The Hive - Week six edition Oct 10, 2008 | More

The Hive – Week 6 edition

Welcome back to The Hive! Last week saw some massive totals from both IDP superstars like Pat Willis and Antoine Winfield, as well as IDP nobodies thrust into action due to injuries like Tramon Williams and Melvin Bullitt (who I actually started in one league!). Let’s take a look at the week 6 action, and see if we can uncover more bye week gems.

How we rank `em!

Giddyup! – YEEEHAW!!

SINS! – solid if not spectacular

Hellno! – Get it? Got it? Good.

Bye weeks: Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Kansas City

Chicago @ Atlanta Sunday 10am PT

CHI

Giddyup! – Urlacher/Briggs, Peanut Tillman, Adewale Ogunleye

SINS! – Kevin Payne, Alex Brown

Hellno! – no one you would normally consider

ATL

Giddyup! – John Abraham, Erik Coleman, Lawyer Milloy

SINS! – Atlanta LB’s, Brent Grimes, Chris Houston

Hellno! – no one you would normally consider

Game notes: Tillman’s surprise start last week caught many IDP’er off guard, as he was on a lot of benches as he took his pick six to the house. Expect him to go this week, and is a fine start against a rookie QB. If there was a week to dust off Ogunleye, I’d say this is a fine week to do so. For the Falcons outside of Abraham and the safeties no one really excites me in this matchup. The Falcons LB’s have been vanilla at best this season, and I will not be recommending any of them until they show something, regardless of the matchup.

Miami @ Houston Sunday 10am PT

MIA

Giddyup! – Yeremiah Bell

SINS! – Channing Crowder, Matt Roth, Joey Porter

Hellno! – Phillip Merling

HOU

Giddyup! – Demeco Ryans, Zach Diles, Mario Williams

SINS! – Texans DB’s

Hellno! – no one you would normally consider

Game notes: For the Dolphins Bell is hot, while the LB’s are hard to predict. The up and down nature of Crowder is particularly disappointing. For the Texans I’d say it is time to put Zach Diles on the every week start list until he does something besides kick ass and take names.

Baltimore @ Indianaplois Sunday 10am PT

BAL

Giddyup! – Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs

SINS! – Bart Scott, Ed Reed, Haloti Ngata (in DT required leagues), Jarrett Johnson

Hellno! – Kelly Gregg

IND

Giddyup! – Melvin Bullitt, Freddy Keiaho, Robert Mathis

SINS! – Gary Brackett, Marlin Jackson

Hellno! – Dwight Freeney

Game notes: The Ravens have brought IDP disappointment to many this season. Terrell Suggs has been decent, as has Ray Ray, but Bart Scott has had only one good game all season. Bottom line: the Ravens miss Kelly Gregg. Their DL hasn’t played well, and it has affected the LB’s in a negative way. For the Colts don’t sleep on Melvin Bullitt. If your league requires a safety or a DB and you don’t have a stud there, he deserves consideration. Don’t overvalue Brackett based on last week, he likely wont do that again this season. Freeney is not looking like a go this week with a bad hammy.

Detroit @ Minnesota Sunday 10am PT

DET

Giddyup! – Ernie Sims

SINS! – Paris Lenon, Daniel Bullocks

Hellno! – DeWayne White

MIN

Giddyup! – Chad Greenway, Antoine Winfield, Ben Leber, Kevin Williams, Jared Allen

SINS! – David Herron, Ced Griffin

Hellno! – no one you would normally consider

Game notes: For the Lions, its Ernie Sims and not a whole lot else. Lenon and Bullocks might be looking at good weeks based on what Vilma and Kaesviharn did last week against ADP. For the Vikings, start `em if ya got `em, whether its Kitna or Orlovsky or Andre Ware or Scott Mitchell, this will be a slaughter of epic proportions. Ben Leber looks to be the big beneficiary of EJ Henderson hitting the IR. Leber is the one who gets the headset, and unlike new MLB Herron, Leber is a 3 down player. Get him if you can, and thank me later.

Oakland @ New Orleans Sunday 10am PT

OAK

Giddyup! – Kirk Morrison, Thomas Howard, Gibril Wilson

SINS! – Michael Huff

Hellno! – Derrick Burgess

NO

Giddyup! – Jonathan Vilma, Kevin Kaesviharn, Roman Harper

SINS! – Scott Fujita, Charles Grant, Will Smith

Hellno! – Tracy Porter, Sed Ellis

Game notes: Oakland comes off their bye week, and I would wager most of the players just want to get back to football. My ranking for Thomas Howard is not indicative of his performance thus far in 08, as he has been mediocre at best. I like his matchup with Reggie Bush this week, and OLB’s seem to score well against the Saints, so I like Howard more than usual this week. For the Saints tough news as they lose talented rookie corner Tracy Porter to a wrist injury that required surgery.

