FANTASY FOOTBALL IN-SEASON FEATURES

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Prediction: ATL 20, SD 24 (Line: SD by 3)

Player to Watch: Ryan Mathews

Player Updated: Ryan Mathews, Julio Jones, Roddy White

The battle of the unbeatens. The Falcons come off their Monday night win over the PMannings and facer a short week to travel across the country. The Chargers have won both their games over two of the six teams that have not beaten anyone yet. What makes this game more interesting is that the Chargers should be getting back Ryan Mathews and Antonio Gates while the Falcons discovered that Michael Turner celebrated the MNF win a bit too much and got a 5 AM DUI that will be the talk this week. Turner plays against his old team but it has been four years and he already revisited back in 2009.

Pregame Notes: Solid win over the Broncos thanks to all facets of the game. The Falcons defense has improved and quietly made a bigger difference this year - and that is what will get the Falcons into the playoffs for several weeks. Intercepting Peyton Manning on each of his first three series shows how much better they are playing.

Matt Ryan has been stellar so far with five touchdowns and no turnovers and while he peppered Julius Jones in week one, he switched over to Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez on Monday. He is showing a nice command of the offense and all weapons.

The rushing game is where the Falcons fall to earth with Michael Turner totaling 28 runs for only 74 yards though he bulled over a score against the Broncos. He has no role as a receiver - none of the tailbacks do so far - and has been a marginal rusher at best. Jacquizz Rodgers has not been any more effective really and is not making any headway into more playing time as was expected. This is a passing offense but needs at least some rushing ability. Currently the Falcons are one of the worst running back teams in the entire NFL.

If an opponent can cover three players, the Falcons might be stopped cold but the problem is that no one has come close to stopping all three. Julio Jones had a quieter second week after an explosion in the season opener. But Roddy White stepped up with right receptions for 102 yards and one score. Jones had a drop and spent much of his time on the right side against Champ Bailey when he usually lines up as a the split end on the left. Bottom line is it all worked with the win but Jones owners went from big stats in week one down to only four catches for 14 yards in week two. That is a significant tumble. But realize this - that is what he did in 2011. Maybe not quiet so dramatically but each of his five 100 yard games were all on the road then. He still is not showing up as well in home games which is counter intuitive to how most players are.

Tony Gonzalez may be in his swan song but there is nothing quiet about it. He has a score in each game and at least 50 yards in both. He is as big as they need him to be and still a difference maker.

The Falcons are on a short week after a big game and that will matter. They also travel to the west coast to face a Chargers team that should finally be at full strength offensively. The Chargers have been outstanding against the run so this game is waged through the air. But assessing what to expect is still tough given the Chargers have only faced the TItans and Raiders. This should be a close game and a win here would be huge but this may be just a little more than the Falcons can handle on a short week. It will be a very good test.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
QB Matt Ryan, ATL	TB	0	0	0	0	0	230	2	0
Ryan threw for 353 and 1 the last time he faced the bottom-feeding Bucs pass defense, and that was back when the outcome still mattered. Unlikely he sticks around long enough to post that big a number again, as the Falcons have wrapped up home field advantage.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB Michael Turner, ATL	TB	30	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
If any Falcon needs a rest before the postseason begins it's Turner, whose numbers have tailed off over the second half of the season. Your only hope is that he tucks in a shorty before heading to the bench to await the start of the playoffs.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB Jacquizz Rodgers, ATL	TB	40	0	5	30	0	0	0	0
Quizz's workload has been on the upswing and it's likely Michael Turner takes an early seat in this one. Unfortunately, the Bucs' run D is pretty solid so even though Rodgers scored on them in the earlier meeting he's not a particularly good fantasy play this week.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB Steven Jackson, ATL	TB	50	0	2	20	0	0	0	0
Jackson was held to 18-55 when the Seahawks were the visitors and playing in Seattle won't improve those marks. Only two runners have scored in Seattle this year and only Adrian Peterson ran for more than 58 yards there.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Julio Jones, ATL	TB	0	0	4	60	1	0	0	0
Jones could see some extra attention if Roddy White is limited by his sore knee, but with nothing to play for both Falcons' starters will be on the sidelines well before the final whistle.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Roddy White, ATL	TB	0	0	3	40	0	0	0	0
If the knee is still sore--and last week it looked anything but--the Falcons will give White plenty of rest in this meaningless game.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Harry Douglas, ATL	TB	0	0	3	40	0	0	0	0
Douglas would stand to gain looks if Roddy White and/or Julio Jones head to the bench early in a game that has no bearing on the playoff picture. Of course, if that happens it would leave Douglas chasing passes from Luke McCown instead of Matt Ryan.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
TE Tony Gonzalez, ATL	TB	0	0	4	40	1	0	0	0
Gonzo needs 111 yards for yet another 1,000-yard season, but his ticket to Canton doesn't need any additional stamps so look for him to spend most of this game as an observer.

