Week 7 in the NFL has some fantastic match ups for individual units on offense, and some match ups that look to be more on the negative side for offenses. Without further ado, your match up monsters and misses.
The Good:
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Baltimore Ravens running backs should be able to put up some numbers this week against the Atlanta Falcons 27th ranked run defense. The trick is to figure out how to rank the Ravens backs. So far it seems that the pecking order is
Justin Forsett followed by
Bernard Pierce, with
Lorenzo Taliaferro third string. If you have him, Forsett is the only one I would be confident playing this week as the role for the other two has been minimal and inconsistent. The Falcons are allowing 140.2 yards per game and have given up 12 touchdowns on the season to opposing running backs. You could gamble on one of the other two as a flex that may get some goal line work, but that would be purely a gamble in my opinion.
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New England Patriots versus the Jets on Thursday night sets up to be a big game for the Pats offense. The run game is an enigma with the injury to
Stevan Ridley and the constant shifting by coach Bill Belichick. The Jets allow 92 yards per game and have only given up 2 touchdowns on the ground this year, but in the last 2 weeks they have allowed the opposing number 1 back to gain 100 yards. The passing defense of the Jets does not fare as well, allowing 235 yards per game and having given up 15 touchdowns on the season with only 1 interception. This probably the easiest start of the year if you have
Tom Brady.
Rob Gronkowski and
Brandon LaFell are also good starts for your fantasy teams.
Julian Edelman should be his usual self, a solid flex play in a PPR league.
The
Miami Dolphins and the
Chicago Bears play each other in week 7, and should be able to put up good passing numbers against each other. The Dolphins give up 221.6 yards per game through the air, and have given up 10 touchdowns versus making 3 interceptions so far this season. This bodes well for
Jay Cutler. The Bears have tall wide receivers that could find themselves in mismatch situations against the shorter Dolphins corners.
Brandon Marshall,
Alshon Jeffery, and
Martellus Bennett are all good starts against the undersized Dolphins this week. On the flip side Chicago gives up 246.2 yards per game and also 10 touchdowns on the season, but has made 8 interceptions already. This makes
Ryan Tannehill a more risky start, but elevates the value of
Mike Wallace. Keep an eye on
Jarvis Landry for the Dolphins as well. The rookie has been gaining momentum as of late, catching 6 balls on 8 targets last week for 75 yards and a score.
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A power run game by the
Cleveland Browns will look to take it to the
Jacksonville Jaguars in
Ben Tate is a must start this week against the Jags.
Isaiah Crowell is a good flex possibility for a team that ran the ball 36 times against the Steelers last week. Look for that trend to continue for a ball control running team. I would expect the Jags to fall lower than their 19th ranked run defense after the Browns are done with them this week.
week 7. The Jags are giving up 117 yards per game on the ground and have given up 5 rushing touchdowns on the year.
The
Houston Texans love them some
Arian Foster. After getting routed on the ground by the Browns in week 6, the
Pittsburgh Steelers will not be looking forward to the stout Texans running game. The Steelers give up 111.2 yards per game, and have allowed 6 rushing touchdowns on the season. The Texans will feast on the depleted defense of the Steelers Monday night.
The Bad:
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Minnesota Vikings running backs are in for a long week. This week they face the top ranked run defense of the
Buffalo Bills. Buffalo is allowing a paltry 67.5 yards per game on the ground, and have not allowed a rushing touchdown on the season. With a rookie quarterback and questionable talent at wide receiver for the Vikings, it seems likely that the Bills will stack the box and dare
Teddy Bridgewater to beat them through the air. Sit your Vikings running backs this week.
The
Detroit Lions are playing some inspired defense so far this season. Ranked 1 in total defense and 2 against both run and pass, the
New Orleans Saints have a monumental task ahead of them. And let us not forget that they will be without the services of
Jimmy Graham this week. If you had a good bye week fill in for
Drew Brees last week, you may want to run him out there again this week. Add to that the fact that with the return of
Mark Ingram makes the Saints backfield a quagmire once again, I am sitting any of my Saints this week.
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The
San Francisco 49ers face off this week against the 4th ranked rush defense of the
Denver Broncos in Denver. This is an exceedingly difficult task for the 49ers, who must play in that elevation on a short week. They also have not shown much of a commitment to running with
Frank Gore or
Carlos Hyde on a consistent basis so far this season. Denver is only allowing 76.5 yards per game on the ground, and has only allowed 5 rushing touchdowns on the season. Sit your 49ers backs this week.
A stout passing defense by the
New England Patriots and a lack of talent on the part of the
New York Jets on offense makes your Jets players good guys to be on the outside looking in this week. The Pats only allow 208.5 yards per game through the air, and have 7 interceptions on the season so far. They have allowed 10 touchdowns so far, but have stiffened in the last few weeks. If you were playing
Geno Smith you are likely in trouble already, but sit him this week.
Jace Amaro has been emerging of late, and with some weakness due to injuries in the middle of the Patriots defense may be able to continue his 10 catch for 68 yard and a score performance last week.
Eric Decker is your only viable option in the passing game that could have good numbers, but being on Revis island is likely in his future, never a good thing.
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The
Carolina Panthers are a mess in the backfield. They have their best match up of the season against the
Green Bay Packers 32nd ranked run defense, but who can you trust? They are all hurt. They all get hurt. In my opinion,
Cam Newton is the only guy you can trust this week in the run game for the Panthers. And after last week he is seemingly ready to run again. If
Kelvin Benjamin is out this week due to his concussion, it's going to be a difficult week for the Panthers.
Greg Olsen has been a bright spot this season, and he and Cam are the only ones I would trust this week if Benjamin doesn't play. The Packers are 5th ranked against the pass, possibly because it is so easy to run. This game seems to line up as a bad and banged up run game against a bad run defense, and a bad pass game against a good pass defense. Your guess is as good as mine, but I certainly can't say I like anything in this match up for the Panthers.
Good luck and good decisions this week!