10/10 UPDATE!! - Kaesviharn is now listed as doubtful, and Josh Bullucks looks likely to play in his spot this week. Get Kaes out of your lineup, and I wouldn't bother with Bullucks this week.

Cincinnati @ New York Jets Sunday 10am PT

CIN

Giddyup! – Dhani Jones, Keith Rivers, Nedu Ndukwe

SINS! – Leon Hall, Domata Peko (in DT required leagues), Frostee Rucker

Hellno! – Robert Geathers, Antwan Odom

NYJ

Giddyup! – David Harris

SINS! – Calvin Pace, Bryan Thomas, Kerry Rhodes, Darrelle Revis

Hellno! – Eric Smith

Game notes: Dhani Jones is leading the league in tackles. You have entered the Twilight Zone. Nedu Ndukwe looks to have taken over that SS job, even with Dexter Jackson back from injury. Snag him if he is available in your league. The Jets are coming off a bye week, and I want you all to know I tried to resist my urge to list Kerry Rhodes as a giddyup this week based on his performance thus far in 2008, I really did. But I like him a lot this week and am starting him in 2 leagues, so if this ship goes down I am going down with it! The Jets LB group has nice potential this week, Harris and Pace should lead the pack.

St Louis @ Washington Sunday 10am PT

STL

Giddyup! – Will Witherspoon, OJ Atogwe

SINS! – Leonard Little, Chris Long, Pino Tinoisamoa

Hellno! – Tye Hill

WAS

Giddyup! – London Fletcher, Rocky McIntosh

SINS! – Chris Horton, Carlos Rogers, Andre Carter

Hellno! – Jason Taylor, Shawn Springs

Game notes: The Rams also come out of their bye week with a new head coach, and hopefully a new direction. Those who have been reaping the IDP benefits of Tye Hill’s on field ineptitude, you need to make new plans. Hill is injured and will be out at least a month. For the `Skins it seems as if Chris Horton has moved into the starting lineup. Time will tell if Reed Doughty will get his job back when his back improves, but my money is on Horton keeping that gig.

Carolina @ Tampa Bay Sunday 10am PT

CAR

Giddyup! – Jon Beason, Chris Gamble, Chris Harris, Julius Peppers

SINS! – Thomas Davis

Hellno! – no one you would normally consider

TB

Giddyup! – Jermaine Phillips, Barrett Ruud (if he goes, check injury reports)

SINS! – Ronde Barber, Phillip Buchanon, Derrick Brooks, Gaines Adams

Hellno! – no one you would normally consider

Game notes: Carolina IDP owners, rejoice. It looks like Jeff Garcia will be the Bucs QB this week, and this means lots and lots of short, accurate passes and, in turn, lots of tackles. Not listed above but worth keeping an eye on for deep IDP’ers is Panthers DE Charles Johnson, who is starting to live up to his promise. He is stealing reps from Tyler Brayton opposite Peppers, and if he continues to impress he could be an IDP factor. For Tampa, stud LB Barrett Ruud returned to a limited practice on Thursday. If you have a safer option this week, use him, but if Ruud ends up going he is a LB1, as always.

Jacksonville @ Denver Sunday 1:05pm PT

JAX

Giddyup! – Brian Williams, Mike Peterson

SINS! – Daryl Smith, Rashean Mathis, Will James, Derrick Harvey

Hellno! – Reggie Nelson

DEN

Giddyup! – Nate Webster, DJ Williams

SINS! – Boss Bailey, Champ Bailey, Elvis Dumervil

Hellno! – no one you would normally consider

Game notes: The Jags secondary will probably be shredded on Sunday, as both ballhawk safety Reggie Nelson and 2^nd corner Drayton Florence will both be out. Will James is a sneaky DB play for those in a pinch based on the matchup. In Denver, the impossible has happened: Boss Bailey is an IDP factor. Will is last? Who knows, but this is a great matchup for all of the Denver LB’s.

10/10 UPDATE!! - Florence now looks like a go this week and will draw Brandon Marshall in coverage. Put him where i had Will James, and consider him a decent bye week fill in. James goes back to nickel corner, and still might be worth a shot in a CB required league.

