It would appear that you all enjoyed the first installment of this blog, so I will continue with the things I am looking for in the Week Eleven games. Also, thanks to those of you who submitted names for this blog. I have decided to go with “The Weekly MATTchups” based on that being the most common suggestion and most logical one. Anyway, on to this week’s games…

Baltimore Ravens at Carolina Panthers

I’m not saying Tony Pike is any good, but to sign and then to start Brian St. Pierre, who was a stay-at-home dad just a week ago is insane. The Baltimore secondary has been terrible, but this will be like a week off for them. While this looks like a totally lopsided game, I don’t think the Ravens will blow the Panthers out of the water. Carolina’s defense, specifically their secondary, is pretty good, but they’ve been flying under the radar because the offense always hangs them out to dry. Joe Flacco has been very steady, throwing 10 TDs to 1 INT in his last four games. I’m interested to see if Donte Stallworth is a little more involved this week since he’s the only explosive receiver they have.

Buffalo [...]

Now that we have taken an extensive look at the games, I figured I would share what I am watching for this week.

Detroit Lions at Buffalo Bills

Can Jahvid Best get going against the Bills 32nd ranked run defense? His turf toe issue is getting better and the Lions might want to lean on him a little more since QB Shaun Hill is back, but isn’t quite 100% over his broken forearm. I think he may have his first big game since he went off on the Eagles in Week Two. Also, with WR Roscoe Parrish out for the season, I’ll be interested to see if the Bills use their RBs more in the passing game, specifically rookie C.J. Spiller.

Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears

If you’ve held on to Sidney Rice or picked him up off waivers, this could be the week you finally get to see him on the field. I’m not expecting him to play more than half the snaps, even if Percy Harvin is banged up, but it only takes one fade pass from Brett Favre to put Rice back on the map. You can beat this Chicago secondary down the field, but it’ll be interesting to see [...]

As part of my draft preparation every year, I pull out my trusty red Sharpie to mark off players I want absolutely nothing to do with under any circumstances. Names in recent years I’ve avoided include Larry Johnson, Shaun Alexander, Marion Barber, and Clinton Portis even if they were considered 1st or 2nd round picks. The argument can be made that some players on this list are worth drafting based on the value you can get from them, but we’ve already done that article (see big picture of Joe Flacco on the home page). We’ll call this group “Matt’s Migraines” because that’s what I get when I think of how bad I’ve been burned by risky picks, especially in the early rounds. I’ll be adding to this group throughout the Summer, but for now here’s a few guys I’ll be avoiding come draft time.

Ronnie Brown (RB, Mia) – Look, we know how talented this guy is, but he’s played a full season just once in the last four years and just 32 games over the last three. Whether it was the torn ACL in 2007 or last year’s Lisfranc foot problem that continues to plague him this off-season, Brown just [...]

Here’s an early list of upside players that I would want to build my fantasy teams with (some obvious, some not so obvious) over the next 2-5 years (in no particular order). Some of these players have not “arrived” yet, but are on their way to fantasy prominence based on their talent and situation. Some players who did well last season are not included because their situations aren’t looking as good (IE-Sidney Rice possibly without Brett Favre).

Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers/Green Bay Packers
Philip Rivers/San Diego Chargers
Kevin Kolb/Philadelphia Eagles
Joe Flacco/Baltimore Ravens
Matthew Stafford/Detroit Lions
Chad Henne/Miami Dolphins
John Skelton/Arizona Cardinals

Running Back
Chris Johnson/Tennessee Titans
Ray Rice/Baltimore Ravens
Chris Wells/Arizona Cardinals
Ryan Mathews/San Diego Chargers
C.J. Spiller/Buffalo Bills
LeSean McCoy/Philadelphia Eagles
Rashard Mendenhall/Pittsburgh Steelers
Felix Jones/Dallas Cowboys
Jahvid Best/Detroit Lions
Shonn Greene/New York Jets
Donald Brown/Indianapolis Colts

Wide Receiver
Greg Jennings/Green Bay Packers
Miles Austin/Dallas Cowboys
DeSean Jackson/Philadelphia Eagles
Mike Sims-Walker/Jacksonville Jaguars
Hakeem Nicks/New York Giants
Jeremy Maclin/Philadelphia Eagles
Robert Meachem/New Orleans Saints
Jordy Nelson/Green Bay Packers
Pierre Garcon/Indianapolis Colts

Tight End
Jermichael Finley/Green Bay Packers
Brent Celek/Philadelphia Eagles
John Carlson/Seattle Seahawks
Jimmy Graham/New Orleans Saints

PANTHERS OFFENSE V. VIKINGS DEFENSE

v Moore continued to be wild high with his throws, He’s a very erratic passer with poor throwing mechanics

v Leber and Greenway were the Vikings nickel LBs, Sapp was the nickel corner over the slot

v Right now MLB Brinkley is a little hesitant and indecisive; At times he’s a lateral mover not a downhill player, at other times he works the trash well and makes tackles – There is an explosiveness to his movement

v Moore not a real confident passer at this point; That shows up in the fact that he had a tendency to be a little late with his throws, waiting to see receivers break open rather than anticipating

v Brinkley was attacked and beaten on the Hoover 1 yd TD catch, Run / pass conflict on play action at the goal line

v Martin and Moore were both used as the Panthers 3rd WR, but the Panthers did not use 3 WR personnel very often

v Panthers offense very basic and straightforward in its use of personnel and formations, Not a difficult offense to defend conceptually

v Moore average arm strength, Did not show the ability to drive the ball down the field on intermediate and vertical [...]

