The Dallas Cowboys weren't the only ones making a splash during Tuesday's trade deadline. Always looking to improve, so that we might provide you with the best fantasy football content on the web, the Bruno Boys went out and acquired the services of the creator of Fighting Chance Fantasy, Ryan Hallam. Each and every week, Hallam will break down the winners and losers from the previous week's games. So, please, Bruno Boys Nation, welcome Hallam to the family by taking a look at his Week 6 Fantasy Football Winners & Losers.
Note: Point Totals are based on PPR league formats.
--------------------
WEEK 6 WINNERS
Quarterbacks
Philip Rivers (San Diego Chargers) - After two weeks in which he didn't throw three touchdowns, Rivers got back on track in a surprising blowout of the Patriots. Even without Chris Chambers, Rivers was able to spread the ball around, especially to Vincent Jackson. With 24 points, he far surpassed his projected output of only 14 points.
Hallam's Take: It seems certain that Rivers will annihilate his career high in touchdown passes, as he already has 14 this season (previous high: 22). He is obviously a must-start every week, but if you really look at the teams the Chargers have played, they haven't exactly been the '85 Bears on defense.
--------------------
Matt Ryan (Atlanta Falcons) - Ryan decided to not only have his first 200 yard passing game, but surpassed that and had his first 300 yard game. He continues to know where his bread and butter is with Roddy White, and that throw he made to set up the winning field goal looked like a ten year pro. Ryan's 16 points doubled his 8 point projection.
Hallam's Take: Can this script be any sweeter for the Falcons? After a nightmare '07 season full of controversy, Atlanta took a quarterback with their first pick to try to turn the page on the past. Although not statistically a Pro Bowler, Ryan has been much more than they could have hoped for, as the Falcons are 4-2. He won't be a top 10 QB, but is a great bye week replacement and will have an impressive rookie season.
--------------------
Derek Anderson (Cleveland Browns) - Anderson and the Browns offense finally woke up against one of the league's best defenses. Even without Kellen Winslow, Anderson was able to throw for 300 yards by finding eight different receivers. His 22 fantasy points dwarfed his 6 point prediction.
Hallam's Take: Welcome back to Derek Anderson and Braylon Edwards. Not confident enough in this performance to say they will be back to 2007's form, but for those of you who have been patient with Anderson, he should be at least worthy of being a bye week replacement.
--------------------
Running Backs
Marion Barber (Dallas Cowboys) - Barber only collected 45 yards on the ground, but it was his contributions to the passing game that made him valuable. Barber caught 11 passes for 128 yards, including a 70 yard touchdown reception. He was projected to score a healthy 17 points, but smashed that with a 33 fantasy point performance.
Hallam's Take: With the injuries to Tony Romo and Felix Jones, Barber's role in Big D will do nothing but increase. He is one of my favorite fantasy players in 2008, and will be in Hawaii come February.
--------------------
Maurice Jones-Drew (Jacksonville Jaguars) - Jones-Drew was finally able to have that breakout game, rushing for 125 yards and two scores. He also caught two passes for 23 yards. It was against a fairly weak Denver defense, but his 28 fantasy points crushed his projection of 13, which I thought was generous going into the week.
Hallam's Take: Hopefully for his owners this is the start of something big. Jones-Drew is one of the more explosive young backs in the league, but given the injuries to his offensive line it wasn't a surprise that he struggled. He will take more and more carries from Fred Taylor as the season progresses.
--------------------
Thomas Jones (New York Jets) - After just one touchdown in 2007 and only one through the first five weeks of 2008, Jones exploded for three scores in one game during Week 6. Jones ran for 65 yards and two touchdowns, and also caught three passes including one for a score that he walked into the end zone on. He demolished his 11 point projection with a 28 point game.
Hallam's Take: Before you go running to the waiver wire or trying to make a trade, remember this is a guy who had two scores in the last 21 weeks, and his career high is nine scores. If you think that he will ever have another game like this, I believe that you will be sorely disappointed.
--------------------
Wide Receivers
Andre Johnson (Houston Texans) - Johnson has finally started to come around as he had another strong game. In Week 7, Andre caught 10 passes for 128 yards and a touchdown against an improving Miami defense. He was able to log 31 fantasy points, despite only being projected for 14.
Hallam's Take: Johnson is strange in that he should take his place among the elite, but something always stops him from being with the best like Owens, Smith, and Fitzgerald. If he can put a couple more games together like this, he could take his place among the top five.
--------------------
Braylon Edwards (Cleveland Browns) - Finally Edwards showed some signs that 2007 wasn't a fluke as he caught five passes for 154 yards and a score. He and Derek Anderson finally looked like they had found the chemistry they shared last season. He put up a whopping 28 fantasy points and was projected for just 9.
