The Guru Gridiron Report: Week 5 Review & Recap

Week 5 had some tough injuries, but some great surprises. How about Reggie Bush running back 2 punt returns? One thing that definitely surprised us was the NY Giants wide receivers. We expected Amani Toomer to get lots of action on Sunday with Plaxico Burress suspended, but most of the action went to to of the Giants younger WRs Sinorice Moss and Domenik Hixon. Lets review some of these weeks performances and see what other surprises we can discover:

Quarterbacks (STOCK VALUE)

Jay Cutler - DOWNGRADED

Cutler has slowly been contracting with his numbers. Expect him to blowup again sooner then later. The question was how would he perform on the road or against good defenses. So far OK, but not like he first 2 weeks.

Gus Frerotte UPGRADED

We still wouldn't recommend starting him, but he threw for 200 yards and a TD. He's getting more comfortable with is offense, so he's worth a flyier in a QB drained league.

Philip Rivers DOWNGRADED LOOK TO ACQUIRE

The Miami defense is looking great this season. Rivers still should have over powered them and scratched out 159 yards and 1 TD. He's still a must start, but he's becoming average.

Tony Romo EVEN

He threw 3 TDs, but only 176 yards. He also is throwing INTs and fumbling. Something is in his head and he's making bad decisions. Maybe its Jessica. He is still one of the best QBs if not the best.

Aaron Rodgers UPGRADED - LOOK TO TRADE

Injured his shoulder in a loss to Tampa Bay. That is never good for a QB. Threw two TDs to Jennings and only a 165 yards. He always has the ability to score points, but we worry about his ability to spread the ball around and maximize points.

Jake Delhomme UPGRADED

Delhomme is back. We were wrong about him in the preseason. He looks strong and is really getting better every week.

Drew Brees EVEN LOOK TO ACQUIRE

330 yards and a TD in week 5. In our opinion he's the best QB in fantasy football. He's without his #1 WR and his TE. When those guys come back watchout.

Donovan McNabb DOWNGRADED - LOOK TO TRADE

Another bad game. This is more of what we expected out of the Eagles. We aren't saying give up on the man, but just don't expect many more 3 TD games. You may get 1 or 2, but not much more.

J.T. O'Sullivan UPGRADED - LOOK TO ACQUIRE

Not allot of yards, but 3 TDs in week 5. He's getting better every week. He's this years Derek Anderson. If you need a QB, he's cheap and available.

Matt Schaub EVEN

Had a virus and didn't play. We like that Andre Johnson got involved, so hope that bodes well for Schaub in week 6.

Carson Palmer EVEN - LOOK TO TRADE

Just a bad QB. Him and the entire Bengals look sad and are a shell of what they use to be. He did manage 2 TDs against Dallas, but we'd dump this guy ASAP.

Jason Campbell EVEN - LOOK TO ACQUIRE

We were very high on this guy coming in and he hasn't disappointed us expect week 1 and 5. Still keep this guy on your roster adn start him when you need too.

Matt Cassel UPGRADED

He threw 2 INTs, but also threw for 259 yards and a touchdown. We still aren't in favor of the guy, but he runs a strong offense and as he builds chemistry with his guys he can only get better.

Kurt Warner UPGRADED

He's playing like he did in his superbowl years. He's still one bad hit away from retirement, but he's one of the best QBs in fantasy football and a must start every week.

Matt Hasselbeck - DOWNGRADED - LOOK TO TRADE

Everyone expected more from him with Branch and Engram back. Instead we got a zero TD day and a benched quarterback. Dump him if you can. He still has good games ahead of him,, but not many.

Brett Farve - DID NOT PLAY

Runningbacks (STOCK VALUE)

Brain Westbrook DOWNGRADED

He got a TD, but not much else. He also fractured 2 ribs, so keep an eye on the injury report.

Marion Barber DOWNGRADED

Another tough game for Barber as he didn't find the end zone. The Cowboys don't have a good game plan for him, so its best if they start using him with Felix Jones sharing time and at the goal line.

Steve Slaton UPGRADED

Another great performance by the rookie. Ahman Green did sneak in and steal some carries, but if the Texans are smart ( a called QB roll out with a 3 score lead????) they will make him the featured back.

Reggie Bush UPGRADED

Wow. A huge day, especially on special teams with 2 punt returns for TDs. This is the Reggie Bush we expected.

Tim Hightower UPGRADED - LOOK TO ACQUIRE

The guy has 5 TDs in 5 games. He's a must own back getting 8-10 touches a game.

Ronnie Brown - UPGRADED LOOK TO TRADE

Another strong performance, but eventually teams are going to catchup with the "Wildcat" Formation. Also, they have some tough defenses coming up. His value is very high. I traded him in one league for a much healthier and reliable Frank Gore.

Matt Forte DOWNGRADED

85 total yards, but we are afraid that this is the Matt Forte and Bears offense we expected. It does worry us, but looking at it they were going up against a tough defense with confusing schemes. Watch how Forte reacts next week to see his character. We think he'll be fine.

