Welcome back to The Hive! It’s a rough week for many between injuries and 6 teams being on a bye this week. We very well could be on the cusp of another Osi Umenyiora freakout on Monday Night Football, with Osi facing an undrafted rookie free agent tackle as the Giants take on the Falcons. I can assure you, I wont make the mistake of benching him like I did versus the Eagles. Marques
Douglas
being on a bye helps, but I digress. There are a lot of other tasty IDP matchups this week, so without further ado let’s check out the games!
How we rank `em!
Giddyup! – YEEEHAW!!
SINS! – solid if not spectacular
Hellno! – Get it? Got it? Good.
St Louis
@
Baltimore
Sunday 10am PST
St Louis
Giddyup! – O.J. Atogwe, Will Witherspoon
SINS! – James Hall, Leonard Little
Hellno! – Fakhir Brown, Pino Tinoisamoa
Baltimore
Giddyup! – Bart Scott, Ray Lewis, Dawan Landry
SINS! – Terrell Suggs, Ed Reed
Hellno! – Samari Rolle
Game notes – This doesn’t look like it will be a very thrilling game on paper, but I am hoping Boller plays and it turns into a bit of a shootout. Will Witherspoon finally had a blowup game, hopefully you stuck with him. The Ravens D isn’t what it used to be, but Scott, Lewis and Landry are all producing solid numbers.
Minnesota
@
Chicago
Sunday 10am PST
Minnesota
Giddyup! – Antoine Winfield, Cedric Griffin, E.J. Henderson, Darren Sharper
SINS! –
Chad
Greenway
Hellno! – Vikings DL’s
Chicago
Giddyup! – Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs, Charles Tillman, Mark Anderson
SINS! – Adam Archuleta, Tommie Harris
Hellno! – Alex Brown
Game notes – This should be an exciting game for the IDP’s involved. For Minny I like all the DB’s and Henderson, and for the Bears the usual suspects should be in full effect. Don’t let Mark Anderson’s zero last week sway you from playing him, that side of the Minnesota line allowed a total of 5 sacks the 2 weeks prior to their bye. I like
Anderson
to bounce back big time this week.
Miami
@
Cleveland
Sunday 10am PST
Miami
Giddyup! – Zach Thomas, Jason Taylor
SINS! – Renaldo Hill, Vonnie Holliday
Hellno! – Jason Allen
Cleveland
Giddyup! – D’Qwell Jackson, Sean Jones
SINS! – Eric Wright, Kamerion Wimbley, Orpheous Roye
Hellno! –
Andra Davis
,
Leon
Williams
Game notes – Thankfully this one is in
Cleveland
, cuz I cant stomach watching those sad Floridians with bags on their heads at Dolphins games. Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor have to be seriously questioning coming back to this mess.
Taylor
finally woke up last week, stick with him. For the Browns Sean Jones is pretty much everywhere all game long. He is one of the better young safeties in the game. Along with Adrian Wilson, Gibril Wilson and Antoine Winfield, Jones is one of a very few of the big names at DB who are performing as they were expected to in the preseason.
Washington
@
Green Bay
Sunday 10am PST
Washington
Giddyup! – Rocky McIntosh,
London
Fletcher, Sean Taylor, LaRon Landry
SINS! – Andre Carter, Carlos Rogers
Hellno! – Fred Smoot
Green Bay
Giddyup! – Nick Barnett, Atari Bigby, Aaron Kampman
SINS! – A.J. Hawk, Charles Woodson
Hellno! – KGB, Cullen Jenkins
Game notes – DB’s have been scoring well against Favre and the Pack, so I like
Washington
’s DB’s this week. Carter has earned his way off my dookie list, but he needs to keep it up before I will bump him further. For the Pack I like Barnett and Kampman, as well as my boy Bigby. Hawk hasn’t done much, so depending on your depth I have no problem benching him in favor of a better matchup. Gbaja-Biamilia and Jenkins are splitting time, making both unattractive starters unless in a pinch.
