(Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)
Week 11 Notes
- Atlanta LB Deion Jones is back at practice and is expected to play this weekend against Dallas. Jones was in my top 5 linebackers headed into the season and this could be a huge win for his fantasy owners heading into the playoffs. Take a look on the wire to see if he’s available. I expect him to start slowly but he will be great for owners down the stretch.
- Rams newly acquired DE Dante Fowler played in more than 70% of the snaps last week and saw plenty of pass rush opportunities. Fowler finished with 4 tackles and added a sack to fill out a solid week. If you are looking for pass rush help, take a look at Fowler. While he’s underperformed in his young career a change of scenery could be just the thing he needed.
- LA Chargers DE Melvin Ingram continues to ball, recording a sack in his third straight game. He could be in line for a big second half, especially with the news that DE Joey Bosa was seen practicing.
- The Chiefs have played with leads for much of the season which give DE Dee Ford the chance to showcase his skills. So far he has not let his owners down. Ford has sacks in 8 of his 10 games and has 9 total sacks, good for third in the league. Don’t expect him to slow down, but this weekend he has a tough matchup against the LA Rams.
- Dallas LB Leighton Vander Esch already looks like one of the 10 best linebackers in the league and he’s doing so at a highly productive system. Vander Esch finished with 13 total tackles, his fourth such game this season. Last week he added his first interception and isn’t coming off the field. He’s an LB1 both now and in the future.
- New Orleans has started to trust athletic LB Alex Anzalone and he’s, in turn, stayed healthy. Anzalone is showing his playmaking abilities and in the past few weeks has accounted for sacks, interceptions and forced fumbles. He looks to have earned a larger role on this that need just a few timely stops in order to win ballgames.
- In LA, Chargers LB Latavis Brown has always been incredibly productive when given the opportunity to get on the field. Unfortunately, owners were never able to figure out when that would be. Brown was back on the field making plays Sunday, six solos, and played a majority of the teams snaps. Keep an eye on him, he could be the type of player that helps owners in their quest for a fantasy championship.
- Redskins new safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix had his best game of the season last week, eight solo tackles and he looks rejuvenated in Washington. Could be a huge boost to our secondaries down the stretch.
Positive / Negative Home Stat Crews
Here is this week’s list of positive and negative matchups. We break down the top and bottom three matchups where home stat crews either hand out tackles and assists or are stingy with them. This metric is Tackles Per Opportunity or TPO and we can use these games to break ties for our lineups.
Note: the matchups are not favorable for fantasy owners this week. Think about getting some big-play defensive players in your lineups to make a difference.
Top 3 TPO Games at Home this week = Bucs @ Giants, Raiders @ Cardinals, Titans @ Colts
Bottom 3 TPO Games at Home this week = Eagles @ Saints, Broncos @ Chargers, Packers @ Seahawks
Week 11 Byes
Buffalo Bills
Players to replace:
DL – Star Lotulelei, Jerry Hughes
LB – Tremaine Edmunds, Matt Milano
DB – Micah Hyde, Jordan Poyer
Cleveland Browns
Players to replace:
DL – Myles Garrett, Larry Ogunjobi
LB – Joe Schobert, Jamie Collins
DB – Damarious Randall, Jabrill Peppers
Miami Dolphins
Players to replace:
DL – Robert Quinn, Cameron Wake
LB – Kiko Alonso, Raekwon McMillan
DB – Reshad Jones
New England Patriots
Players to replace:
DL – Trey Flowers
LB – Dont’a Hightower, Kyle Van Noy
DB – Devin McCourty, Patrick Chung
New York Jets
Players to replace:
DL – Leonard Williams
LB – Avery Williamson, Darron Lee
DB – Jamal Adams
San Francisco 49ers
Players to replace:
DL – DeForest Buckner, Solomon Thomas
LB – Fred Warner, Malcolm Smith
DB – DJ Reed, Richard Sherman
Below are the full IDP rankings for Week 11 thanks to this widget from FantasyPros: