Sunday, September 9, 2012

Monday Night Football: Bengals @ Ravens Fantasy Preview


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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