3 Fantasy Football Thoughts Frome Each Game Sunday (Week 5)
Alex Dunlap, Rosterwatch.com 

Titans  17   Steelers  38

1) When Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger has his mobility effected as he did this week, he relies on his old standbys- WR Hines Ward and TE Heath Miller. WR Mike Wallace continues to be poised for a Top 5 Fantasy WR season, and Big Ben was making smart decisions with distribution in the passing game, resulting in a 5 TD monster against a surprisingly potent Titans pass defense.  I may actually like him better when he’s got a busted foot if it means he has to make quick, smart decisions on hot routes instead of extending plays with his signature “escapability”.
2) Don’t bail on Titans QB Matt Hasselbeck. He had to come back to Earth at some point, and this week was it. He’s only owned in approximately half of 12-team standard leagues which boggles my mind. Yesterday was his worst outing since coming to Tennessee. It is clear that WR Nate Washington will be the team’s #1 WR moving forward, while WR Damian Williams has officially entered the sphere of Fantasy Football relevance as a waiver wire guy who can help owners in a pinch during the upcoming bye weeks.
3) Titans RB Chris Johnson got his first cheap TD yesterday to save his fantasy owners the disappointment of another 5-point stinker. Obviously, the Titans got down early and had to abandon the running game as things got out of hand, but he just hasn’t looked the same this season. Hopefully for CJ2K owners, he can string together a few more consecutive games like this in order to get you back on track or to elevate his trade value.

Bengals  30   Jaguars  20

1) Bengals WR A.J. Green should now be considered nothing less than a fantastic WR2 in standard leagues. To think that this is just the beginning of the relationship with fellow rookie QB Andy Dalton is almost a little scary. TE Jermaine Gresham has also been impressive in 4 of  this season’s 5 games. Those are two great pieces for a rookie QB to have in place, and look for the development to continue.
2) Jaguars RB Maurice Jones-Drew looks like, well…… Maurice Jones Drew. He is as dependable as they come, and had a signature MJD game yesterday, as his fantasy owners should expect every time he is in their lineup.
3) While it was encouraging for (the few) owners of Jaguars TE Marcedes Lewis that he was targeted twice yesterday on end zone incompletions, the fact remains that he and Rookie QB Blaine Gabbert are not clicking. The only real chemistry that seems to be becoming established in that passing game is with WR Mike Thomas, and even that is not that great. WR Jason Hill had a great garbage time TD, and he’s fast as lightning- he just can’t catch or run more than three routes. I like Mike Thomas best out of that motley group down the stretch.

Saints 30   Panthers  27

1) If you have been reading our articles, you would have known that Saints RB Mark Ingram was poised for a productive game and that Panthers RB Deangelo Williams has historically (ALWAYS. EVERY YEAR) waited until Week 5 to break out.
2) Saints TE Jimmy Graham is not only the best TE in Fantasy Football, he is the most lethal weapon in the NFL at the TE position and a matchup nightmare. He is impossible to gameplan for as Saints HC Sean Payton will line him up in 7 different spots a game (including 5 snaps in the X Sunday). Some of our peers in the industry thought that the return of WR Marques Colston would de-value Jimmy Graham. They got it backwards. Graham hurts Colston.
3) The Panthers have added a new QB option wrinkle to their offensive scheme to capitalize on the talents of star rookie QB Cam Newton. Deangelo Williams owners should be encouraged to see that this is “his” package, not fellow RB Jonathan Stewart‘s. Neither back will get many goal-line looks since Cam Newton is stealing them all, but as we saw yesterday- This package can result in big plays from way out, and Deangelo looked like the 2008 version all over again for a few plays.

Raiders  25   Texans  20

1) RIP Mr. Davis. You are missed and your contributions to the game we love so much can never be overstated. Just Win Baby.
2) Raiders WR Darius Heyward-Bey is quickly becoming a favorite target of QB Jason Campbell, and someone fantasy owners across all formats should have on their watch lists.
3) Texans RB Arian Foster is back. Kudos to those of you who may have been able to buy low in weeks 1-3.

