Fantasy Impact of Week 11 Key Matchups

Falcons at Giants

When you think of disappointing season this year the Falcons and the Giants come to the top of the list pretty quick.  Both teams had a relatively strong start (more so with the Giants) and then have been playing sub par football since around week 5.  Fantasy owners of Matt Ryan and Brandon Jacobs have been hit the hardest by these slumps, and with both teams in a must win scenario.  This will be a game where Matt Ryan will need to lead the team out of the slump.  Michael Turner will not be available for this game and neither will Norwood, leaving the job to Jason Snelling.  Snelling is going to do a decent job, but he is not of the same caliber as Turner.  I expect the Giants to win this game as they are a much more complete and experienced team than the Falcons are.  I do not see Jacobs being that big of a factor, and I expect Ahmad Bradshaw to start seeing more and more carries down the stretch.  Look for a big game from Steve Smith and Eli Manning.

Chargers at Broncos

The surging Chargers and the backsliding Broncos meet this weekend in a battle over the division lead.  If the Bronco’s win they would sweep both games vs thier division rivals and be on an inside track for the playoffs.  Orton looks as though he will be playing Sunday in a must win for both teams.  A Chargers victory gives them a game lead in the division and puts the Broncos into a 4 game losing streak.  If Orton and the Bronco’s want to win the division they have to turn things around NOW!  Vincent Jackson was held in check last week for the first time all season and will be looking to rebound in this pivitol game.  He should do so, and I would rank Jackson and Rivers inside the top 10 at their positions.  Do not expect to see the same production from LT this week as the Broncos are quite good against the run and LT, despite last week, has indeed lost a good deal of his quickness.

Dolphins at Panthers

This matchup is one over the wildcard spot in each conference.  Both teams had some severe struggles to start the season, but tough running games have pulled them through far enough to be contenders for the wild card.  Ronnie Brown will not be playing in this game giving the running game edge to the Panters who’s passing attack was also very effective in last weeks game.  I think the Panthers win this game suprisingly easily, despite a very good game from Ricky Williams I expect Henne to have turnover problems, which will make the ground game obsolete in the fourth quarter.

Hope this helps with your lineups for this week, get your last questions submitted to bigjim@startingfantasylineup.com for my mailbag entry tomorrow! Also use the link at the bottom of the page to follow me on twitter and submit questions there!