Hallam's Take: Now, I had maintained confidence that this game was coming for Braylon, but I'm also not convinced yet that this means that he is back to last year's form. Hopefully he will have another game like this and fantasy players will regain their confidence.
--------------------
Vincent Jackson (San Diego Chargers) - As Philip Rivers had another great game, his number one receiver was Jackson who caught five passes for 124 yards and a score. He torched the New England secondary all game long and scored 24 fantasy points while he was expected to only score six.
Hallam's Take: This great game was partly due to the fact that the Chargers were without Chris Chambers, but fantasy owners have been waiting for a couple of years for Jackson to break out. Perhaps this is the start of him bringing his game to the next level.
--------------------
Tight Ends
Vernon Davis (San Francisco 49ers) - The 49ers have been very inconsistent in their usage of Davis including one game this season in which he failed to catch a pass. In his best game of the season, Davis caught six passes for 75 yards against a tough Philly defense. His 13 fantasy points crushed his 2 point projection.
Hallam's Take: I am a 49ers fan and want Davis to be successful more than anyone on the team. His talent is unquestioned, but he doesn't have the mental toughness to be a good pro. Hopefully, in the Mike Martz system he will start to be targeted more because once he has the ball he can be scary.
--------------------
Kickers
Taylor Mehlhaff (New Orleans Saints) - After the season ending injury to Martin Gramatica, Mehlhaff was brought back to the Saints to replace him. His first game was a success as he kicked two field goals from 44 and 33 yards, not to mention four extra points. Mehlhaff's eleven fantasy points nearly double his six point projection.
Hallam's Take: The Saints will continue to score plenty of points, so anyone kicking for them is a fantasy friend of mine. Not sure how strong his leg is, but so far, so good for Mehlhaff. If you were playing Gramatica, pick this guy up.
--------------------
Defenses / Special Teams
San Diego Chargers D/ST - The Chargers defense has been getting lit up so far this season, but against the Patriots they looked great, giving up only ten points and sacking Matt Cassel four times while picking him off once. Despite being just a 1 star projection, the Chargers were able to score 10 points, and exceed their expectations.
Hallam's Take: After the loss of Merriman, the Chargers defense certainly didn't have the explosiveness it had before. They still should be a decent play most weeks, especially in the weak AFC West. Outside of Denver, they have great matchups against the Chiefs and Raiders.
--------------------
WEEK 6 LOSERS
Quarterbacks
Eli Manning (New York Giants) - Manning had his worst game since the middle of the 2007 season, throwing three interceptions and failing to lead his Giants back to a win, despite the return of Plaxico Burress. It was the first time he had thrown for under 200 yards since Week 16 of last season. While projected to score 20 points, Manning was able to get you only 9.
Hallam's Take: For all of those who had been wondering which was the better Manning, bring it back to reality. Eli is a good player, but he has and will continue to be a slightly better than average fantasy quarterback. He will top out at 25 TDs and throw 15+ INTs. Oh, and Peyton is still the best Manning, hands down.
--------------------
Brett Favre (New York Jets) - Despite getting the win, Favre was less than stellar, he threw for under 200 yards and had more interceptions (2) than touchdowns (1). He was able to find each of his receivers eight times each, but his 7 fantasy points were far less than the 22 that he was projected for.
Hallam's Take: So far, Favre has been worth the Jets bringing him in. But, falling in line with the rest of his career, there will be days like this. He is still a QB that is worth starting every week, despite this hiccup.
--------------------
Jason Campbell (Washington Redskins) - After starting the season playing very well, this was the second straight week that Campbell failed to throw a touchdown. He is still yet to throw an interception, but is he the QB from the first three weeks, or the past three?
Hallam's Take: Personally, I think he is more the QB from the last three. The Redskins have always been a run first team, so Campbell will never be a 300-yard, 3 TD kind of quarterback. He isn't horrible as a fill in for injury or byes, but I would not want to start him every week.
--------------------
Running Backs
Michael Turner (Atlanta Falcons) - Turner had one of his signature struggling games as he was able to rush for 54 yards and failed to score. He did face a tough Bears' run defense, so he gets a bit of a pass. Turner only scored five fantasy points in Week 6, which fell far short of the 16 he was projected for.
Hallam's Take: Is there anyone in the league harder to gauge than Turner? He has had quite the good game/bad game pattern going, so it looks like Week 7 should be a good one for him.
--------------------
Julius Jones (Seattle Seahawks) - The second straight tough game for the Seattle offense, Jones was only able to gain 44 yards on the ground against the soft Green Bay defense. Jones should still be the undisputed starter, but he needs to pick it up soon.
