Tonight will be interesting. The Seahawks have been first or second in the NFC West in each of the last nine seasons. But a loss today would drop them to the cellar at 2-3. Meanwhile, the Rams are revitalized with Matthew Stafford at QB, and their three-headed receiving corps is two-thirds of the Super Bowl runner-up Rams team of 2018, which might have had a better shot at the title if they hadn't lost Cooper Kupp for the year in Week 10.
One of the biggest storylines tonight concerns Seattle's backfield. Will Chris Carson (neck injury) play? If so, is he startable? If not, is Alex Collins startable? My latest Pro Football Network column dives in deeper: https://www.profootballnetwork.com/chris-carson-injury-update-2021-nflwk-5/. The Rams' run defense is better than the overall statistics (yielding 4.7 yards per carry). If Carson is active, the situation is tricky for fantasy managers, because there's no guarantee Carson gets a full workload. If he sits, then we can fire up Alex Collins with *some* confidence. RB3 numbers seems realistic. RB2 seems more hopeful. Head coach Pete Carroll could plug in DeeJay Dallas and/or Travis Homer on drives, and then where does that leave you. So be cautious with expectations. This is not necessarily a "next man up" backfield.
Seattle's receivers are more predictable as a unit, but less predictable individually. Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf have almost identical stats this year. It's just hard to figure out which one will break out. The answer might lie with who Jalen Ramsey's covering. We all know what Ramsey can do. He hasn't allowed a TD all season. Last week he pretty much shut down DeAndre Hopkins. If anyone knows for sure, give a shout below. Some beat reporter probably has a "sense," or maybe more than that. It's obviously key to knowing whether your Seattle receiver has a sky-high ceiling or, in all likelihood, a WR3 ceiling. We'll also soon have clarity on Gerald Everett's (reserve/COVID) status. He or backup Will Dissly are longshots. Everett is definitely the better bet for top-16 TE production if he's a go.
For the Rams, Matthew Stafford is on pace for the best campaign of his career, and it's not even close. Only once has he finished a year with a QB rating above 100 (106 in the injury-shortened 2019 season). This year he's at 117.6. He's enjoying career highs in completion percentage and yards per pass attempt. There's no good reason to bench him against a bottom-10 pass defense. Cooper Kupp has to start; what an incredible September he had. He's on pace for 2007 Randy Moss numbers, and that doesn't include this year's extra game. I also urged folks to start Robert Woods in a rebound game last week, and he came through. Woods remains undervalued. And Van Jefferson is a fringe starter given his unpredictability, but is worth throwing out there if you don't have a 10+ point flex option. At TE, Tyler Higbee is in a similar boat as his former teammate across the field: worth starting if you don't have a TE1.
As for the backfield, Darrell Henderson has exceeded my preseason expectations. He was my 30th-ranked RB compared to an RB-25 ADP. I simply didn't think he'd run away with the starting job. Instead, he's the 10th best RB in points per game. My contrarian view is that his injury history and Sony Michel's presence makes Henderson a higher-than-normal risk going forward. If he were on my team, I'd be shopping him at his current value. The thought that Henderson can keep this up *and* stay on the field seems like a stretch.
Final scores for tonight? I'll go 26-23 Rams. As always, winner gets a shout-out and my semi-eternal respect.
One of the biggest storylines tonight concerns Seattle's backfield. Will Chris Carson (neck injury) play? If so, is he startable? If not, is Alex Collins startable? My latest Pro Football Network column dives in deeper: https://www.profootballnetwork.com/chris-carson-injury-update-2021-nflwk-5/. The Rams' run defense is better than the overall statistics (yielding 4.7 yards per carry). If Carson is active, the situation is tricky for fantasy managers, because there's no guarantee Carson gets a full workload. If he sits, then we can fire up Alex Collins with *some* confidence. RB3 numbers seems realistic. RB2 seems more hopeful. Head coach Pete Carroll could plug in DeeJay Dallas and/or Travis Homer on drives, and then where does that leave you. So be cautious with expectations. This is not necessarily a "next man up" backfield.
Seattle's receivers are more predictable as a unit, but less predictable individually. Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf have almost identical stats this year. It's just hard to figure out which one will break out. The answer might lie with who Jalen Ramsey's covering. We all know what Ramsey can do. He hasn't allowed a TD all season. Last week he pretty much shut down DeAndre Hopkins. If anyone knows for sure, give a shout below. Some beat reporter probably has a "sense," or maybe more than that. It's obviously key to knowing whether your Seattle receiver has a sky-high ceiling or, in all likelihood, a WR3 ceiling. We'll also soon have clarity on Gerald Everett's (reserve/COVID) status. He or backup Will Dissly are longshots. Everett is definitely the better bet for top-16 TE production if he's a go.
For the Rams, Matthew Stafford is on pace for the best campaign of his career, and it's not even close. Only once has he finished a year with a QB rating above 100 (106 in the injury-shortened 2019 season). This year he's at 117.6. He's enjoying career highs in completion percentage and yards per pass attempt. There's no good reason to bench him against a bottom-10 pass defense. Cooper Kupp has to start; what an incredible September he had. He's on pace for 2007 Randy Moss numbers, and that doesn't include this year's extra game. I also urged folks to start Robert Woods in a rebound game last week, and he came through. Woods remains undervalued. And Van Jefferson is a fringe starter given his unpredictability, but is worth throwing out there if you don't have a 10+ point flex option. At TE, Tyler Higbee is in a similar boat as his former teammate across the field: worth starting if you don't have a TE1.
As for the backfield, Darrell Henderson has exceeded my preseason expectations. He was my 30th-ranked RB compared to an RB-25 ADP. I simply didn't think he'd run away with the starting job. Instead, he's the 10th best RB in points per game. My contrarian view is that his injury history and Sony Michel's presence makes Henderson a higher-than-normal risk going forward. If he were on my team, I'd be shopping him at his current value. The thought that Henderson can keep this up *and* stay on the field seems like a stretch.
Final scores for tonight? I'll go 26-23 Rams. As always, winner gets a shout-out and my semi-eternal respect.