	Opp	fga	FGM	xpa	XPM	ConFac
K Matt Bryant, ATL	TB	2	2	3	3
It's still a dome game, it's still a shaky Bucs secondary, and if the Falcons are leaning on backups maybe they stall out in the red zone a little more frequently and set Bryant up with threes instead of PATs.

Pregame Notes: The Chargers are undefeated but that comes after playing two of the weaker teams so far. In fairness, the Chargers have not been at full strength with Ryan Mathews out and along with him any shred of rushing offense. Antonio Gates was held out from his sore ribs last week but Philip Rivers was still able to get the job done. The Changers defense has made the biggest difference but this week the offense should kick it up a notch even playing against a better defense from Atlanta.

Rivers had a marginal game in Oakland to start the year but comes off a 284 yard, three touchdown effort against the Titans where he pretended that Dante Rosario was Antonio Gates and gave him a career best game. Rivers is getting it done with a sub-standard set of wideouts that include Robert Meachem who was unable to catch any of his four passes. Meachem has clearly been a bust for a wideout that somehow made them think he could become a #1 replacement for Vincent Jackson.

Malcom Floyd remains the lone wideout with any production or consistency. Eddie Royal injured his shoulder last week and may be questionable for this game but he's been little used and has no fantasy value anyway. Gates should be back given that he went up to game time before calling it off because of his ribs and lack of preparation. He'll be needed more than week than the first two games.

But the story of the week will be the return - hopefully for more than a week - of Ryan Mathews from his broken clavicle. He was listed as questionable in week two but never intended to play because he was not working out with the first team. The offense desperately needs him since the depth chart is not pretty for running backs. Jackie Battle did end up with two scores last week but he and Curtis Brinkley will grab the pine if Mathews can play a full game. With a great defense and so far more than adequate passing attack, Mathews is the final piece of the offense that has already won two games.

This week they face the Falcons who visit and are always a bit less formidable away from Atlanta. Notable too is that they have been weaker against the run than the pass and Mathews is expected back. This is a good test for both the Falcons defense and the Chargers offense but a balanced attack will go a long ways this week.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
QB Philip Rivers, SD	OAK	0	0	0	0	0	220	2	0
Rivers started the year with 231 yards and one score in Oakland. He's been light on the yardage all year and more so here at the end. But the Raiders always allow at least one passing score if not three. Look for just a moderate game here that mostly depends on finding Danario Alexander open.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB Jackie Battle, SD	OAK	50	0	1	10	0	0	0	0
Battle is never a good risk but he'll start this week and get the most touches. The Raiders rushing defense has been solid though and Battle has never scored this year.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB Ronnie Brown, SD	OAK	20	0	4	20	0	0	0	0
Brown fills in for third downs but hasn't totaled more than 40 yards in the last six weeks and never scored this year.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Danario Alexander, SD	OAK	0	0	6	90	1	0	0	0
Alexander has become the only decent fantasy play for the Chargers though he is not above a bad game as we saw two weeks ago. The Raiders have allowed five TDs to the position in just the most recent three road games.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
TE Antonio Gates, SD	OAK	0	0	3	30	1	0	0	0
Gates won't do much for yardage anymore but he is a decent risk for a touchdown this week. He'll want to end well anyway and the Raiders give up more to TEs on the road anyway.

	Opp	fga	FGM	xpa	XPM	ConFac
K Nick Novak, SD	OAK	3	3	2	2
At home versus the Raiders should be no worse than average points.

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