Our very own Eric Cunningham comes back after a two week sabbatical with the Dalai Lama to pass off some knowledge that he learned from the top of the mountain.

(3) Forum Discussion

QUARTERBACKS

Start ‘Em

Kyle Boller, BAL
One of only two defenses that rank in the top five (or bottom five depending on how you look at it) in passing yards allowed and passing touchdowns by quarterbacks resides in Buffalo. The Bills have allowed opposing quarterbacks to average 291 passing yards and 1.8 passing touchdowns against them this season. In a game in which the Ravens will assuredly feature Willis McGahee in his first return to Buffalo, Boller should play well enough to keep fantasy teams alive as a bye week replacement.

Jeff Garcia, TB
The other defense that has had a tough time stopping opposing quarterbacks is the Detroit Lions. After posting a quarterback rating of 103.4 or more in two straight games, Garcia seems to be getting better as the season progresses. Tampa Bay has a tendency to err on the side of caution, but don’t be surprised if Jon Gruden opens up the playbook for Garcia a little more this week. (Joey Galloway is a pretty good play too.) Especially with new running back Michael Bennett in town, the Buccaneers will pass more than normal. Expect to see at least 250 passing yards and 2 scores.

Chad Pennington, NYJ
I think I’m the last man standing on the Chad Pennington bandwagon. I think he is better than he is being given credit for, but a change to Kellen Clemens wouldn’t be a bad idea. A change of scenery would probably do Pennington some good too. Nonetheless, this week, I expect him to gain a few fans back. Cincinnati’s defense has been putrid and I expect someone to have a big game. Look for Thomas Jones to go off and keep the Cincinnati defensive backs honest. Pennington could push for 35 pass attempts on the day in what should be a high scoring affair. Expect 280 yards and a pair of scores.

Deep Start ‘Em

Damon Huard, KC
After helping Tony Gonzalez become the all-time touchdown receptions leader amongst tight ends last week, Huard will have a bit of a set back in Oakland. The Raiders defense has gotten better and better against quarterbacks each week culminating in last week’s 156 yard, 0 TD effort by Philip Rivers. Expect slightly better results from Huard since Larry Johnson will take the pressure off. You could do a lot worse.

Byron Leftwich, ATL
The Joey Harrington era in Atlanta has come to a screeching halt… for now. While I remain skeptical about Leftwich’s knowledge of the offense and system, I am certain about the New Orleans pass defense: it’s bad. It’s very, very bad. Every quarterback not named David Carr has thrown for at least two passing touchdowns against them. The Falcons passing attack has actually started to show signs of life as well. With Roddy White and Joe Horn coming around, I’m hard pressed not to push Leftwich to the next level. If I had seen him play at least once, I’d recommend starting him across the board, but since it’s his first start this season, keep the enthusiasm tempered to deeper leagues.

Duante Culpepper, OAK
Culpepper ran into some turnover problems against San Diego throwing a pair of interceptions, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see it happen again.  225 yards and a score is likely against Kansas City, but be ready to handle some turnovers. Kansas City has a ball-hawking defense that has picked off quarterbacks twice in a game on three separate occasions this season. It’s better than Carson Palmer made it look last week, but Culpepper can still be ok as a bye week replacement.

Sit ‘Em

Jay Cutler, DEN
No other quarterback that I have ever owned has made me as mad as Jay Cutler. He’s getting the pass attempts, he has the weapons, but he just isn’t making good decisions. 4 TDs and 6 INTs say it all. Against the Pittsburgh defense this week he’ll be no where close to my starting lineup.

David Garrard, JAX
Do I think that Garrard has a chance to lead Jacksonville to a win against the Colts? Absolutely. Do I think that it will be pretty? Not even a little bit. Garrard is a winner. He’s had a nice season thus far, but when it comes down to these big games, he’s going to do what it takes to win even if it means sub par statistics. I’d find another quarterback this week.

Vince Young, TEN
It doesn’t look good for week 7. No one has officially come out and said that he won’t play because of his injury, but HC Jeff Fisher mentioned that if they had practiced on Monday he wouldn’t have participated. It doesn’t sound like it’s an injury that will require surgery, but it could be a lingering problem that will keep him sidelined at least for this week. If he is able to play, I wouldn’t expect great results. Aside from the injury, Young hasn’t had the best statistical season and he is going up against a much improved Houston defense.

