There are no more win virgins left, as the Lead Farmers and Head Trauma both broke out of their slumps with vigorous efforts. It will be an uphill climb the rest of the way, but with their RB depth going up against bye week depletion, they still control their destinies. New York remains undefeated at the top, Phoenix is 5-1 and leading the league in points, and everybody else is jostling for position, with the Islanders and Petites currently at the head of the pack.
Phoenix (5-1) rebounded from their first loss of the season with a solid effort to vanquish an undermanned
Saskatoon squad (2-4) early. The Uprising might have had an opportunity to elevate their power ranking lead, but QB Eli Manning served up a dud, and Jordan Matthews has been held to single digit output four weeks in a row. Saskatoon had some huge scores early in the year, but has dropped into middling production and needs to shake out of the doldrums quickly if it is going to recover and make a playoff run- Antonio Brown needs the damn ball!
HCM City (1-5) pounded the
Van Halens (2-4) and still left bullets in the chamber. Their deep bench will be useful if they are able to optimize their lineup week to week. Deputy actually put up their second highest score on the season, in a losing effort. These two squads both lost an elite wide receiver to a torn ACL in the preseason, and have never looked right since- if either can turn in a quality year, its a credit to their managerial prowess. Silver lining, Deputy had the pickup of the week in CB Brashaud Breeland.
The Islanders (4-2) have defeated the
Pride (3-3) for the moment: With only 1.33 separating them on the scoreboard, this is a matchup that could very well come down to Thursday's Official Review, where stat corrections will affirm or reverse the decision. Chris Ivory and DPotW Karlos Dansby led the way for the Island, while Pawnee saw big performances from Aqib Talib and Emmanuel Sanders nearly keep pace. Jay Cutler did a nice job for the Islanders in the stead of Big Ben, who may be on the cusp of returning.
New York (6-0) looked every bit the undefeated champion in this one, blowing the doors off of an over matched
South Park (3-3) team. Nearly every one of the Finest posted double digits, and even the four that did not all scored eight or more points. South Park had a decent day, but should take solace in knowing that they have better days ahead, and most of them should result in a W- no one was going to beat New York in week six. Note: If they had played Martavis Bryant (in his first game of active duty this year) over Eric Decker, they would have the league's all-time single game record for points. But they didn't, so they don't.
Hill Valley McFlying High (3-3) certainly ain't dead yet. They scored over 200 points for the first time this season, as their trio of top notch WRs finally got to play together. Will it happen again? A lot of that depends upon Sammy Watkins, In his absence, Marvin Jones looks fully capable, although the running back situation in Hill Valley is murky at best. After knocking off Phoenix,
Manitoba (3-3) came back to earth in this one, where a short bench really hurt them- Davante Parker is not field ready, and Prince Amukamara is hurt. Andre Johnson could not replicate week five's success, and Michael Bennett was kept under control, and there it is, a recipe for failure.
Toronto (4-2) shined bright in this one winning their third in a row by defeating upstart
Oakwood (3-3) to ascend the rankings. Megatron dominated, overcoming some lackluster performances on defense. This is Tom Brady's team now, but Matt Stafford ain't dead yet- if another QB goes down with injury, look for Stafford to be LTP's blue chip ace in the hole. The Drivers had a very solid game up and down their roster, but just couldn't engineer a game winning performance from any individual player- 12.7 is downright pedestrian for Leveon Bell, who is the drive shaft for this squad.
Liberal (1-5) got the win over the new look
Petes (2-4) who still look to have some tinkering to do. Head Trauma looked good in this one, leaning on a healthy Arian Foster and very late addition Stefon Diggs. Most of the lineup contributed, though Eddie Lacy's casper performance (five touches, 20 yards, and a fumble) have to worry HT. With Lacy on bye, they'll figure out his role in week 8. Savannah's entire offense is predicated upon OPotW Deandre Hopkins, who has been stellar week in and week out. But they need to find some supplementary performances to right the ship. Andrew Luck is healthy (ish) again, and will try to steer a cast of miscreants back to contention.
OPotW: WR Deandre Hopkins, Savannah Petes (35.2pts)
Deandre Hopkins has been ridiculous all year, getting double digit targets every week, and going for twenty three points or higher in five of six matchups on the season. He's gone over a hundred receiving yards every week for a month, and scored two touchdown in a losing effort this time around. The Petes have moved almost every other asset they have in an attempt to build some depth around Hopkins and Luck- now their two superstars have to lead them to the promised land. At 2-4 they are not out of the race yet.
DPotW: LB Karlos Dansby, Revis Islanders (33.05pts)
A tower of power in the center of the field, Dansby is a matchup nightmare for opposing offenses. Stout against the run, the 6'4" behemoth has soft hands and a long reach that can totally neutralize intermediate routes. In week six he made five tackles, assisted on two more, batted down two passes, and when further pressed, intercepted two more, including a pick six. Don't mess with the Dansby.
PUotW: CB Brash Breeland, Deputy Van Halens (25.85pts)
Deputy has not had a good season to date, but adding Breeland may help change that- the playmaking opened some eyes in week five, and made good on that promise with his first game with the VH: He picked of a pass, batted, another, forced a fumble, and recovered two, along four total tackles. In terms of giving his team opportunities, you can't ask for more than that.
