Week 11: Player Downgrades

Many fantasy lineups will resemble a MASH unit after a ton of major RB injuries in week 10 (Ronnie Brown, Michael Turner, Julius Jones, and Cedric Benson). This week's downgrade article will focus on some of the players that will now miss a significant part of the remaining schedule.

The article is forward looking for the remainder of 2009 and these players should be packaged in trades if you can find an owner willing to take on some risk. The players we detail will have declining value going forward due to injuries, loss of playing time or an offense that is floundering.

Savvy fantasy owners will also check the schedule of opponents to see which players offer good buy / sell opportunities depending on strength of schedule. (http://www.fftoolbox.com/football/strength_of_schedule.cfm)

As winter approaches, fantasy owners need to look ahead to players that could be limited by snow storms and 50 mph winds during the fantasy playoffs (weeks 14-16). http://www.fftoolbox.com/football/nfl_schedule.cfm

Best of luck to all fantasy owners in Week 11, and be sure to check out the FFToolbox Tuesday night podcast available on Itunes. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fftoolbox/2009/11/18/weekly-fftoolbox-fantasy-football-show

QB Matt Ryan, ATL

Ryan is now officially in a sophomore slump as he has thrown more INTs (12) in nine games this year than he did all of his rookie campaign. The Falcons have one the league's most difficult schedules and Ryan still has some top pass defenses on the horizon with match-ups against the NY Giants, Philadelphia, NY Jets and Buffalo. With the loss of Michael Turner to a high ankle sprain, defensive coordinators will turn their attention to shutting down the Atlanta passing game, which doesn't bode well for a struggling Ryan. The second year QB out of Boston College has struggled with accuracy all season and has not dealt well with pressure, which figures to increase now that defenses don't need to have as much respect for the vaunted Atlanta running game.

QB Mark Sanchez, NYJ

Against Jacksonville (the 26th rated defense against the pass) in week 10, Sanchez struggled to get the ball down the field and tossed two interceptions. The rookie now has three games with at least two INTs this season. He's now completed fewer than 60% of his throws in seven straight games and has only topped 200 yards three times all season. The Jets have very difficult passing match-ups over the next three weeks as they face New England, Carolina, and Buffalo. Sanchez should be left on fantasy benches for the foreseeable future as he lacks the arm strength to take advantage of down field threats Cotchery and Braylon Edwards. The loss of check down RB Leon Washington is also proving to be very costly for the passing game.

RB Julius Jones, SEA

Jones was knocked out of the week 10 game versus Arizona with a chest injury (which has now been diagnosed as bruised ribs accompanied by internal bleeding in his lung) that kept him in the hospital overnight. Justin Forsett stepped in and rushed for over 120 yards against the stout Arizona rush defense and figures to have an expanding role no matter how quickly Jones recovers. Seattle has a very favorable schedule for the remainder of the season (following their week 11 match-up in Minnesota), but Forsett is the RB that figures to benefit the most. JJ hasn't managed a 100-yard performance since week 1 against St. Louis, and with a declining role going forward he makes for nothing more than a flex/RB3 play for the remainder of 2009.

RB Marshawn Lynch, BUF

The Buffalo Bills are in free fall and decided to axe the head coach this week. The firing of Dick Jauron was long over due, but they should also consider firing the entire offensive line. The Bills are averaging only 16 points a game and the league's youngest offensive line has allowed 25 sacks. Lynch is now in a 50/50 time split with Fred Jackson, and week 10 marked the second straight week with just nine attempts. Lynch is averaging just 3.2 yards per carry this season and is nothing more than a flex play. He also only found the end zone once and has yet to top 70 yards. With the rash of big name injuries this past week, Forsett (Sea) and Snelling (Atl) will likely be more productive over the next few weeks. The upcoming schedule is unfavorable (Miami, Jets, New England over the next month) and the Bills' offense has given few signs of life. Also, the Bills' defense is yielding an average of 23 pts/game and they have one of the worst run defenses in the league (which has made it difficult for them to get off the field, leaving fewer opportunities for the offense).

RB Michael Turner, ATL

Turner had a great start to week 10 as he gained 111 yards on 9 carries in the first half. However, he suffered a high ankle sprain, which sidelined him for the 2nd half and there are fears that it could cost him a month (if not the remainder of the season). Turner is a power back, but he does have a slashing style that makes this injury more troublesome. He is only 27, so owners can pray for a quick recovery; in the meantime: run, don't walk, to the waiver wires and pick up Jason Snelling (averaging close to 5 yards per carry) as he has a decent chance to pick up multiple starts