Fantasy Football Stockwatch: AFC North Fantasy News, Week 10

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Reach Vs. Value

Submitted by Joseph Buccellato on November 10, 2009 � 11:27 pmOne Comment

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Digging deep around the internet for news, stats, trends, schemes, and quotes that will help set your fantasy lineup for the upcoming week. We do the digging. You reap the rewards.

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l<< rewind	Baltimore Ravens		fast forward >>l
BAL 7, CIN 17			BAL at CLE
l<< baltimoresun.com: Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis doubles Mason, or shifts his coverage toward him. He takes away those slant patterns and comeback routes, which are the Ravens’ bread and butter. The Bengals have linebackers who can run with the Ravens’ tight ends and running backs, so they can smother the short passing game. Also, the Bengals have two really good cornerbacks, and the Ravens don’t have a legitimate No. 1 receiver, someone who can stretch the field vertically. It’s not a good matchup for the Ravens. If they had equal talent, I’d still take Marvin Lewis over Harbaugh and Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron. But it would help if Cameron had a few more bullets in his gun.		>>l This is not a promising sign if these teams meet up again in January. As for this weekend, the Browns rank 22nd against the pass (238.6 yds per game), and give up approximately the 16th most points to receivers.
l<< baltimoresun.com: One reason that left offensive tackle Jared Gaither holds so much is that he has sloppy technique. Even before the snap out of his pass-protection set, he is often overextended. He might want to look at old film of Jonathan Ogden and notice how Ogden’s back was always straight so he could deliver the punch. Also, the Ravens need to do a better job of picking up blitzes. They are unsure of who to block when pressure comes up the middle.		>>l The Browns only have 16 sacks on the season, so the Ravens’ offense gets a break.
l<< baltimoresun.com: It seemed like the defense settled down considerably once Lardarius Webb took over for Fabian Washington. What did you think of Webb’s performance? Mike Preston: Webb’s performance was outstanding. He is physical, can play press coverage and is not intimidated by any player. He also came up fast and strong in run support. But that’s not why the Ravens were able to shut Cincinnati down in the second half. The Bengals had poor field position most of the third quarter, and they just ran the ball. Whenever the Ravens play a talented quarterback, I never get the impression they shut him down. I think whenever Carson Palmer, Brett Favre or Tom Brady wants to move the ball and go downfield, they do it at will. I have zero confidence in the Ravens’ secondary, and that’s being generous. baltimoresun.com: Newsome has struck out big time with cornerbacks Domonique Foxworth and Chris Carr. Speaking of cornerbacks, the Ravens’ play with terrible technique. Instead of holding ground and backpedaling 10 to 12 yards, Ravens cornerbacks have already turned their hips and are running beside receivers 5 or 6 yards downfield. Cincinnati Enquirer: The Bengals have better athletes than Baltimore at a few key spots, namely cornerback and wide receiver. Poor Domonique Foxworth. The Ravens paid him big bucks last February to be a high-functioning cover corner. The man couldn’t cover Eight Five with a tarpaulin and a tranquilizer gun. Foxworth fell down twice, just in the first quarter. baltimoresun.com: If the Ravens wanted to switch at cornerback, it might be best to make the transition against the Cleveland Browns, who have the NFL’s worst pass offense.		>>l I’ve stated it numerous times – A good secondary starts with the consistent defensive line pressure. The Ravens only have 17 sacks on the season. With no pressure, the weak secondary is getting exposed. It’s the same phenomenon that’s happening to the Giants. Webb has some additional value with his kickoff return abilities, so grab him in deep leagues.
l<< baltimoresun.com: During the offseason, the Ravens and Pro Bowl safety Ed Reed have to make some decisions. It’s apparent that Reed is bothered by a neck, shoulder or arm injury. He missed at least four tackles Sunday against the Bengals. There might be some type of surgery needed to correct the problem, but the Ravens can’t keep playing with a one-armed free safety. You feel sorry for Reed because he has always played so hard for so long.		>>l Reed is a feast or famine player. It’s best to leave him on your bench so you don’t get burned.
l<< cincinnati.com: The man who is the face of the Baltimore Ravens defense was not impressed with Cedric Benson’s Week 5 performance in which the running back gained 120 yards on 27 carries, chalking most of those yards up to a couple long runs. “You give up two big runs to somebody just because you didn’t keep your leverage,” veteran linebacker Ray Lewis said earlier this week. “Do you give credit to him? Hey, we’ll see this week. … You have to come do it again.” Lewis was nowhere to be found in the Ravens locker room following a 17-7 Bengals win Sunday in which Benson did it again, rumbling for a second-straight 100-plus yard performance.		>>l For a guy who loves to talk, dissing the media after Benson gouged him again is soft. Nobody wants to hear you yapping after you dismantle a Community College this Monday Night.

