Week 6: The Return of Miles Austin - 6 comments

Welcome to the Week 6 Start & Sit, where we see that Miles Austin’s return to the Cowboys makes him one of the best WR plays of the week. He has 223 yards and four TDs this season in just two games of action. Mix in the fact that he’ll be up against a Patriot defense that had trouble stopping the Chad Henne Dolphins in Week 1 and has been rocked by injuries since that embarrassment, and Austin should have no problem picking up where he left off.

You’ll find rankings compiled from submissions from c0megets0me, tclangham, FatFoot and myself below, along with specific recommendations at each position. We hope you like them!

Rank	Quarterbacks	Team	Opponent	Average
1	Aaron Rodgers	GB	vs. STL	94.8
2	Drew Brees	NO	at TB	90.6
3	Tom Brady	NE	vs. DAL	90.2
4	Tony Romo	DAL	at NE	89.0
5	Matthew Stafford	DET	vs. SF	84.2
6	Michael Vick	PHI	at WAS	83.2
7	Eli Manning	NYG	vs. BUF	79.2
8	Cam Newton	CAR	at ATL	72.2
9	Ben Roethlisberger	PIT	vs. JAC	71.4
10	Ryan Fitzpatrick	BUF	at NYG	70.6
11	Mark Sanchez	NYJ	vs. MIA	68.2
12	Matt Ryan	ATL	vs. CAR	67.8
13	Colt McCoy	CLE	at OAK	67.6
14	Matt Schaub	HOU	at BAL	66.4
15	Josh Freeman	TB	vs. NO	65.6
16	Joe Flacco	BAL	vs. HOU	65.2
17	Jay Cutler	CHI	vs. MIN	62.2
18	Sam Bradford	STL	at GB	62.0
19	Jason Campbell	OAK	vs. CLE	61.2
20	Rex Grossman	WAS	vs. PHI	58.4
21	Alex Smith	SF	at DET	56.6
22	Andy Dalton	CIN	vs. IND	56.0
23	Donovan McNabb	MIN	at CHI	55.4
24	Curtis Painter	IND	at CIN	47.8
25	Blaine Gabbert	JAC	at PIT	43.0
26	Matt Moore	MIA	at NYJ	42.0

Start: Eli Manning. Little Brother is fifth in the league in passing yards and fifth in the league in TD passes as well. He’s only averaging one reception per game. Clearly, he’s locked in as a QB1 in fantasy leagues. This week, he takes on a Buffalo defense that’s allowing 288 yards and two TDs to QBs on average this year. With Brandon Jacobs out, the Giants may throw even more than usual. Sounds like a win for Eli to me.

Sit: Matt Schaub. As you know, Schaub is without No. 1 target Andre Johnson. As you’re probably also aware, Johnson fill-in Jacoby Jones had just one catch on 11 targets last week — clearly, the two aren’t on the same page. The Baltimore pass defense has been the stingiest in the league to fantasy QBs, so Schaub is a definite stay-away this weekend.

