FANTASY FOOTBALL IN-SEASON FEATURES

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Prediction: OAK 20, BAL 27 (Line: BAL by 7.5)

Players Updated: Brandon Myers, Darren McFadden

Players to Watch: Marcel Reese

The 3-5 Raiders are only 1-3 in road games and just lost most of their backfield to a collective high ankle sprain. The 6-2 Ravens are a perfect 4-0 at home though their last three wins were all by less than one touchdown. Still, it is just the Raiders and they have no real backfield anyway.

Pregame Notes: The Raiders have posted surprisingly good points this year though they often come against weak defenses or as junk yards and points at the end of losing games. Thanks to playing in the AFC West, the schedule is not too bad in the second half of the season but then again - it wasn't that tough in the first eight games and still only led to a 3-5 record.

What has been working is the passing of Carson Palmer who has yet to pass for less than 200 yards and comes off a season high 414 yards and four scores in the losing effort to the Buccaneers. Palmer has failed to score in only one game this year and most end up with 300+ yards.

Both Darren McFadden and Mike Goodson suffered high ankle sprains against the Bucs. That's a problem because the only ones left are Taiwan Jones who they clearly do not trust and want to avoid, and fullback Marcel Reece. Once McFadden and Goodson were gone last week, Reece caught eight passes for 95 yards and a touchdown but did not take any carries. Even McFadden ran just seven times for 17 yards in that game. Defensive injuries have caused the Ravens to be softer against the run but nothing the Raiders have appears capable of taking advantage. That should bode even better for the passing game since that is the only way the Raiders are going to advance the ball.

McFadden has not yet been officially ruled out but even if he plays he won't be 100% and he's been largely ineffective this year anyway.

Brandon Myers finally scored this year - twice in fact - when he caught a season best eight passes for 59 yards against the Bucs. he's been very consistent with around 50 yards per week and can break into the top ten for tight ends if the Raiders continue to use him in the red zone.

Darrius Heyward-Bey is also doing more in recent weeks with a score in Kansas City and turning in 70+ yards against both the Jags and Bucs. Denarius Moore fell off his three game scoring streak but still posted 66 yards on four catches last week. He's averaged right around 70 yards per game and scored four times this season. Myers, Moore and Heyward-Bey make up most of the passing production each week. Rod Streater and Derek Hagen have the decent showing every month or two.

The Raiders are likely to throw 45+ passes this week and that should benefit the main three receivers.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
QB Terrelle Pryor, OAK	@SD	10	1	0	0	0	150	0	0
Both Pryor and Matt Leinart are taking first team reps and both may end up playing. No matter - there is no fantasy start here regardless who does what.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB Darren McFadden, OAK	@SD	50	0	3	20	0	0	0	0
McFadden only gained 32 yards on 15 runs versus the Chargers in the season opener and has done little since. Three of his road games this year failed to produce even 35 rushing yards and the Chargers at home have been better against the run. McFadden always has potential since he can break a long gainer but has been ineffective in most games this year. He is a huge risk to gain anything more than moderate yardage and has not rushed in a score since back in week six.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Denarius Moore, OAK	@SD	0	0	3	40	0	0	0	0
Moore only caught 3-12 last week with Matt Leinart starting and now Terrelle Pryor may get to play. No reason to consider him.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Rod Streater, OAK	@SD	0	0	4	30	0	0	0	0
Streater actually started the year with a TD vs SD but only caught 4 passes for 24 yards then. He only managed 2-16 just last week with Leinart starting so no reason to consider Streater.

	Opp	fga	FGM	xpa	XPM	ConFac
K Sebastian Janikowski, OAK	@SD	2	2	1	1
OAK using either Matt Leinart or Terrelle Pryor at QB means leave Seabass on your bench.

Pregame Notes: The Ravens have a big problem this year in that they play well enough at home to win every game so far but on the road they are far less formidable. The defense has taken a step down thanks to significant injuries and the offense just never seems to hit a higher gear. That;s good enough to beat teams like the visiting Raiders but the remaining schedule includes two critical meetings with the Steelers and home games against the Broncos and Giants. There is a chance the Ravens are as good as they are going to get and that a downturn is imminent. But that won't be apparent yet this week.

Joe Flacco throws for a touchdown in almost every game but that is usually it. Just one score. He hasn't thrown for more than one touchdown since week three and his yardage keeps getting worse. After starting out with three of four games producing 299 yards or more, he's posted less than 190 passing yards in three of the last four. If this was graded on the quarter system, he would have been "A-" for the first four games and maybe a "C-" in the last four. As a schedule quirk, he did face weaker defenses to start the year and then more formidable opponents the last month. This game should be a good indicator since the Raiders are average against the pass only on a good day at home.

Ray Rice was inexplicably limited to only nine runs for 42 yards in week eight in Houston. He was appeased last week by running the ball 25 times for 98 yards and one score in Cleveland. Rice has been less productive in the last month though and even his role as a receiver has declined. Over the first four games, Rice caught 22 passes for 174 yards. In these last four weeks, he's only caught nine passes for 77 yards. Bernard Pierce was even allowed to come in and score the short touchdown last week. Rice is still productive and a must start back but his numbers have fallen off from last year and even the first month of the season.

The tight ends started out well with Dennis Pitta scoring twice and posting 50+ yards for the first three weeks but has since not been worth any fantasy consideration. You want consistency? Pitta gained 33 yards in each of his last three games.

Anquan Boldin hasn't scored since the season opener and varies wildly from as high as 131 yards and as low as just seven yards in a game. Torrey Smith's been mediocre with yards and catches this past month but did score twice. He has not topped 50 yards in a game since week four but his five receiving touchdowns lead the team.

This week will be interesting because a home game versus the Raiders should be an indicator of what the best situation for the Ravens can produce.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
QB Joe Flacco, BAL	@CIN	0	0	0	0	0	230	1	1
Flacco opened the season with 299 and 2 against the Bengals, but that was at home; he's topped 232 yards just once on the road (200 yards just twice) and thrown multiple touchdowns in one of six away from Baltimore. The Ravens are playing for seeding so expect to see the regulars, with Flacco sticking around at least long enough to collect the 217 yards he needs to reach 4,000 for the season.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB Ray Rice, BAL	@CIN	60	1	3	20	0	0	0	0
The 30 touches Rice saw last week should keep Jim Caldwell employed for at least another week, but with the postseason looming that large a workload here would surprise. Rice had 13 touches in the earlier meeting with Cincy but scored twice on them so fantasy owners didn't complain. This time around, they may not be so forgiving.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
RB Bernard Pierce, BAL	@CIN	30	0	2	10	0	0	0	0
Pierce's 123 yards last week were a season high for a Baltimore back, and with the postseason looming he could take another bite out of Ray Rice's workload this week--just not as big or as productive.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
WR Torrey Smith, BAL	@CIN	0	0	5	70	1	0	0	0
Smith scored last week against the Giants but will find the going tougher against a solid Cincy secondary that's allowed only four WR TDs in the past two months.

	Opp	RuYD	RuTD	Rec	ReYD	ReTD	PaYD	PaTD	Int	ConFac
TE Dennis Pitta, BAL	@CIN	0	0	5	50	0	0	0	0
Pitta scored in the earlier meeting with Cincy, but the Bengals haven't allowed a tight end touchdown since Week 9 so a repeat performance might be asking a bit much.

	Opp	fga	FGM	xpa	XPM	ConFac
K Justin Tucker, BAL	@CIN	3	2	2	2
Tucker is seeing multiple opportunities more often than not, but with Baltimore's offense going through some changes you're bound to find bigger numbers elsewhere.

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