Houston
@
Jacksonville
Sunday 10am PST
Houston
Giddyup! – Demeco Ryans
SINS! – Dunta Robinson, Von Hutchins, Morlon Greenwood, Mario Williams
Hellno! – Danny Clark
Jacksonville
Giddyup! – Mike Peterson
SINS! – Reggie Nelson, Marcus Stroud, Daryl Smith, Rashean Mathis
Hellno! – Reggie Hayward
Game notes – The AFC South is one of the more underrated divisions in football, and this should be a real slugfest. Both teams have improved offensive lines, so I am a little more down than usual on the DL’s for both squads. Not too excited about anyone outside of Ryans and Peterson here IDP-wise, but I think it will be a hell of a game.
Cincinnati
@
Kansas City
Sunday 10am PST
Cincy
Giddyup! – Madieu Williams, Landon Johnson
SINS! – Leon Hall, Robert Geathers, Justin Smith, Deltha O’Neal
Hellno! – Ahmad Brooks, Jonathan Joseph
Kansas City
Giddyup! – Derrick Johnson, Donnie Edwards, Napoleon Harris, Jared Allen
SINS! – Tamba Hali, Jarrad Page, Bernard Pollard
Hellno! – Ty Law
Game notes – For the Bengals the hits keep on coming (literally) as corner Jonathan Joseph was suspended for one game for his 1st violation of the NFL substance abuse policy. Now he’s a real
Bengal
! Ahmad Brooks still isn’t practicing, and he shouldn’t be on anything but IDP only league rosters and dynasty league rosters at this point. For KC I like Allen against a backup tackle and I like all the LB’s.
Philadelphia
@ New York Jets Sunday
10am PST
Philly
Giddyup! – Brian Dawkins (check the injury reports)
SINS! – Trent Cole, Mike Patterson, Takeo Spikes, Omar Gaither
Hellno! – Matt McCoy, Chris Gocong
New York
Giddyup! – Kerry Rhodes, David Barrett
SINS! – Jonathan Vilma, Kenyon Coleman, Andre Dyson
Hellno! – Erik Coleman
Game notes – For the Eagles it is still up in the air at press time whether Dawkins will play, if he does I love the matchup. Cole is a stud, but the Jets OL is tough, so don’t expect huge numbers. For the Jets, Kerry Rhodes finally blew up last week, and this is a matchup which should keep him going in the right direction. Vilma has been better lately, depending on who else you have he is startable.
Tennessee
@
Tampa
Bay
Sunday 10am PST
Tennessee
Giddyup! – Keith Bulluck, Kyle Vanden Bosch
SINS! – David Thornton, Albert Haynesworth, Chris Hope, Nick Harper
Hellno! – Antwan Odom, Bryce Fisher
Tampa
Bay
Giddyup! – Barrett Ruud, Derrick Brooks, Jermaine Phillips
SINS! – Ronde Barber, Tanard Jackson, Cato June
Hellno! – Gaines Adams, Greg Spires
Game notes – For the Titans I have almost given up on Hope (no pun intended), but I’m not quite to that point with the underperforming Bulluck. Vanden Bosch has been hot since switching to left defensive end, where he faces the RT instead of the traditionally more talented LT, who has to protect a right handed QB’s blind side. As far as
Tampa
goes all of us Barrett Ruud owners got a bit of a scare as he apparently limped off the practice field on Wednesday, but he practiced Thursday and seems good to go.
Carolina
@
Arizona
Sunday
1:05pm PST
Carolina
Giddyup! – Jon Beason, Chris Harris, Julius Peppers, Chris Gamble
SINS! – Thomas Davis, Richard Marshall
Hellno! – Dan “Where am I?” Morgan
Arizona
Giddyup! – Karlos Dansby, Gerald Hayes, Adrian Wilson
SINS! – Eric Green, Rod Hood
Hellno! – Bert Berry
Game notes – For
Carolina
, FINALLY! Jon Beason takes over at MLB. Time to get down. If Beason is on the wire in your league, he shouldn’t be. Harris is playing like a stud, ride him if you have him. I like Gamble this week too, who I expect to follow Fitz all over the field. For the Cards, I like Dansby and Hayes, and Adrian Wilson is a no brainer. Green and Hood could each blow up, depending on which one lines up on Steve Smith more often. Bert Berry is a shell of his former self, cut him if you own him.