Rank	Running Backs	Team	Opponent	Average
1	Darren McFadden	OAK	vs. CLE	93.0
2	Adrian Peterson	MIN	at CHI	92.0
3	Fred Jackson	BUF	at NYG	89.4
4	Matt Forte	CHI	vs. MIN	87.0
5	LeSean McCoy	PHI	at WAS	86.4
6	Ray Rice	BAL	vs. HOU	86.0
7	Arian Foster	HOU	at BAL	83.8
8	Peyton Hillis	CLE	at OAK	82.8
9	Maurice Jones-Drew	JAC	at PIT	82.8
10	Michael Turner	ATL	vs. CAR	82.8
11	Ahmad Bradshaw	NYG	vs. BUF	80.6
12	Ryan Torain	WAS	vs. PHI	80.2
13	Felix Jones	DAL	at NE	79.2
14	Cedric Benson	CIN	vs. IND	79.0
15	Daniel Thomas	MIA	at NYJ	75.2
16	Frank Gore	SF	at DET	73.2
17	Darren Sproles	NO	at TB	72.8
18	Steven Jackson	STL	at GB	70.8
19	James Starks	GB	vs. STL	70.6
20	Rashard Mendenhall	PIT	vs. JAC	70.4
21	Jahvid Best	DET	vs. SF	66.0
22	Ryan Grant	GB	vs. STL	65.6
23	Earnest Graham	TB	vs. NO	64.8
24	Shonn Greene	NYJ	vs. MIA	63.8
25	DeAngelo Williams	CAR	at ATL	60.6
26	Reggie Bush	MIA	at NYJ	58.6
27	Mark Ingram	NO	at TB	58.6
28	Michael Bush	OAK	vs. CLE	57.6
29	Jonathan Stewart	CAR	at ATL	56.6
30	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	NE	vs. DAL	54.2
31	Pierre Thomas	NO	at TB	53.8
32	Stevan Ridley	NE	vs. DAL	53.4
33	LaDainian Tomlinson	NYJ	vs. MIA	50.4
34	Tim Hightower	WAS	vs. PHI	48.6
35	Montario Hardesty	CLE	at OAK	47.4
36	Roy Helu	WAS	vs. PHI	44.2
37	Delone Carter	IND	at CIN	42.6
38	Ben Tate	HOU	at BAL	41.8
39	Danny Woodhead	NE	vs. DAL	41.6
40	Kendall Hunter	SF	at DET	40.8
41	Isaac Redman	PIT	vs. JAC	32.0
42	Donald Brown	IND	at CIN	30.4
43	Deji Karim	JAC	at PIT	22.0
44	C.J. Spiller	BUF	at NYG	21.2
45	Joe McKnight	NYJ	vs. MIA	20.4
46	Tashard Choice	DAL	at NE	14.0
47	Marion Barber	CHI	vs. MIN	11.6
48	Bernard Scott	CIN	vs. IND	10.8
49	Cadillac Williams	STL	at GB	10.4
50	Kregg Lumpkin	TB	vs. NO	10.4

Start: Ryan Torain. Torain exploded in Week 4 before Washington took a week off, and clearly we’re expecting him to get the majority of the carries this week for the Redskins. The Eagles are getting torn up by running backs every time out, and there’s no reason the Redskins shouldn’t lean on Torain in this matchup. Count on him for 20-plus carries, well over 100 yards and a TD or two.

Sit: BenJarvus Green-Ellis. He was able to practice Friday, so despite being listed as questionable, Green-Ellis will likely be out on the field this Sunday. But it’s a bad matchup for him — the Cowboys are the stingiest team in the league on the ground, giving up just 61 rushing yards per game this year. The Patriots are more likely to throw it around in any given week already, and the poor matchup makes BGE a bench candidate this week.