Larry Johnson DOWNGRADED
2 yards! 2 yards. Back to the old Larry.

Michael Turner UPGRADED
121 yards and a TD. Exactly how we saw this game going. The Atlanta offense is doing very well and it starts with Turner.

Ryan Grant DOWNGRADED LOOK TO TRADE

We couldn't be more proud of this call in the preseason. We got hammered for ranking him so low, but looks like we were right. He had his best game of the 2008 season, 83 yards.

Thomas Jones DID NOT PLAY

Jonathon Stewart EVEN
He didn't get a touchdown this week, but did rack up 80 total yards. This week the TDs went to DeAngelo. He's still a good #2 RB.

DeAngelo Williams UPGRADED
Breakout game with 123 yards and 2 TDs. We expect more of this from DeAngelo especially with him breaking the 20 carry mark.

Rudi Johnson/ Kevin Smith DOWNGRADED
Does anyone know what's going on in Detroit?



Wide Receiver (STOCK VALUE)



Terrell Owens EVEN
Dallas needs an offensive game plan. When they fine one, we will upgrade Owens. Till then hope for big games.



Miles Austin EVEN
There weren't many catches in week 5 by any Cowboy receivers. Austin did have the chance for a TD, but it went through his hands and into Crayton's hands. He could have had 3 straight games with a TD.



Eddie Royal DOWNGRADED
Royal sprained his ankle after 3 catches and looks to be out 2-3 weeks.

Sinorice Moss UPGRADED - LOOK TO ACQUIRE
We finally got to see him in action and he had a great game. When Burress comes back this week we still expect Moss to be in the game plan with is blazing speed. Come on, a receiver with the last name of Moss not fast? 2 TDs and 45 yards. Great fill in WR for a BYE week.


Robert Meacham DOWNGRADED
Tough game for Meachem. 2 catches, 31 yards. Keep the faith. He has more to offer and will get more fantasy points in time.



Kevin Walters DOWNGRADED
36 yards and nothing else. Weak game from Walters. Didn't catch a ball till the 4th quarter.



Chansi Stuckey DID NOT PLAY



Jerricho Cotchery DID NOT PLAY


Plaxico Buress SUSPENDED WEEK 5


Andre Johnson UPGRADED
Huge game for Johnson. 131 yards and a TD. We expect more of that, and hope that Schaub can deliver once he returns.


Torry Holt DID NOT PLAY.



DeSean Jackson UPGRADED
A weak game on the offensive side, but returned a punt for special teams.

Reggie Brown DOWNGRADED
I'm not sure if this guy should ever start on a fantasy roster.





Lance Moore DOWNGRADED
Hopefully you didn't get your hopes up too high for Moore. 5 catches, 31 yards. He's back on Earth.

Lee Evans UPGRADED
Lost his QB, but did catch his signature TD bomb. Beware of him with Edwards out, but Loseman can get him the ball as well.



Greg Jennings EVEN
87 yards and a TD. About what we expected. Another day at work for Jennings.



Lavernues Coles DID NOT PLAY



Patrick Crayton UPGRADED
We have to upgrade him cause he finally caught a TD pass, but we still like Miles Austin better.

Donald Driver UPGRADED
Caught a TD as we called it. Jennings is still the man, but Driver will get his fair share of targets.



Braylon Edwards DID NOT PLAY

Randy Moss UPGRADED
Cassel hooked up with Moss for a TD and a 100+ yard game. We like that Moss is connecting with his QB. We think he will more as time goes by. Be confident with starting Moss.

Larry Fitzgerald - UPGRADED
Without Boldin he is the absolute man in Arizona. 2 more TDs in week 5.

Steve Breaston EVEN
He took Boldin's spot for a few weeks. 7 catches for 77 yards was fairly solid. Keep him for a few eeks and them cut or bench him.




Tight Ends (STOCK VALUE)

Vernon Davis DOWNGRADED
Cut him ASAP. Worthless.




Robert Royal DOWNGRADED

2 catches and 8 yards?


Antonio Gates DOWNGRADED
With Rivers struggling that is not good for Gates.




Kellen Winslow DID NOT PLAY



Jason Witten UPGRADED
Another TD. He is coming on as we expected. Expect allot more in the coming weeks.



Dustin Keller DID NOT PLAY

John Carlson DOWNGRADED
Caught nothing this week. We did not jump on this bandwagon, but expect his numbers to reduce with Engram returning.



Chris Cooley UPGRADED
100+ yards and a TD. Awesome game for Cooley.

Visanthe Shiancoe UPGRADED
Found the end zone on 2 catches. He's a nice TE if you have Vernon Davis.

Tony Scheffler - DOWNGRADED
With Cutler not doing as well, Scheffler's numbers are lagging. He's not the type of guy we like with his inconsistency.