New England
@
Dallas
Sunday
1:15pm PST
New England
Giddyup! – Adalius Thomas,
Asante
Samuel, Eugene Wilson
SINS! – Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork, Mike Vrabel
Hellno! – Junior Seau
Dallas
Giddyup! – Roy Williams, Ken Hamlin
SINS! – Bradie James, Demarcus Ware, Terrance Newman
Hellno! – Anthony Henry, Bobby Carpenter
Game notes – For the Pats, if you don’t already know that what Seau did last week was a fluke, learn it, live it, know it. That wont happen again, and you don’t want that fossil on your roster. As far as
Dallas
goes I like the safeties chasing Moss, Stallworth, Welker and Watson all over the field. Not so hot on their pass rush specialists, as the Pats line doesn’t usually allow people to get to Brady.
Oakland
@
San Diego
Sunday
1:15pm PST
Oakland
Giddyup! – Kirk Morrison, Thomas Howard
SINS! – Stuart Schweigart, Michael Huff, Gerard Warren, Warren Sapp
Hellno! – Derrick Burgess
San Diego
Giddyup! – Marlon McCree, Stephen Cooper
SINS! – Matt Wilhelm,
Clinton
Hart, Shawne Merriman, Shaun Phillips, Luis Castillo
Hellno! – Igor Olshansky, Antonio Cromartie
Game notes – I am pretty excited to start Morrison and Howard together in a couple of leagues against LT, but other than that I am not looking forward to my Raiders facing an angry Chargers team. Thankfully our pass protection is a lot better than the last time we played these guys, so don’t listen to those who are predicting ridiculous sack numbers for the Chargers. Cooper and McCree should be solid.
New Orleans
@
Seattle
Sunday
5:15pm PST
New Orleans
Giddyup! – none
SINS! – Scott Fujita, Will Smith, Charles Grant, Roman Harper
Hellno! – Scott Shanle, Mike McKenzie
Seattle
Giddyup! – Lofa Tatupu, Julian Peterson, Deon Grant
SINS! – Marcus Trufant, Leroy Hill, Pat Kerney, Rocky Bernard
Hellno! – Jason Babin, Kelly Jennings
Game notes –The Saints really have no one that excites me this week. The Hawks’ OL gives Smith and Grant a rough matchup, and Fujita has never been a real favorite of mine. For
Seattle
, I like Lofa and Julian to wreck shop on the dink and dunk offense that the Saints have been sporting lately.
New York
Giants @ Atlanta Monday
5:30pm PST
New York
Giddyup! – OSI OSI OSI!!, Jason Tuck, Antonio Pierce, Gibril Wilson
SINS! – Derrick Ross, Kawicka Mitchell, Matthias Kiwanuka
Hellno! – Michael Strahan
Atlanta
Giddyup! – Keith Brooking, Demorrio Williams
SINS! – Deangelo Hall, Lawyer Milloy, John Abraham
Hellno! – Jamaal Anderson
Game notes – Oh man is this a tasty matchup for Osi and Tuck or what? As I stated at the beginning of the article, Osi faces a undrafted rookie scrub on MNF. On SNF vs the Eagles he faces the highly touted former 2nd round pick Winston Justice. Imagine what he will do to poor Renardo Foster. Ouch. Tuck gets backup OL Tyson Clabo, who is a guard forced to play tackle due to an injury to Todd Weiner. This is going to be brutal for Falcons fans and those facing Osi and Tuck’s IDP owners. For
Atlanta
, the injury to rookie Stephen Nicholas opens things back up for Demorrio Williams to take control of the WILL spot in that defense. Hopefully he takes advantage of it.
Well that about wraps it up for week 6! Tune in next week for the final installment of my IDP surprises and disappointments, where we will discuss linebackers. Thanks for stopping by, and good luck this week!