Bruno Boys Fantasy Football

Fortunately for fantasy football owners, bye weeks aren’t going to hit as badly in Week 6 as they did in Week 5. With the Indianapolis Colts, Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, and Miami Dolphins on byes this week, owners shouldn’t be scrambling for as many players as previous weeks. But it doesn’t mean fantasy owners aren’t without dilemmas of their own. Our Fantasy Football Week 6 Start ‘Ems should provide you with the information necessary to make the right roster decisions. 

QUARTERBACKS – START ‘EM

Brett Favre (Minnesota Vikings) vs. Baltimore

Brett Favre has proven that quarterbacks can be like a fine wine; they each get better with age. A few weeks back, we would have never recommended the game manager in a start such as this one versus the Ravens, but over the last few week’s he has proven he still has the arm strength and gun-slinging ability. Favre has averaged over 200 passing yards per contest and almost 2 TDs through five games, which on averages along makes him a solid Week 6 fantasy start against the Ravens. Baltimore is 26th in the NFL in passing defense allowing 238 passing yards per game and with the Ravens sporting one of the best rushing defenses in football you’d expect Minnesota to come out throwing. The Ravens have allowed QBs to score 13 or more fantasy points (standard leagues) in all but one game thus far and you have to like Favre’s chances to put together another QB1 showing.

Matt Hasselbeck (Seattle Seahawks) vs. Arizona

Hasselbeck is back, and in a big way. Throwing for 4 TDs in Week 5 is just an indicator of how explosive Hasselbeck can be with some solid wide receivers. In Week 6 Hasselbeck has the good fortune of playing a home games against an Arizona Cardinals pass defense that allows over 300 passing yards per game and over 2 TDs per match-up. Now that Hasselbeck is clicking with wide outs Nate Burleson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh, it adds to what could prove to be a pretty potent offense. This game has the makings of a shootout and Hasselbeck should have no problem producing at a high enough level to be considered a top five QB play in Week 6

Marc Bulger (St. Louis Rams) @ Jacksonville

We understand this is a risky play in Week 6, but with quarterbacks like Peyton Manning and Tony Romo (is it even worth listing Chad Henne and Shaun Hill?), on a bye week you could be looking for any potential options. Marc Bulger looked great in his back-up outing with a tidy 7 of 7 for 88 yards and a touchdown pass to wide out Donnie Avery. With the Jacksonville Jaguars being one of the worst in the NFL against the pass, having allowed 11 TDs and over 240 yards in every contest, if there is ever a week you use Bulger it’s this one. Each of the Jaguars five QB opponents have scored at least 14 fantasy points, so it would be no surprise if Bulger can match that, coming off a confidence booster in Week 5.

RUNNINGBACKS – START ‘EM

Knowshon Moreno (Denver Broncos) @ San Diego

We told you from the beginning that once the job is Moreno’s it will be tough for him to lose it. Despite Correll Buckhalterrexpected to return to action in Week 6, Moreno has been solely practicing with the first team offense and he gets to face a San Diego Chargers defense that has been nothing short of horrendous in 2009. Granted, coming off a bye week they could have solved some problems, but how bad have they been against the run? They’ve allowed 17, 25, 29, and 41 fantasy football points (standard leagues) to the RB position in their four games this season. If 17 points is the floor for what Moreno should put up, you should most definitely plug him into your fantasy lineup and consider him a low-end RB1 on Monday Night Football.

Cadillac Williams (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) vs. Carolina

A hit and miss option thus far in 2009 (3 starts with under 10 rush yards), we like Cadillac’s match-up versus a weak Carolina Panthers rush defense. The Panthers rank 30th in the NFL against the rush allowing 155 rush yards per contest and a TD per game. With the Buccaneers fresh off an awful Week 5 performance against a revitalized Philadelphia Eagles defense, look for Tampa Bay to establish a run game to alleviate some of the pressure off of “rookie” QB Josh Johnson. The match-up on paper and the expected game plan in Tampa Bay should allow Williams to produce as a low-end RB2 or Flex play in Week 6.

Jonathan Stewart (Carolina Panthers) @ Tampa Bay

Sticking with the same match-up, we finally like Stewart to break out and have a solid game against a bad rush defense in Tampa Bay. The Buccaneers allow over 150 yards per contest against the rush and Stewart could see some goal-line carries and rack up 60 yards and a TD in Week 6. In fact there’s a good shot that Stewart and fellow running mate DeAngelo Williams each post numbers to start in Week 6, but we like Stewart to be used as a RB2 or Flex play and obviously Williams has the match-up to produce as a RB1 for the first time this year..