NFL Weekly Grind Down: Week Nine - Page 3
Philadelphia at Oakland
| Philadelphia Eagles | Oakland Raiders | |||||||||
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| Sun – 4:05PM ET | O.co Coliseum | |||||||||
| Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | |||
| ** | ** | ** | ** | ** | ** | |||||
| Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | |
| Offense | 22.0 | 18 | 15 | 2 | Offense | 18.0 | 26 | 32 | 5 | |
| Defense | 26.4 | 23 | 31 | 9 | Defense | 21.4 | 12 | 17 | 6 | |
| Opp. Def vs. Pos | QB | RB | WR | TE | Opp. Def vs. Pos | QB | RB | WR | TE | |
| Oakland | 15 | 12 | 22 | 6 | Philadelphia | 25 | 11 | 32 | 8 | |
| Rec. Targets | Total | Seas | Last3 | Last1 | Rec. Targets | Total | Seas | Last3 | Last1 | |
| Jackson | 75 | 9.3 | 8.3 | 11.0 | Moore | 48 | 6.9 | 7.0 | 4.0 | |
| Cooper | 37 | 4.6 | 6.0 | 5.0 | Ford | 10 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 1.0 | |
| Avant | 51 | 6.4 | 7.3 | 4.0 | Streater | 35 | 5.0 | 6.5 | 6.0 | |
| Celek | 25 | 3.3 | 2.7 | 3.0 | Rivera | 22 | 3.1 | 2.0 | 1.0 | |
Philadelphia Eagles
The Eagles quarterback situation has been a nightmare and the last two weeks the vaunted Chip Kelly offense has notched just 10 total points. Nick Foles is the expected starter this weekend and in his only full game this season he threw for 296 yards and 3 TD’s, along with a rushing score. He’s been solid but the Eagles need to get the ground game going again to have success. They’ve passed on 55% of plays overall this season, but that number has skyrocketed to 62% over the last 3 weeks and 67% last week. Establishing McCoy will be essential if they want to find that scoring pace they had for the first few weeks.
On defense, the pressure put on by their offense running 68 plays per game, good for 7th in the NFL, has put them in a spot to be on the field for 72.5 plays per game, good for 2nd most in the NFL. No matter how good the defense, and this one is nothing special, being on the field for 34+ minutes per game is going to wear you down.
Fantasy Relevant
- QB – Nick Foles can be a great upside pick, but has to stay on the field. He posted a monster line in his only full game of the season and has an average matchup against the 15th ranked Oakland defense vs. QBs. He’s in play for GPPs on 1 QB sites and H2H on 2 QB sites.
- RB – I really think the Eagles will try and get back to the run heavy style of offense that they had success with early in the year. They can still run a lot of plays while utilizing McCoy and while the Raiders have been really good against RB’s, McCoy has torched some good defenses already this season.
- WR – Beyond DeSean Jackson, the Eagles wideouts are, for the most part, fantasy irrelevant. Oakland ranks 22nd against WR1s and 11th against WR2s, so pairing Jackson with Foles seems like the safest bet. It’s worth noting that in Foles’ one complete start, Riley Cooper was targeted 7 times and caught 4 balls for 120 yards and a TD.
- TE – Celek and Ertz continue to frustrate daily fantasy players and I would avoid both until one is more clearly involved in the passing game.
Oakland Raiders
Oakland has struggled to score at times this season, but for the most part their 3-4 record along with the play of Terrelle Pryor has been a pleasant surprise for Raider Nation. The bulk of their success has come on the ground though, as they rank 5th in rush yards per game and run the ball on 48% of plays, good for 4th most in the NFL. Pryor has also rushed for 50+ yards in 4 of his 6 starts this season.
On defense, they have been surprisingly strong, allowing over 24 points against only the Broncos this year. Their rush D hasn’t allowed a single back to go over 80 yards, including holding Le’Veon Bell to just 24 yards on 13 carries a week ago. Their front seven also gets after the QB a bit, averaging 3 sacks per game. The secondary has had its struggles though, and ranks in the bottom 10 on ProFootballFocus’ pass coverage ratings.
Fantasy Relevant
- QB – Terrelle Pryor has to be considered fantasy relevant when you look at an Eagles team that ranks 25th against opposing QBs and has allowed over 300 passing yards to 5 opposing QBs. Pryor is most relevant when he’s on the run though, and the only equivalent Philly has faced is RG3 in Week 1. They allowed him to rush for 24 yards on 5 carries but keep in mind that was a very much hobbled version of RG3.