RUNNING BACKS

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Maurice Jones-Drew, JAX
Patient Jones-Drew owners were finally rewarded last week, and despite Indianapolis’ solid rush defense this season, they should expect big results this week. Jones-Drew made a name for himself last season by tearing up the Colts not once but twice combining for totals of 28 carries, 269 yards (9.6 YPC), and 2 TDs. He also caught 5 passes for 47 yards and a score. Even though he’s splitting carries with Fred Taylor, Jones-Drew will have a big impact on the fantasy landscape this week.

Kevin Faulk, NE
Someone has got to run the ball for the Patriots, right? With Laurence Maroney still banged up and Sammy Morris out for about a month with a chest injury Kevin Faulk just saw an increase in playing time. The Browns started Jason Wright last week and pounded away at Miami. The Dolphins have allowed RBs to rush for more yards than anyone else aside from Denver. Faulk will be much more valuable in PPR leagues, but this week could be a great week for the New England running attack. In TD-heavy leagues, Heath Evans would be worth a look as well.

Kevin Jones, DET
Granted, Jones is playing in a Mike Martz offense against a solid defensive team. If Martz wasn’t going to hand the ball to Marshall Faulk at the turn of the century, it doesn’t seem all that likely that he will do it now. However, during bye weeks, Jones is actually a decent option. He was assured during the bye week that starting this week he would be the primary ball carrier. He’s also a pretty good receiver out of the backfield, making him more valuable in PPR leagues. Something to note, Tampa Bay’s rush defense isn’t as solid as their perception would let you believe. Only once (week 2 against New Orleans) did the opposing team’s leading rusher fail to reach 64 yards for the game. They’ve also allowed 3 separate 100 yard rushers already. Detroit might actually run the ball this week.
Thomas Jones, NYJ
Jones is a must start against a Bengals defense that hasn’t kept a primary rusher to under 77 yards this season. The only reason that Jones won’t be one of the elite RBs this week is the fact that Cincinnati has been scored on more than any other team through the air. He should be more valuable in leagues that rewards yardage more than TDs since he should easily top the century mark. Expecting another 100+ yard, 0 TD effort is definitely reasonable.

Deep Start ‘Em

Kenny Watson, CIN
With Rudi Johnson still not playing at full strength, Watson will see the bulk of the carries against the Jets. Still, the Bengals know that if they are going to win, it’s going to be thanks to their aerial attack. The Jets defense hasn’t been the best at stopping the run allowing backs to average 1.0 TD and 126 yards per game. Watson makes a respectable option in deep leagues only.

Earnest Graham, TB
With Michael Bennett still new to the team, expect Graham to get the bulk of the carries against Detroit. The Lions have allowed four rushers to top 66 yards and have allowed a total of 6 rushing TDs by RBs. Graham is a decent option in deeper leagues but don’t expect a breakout game. Tampa Bay will probably be running a throw first offense against the Lions weak secondary.

Sit ‘Em

Marshawn Lynch, BUF
It’s never the best idea to start a running back against the Baltimore defense. They continue to be one of the league’s best against RBs allowing only 1 rushing TD and an average of only 66 yards per game. Lynch is still searching for his first 100 yard performance and it’s unlikely he’ll find it week 7. There are better options, even with the reduced player pool from bye weeks.

Ahman Green, HOU
Despite the team’s assurances that Green will be ready to play this week, I’d look elsewhere. Green not just dealing with coming off of a knee injury, but he has to deal with the Tennessee defense who has only allowed one rusher to top the 50 yard mark (Joseph Addai) this season. If Green continues to share carries with Samkon Gado and Ron Dayne he doesn’t stand a chance.

Marion Barber III, DAL
After tearing up the Chicago defense in week 3, Barber hasn’t gotten more than 8 carries in a game despite averaging 5.2 YPC. This week, against one of the toughest run defenses in the league, it’d be smart to look elsewhere. Oh, and the Vikings have yet to allow a RB to rush for a touchdown this season.

WIDE RECEIVERS

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Laveranues Coles & Jerricho Cotchery, NYJ
See: Jones, Thomas or Pennington, Chad. The Jets could run all over the Bengals but when it comes down to it, Cincinnati is gives up the points through the air. Both Cotchery and Coles have the ability to break the big one and one (or both) could have monster days. Both of these receivers are almost weekly plays despite the opponent, but this week, they especially have to be in lineups. If you have to pick one… go with Cotchery.

Wes Welker, NE
There are two big reasons that Welker makes an especially good play this week. First, with the Patriots down to their third string RB, you can expect Bill Belichick to revert back to the dink and dump that the Patriots have run so successfully for the past few seasons. There will be lots of short passes over the middle to Welker and Jabar Gaffney with Ben Watson also banged up. Secondly, Welker is heading back to Miami for the first time and you can bet he’ll want to put on a show in front of his old fans. Last week, he exploded for 124 yards and 2 TDs. That would be his ceiling, but expecting 80 yards and a score seems logical. In leagues that reward points for return yards, he’s got even more value.

