Fantasy Football Thoughts for Week 6

Fantasy Thoughts for Women Week 6 (note: if you are man, please scroll down to the bottom)

Chances are that the last month has not been a great one for any of you out there (unless you’re one of those people who typically has bad luck, then, of course, please know that this is just a façade). Mercury is in Retrograde once again and reeking havoc on everything from communicating, thinking, processing information and making decisions to the internet, cell phones and television to traveling, finances and learning. Basically, changes, frustration, blockages and aggravation. The good news is that if your life appears to be a mess and you can’t make a decision to save it, Mercury will start moving in the right direction in about a week and completely back to normal after Halloween. The bad is that every year the beginning of football season is plagued by Mercury Retrograde, thus affecting our line-ups and perhaps even our drafts. This is where your intuition really has to come into play because all of the information we are getting from the Internet, radio and television is severely tampered with during this time. While Mercury didn’t appear to start moving backwards until September 24^th, we have been impacted by the slowing down, stopping and reversal of the planet since September 4^th. With that in mind, I would suggest not making any impulsive fantasy football decisions during this time and try to really look at this year’s events as rationally as possible.

First, do not freak out about LaDainian Tomlinson. Sure Darren Sproles had more fantasy points than he did this week, but that’s thanks to special teams. LT was held by Miami to just 35 yards this week. But keep in mind, Miami has the 7^th best rushing defense. And while I would normally attribute a turnaround from the last ranked rush defense in the league in 2007 to the top 10 after just 4 weeks of play in 2008, I’m giving credit here to the arrival of Bill Parcels and his 3-4 scheme. This is what he does. With that said, I might say that Miami beating New England and San Diego back-to-back has something to do with the planetary influence.

Regardless, I know that none of you LT owners would even consider trading him so the worst that can happen is that you bench him in favor of Sproles or someone similar against New England this weekend. Logic might tell you that he isn’t the best start this week—but Mercury Retrograde should tell you that this is the week to start him.

Speaking of New England, if Kevin Faulk is available you can pick him up on waivers or as a free agent, but don’t let his two touchdowns against Kansas City’s 31^st ranked rush defense persuade you to thinking you could ever use him in your line-up in a situation that’s anything less than desperate. Bill Bellichick messes with our heads and this committee situation has effectively eliminated Patriot running backs as fantasy starters.

As for Michael Turner, this may turn out to be an illusion as well. Turner has been anointed as a fantasy stud and while I love that he’s found success in Atlanta, I recommend keeping an eye on his opponent from week to week:

Opponent	Opp Rush Def Rank	Turner’s yds	Opp Rush TD Def Rank	TurnerTDs
Week 1 v. Detroit	30th horrible	220 yds	27th horrible	2 TDs
Week 2 @ Tampa Bay	14th average	42 yds	1st excellent	0 TDs
Week 3 v. Kansas City	31st horrible	104 yds	31st horrible	3 TDs
Week 4 @ Carolina	13th average	56 yds	3rd excellent	0 TDs
Week 5 @ Green Bay	27th horrible	121 yds	17th average	1 TD
Week 6 v. Chicago	4th great	X	12th above average	Y

My guess for the values of X and Y are:

X = around 50 yards

Y = 0 touchdowns

Fantasy Thoughts for Men Week 6:

If you don’t own LaDainian Tomlinson, try to trade for him now. You can get him for a bargain—be sure to mention his injury and how San Diego has fallen from grace. This is the time to make a move with the loss to Miami still fresh. Also add that Darren Sproles had more fantasy points last week.

Pick up Kevin Faulk if you can get him cheap or for free—and trade him to someone else. He doesn’t have a huge upside in New England’s back-by-committee system. And someone will be desperate enough to take a chance on him, especially in a 14 team league.

Keep enjoying Michael Turner’s success if you have him, but keep in mind that he might start to fade in Week 8. Other than Denver in Week 11 and perhaps New Orleans, he is going to face some pretty decent rush defenses. Gone are the days of facing the 27th, 30th and 31st ranked rushing defenses. If you have any specific needs, you may be able to get a pretty valuable package in exchange for Turner.