- RB – Darren McFadden sees the highest percent of touches in the red zone of any running back in the NFL, being involved in 46% of red zone plays. He had 2 rush TDs last week against PIT and should be healthier heading into Week 9, making him a nice GPP play this weekend.
- WR – Denarius Moore and Rod Streater continue to see the highest targets for the Raiders and the Eagles have allowed 5 WRs to go for over 100 yards this year. Streater’s ceiling is much lower than Moore’s, so I’d consider Denarius for GPPs.
- TE – Mychal Rivera isn’t an involved enough part of the Raiders passing game to be considered relevant.
Pittsburgh at New England
| Pittsburgh Steelers | New England Patriots | |||||||||
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| Sun – 4:25PM ET | Gillette Stadium | |||||||||
| Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | |||
| 7 | 44 | 18.5 | -7 | 44 | 25.5 | |||||
| Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | |
| Offense | 17.9 | 27 | 13 | 30 | Offense | 22.4 | 17 | 23 | 12 | |
| Defense | 21.9 | 14 | 2 | 27 | Defense | 18.0 | 5 | 5 | 31 | |
| Opp. Def vs. Pos | QB | RB | WR | TE | Opp. Def vs. Pos | QB | RB | WR | TE | |
| New England | 7 | 21 | 7 | 16 | Pittsburgh | 3 | 20 | 3 | 2 | |
| Rec. Targets | Total | Seas | Last3 | Last1 | Rec. Targets | Total | Seas | Last3 | Last1 | |
| Brown | 73 | 10.4 | 10.3 | 13.0 | Amendola | 33 | 8.3 | 5.0 | 6.0 | |
| Sanders | 57 | 8.1 | 6.3 | 11.0 | Thompkins | 56 | 6.9 | 4.0 | 1.0 | |
| Wheaton | 6 | 1.5 | Edelman | 70 | 8.8 | 6.7 | 2.0 | |||
| Miller | 29 | 5.8 | 5.7 | 6.0 | Gronkowski | 23 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 5.0 | |
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers go to Foxboro at 2-5 and are baffling their fans after beating the Ravens at home and getting embarrassed by Pryor and the Raiders on the road. The score wasn’t ugly, but allowing the longest rushing TD to a QB in NFL history is certainly not pretty. Their pass defense has been strong, allowing the 2nd fewest yards per game this season, but the run defense is not what we’ve come to expect from the Steelers. PFF has their rush defense as the 7th worst in the NFL and they rank 12th worst in FPPG-allowed to opposing backs.
On offense, there continue to be a number of intriguing plays with upside despite their 27th ranking in points per game. They’ve yet to really establish their run game, and need to find ways to get their rookie back the ball more often and improve upon the 3.3 yards per carry average they currently boast. The passing game has been better, with Roethlisberger having ups and downs alongside his favorite wideouts Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown, with Jerricho Cotchery playing a good number of snaps while rookie Markus Wheaton remains out.
Fantasy Relevant
- QB – Ben Roethlisberger has fluctuated all season long, but the matchup with a Top-10 defense vs. QBs makes him a non-factor for me this weekend.
- RB – Le’Veon Bell – The Patriots have now given up 100+ yards rushing in all four games since big man Vince Wilfork went down. Bell will be able to run right down New England’s throat if he wants it, and is a tremendous GPP or cash game play.
- WR – Antonio Brown will always have strong PPR value since he averages double digit targets and has 6 or more receptions in every game this season. He needs to find the end zone more though, as he’s only caught 2 TDs in 2013 and they both came Week 3 against Chicago. He has a tough matchup though, and will likely be shadowed by Aqib Talib for most of the day. The other option, and probably better option given the matchup with NE who ranks 31st against WR2’s, is Emmanuel Sanders. Sanders had a big week in Week 8, going for 88 yards on 7 catches with a score.
- TE – Heath Miller looked promising after catching 12 balls for 150+ yards in Weeks 4 and 6. The past two weeks he’s caught just 5 passes for 36 yards and is losing value fast.
New England Patriots
The Patriots won their 6th game of the season last week and come into Sunday’s game as 7 point favorites. Surprisingly, it’s been their defense which has carried them so far this season. But injuries to Jerod Mayo and Vince Wilfork have left them reeling in the middle and allowing a ton of yards to opposing backs. The good news is that this week they should see the return of Aqib Talib who is as good of a shutdown CB as they come. He’ll likely shadow Antonio Brown for most of the day.
