The time has almost arrived for Monday Night Football and the
Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals kick-off tomorrow night in Baltimore at 7:00
p.m. on ESPN, with a chance for an AFC North statement to be made by either
team. Cincinnati is 9-19 on MNF, while Ravens are 8-9. Head-to-head, Baltimore
leads the series 18-14. Now, let’s
be honest: while some of us may be watching for the true thrill of the rivalry,
most will be cheering for our fantasy players. Here’s the position-by-position fantasy
match-ups for both teams.
Quarterback
CIN – Andy Dalton
– Position rank: T15; Completion %: 58.1; Yards: 3,398; Touchdowns: 20;
Interceptions: 13; Rating: 80.4; Fantasy points (in standard ESPN leagues): 195
BAL – Joe Flacco
– Position rank: T15; Completion %: 57.6; Yards: 3,610; Touchdowns: 20;
Interceptions: 12; Rating: 80.9; Fantasy points (in standard ESPN leagues): 195
Edge: Wow, was
not expecting this, but statistically Flacco and Dalton are practically
identical. Quarterback is a toss-up.
Running Back
CIN – Benjarvus Green-Ellis
– Position rank: 22; Yards: 826; Touchdowns 11; Fumbles: 0; Fantasy points (in
standard ESPN leagues): 138
BAL – Ray Rice –
Position rank: 1; Yards: 2,068; Touchdowns 15; Fumbles: 2; Fantasy points (in
standard ESPN leagues): 283
Edge: Ray Rice
and the Ravens. To be fair though, Green-Ellis was part of the pass-happy New
England offense, and will see a much heavier workload in Cincinnati as the
feature back.
#1 Wide Receiver
CIN – A.J. Green –
Position rank: 16; Yards: 1,057; Touchdowns: 7; Fumbles: 1; Fantasy points (in
standard ESPN leagues): 144
BAL – Torrey Smith –
Position rank: 22; Yards: 841; Touchdowns: 7; Fumbles: 1; Fantasy points (in
standard ESPN leagues): 123
Edge: A.J. Green
and the Bengals. Both receivers had breakout years in 2011, their rookie
season, and rose quickly to become Dalton and Flacco’s first choices.
Tight Ends
CIN – Jermaine Gresham
– Position rank: 13; Yards: 596; Touchdowns: 6; Fumbles: 1; Fantasy points
(in standard ESPN leagues): 87
BAL – Ed Dickson –
Position rank: 19; Yards: 528; Touchdowns: 5; Fumbles: 0; Fantasy points (in
standard ESPN leagues): 75
Edge: Jermaine
Gresham and the Bengals. This one again is incredibly close, but outperformed
Dickson as a rookie, with a rookie quarterback. Gresham is likely to be even
more involved in the Cincinnati offense as a returning starter.
Defense/Special Teams
CIN – Position Rank: 9; Fantasy points (in standard ESPN
leagues): 133; Average fantasy points per week (in standard ESPN leagues): 8.3
BAL – Position rank: 3; Fantasy points (in standard ESPN
leagues): 283; Average fantasy points per week (in standard ESPN leagues): 17.7
Edge: Baltimore.
The Ravens are known for their smash-mouth defense, led by Ray Lewis. This game
could be decided by the ability of Baltimore to crash an offense’s party.
Kicker
CIN – Mike Nugent
– Position rank: 7; Field goal attempts: 38; Field goals made: 33; Field goal
%: 86.8; Fantasy points (in standard ESPN leagues): 141
BAL – Justin Tucker
– Rookie
Edge: Nugent and
the Bengals. Tucker won the spot from Billy Cundiff, but it’s tough to go with
an un-tested rookie.
OVERALL FANTASY EDGE:
Tough, but the Ravens’ defense is going to tip the scales,
as been the case the last few years.
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