Eagles  24   Bills  31

1) What the hell is going on in Philadelphia? Eagles QB Mike Vick put up a decent-to-good fantasy day despite throwing 4 interceptions to a suddenly ballhawking Bills Secondary; but its starting to seem like the Tony Romo principle. Good Fantasy QB, bad real-life QB. I don’t see how they are going to fix this easily, but it helps that the NFC East is still winnable, even to a 1-4 team. If I owned Vick, I would want him off my team ASAP if I had a semi-reliable back up. He’s taking too many hits and getting rattled. It’s a roller coaster with Vick, and you know you signed up for it, but I would be shopping him right now. Too worried about a lingering injury on a bad team with nothing to play for.
2) Tom Brady and Mike Vick would both tell you that the Bills Secondary has now become a unit that opposing QBs may have trouble with moving forward.
3) The Eagles did  a great job keeping a leash on Bills WR Stevie Johnson, which we may see becoming a bit of a trend. When your fantasy players are facing the Eagles, keep in mind that  the team they face will likely be running on them effectively. With the talent in the Eagles secondary, it may not be on the top of opposing OC’s to-do list to air the ball out against that unit when they can much more easily gash their week defensive front on the ground.

Cardinals  10   Vikings  24

1) Despite racking up their first win of the 2011 season, the only player with true fantasy viability at this point for the Vikings remains RB Adrian Peterson. WR Percy Harvin has done a complete disappearing act, and fellow WR Michael Jenkins has actually been more effective. QB Donovan McNabb has not been good for 3 years. Total mess.
2) If you listened to our show Sunday Morning, or read The Trashman this week- You knew to get Cardinals WR Early Doucet into your lineups.
3) Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald owners should start to be a little worried that he hasn’t had one of his “Larry Fitzgerald” fantasy monsters yet this season, even with favorable matchups like this week against a bad secondary with their best cover corner injured. You drafted him to have 2-3 of those games a year that win you the week. He’s not winning you weeks right now.

Chiefs  28   Colts  24

1) We alerted you last week before anyone else about Chiefs RB Jackie Battle. Get your waiver requests in. We have seen what we have needed to see and more. He may be a season-changing addition.
2) When I saw Colts WR Pierre Garcon and back up QB Curtis Painter go bananas in week 4, I thought about a doctrine that we have here at Rosterwatch regarding former second-team player connections who enter the starting line up together. The familiarity often yields good production, and we didn’t know anything about Painter as a starter except that Pierre Garcon went huge and Painter looked for him. I picked up Garcon and started him in all leagues possible this week (BOOM!), and will continue to do so until I see something to change my opinion on this situation. Depending on the health of RB Joseph Addai, Garcon may be the best fantasy player on the Colts moving forward at this point.
3) If you were reading Rosterwatch, you would have known to get Cardinals WR Steve Breaston into your lineup. The trashman killed his two WR trash picks for week 5, advising owners to reach deep into the dumpster to find gold in Breaston and Doucet.

Seahawks  36   Giants  25

1) The Giants are not a good running team right now. This loss was surprising, and they were missing RB Brandon Jacobs, but this isn’t about the Giants running backs. This is about an injured center and entirely new left side of the line. It has to do with completely new TEs and as well as a new fullback. Their run blocking scheme is fantastic and the Ahmad Bradshaw/Brandon Jacobs tandem is a talented duo. This is about personnel and execution that surround these runners at the aforementioned positions.
2) I’m not buying on Giants WR Victor Cruz yet. He has had great production for two weeks, but has had three of the luckiest, most fluky touchdowns I have ever seen. But, its better to be lucky than good- and at this point, I’m not even sure that Giants official #2 WR Mario Manningham is even “good”.
3) Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch looked like the guy we saw as the Seahawks made their embarrassing playoff run last season. He peeled off some great plays and looked very fluid and natural in picking his holes. I sure don’t trust him, but if you have been holding on this long- you might as well roll with him if you have the roster spot in case this continues.