On offense, I can safely say that something isn’t right with Tom Brady. I’ve been a Pats fans for many years and the hope that an increasingly healthier receiving corps will lead to him rising from the ashes is fading. Brady’s struggles have been well documented, but it has really diminished the value for wideouts like Amendola, Edelman and Gronkowski. He could be under a heavy amount of pressure this week as well after RT Sebastian Vollmer was put on IR and will be replaced with the often invisible Marcus Cannon. Again there is some good news though, as the running game has been outstanding of late. The injury to Vollmer will undoubtedly hurt but Stevan Ridley has been terrific over the past 3 weeks, averaging around 5 yards per carry and finding the end zone in 3 straight. It’s mind boggling why OC Josh McDaniels continues to put LeGarrette Blount and Brandon Bolden on the field for more snaps each week when Ridley is running this well. Ridley didn’t play a single snap in the first quarter of last week’s game.
Fantasy Relevant
- QB – Tom Brady has struggled so much that I wouldn’t advise taking him against a strong PIT secondary. He has however torched the Steelers for 314 yards and 2.3 TDs per game in 6 regular season matchups over his career.
- RB – Stevan Ridley is the best back the Patriots have and the only thing holding him back is the offensive scheme. PIT struggles vs. opposing backs so look for Ridley to be more involved this weekend.
- WR – The health of Amendola is too big of a concern for me to take a flyer there, but the Steelers do rank 20th against WR2’s and Aaron Dobson has made some big plays over the past couple of weeks for the Patriots.
- TE – There’s no way I can say Gronkowski isn’t relevant this week. He is getting healthier and is actually one of the best run blocking tight ends in the NFL as well as his pass-catching talents. For this reason, he’s constantly a threat in red zone play action and is the best TE this weekend.
Baltimore at Cleveland
| Baltimore Ravens | Cleveland Browns | |||||||||
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| Sun – 4:25PM ET | FirstEnergy Stadium | |||||||||
| Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | |||
| -2.5 | 41 | 21.75 | 2.5 | 41 | 19.25 | |||||
| Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | |
| Offense | 21.4 | 21 | 12 | 28 | Offense | 18.5 | 25 | 16 | 26 | |
| Defense | 21.1 | 11 | 16 | 13 | Defense | 22.4 | 15 | 6 | 12 | |
| Opp. Def vs. Pos | QB | RB | WR | TE | Opp. Def vs. Pos | QB | RB | WR | TE | |
| Cleveland | 16 | 24 | 8 | 19 | Baltimore | 14 | 1 | 20 | 22 | |
| Rec. Targets | Total | Seas | Last3 | Last1 | Rec. Targets | Total | Seas | Last3 | Last1 | |
| Smith | 62 | 8.7 | 5.0 | Gordon | 59 | 9.8 | 8.3 | 10.0 | ||
| Brown | 34 | 5.7 | 5.5 | Little | 55 | 6.8 | 5.7 | 3.0 | ||
| Doss | 23 | 3.8 | 4.5 | Bess | 56 | 7.0 | 5.7 | 8.0 | ||
| Clark | 39 | 5.6 | 5.0 | Cameron | 66 | 8.4 | 6.3 | 4.0 | ||
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens will head to Cleveland following a Week 8 bye and a disappointing 3-4 start. They’ve mustered just 33 points in the two weeks before the break, losing by 3 or less to the Packers and Steelers. Their defense is still the focal point, ranking 11th in points allowed per game. They’re second in the NFL in sacks per game at 3.6 and PFF has them as the 4th best pass rushing team as well. Their pass coverage has been suspect at time, as shown by the three games of 300+ passing yards they’ve allowed on the season.
On offense, the growth of Joe Flacco just hasn’t been their. He has three games with 350+ passing yards, but also has three with under 250 passing yards in 2013. He has the 19th best ESPN QBR this season. Their rush attack has been even worse, as their O-line ranks 2nd worst in the NFL in rush blocking and in the bottom 10 in pass protection.
Fantasy Relevant
- QB – Flacco has struggled but his upside is still there. These two teams met in Week 2 and he threw for just 211 yards and 1 TD. Overall, I’d find other options this weekend.
- RB – Rice’s value comes in the passing game, where he’s caught 3 or more balls in every game this season. His ability to run the ball just isn’t there right now, and he’s only gone over 50 yards once all season. As long as Ray Rice is healthy, the value for Bernard Pierce is gone as well.
