The Alliance: Week 6 Review & Stats to Know

Week 6 Game Analysis

Salt Lake Stallions

Quarterback

Josh Woodrum bounced back nicely from his three-pick game in Week 5 and threw for 243 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He was also there for a pair of two-point conversions and, overall, posted a solid game for his fantasy owners. He ranks just fifth in the league with 1,066 passing yards and his 5:5 TD:INT rate could use some improvement, but he ranks second in the league among quarterbacks who have thrown at least 100 passes with a 64.2-percent completion rate. Don't expect the Stallions to lean too heavily on him in Week 7, though, as the Commanders rank first in pass coverage with the second-best pass-rush according to Pro Football Focus.

Running Back

Though he failed to find the end zone this past week, Joel Bouagnon continues to lead this backfield and saw 19 carries which he turned into 60 yards. He ranks fourth in the league in carries and while his 3.6 yards per carry average is just meh, he does have five rushing touchdowns. Terrell Newby and Terron Ward remained in a complementary role, and while Bouagnon should see another week of heavy carries in Week 7, Newby should get more involved in the passing game.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

De'Mornay Pierson-El and Adonis Jennings are still the Nos. 1 and 2 receivers as the snaps and targets point in that direction. Pierson-El is a guy fantasy owners can really get behind, as he leads the team in targets, receptions and receiving yards, but he's only got one touchdown this year. It's the TE duo of Nick Truesdell and Anthony Denham who continue to see the primary red zone looks and their combined four touchdowns (three for Truesdell) are where this team's passing attack leads the way. 

Memphis Express

Quarterback

This position has been an outright disaster for the Memphis. Christian Hackenberg won the job out of camp and failed miserably. He gave way to Zach Mettenberger who looked good for about a minute but was forced out with an ankle injury. That turned the job over to Brandon Silvers who seemed serviceable enough, throwing for 242 yards and a touchdown, but the team ended up acquiring Johnny Manziel who is expected to eventually take over. Silvers will get the start in Week 7, but Birmingham's pass defense has been solid and with the way coaches flip over quarterbacks in this league, there's almost no chance he finishes out the game should the team deem Manziel even slightly ready.

Running Back

This backfield continues to be led by Zac Stacy who had sort of a lame game with just 11 carries for 31 yards, but he's become much more active in the passing game and found his way into the end zone through the air. In fact, he ranks third on the team in psssing targets. With four touchdowns, he's been the most productive player on the whole team and continues to push Terrance Magee aside.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

It's become very difficult to judge the receiving corps, but at least we know that Reece Horn is the primary wideout. He hasn't found the end zone this season, but he does lead the team in targets, receptions and receiving yards. Alton "Pig" Howard is the No. 2, but after that, it's one big crapshoot, including the tight ends. Maybe Devin Lucien sees a little more work, but not likely anything to get excited about.

San Antonio Commanders

Quarterback

Another solid game for Logan Woodside who threw for 164 yards, one touchdown and one two-point conversion. Unfortunately, there's nothing too exciting about his performances week in and week out, but he ranks third in passing attempts, second in passing yarfds and has six touchdown passes on the which ranks him third. Considering the performances of other quarterbacks in the league, he's a safe and stable guy to own. He'll be okay to use next week, but keep expectations low as the Stallions rank third in pass coverage accoring to our friends at PFF.

Running Back

The Commanders have been riding the Kenneth Farrow train this season and that's been a pretty good ride for them as he ranks second in the league in rushing yards and is third in the league with four rushing touchdowns. David Cobb and Aaron Green continue to work in complementary roles, but neither seems to be a danger to Farrow's touches. Brace yourself, though as the Stallions have the No. 1 ranked run defense in the league.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Mekale McKay continues to perform as the team's No. 1 wideout for the Commanders, but ranks just sixth in the league in receptions. He does have three touchdown catches, but this team needs more consistency. Demarcus Ayers and Greg Ward provide some support, but it looks like tight end Evan Rodriguez is the second-look for Woodside once they get inside the red zone.

Atlanta Legends

Quarterback

Aaron Murray is quickly showing tht he isn't that much better an option than Matt Simms. Murray is sporting a much better 65.3 completion percentage, but he's still turning over the ball too much. He'll bve under center agains this week when they face the Apollos and given the expectation that they'll be playing from behind, look for Murray to chuck the ball downfield a lot more.

Running Back

The team has grown fairly reliant on Tarean Folston and he's got three touchdowns in the last two games. Denard Robinson and his 2.9 yards per carry average aren't helping much and Lawrence Pittman seems to be getting phased out of the ground attack. Expect the Legends to continue leaning on Folston, especially in the passing game as he's the second-most targeted player on the field..

Wide Receiver/Tight End

The passing attack for the Legends continues to be week, but you can still look to Seantavius Jones as the No. 1. wideout, as evidence by his team-leading 21 receptions. Malachi Jones and Montay Crockett stay active, but tight ends Keith Towbridge and Bug Howard seems to be getting more consistent looks as the support in the passing game.

Arizona Hotshots

Quarterback

This was a big win for the Hotshots who were just coming off a tough loss to the Commanders, their third-straight. John Wolford only threw for 162 yards and a touchdown (with one two-point conversion), but he remains one of the most coveted quarterbacks in fantasy right now. Of all QBs with at least 100 pass attempts, he ranks third in completion percentage (60.4), third in passing yards (1,188) and first in touchdown passes (11). We had one quick scare early on and almost lost him to a back injury, but he's bounced back nicely and remains a top option.