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l<< rewind	Cincinnati Bengals		fast forward >>l
BAL 7, CIN 17			CIN at PIT
l<< cincinnati.com: In only half a season, they’ve changed their identity. Instead of trying to win games with fancy passing, they’ve adopted the ways of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, who have won championships with solid defenses and dependable running games. The Bengals (6-2) are beating them at their own game. cincinnati.com: Benson has four 100-yard games and ranks second in the NFL to Tennessee’s Chris Johnson with 837 yards. He has carried the ball a league-high 198 times.		>>l No reason for Palmer to get cute when Benson is playing so well. Very tough match-up this week, as the Steelers are the top ranked rush defense, and give up the fewest points to fantasy running backs.
l<< cincinnati.com: With Henry out, that creates an opening for either Jerome Simpson or Maurice Purify to step into the fourth receiver spot. Simpson has been inactive for all eight games while Purify is currently on the practice squad. That would require another roster move. Quarterback Carson Palmer said on Sunday on the Bengals radio post-game show that he felt like Purify was closer to making an impact than Simpson. Including punt returner Quan Cosby, there are five receivers currently on the 53-man roster.		>>l In the words of Steve Langford, “Who gives a sh!+ who give a F%$&”. Ochocinco, Coles, and Caldwell are the only receivers who matter. The Steelers’ defense ranks 14th against the pass (214.5 yds per game), and gives up approximately the 11th most points to receivers.
l<< baltimoresun.com: “They’re not doing anything that’s very complicated,” Flacco said. “The stuff they do, they do it well. They fly around to the ball and make good plays. They made good plays on the outside [in the passing game] at times, and they did a good job up the middle.” “They mixed up coverages,” coach John Harbaugh said. “They do a good job of that. They mixed them up on third down, and they have a nice pressure package when they get you to third down, especially third-and-long.” Said Flacco: “They’re always going to roll [the pass coverage] and stuff like that, but I was seeing it well and we were seeing it well. They just did a good job of playing.” cincinnati.com: Defensively, Mike Zimmer put together another great gameplan that confounded Ravens second-year quarterback Joe Flacco. Once again, they took away Baltimore’s downfield game, allowing Flacco to complete only five passes to wide receivers. Twice Flacco tried to air it out and got intercepted. Leon Hall jumped in front of a pass intended for Derrick Mason late in the first half while Johnathan Joseph outmuscled Mark Clayton at the Bengals 2 on the first drive of the second half.		>>l cincinnati.com: Statswise, the Bengals have improved the past couple weeks and have risen to 14th in the league. While they are second against the run (giving up 83.9 yards per game) they are 25th against the pass (241.6) due to giving up a lot of plus-20 yard pass plays, especially late in games. They are also fifth in the league in scoring defense (16.9 points per game).
l<< cincinnati.com: Coach Marvin Lewis said that the injuries to linebacker Keith Rivers (right calf) and offensive guard Evan Mathis (left ankle) were not as severe as they appeared but that their status for Sunday’s game at Pittsburgh will be known later in the week.		>>l Rivers has been a colossal bust this year. He should be left on the waiver wire.