Rank	Wide Receivers	Team	Opponent	Average
1	Calvin Johnson	DET	vs. SF	94.4
2	Miles Austin	DAL	at NE	92.8
3	Greg Jennings	GB	vs. STL	90.0
4	Hakeem Nicks	NYG	vs. BUF	89.4
5	Dez Bryant	DAL	at NE	88.8
6	Wes Welker	NE	vs. DAL	88.6
7	Steve Smith	CAR	at ATL	88.4
8	Mike Wallace	PIT	vs. JAC	87.0
9	Roddy White	ATL	vs. CAR	84.8
10	Steve Johnson	BUF	at NYG	83.6
11	A.J. Green	CIN	vs. IND	82.2
12	Santonio Holmes	NYJ	vs. MIA	77.0
13	DeSean Jackson	PHI	at WAS	76.6
14	Jeremy Maclin	PHI	at WAS	75.8
15	Marques Colston	NO	at TB	73.6
16	Percy Harvin	MIN	at CHI	71.4
17	Jordy Nelson	GB	vs. STL	70.6
18	Victor Cruz	NYG	vs. BUF	70.6
19	Anquan Boldin	BAL	vs. HOU	69.2
20	Santana Moss	WAS	vs. PHI	66.2
21	Brandon Marshall	MIA	at NYJ	66.2
22	Pierre Garcon	IND	at CIN	66.2
23	Mike Williams	TB	vs. NO	65.4
24	David Nelson	BUF	at NYG	63.6
25	Deion Branch	NE	vs. DAL	63.4
26	Lance Moore	NO	at TB	62.8
27	Reggie Wayne	IND	at CIN	62.8
28	Mario Manningham	NYG	vs. BUF	62.0
29	Robert Meachem	NO	at TB	59.4
30	Johnny Knox	CHI	vs. MIN	58.0
31	Devin Hester	CHI	vs. MIN	57.2
32	Michael Crabtree	SF	at DET	56.8
33	James Jones	GB	vs. STL	56.6
34	Greg Little	CLE	at OAK	56.4
35	Darrius Heyward-Bay	OAK	vs. CLE	56.0
36	Plaxico Burress	NYJ	vs. MIA	56.0
37	Mohamed Massaquoi	CLE	at OAK	55.6
38	Nate Burleson	DET	vs. SF	55.2
39	Kevin Walter	HOU	at BAL	54.6
40	Torrey Smith	BAL	vs. HOU	54.4
41	Denarius Moore	OAK	vs. CLE	54.0
42	Mike Thomas	JAC	at PIT	53.2
43	Antonio Brown	PIT	vs. JAC	52.6
44	Harry Douglas	ATL	vs. CAR	51.6
45	Laurent Robinson	DAL	at NE	50.4
46	Jerome Simpson	CIN	vs. IND	50.4
47	Jacoby Jones	HOU	at BAL	50.2
48	Hines Ward	PIT	vs. JAC	50.2
49	Josh Cribbs	CLE	at OAK	49.6
50	Brandon LaFell	CAR	at ATL	49.2
51	Jabar Gaffney	WAS	vs. PHI	49.0
52	Danario Alexander	STL	at GB	48.4
53	Devery Henderson	NO	at TB	47.6
54	Mike Sims-Walker	STL	at GB	47.2
55	Arrelious Benn	TB	vs. NO	46.6
56	Jacoby Ford	OAK	vs. CLE	45.6
57	Donald Driver	GB	vs. STL	44.6
58	Michael Jenkins	MIN	at CHI	40.4
59	Emmanuel Sanders	PIT	vs. JAC	38.0
60	Davone Bess	MIA	at NYJ	36.8
61	Randall Cobb	GB	vs. STL	36.4
62	Brian Hartline	MIA	at NYJ	36.2
63	Naaman Roosevelt	BUF	at NYG	35.6
64	Andre Caldwell	CIN	vs. IND	35.6
65	Dane Sanzenbacher	CHI	vs. MIN	35.6
66	Titus Young	DET	vs. SF	35.4
67	Chad Ochocinco	NE	vs. DAL	35.2
68	Brandon Gibson	STL	at GB	35.0
69	Ted Ginn Jr.	SF	at DET	34.8
70	Jason Avant	PHI	at WAS	33.8
71	Austin Collie	IND	at CIN	32.8
72	Bernard Berrian	MIN	at CHI	22.6
73	Anthony Armstrong	WAS	vs. PHI	21.8
74	Devin Aromashodu	MIN	at CHI	21.6
75	Roy Williams	CHI	vs. MIN	17.6

Start: A.J. Green. We knew he was talented, but Green is likely surpassing all expectations in his rookie season by catching 24 passes for 402 yards and three TDs through five games. His numbers make him a top-10 fantasy WR over the first part of the year, and now he gets an excellent matchup against an undersized Colts secondary that just gave up huge performances to Dwayne Bowe and Steve Breaston. Green is easily a WR1 here.

