The Fantasy 6-Pack

11/04/2009 8:46 PM -  gogobroncos

I hate Gary Kubiak so much that it stings.

I own Steve Slaton in 5 leagues, so seeing his stat line all through Sunday Afternoon was painful and it didn’t get any better having to watch Ryan Moats highlights all Sunday night. Not only that but thanks to Jason “Shankopotamus” Elam, I lost two more games which culminated in one of the worst Sundays in recent memory. The only bright spot is owning Reggie Wayne and having at least one player who doesn’t completely suck at their job.

While there were some phenomenal performances week 8, Brandon Marshall and the entire Broncos offense sputtered their way to the team’s first loss with the Ravens’ Joe Flacco looking very impressive in the win. After being ridiculed by the Miami media for most of the week, Ted Ginn basically won the game for the Dolphins with two huge kickoff returns and Vince Young took his time machine back to the ‘06 Rode Bowl with a solid performance against the Jaguars. Oh yeah, that Favre guy is pretty good to.

Well, it is week 9 and that means it’s the last 6 team bye week, so let’s find some gems off the wire and crack open another Fantasy 6-Pack!

Ryan Moats - Houston Texans

Let’s be honest here, I could probably have run for at least 80 yards against Buffalo on Sunday but head coach Gary Kubiak decided that he’d had enough of Steve Slaton’s fumbling problems and put him on the bench in favor of backup Ryan Moats. With that move, he single handedly crushed the dreams of all Slaton owners expecting a big game against one of the worst rushing defenses in the league. I guess it’s just nice to know Moats for something else other than his unfortunate run-in with a racist police officer this last summer. The guy did look great with a nice body lean and a very low pad level. He’s got good hands out of the backfield and Gary “I’m trying to be Mike Shanahan” Kubiak has already gone on the record that he’ll use “Three runningbacks from here on out.” As much as I hate to say it, Moats has value in deeper leagues playing in such a good offense.

Leonard Weaver - Philadelphia Eagles

Come on man, who actually rosters a fullback? You do when he’s as good as Leonard Weaver and especially when he’s the best inside runner remaining on a banged up Eagles backfield. With Brian Westbrook still nursing a concussion and rookie LeSean McCoy suffering from a nasty flu this week, we can expect Weaver to get even more touches against the Cowboys. Weaver is a great fit for Andy Reid’s offense because he’s also a tremendous pass catcher for a bigger back, as evidence of his 59 receptions the last two seasons in Seattle. If McCoy misses more practice time this week, expect Weaver to get at least 15 touches this weekend. He’s only to be considered in deeper leagues but he’s a nice option if one of your stars is out this week.

Kevin Walter - Houston Texans

Kevin Walter is a guy that should already be rostered in larger PPR leagues but regardless of format, I expect Walters numbers to improve going forward now that all-pro TE Owen Daniels is out for the year with a torn ACL. Yes, I know that Walter does not play TE, but he does bring a lot of the same qualities to the table that Daniels does. He’s a terrific route runner, he’s got great size at 6′3″ 218lbs, and he’s got great chemistry with his QB. Walter can fill a number of different roles on the field but he’s now going to be that safety valve that Daniels provided early in the year. While Walter may not get the same kind of production, he’s certain to improve in targets, receptions, and yardage. If Walter is still on your wire, it’s time to snag this fella for the stretch run.

Michael Crabtree - San Francisco 49ers

Now I’ll be the first to admit when I was wrong and this is unfortunately one of those times. I didn’t think that Michael Crabtree would acclimate himself so quickly to the speed of the game after missing so much practice time and repetitions but the kid was as good as advertised. He’s got good size and decent quicks but he’s a natural hands catcher who can pluck the ball out of the air with precision. He showed an instant chemistry with Alex Smith that was simply amazing. The Texas Tech product is the real deal and he will provide this 49er offense with a brand new dynamic that it hasn’t had since the days of Terrel Owens. I know that is just plain blasphemous but let’s just be honest here. . . he’s got a ton of upside and he’s already showing that he belongs in this league. If he’s still out there, you’re extremely lucky!

Malcolm Floyd - San Diego Chargers

I think everybody has been tipped off on what a colossal bust Chris Chambers is and the Chargers finally caught up with the rest of us, releasing him this week. Not only will this result in more targets for Malcolm Floyd but he was already being involved more in the team’s passing game than Chambers had ever been. Floyd provides the team with a much deep threat and is starting to refine the other facets of his game. He’s especially valuable in leagues that reward longer TDs with his tremendous length and deep speed. He doesn’t have a ton of value in smaller leagues or PPR scoring formats but you can expect his numbers to increase as the year goes on and teams start to shut down Tomlinson and company. It also helps that Phillip Rivers loves Floyd’s size, making him a perfect compliment to Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates. Definitely worth a pickup in deep leagues.

Spencer Havner - Green Bay Packers

Wow! When you get 3 receiving TDs in two games, it’s not a fluke and it certainly appears that Spencer Havner is here to stay. Rodgers definitely loves looking his way in the redzone and while Havner only has three targets in the past two games, you can’t argue with his production. It’s very possible that he could be Green Bay’s version of Mike Vrabel, as the the former UCLA Bruin was a collegiate linebacker and is still LB elligable in some yahoo leagues. All jokes aside, you could do a lot worse for a bye week filler if you’ve got Dustin Keller, Visanthe Shiancoe, or even Zach Miller out on bye.

Thanks for reading folks and if you’ve got any comments, questions, or complaints please bang them out below and you can also send ‘em my way to thefantasyexchange@gmail.com