Bucs  3   49ers  48

1) We knew this game could get ugly for Bucs QB Josh Freeman, playing the resurgent 49ers D at home, but wow. Every play the Bucs threw out there reminded me of a inept mix of Mike Martz and Jim Zorn. Everything they did was crap. Don’t start QBs playing in San Francisco unless they are around the Matt Ryan-level or better. I consider Freeman on the next rung down with guys like Kevin Kolb at this point.
2) The San Francisco 49ers are now 4-1. I hope you read our article about their new-found confidence last week, and got RB Frank Gore and TE Vernon Davis into your lineups at all costs. Those who held on Frank Gore through a horrible first 3 weeks are smiling now at the trade offers coming in.
3) Bucs RB Legarrette Blount will get his. Don’t sell now if you are a Blount owner, and if you are not- I have him as my #1 “buy low” coming into Week 6. Check the pulse of his owner in your league and see if you can package up some crap to acquire him on the cheap.

Chargers 29 Broncos 24

1) The changing of the guard has occurred, and the billboards in Denver can come down. QB Tim Tebow is your new starter. I am adding him in every league I can as a backup QB with immense upside as a fantasy option. Yes, he is raw and half of his passes look like some crap you might see your nephew throw at his middle school game and he has troubling taking the direct snap under center- but somehow the guy always keeps games close and those late-game drives when defenses go to prevent are the perfect time to pick up valuable garbage time QB rushing yards. In playing only one half yesterday with terrible passing stats- he still ran in one TD, threw one TD and got enough done on the ground to have a 16-point fantasy game in standard leagues. That is huge for one half. If you have the roster spot open, be a step ahead of the other guys on this one.
2) Don’t worry about Chargers WR Vincent Jackson. He will get his. He looked healthy and 100% yesterday, but as you would have known if you read my article last week-Broncos CB Champ Bailey looked pretty healthy too. The Denver pass D just got a lot better with their perennial All-Pro returning from injury.
3) Fantasy owners of Denver WR Brandon Lloyd should be happy about the QB change, while those who have been getting monster games out of WR Eric Decker may want to temper their expectations. Tebow and Lloyd have a strong connection, and Lloyd will be Tebow’s go-to guy.

Jets 21   Patriots  30

1) Jets RB Shonn Greene might want to buy Center Nick Mangold a rolex or something because he is a true difference maker on that offensive line. His return from injury and his ability to call defensive fronts, communicate shifts and recognize exotic blitz packages are icing on the cake. He is a relentless beast physically and a guy who really does make that whole offense better. The Jets schedule against the run looks great coming up, so look for Greene to continue to work his way out of the crap factory he has been operating in through the first 4 weeks.
2) Patriots TE Aaron Hernandez had a pedestrian outing in his first game back from injury, but looked healthy; and as we’ve become accustomed, was a Tom Brady target-hog.  Love his upside potential moving forward.
3)  If you read last week’s “3 Thoughts…” column, maybe you stuck with my advice regarding Jets WR Santonio Holmes. He is a stud and a playmaker who showed acceleration yesterday that was only trumped by Eagles WR/Ferarri Desean Jackson. Hope you didn’t drop him or sell him low before he got back to his usual routine yesterday.

Packers  25   Atlanta  14

1) As Hall of Fame QB Fran Tarkenton told us on the show yesterday– The Atlanta Falcons are not a great football team. They are a good football team. The Packers are a great football team.
2) I don’t understand how some people are so low on Falcons RB Michael Turner. He has put up above average-to-great games with one exception this season, and gets to face a slate of NFC South teams that are very, very, very susceptible to giving up big numbers to opposing RBs. I can’t recommend him as a “buy low”- because I don’t think he is generally thought of as someone people are actively trying to unload, but I have seen some trades go through involving Turner that have come out great for those on the receiving end of his services. He is a “buy at a reduced rate” candidate right now, as I feel he is the best fantasy player on that offense at this point and could finish 2011 as a Top 10 RB.
3) I wouldn’t go running to the waiver wire to pick up Packers WR James Jones after last night’s explosion. He is a good little player, but its going to be feast or famine all season. There are so many hungry, beastly mouths to feed in that offensive machine that picking between the James Jones’s and the Jordy Nelson‘s of the Green Bay system is much like sifting through the Saints WR pantry with guys like Robert Meachem, Lance Moore and Devery Henderson. It’s like buying a lottery ticket: only 1 in 3 wins, and sometimes-even if you win- you just get your money back. It’s a sucker bet.