bal def this week

[josh wiley 30]

so i have a good problem with having bal def and i picked up san fran earlier in the year.  probably overthinking things, but i did notice that the ravens didn't do particularly well earlier in the season against cleveland.  any reason to think that would be the case here again?  this time they are at cleveland.  

[rotisserieking 56]

I've got the same issue with Baltimore and New England. I played Balt last week in a juicy matchup against the Jets (#1 for DST) and they got me 3.5; Pats got 16.0 against Cincy (#3 for DST).

If NE somehow loses then Baltimore could rest some starters in the 2nd half resulting in garbage time points for the Browns. I'm leaning towards NE this week vs Buffalo.

In your case it's a toss-up too but I'd think I'd stick with Ravens.

[Bad Mojo 3]

I have BAL

But just picked up DEN 

Will study and make decision soon

 

[zftcg 84]

I'd start Baltimore over SF. For one thing, they are the hottest team in the league, and those are always good defenses to have. That earlier Cleveland game will go down along with the Atlanta upset of NO as the most inexplicable result of the year. And as for last week, it wasn't a great fantasy day, but they pretty much shut down the Jets.

By contrast, whether due to all the injuries or just the fact that they peaked too soon, SF has not been playing well the past few weeks. Maybe we could forgive the two Arizona results -- Kingsbury just seemed to have their number. And we could certainly forgive giving up a bunch of points to Drew Brees, who is red hot right now. But that Atlanta game came down to the Falcons needing 80 yards to win the game and the Niners being unable to get a stop.

Not saying they're a terrible option -- I'm starting them in a couple of consolation matches this week; if I were still in it I might have explored Denver or Seattle, but I still think they're a solid choice. But compared to Baltimore I think it's a no-brainer.

As for Bal vs. NE, that's a tougher call. I think I'd stick with Pats at home, but both are good plays.

[weepaws 3,158]

3 hours ago, josh wiley said:

so i have a good problem with having bal def and i picked up san fran earlier in the year.  probably overthinking things, but i did notice that the ravens didn't do particularly well earlier in the season against cleveland.  any reason to think that would be the case here again?  this time they are at cleveland.  

Ravens. 

[weepaws 3,158]

2 hours ago, rotisserieking said:

I've got the same issue with Baltimore and New England. I played Balt last week in a juicy matchup against the Jets (#1 for DST) and they got me 3.5; Pats got 16.0 against Cincy (#3 for DST).

If NE somehow loses then Baltimore could rest some starters in the 2nd half resulting in garbage time points for the Browns. I'm leaning towards NE this week vs Buffalo.

In your case it's a toss-up too but I'd think I'd stick with Ravens.

Ravens. 

[weepaws 3,158]

1 hour ago, Bad Mojo said:

I have BAL

But just picked up DEN 

Will study and make decision soon

 

No Stafford I would go Broncos. 

[jgcrawfish 232]

A few things here:

The bigger concern, to me, is if Baltimore locks up the stop spot.  With NE playing the Bills on Saturday, it's conceivable that the Bills win and guarantee Baltimore the top spot in the AFC.  If that's the case, I expect the Ravens to play some, but the motivation is gone and protection from injury becomes a concern.  

As for San Fran, that defense has been very beatable the last few weeks in the passing game, in fact, they've been among the worst.  Unfortunately, with them playing on Saturday, you have to make a decision about them AND the Ravens defense way ahead of normal timeframe.  And playing against a Rams team that got EMBARRASSED by Dallas needs wins, they are a risky proposition in my opinion.  

As for NE, this game vs the Bills is huge, and they have to play to win.  In fact, if they lose, they actually fall to 2nd in the division and NE, KC, Buffalo and even Houston could all be play for that spot.  So I expect NE to go balls out.  

[loonecho 19]

My thinking as well. I have to choose between Baltimore and NE. I reason that not many teams have a greater desire to win and with questionable play from the NE offense of late, the defense should be highly motivated to do what they have done so many times already this year. I'm going with NE.