedly out eight weeks, if not all year. Green impressed in the boring back's absence, racking up 55 yards on just nine carries while catching the only pass thrown his way. Despite not running all that well (3.5 YPC), Benson has been somewhat useful for fantasy owners this year, collecting 345 total yards through five weeks. Green averaged 8.2 yards per carry for the University of Hawaii in 2010, and though it was admittedly in a gimmicky offense, that doesn't diminish his talent. With the same touches, he could be extraordinarily productive. Green's the rare pickup who can take a backfield job and run with it, and that potential makes him the week's hottest add. James Starks will be a factor as well (and is also worth a pickup in deeper formats), but for reasons of health and talent, Green seems like the one to own.

LaRod Stephens-Howling, ARI – While the pint-sized Cardinals back has missed the last two games with a hip injury, Beanie Wells (toe) is out for a while and now Ryan Williams (shoulder surgery) is out for the year. LSH has long been a favorite of mine – yes, he's undersized, but he's also a playmaker, which neither Beanie nor Williams can truly claim to be. Fear the Arizona offensive line, but if Stephens-Howling can play this weekend, he's easily got to be the favorite over no-names Alfonso Smith and William Powell.

Wide Receivers

Rueben Randle, NYG – I'm about ready to give up on handicapping Hakeem Nicks' replacements. One week it was Ramses Barden coming up big, the next week Domenik Hixon, and last week it was Randle with six catches for 82 yards. I can't strongly recommend Randle (who had one catch in the first four weeks of the year), but he's a tall, quick receiver who showed good hands against Cleveland this week. Just know that any Giants wide receiver not named Nicks or Cruz is a roll of the dice.

Chris Givens, STL – Givens has caught long bombs from Sam Bradford in consecutive weeks, notching a 52-yarder against Seattle and a 51-yarder against Arizona. Unfortunately, those were his only catches in those games (though he was targeted eight total times). With Danny Amendola (shoulder) gone for 4-6 weeks, someone's going to have to step up, and Givens is getting the first crack at the starting spot opposite Brandon Gibson (who didn't do much when Amendola was around and probably won't do much now that he's not). The first pick of the fourth round this year out of Wake Forest is a big-time deep threat, obviously; what's been missing for him is a certain degree of route-running that would make him more of a factor on intermediate pass plays. If he can refine his game, Givens will be productive.

Kendall Wright, TEN – Wright's been fantasy-relevant in consecutive weeks despite facing good defenses, as he got into the end zone at Houston in Week 4 and caught nine balls for 66 yards in Minnesota in Week 5. With Kenny Britt still not all the way back and no other Tennessee receiver standing out, the Titans' first-round pick should be widely owned despite his more-than-questionable quarterback situation.

Josh Gordon, CLE – Gordon burned the Giants for touchdowns on both of his catches – one for 62 yards, one for two – making him the week's unlikeliest fantasy hero in those precious few leagues where he was started. The rookie second-rounder out of Baylor has great size at 6-3, 225, and though the Giants were banged up in the secondary, he showed he can beat defenders deep. With Greg Little's dropsies (no catches Sunday on two targets), two guys stepped up for Cleveland: Gordon and…

Jordan Norwood, CLE – As a possession receiver in what's normally a fairly conservative offense, Norwood is a guy who could possibly sustain Sunday's success. He delivered a stunning nine catches (on nine targets) for 81 yards against the Giants, and his role could continue to expand in the absence of Mohamed Massaquoi. Of course, owning any Cleveland receiver is a crapshoot, so neither Gordon nor Norwood comes recommended for 10- or 12-team formats.

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed