NFL Fantasy Football Matchup Cheat Sheet: Baltimore Ravens
In NFL daily fantasy leagues, matchups are important. Week-to-week, you should pay attention to favorable matchups rather than the overall quality of any given player. It is better to select an above-average talent facing poor or average defense than an elite talent facing above-average or elite defense.
Each position is ranked according to one of these four ratings: Elite, Above-average, Average, and Poor.
Offense
QB Joe Flacco: Average
RB Ray Rice, Bernard Pierce: Average
WR1 Torrey Smith: Above-average
WR2 Steve Smith: Above-average
Slot WR Marlon Brown: Average
TE Owen Daniels: Average
O-line:LT Eugene Monroe,LG Kelechi Osemele,C Jeremy Zuttah,RG Marshal Yanda,RT Ricky Wagner: Above-average
Flacco is not great but he is not terrible either. His weekly salary is usually cheap and he has the benefit of playing behind a talented o-line and having a couple decent weapons in Torrey and Steve Smith. Both of those receivers will be good sleeper picks on weeks when Baltimore is matched up against a poor cornerback corps.
Defense
CB1 Jimmy Smith: Average
CB2 Chykie Brown: Poor
Nickel CB Ladarius Webb: Above-average
Safeties: SS Matt Elam, FS Terrence Brooks: Average
Linebackers: OLB Elvis Dumervil, ILB C.J. Mosley, ILB Daryl Smith, OLB Terrell Suggs: Elite
D-line: DE DeAngelo Tyson, NT Haloti Ngata, RE Chris Canty: Average
It is tempting to take QBs against Baltimore’s depleted secondary, but considering how extremely adept their linebackers are at rushing the passer, I have to recommend against it. However, outside receivers, who, unlike QBs, are not penalized for interceptions, have a good matchup against Baltimore. But refrain from starting slot receivers, who will have a tough matchup against Ladarius Webb.
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