Sit Em, Start Em – Week Six

Sit Em, Start Em – Week Six

Chad Henne – With the Jaguars slated to face the Broncos in week six we have Henne ranked as a top-20 fantasy quarterback play. The Jags are expected to be down early in this one and throwing a ton in catch up mode which should lead to Henne putting up serviceable fantasy numbers this week. Start him in two QB leagues or where you have Matt Ryan on bye.

Keenan Allen – Allen has arrived for the Chargers and should have a large enough role to be a fantasy option for the bye weeks and possibly beyond. We liked Allen as the Chargers top receiver all the way back in preseason and our tune has not changed. Allen was one of the most NFL ready receivers but was dealing with injury issues leading up to the combine….it looks like those issues are over now. Get Allen in lineups in deeper leagues.

Alshon Jeffery – Alshon Jeffery has predictably been feasting on single coverage across from Brandon Marshall, we just never thought he would be on pace for 1,200 plus yards after week five. Alshon is currently sitting at eighth in the league in receiving yards with 429 and remains a strong WR3/flex play going forward. Defenses are going to adjust sooner than later opening things up for Marshall but Jeffery will remain a sky high upside play until that time comes. Start Jeffery with confidence this week.

Zac Stacy – Zac Stacy has been named the week six starter for the Rams and is looking like an RB2 this week against a tough Texans defense. The running back position has been a bit of a fantasy wasteland through five weeks but Stacy should provide some consistent value going forward. The caveat here is that Daryl Richardson is still a change of pace back and will get his touches, especially when the Rams are down. Start Stacy with confidence in deeper leagues or if you have a runner out on bye or with an injury.

Rob Gronkowski – Gronk is finally due back this week. I am one of the sorry owners who stashed Gronk on draft day hoping for an early return but it was not to be. Gronk may be limited in his first game back but Brady will force feed him the ball as he is the Patriots top threat in the passing game. Start Gronk right away unless you have only one starting spot for tight ends and also have Julius Thomas.

Sit Em

Matt Schaub – Matt Schaub has long been fooling fantasy owners into thinking he was a good quarterback. At best a game manager with a future HOFer, AJ masked Schaub’s ineptness for years. The Texans now have two good wide receivers for the first time in recent memory and Schaub has all but imploded and regressed. He may get things back on track versus the Rams especially with the usually reliable Cortland Finnegan struggling, but we believe Finnegan, Jenkins and Johnson will give Schaub fits once again this week. Sit him in deeper leagues as you should have a high upside backup option if you drafted Schaub as your QB1.

Stevan Ridley – Ridley has played himself into an RBBC in New England after being an arguable 1st round pick in standard leagues this preseason. Ridley is averaging a meager 43.5 yards per game, 3.7 yards per carry with no touchdowns so far this season. Ridley is expected back this week but those in smaller formats will want to leave Ridley on the bench in a matchup versus the Saints in which the Patriots may be trailing. Ridley is not a receiving threat and is averaging just over 12 touches per game in wins. Sit Ridley until he proves something.

Brandon Jacobs – The Giants have been struggling so far this season and a big part of their lack of offensive punch has been the lack of any semblance of reliability from the Giants run game. Eli is still talented and he has an enviable trio of receivers but the run game needs to be at least average to open up the passing game. So far this season Jacobs has not looked impressive and is only worth a look for deeper league owners in touchdown heavy formats. Though he has the size to become perhaps the greatest true power back to ever play the game Jacobs sometimes fancies himself a scatback and looks to bounce runs to the outside rather than power through holes and take on defenders, many of which are smaller than him. Don’t overthink this week, sit Jacobs until he proves he has something left in the tank.

Dwayne Bowe – Dwayne Bowe is getting the Michael Crabtree treatment from Alex Smith i.e. he is wasting a top-20 talent at his position. The Chiefs face off against the against the Raiders in what should be a dream matchup on paper but Alex Smith is just not a risk taker which severely caps Bowe’s upside week to week. Knock Matt Cassel all you want but the fact of the matter is that Dwayne Bowe had 402 yards through five games last year versus only 183 total this year.

Stevie Johnson – Going up against the respectable Bengals secondary this week Johnson would have tough matchup even with E.J Manuel under center. With Thad Lewis starting this week Johnson’s struggles should inevitably continue against Geno Atkins and the Bengals. Johnson has seen six targets or less and under 40 yards receiving in three of his five contests this season and there is no reason to trust that he will have a solid week against Leon Hall and company this week. Sit Johnson if you have other respectable options.

Brandon Pettigrew – Hopefully if you waited on your tight end you got someone better than Pettigrew but those of you in deeper leagues who went ahead and drafted Pettigrew we hope you also have yourself a reliable second option. Pettigrew has struggled immensely so far this season and not even Megatron being out for week five could spark Pettigrew who managed just 59 yards in Calvin Johnson’s absence. Pettigrew is currently fifth of the team in both receptions per game and total yards after placing second in both of these statistics last season. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut, but you would be nuts to start Pettigrew unless your tight end is on bye in the deepest of leagues.