Fantasy Football Week 11 Matchup: Indianapolis Colts at New England Patriots

Week 11 Matchup:  Indianapolis Colts (6-3) @ New England Patriots (7-2)

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Rankings based on top 16 QBs, 32 RBs, 48 WRs and 16 TEs

(brought to you by pyromaniac.com)

Indianapolis Colts (Colts' Schedule)

Opponent Defensive Ranks

New England Pass Defense – 2010: Yards Allowed/Game 30th - TDs Allowed T-22nd

New England Rush Defense – 2010: Yards Allowed/Game 18th – TDs Allowed T-18th

Indianapolis Offensive Cast

Peyton Manning (QB Week 11 Ranking: No. 2) 2010 Season: 248/386 – for 2,663 yards & 16 TDs

Manning has been a bit of a disappointment since his hot start to the season.  Injuries are taking their toll on the offense for sure, but with Joseph Addai and either Austin Collie or Blair White due back this week, I expect his numbers to come back up.  Besides all the mumbo-jumbo, Peyton takes this long-standing rivalry against Tom Brady very seriously.  In the past five years, Manning has averaged 290.6 yards and 2.4 TDs per game against the Patriots, while leading the Colts to a 4-1 record against them.  You can bet your ass he’ll be showing up this Sunday.

Donald Brown (RB Week 11 Ranking: No. 26) 2010 Season: 59 carries for 197 yards & one TD || Seven receptions for 86 yards & zero TDs

Any running back starting in the backfield for the Colts is good enough to play for me.  Granted, Donald hasn’t looked like the world-beater he did coming out of college, but Manning has used his RB quite a bit in games against the Patriots in years past, so don’t be afraid to throw this kid in there.

Javarris James (RB Week 11 Ranking: Not ranked) 2010 Season: 17 carries for 42 yards & three TDs || Zero receptions for zero yards & zero TDs

James will get the goal-line carries again this week, which could lead to another TD for Edgerrin’s cousin.

Joseph Addai (RB Week 11 Ranking: Not ranked) 2010 Season: 93 carries for 406 yards & three TDs || 18 receptions for 118 yards & zero TDs

Addai has been ruled out for yet another weekend.

Mike Hart (RB Week 11 Ranking: Not ranked) 2010 Season: 38 carries for 177 yards & one TD || Four receptions for 24 yards & zero TDs

Hart will join Addai in street clothes for this one.

Reggie Wayne (WR Week 11 Ranking: No. 6) 2010 Season: 63 receptions for 758 yards & three TDs

This game could end up being quite a passing duel with both Brady and Manning leading the way.  With Manning averaging 290 yards and almost 2.5 TDs a game against the Patriots over the past five years, you’ve got to expect that Wayne will be involved one way or another.  Add in the fact that New England owns the third-worst defense against the pass this year, and you’re looking at some serious fantasy stats for Reggie on Sunday.

Pierre Garcon (WR Week 11 Ranking: No. 24) 2010 Season: 28 receptions for 344 yards & one TD

Garcon has been a train wreck so far this year, but something tells me he’ll be breaking out of his funk this weekend.  The Patriots have a woeful pass D, so with Manning likely wanting to stick it to Belichick and his arch-nemesis Tommy Bundchen, Garcon could be in line for a whole bunch of targets come Sunday.  We’ll see what the youngster can do with them.

Blair White (WR Week 11 Ranking: No. 32) 2010 Season: Nine receptions for 108 yards & one TD

Whichever ends up getting the start, White or Collie, will be just fine as your WR3 in this game.  Check the news coming out of the Colts' camp this week at either www.pyromaniac.com or www.ffpharmacy.com to find out which one it will be.  The Patriots own a terrible pass D and have a really tough time with players coming out of the slot, so make sure one of these guys is in your lineup on Sunday.

Austin Collie (WR Week 11 Ranking: No. 32) 2010 Season: 45 receptions for 502 yards & six TDs

Whichever one ends up getting the start, White or Collie, will be just fine as your WR3 in this game.  Check the news coming out of the Colts' camp this week at either www.pyromaniac.com or www.ffpharmacy.com to find out which one it is.  The Patriots own a terrible pass D and have a real tough time with players coming out of the slot, so make sure one of these guys is in your lineup on Sunday.