Hallam's Take: Given the state of the Seahawks offense and the injuries that they are dealing with to the wide receivers and now the quarterback, Jones is a tough play unless it is a really bad defense (read: Lions). When they are all healthy, Jones should be back to where he was when he was rushing for 100+ yards a game.
--------------------
LeRon McClain (Baltimore Ravens) - A great surprise so far this season, McClain looked like he had a good matchup against the Colts, but oh no. McClain rushed for -2 yards, caught just one pass and fumbled the ball away once. He was projected to score 11 points, but actually finished in the red with -1 points.
Hallam's Take: Ouch! McClain has been one of the better surprises of 2008, but had a tough game against Indy. But given the injury history of Willis McGahee, you can bet McClain will consistently get 15 carries or so per game. And if the Ravens get inside the 5 yard line, he is a sure bet to break the goal line.
--------------------
Wide Receivers
Randy Moss (New England Patriots) - After looking like the old Randy Moss against the 49ers, Moss and the Pats' offense looked like the sorry New England offense of 2008. Moss was only able to catch three passes of 26 yards and scored only five points, while being projected for 17.
Hallam's Take: The whole team in New England is way to inconsistent and hard to judge to want to start ANY of their players every week. Moss will certainly still have some big games during the year, but nothing that you can put your finger on.
--------------------
Santana Moss (Washington Redskins) - Moss has been another guy that is hard to judge. After starting off the season red hot, Moss only caught two passes against the weak Rams defense for only 22 yards, just one week after a 0 point effort against the Eagles. His four fantasy points were a far cry from an 18 point prediction.
Hallam's Take: Even though I have little or no faith in Jason Campbell, I still think that he will find Moss enough that he will have a pretty good season. His owners hope that he will even his production out so he won't have these wild swings of points.
--------------------
Roy Williams (Detroit Lions/Dallas Cowboys) - Given the fact that Dan Orlvosky is quarterbacking, it is a miracle that any Lions' receiver is doing anything. Williams caught only two passes for 23 yards against a horrible Vikings' pass defense.
Hallam's Take: Now that he has been traded to the Cowboys, Williams gets a whole new life. Not right away of course due to the injury to Tony Romo, but in just a few weeks, we should see a Roy Williams we have never seen before. A great wide receiver who actually has a decent QB to throw the ball to him.
--------------------
Tight Ends
Visanthe Shiancoe (Minnesota Vikings) - A surprising entry in the top ten of tight ends, Shiancoe has been a nice surprise. Week 6 was not good to him as he caught only one pass for 10 yards. Gus Frerotte has been better than the Vikings could have hoped, but he hasn't been good enough to want to start anyone he throws to not named Bernard Berrian. Shiancoe should have scored nine points, but instead only scored one.
Hallam's Take: This is not a guy that I have any faith in. Not only is he on the Vikings pass offense, but he has been around a while and has never shown the knack for catching a lot of passes. If you are playing Shiancoes, please be sure you have a good backup plan.
--------------------
Kickers
Matt Prater (Denver Broncos) - Prater has been one of the best kickers in the league this year, but just didn't get the opportunities in Week 6 and only kicked a 39 yard field goal and two PATs. His five fantasy points were just half of his ten point projection.
Hallam's Take: Prater is looking like the breakout kicking star of 2008, much like Robbie Gould, Neil Rackers, and Rob Bironas of previous years. Every kicker is going to have those weeks where they don't get good opportunities. But ride this one out, this guy looks good.
--------------------
Defenses
New York Giants D/ST - Despite being the number 1 projected defense coming into the week, the Giants allowed 35 points, and failed to sack or intercept Derek Anderson.
The Giants scored -1 point fantasy points in one of their worst performances of the recent past.
Hallam's Take: I needed five points from the Giants D to win one of my league's so I am more than a little upset with them right now.
But with Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwuanuka they still should get plenty of sacks, and their secondary is slightly better than average.
They play in a tough division, but if they are on your team they are a must start every week.
---------------------
WEEK 7 RANKINGS (click to view)
Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
Tight Ends
Kickers
Team Defense
---------------------
Also read: Week 7 Start 'Em & Sit 'Em (click to view)
Also read: Fantasy Football Week 6 Waiver Wire Advice (click to view)
---------------------
::Questions? Comments? How about you SIGN UP for an account and leave a comment. Plus, by signing up you can MANAGE ALL of your FANTASY FOOTBALL teams from ONE ACCOUNT.
::Also, you can click the Fantasy Sports Dashboard (powered by our partner Screaming Sports) at the top of the screen and import plus manage all of your fantasy teams from one page::