Ballin’ or Fallin’ – Week 6

Ballin’ or Fallin’ is an unorthodox look at the fantasy football values of players from around the league taking in everything to see if a guy’s value is going up or down.If your guy isn’t one of the ones looked at in the feature article or you think I’m full of it shoot me an email, start a thread in the forums, or post a question in the comments below and I’ll answer. I don’t just answer one or two softball questions, I answer all of them. Seriously.

Alright I’m switching up the format a bit for week 6. I’m picking one guy who I feel epitomizes Ballin’ or Fallin’ in fantasy football’s week 6 and naming the rest. It’s up to you to call me on it or elaborate on why you agree. Alright let’s do this:

Ballin’

Quarterbacks

Matt Hasselbeck- Big questions in the land of the eternal drizzle. Will Hass play? If he does play will he be fully back and if he’s fully back will he fully not suck like he has in recent years? Well he answered the bell and rung the bell of the Jaguars. I’ve been public in stating that the Jags are shells of their former selves and this season haven’t been anything better than awful for most of the season. But their stink doesn’t detract from Hasselbeck’s performance. His fantasy football value was in serious question after a few poor seasons. Now that he’s fully healthy he can be elevated from a big time question mark to a guy who is a legit QB1 in the right situations and is a consistent QB2. He will have clunker performances in the future so don’t be expecting him to put up awesome numbers weekly. But you can step away from the panic button and stop starting guys like Trent Edwards in his place. The Hass is back.

Honorable mention: Matt Schaub, Matt Ryan, Chad Henne, Donovan McNabb, Vince Young (you know it is only a matter of time)

Runningback

Cedric Benson- Benson had to earn my respect. Well, whupping up on the Ravens is one way of doing just that Mr. Benson. It should be noted that the Ravens haven’t let a back rack up a century mark in rushing yards since Amy Winehouse sang gospel. Benson has been the classic workhorse back the Bengals need to take the pressure off their crap passing game….which is weird considering the boatload (sorry….Benson pun) of talent they have at the passing and receiving positions. This guy was written off by darn near everyone who watched him squander his opportunities with the Bears only to re-emerge in the most unlikely of places in Cincinnati. He’s been on a tear since joining the Bengals last season and the skeptical fantasy football owners stayed away from Benson this draft. Now he is a guy who’s stock is rising rapidly as the Bengals will almost certainly be forced into a run first offense now with the wonderful midwest winter bearing down on the Ohio valley. I think Benson, Rashard Mendenhall, and Ryan Grant are three guys you need to target now to lock up solid production after Thanksgiving and into the early part of December. The Bengals are for real. They may still not make it to the playoffs but for the purposes of fantasy football Benson could make or break your fantasy football offseason.

Honorable mention- Knowshon Moreno, Tashard Choice, Sammy Morris, Marshawn Lynch

Wide Receiver

Roddy White- You thought I was going to be obvious and go with Miles Austin? Reading the stat line is so easy, a caveman could do it. Austin had a career night, no doubt. But where will he be next week, or the week after that, or at the end of the season? Well he won’t be even close to the top of the wide receiver boards. About this time last season Ted Ginn Jr. exploded on a similar performance. Want to know where he ended up? Not even sniffing the top 20 much less the top 10. White has already proven his abilities to excel and thrive in the Falcon offense. So in this case let some other sucker go nuts for an unproven guy like Miles Austin…..that is the name of a guy I’d expect to see as a hedge fund manager, not a pro football player. While Roddy won’t blow up for 200 yards and 2 scores every week his fantasy football pulse is now audible. He has gone from post draft disappointment to a guy who should be in your lineups weekly.

Honorable mention- Eddie Royal, Austin Collie, Jeremy Maclin (big ups to him because it appears the Eagles are thinking about moving Curtis), Nate Burleson

Tight Ends

Kellen Winslow Jr. – It seemed at times that Winslow was the only Buc who was interested in holding onto the ball when he caught it. If other Tampa dogs were as interested in making plays Johnson would be in Ballin’. Winslow was Josh Johnson’s main security blanket and lined up more often in the slot than he did on the offensive line. That is a great strategy because Johnson can use his athletic ability to escape the pass rush instead of requiring maximum protect like his less mobile predecessor. I see this connection flourishing in the coming weeks. Teams will not want to gameplan in order to stop Winslow because Johnson hasn’t proven he is capable of taking a team on his back and leading them to victory. Most teams will be fine with letting Johnson beat them (if he can) in order to stuff the running game. Antonio Bryant is still playing into football shape and has yet to see a healthy week so if you were needing a bye week fill-in at TE and you smartly stashed Winslow on your bench now would be a good time to start him.

Honorable mention- Zach Miller, Heath Miller

Fallin’

Quarterbacks

Tom Brady - The chinks in Tom terrific’s armor are starting to show. He had the chance to put the upstart Denver Broncos away multiple times and in non-Brady like fashion failed to seal the deal….notice no Gisel comments here. At this point it is safe to assume that Doogie McDaniels might have been the brains behind the operation when it concerns the Patriots’ offense. Brady will be fine but he doesn’t seem to be at the same level that he was at during his record setting pace. Randy Moss is starting to sulk and the team is losing so a true test is coming for the NFL’s golden boy. And that brings me to another point, what the heck is wrong with the refs? The “Brady Rule” about breathing wrong on quarterbacks is getting way out of hand. I understand there needed to be some measures taken to ensure the safety of quarterback who by the nature of their trade is at the highest risk of being crushed. But come on already! If a guy lightly brushes the helmet of Brady or Manning (seriously how could you NOT hit his helmet….have you seen that dude’s forehead?) then a team get’s hosed?!? Somewhere Vince Lombardi is spinning in his freaking grave.

Honorable mention- Trent Edwards, Shaun Hill

Runningbacks

Fred Jackson – Well that didn’t take long. Honestly I was shocked to see how much work Marshawn Lynch got coming off a 3 game suspension and after seeing how well Jackson played while Lynch was gone. But when you draft a guy in the first round to be your feature back sometimes performance doesn’t matter. It was thought that Lynch would be eased back into a starting rotation but that is not the case making Jackson one of the biggest player value drops this week. Readjust Jackson to a clear handcuff but no longer a flex play because it doesn’t appear he is going to get the number of quality touches required to play a guy in a backfield rotation.

Honorable mention: Jerome Harrison, Chris Johnson, Maurice Jones-Drew

Wide Receivers & Tight End

Kevin Walter – Walter was a guy who was drafted as a potential WR2 because of the system in Houston. Those high hopes are yet to be realized as he’s just barely broken 150 yards this season. I think Walter can be more than serviceable going forward but the expectations of another 800 yard season can no longer be reasonable. At best he should be considered a situational start although he failed to capitalize on a very favorable matchup against the Cardinals. Keep him stashed on your bench for a bye week fill but don’t sacrifice another productive player waiting on his potential.

Honorable mention: Mario Manningham, Randy Moss, Todd Heap

Well that does it for Ballin’ or Fallin’ – Week 6. If you liked or hated my calls this week sound off in the comments section below, send me an email at airram98@hotmail.com, or start a thread in the forums and lets kick up some debate. Best of luck to you and hope to see you in the forums! – Scott

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