Throughout the 2011 season, Tyler Loechner and Alex Miglio will select Twitter questions and answer them right here at PFF Fantasy. Although you’re bound to have your questions answered almost immediately from the staff on Twitter, we will choose a handful of good questions each week and give them more in-depth answers. Here are this week’s questions and answers:
Here are two trades I made, can you tell me what u think about them? I got Rivers and Shonn Greene for McCoy and Eli Manning. Other trade: I got Knowshon for Tolbert and Lance Moore. – @Eagles90D
Loechner – I’m not sure how you pulled off the McCoy/Eli Manning for Rivers/Greene trade, but good for you. Since that trade is so clearly one sided in your favor, I’ll focus on the other one.
Knowshon Moreno was a bit of a disappointment last season, but that was mainly due to time missed from injury. While on the field, Moreno was underrated, especially in PPR leagues. Reports from Broncos’ camp this summer were largely negative on Moreno, though. He was smaller, no faster, and still slipped often. In addition, the Broncos signed the greatest TD vulture of all-time in Willis McGahee.
I still believe the Chargers are going to use Ryan Mathews more than people expect, especially if his blocking can improve (-2.7 last season). Mike Tolbert seems destined for a third down/goal-line role in San Diego. However, a third down/goal-line role in San Diego isn’t all bad. The Chargers have an explosive offense and will score plenty of points.
Lance Moore is currently injured (missed the week 1 game against the Packers), but will return to action soon. I actually really like Moore as a sleeper this season, and think he has a chance of being New Orleans’ best receiver in 2011.
I think you took a bit of a risk on the second trade – nothing outrageous – but still risky. If Moreno becomes the workhorse in Denver, this trade works in your favor. If things remain the same, you might be looking at less production from Moreno than the combination of Tolbert/Moore.
Whose is the pickup? Devery? – @JayTakeonSports
Miglio – This is regarding a potential injury to Marques Colston. I will likely cover this in next week’s Waiver Wire, but it did seem that Devery Henderson was more reliable than Robert Meachem last night. Drew Brees did target them both equally — nine targets for Henderson to eight for Meachem — so you cannot go wrong with either. Meachem has more upside, so I would give him the nod here unless he is already taken, which is a good possibility. That and Henderson has been fantasy fool's gold for a couple of seasons, though the same could be said about Meachem. The real winners in the Saints offense are Jimmy Graham and Lance Moore when he returns.
Sit/start ppr Shonn Greene / Braylon Edwards? – @Philthy2021
Loechner – Braylon Edwards has a bigger name but takes a back seat to Shonn Greene here. As long as Vernon Davis is around, Edwards will be struggling for targets. Shonn Greene faces limited competition for touches in New York’s backfield and will be the featured back to open the season.
Last season, the 49ers had a 4.6 PFF pass rating, 26th in the league. Other than adding Edwards, they have done nothing to improve their passing attack. A best-case scenario for Edwards this weekend is 4 catches for 50 yards.
Greene, on the other hand, will receive at least 15 total touches for over 70 yards. Over the final 11 games last season (8 of which resulted in a positive PFF grade), Greene carried the ball 13 times a game and had 14 total catches.
In fantasy football, Edwards isn’t useless. However, until he proves consistent play and his quarterback situation improves, he should be benched in favor of any feature running back.
Who would you start week 1, Bradford or Sanchez? – @Dorman06
Loechner – Tough question! While Bradford will be a better starter on a weekly basis, Sanchez is my pick here. The Rams pass the ball more than the Jets, but this week’s match-up tilts the scale in Sanchez’s favor.
The Eagles defense was one of August’s biggest stories, but they haven’t proven themselves as a group yet. While that may be the case, there is no denying their individual talent. The Rams passing game just doesn’t match up well against the Eagles.
Sanchez, on the other hand, is playing against a defense that ranked 23rd against the pass last season (-16.3 PFF rating). Dallas has added Rob Ryan as defensive coordinator, which ensures that the Jets will be seeing plenty of blitzes. Luckily for New York, their passing attack revolves around short throws. Over 54% of their passes came between 0-9 yards in 2010. On that note: Santonio Holmes is primed for a big game.
I'm really torn between Ingram, Bradshaw or Hightower as my flex in non-ppr – @jts11511
Miglio – Well, hopefully you did not start Ingram, as he had a relatively disappointing rookie debut last night. Trying to punch through B.J. Raji and the middle of that Green Bay defensive line is going to prove difficult for most running backs, though, so I would not worry too much about Ingram over the course of the season.
As for who you should start at the flex, there is no question: Ahmad Bradshaw. He is at least one tier better than Tim Hightower and Mark Ingram. I am not sold on Hightower as a good fantasy play, but even if he pans out, Bradshaw is the better running back. Last season they were on the opposite ends of the PFF rating spectrum — Bradshaw was fourth in the league with a +17.8 overall rating while Hightower was dead last at -7.5. As I tweeted earlier this week, do not over-think your lineup — play the best players unless the difference is negligible. Even so, it helps that Bradshaw has a favorable matchup against the Washington Redskins, albeit forecasting defenses is a craps shoot at this time of the year.
Tony Romo or Stafford to start this week? – @toes2dnose
Loechner – With two excellent quarterbacks at your disposal, you can afford to play the match-up week in and week out. This week, Stafford’s Lions have the better match-up.
First and foremost, the Lions pass the ball a lot. Last season, with an array of backup quarterbacks, Detroit tallied 684 drop-backs versus 404 runs. That means that almost two-thirds of Detroit’s plays were a pass. With weapons like Calvin Johnson, Nate Burleson, Brandon Pettigrew, and Jahvid Best out of the backfield, Stafford has a very talented supporting cast. I know it’s hard to put stock into preseason performances, but Stafford and the rest of the Detroit’s first team offense were on fire in August.
Detroit plays the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this weekend and Dallas travels to New York to play against the Jets. While Tampa Bay’s defense has improved, they are still a far cry away from the Jets. The Jets had a 15.7 PFF pass coverage rating last season, third best in the league. On the other side of the coin, Tampa Bay’s -41.6 PFF defense rating ranked 28th in the league. From a match-up standpoint, it’s not contest; start Stafford.
Miglio – Just chiming in to say Stafford in a landslide. I agree with Mr. Loechner. Of course, I am all in with Stafford this season, but the matchup for Romo is the difference here.
Question of the weekend now stands: Ward or Woodhead #cry #Foster #Manning – @Onekumar
Miglio – Assuming Arian Foster is indeed ruled out, I would go with Derrick Ward. Danny Woodhead is a hit or miss proposition, though his value in PPR far exceeds his standard league value. Ward will be solid against an Indianapolis Defense that Arian Foster annihilated last season. Ward also happened to average 6.2 YPC and 3.9 yards-after-contact per attempt last year on 51 attempts, both good for third in the league regardless of qualifying number of carries. Ward is no slouch in this league, averaging 4.9 YPC in his career despite one terrible year in Tampa Bay. Ben Tate might split time with him, but Ward is the no. 2 in Houston right now, so I would not hesitate to plug him into your lineup. He is even a good fantasy play if you are not an Arian Foster owner.
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