Jacob Tamme (TE Week 11 Ranking: No.2) 2010 Season: 24 receptions for 245 yards & two TDs

The fact is, in games against the Patriots Dallas Clark has never posted very good numbers.  Belichick knows that Peyton likes to work through his tight ends, so he’s always made an effort to clamp down on them in the past.  However, this isn’t the same dominating Pats D of the past either, so Tamme will still see his targets—and possibly the endzone—this weekend.

New England Patriots (Patriots' Schedule)

Opponent Defensive Ranks

Indianapolis Pass Defense – 2010: Yards Allowed/Game 10th - TDs Allowed T-6th

Indianapolis Rush Defense – 2010: Yards Allowed/Game 29th – TDs Allowed T-26th

New England Offensive Cast

Tom Brady (QB Week 11 Ranking: No. 7) 2010 Season: 196/304 – for 2,176 yards & 17 TDs

Brady and Manning have a rivalry like none other in the NFL.  Who’s the better leader?  Who’s the better QB?  Who’s the bigger winner?  The fact is, when it comes to games between Brady and Manning, everything besides these two warriors goes out the door.  Yes, Belichick is far and away a better coach than Manning has ever had.  Yes, the wide receivers Manning has had are far and away better than those Brady has ever had.  When it comes to a mano-y-mano situation, none of that matters, though.  In his last five starts against Manning, Brady has thrown for three TDs in four of those games, with an average of 286.2 yards throughout.  Yeah, the Colts can be run on this year, but that won’t matter…Brady will get his in the end.

BenJarvis Green-Ellis (RB Week 11 Ranking: No. 18) 2010 Season: 112 carries for 472 yards & six TDs || Six receptions for 53 yards & zero TDs

Teams know that the Colts can be beat on the ground, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see The Firm get a good 15-20 carries in this one.  If he does, expect close to 100 yards and a TD against a 29th-ranked Colts D that gives up a cool five yards per carry.

Danny Woodhead (RB Week 11 Ranking: Not ranked) 2010 Season: 49 carries for 243 yards & two TDs || 18 receptions for 196 yards & one TD

I am going to repeat this statement until he’s recognized:  The records this kid set at both his high school in North Platte, Wisconsin and at his D-II school, Chadron State College, are simply staggering.  I mean Madden 2011-style staggering.  As in the kid averaged 183 rushing yards/game over FOUR YEARS at Chadron State (212.0 was his highest average in his junior year) and had 109 total TDs during that time (38 was his most in his junior year).  He rushed for more than 200 yards in a game 19 of his 39 appearances and scored in 37 straight contests—both NCAA records.  Just to top it all off, Woodhead also ran track in high school for one year and broke his school’s 100-meter record with a time of 10.5 seconds.  Undrafted in the NFL or not, this kid is special. 

Fred Taylor (RB Week 11 Ranking: Not ranked) 2010 Season: 25 carries for 98 yards & zero TDs || Two receptions for six yards & zero TDs

I can’t even remember what Fred looks like at this point.

Wes Welker (WR Week 11 Ranking: No. 46) 2010 Season: 52 receptions for 444 yards & three TDs

Brady got The Slot Machine to start paying out again last Sunday night, and my guess is that he’ll need him to do the same this week against the Colts.  He’s obviously nowhere near his fantasy worth of old at this point, but it’s hard to deny his grit and savvy.

Deion Branch (WR Week 11 Ranking: Not ranked) 2010 Season: 36 receptions for 362 yards & two TDs

It’s a long shot with Branch, but you never know with Mr. Gisele Bundchen running the show.

Brandon Tate (WR Week 11 Ranking: Not ranked) 2010 Season: 18 receptions for 301 yards & one TD

Tate just isn’t getting enough targets to be worth playing.

Aaron Hernandez (TE Week 11 Ranking: No. 16) 2010 Season: 34 receptions for 436 yards & two TDs

Don’t be fooled, folks.  The reason why Rob Gronkowski got the bulk of the work last week is because the Patriots used a three-wide formation against the Steelers to combat their suffocating rush D, a set they happen to use Gronkowski in a bunch.  Against a porous rush D like the Colts', they’ll go back to using Hernandez and look to exploit what most people, including the Colts, are likely thinking this week about their tight ends.

Rob Gronkowski (TE Week 11 Ranking: Not ranked) 2010 Season: 19 receptions for 220 yards & six TDs

Hernandez may have the catches and yards, but Rob has him beat pretty badly in TDs after last week’s explosion.