NFL Preview Part 3: The Games!

by Ethan Haskell (Ethan) Last Updated 2012-09-03 03:16:07

In Part 3 of our NFL Preview we will provide some bullet-point style information that can help you jump on some players or maybe narrow down your selections for the kick off of the daily fantasy football season. With a focus on 2011 statistics, we will provide you with some basic information for each match-up. You can see how many fantasy points per game each team allowed to both running backs and quarterbacks for 2011 for each game and then a few bullet point fun-facts beneath. Enjoy and get excited because we are only 3 days away from real NFL starting!

Also, be on the lookout for an article this week breaking down all of the Week 1 NFL promotions. There have been a ton of announcements and it can be a little overwhelming so we have dissected everything and will give you the scoop on the best offers and games out there for your NFL kickoff!

Note: FPPGA stands for Fantasy Points Per Game Allowed and is a measure of how well a defense did against a specific position(RB or QB here) during the 2011 season fantasy-wise.

Dallas at NY Giants – Wednesday 9/5 at 8:30 PM

• Last season, Eli Manning threw the most attempted deep passes of any NFC quarterback. 28.1% of his attempts were over 15 yards.
• This should be a pass-heavy game. The Giants ranked 29th in pass defense last season while the Cowboys ranked 23rd.
• Of Hakeem Nicks targets last season, 42% of them were deep targets(over 15 yards).

Colts at Bears – Sunday 9/9 at 1 PM

• Matt Forte had a receiving involvement percentage of 7.09% last season. That ranked 3rd behind only Darren Sproles and Ray Rice and means Forte is a great option on sites where receptions are credited more.
• Andrew Luck and Coby Fleener will be reunited in Indianapolis. Fleener caught 10 TDs and had 667 receiving yards with Luck tossing him the ball last season at Stanford.
• In two seasons playing with Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall caught 206 passes for 2,590 receiving yards and 13 TDs.

Eagles at Browns – Sunday at 1 PM

• LeSean McCoy ran for 17 TDs last season and caught 3 more. The 20 TDs between those two categories was most among all NFL running backs in 2011.
• The Browns 12.28 FPPGA to opposing QBs ranked 3rd in the entire NFL last season. But the 23 points allowed to running backs ranked 25th. Michael Vick and LeSean McCoy could have more success on the ground in Week 1.
• Trent Richardson rushed for 1780 yards last year at Alabama in 13 games. All Cleveland running backs combined for only 1531 yards in 16 games in 2011.

Bills at Jets – Sunday at 1 PM

• Mark Sanchez completed only 56.8% of his passes last season. That ranks 34th among all QBs with at least 6 starts in 2011.
• In the 10 games Fred Jackson started in 2011, he was involved in 33.71% of the Buffalo’s plays. That was 5th among all RBs.
• Dustin Keller had the third highest target percentage(targets per total plays) for all TEs in 2011.

Redskins at Saints – Sunday at 1 PM

• New Orleans dropped back to pass on 67% of their plays on the road in 2011 versus only 57% of plays at home. While they were still pass-first, they were more willing to run the ball when at home.
• Robert Griffin III doesn’t exactly have big shoes to fill. Rex Grossman tossed 20 INTs in 13 games started last year.
• If you project Leonard Hankerson statistics from his 3 starts to end 2011(13 receptions, 163 yards) he would have reeled in 70 balls for 870 receiving yards(hint: I think he might be a breakout guy this season).

Patriots at Titans – Sunday at 1 PM

• Aaron Hernandez will be available at the TE spot early on for most DFS sites, but will also play running back and slot receiver this season. He might even return some punts.
• Chris Johnson only had 4 games with over 100 rush yards in 2011. That’s half the 8 he put up in 2010.
• Nate Washington 121 targets in 2011 was 15th amongst all Wide Receivers.

Jaguars at Vikings – Sunday at 1 PM

• Adrian Peterson might not want to rush back for this one. Jacksonville’s defense allowed the 5th least yards per rush attempt in 2011.
• Maurice Jones-Drew was involved in an average of 24.13 plays per game in 2011. That ranked 2nd in the NFL, but his 386 total plays involved in for 2011 was the most by any RB by a long shot.
• Christian Ponder 3.4 yards per pass attempt were the third worst among all NFL quarterbacks in 2011. Only Blaine Gabbert and Tyler Palko had lower averages.