Note: Players are not ranked for order.

Quarterbacks

Vince Young at Indianapolis – He doesn’t have a good history playing at the
Colts, but at least SS Bob Sanders won’t be involved in this game. Young has
played pretty well of late and he’s working with the best group of receivers
that he’s been able to work with. He should be good enough this week and
provides good enough upside to take a risk on if you’re desperate.

David Garrard vs. Houston – This is a huge game for the Jaguars and Garrard
seems to play much better at home. Have to think he puts up good numbers in a
game that could be high-scoring. The Texans simply don’t have a good enough
secondary to keep the passing game of the Jaguars down.

Running Backs

Jonathan Stewart vs. Tampa Bay – Even if starting RB DeAngelo Williams can play,
look for Stewart to see more carries than usual. Williams’ ankle is not going to
allow him to likely take in his usual amount of work even if he can play, so
Stewart figures to become a bigger part of their running game this week. Stewart
is looking like a rock solid #3 RB or better if Williams is out.

Jamaal Charles vs. Denver – This matchup isn’t [...]

Quarterback

Matt Ryan vs. Tampa Bay – We really believed this might be a breakout season
since he did well as a rookie and they added veteran TE Tony Gonzalez to the
mix. For whatever reason, Ryan has regressed this season and he hasn’t showed
any signs of consistency. However, he did play well against the Giants last week
and he faces a lowly Buccaneer defense which can’t stop anyone. This is a good
week to get Ryan in your lineup since Tampa Bay is going to make a defensive
scheme change this late in the season.

David Garrard at San Francisco – He’s been a little inconsistent (I dropped him
in one league recently), but Garrard still is ranked #14 in most standard
scoring leagues. The thing that helps him is he’ll run the ball a little and
they have a hard time sustaining their running game. The 49er secondary has not
played consistently well all season and this matchup sets up well for Garrard to
put up good numbers.

Vince Young vs. Arizona – A few things have really helped Young since he’s been
back starting. The defense has finally gotten healthy in the secondary and the
Titans aren’t playing from behind much. In that event, Young isn’t being asked
to throw the [...]

Quarterback

David Garrard vs. Buffalo – The Bills have more injuries on defense than any team in the NFL and Garrard’s offensive line has really been improving the last few weeks. He should do quite well and certainly is worth starting if you’re struggling to find someone to start.

Marc Bulger vs. Arizona – The Ram offensive line has really improved of late and they really protected him well last week against an aggressive Saint defense. Bulger faces a suspect Cardinal secondary, so he’s worth a shot if you’re really desperate for help this week.

Running Back

Chris Wells at St. Louis – There seems to finally be a set role for Wells in the rotation the Cardinals have at the position. He’s had 31 touches in the last two games and he should get double-digit touches against an average Ram defense. He’s worth a shot as your #3 RB.

LeSean McCoy at Chicago – He still needs to improve in pass protection, but the Eagles don’t have much of a choice, he has to be the guy at running back for them with veteran Brian Westbrook out for perhaps several more weeks. McCoy has good versatility and is capable of putting up good [...]

Quarterback
Chad Henne vs. Tampa Bay – The Tampa Bay secondary is one of the worst in the
NFL and while Henne won’t be asked to throw a lot, he should find success when
he does throw it. I’m not looking for big numbers from him, but he’s worth a
shot if you’re desperate.

Vince Young vs. Buffalo – Buffalo has all sorts of injury problems on defense
and Young should find success in the air and on the ground. He’s certainly worth
a shot if you’re looking for some upside.

Running Back
Mike Bell at St. Louis – Have to think the Saints win this one going away and if
that transpires, Bell should be the ball that finishes off the game. He should
be able to score and post over 60 yards on the ground.

Chris Wells vs. Seattle – Not too long ago, the Cardinals won easily at Seattle
and they get to face a shaky Seahawk defense again this week. Wells has become a
bigger part of the Cardinal running game in recent weeks and he should post good
enough numbers for you to start him as your #3 RB.

Jonathan Stewart vs. Atlanta – Even if starting RB DeAngelo Williams plays, this
matchup is good enough against a weak Falcon run [...]

The following are players to look at for the future who have yet to break
out, but have value for future seasons.

Quarterback

Kevin Kolb/Philadelphia – Next year, he’ll be on the final year of his four-year
rookie deal. But the coaches remain very high on him and they were very pleased
with what they saw from him in his two starts. In fact, a team source said
there’s no reason why Kolb can’t be one of the top quarterbacks in the NFL if he
gets to start next year. It will come down to how veteran QB Donovan McNabb
plays the rest of the season. If McNabb struggles and they miss the playoffs or
get knocked out early, Kolb will likely be the starter next year. He’s seen as a
more accurate passer than McNabb and with the frequency that they throw with,
Kolb could put up big numbers if he gets the job.

Chad Henne/Miami – Like with Kolb, I first saw Henne play during Senior Bowl
week and I was very impressed. In fact, I thought Henne threw the ball better
that week than Joe Flacco did. Henne has a strong arm and I like how he places
the ball away from the defender and on the correct shoulder for the [...]