Another crazy Sunday has ended, and now that the smiles have returned to the faces of Brady owners everywhere, it’s time to reflect on what actually happened and what it means to your fantasy team.

Tom Brady is back

That’s an understatement and an overstatement at the same time. You should never get too excited about one game, but it sure felt a lot like 2007 with Brady, Moss and Welker absolutely having their way the opposing defense (more about the Titans D below). If the Patriots were in the business of running up the score there is a chance we could be talking about a nine-touchdown game. Unfortunately for those in leagues that award equal points for all touchdowns, your 55 or so points will have to do. Unless Matt Schaub is your backup, Brady should be back to the fantasy sure thing he has been and should be treated as such. Ipso facto, stop making statements by benching him and making your top pick a situational commodity.

Laurence Maroney did what he did in ‘06: had a solid game against a bad team

Believe me, I hate the “why are the teams in different uniforms?” question this season just as much as the next guy, but even I had to ask an associate why the 2006 Bengals were wearing Oilers uniforms today. Maroney was still dancing too much, as he always does, but against this defense he couldn’t have taken a wrong step if he tried. It was very similar to the Week 4 game in Cincinnati back in ’06, and the numbers agree. ’06 vs. CIN: 15 carries, 125 yards, 2 TD. ’09 vs. TEN: 16 carries, 123 yards, TD. Maroney followed the Bengals game with an 18-carry, 38-yard stinker, and the rest is history. What makes this come full circle is the fact that, similar to ’06, Maroney will get the carries now if Sammy Morris is kept out for an extended period of time. If that’s the case and you’re a Maroney owner, be psyched about the carries, but don’t expect much else.

But it’s all because Tennessee’s defense is absolutely dreadful

First of all, I hope the 44.3 percent of owners who started Tennessee’s defense was in better shape after the Titans/Patriots game than Jeff Fischer. Aside from a crying Little League coach, that may have been the saddest a coach has ever looked following a loss. Think these guys miss Albert Haynesworth? The Titans defense has given up a league-high 33 points per game and are better than only the Browns in yards per game. Don’t be afraid to think outside the box if a bench player who gets considerable PT is going up against this defense in the near future, because they clearly haven’t figured it out yet.

Drew Brees can throw on anyone

But we knew that.

I am going to lose my mind if Visanthe Shiancoe isn’t owned in at least 50 percent of the leagues next week. … Try me.

How many touchdowns is it going to take for people to start recognizing this guy? Heading into this season I watched as people went crazy in my auction league for the Tony Gonzalezes and Greg Olsons of the world. Rather than bidding I patiently waited until they had no money, got Shiancoe on the cheap, and have laughed all the way to — it seems I mention it every week anyway — first place. That’s four touchdowns in the last three games for the England (a theme this week undoubtedly)-born Shiancoe. Surprisingly enough he still is not owned in 62.7 percent of ESPN leagues. I hate to give it away now, but there will definitely be a Shiancoe poll in next Sunday’s live chat.

David Garrard is back to being David Garrard: the poster child for inconsistency.

Garrard appeared to have a lot going for him in Weeks 2 and 4, and with the emergence of Mike Sims-Walker, the veteran seemed like a great No. 2 quarterback or even starter in one-QB leagues. Now that he is back to rewriting the book on mediocrity, a closer look at the numbers deserves to be taken. First of all, both of those big games took place in Jacksonville. The opponents? The Cardinals, who up until this week looked defensively inept. and the Titans. Nothing needs to be said about the latter, considering the licking that both the Patriots and Reality Bites put on them today. Through six games, Garrard as had a quarterback rating higher than 80 just twice, and though he’s only thrown three picks, five touchdowns won’t get owners too far. Consider yours truly among those who were fooled by his big Week 4, only to hang their heads in disgust against Seattle. 335 passing yards Sunday is nothing to sneeze at, but not being able to toss it in the end zone against the Rams isn’t exactly encouraging. He faces the Titans again after the bye, but learn from my mistake and don’t put too much stock into Week 8’s results.

Mike Tomlin doesn’t appear ready to screw up a good thing

Willie Parker is back, but he only received seven carries to Rashard Mendenhall’s 17, suggesting that the second-year pro is officially taking over the top spot on the depth chart. Over the last three weeks Mendenhall has rushed for 304 yards with four touchdowns. Those numbers are undoubtedly helped tremendously by his 165-yard, two-touchdown Week 4 showing against the Chargers, but the Steelers appear to have faith that he will continue to impress. This obviously hurts Parker’s value dramatically, but in an offense that runs as much as the Steelers do, both will get their carries.

I have only myself and Matt Hasselbeck to blame for the taste of Rockport, size 11 …

In other words, I put my foot in my mouth last week by declaring Hasselbeck a top fantasy option this week. Between his four-touchdown Week 5 and the fact that he was he was going against the Cardinals, I thought the BC product would take advantage of a weak secondary and let the league know that vintage Matt Hasselbeck is back. Not since Hasselbeck’s “We want the ball and we’re gonna  score!” line has anything been more incorrect. The 34-year-old went 10-for-29 passing with just 112 yards and a pick. Lesson learned.

… but at least he wasn’t Mark Sanchez

Sanchez again targeted Braylon Edwards often (nine times) but only synced up with him on three occasions. People can complain about Edwards’ drops, but you can’t complain when you’re missing badly and get picked off five times, which Sanchez did Sunday. That makes one touchdown and eight picks combined in the last three weeks for the rookie quarterback. No rational owner could have entered the season expecting to start Sanchez every week, but those who felt they could after three weeks have learned their lesson by now.

Running backs underachieving out of the gate … still?

A reader asked Sunday morning why he was watching his star receivers get outperformed by one-week wonders in his head-to-head league. I explained that it’s because the Pierre Garcons of the world won’t draw as much attention from opposing defenses and that the numbers would even out eventually. As I took a look around the league today, I couldn’t help but notice the lackluster days from Matt Forte and Michael Turner. I went through some stats to see if the “their numbers will balance out eventually” theory applies here. Through five games this season, Turner has 353 rushing yards and a touchdown. Last year, he had just as many touchdowns but 190 more yards. Through five last season, Forte had 383 yards and four total touchdowns. This season he’s totaled 294 yards with just one touchdown. Almost a third of the way through the schedule, it’s not accurate to say these two are off to a bad start. They are having disappointing seasons.

Speaking of running backs, the Chargers finally stopped one

The Chargers had been a head-scratcher until tonight because of the huge games running backs were having against them. One of the more intimidating defenses in the league was suddenly a team you felt comfortable starting your backs against. Knowshon Moreno is certainly far from being a top back in this league, but this week was a good test to see if San Diego’s run defense had just run into some tough backs (Mendenhall, Willis McGahee) or if they were off the mark. Moreno’s 44 yards on 18 carries showed that it was probably the former. It may have come in a loss, but the Chargers at the very least proved that they aren’t this season’s surprise door mat.

Check back Wednesday for the Week 7 edition of Living with the Bye. In the meantime, send any questions you have about your team to djbean@weei.com. I’ve especially enjoyed weighing in on trades people are considering, so feel free to keep them coming!

One Comments for “Drawing realizations from fantasy — Week 6”

1. Pete Says:
   October 19th, 2009 at 7:52 am

   Alas, poor Pierre Thomas! I knew him, DJ Bean; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is!

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