By Matt Valentine
Week six is approaching and if your fantasy team isn’t looking good thus far you still have plenty of time to get back into playoff contention. With that said, let’s take a look at some week 6 match ups that should be beneficial to fantasy quarterbacks.
1. Kyle Orton- Chicago Bears
Wow,what a difference a year makes. The Chicago Bears easily had one of the NFL’s most dismal passing attacks last season but all that has changed with Kyle Orton under center. Orton has tossed multiple TD’s n his last two games and should do the same this week against the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons are surrendering 222 yards and 1.8 passing touchdowns per game. Now that the Bears are finally beginning to utilize the speedy Devin Hester in their passing attack Orton could end up being one of this weeks best fantasy options.
2. Jason Campbell- Washington Redskins
Campbell is QB on the rise. He has posted back to back wins on the road against division rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Dallas Cowboys. Now he gets to go up against one of the worst teams in the NFl in the St. Louis Rams whose passing defense ranks 28th in the league allowing 245.8 yards and 2 TD’s per game. Campbell finally looks comfortable in coach Jim Zorn’s offense and with a number of nice options including Santana Moss and Chris Cooley he should have an explosive day against the woeful rams.
3. Kurt Warner- Arizona Cardinals
Warner came off another nice fantasy performance against the Buffalo Bills last Sunday and looks to return with another strong performance agaisnt a banged up Dallas secondary at home this week. Terrence Newman is out, Roy Williams is most likely out, and the Dallas pass rush has been very inconsistent thus far this year. Thats all good news for Warner who should post his fourth straight multiple touchdown game in what should be a shootout in the desert.
4. Brett Favre- New York Jets
After posting a career high 6 TD’s against the Cardinals in his last game Favre and the Jets hope to continue the trend in this weeks game against the Bengals. If you look at the numbers it doesn’t look like a good match up for Favre with Cincy’s D ranking 6th in the league in passing defense. That is a more then deceptive number becuase everyone just dominates Cincy’s D on the ground instead of through the air. The Jets have yet to establish their ground game this year and Favre has had an extra week to heal and work on his timing with his receivers, that should bode well for a strong fanatsy day.
5- Eli Manning- New York Giants
Make no mistake about it the Giants are the nest all around team in the NFL right now. Thanks in large part to their consistent ground game Eli has had ample time to pick opposing secondary’s apart this season and has the Giants passing attacked ranked 6th in the NFL. The Giants face off against the dissapointing Cleveland Browns who have a weak secondary and have yet to play well on either side of the ball. Consider also that Plaxico is back from his one game suspension and that the Giants have one of the deepest receiving corps in the league with the likes of Steve Smith, Amani Toomer, Sinorice Moss, Mario Manningham and last weeks fantasy darling Dominick Hixon and the Browns secondary shouldn’t stand a chance.






Melrose to Coach Tampa Bay Lightning
Jun 25
Posted by admin in 2008 NHL Draft, Analyst, Barry Melrose, ESPN, Eastern Conference, Fantasy Sports, Florida, Hired, NHL, New Coach, Pro Sports, Sports, Sports Events, Sports Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Uncategorized, Western conference, online sports community | No Comments
Hockey fans in Florida can rejoice on two fronts. First, Barry Melrose the esteemed ESPN NHL analyst and former coach of the Los Angeles Kings will be taking the place of John Tortorella to try his magic on Vincent Lecavalier and the rest of the Tampa Bay Lighting. Second, Melrose brings with him one of the most hallowed traditions in hockey…the mullet!
(Barry Melrose…notice the classic Mullet.)
Melrose has been working as an ESPN analyst and commentator for the last 12 years. His dashing suits, and slicked back mullet made him an in-house and fan favorite, and the one man who can make me blush.
Melroses’ last coaching gig with the L.A. Kings lasted just 2 1/2 years in which he posted a regular season record of 82-103-31. He did lead the Kings to the franchises first Stanley Cup Finals in 1993 where they lost a 5 game series to the Montreal Canadiens.
Though he has not coached in 13 seasons Melrose has always remained close to the game and kept a watchful eye over the players, and changes that game has undergone in the past years. He should be well prepared to tackle the dynamics of the “new” NHL and should spark life into a franchise that turned in an extremely disappointing season last year.
The Tampa Bay Lightning finished dead last in the 30 team league and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2002, despite having talented superstars Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis. The Lightning have not won a playoff series since their Stanley Cup championship in 2004.
Melroses biggest priority will be to improve the teams defensive play, “I believe in effort. I believe in energy. I believe in speed. I believe in aggression. I believe in letting guys be creative, using their imagination,” he said. “I give them a lot of freedom. All I ask in return is that they compete defensively.”
Melrose is no stranger to the Lightning squad and estimated that he watched about 90% of their games on television last season. He believes he knows why the team failed telling reporters that,
“I think what happened here is just a group that lost their passion in the second part of the season. That’s why you win,” Melrose said. “You out-work other teams, you out-want other teams. When you lose that fire and lose that passion, it’s very hard to compete in the NHL.”
Melrose received a vote of confidence from his former player and current Phoenix Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky who said, “He treats his role players with a great deal of respect. He treats those guys just as good as he treats his top players, I think that’s a fine line and important because guys who don’t play as much … they need to have that reassurance that they’re part of the team also.” Gretzky also called Melrose a tremendous coach, and a true “players coach”.
The Lightning are in the midst of a change in ownership, a deal which should be finalized in June. The Lightning are being sold to a group headed by Oren Koules, Hollywood producer and friend of Barry Melrose and Canadian developer and former NHL player Len Barrie. The pair plan to sign Lecavalier to a contract extension and be an aggressive player in the free agent market.
The Lightning should be a team to watch out for with the talent of Lecavalier, St.Louis and the newly acquired number one overall pick in 2008 NHL draft, Steve Stamkos. Just look up the name on YouTube and you’ll see the type of talent we’re dealing with.
Congrats Barry, just be careful when you go to The Rock in Newark,NJ…I don’t think you’ll want to be seen walking around that building.
Tags: 1993 Stanley Cup Finals, 2008 NHL Draft, Analyst, Barry Melrose, coach, commentator, Coyotes, defense, ESPN, franchise, Hockey, Hollywood, John Tortorella, Los Angeles Kings, Martin St. Louis, montreal canadiens, mullet, New Coach, new jersey, New Jersey Devils, Newark, NHL, Oren Koules, Phoenix, playoffs, Prudential Center, Stanley Cup, Steve Stamkos, superstars, Tampa Bay Lightning, The Rock, Vincent Lecavalier, Wayne Gretzky