The Big House - Week #6 Summaries

by Sam Spiegelman

Boom Goes the Dynamite vs. Ron Mexico’s Pit Bulls

You hate to see a day where S-Jax finally finds the end zone go to waste, but that was the case Sunday when Boom Goes the Dynamite faced off against Ron Mexico’s Pit Bulls. A rebound afternoon from Drew Brees and another solid effort for Braylon Edwards also contributed. But the Chargers defense, who showed signs of brilliance versus the Seahawks a few weeks ago, could only account for three points against a rookie quarterback. The 89 points, however, were not enough to stop Ron Mexico, who made the right move in using Joe “Wacko for” Flacco over Vince Young, despite the matchup. He also made a bold decision to start Danny Woodhead, which paid off handsomely when he racked up over 110 yards and scored 11 fantasy points. A solid afternoon from Franke Gore, as well as a monster show put on by Jeremy Maclin, helped lead the way. By the way, need I say that Kevin Kolb is much better for Maclin and the other Philly receivers’ fantasy values?

The SHOCKER vs. Old School

As the Texans’ offense goes, so does The SHOCKER. As I told you last week, the Schaub would not be stumped back-to-back weeks, even if he just so happened to be facing the Kansas City Chiefs’ secondary (hey, Peyton couldn’t do too much work against them!) The Houston duo combined for 41 of The SHOCKER’s 98 points, complemented by 13, 12 and 10-point efforts from All Day, The Marshall Plan and good ol’ Derrick Mason. Ninety-eight total points were more than enough to take down Old School, whose team just had difficulty finding the end zone Sunday. Aside from D-Jax who scored twice before getting laid out by Dunta Robinson (see: $50,000 fine). Sanchize, the Real McCoy, Ray Rice, Miles “Stone Cold Steve” Austin and Santonio Holmes combined for one touchdown – not enough to win you games. There’s a lot of dependency on a run-first Jets offense and an inconsistent Dallas offense, which explains why you find your two games below .500 right now.

Ben Riback vs. Pain Curve

An injury-riddled San Diego receiving core led by the likes of Malcolm “in the middle” Floyd and Antonio Gates, both coming off impressive Week 6 efforts looking to exploit the Rams’ secondary, came up short due and missed time in their game, leading Pain Curve’s receiving core to accumulate a mere 19 points. In contrast, Andre the Giant put up 19 points alone for Ben Riback. It didn’t help that Maurice Jones-Drew had another disappointing day and Wes Welker struggled without Randy Being Manny in the Pats’ offense. Both are question marks going forward, as they’ll need to get straightened out for the team to be successful.

On the flip side, a nice effort from A-Rod, Andre the Johnson, Joseph Addai and Rashard Mendenhall led the way for Ben Riback to move to 4-2, and a third consecutive win. With his stars performing well, there was less reliance of Brandon Lloyd to stay as hot as he was. The looks solid coming down the stretch – Brandon Jackson getting a lot of carries; Percy  Harvin having an increased role; Roy Williams showing he still plays in the NFL. Finding the right matchups will be critical heading towards the playoffs.

Buttercup vs. Paydirt

A matchup of Tom Brady versus Peyton Manning, an eight-point differential – would you expect anything different? One team would move to .500, the other to 2-4. This Sunday, it was Buttercup who would fall a little short. Brady led the team with 13 points and a touchdown, the only score put up by the entire team. I’m no expert, well – I am sort of – but that can never be a good sign. Jamaal Charles teased up with over 100 total yards; Johnny Knox had 120 receiving yards, but neither reached the end zone. The same goes for Randy and Santana Moss. Solution: insert Ryan Torain. In a Mike Shanahan offense, there has to be a workhorse. Until Ryan  Mathews can establish himself as a threat in the Chargers’ offense, Torain can do his best to try and bring your team back to life.

Paydirt – an impressive win. A rebound afternoon from Manning, in combination with another great effort out of LaDainian and a welcome-back party, exclusively between Big Ben and his man Hines Ward, provided over half of your production Week 6. Ronnie Brown’s 75 total yards is somewhat encouraging, as they try to find ways to get him involved in the lineup. And Reggie Wayne’s 71 yards, a valiant effort, and will always be a potential Manning-to-Wayne touchdown connection. What concerns me is the tight end spot. Visanthe Shiancoe got zero targets versus the Cowboys – let’s shore up that situation, eh?

Lights Out vs. Calbears aka Team Gunze

It was Lights Out for Shawne Merriman this week in San Diego, and it was Lights Out for Calbears in Week 6. A 22-point edge favored Lights Out, now at 5-1 – but can you blame him? Ahmad Bradshaw remains prevalent in a dominant G-Men rushing offense; Chris Johnson tries to maintain his pace for 2,500 yards and Megatron keeps on coming! Even Tony Romo is producing, which is more than you can say about the Cowboys’ offense in general. On the other side, double-digit efforts from Philip Rivers, Austin Collie, Greg “Don’t call me” Peter Jennings and Gonzo was a good start, but the rest of the team failed to show up. The Burner failed to product yet again, and how much were you expecting out of Danny Amendola? At 2-4, the only hope for the team is if Rivers goes buck wild, The Burner lights up and Jennings rediscovers his chemistry with Aaron Rodgers. Oh yeah, slipping Marshawn Lynch or Thomas Jones into the lineup wouldn’t hurt.