Dallas @ Arizona Sunday 1:15pm PT

DAL

Giddyup! – Demarcus Ware, Adam Jones

SINS! – Greg Ellis, Jay Ratliff, Ken Hamlin

Hellno! – Pat Watkins

AZ

Giddyup! – Karlos Dansby

SINS! – Adrian Wilson, Travis LaBoy, Darnell Dockett, Gerald Hayes, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

Hellno! – Rod Hood

Game notes: This could be the high scoring game of the week. While off-field troubles dog Pacman, this could be his best matchup of the season. With Newman out Jones will likely draw Fitz in coverage, and at minimum should get a lot of tackles. For Arizona their top corner Rod Hood is likely out with a groin injury, so Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie will likely be picked on by Romo and company early and often.

Philadelphia @ San Francisco Sunday 1:15pm PT

PHI

Giddyup! – Quintin Mikell, Omar Gaither, Stewart Bradley, Brian Dawkins

SINS! – Eagles DL’s

Hellno! – Eagles CB’s

SF

Giddyup! – Pat Willis, Takeo Spikes, Michael Lewis, Justin Smith

SINS! – Nate Clements, Walt Harris

Hellno! – no one you would normally consider

Game notes: This is a big game for Philly, and I expect their high scoring IDP’s to dominate against the Niners. Mikell and Dawkins are both excellent starts as are Bradley and Gaither at LB. Any of the Eagles starting DL’s could be used in a pinch this week, as O’Sullivan has been taking a beating and I do not expect that to change this week. If you are needing help at LB you could do worse than the red hot Takeo Spikes, who has been an IDP monster since moving into the starting ILB role next to Willis. All of the Niners DB’s should be productive this week, and seeing how I often recommend players facing their former teams, I expect Michael Lewis to lead the charge.

Green Bay @ Seattle 1:15pm PT

GB

Giddyup! – Tramon Williams, Nick Barnett, Aaron Kampman

SINS! – AJ Hawk, Charles Woodson

Hellno! – Atari Bigby, Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila

SEA

Giddyup! – Leroy Hill, Julian Peterson, Pat Kerney

SINS! – Lofa Tatupu, Josh Wilson

Hellno! – Darryl Tapp

Game notes: Tramon Williams, meet all your new IDP owners, IDP’ers, meet Tramon. He’ll be picked on all season long, and I don’t expect the numbers to drop. KGB is doing NOTHING with Jenkins out, which should not really surprise me, but it does. I expected more with the increase in P.T. For the `Hawks the big surprise has been the play of Leroy Hill, and at the opposite end of that spectrum is Lofa Tatupu. I expect Tatupu to get it going at some point, but against a team like the Packers that has exhibited no ability whatsoever to run the ball, I doubt Lofa gets off the skids this week.

New England @ San Diego Sunday 5:15pm PT

NE

Giddyup! – Rodney Harrison, Jerod Mayo

SINS! – Ellis Hobbs, Adalius Thomas

Hellno! – Tedy Bruschi

SD

Giddyup! – Stephen Cooper, Clinton Hart, Eric Weddle, Antonio Cromartie

SINS! – Quentin Jammer, Marques Harris, Luis Castillo

Hellno! – Jyles Tucker

Game notes: For those burned by Jerod Mayo’s disappearing act last week, fret not. He lost snaps to speedy rookie Gary Guyton due to the scheme they were playing against the Niners. Against the Chargers I expect Mayo to be more heavily involved. Dyno leaguers should keep an eye on Guyton though, who may end up playing next to Mayo when some of the Pats geriatric LB crew finally hangs `em up. The Chargers welcomed back Stephen Cooper last week, and he looked very good. Another fine waiver wire LB candidate if he was unclaimed during his suspension.

New York Giants @ Cleveland Monday 5:30pm PT

NYG

Giddyup! – Justin Tuck, Fred Robbins (in DT required leagues)

SINS! – Aaron Ross, Mathias Kiwanuka, Kenny Phillips

Hellno! – Antonio Pierce (move up to SINS! if he goes)

CLE

Giddyup! – Eric Wright, Mike Adams, D’Qwell Jackson

SINS! – Brandon McDonald, Andra Davis

Hellno! – Sean Jones

Game notes: This one could get real ugly, real fast. But the good news for you Browns fans out there is at least your IDP’s will be solid!

That’s about it for me this week folks, thanks for stopping by and good luck in your week 6 IDP matchups!!