Dynasty Implications - Week 6

Posted 10/13 by Jeff Tefertiller, Exclusive for Footballguys.com

This will be a weekly feature looking at the dynasty implications from some of the events of the week's games. We will look at the happenings of the weekend and identify some winners and losers in dynasty leagues. The focus will be on the players that are not elite, nor top players having big games this week. You do not need me to tell you to trade for Adrian Peterson or Drew Brees when they have a big game.

Matt Hasselbeck had a huge game against the pathetic Jaguar passing defense. He is back from the rib injury and makes for a bye week spot starter. Hasselbeck completed 18 of 30 passes for 241 yards and four touchdown passes, two each to Nate Burleson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh. Hasselbeck also added 23 yards on three scrambles. This was all done in just a little more than three quarters of action as Hasselbeck was pulled early due to the blowout. He is now healthy. Dynasty owners can use the big game as a time to sell.

Josh Johnson played much better in his second start. He was efficient and productive versus a tough Philadelphia Eagle defense. Johnson threw for over 150 yards and a touchdown in just the first half, and had the Buccaneers driving before throwing a pick to Asante Samuel in the end zone on the final play of the first half. Johnson was able to move the offense much better than last week. He finished the game with 240 passing yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. Johnson was also the leading rusher for the Buccaneers with 40 yards. His ability to scramble gives fantasy owners extra points every week. Overall, this was a good fantasy game in a blowout against a stiff Eagle defense.

Derek Anderson struggled mightily against a shorthanded Buffalo Bills defense. The weather was a factor, but the Browns offense was not efficient. He completed a whopping two out of 17 passes for 23 yards and an interception. The Browns still were victorious but this helps give a little perspective for dynasty owners. Maybe Anderson is not the sure thing to start all season he appeared to be last week.

Daunte Culpepper replaced the injured Matthew Stafford and enjoyed a productive fantasy game. He showed his mobility with the 32-yard scamper in the first quarter. In deeper leagues, Culpepper is a good stash as he is playing for a chance to start somewhere next year. It is unlikely, but one never knows. Culpepper had the Lions with a chance to tie the game late, driving on Pittsburgh before consecutive sacks. The veteran passer looked better than in recent memory.

Kyle Boller was horrible. This makes two weeks in a row. He played so poorly that the Rams replaced him with recently-injured Marc Bulger. This is very much Bulger's job, no matter how bad he was early in the season or how poorly he plays when healthy. Bulger was seven for seven for 88 yards and a touchdown after replacing Boller. Neither passer is a fantasy starter, but it was nice to see Bulger play well for a change.

Kevin Smith ran strong and showed no ill effects of the shoulder injury that has slowed him for the past few weeks. He also was a factor in the passing game with 42 yards receiving. Smith is a reliable fantasy RB2. He has been productive most every week. The Lions will rely on their young back going forward. He is a good player to buy after the tough matchups the last few weeks.

Ray Rice has become the lead back in Baltimore, even after the hot start to the season by Willis McGahee. Rice's catch and run in the fourth quarter was a thing of beauty as he broke several tackles. He is the Baltimore back to own. For the game, Rice ran the 14 times for 69 yards, averaging almost five yards a carry. He also was the leading receiver for the Ravens with 71 yards on seven catches, including the 48-yard touchdown. This was great production against a good Bengal defense. McGahee only had one carry and one reception. In dynasty leagues, Rice is the Raven rusher of the future. The one knock is that he sees few scoring opportunities.

Ahmad Bradshaw looked very good against the horrible Oakland Raider defense. He did most of his damage in the first quarter, amassing 100 total yards and two scores. Bradshaw ran hard and his speed was on display against the Raiders. He has good vision and understands how to hit the hole to make the most of every carry. The Giants did have a scare. Bradshaw was tackled awkwardly, with a defender landing on his legs, but the speedy back returned to the game and looked to be healthy. He later said he tweaked his back, but was able to get treatment and be fine. Bradshaw finished the game with 165 total yards on 12 touches. He looked great against a poor Oakland defense. For dynasty owners, Bradshaw is a great player to buy as he is outplaying Jacobs, and there is little other competition for carries.

Cedric Benson ran hard and was productive against a very stout and aggressive Ravens defense. Benson is solidifying his spot as an every-week fantasy RB2. He ran for 120 yards and a score, and added 27 more through the air. Benson is still young and could easily be the Bengal starting back for years to come. He looks to be filling the Rudi Johnson/Corey Dillon role in the offense. Few could have predicted that Benson would be leading the NFL in rushing yards through five weeks.

Fred Taylor had ankle surgery and may miss the rest of the season. The timetable is not known at this time. He was replaced by Sammy Morris who had a big game running and receiving, totaling 107 yards combined. Morris looked to be the Patriot runner to own with Taylor out with the injury. He is nothing more than a short-term spot starter for this season as he is 33 years old.

With Correll Buckhalter nursing a bum ankle, Knowshon Moreno started and received the large amount of the carries for the Denver Broncos. He ran hard and well. But, Moreno had his second fumble in as many games. The rookie needs to hold onto the ball or he will lose touches when Buckhalter is healthy. He finished the game averaging just over four yards on his 21 carries, and added 36 more in the passing game. Moreno ran well, picking up good chunks of yardage with almost every carry.

Calvin Johnson left the game after injuring his knee early on. We may not know much for a while. The Lions keep all information close to the vest. All the Lions have stated is that it is a knee injury and that they could not get the knee ready so that he could reenter the game. They tried treating the injury and putting a sleeve on it to no avail. It will probably be later in the week before anything is known for sure as to the severity of the injury. Dennis Northcutt saw an increased role with Johnson out of the game. He caught five passes for 70 yards and a touchdown. Northcutt could be a fantasy option if Johnson misses extended action.

Roddy White had a coming out party Sunday after starting the season slowly. He had the best game of his career with eight receptions for 210 yards and two first half scoring catches. The Falcons were focused on getting White involved early in the game. Atlanta is coming off a bye week and was determined to get the ball to the big play receiver. White is an elite receiver and will "get his" this season. The Falcons have a good passing offense with Matt Ryan throwing the ball. White is the centerpiece and will get plenty of targets the remainder of the season.

So much was expected from Randy Moss this season. Tom Brady is back healthy, but the numbers are not there. Moss has disappointed fantasy owners as the Patriot passing offense has been out of synch. Brady missed him deep after Moss got behind the Bronco defense. For the game, Moss caught one pass for 36 yards. On the season, he has grabbed 30 Tom Brady passes for 367 yards and just one touchdown. This is over five games. Hopes were much higher.

Jeremy Maclin got the start with Kevin Curtis ailing with a knee injury. The rookie from Missouri is a big play player. Maclin started off strong with a 50-yard bomb for a touchdown, and added a 40-yard score later. It was a coming out party as the Eagles blasted the hapless Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Maclin will continue to start as long as Curtis is sidelined, and maybe even when the veteran returns. The Eagles have plenty of good receiving options so there will be some week-to-week inconsistency.

Brandon Marshall has kept up his torrid pace after torching the Cowboys last week. This Sunday's game against the Patriots marked the third straight game that the athletic receiver has scored a touchdown. He scored twice on the day, with 64 receiving yards total. Marshall looks to finally have his head on straight and is playing for a big contract this offseason. The big question for dynasty owners is whether or not Marshall is considered elite .... in terms of what to pay for him.

It was good to see Eddie Royal finally with a good game. Royal had much more production against the New England as the previous four contests combined. He caught a whopping ten passes for 91 yards against the Patriots. Royal was used much like last season, picking up tough yards on short to intermediate passes. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come. With the way Denver spreads the ball around, expect some ups and downs.

Quickly emerging Mike Sims-Walker was inactive after a violation of team rules. More information on the matter will come out this week. This was a disappointment as the youngster was fast becoming a solid WR2 option. Veteran Torry Holt took up the slack with easily his best fantasy game of the season. Holt was able to be productive as the Jaguars were down big early and faced soft coverage. He is still not able to get separation but can accumulate yardage against a prevent defense. This is a situation that should not linger. Expect Sims-Walker to rebound this week. If buying, use this incident as an opportunity to buy.

Derrick Mason was held without a catch against the Bengals. This should not be much of a shock as Cincinnati has regularly shut down opposing teams' top receiver this season. He should be able to bounce back this week. Maybe use this poor outing as a time to buy a cheap WR3 in dynasty leagues. He probably costs very, very little at this point.

Andre Caldwell has been a favorite target of Carson Palmer this season. As we have been saying in this column, Caldwell is stepping into the role vacated by Houshmandzadeh. Laveranues Coles has not been a factor at all since his bout with the dropsies in the week one loss to Denver. Palmer looked for Caldwell on the game winning touchdown late in the game. This could signal his emergence so buy soon if interested.

Roy Williams missed the game with a rib injury. He did not even make the trip to Kansas City. Miles Austin stepped in with a MONSTER day. He had the game of his life. Who could have imagined Austin catching 10 balls for 250 yards and two long scoring grabs, including the game-winner in overtime? Tony Romo looked to Austin for the big play when the Cowboys were down in the game. He is a player to watch. Austin could very well use this game as a springboard into the WR1 job in Dallas.

Donnie Avery looks to finally be healthy. He battled a hamstring injury during this past week after the foot and rib maladies earlier this season. It is worth noting that Avery had his big touchdown catch with Marc Bulger under center. Avery caught five balls for 87 yards and a touchdown. Getting Bulger back in the lineup should help. Avery has a bright future, but it might take a year or two for the Rams to garner enough surrounding talent.

Hakeem Nicks is proving to be the playmaker he was in college at North Carolina. He has now scored in consecutive weeks since returning from the broken foot injury. Nicks finished the game with 49 yards on four catches and the score. He could emerge as the Giants' top playmaker as the season progresses. Nicks is one of those players that could lead fantasy playoffs to the playoffs. In dynasty leagues, the window to buy is closing quickly.

Chris Cooley was held without a catch as he was left in to block. The Redskins have a porous offensive line and needed the extra help. They still could not open holes for Clinton Portis and the running game nor protect Jason Campbell. Washington did use some sets with two tight ends, but it was Fred Davis that was sent out into patterns. Sadly, Cooley was held without even a pass target.

Kellen Winslow benefited from the stark improvement of quarterback Josh Johnson. With Johnson only throwing for a little over 100 yards last week, Winslow had no upside. The veteran tight end had almost that many receiving yards this week, with 102, as Johnson threw for (106) last week. Winslow also caught two touchdowns in the lopsided loss to the Eagles. Fantasy production will likely be inconsistent and mirror the quality of quarterback play. But, in dynasty leagues, Winslow is a top tight end to own.