Dolphins at Texans – Sunday at 1 PM

• Arian Foster was involved in the highest percentage of his offense’s plays of any running back in 2011(for his 13 games played).
• Reggie Bush ended the 2011 season with 4 consecutive 100 yard rushing games.
• Miami averaged only 61.9 plays per game on offense. That was 5th worst in the NFL for 2011.

Rams at Lions – Sunday at 1 PM

• The Lions passed on over 67% of their plays from scrimmage in 2011, by far the most in the NFL.
• Sam Bradford had a completion percentage of 53.4% in 2011, 3rd worst among QBs. He was only ahead of Tim Tebow and Blaine Gabbert.
• Calvin Johnson had 1,681 receiving yards in 2011 which was most in the NFL. He was also targeted on passes over 15 yards downfield in 36.7% of his overall targets.

Falcons at Chiefs – Sunday at 1 PM

• Jamaal Charles had back-to-back 1,000 yard rushing seasons prior to getting injured last year in the opener.
• Matt Ryan ranked 8th for all quarterbacks in fantasy points per game last year.
• Dwayne Bowe was targeted on 29.3% of all passing plays for Kansas City in 2011. That’s third best for all wide outs.

49ers at Packers – Sunday at 4 PM

• Aaron Rodgers averaged the most fantasy points per game for QBs in 2011. San Francisco allowed the least average fantasy points per game to opposing QBs, though.
• Among all running backs with at least 200 rush attempts in 2011, Frank Gore had the fourth least receptions out of the backfield.
• All 49ers receivers had 18 total TD receptions in 2011. Randy Moss caught 23 TDs himself during his historic 2007 year in New England.

Panthers at Buccaneers – Sunday at 4 PM

• Cam Newton 706 rush yards in 2011 were the most among all NFL quarterbacks.
• Steve Smith was 10th in the NFL in deep pass targets, 6th in yards per target and 9th in total target percentage in 2011.
• Josh Freeman threw 22 interceptions in 15 games last season, the second most for any quarterback.

Seahawks at Cardinals – Sunday at 4 PM

• Marshawn Lynch averaged only 79.5 rush yards in two games against Arizona last year and didn’t find the end zone once.
• Larry Fitzgerald was targeted on over 28.6% of Arizona’s pass attempts in 2011. Of that 28.6%, he was targeted deep(over 15 yards downfield) 38.3% of the time.
• Arizona threw the ball on over 60% of plays from scrimmage in 2011. That’s actually 6th highest in the NFL.

Steelers at Broncos – Sunday at 8 PM

• Peyton Manning completed 66.3% of his passes in 2010 for the Colts. Tim Tebow completed exactly 20% less, only hitting his receivers on 46.3% of pass attempts in 2011 for Denver.
• Mike Wallace only caught 3 balls for 26 yards in Pittsburgh’s playoff loss to the Broncos last year.
• Mike Wallace also did not have a single 100 yard receiving game in the Steelers final 10 games of 2011.

Bengals at Ravens – Monday at 7 PM

• Ray Rice was involved in over 22 plays per game for the Ravens 2011 offense. That was 3rd in the NFL.
• Of Torrey Smith 95 targets in 2011, over 50% of them were 15 yards or more downfield. By far the highest percentage in the NFL.
• A.J. Green was targeted 115 times in 2011 as a rookie.

Chargers at Raiders – Monday at 10 PM

• Philip Rivers 20 interceptions last year were 5 more for than his next highest season total for his entire career.
• Before Darren McFadden got hurt, he was averaging 5.4 yards per carry. That was 4th best for all RBs in 2011.
• Robert Meachem is listed as the top WR for San Diego this season after spending last season struggling to get consistent targets in New Orleans.

I hope you enjoyed and be sure to stick with us all week as we get you ready for the NFL kickoff with daily plays, promotion specials in more. Keep on grinding and get your bankrolls ready because the NFL season is nearly upon us!

EWH