Blog
Fantasy Football Love/Hate: Baltimore at Houston
The Lowdown
Two players - Joe Flacco and Steve Slaton - will continue making their cases for rookie of the year in this game, a crucial one for the Ravens, who hope to make a run to the postseason, and the Texans, who are trying to stay afloat in the AFC South. Baltimore’s solid defense has some cracks in it with the absence of Chris McAllister and the questionable statuses of Bart Scott and Samari Rolle, but Houston’s defense should offer some opportunities to Flacco and Co.
Love ‘em
Joe Flacco - BAL - QB - Flacco is looking better every week from every perspective. Last week he passed for 248 yards and threw 2 touchdown passes, extending his touchdown streak to three games. Houston’s pass defense is suspect, too, so things bode especially well for the rookie quarterback this week.
Andre Johnson - HOU - WR - Johnson had 41 receptions for 593 yards between weeks 5-8, before his streak of 9+ reception games was snapped at Cleveland. He did catch his third touchdown of the season in that game, however, and remains one of the league’s biggest threats at wide receiver.
Derrick Mason - BAL - WR - Mason had just 1 catch for 3 yards against the Raiders week 8, but has otherwise been solid for much of the season. He caught 9 passes for 136 yards and 1 touchdown last week in his fourth 6+ reception game of the season. Houston has struggled at time to stop the pass this season and Mason is labeled a “start” this week.
Hate ‘em
Steve Slaton - HOU - RB - Slaton has looked very good the last three weeks of the season, but there’s reason to suspect he stumbles against the Ravens, who have the NFL’s best run defense. Slaton’s yard per carry average has dipped below 4.0 in three of his past four starts and there’s a very good chance he doesn’t find the endzone Sunday.
Le’Ron McClain and Willis McGahee - BAL - RBs -McClain and McGahee have relatively comparable numbers - not that that’s a compliment - this season with a lot of inconsistency thrown into the mix. Both will have a hard time breaking 70 yards this week, though McClain is the best bet to score a touchdown. Still, I’d steer clear.
Tags: AFC North, AFC South, Baltimore Ravens, Fantasy Football, Hate, Houston Texans, Love, Preview, Sits, Starts