Running Back

The running game was in full-force this week as that is apparently the way you attack the Apollos. Jhurell Pressley continued to lead the backfield in touches and found the end zone twice, but Tim Cook helped work as a complementary back and actually had more rushing yards than Pressley in this one. Justin Stockton kicjked in another 37 yards on the ground and, overall, the Hotshots put up 179 rushing yards on Orlando in this one, something no team has even really attempted this season. We may see a change back to the pass attack this week, however, as the Fleet run defense ranks second in the league.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

It was a relatively quiet day for the Hotshots pass attack and we witnessed our first game of the season without a Rashad Ross touchdown. The streak is over. He still led the team with 10 targets while Richard Mullaney led the team with 73 receiving yards. The rest of the crew was light on everything, but we expect to see Ross, Mullaney, Josh Huff and even the tight ends get more involved this week.

Orlando Apollos

Quarterback

The first loss is always tough to take, but did we really think the Apollos were going to go undefeated? Probably not. Garrett Gilbert continues to be the top quarterback in the league and had himself a real nice effort, throwing for 268 yards with two touchdowns, one interception and one two-point conversion, but the defense just couldn't stop Arizona enough to get Orlando back into this game. Keeping Gilbert in your lineup is a no-brainer, so we don't even need to discuss further, especially when he gets to hang a ton of points on the Legends in Week 7, arguably the worst pass defense in the league.

Running Back

Steve Spurrier abandoned the ground game pretty quickly in this one as the Apollos found themselves playing from behind in the second half. D'Ernest Johnson didn't get his full complement of touches and De'Veon Smith was fairly ineffective as well. They rank fifth and seventh in rushing yards this season, respectively, and wil lcontinue their usual touches/production this week against Atlanta. Johnson, obviously, is the first guy you want in there.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

To no one's surprise, it was all Charles Johnson and Jalin Marshall, each with 11 targets, this week. Both scored touchdowns and both retained their place in the top 10 of wide receivers in the league. Johnson ranks first overall with 521 receiving yards and second with three touchdowns. Marshall also has three trips to the end zone, but half the yards as he's more of a move-the-chains slot receiver to Johnson's deep threat. Both are expected to remain on full display this week.

Birmingham Iron

Quarterback

The Iron redeemed themselves from suffering back-to-back losses and they did it on the arm of Luis Perez this time. Starting quarterback Keith Price was dealing with a serious ankle injury and we got another glimpse of that Perez we saw in Week 1 where he actually looked like a legit QB. He threw for 359 yards with three touchdowns and one two-point conversion and while he tossed a pair of interceptions, he still looked good taking his shots downfield. Double check the Injury Report from Friday before making your lineup decision, but we expect perez to stay under center this week against the Express.

Running Back

It is, literally, the same old story here. Trent Richardson gets into the end zone and has a pathetic 2.9 yards per carry average. It's like clockwork. The fantasy game for the Alliance is more or less like your typical touchdown-only league, so Richardson retains his value. It's just sad the way he gets it done. The guy leads the league with nine rushing touchdowns and has just a 2.5 yards per carry average.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

While Quinton Patton saw a team-leading 15 targets this week, the most explosive receiver was L'Damian Washington who finished the day with four catches on 10 targets for 128 yards, two touchdowns and one two-point coversion. He's been the second-most targeted wideout on the team over the past few weeks and seems firmly entrenched as the No. 2 receiver, but given the inconsistencies of Patton, this looks like it could be more of a 1 and 1A situation. Wes Saxton continues to be a solid option at TE, given the weakness of the position, not just on Birmingham, but the entire league. 

San Diego Fleet

Quarterback

It was a big win for Mike Bercovici who threw for 311 yards, three touchdowns and one two-point conversion. He also threw two picks, but that just seems to be par for the course with him. He takes a lot of chances and doesn't always make the right decision, but he's proven to be a fairly solid option for fantasy owners since his return to the starting job.

Running Back

The hierarchy in the backfield has really changed up on this team and it's become much less friendly for fantasy owners. Ja'Quan Gardner once led the backfield, but is now sharing the work with Terrell Watson and Bishop Sankey. Gardner and Watson are still the carry-leaders, but it looks like the team will continue to give Sankey chances as he spends more and more time with the team. The situation is far from ideal and the recommendation is only to play Gardner or Watson in a soft match-up. This week against Arizona may not be bad as the Hotshots grade out as the worst-tackling team according to PFF stats.

Wide Receiver/Tight End

Dontez Ford had another strong performance with three catches for 182 yards and continues to piled up the yardage over these last three weeks. Nelson Spruce remains active as well and we finally saw the return of Francis Owusu in the end zone. The problem for fantasy owners is that Berco hit 11 different receivers and it's going to be very tough to predict who gets the heavy looks behind Ford and Spruce. Fullback Ben Johnson, who sometimes lines up as a tight end by the way, caught another touchdown pass this week which has us tilting off Gavin Escobar as the guy to use in this offense. It seems like he, Johnson and Marcus Baugh are just interchangeable cogs in the Fleet offensive machine.

Stats to Know