Fred Davis vs. Greg Olsen: Week Nine Start or Sit

Greg Olsen was nearly a consensus breakout candidate in 2009, especially with Jay Cutler being brought in to the mix. Everyone expected him to live up to his potential, especially with how weak the Bears appeared to be on the outside.

To date he has just 22 catches for 215 yards and three touchdowns. He hasn’t had more than five catches in a game, nor has he exceeded 57 yards. In fact, he has more games with less than 10 yards (two) than he does more than 45 (one).

His catch total is actually identical to what it was through the first seven games of 2008, and his yards have decreased by over 80 (he had 296 at this point in ‘08). While he’s scored one more touchdown, you certainly could consider his performance a disappointment.

With players like Devin Hester and Johnny Knox emerging as viable threats for Cutler, his dependence on his tight end certainly does not appear to be a given. With the Bears taking on a less than stellar passing defense, I’d look for Cutler to look to try to get the ball downfield (as I discussed yesterday when talking about Hester vs. Smith, which you can read by clicking here ).

As for Fred Davis, he steps into an offense that has been pretty poor. 

Their quarterbacks have been sacked time and time again, tied for fifth in the league with 23. Jason Campbell has had little time to sit in the pocket and try to distribute the ball to the outside, which can be seen with the struggles of Santana Moss.

The tight end, however, is a great safety valve for him. Cooley had maintained his position as one of the solid players at his position, catching 29 passes for 332 yards before an injury forced him out of his Week Seven game prematurely. Davis stepped in and it was like they didn’t miss a beat, catching seven passes for 78 yards and a touchdown.

With the Atlanta Falcons on the schedule, the opening may be there for Campbell to try to get the ball downfield a bit more. The Falcons have allowed the second most passing yards in the league entering the day, at 256.4, and have managed to get just 14 sacks, among the bottom third in the league.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Davis’ strong performance wane a bit, but he should certainly still be a consistent target in the passing game. That’s the way the Redskins are designed, trying to utilize the talents of Cooley, and I wouldn’t expect them to simply abandon that completely.

I’d put Davis catching five passes for 50 yards and a touchdown, a solid outing for any tight end. As for Olsen, the matchup doesn’t seem like a good one for him to put things together and suddenly have a big game. While he should get a few catches, likely three-four, and should get a few yards, say around 45, I just don’t see him finding the end zone.

For me, I’d go with Olsen if you have the decision. What about you? Which player would you prefer and why?

Previous Week Nine Start or Sit:

• Knowshown Moreno vs. Jamaal Charles
• Devin Hester vs. Steve Smith

Need help in trying to decide who to start this week, check out our weekly rankings by clicking here .

This article is also featured on www.rotoprofessor.com/football