Sunday Six Pack: Week Five
We’re with you every Sunday to provide the Sunday Six Pack, an article featuring six of the biggest storylines heading into each and every week of the season. Keeping tabs on these events will keep you prepared and informed throughout the season – just don’t drive within six hours of reading this. With that in mind, let’s take a look at this week’s Sunday Six Pack:
Can #1) No Running Back, No Cry?
The Patriots might enter Sunday’s game against the Bengals without an active running back that hasn’t punched somebody in the face on the football field. Stevan Ridley it out with a mysterious (is there any other type of injury in New England?) knee or upper thigh injury and Brandon Bolden has been spotted walking around the locker room with a noticeable limp. While that leaves LeGarrette Blount as the only healthy Patriot running back. The real question is, “does it really matter?”  It’s not like that Patriots running backs have had all that much fantasy value outside of Shane Vereen’s week one performance, and the Bengals are 11th in the league against the run, giving up only 99 rushing yards per game. Indeed, they held Matt Forte to 50 rushing yards in week one. Blount may end up with enough of workload to make him an acceptable Flex play, but it’s not a situation I’d be terribly excited about unless I had moderate to severe bye week or injury issues at running back.
Can #2) Thoroughbreds or Ponies?
The Colts stormed into San Francisco and manhandled the 49ers, then showed no signs of a letdown against the lowly Jaguars. Now the Seattle Seahawks, the Legion of Boom and their 4-0 record come into Indy. The Colts really have a chance to establish themselves as a true contender to the Broncos in the AFC if they can take down the Seahawks who have been a different team on the road under Pete Carroll, but did stage a furious comeback against “Pick 6 McGee” and the Texans last week. Seattle is actually in the middle of the pack in terms of run defense (18th – giving up 109 yards per game), and Arian Foster hit them up for 102 yards in week four. It will be interesting to see if the Colts can finally get Trent Richardson rolling or if his fantasy value will continue to be touchdown dependent.
Can #3) Do You Believe in FitzMagic?
Just when he was coming on, Jake Locker is going to miss several weeks with a hip injury. So bring on former Buffalo franchise quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to inject some of that “FitzMagic” into the Titans offense. In relief of Locker last week, Fitz was 3-for-8 for 108 yards and a touchdown, but Nate Washington’s 77 yard score that was aided by a pick from the official was a huge chunk of that. Fitzpatrick’s lack of arm strength should remove any semblance of the vertical passing game, stunting the growth of rookie Justin Hunter who had also started to emerge as of late. If anything, Kendall Wright’s miscast role as the short and intermediate target should continue to grow, and I’d expect Washington’s unsexy, but ever present WR3 value to stay consistent.
Can #4) The Stoppable Force Vs. The Movable Object
The Rams can’t run the ball. The Jaguars can’t stop the run. Something’s gotta give, am I right? The Jaguars are giving up a league worst 165 rushing yards per game and the Rams have the lowest average rushing yards per game at 47.2 (yes, I was shocked to learn the Giants were only 30th in the league). Judging from reports, it sounds like either week four inactive Isaiah Pead or rookie Zac Stacy will get their chance to start and potentially establish themselves as the Rams’ lead dog. You would think that Daryl Richardson would still be involved in the passing game however, and perhaps Benny Cunningham ends up as a gameday inactive. Either way, even with the juicy matchup, its hard to count on any Rams runner for anything more than low-end Flex value this week. If one back does get a decent amount of carries (think 15 or more) and it’s successful, it will be something to note moving forward.
Can #5) Pretenders or Contenders?
Was the Carolina Panthers’ complete destruction of the New York Giants a mirage based on the pathetic resistance the Giants exhibited in week three? Or have the Panthers really figured out Cam Newton’s running ability just might be the key to their offense? Coming off their week four bye, the Panthers get a 2-2 Arizona Cardinals team that was dominated for 58 minutes by the reeling Buccaneers last week, and who just traded their starting LT (such as he was) to the Steelers. The Panthers had just three sacks in their first two games before getting to Eli Manning seven times in week three. The Cardinals’ woeful offensive line and a week or rest seems to suggest we’ll get more week three havoc from the Panthers’ defensive front. With the Falcons struggling themselves, the Panthers have a chance to get back on track. With two weeks to plan, watch to see how fast they come out of the gate. I’ll say this: I’m using the Panthers D/ST as a premium streaming option in most of my leagues.
Can #6) Midnight Madness
Major League Baseball is the stubborn lady with the cartful of groceries who won’t let you in front of her in line to buy your one carton of milk. Another NFL game is being moved because of a baseball commitment, this time the Chargers and the Raiders being moved to after my bed time because of a playoff game for the A’s. While I’m hopefully dreaming about Hakeem Nicks’ big day (I still believe!). Terrelle Pryor will make his return under center for the Raiders, likely with Rashad Jennings lining up behind him. This game has the makings of a shootout, especially now that the Chargers have lost Dwight Freeney for the season. I look for Philip Rivers to keep his hot start, which has been fueled with quick decisions and throws, going. Jennings is an above-average receiver and makes a decent RB2/Flex spot for those in a bye-week pinch.
