RADIO
Dynasty owners don’t play week to week, they play long term. However, dynasty owners still need to analyze different aspects of weekly matchups to determine the best time to sell or buy a player.
Make sure you don’t buy that hot rookie too soon and don’t sell the aging veteran too late. Each week, I will analyze different matchups across fantasy football with a dynasty frame of mind.
Let's take some time to see what matchups might pique the interest of dynasty league owners for Week 8 of the 2017 season. Here are some Week 11 matchup previews for dynasty league owners to monitor.
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Eagles at Cowboys
The next era of quarterbacks has arrived in the NFL and the leaders of that pack include Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott. We have seen several young QBs grow this season, but Wentz is seen by many as a front runner for the MVP. Prescott is following up a stellar rookie campaign with an equally impressive sophomore season. Prescott will be missing some key pieces this week, but when rivalry week comes around, anything can happen.
Wentz has led the Eagles to a 7-1 record this season, best overall in the league. The massive improvement in team record, is due to a massive improvement in the offense which is due to………you guessed it, a massive improvement in Wentz. The Eagles offense has gone from 16th in the league to second in points scored and 22nd to fourth in yards. Wentz has already topped his TD passes from 2016 by seven and in seven less games. He has also decreased his interception percentage from 2.3 to 1.7. The only stat that is down from last year is Wentz’s completion percentage which sits at 60.5 compared to 62.4 in 2016. Adding weapons such as LeGarrette Blount, Alshon Jeffery and Torey Smith have been a huge help to providing some stability to the offense.
After putting together a 2016 campaign that ended with AP Offensive Rookie of the Year, Prescott became one of the best young players in the NFL seemingly out of nowhere. Prescott was taken in the fourth round and was not considered a serious contender for the starting job until Tony Romo went down with another back injury in the preseason last year. Whether you hate the Cowboys or love the Cowboys, it’s hard not to be impressed with the amount of young talent they have. Between Prescott, Ezekiel Elliot and Ryan Switzer being led by the monstrous offensive line, the Cowboys have a plethora of dynasty fantasy assets. This team is set up for offensive success for the next several years and dynasty owners are lining up for them. For the rest of 2017 though, Prescott is going to be running the show with no help in the backfield. Elliot will serve the rest of his six game suspension this year before returning in Week 16. While owners would love to see Prescott put the Cowboys on his back, we could see more games like last week when Atlanta was able to bring Prescott down for eight sacks. He’s missing his left tackle, his starting running back and his defense is having just as many problems. Prescott may be good enough to be considered a top QB, but not many QBs can carry a team this depleted of top talent.
What to watch for: This sets up as a big game for the Eagles to walk away with the division. For dynasty owners, this could be a set up as the QB1 and QB2 for 2018 startups. These are the types of games owners research when deciding who their top QB should be. I have Wentz a touch above Prescott right now and it will stay that way after the game. Decide you would want though.
Lions at Bears
Matthew Stafford vs Bears Defense
Let’s stick with one position this week and move to Chicago for this matchup. Matt Stafford and the Lions offense have been on a role the last couple of weeks. Surprisingly enough, the Bears defense has actually been pretty good this year. The main problem for the Lions this weekend? This is a game they should win, so they will either lose or play way to close. QBs who typically play their home games indoors have difficulty moving outside. We will see sun in Chicago for the game, but a high of 35 degrees after raining all weekend will still cause some problems.
Stafford is one of the most underrated fantasy QBs I have ever seen. Since 2011, Stafford has averaged a QB9 finish. That would have been even higher if it weren’t for a finish of QB15 in 2014. Right now Stafford is QB10 and has been on a roll the last two weeks. The Lions have been working to fix some of their pass protection issues (Stafford has been sacked 30 times this year) and Sunday will be the first time this Lions offense will have everyone on the field. In two of his last three trips to Chicago, Stafford has thrown two interceptions and no touchdowns. Fantasy owners always know one thing with Stafford though, the offense will run through him. He can either provide solid numbers all game or pile up the garbage time stats quickly at the end.
The Bears defense has been steady this year. Even at 3-6, the Bears have had an opportunity to stay in games based on the play of their defense alone. Chicago currently ranks 10th in the league against the pass and 15th against the run. Seeing as the Lions have only been able to effectively run the ball a couple of times this year, the Bears will turn this into a one dimensional game and force the NFL’s highest paid player to beat them through the air. The Bears do a good job of pressuring the QB, but are prone to giving up big plays. The Bears have allowed 6 plays this season of 40+ yards which sets up Marvin Jones for a big day. Watch the Lions work the short side of the field with passes to Golden Tate, Kenny Golladay and Eric Ebron then take the top off with Jones. The Bears should get into the backfield on Sunday and cause some issues for Stafford, but it won’t be quite enough.
What to watch for: Stafford needs to start shaking some of the negative connotations about himself. He can do that back to back weeks with a victory outdoors at Soldier Field and then on Thanksgiving against a good Vikings team, both who rank inside the top 10 against the pass. If Stafford can get inside the top 10 for QBs again this year, maybe owners will start considering him as the first non-elite QB in drafts.
