Fantasy Football Awards for Week 6

By Guest Writer John Belaska:

The sixth week of the season turned out to be less surprising than the previous one. The stud returned to producing the way we all expect them to. Sleepers were not a huge factor and there were not nearly as many busts. All in all, it was a good week for fantasy football. Owners do not like being surprised. The only problem with a week like this one is the lack of break out performances. This is the type of week where one’s entire line-up must put up decent numbers instead of relying on amazing performance by just part of the team. Week six can be considered a great barometer to where your team truly stands when the play I just average. These are the number we tend to expect, but fantasy owners always are wanting more.

Quarterback of the Week- Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers)        

Quarterback was easily the most disappointing pointing in week six. Bench players and free agents produced more points than most starting fantasy quarterbacks. The only fantasy starter to put up a good amount of point this week was Panthers’ quarterback Cam Newton. Cam has been rather quiet this season, so it is good to see him put up a day worthy of his high draft position. Newton threw for 242 passing yards and three touchdowns. He also found himself carrying one into the endzone on the ground. Next week Carolina is playing the Rams who have been pretty stout on defense this year. It is tough to say whether or not Cam will have another big week. The Panthers’ offense is having one of those up and down seasons. One second they are playing great and the next you were wishing you had nothing to do with them. Newton is a star quarterback who normally starts to come alive in the latter half of the season. It is getting to be time to have him in your starting line-up each week regardless of who he is playing.

Running back of the Week- Knowshon Moreno (Denver Broncos)

What a week from a player who came into the season as nothing more than a third down back. Knowshon Moreno went off in week six for three rushing touchdown and 104 total yards from scrimmage. Nobody would have imagined Peyton Manning having the worst week of his whole season against the Jags, but we could have definitely foreseen Moreno finding the endzone. Though Jacksonville has been terrible this season, they have done a good job at tightening up against the pass in the redzone. This meant Manning would simply need to hand the ball off and let Knowshon do his thing. Nobody thought his thing would be three scores. He is currently the only running back to find the endzone three times on the ground in a single game this season. Next week Denver is going to Indianapolis. The Manning homecoming probably means more passing than running. Knowshon Moreno should have a pretty good game, but do not expect him to find the endzone more than once.

Wide Receiver of the Week- Vincent Jackson (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)

Whenever a quarterback has his first outing it can be expected the number one wide receiver and the tight ends will have field days. Vincent Jackson showed that again this weekend. He caught nine balls for 114 receiving yards and two touchdowns. It is difficult to imagine this happening for Jackson against anyone other than the Eagles who field one of the poorest secondary’s in the league. If you drafted Vincent Jackson more than likely you have to start him, but be forewarned these types of performances will not happen all the time. He will not be repeating his week six performance against the Falcons. This is a good time to considered trade Jackson since he is coming off a great week. His value is up so it is time to take advantage of it and use him to grab a running back or a wide receiver with more upside.

Tight End of the Week- Vernon Davis (San Francisco 49ers) 

Vernon Davis had a career day against the Arizona Cardinals and keep in mind: he has had an impressive career. Any fantasy owner would have been in heaven over his first half stats alone. At the end of the day, Davis posted 180 receiving yards on eight receptions and two touchdowns. Davis actually had the best receiving stats of any player this week. The most encouraging part of this performance is that it was done against the Cardinals who have been playing good defense. Fantasy owners never expect these stats from their tight end, but when they happen it is the greatest thing in the world. Vernon Davis should always be in the starting line-up and will continue to post excellent numbers for the remainder of the season. The next opponent is the Tennessee Titans. The Titans have not given up many fantasy points to tight ends this season, but they have not faced one as talented as Davis yet. Expect good things.

Kicker of the Week- Mason Crosby (Green Bay Packers)

Mason Crosby defended his Kicker of the Week award from week five well enough to become the only player this season that did well enough to get it a second week in a row. Crosby hit four field goals, including one from beyond fifty yards, and added a successful point after attempt. He out performed every other kicker this week despite missing a field goal. Crosby currently average 10.6 fantasy points per game which is the highest of any kicker in the league. He is still available in about half of fantasy league, so if he is a free agent pick him up.

Team Defense of the Week- St. Louis Rams

You can feel it in the air. A new trend is about to start. Not only can we expect teams who play the Jaguars to have good week, but we can now expect anyone who plays the Texans to put up good numbers on defense. The Rams had five sacks and four turnovers, two of which went for touchdowns, against Houston. They also only allowed 13 points. So, it does not matter whether it is Matt Schaub or T.J. Yates or anyone else; it is time to start defenses that play the Texans. Next week the Rams play Carolina on the road. Cam Newton is starting to heat up a bit, making it difficult to see St. Louis having another out of this world performance.

 Rookie of the Week- Joseph Fauria (Detroit Lions)

Joseph Fauria has one of the most interesting stat lines in football right now. He has only caught seven passes all year, but five of them have been touchdowns. This weekend he was targeted three times, had three catches, and they all went for touchdowns. Fauria is starting to show some value for owners who play in touchdown only league. However, if you are not one of these people you should not even consider picking him up. You will regret starting him next weekend against the Bengal and realize you were caught chasing points that already happened.

Sleeper of the Week- Nick Foles (Philadelphia Eagles)    

Nick Foles played extremely well in place of the injured Michael Vick. Normally, fantasy owners do not apply the handcuff rule to quarterbacks, but in this case it might be advised for deeper leagues. Foles stepped in nicely after Vick went out of the game in week five and built on that performance in week six. He threw for 296 yards and three touchdowns and showed us he can score on the ground just like Vick. Nick Foles has a favorable matchup coming up against the Dallas Cowboys. If you were starting Michael Vick or have a quarterback with a bye week or a bad matchup, it could be worth your while to look into Nick Foles.

Bust of the Week- Jimmy Graham (New Orleans Saints)

We all know the Patriots are great at limiting the opposing offenses star players, but we never would have thought they would be able to do what they did against Jimmy Graham. Jimmy Graham has been not on the best tight end of the year, but one of the best receivers this year. Aqib Talib completely shut him out. That right, Jimmy Graham, who came into the match with four straight 100 yard games and was held to a big fat goose egg. A bust performance is never good, but it is even scarier when injury occurs. Graham hurt his lower leg in the game. Fantasy owners should be watching this very closely. Thankfully, Jimmy Graham has some extra time to heal since the Saints are going on bye.

Comeback Player of the Week- Brandon Jacobs (New York Giants)

Last year, Brandon Jacobs was sitting on the sidelines behind Frank Gore. A one-time top ten running back and Super Bowl champion was watching as other got to take the field. Recently, he resigned with his old team to help out with Big Blue’s horrible running back situation. Fantasy owners loved the potential of having Brandon Jacobs have another big season as a featured back. Up until this past weekend, Jacobs was splitting time with much younger and faster running backs. However, this week the 6’1 265 pound bruiser took over as the pure number one and ran for 106 rushing yards and two touchdowns. It has been a long time since Jacobs had any fantasy relevance, but he is back once again. It should be noted Jacobs injured his hamstring in the game but is expected to play against the Vikings. If he is in the game he will produce good numbers.

Fanspeak.com Most Valuable Player of the Week- Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers)

Cam Newton had a great game. He scored about thirty fantasy points, but the reason he is getting this award is not about what he did, it is about what other quarterbacks did not do. Cam Newton was the only quarterback that was in anyone starting line-up to have a spectacular day. Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, and Drew Brees were all held to just average performances. Cam came out and did what everyone has been waiting for from him all season long. His time has come where he is going to shoot up the rankings. Some players start off slow and get better as the season progresses. Cam Newton is one of these players.