Fantasy Matchups for Week 11
by The Stat Guy, Scott Lange
After a couple of crazy weeks in the AFL, things are starting to get back to normal. Last week's 7-2 record was solid, so bring on Week 11!
Last Week's Record: 7-2
Season Record: 24-12
SAN JOSE AT TAMPA BAY
Storm QB Shane Stafford single-handedly carried the Storm at home against Utah. Stafford connected with five different receivers for touchdowns, including three to WR/LB Lawrence Samuels. San Jose also got solid play from their QB in the form of nine touchdowns from Mark Grieb. This game will have a lot of scoring considering both offenses are hot right now. For San Jose, it's all about new OS Ben Nelson who has posted some amazing stats since week 7. This guy has become quite familiar with the end zone and knows how to get there. Add WR/LB James Roe to the arsenal and the SaberCats have a deadly offense. Tampa Bay has weapons of their own in Samuels and OS Freddy Solomon. While I think the team that forces more turnovers will win this game, the SaberCats have been too inconsistent for me to pick them to win playing on the road. I learned last week not to pick against Tampa at home, even if they do get rid of their best receiver. My fantasy players this week are OS Ben Nelson for SJ and TB QB "Sugar Shane" Stafford.
Tampa 65 San Jose 60
ARIZONA AT UTAH
The Arizona Rattlers has been on a tear lately winning four out of their last five. The Utah Blaze has been on a different kind of tear losing three straight. QB Sherdrick Bonner did his part last week passing for 347 yards and 6 TDs, adding another rushing TD to give him seven on the day. Meanwhile, the Blaze continued to struggle behind second string QB Jason Gesser. It's not the powerful offense of the Blaze powerful causing problems, however. It's the defense that is giving up the second most points in the league. The veteran Rattler QB is just as capable of posting similar stats this week as Shane Stafford did last week (8 TDs). Utah's 1-4 record at home speaks for itself -- the oddsmakers have the Blaze as two-point favorites -- but the Rattlers are playing too well and have just enough defense to win this game. My fantasy play this week is Arizona QB Sherdrick Bonner, who should be able to find his receivers all game long.
Arizona 55 Utah 50
COLORADO AT GRAND RAPIDS
Talk about a different team. The Colorado Crush dismissed any doubts about the best team in the conference by waxing the Nashville Kats by 30 points! The Crush outscored the Kats 21-0 in the second quarter and never looked back. Crush QB John Dutton broke out of his slump by passing for 270 yards and nine TDs, while OS Damien Harrell did his usual 12 catches for 134 yards and five TDs. Grand Rapids only managed to score 24 points against one of the worse defenses in the league, the New York Dragons. I don't see it getting much better for the Rampage this week, as the slump the Crush were in is now officially over. My fantasy play for this week is Crush OS Damien Harrell, with the only real question being how many silly catches he will make.
Colorado 62 Grand Rapids 50
LOS ANGELES at KANSAS CITY
I mentioned this guy in my waiver wire report and, as a fantasy football owner, I love Kansas City QB Chis Sanders. Sanders had a strong performance last week at home against a good Georgia team but came up just short, losing by eight points. The Avengers have now lost two in a row after beating some quality teams. The defense allows more points than any other team in the league. I think this is the week the Brigade break the six-game losing streak and win one for the fans at home. My fantasy player for this week is QB Chris Sanders, who should be able to put some serious points on the board against a horrible Avenger defense.
KC 52 Avengers 50
DALLAS AT NEW YORK
This game should provide some serious fireworks, as two of the best offenses prepare to light up the scoreboard. I would not be surprised to see these teams put together more than 140 points. The Dallas offense is led by QB Clint Dolezel who now has an insane streak of 10 straight games with at least five TDs. NY QB Nick Browder has done a brilliant job filling for the injured Aaron Garcia. Dolezel has weapons such as OS Terrill Shaw, WR Will Pettis, and WR Dialleo Burks, while Browder has OS Kevin Swayne and WR Mike Horacek. A couple of key stats jump out at me when I look at this matchup. The first one being that despite the Dragons 6-4 record, they are 0-2 within the division. The other stat is that Dallas plays their best football on the road and is 5-0. If you're not sure what happens when Dallas plays a big game on the road, just ask the Tampa Bay Storm. Better yet, ask Orlando which team dealt them their first home loss. Dallas has too much power offensively and QB Clint Dolezel may just have another 11 touchdown performance left in him, making him my fantasy play in this game. It will be scary to see how much damage he can cause against a bad NY pass defense.
Dallas 65 NY 55
CHICAGO at PHILADELPHIA
The Philadelphia Soul can't feel good about the way the game ended last week against the Wranglers. The Soul quickly scored the first two touchdowns of the game, only to have Austin come back and win by five points after a poor second half by Graziani and company. The only consolation is that the Rush looked horrible last week against Orlando and had no answer for QB Joe Hamilton. Graziani has all the elements this week to post some solid stats, with WR/DB Mike Brown, WR/LB Sean Scott and OS Steve Smith, plus he's playing at home. Add a pinch of a bad Chicago team and you have got yourself a Soul victory. My fantasy player for this game will be QB Tony Graziani. But for this week, ONLY!
Philadelphia 50 Chicago 40
ORLANDO AT COLUMBUS
Orlando QB Joe Hamilton is coming of his strongest performance of the year while Columbus took a beatdown Texas-style. Don't let last week's performance by the Destroyers fool you, as this is a good team. They have a stout defense that allows the fewest points in the league, and DS Brandon Hefflin and DS Jerald Brown reek havoc for opposing teams. This evenly matched game will go down to the wire. In the end, I favor the team playing at home with the better defense. My fantasy player for this game is Columbus DS Brandon Hefflin who now has two consecutive weeks of double-digit tackles and is eyeing a third.
Columbus 48 Orlando 45
NASHVILLE AT LAS VEGAS
Just a show of hands: Which team does not like to play on the road? After last week's annihilation by the Colorado Crush, the Kats are now 1-4 away from Nashville. Now they get to regroup and travel to Las Vegas where QB Jason Fife and OS Marcus Nash await. The Gladiators are playing well right now, as they have won four out of their last five games. The Gladiators will win this game simply because of the home field advantage and their need to keep pace with the first place Rattlers. Nashville is just not the same team on the road as they are at home. I also believe that OS Marcus Nash rebounds big after not scoring in last week's game. Fife will be locked in on his OS, which spells big trouble for the Kats defense. Expect 100 plus yards and two TDs from Nash.
Las Vegas 50 Nashville 45
GEORGIA AT AUSTIN
The Force has a chance to move into first place with a road victory against the Wranglers. Georgia comes into this game riding the hot hand of QB Matt Nagy, who has OS Chris Jackson focused in his sights at all times. This combination has been carrying the Georgia offense for the past two weeks, but the Austin defense is one of the best in the league, featuring one of the top defenders in Damon Mason. Mason will have his hands full with Jackson, but the real difference maker will Nagy. If he can play the way he has played for the last month, I honestly believe the Force walk away with the victory. The combination of C-Jax and Derrick "Baby Moss" Lee will be too much for the Wrangler defense to stifle. My fantasy play this week is OS Chris Jackson, who has been playing with a certain style.
Georgia 55 Austin 52
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