Week 5 Recap
Let’s just not do this. I don’t want to relive that painful loss, you don’t want to relive that painful loss, and honestly I seem to have a habit of jinxing things with my calls here as of late. Look at last week: Forsett was listed as a Start ‘Em and he did good… then got hurt. And Tucker was a Start ‘Em… then missed a FG (that ended up being costly in the end). On the flip side, I said to sit Barnidge because the Ravens D has been elite against TE’s through 4 weeks… then Barnidge goes all AJ Green on the defense.
Let’s try and fix that jinx and turn things around! If the jinx lingers this week, logic tells me to list the entire Ravens team as a Sit ‘Em against Arizona the following week, in hopes they all perform well.
Also I will litter this fantasy article with Super Bowl photos just to lift spirits around here, so enjoy!
Setting the Scene
A bad team hosts an equally bad team in a matchup of bad teams whose collective fan bases aren’t really sure how to handle their failures this season. Loser is likely to hand out paper bags with eyes holes at their next home game.
Key Rankings
Here’s how the Ravens and 49ers stack up against each other.
Start ‘Em
Joe Flacco
I’ll start with a curveball. Typically, you wouldn’t think to start Flacco. But he has 3 things going for him this week: the 49ers 30th ranked pass defense, the potential absence of Forsett leading to a pass heavy game, and the potential return of Crockett Gillmore this week. If you have a stud QB on bye, or an average QB starting for you, nab Flacco and pop him in that lineup.
Kamar Aiken
Last week was Aiken’s first game as a full-time #1 wide receiver. He did pretty darn good too, reeling in 4 catches for 78 yards. Keep in mind, that was against Pro Bowl CB Joe Haden. This week Aiken gets the 30th ranked San Fran pass D. Look for him to exploit their weakness.
Ravens D
This is less about Baltimore’s abilities and more about San Fran’s inabilities. Take Kaepernick’s 5 interceptions and 5 fumbles (1 lost), and couple that with an O-Line that has given up 16 sacks (4th worst in NFL) and it sets up to be a good day for Baltimore’s D (whose 15 sacks is 5th in the NFL).
Sit ‘Em
Carlos Hyde
He’s missed the last few days of practice with a thigh injury, but I can’t imagine he’ll miss Sunday’s game. Regardless, we’re looking at strength versus strength here: Ravens run D versus 49ers run O. Hyde has averaged 4.5ypc through 5 games and has 3 scores, with the vast majority of his productivity coming in the run game, not the pass game. While those numbers for Hyde are good, there’s a good chance the 49ers try to go pass heavy to exploit Baltimore’s secondary, limiting Hyde’s effectiveness. Look for Baltimore’s stout front-7 to shut Hyde down on Sunday.
Steve Smith Sr
He’s questionable this week, but you shouldn’t get too optimistic that he’s going to start. If by some chance he sees the field, it’ll be limited action and likely as a decoy more than anything. Bench him now and save yourself the scramble later.
Sleeper
Colin Kaepernick
Yes, I understand he only has 4 TD’s on the season & averages less than 200 yards passing a game, but ultimately, he’s a running quarterback and he can get to the edge. And where does the Ravens defense struggle against the run? On. The. Edge. Through 5 games Kaepernick averages 44 yards per game on the ground, and has scored with his feet too (so has Dalton & McCown against Baltimore). May be worth a grab if you forgot to set your lineup and realize there’s slim pickin’s available.
Torrey Smith
Torrey has been fairly silent all year (except junk time in Pittsburgh) but going against an anemic Ravens secondary. Add in the fact that speed is what constantly kills this group (looking at you Jimmy Smith), and I can see Torrey having a decent-to-good game on Sunday. Call him 3 catches for 60 and a score.
Happy tinkering all!
