Thursday Night Fantasy Football Matchup: Baltimore Ravens at Atlanta Falcons

Thursday Night Matchup:  Ravens @ Falcons

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Baltimore @ Atlanta 

Baltimore Ravens (6-2)    Ravens Schedule

Opponent Defensive Ranks

Atlanta Pass Defense – 2010: Yards Allowed/Game 26th - TDs Allowed T-21st

Atlanta Rush Defense – 2010: Yards Allowed/Game 6th – TDs Allowed T-3rd

Baltimore Offensive Cast

Joe Flacco (QB Week 10 Ranking No. 7) 2010 Season: 160-for-263 – for 1,917 Yards, 12 TDs

Flacco has three games in a row now with 250-plus yards, two-plus TDs and a 111.0-plus QB Rating.  He’s obviously hit his stride, so ride it out as long as you can.  Atlanta suffers from the seventh worst Pass D in the league, so I expect his upward trend to continue.

Ray Rice (RB Week 10 Ranking No. 13) 2010 Season: 153 Carries for 606 Yards, 2 TDs || 31 Recs for 236 Yards, 0 TDs

As I figured, Rice broke out against Miami last week.  Will he do the same against a stout Falcons Rush D this week?  Well, the real question is…how much time have the Falcons had to game-plan against him?  Three days, that’s it and for anyone else who is a fan of Jane’s Addiction, you know what three days can do to a man.  Bet on Rice to put up some pretty good numbers this Thursday. 

Willis McGahee (RB Week 10 Ranking No. 28) 2010 Season: 57 Carries for 231 Yards, 4 TDs || 7 Recs for 48 Yards, 1 TD

McGahee has scored in each of the past four weeks, so it’s obvious the Ravens like his ability in the red zone.  If they get close enough, McGahee will score.  If not, well, then he won’t and certainly won’t be worth your time slotting him into your lineup.

Anquan Boldin (WR Week 10 Ranking No. 9) 2010 Season: 40 Recs for 546 Yards, 5 TDs

The 26th-ranked Falcons Pass D can be beaten both underneath and deep, two strengths in Anquan Boldin’s game.  He’ll approach 100 yards this Thursday night and should reel in a TD as well.

Derrick Mason (WR Week 10 Ranking No. 44) 2010 Season: 30 Recs for 399 Yards, 2 TDs

Mason is still about as steady as it gets, but being steady doesn’t necessarily translate well into fantasy numbers.  Atlanta doesn’t have the greatest of pass defenses (26th-ranked in the NFL), so there’s a chance this could be one of those games where Mason actually does something for your team.

T.J. Houshmandzadeh (WR Week 10 Ranking NR) 2010 Season: 11 Recs for 162 Yards, 1 TD

Housh will be competing with Donte Stallworth for snaps from now on, so he can’t be depended on for much of anything.

Donte Stallworth (WR Week 10 Ranking NR) 2010 Season: 0 Recs for 0 Yards, 0 TDs

Stallworth will take awhile to find his niche in this offense, so sit him for the time being.

Todd Heap (TE Week 10 Ranking NR) 2010 Season: 26 Recs for 341 Yards, 3 TDs

Heap has had himself a fine year and could be a decent fill-in if your normal guy is on a bye.

Atlanta Falcons (6-2)    Falcons Schedule

Opponent Defensive Ranks

Baltimore Pass Defense – 2010: Yards Allowed/Game 9th - TDs Allowed T-3rd

Baltimore Rush Defense – 2010: Yards Allowed/Game 13th – TDs Allowed T-12th

Atlanta Offensive Cast

Matt Ryan (QB Week 10 Ranking No. 9) 2010 Season: 180-for-288 – for 1,949 Yards, 13 TDs

Ryan is a tough one to predict, but one thing is for sure: He’s been far better at home, both this year and over the course of his career, than on the road, so a short week might actually play into his favor.  The Ravens are fairly good against the pass, but have been beat pretty hardcore at various times this year.  Don’t let the overall numbers sway you.

Michael Turner (RB Week 10 Ranking No. 10) 2010 Season: 155 Carries for 694 Yards, 5 TDs || 9 Recs for 73 Yards, 0 TDs

Turner has over 100 yards and two TDs in each of the last two games.  To be quite honest, I don’t see that happening against the Ravens, but it’s a short week because they play on Thursday night, so anything can happen.  Take the chance.

Roddy White (WR Week 10 Ranking No. 1) 2010 Season: 58 Recs for 796 Yards, 5 TDs

I simply can’t go against Roddy.  Sure, he may have busted up his knee a bit last week, but the word is that he’s fine and will have no problem going off on Thursday night.  When healthy, he’s the No. 1 WR against pretty much any team in the league.  The Ravens were burned just two weeks ago by both Lee Evans and Steve Johnson, so there’s no reason why Roddy can’t do the same.

Michael Jenkins (WR Week 10 Ranking NR) 2010 Season: 10 Recs for 179 Yards, 0 TDs

Jenkins just misses my rankings this week, though if the Ravens decide to double-up on Roddy, he could end up with some decent numbers.

Harry Douglas (WR Week 10 Ranking NR) 2010 Season: 15 Recs for 179 Yards, 1 TD

The kid has a ton of talent, but the Falcons seem content with letting him sit on the bench.

Tony Gonzalez (TE Week 10 Ranking No. 5) 2010 Season: 37 Recs for 364 Yards, 3 TDs

Gonzo still isn’t the fantasy force he’s been in years past, but he’s coming off a game in which he had 11 targets, eight catches and 72 yards, so he could be hitting his stride right now.  With Gates and Zach Miller on their bye weeks, it’s tough not to put the most talented tight end in history up here in the rankings.