Hopefully your fantasy team isn’t following the Ravens 0-fer trend…
Last week we nailed it for the most part- AJ Green & Smitty blew up, Eifert & Forsett were essentially ghosts on the field, and Marvin Jones made my sleeper call look brilliant!
The one place we swung and missed was with the Bengals backs, who hardly put a dent in that Ravens D-Line. While the Swiss cheese secondary is without a doubt terrible, could we continue to see a stout run D this week against Le’Veon Bell?
Setting the Scene:
The 0-3 Ravens head to Pittsburgh to face a Big Ben-less Steelers D that will be trotting Michael Vick out as the starting QB.
Start ‘Em:
Steve Smith Sr.: Again, a no brainer. Smitty has topped the 100-yard mark two weeks in a row, and should do so once again against a porous Steelers secondary.
Antonio Brown: If AJ Green managed over 200 yds and 2 TD’s against this Ravens D, I expect Brown-even with Vick starting- to top 120 total yards with at least 1 TD.
Le’Veon Bell: From a rushing perspective, I expect the Ravens D to stymie Bell, as they’ve been able to do with every running back through the first three weeks of this season. Where I expect Bell to succeed is in the short passing game, where Vick will be looking for check downs and swing passes. 100+ yards and a score isn’t out of reach for Bell tonight.
Sit ‘Em:
Justin Forsett: Until the Ravens running game shows up, I don’t like Forsett starting in my fantasy lineup. He’s averaging a mere 41 ypg at 3.2 ypc, and has yet to find the end zone this season. You’d be more likely to find back up RBs out there in FA or on the Waiver Wire with slightly better numbers.
Markus Wheaton: Wheaton is averaging nearly 20 yards per catch, but he’s still not seeing many targets, even with Martavis Bryant out of the lineup. Couple that with the assumption he’ll be seeing mostly Lardarius Webb in coverage, who has played well of late (positive PFF grades the past two weeks) and I don’t see a big day coming his way.
Sleepers:
Baltimore D/ST: I’m still shaky about starting this unit, but facts are facts- Michael Vick is not Ben Roethlisberger, the Ravens run D has been stout, they’ve scored defensive TD’s in two of three weeks, and caused at least one turnover in each game this season. As long as they keep the points allowed to a minimum, they should be worth a spot start.
Maxx Williams: In the absence of Flacco’s #2 target TE Crockett Gillmore (calf), Williams and Nick Boyle will be picking up the slack against the Steelers. Last week Williams showed flashes of excellence, and against this Steelers secondary, he should have several opportunities to make an impact.
Joe Flacco: In his last 2 games Flacco has thrown for 384 & 362 yards respectively, with a pair of TD in each game. Sure, he’s had a pick in each game, but in fantasy that’s minimal compared to the yards and TD. With a good matchup in the passing game, a 3rd straight game of 300+ yards and two TDs is worth the roll of the dice.
Darius Heyward-Bey: This is a DEEP Sleeper, but DHB still has wheels, and will likely see Arrington or Melvin in coverage. Think back to four days ago when Arrington/Melvin got abused by the Bengals and I think Heyward-Bey can have himself a decent night.
Happy tinkering!
