Weekly Matchups - Week 8 - New England Patriots vs. Pittsburgh Steelers-  10/27/11

 

 

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New England @ Pittsburgh

 

(Player Rankings based on Top 26 QBs, 50 RBs, 75 WRs & 30 TEs)

 

 

New England Patriots (5-1)

 

Patriots Schedule

 

Opponent Defensive Ranks

Pittsburgh Rush Defense – 2011: 107.1 Yards Allowed/Game (12th) || 5 TDs Allowed (T-13th)

Pittsburgh Pass Defense – 2011: 172 Yards Allowed/Game (1st) || 8 TDs Allowed (T-7th)

 

New England Offensive Cast

 

Tom Brady (QB Week 8 Fantasy Ranking: #3)

2011 Season: 160/237 – for 2,163 Yards, 16 TDs & 8 INTs

 

It’s strange to think of any player dominating the Pittsburgh Steelers and their vaunted defense, but that’s exactly what Tom Brady has done throughout his career. In five games against them, Brady has thrown for 12 TDs to just three INTs while averaging 337 yards a game on over 68 percent passing. Sure, four of those games were played before 2008, but last year he went into Pittsburgh and ruled the field as well going off for 350 yards and three TDs along with a rushing TD to boot! The Steelers may own the top pass D in the league right now, but stuff like that doesn’t really matter to Brady and might actually egg him on that much more.

 

BenJarvus Green-Ellis (RB Week 8 Fantasy Ranking: #14)

2011 Season: 91 Carries for 391 Yards & 5 TDs || 4 Recs for 38 Yards & 0 TDs

 

Stevan Ridley (RB Week 8 Fantasy Ranking: #45)

2011 Season: 28 Carries for 180 Yards & 1 TD || 2 Recs for 11 Yards & 0 TDs

 

Danny Woodhead (RB Week 8 Fantasy Ranking: #42)

2011 Season: 30 Carries for 122 Yards & 0 TDs || 8 Recs for 63 Yards & 0 TDs

 

Wes Welker (WR Week 8 Fantasy Ranking: #4)

2011 Season: 51 Recs for 785 Yards & 6 TDs

 

Deion Branch (WR Week 8 Fantasy Ranking: #27)

2011 Season: 26 Recs for 369 Yards & 2 TDs

 

Chad Ochocinco (WR Week 8 Fantasy Ranking: #75)

2011 Season: 9 Recs for 136 Yards & 0 TDs

 

Rob Gronkowski (TE Week 8 Fantasy Ranking: #7)

2011 Season: 29 Recs for 401 Yards & 5 TDs

 

Aaron Hernandez (TE Week 8 Fantasy Ranking: #4)

2011 Season: 27 Recs for 289 Yards & 3 TDs

 

 

Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2)

 

Steelers Schedule

 

Opponent Defensive Ranks

New England Rush Defense – 2011: 101.5 Yards Allowed/Game (8th) || 5 TDs Allowed (T-13th)

New England Pass Defense – 2011: 322 Yards Allowed/Game (32nd) || 10 TDs Allowed (T-15th)

 

Pittsburgh Offensive Cast

 

Ben Roethlisberger (QB Week 8 Fantasy Ranking: #4)

2011 Season: 147/234 – for 1,937 Yards, 12 TDs & 6 INTs

 

Basically, when you play against Tom Brady and the Patriots, you need to keep up in the scoring column if you want a shot at winning. Big Ben will do just that this coming weekend. Last year, both Brady and Roethlisberger went nuts with Ben throwing for three touchdowns and 387 yards as the Steelers lost 39-26. I expect the same type of showdown on Sunday with it basically being a toss-up as to who ends up doing better. With the Pats D giving up the most fantasy points to opposing QBs this season (actually tied with Denver), Roethlisberger just might come out on top.

 

Rashard Mendenhall (RB Week 8 Fantasy Ranking: #15)

2011 Season: 94 Carries for 351 Yards & 3 TDs || 6 Recs for 26 Yards & 0 TDs

 

Mewelde Moore (RB Week 8 Fantasy Ranking: #32)

2011 Season: 12 Carries for 69 Yards & 0 TDs || 4 Recs for 61 Yards & 0 TDs

 

Isaac Redman (RB Week 8 Fantasy Ranking: Unranked)

2011 Season: 47 Carries for 207 Yards & 1 TD || 9 Recs for 42 Yards & 0 TDs

 

Mike Wallace (WR Week 8 Fantasy Ranking: #3)

2011 Season: 36 Recs for 730 Yards & 5 TDs

 

Antonio Brown (WR Week 8 Fantasy Ranking: #37)

2011 Season: 25 Recs for 364 Yards & 0 TDs

 

Hines Ward (WR Week 8 Fantasy Ranking: #61)
2011 Season: 26 Recs for 258 Yards & 2 TDs

 

Emmanuel Sanders (WR Week 8 Fantasy Ranking: #32)

2011 Season: 13 Recs for 173 Yards & 2 TDs

 

Heath Miller (TE Week 8 Fantasy Ranking: #25)

2011 Season: 23 Recs for 276 Yards & 2 TDs

 

 

 

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- 10/27/11