Tuesday Morning QB, Week 6

Tuesday Morning QB is weekly feature on The Full Court Press, reacting to the past week’s happenings in NFL Football.

On the Road

I was at the Texas State Fair Thursday night and out of town this weekend, driving back on Sunday afternoon.  So the first meaningful NFL plays I saw were in the second half of the Sunday Night game, which was all but over at that point.

To be fair, Sunday afternoon only gives me 3 games to watch, which only adds up to 6 games when combined with the prime-time broadcasts.  But I think most football fans agree that when you're in your living room on Sunday afternoons, flipping back and forth between games, getting in-studio updates on the out of market games, and have your laptop handy to watch the league scoreboard and hit "refresh" on your fantasy match-up, you pretty much feel like Adam Schefter. 

So, I'll admit I'm kind of "winging" this week's Tuesday Morning QB, which is based almost entirely off highlights I saw on NFL Network's NFL Gameday Final (which I would strongly recommend as a Sunday night alternative to SportsCenter). 

Impish or Admirable?

This is a recap of teams that are either looking good, or need help.  This is not a playoff projection. I call it impish or admirable.  

 Impish - Atlanta Falcons.  Remember that week 1 game-winning field goal in OT against New Orleans?  Remember that Thursday night national TV curb-stomping of the Tampa Bay Bucs?  Remember how being on HBO's Hard Knocks was supposed to solve their lack of toughness mentality?  This team is a shell of what used to be an NFC contender.

 Impish (tie) - Cincinnati Bengals/Carolina Panthers.  Now is probably a good time to remind everyone that in my inaugural Tuesday Morning QB, I said "Impish or Admirable" was a week-to-week snap shot of the league.  In other words, things change.  Both these teams were my original "Admirable" winners, and yesterday they stumbled to a 37-37 tie.  A tie?  I can hear Donovan McNabb right now (ironically also against the Bengals).  I know it happens from time to time in the NFL, but ties are ridiculous.  Even the NHL, which traditionally found a way to half reward teams for a tie with their goofy points system, abolished the tie years ago.  Nobody wants a tie.  Especially Adam "Pacman" Jones.   

 Admirable - Cleveland Browns.  As much as it pains me to say this as a Steelers fan, the Browns are playing good ball right now.  Honestly, if they hadn't got out to such a slow start in week 1, they would be 2-0 against the Steelers this season.  And if it weren't for a last-second field goal from New Orleans, they would be 5-0 overall.  I'm not about to say they're division or playoff contenders just yet, but they're winning games.  

 Admirable - San Francisco 49ers.  They're back, but I'm not sure they were ever gone.  The fact that they've been as competitive as they have been thus far with so many key players out for disciplinary or injury reasons is remarkable.  The scary thing is, a lot of those missing players will be making their way back soon.  It should be an interesting next couple weeks for the NFC West.  

Fantasy Watch

A look at players worth having on your fantasy football roster, who needs to be cut, and who has deceptive stats.

Like - T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts WR.   It's been a steady ascent this season for Hilton, and Thursday's 223 yard performance was his coronation as a must-own in all fantasy leagues.  Averaging nearly 10 targets a game from fellow fantasy stud Andrew Luck is a promising sign for the young wide receiver, who has 65 points through 6 weeks in standard scoring formats.

Dislike - Matt Asiata, Minnesota Vikings RB.  Just when it looked like the Vikings had a capable, temporary fill-in for Adrian Peterson (who now is unlikely to play the rest of this season) in Asiata, he touched the ball 3 times on Sunday, rushing for negative 5 yards.  With Jerick McKinnon getting the bulk of the carries and a rookie QB trying to stay healthy while figuring out the offense, there are just too many questions marks to feel safe starting Asiata, even in the flex spot.

Pyrite - Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens QB.  Is he a winner?  Yes.  Does the Baltimore offense look formidable right about now?  Yes.  But let's not kid ourselves, from a fantasy standpoint, Flacco is not Peyton Manning.  He's a useful bench tool, but he won't throw for 300+ yards and 5 TD's every week.  So if you had him filling in for Alex Smith or Drew Brees bye-weeks, well done.  If he's your every week starter, see if you can work out a trade on a buy-low QB right now (like, say, Drew Brees?).

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