Sit: Mike Thomas. Things aren’t going too great for the Jaguars and Thomas this year. While the team has struggled en route to a 1-4 record, Thomas has averaged just 53 yards per game while scoring only once. Now he gets the toughest defense for receivers to score upon, and Pittsburgh is surely going to take him out of the Week 6 game and force Jacksonville to beat them elsewhere.

Rank	Tight Ends	Team	Opponent	Average
1	Jimmy Graham	NO	at TB	91.6
2	Rob Gronkowski	NE	vs. DAL	91.0
3	Jason Witten	DAL	at NE	88.6
4	Vernon Davis	SF	at DET	83.8
5	Jermichael Finley	GB	vs. STL	82.6
6	Tony Gonzalez	ATL	vs. CAR	82.4
7	Aaron Hernandez	NE	vs. DAL	82.0
8	Owen Daniels	HOU	at BAL	78.2
9	Dustin Keller	NYJ	vs. MIA	77.8
10	Brandon Pettigrew	DET	vs. SF	75.0
11	Greg Olsen	CAR	at ATL	73.6
12	Fred Davis	WAS	vs. PHI	72.6
13	Jermaine Gresham	CIN	vs. IND	70.8
14	Kellen Winslow	TB	vs. NO	66.6
15	Ben Watson	CLE	at OAK	65.8
16	Heath Miller	PIT	vs. JAC	64.4
17	Kevin Boss	OAK	vs. CLE	62.2
18	Jake Ballard	NYG	vs. BUF	59.6
19	Scott Chandler	BUF	at NYG	59.0
20	Dallas Clark	IND	at CIN	58.4
21	Visanthe Shiancoe	MIN	at CHI	56.8
22	Chris Cooley	WAS	vs. PHI	54.2
23	Lance Kendricks	STL	at GB	47.4
24	Anthony Fasano	MIA	at NYJ	47.2
25	Ed Dickson	BAL	vs. HOU	46.6
26	Jeremy Shockey	CAR	at ATL	42.4
27	Evan Moore	CLE	at OAK	41.8
28	Marcedes Lewis	JAC	at PIT	32.8
29	Brent Celek	PHI	at WAS	32.6
30	Tony Scheffler	DET	vs. SF	29.2

Start: Aaron Hernandez. Hernandez may still carry the stigma of being a TE2 on his own team and therefore be unworthy of starting in fantasy leagues, but that’s a poor interpretation of the facts. The truth is that he’s second in the league in points per game at his position in many formats. He’s been even better per game than teammate Rod Gronkowski, who ranks second overall at the position. Hernandez shouldn’t have any problem keeping it going this week.

Sit: Dallas Clark. The Colts offense is predictably a mess without its leader, and that’s led to Clark being called upon to block more and more. He hasn’t caught more than four passes in any game, he’s yet to top 50 yards once this season and he has just one TD to his credit. It’s time to cut him loose and find yourself a guy with more upside. You definitely don’t want him starting against a strong Cincinnati defense after last week’s one-catch performance.

Rank	Kickers	Team	Opponent	Average
1	Sebastian Janikowski	OAK	vs. CLE	85.4
2	Jason Hanson	DET	vs. SF	83.2
3	Neil Rackers	HOU	at BAL	77.8
4	John Kasay	NO	at TB	76.8
5	Dan Bailey	DAL	at NE	75.8
6	David Akers	SF	at DET	75.8
7	Stephen Gostkowski	NE	vs. DAL	74.6
8	Mason Crosby	GB	vs. STL	74.2
9	Billy Cundiff	BAL	vs. HOU	73.2
10	Rian Lindell	BUF	at NYG	72.0
11	Dan Carpenter	MIA	at NYJ	71.6
12	Robbie Gould	CHI	vs. MIN	71.0
13	Mike Nugent	CIN	vs. IND	69.4
14	Alex Henery	PHI	at WAS	66.4
15	Nick Folk	NYJ	vs. MIA	66.2
16	Ryan Longwell	MIN	at CHI	63.8
17	Graham Gano	WAS	vs. PHI	63.6
18	Adam Vinatieri	IND	at CIN	63.4
19	Matt Bryant	ATL	vs. CAR	62.6
20	Olindo Mare	CAR	at ATL	57.2
21	Phil Dawson	CLE	at OAK	56.6
22	Connor Barth	TB	vs. NO	55.8
23	Josh Scobee	JAC	at PIT	54.6
24	Josh Brown	STL	at GB	54.4
25	Shaun Suisham	PIT	vs. JAC	52.2
26	Lawrence Tynes	NYG	vs. BUF	51.6

Start: Dan Bailey. He’s back from his bye, meaning he should be added and started for the remainder of the year for the Cowboys, who aren’t having any problems getting their kicker some points.

Sit: Matt Bryant. The Falcons have given Bryant just seven field goal chances this year., and even though he’s been perfect on those chances, he’s really struggling to pull his weight in fantasy.

Rank	Team Defense	Team	Opponent	Average
1	New York Jets	NYJ	vs. MIA	73.4
2	Baltimore Ravens	BAL	vs. HOU	71.6
3	Green Bay Packers	GB	vs. STL	70.2
4	Detroit Lions	DET	vs. SF	68.7
5	Houston Texans	HOU	at BAL	66.4
6	Buffalo Bills	BUF	at NYG	65.3
7	Washington Redskins	WAS	vs. PHI	65.0
8	Cincinnati Bengals	CIN	vs. IND	65.0
9	San Francisco 49ers	SF	at DET	63.7
10	Pittsburgh Steelers	PIT	vs. JAC	63.3
11	Minnesota Vikings	MIN	at CHI	63.0
12	Atlanta Falcons	ATL	vs. CAR	59.6
13	Philadelphia Eagles	PHI	at WAS	59.4
14	Chicago Bears	CHI	vs. MIN	59.1
15	New Orleans Saints	NO	at TB	58.5
16	Oakland Raiders	OAK	vs. CLE	57.5
17	Jacksonville Jaguars	JAC	at PIT	55.9
18	Indianapolis Colts	IND	at CIN	54.2
19	Carolina Panthers	CAR	at ATL	53.5
20	New England Patriots	NE	vs. DAL	53.1
21	Cleveland Browns	CLE	at OAK	52.8
22	New York Giants	NYG	vs. BUF	52.5
23	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TB	vs. NO	51.7
24	Dallas Cowboys	DAL	at NE	49.2
25	Miami Dolphins	MIA	at NYJ	47.6
26	St. Louis Rams	STL	at GB	36.7

Start: Cincinnati Bengals. They get to face Curtis Painter on the road — talk about an excellent matchup!

Sit: Chicago Bears. Despite playing poorly this year, Donovan McNabb has thrown just two interceptions.

R.J. White is the head editor at the Cafe, writes for FanDuel and Razzball and has previously written for FanHouse. Catch up with him in the forums under the name daullaz. Follow him on Twitter; don't follow him in real life.

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6 Responses to “Week 6: The Return of Miles Austin”

sjkooiii says:

October 15, 2011 at 9:49 am

Will it be a better move to sit Matt Forte this week against Vikings run D? and start Pierre Garcon instead?
Reply
JackedSierra says:

October 15, 2011 at 11:05 am

no. keep forte in. who cares about minn run-d, forte is also chicagos best receiver
Reply
anthony23 says:

October 15, 2011 at 11:13 am

Should i use cinninatti’s def against painter or detriot’s def against SF?
Reply
Youngsir620 says:

October 15, 2011 at 12:06 pm

who should i start Tim Hightower, Delone Carter, Jonathan Stewart, or Earnest Graham
Reply
Youngsir620 says:

October 15, 2011 at 12:07 pm

or are there better options out there worth taking a risk on for this week?
Reply
mariacoffman2010 says:

October 15, 2011 at 6:35 pm

should I start mendenhall, Maclin, or deangelo wiliams for my flex
Reply