- WR – Torrey Smith will likely see a heavy dose of Joe Haden this weekend, and given the 2nd/3rd receiving options for the Ravens that could mean big struggles for Smith. The Browns will be able to focus on him and while talented, he’s far from matchup proof. Cleveland does rank 17th against WR2 options so Jacoby Jones could have some value this weekend and should be healthy.
- TE – Dallas Clark is averaging over 5 targets per game and has become a reliable weapon for Flacco. He caught a TD in each of the two weeks before the bye and has marginal upside to boot.
Cleveland Browns
In the 3 weeks since Brian Hoyer went down, the Browns have mustered no more than 17 points and are 0-3. I’m not saying Hoyer was a game changing player, but the replacements haven’t been able to put enough points on the board to keep them in games. Jason Campbell even threw for 293 yards and 2 scores in Week 8, but they totaled just 17 points. The matchups won’t get any easier as they take on the Ravens this weekend.
Defensively, they’ve been marginal Their pass defense and rush defense rank in the Top-12 in terms of yards allowed but they’ve allowed 31, 31 and 23 points over the last 3 weeks. In that span, three quarterbacks have combined for 9 touchdown passes and Reggie Bush, Eddie Lacy and Jamaal Charles have all netted over 70 rushing yards.
Fantasy Relevant
- QB – Jason Campbell is a shot in the dark, GPP play at best this weekend. Especially facing a Ravens team coming off the bye week.
- RB – Until the Browns are able to sustain a rushing attack, none of their backs can be trusted in GPP or cash game formats.
- WR – The upside of Josh Gordon can’t be denied. He gets totally shut down by Green Bay but other than that he’s posted 70+ receiving yards in every game he’s played this season. He went for 126 against a terrific Chiefs defense last week as well. He’s a beast, but since the matchup is tough vs. BAL, I’d recommend him for GPPs only.
- TE – Jordan Cameron has actually been pretty consistent despite one bad week against the Rams. He had 81 yards on 4 catches last weekend and the Ravens rank in the bottom 10 against Tight Ends. I’d consider him in GPPs as well.
Indianapolis at Houston
| Indianapolis Colts | Houston Texans | |||||||||
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| Sun – 8:30PM ET | Reliant Stadium | |||||||||
| Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | |||
| -1 | 45 | 23 | 1 | 45 | 22 | |||||
| Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | |
| Offense | 26.7 | 8 | 21 | 9 | Offense | 17.4 | 30 | 13 | 10 | |
| Defense | 18.7 | 8 | 13 | 29 | Defense | 27.7 | 27 | 1 | 28 | |
| Opp. Def vs. Pos | QB | RB | WR | TE | Opp. Def vs. Pos | QB | RB | WR | TE | |
| Houston | 6 | 17 | 1 | 12 | Indianapolis | 11 | 6 | 18 | 9 | |
| Rec. Targets | Total | Seas | Last3 | Last1 | Rec. Targets | Total | Seas | Last3 | Last1 | |
| Hilton | 54 | 7.3 | 9.5 | Johnson | 71 | 10.1 | 7.0 | |||
| Heyward-Bey | 34 | 5.0 | 4.5 | Hopkins | 42 | 6.0 | 4.5 | |||
| Brazill | 0.0 | 0.0 | Martin | 14 | 2.0 | 1.0 | ||||
| Fleener | 33 | 4.3 | 5.5 | Graham | 33 | 4.7 | 6.0 | |||
Indianapolis Colts
The Colts return from their bye in what will technically be their third consecutive primetime football game. They went to San Diego and put up an abysmal 9 points, then came home and knocked off the undefeated Broncos with 39 points. Their offense has been a mixed bag and the trade for T-Rich hasn’t quite panned out as planned. At the time of the deal, I’ll admit I was skeptical of what Cleveland had in their plans, but it’s becoming clear that Richardson just isn’t all that explosive. Since being drafted, he’s only broken 20 rushes for over 10 yards. That’s 32nd in the NFL. The Colts will also be dealing with the loss of Reggie Wayne, who accounted for 26.5% of the Colts targets.
On defense, this unit is much improved from a year ago. Vontae Davis is the #2 rated coverage corner on ProFootballFocus and should matchup with Andre Johnson on the outside. Davis might not know what team he’s playing against on a given week but has been stellar this season. He’s giving up at least 4 inches to Johnson though, which might make this a tougher assignment than usual.
