Fantasy Matchups for Week 7
by The Stat Guy, Scott Lange
Howdy, folks, and welcome to my League Preview. Each week
I will give my analysis and predictions on how the games will play out, highlighting which teams and players will shine.
So without further delay, this is how things will shape up this week in the AFL.
Last Week's Record: 6-3
GEORGIA AT COLUMBUS
Columbus comes into this game with a two-game winning streak. Think about this, three of verdana’s losses this year have come by a COMBINED four points this year. They currently own two one-point losses and it’s only week 7!! This team is a lot better than the 3-3 record looks. My fantasy play of this game will be GA QB Matt Nagy. He should be able to easily move the GA offense down the field as the Force reminds the league how dangerous of a team they can be.
Prediction: GA56 Columbus 40
COLORADO AT CHICAGO
This should be a battle to the finish. The defending champs look good right now with the impressive combo of QB John Dutton and OS Damien Harrell. The Rush have not played well against the top teams in the AFL, and the Crush are right now THE TOP TEAM in the AFL. The Crush took care of business in week one against Chicago at home as OS Damien Harrell torched the Rush for 100 + yards and four scores. I just have not seen the Rush step up this year and play hard against a team that is playing well, and Colorado is playing well. The Rush will be feeding off the home town crowd, but Dutton and Harrell are too much in the end. My fantasy play for this game, of course, is Colorado’s OS Damian Harrell.
Prediction: Colorado 55 Chicago 49
NASHVILLE AT UTAH
The AFL is doing something right, because this is another terrific matchup. The explosive Utah offense versus the stingy Nashville D. Something has to give. I’m having a hard time figuring out the Kats this year. They beat a team like Colorado at home, but are not the same team on the road. Their defense is great but where’s the offense? Utah’s offense has been putrid, outside of Joe Germaine and Siaha Burley, who will blow up in this game behind a home crowd. I’m just not buying into the hype about the Kats until they can show some spunk on the road. The Blaze squeeze out the win in this one, with my fantasy player of the this game being OS Siaha Burley, who continues to make defenders look bad!!
Prediction: Blaze 50 Nashville 47
ORLANDO AT ARIZONA
Wow, what a blow for Jay Gruden’s Orlando squad. The loss of OS Jimmy Fryzel takes away another player for QB Joey Hamilton to throw to, and Hamilton could use a few of those. Arizona’s Sherdrick Bonner and Damien Groce have developed some nice chemistry and shocked the Nashville Kats last week at home. Like most teams in the AFL, both squads are riddles. When in doubt though, go with the home team, so that’s where I’m going. Orlando is a good team, but Zona wins... Barely!! My fantasy play of this game is Zona OS Damien Groce.
Prediction: Zona 45 Preds 42
GRAND RAPIDS AT LAS VEGAS
Start your Gladiators, folks. This is my blow out game of the week. QB Jason Fife will have a field day against the GR secondary. Fife impressed me last week against a stingy Philly pass defense and the bonus with this guy is his rushing stats. Fife could easily be a top three QB this week. OS Anthony Hines is Grand Rapids only fantasy player worth starting. Remember what Harrell did last week against the Grand Rapids Secondary? Expect that and maybe more as OS Marcus Nash has HUGE numbers this week. He’ll be my fantasy play of the game for this showdown.
Prediction: LV 60 GR 40
DALLAS AT TAMPA BAY
This one has Game of the Week stamped all over it in permanent ink. If you’ve never watched Arena Football before, please, please, please watch this game. Two of the top offenses in the league fatiguing the scoreboard operator in what should be the shoot out of the week. Tampa QB Shane Stafford’s performance last week was simply phenomenal. Four passing TD’s and three rushing TD’s. He leads the AFL in passing yards with 2022 yards and should post sick numbers against a poor Dallas Defense. QB Clint Dolezel is having an MVP type of season for Dallas and has been remarkably consistent fantasy-wise. Dolezel leads the league in TD tosses and has a league low 2 INTs. My fantasy pick, WR/DB Will Pettis continues to prove that he is the best two-way player in the AFL. This game is a coin flip folks. Heads it’s TB, tails it’s Dallas... It’s Heads!!
Prediction: TB 68 Dallas 61
NEW YORK AT AUSTIN
The Justin Wood era started last week and boy was it U-G-L-Y. This guy is Turnover City baby, and I’m not talking about Apple Pies!! Four INTs for his first start as a Dragon!! Austin impressed me a lot with a win on the road last week against a tough GA team, which was without Chris Jackson. Austin wins this one BIG!! My fantasy play for this game will be whichever DS can pick Justin Wood off more than once!! (Could it be DS Damon Mason? Hmmm....)
Prediction: Austin 53 NY 34
LOS ANGELES AT SAN JOSE
Will the real Mark Grieb please stand up!! Mark Grieb finally busted out last week with an 8 TD performance. He should post similar stats against a bad Avengers team. Keep an eye on OS Ben Nelson who is filling in for the injured Schexnader. The star of this game however will “Roe” his game though the LA secondary (bad pun excused). Grieb will look for WR/LB James Roe a lot this week. QB Grieb is my fantasy start for this game.
Prediction: San Jose 60 Los Angeles 49
PHILADELPHIA AT KANSAS CITY
The Soul have been a mess this year, and have lost three out of their last four games. Graziani has looked average at best and has been bitten by the INT bug as of late. Kansas City may have found their star in OS Steve Smith and we all knew it was only a matter of time before Stevo got going. Philly has so much talent on both sides of the ball but can Graz snap his team out of their current funk? Only time will tell. But this week, Graz delivers and the Soul get the win. My fantasy play of the week is KC OS Steve Smith. Just throw him the damn ball!!
Prediction: Philly 56 KC 46
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