Joey Galloway, TB
As mentioned earlier, Tampa Bay will likely try to throw on Detroit to open up the run. Detroit has had a tough time stopping the pass, allowing 171 yards and a score to WRs on average. #1 WRs have had fantastic games against Detroit so far as Antwaan Randel El, Kevin Curtis, Bernard Berrian, and Ronald Curry combined for 553 yards and 4 TDs. Galloway is better than that crew, and can definitely get a piece of the pie.

Deep Start ‘Em

Marty Booker & Ted Ginn, Jr., MIA
With Chris Chambers out of Miami someone has to catch the ball for the Dolphins. Booker seems to be the most likely candidate to get a boost in value, but don’t sleep on Ginn; after all, the Dolphins took him at #9 in the 2007 NFL Draft for a reason. Derek Hagan could sneak up and contribute in real deep leagues, but until the Dolphins unveil the new post-Chambers offensive scheme against New England stick to Booker and Ginn.

Roydell Williams, TEN
Williams has been the second most targeted receiver in Tennessee to Eric Moulds, but he has the best conversion rate for anyone with more than 15 targets on the season (66.7%). With either Young or Kerry Collins at QB, you can expect Williams to bring down about 4 catches and 40-60 yards. In deeper PPR leagues, or leagues where you have to start 4 WRS, Williams actually has some nice value.

Sit ‘Em

Santonio Holmes, PIT
Against the Denver defense and Dre Bly, even with Hines Ward to help draw coverage, I don’t like his odds. Denver has been horrible at stopping the run, and Willie Parker could be given the ball at least 30 times to keep moving the chains. There is no reason for Ben Roethlisberger to test the vaunted secondary if they can run the ball as successfully on the Broncos (averaging 167 yards against and 4 rushing TDs allowed) as everyone else has been able to this year. Since they’ve only allowed an average of 67 yards through the air, I think it’s safe to say that the ground game will be in full force for the Steelers.

Santana Moss, WSH
Anyone who pulls themselves out of a game for poor play should be cut. Get on the field, and give it your all. Moss had no receptions last week despite being targeted 6 times. With Moss’ injury and poor play, Jason Campbell has found friends in Randel El and Chris Cooley. It may be more difficult for Moss to break back into this lineup than most think. Expect Randel El to have a nice week, but Moss is too iffy at this point.

Javon Walker, DEN
After returning to practice this week, Javon Walker is getting closer to getting into a game. Should he play this week, he will be rudely welcomed back by the Steelers’ defense. Sit him in all formats. He probably won’t be on the field for as long as we would hope, and the Pittsburgh defense isn’t a great match up anyway. There’s no need to rush him into your lineup.

TIGHT ENDS

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Owen Daniels, HOU
He has to find the end zone at some point. He is 5th in receiving yards amongst TEs. He should absolutely be in all lineups this week, especially since he’s playing a Tennessee defense that has allowed an average of 6 receptions per game to TEs (2nd most in the NFL).

Greg Olsen, CHI
Brian Griese loves throwing to the TEs. Since Griese took the helm, Olsen has 9 receptions, 120 yards, and a TD. In the previous four games, he had totaled two receptions. Don’t allow him to be a free agent in your league.

Desmond Clark, CHI
Ditto. Numbers up for Clark across the board since Griese took over.

Deep Start ‘Em

Vernon Davis, SF
He’s making his long awaited re-debut this week. Maybe they’ll actually throw him the ball. He was starting to show signs against Pittsburgh before he was injured, but I’d be careful. Don’t expect elite numbers.

Kyle Brady, NE
If Ben Watson is a no-go for the Patriots, Brady will get some looks in the redzone. He was completely uncovered last week when Mike Vrabel drew double coverage in the end zone. Go figure.

David Martin, MIA
Cleo Lemon hooked up with Martin for two scores in the red zone last week. With Chambers gone, Martin is a dark horse to put up some numbers. Maybe not this week, but in deep leagues you could do a lot worse.

Sit ‘Em

Todd Heap, BAL
At this point, I want to see him play a whole game before I trust him. Two weeks with two different injuries isn’t good. With Quinn Sypniewski being respectable in his absence, there doesn’t seem to be a rush to get him back.

Alge Crumpler, ATL
At least someone in Atlanta misses Michael Vick. It’s time to look elsewhere with Crumpler posting 3 receptions for 13 yards over the past two weeks. TE is too deep this year.