Fantasy Relevant
- QB – The Texans are 11th against the quarterback but have struggled in large part due to the offenses turnovers. They’re giving up the fewest pass yards per game and I’d avoid Luck this weekend and wait to see how he looks without Reggie Wayne on the field.
- RB – Understanding just how poor Richardson has been is as easy as looking at his game log. Let’s look at his lines since coming to the Colts (RuAtt – RuYd – RuTD – Rec – Rec Yd – RecTD)
Week 3: 13-35-1-0-0-0
Week 4: 20-60-1-1-6-0
Week 5: 18-56-0-0-0-0
Week 6: 10-40-0-1-13-0
Week 7: 14-37-0-0-0-0
He’s averaged no more than 4 yards per carry in any game and even if he got enough touches, his inability to break long runs makes him a non-factor in terms of daily fantasy upside.
- WR – With the injury to Wayne, it’s now up to T.Y. Hilton and Darrius Heyward-Bey to shoulder the receiving load. Hilton has been bipolar all season, having caught 5 or more balls in 4 of their games before the bye and 3 or less in the other 3. Heyward-Bey should play a more similar role to what Wayne did, but is unlikely to be the impact target that Reggie was for Luck. Both are interesting plays this weekend but facing the #1 ranked pass defense in yards allowed means they could be fighting an uphill battle.
- TE – The biggest beneficiary to the Wayne injury might be Coby Fleener. He’s been hit or miss all season and his targets have swayed heavily week-to-week, but without Wayne, Luck might be forced to dump it off to Fleener more often, specifically in the red zone. The Texans are strong against tight ends, but the injuries to their linebackers will open up some gaps for Fleener to roam.
Houston Texans
The Texans come off their bye week as well, but they’ve lost 5 consecutive games. They’ll start Case Keenum again at Quarterback and both of their running backs are nicked up. They just lost Brian Cushing to a season ending injury and you can add CB Danieal Manning to the list of fallen Texans. It’s hard to find a lot of good in an offense that has scored more than 20 points just once in the last 5 weeks, but Keenum did play well against the Chiefs in his only start, going for 271 yards and a TD.
On defense, the injuries will certainly play a key role, but their rush defense hadn’t been stellar all year anyways. 5 backs have gone over the 80 yard marker and they allow the 17th most FPPG to opposing backs. Their pass defense on the other hand has been one of the best. Three QBs have multiple TD passes against Houston, but none of those three went over 200 yards passing. No QB has gone over the 300 mark all season either.
Fantasy Relevant
- QB – If you want to roll the dice on Case Keenum, you have bigger guts than I. The Colts ranks in the top-10 in pass coverage on ProFootballFocus and he’s starting his first prime time game. I’d avoid, but can see an argument for being a deep QB2 play in tournaments.
- RB – Foster practiced Thursday but is still very questionable for Sunday’s game. Back up Ben Tate is expected to play but still listed as questionable. The Colts have held backs to the 6th fewest FPPG this season and it looks like Foster is heading for the dreaded game time decision in the Sunday night game.
- WR – Andre Johnson will likely be locking horns with Vontae Davis, but he has a size advantage and might be able to pull down a few jump balls on the outside. The Colts rank 5th against WR1’s and 10th against WR2’s so Johnson or DeAndre Hopkins both have difficult matchups.
- TE – Garrett Graham will continue to get the reps at TE for Houston, but hasn’t impressed since taking over for Owen Daniels 3 weeks back. The Colts are 9th in FPPG-allowed to Tight Ends, but given Graham’s reduced price tag and guaranteed reps in the passing game, I’d call him a GPP play.