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l<< rewind	Cleveland Browns		fast forward >>l
GB 31, CLE 3 ( week 8 )			BAL at CLE
l<< ohio.com: Quit micromanaging. Coach the team, forget the insanity like making every non-playing and noncoaching member of the travel group get on the bus to the airport 45 minutes early so they don’t cross paths with the players. Let everyone board the bus together. Forget the nitpicking like water bottles and that kind of thing. Coach the team, concentrate on winning the game. Just. Go. Win. The. Game. Announce a starting quarterback and quit playing games with the announcement. cantonrep.com: His team (Mangini) and his tactics have turned off most fans. His continual quiet rants about needing to stick to a process ring hollow now that 2009 is run into the ground. ohio.com: George Kokinis started his tenure with the Browns thinking that he would be an actual general manager. One who could talk to the media, pick players and have serious input into the direction of the team. He wound up working for the coach he was supposed to be helping. One source told a story of Kokinis being called into coach Eric Mangini’s office shortly after his hiring, and Mangini laying down the rules under which he would have to operate. Appreciate this picture: The coach was telling the GM how he should act. Kokinis is a pleasant and nonconfrontational person, so instead of fighting things, he went along, figuring that over time his role as GM would carry enough credence that he could overcome some of these problems. It never happened. And over time, the situation got to Kokinis — to the point that something happened that prompted team owner Randy Lerner to lose faith in him. He called Kokinis into his office last Monday and asked Kokinis to resign, according to SI.com. Kokinis refused, and he was ushered to the door of the building.		>>l Toxic. It’s the best word to describe what’s happening in Cleveland. Did the owner bother to get some references from New York? It’s identical to what happened for the Jets.
l<< ohio.com: Make whoever decided that these receivers could play in the NFL coach these receivers personally. Because to me they look overmatched by average NFL corners. They don’t get off the line, don’t get open and when they do they don’t catch the ball or fumble it away. (Other than that?) No NFL team should have receivers who play the way these do.		>>l The Ravens’ defense ranks 19th against the pass (225.8 yds per game), and gives up approximately the 21st most points to receivers. But who exactly can catch the ball for Cleveland… and of course, who’s gonna throw it?
l<< ohio.com: The New Orleans Saints’ defense has scored more touchdowns (seven) than the Browns’ 31st-ranked offense (five).		>>l I couldn’t resist piling on.
l<< ohio.com: The Browns will fill the two inside spots with a combination of rookies David Veikune and Kaluka Maiava, Jason Trusnik and Blake Costanzo. David Bowens also has played some inside.		>>l Of all these depth chart guys, Trusnik was the most impressive. In week 8, he played the outside and Bowens shifted to the middle. He finished the game with 7 solos and a sack.

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l<< rewind	Pittsburgh Steelers		fast forward >>l
PIT 28, DEN 10			CIN at PIT
l<< post-gazette.com: Rashard Mendenhall shredded the NFL’s No. 1 defense, running 22 times for 155 yards as the Steelers leaned on their ground game more than they have recently. They ran 29 times for 173 yards and a 6-yard average. “I don’t think he realizes how good he can be,” Ward said of the young running back. “He’s a special back.”		>>l So much for sharing the load with Fast Willie Parker. The Bengals’ rush defense ranks 2nd (83.9 yds per game), and they give up approximately the 18thmost points to running backs.
l<< post-gazette.com: The Broncos scored their only touchdown of the game when QB Ben Roethlisberger was stripped on a sack and LB Robert Ayers returned the fumble 54 yards for a TD. But Roethlisberger wasted little time atoning for the turnover, completing three passes for 56 yards on a four-play, 80-yard drive that took 2:07 and ended with a 3-yard TD pass to Hines Ward. The big play on the drive was a 35-yard pass to Santonio Holmes over cornerback Champ Bailey.		>>l After the quick TD drive, ESPN came back from commercial and showed Roethlisberger on the sidelines talking to his O-line. You could clearly read his lips saying “They can’t stop us!”. On the next drive, Roethlisberger threw a redzone pick, but he was right for the most part – the Broncos were manhandled for most of the second half.
l<< post-gazette.com: Three times, the Steelers intercepted Kyle Orton, who had thrown just one in his first seven games, and two of them led to touchdowns for the Steelers.		>>l The Bengals give up approximately the 11th most points to defensive backs.
l<< post-gazette.com: Keyaron Fox made his third start this season, filling in for injured Lawrence Timmmons, and was solid. The Broncos were without right tackle Ryan Harris, but OLB LaMarr Woodley did not have a sack and missed several opportunities to make tackles for losses. James Harrison did not have a sack, but defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau moved him around and he was able pressure Orton.		>>l Fox is a solid substitute, but he’ll be back on the bench when Timmons is healthy. Woodley continues to disappoint fantasy owners.

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