Want to understand the game better, hunt for future break out players or try to spot trouble before it happens? “Beyond TDs and Tackles”  will be offering  a handful of players and situations that you should consider when you are watching the games or even just looking at the box score. Everyone knows which players blew up over the weekend but you can gain advantages by following the changes as they start and get better definition on how to value players. Have any questions? Just hit me on twitter @SteveGalloNFL or email me at gallo@thehuddle.com.

Do You Believe In Matchups?!?!?! (said in Al Michael’s voice)

It’s no secret that matchups are key in fantasy football. It’s also no secret that we’re human and that means we have a hard time looking at things rationally at times. Either because we are frustrated with an underperforming player (Ray Rice) or we’re smitten with a big week by a waiver wire darling (Mark Ingram…oh you know he was a hot commodity this week). You might be worried about starting players like Ryan Mathews (faces the #1 team in points allowed to RBs), Rashard Mendenhall (faces the #3 team in points allowed to RBs) or even Ray Rice (faces the #6 team in points allowed to RBs). Maybe you should be, maybe you shouldn’t be.

I decided to do was take a look at how RBs did with matchups against the top three teams in fantasy points allowed to RBs starting from week 4. The reason I picked week 4 is because after three weeks we start to see trends. Note that the ranking listed below is where that team ranked in points allowed going into the week the player played. A ranking of 1 means that team was giving up the most fantasy points, and a ranking of 32 is just the opposite, that’s the team that’s allowing the fewest points to RBs.

The first table shows the top 3 matchups and the second table shows the three worst matchups for each week listed. The reason you see teams ranked outside the top or bottom three is because of bye weeks, which is why I’m referencing top 3 for the week. As an example, this week (11) the #1 (Dallas) and #3 (Rams) teams in points allowed to RBs are on a bye. So, that leaves the Dolphins (#2), Vikings (#4), and Jaguars (#5) as the top 3 RB matchups. I won’t point anything good or bad out…I’ll leave it up to you to draw your own conclusion about how the best and worst matchups shake out.

Players listed in RED were injured and didn’t return to their respective game.

This is table number two that shows how players did against the three worst matchups for each week starting in week 4.

Once you are finished absorbing the above you can check out the following table that shows which teams look to have good (top 5) and bad (bottom 5) matchups for RBs for the rest of the season. The reason I’m using top and bottom 5 now is because this is based on where these teams rank thru 10 weeks, and there’s bound to be some movement, so that’s why I’m expanding the criteria for you.  Instead of listing players, I’m listing the teams that have strong matchups. You know who’s on each team so there’s no reason to list 40+ RBs. The week number will indicate when that team faces the team in each column. Currently the Cowboys are giving up the most points to RBs and the Ravens the least.

I will chime in now. If your trade deadline hasn’t passed yet I think it’s safe to say that trading for Matt Forte would be a no brainer. Some other targets that you can probably get at a decent price would be Fred Jackson, CJ Spiller (if you want to roll the dice that he gets healthy), and Ben Tate. Tates price is most likely higher with Foster now on IR, but he’s still worth looking into acquiring.

This table shows the poor matchups.

The Chargers have a good matchup in week 11 but then have three bad matchups the rest of the way. If your trade deadline is after this week I’d look to move Danny Woodhead and Ryan Mathews before their week 12 matchup against the Chiefs. It’s not like anyone should be relying on Lamar Miller, but if for some crazy reason you are and your playoffs run thru week 17, you should try to deal him if you can.

Gronk Watch…

Gronkowski was on a bye last week but check back next week for a week 11 update.

Something’s Gotta Give

In one of the most anticipated games of the season taking place taking place this week, I don’t see how I can’t include the Broncos and Chiefs in “Something’s Gotta Give.” Unlike in past weeks, instead of just including one facet of a team’s offense versus the others defense I’m going to include all facets for each two of these teams.  That way you can really get a look at where each team’s strengths and weaknesses lie.