Chicago at Green Bay
| Chicago Bears | Green Bay Packers | |||||||||
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| Mon – 8:40PM ET | Lambeau Field | |||||||||
| Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | Vegas Odds | Sprd | Total | Proj.Pts | |||
| 11 | 49.5 | 19.25 | -11 | 49.5 | 30.25 | |||||
| Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | Tm Stats | PPG | Scoring | Pass | Rush | |
| Offense | 30.4 | 2 | 11 | 14 | Offense | 30.3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | |
| Defense | 29.4 | 29 | 27 | 25 | Defense | 22.6 | 16 | 21 | 4 | |
| Opp. Def vs. Pos | QB | RB | WR | TE | Opp. Def vs. Pos | QB | RB | WR | TE | |
| Green Bay | 20 | 10 | 14 | 31 | Chicago | 19 | 27 | 15 | 27 | |
| Rec. Targets | Total | Seas | Last3 | Last1 | Rec. Targets | Total | Seas | Last3 | Last1 | |
| Marshall | 68 | 9.7 | 10.5 | Nelson | 53 | 7.7 | 8.0 | 8.0 | ||
| Jeffery | 57 | 8.1 | 6.0 | Boykin | 22 | 3.1 | 7.3 | 6.0 | ||
| Bennett | 19 | 2.3 | 3.0 | Jones | 29 | 5.8 | 1.0 | |||
| Bennett | 48 | 6.7 | 5.0 | Quarless | 11 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 2.0 | ||
Chicago Bears
Josh McCown will see his first start for the Bears coming off their Week 8 bye. McCown was impressive in the 2nd half against the Redskins in Week 7 and has now had 2 weeks to work with QB genius Mark Trestman. Offensively, the Bears O-Line has been a mystery. They rank in the bottom-5 in terms of pass blocking according to ProFootballFocus, but are also top-5 in rush blocking. Matt Forte has had a monster season thus far and will continue to see heavy touches, especially with McCown starting. McCown should also benefit from a talented group of ball-catchers, headlined by Brandon Marshall but also including Alshon Jeffery and Martellus Bennett.
On defense, the Bears have already been a huge disappointment this season and now Lance Briggs will no longer be on the field. They are 2nd to last in rush defense and have allowed 3 100+ yard rushers (and one 95 yard rusher). They’re allowing 4 yards per carry, and 4.8 yards per carry on the road this season.
Fantasy Relevant
- QB – I think McCown is in play here. The 11 point line tells me that the Bears will be forced to play catch up and that could lead to a nice fantasy line from McCown. Coach Trestman had Jay Cutler playing the best football of his career before his injury, so I don’t think it’s out of the question for him to maximize McCown’s strengths.
- RB – Forte is one of the best backs for daily fantasy football with the way scoring is set up on most sites. Even with half point PPR, you need backs who can catch the ball out of the back field. Forte has snagged 4 or more receptions in all but one game this season. The Pack will also be without Clay Matthews again, which improves the overall matchup for Forte
- WR – On the outside it’s all about Marshall and Jeffery. Week 7 was the first time both had put together big games during the same week, but this week I’m leaning towards Jeffery as the better option. In the last 3 weeks the Packers held Torrey Smith to 12 yards, Josh Gordon to 21 yards and Greg Jennings to 9 yards. They seem to have a good hold on locking down top wideouts.
- TE – Bennett has emerged as a great red zone threat for the Bears, and has a terrific matchup against a Green Bay defense that is 31st in FPPG-allowed to opposing Tight Ends. I love him for GPPs and H2H games this weekend.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers have continued to win games and put up points despite injuries to James Jones, Randall Cobb and Jermichael Finley. In the last 2 weeks, Rodgers has averaged 270 passing yards and 2.5 touchdowns while relying on Jordy Nelson and the likes of Jarrett Boykin and Andrew Quarless. This is due in large part to an offensive line ranking 6th in pass protection and that has allowed Rodgers plenty of time to survey the field. Their running game has also been hugely helpful for Rodgers, as Eddie Lacy has established himself as a reliable back who can handle 20 touches a game.
Defensively, it’s a bit of a mixed bag. The Packers tend to do a good job at taking away your best weapon, but have struggled beyond that. Their rush D has only allowed 60 or more yards to one back all season. They do allow a lot of yards via the pass, but have taken away their opponents top wideout each of the last 3 weeks.
Fantasy Relevant
- QB – Aaron Rodgers is always fantasy relevant. He’s an elite QB who is in play in both GPPs and cash games, especially against a Bears defense ranking 29th in PaYd allowed per game and allowing 29.4 PPG
- RB – Eddie Lacy is one of the top running back plays as well this week. He should see a good number of touches and can break down this bottom-feeding Bears defense who has allowed the 27th most FPPG to opposing RBs.
- WR – It looks like James Jones won’t go on Sunday, but be sure to follow that news closely here. If he sits, Jarrett Boykin is a tremendous value option again and Jordy Nelson should continue to dominate the targets. He saw 8 in Week 8.
- TE – I cautioned the Quarless play last week, since he really isn’t a receiving tight end and is much better in blocking. He caught just 2 balls for 13 yards on 2 targets. Since he’ll be playing the majority of downs, he shouldn’t be ruled out but be wary that he really isn’t involved heavily in the passing game.
Have a great weekend Grinders!