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Pittsburgh proved last night that trends are always worth paying attention to. They lost against the spread as an away favorite for the seventh consecutive time.
Zack Cimini has some players for the rest of week six’s action that should garner interest with their trendy matchups.
Quarterbacks
Brandon Weeden
The young , oh wait, the 28-year-old quarterback has had his fair share of on the field rookie mistakes already this season. Yet he is showing strong poise and a skill set to why the Cleveland Browns drafted him and practically named him their starter off the bat. Trent Richardson is coming along brilliantly, and that should invoke confidence in Weeden. He was off to a strong start against the Giants until his costly interception late in the second quarter.
Andrew Luck
The Jets played inspired football and came close to pulling off a win as a home underdog on Monday night football. Former AFC East division rivals in the old format square off this weekend between the Colts and Jets. Look for the Colts to carry over their momentum from their come from behind win against Green Bay.
Carson Palmer
One thing the bye week is good for is retooling what is not working. Carson Palmer arm is not shot, but you would think that with how poor the Raiders passing game has been. Maybe they’ll mix different receivers in the lineup to see if someone else can produce, or have specific plays drawn up to spread the offense around. Atlanta is prone to giving up yards through the air, and Palmer is due for his once a month solid game.
Running Backs
Ronnie Brown
A dark horse sort of radar alert player this week in fantasy football is Brown. He looks refreshed and had sort of a welcome back performance against the Saints last Sunday night. If he can continue to perform well he should easily surpass Jackie Battle on the depth chart. Battle has been a significant part of the Chargers playbook thus far, but doesn’t have the all around skills Brown brings to the table. He catches the football out of the backfield, and should get around eight to ten carries Monday Night.
Brandon Bolden
The amount of carries the Patriots are feeding their backs is not a fluke. They are pounding the football with their hurry up offense attack and tiring out defenses. The Seahawks have been nearly impossible to run the football on and will be tough to accomplish at Seattle. With Stevan Ridley’s late fumble against the Broncos, the Patriots may shift a few more carries Bolden’s way.
Vick Ballard
With Donald Brown out a few weeks, this will be Ballard’s chance to still away the starting job. Brown has not lived up to the first round draft pick status that he was a few years ago, and the Colts are likely planning on upgrading in the offseason. Ballard gets a favorable matchup against the Jets who have been one of the worst teams at stopping the run.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Scott Chandler-
There is no question Ryan Fitzpatrick looks for Chandler just about as much as he does Stevie Johnson. Arizona was exposed a few weeks back for their secondary at home against Miami. This week it’ll be Fitzpatrick that does so as well. Chandler should have one of his best games as an NFL player in terms of amount of catches, and at least one trip in the end zone.
Randall Cobb
Comparing performances from a week ago you always look for great matchups. Houston’s defense did just about everything they could to frustrate Mark Sanchez, but they did allow Jeremy Kerley to have a big game. Randall Cobb is just about the same type of player as Kerley, if not better. Look for the Packers to get Cobb on some seam routes and plays to let him utilize his speed in the open field.
Andrew Hawkins
The Browns do get back cornerback Joe Haden this week, and will have his hands full with arguably the best receiver in football in AJ Green. Hawkins won’t have to worry about Haden though, and will get the crop of corners that have been lit up by quarterbacks. Eli Manning torched the Browns secondary with rookie wide receiver Ruben Randle. Dalton will pick apart the Browns secondary. Hawkins should add to his two touchdowns on the year and be get around six catches between eighty and one hundred yards.