Fantasy Football Week 13 Matchup: Chicago Bears at Detroit Lions
Published by Jeremy Alpert on December 3, 2010
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
Week 13 Matchup: Chicago Bears (8-3) @ Detroit Lions (2-9)
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Rankings based on top 16 QBs, 32 RBs, 48 WRs and 16 TEs
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Chicago Bears (Bears Schedule)
Opponent Defensive Ranks
Detroit Pass Defense, 2010: Yards Allowed/Game 18th—TDs Allowed T-23rd
Detroit Rush Defense, 2010: Yards Allowed/Game 24th—TDs Allowed 30th
Chicago Offensive Cast
Jay Cutler (QB Week 13 Ranking: No. 7)
2010 Season: 180/292—for 2,311 yards & 16 TDs
Cutler keeps finding a way to keep himself within the good graces of the fantasy overlords. Every time you write him off, he ends up throwing four TDs out of nowhere while showing the discipline to be able to handle whatever defenses throw at him. Normally I would say this is the “let-down” game for the cocky kid, but against the Lions, it just can’t happen. In fact, in three games as a Bear, Cutler has averaged 263 yards and 3.3 TDs against these Lions, while Chicago has put up almost 35 points a game. Sounds pretty good to me.
Matt Forte (RB Week 13 Ranking: No. 14)
2010 Season: 164 carries for 684 yards & 4 TDs || 34 receptions for 353 yards & 3 TDs
Looks like Mike Martz found a way to make Forte productive within his “high-octane” passing offensive scheme. In fact, what people don’t quite know yet is that the Bears actually finished second in the league in run-to-pass ratio during the month of November at 52.9 percent. Looks like Forte is here to stay, folks.
Chester Taylor (RB Week 13 Ranking: Not ranked)
2010 Season: 82 carries for 213 yards & 1 TD || 14 receptions for 100 yards & 0 TDs
Taylor isn’t worth a whole hell of a lot in the fantasy world.
Johnny Knox (WR Week 13 Ranking: No. 18)
2010 Season: 40 receptions for 740 yards & 2 TDs
The Detroit pass D can and WILL be beaten this Sunday. Johnny Knox is still the main guy for Cutler and remains the most likely candidate to break off a long one at any time.
Devin Hester (WR Week 13 Ranking: Not ranked)
2010 Season: 31 receptions for 370 yards & 2 TDs
He’s still one of the most electric players in the league, but his special teams usage takes away from his offensive capabilities, so don’t bother playing him unless your league adds points for return yardage.
Earl Bennett (WR Week 13 Ranking: No. 41)
2010 Season: 32 receptions for 353 yards & 3 TDs
Bennett has always had the closest bond with Cutler, seeing as how they played in college together, and last week the connection showed in spades. Against a weak Detroit secondary, the trend could continue.
Devin Aromashodu (WR Week 13 Ranking: Not ranked)
2010 Season: 8 receptions for 120 yards & 0 TDs
Aromashodu remains one of the bigger disappointments on the year for both the Bears and fantasy owners.
Greg Olsen (TE Week 13 Ranking: Not ranked)
2010 Season: 29 receptions for 331 yards & 5 TDs
The Lions are pretty darn good at defending tight ends (tied for fourth in fantasy points allowed), so don’t think too hard about using Olsen this week.
Detroit Lions (Lions Schedule)
Opponent Defensive Ranks
Chicago Pass Defense, 2010: Yards Allowed/Game 17th—TDs Allowed 2nd
Chicago Rush Defense, 2010: Yards Allowed/Game 2nd—TDs Allowed T-20th
Detroit Offensive Cast
Shaun Hill (QB Week 13 Ranking: Not ranked)
2010 Season: 215/351—for 2,206 yards & 13 TDs
Hill has a broken finger on his throwing hand and might be out for the season. Big time bummer, especially for Megatron owners.
Drew Stanton (QB Week 13 Ranking: Not ranked)
2010 Season: 20/36—for 233 yards & 1 TD
Shaun Hill may be down for the count, so the Lions will have to turn to third-stringer Drew Stanton for the time being. Actually, he’s not all that bad, so go ahead and pick him up if you’re in a major bind.
Jahvid Best (RB Week 13 Ranking: Not ranked)
2010 Season: 127 carries for 382 yards & 4 TDs || 49 receptions for 375 yards & 1 TD
Best is just too banged up to be considered a viable fantasy threat at this point. Sit him down until he’s healthy enough to make a difference…which could be next year.
Maurice Morris (RB Week 13 Ranking: Not ranked)
2010 Season: 30 carries for 96 yards & 2 TDs || 16 receptions for 114 yards & 0 TDs
With Best hobbled, Morris will again receive the most touches this week. However, that in no way means you should actually play him against a stout Chicago rush D.
Calvin Johnson (WR Week 13 Ranking: No. 10)
2010 Season: 59 receptions for 806 yards & 11 TDs
For as talented as Megatron is, nothing seems to ever go his way. If it’s not his own injuries, surely his favorite QB’s will all go down. Stanton will look for him every chance he gets, which still gives Calvin some value, but he won’t be the player you were hoping for down the stretch at this point.
Nate Burleson (WR Week 13 Ranking: No. 44)
2010 Season: 40 receptions for 468 yards & 4 TDs
Burleson might actually take a bigger hit with the Shaun Hill injury than Megatron does. Backup QBs, and especially third-string QBs, tend to depend on their tight ends and most talented receiver more than anyone else in order to avoid looking like they don’t belong in the league making an NFL salary. Burly may have enough talent to squeak by with some decent numbers, but don’t expect too much.
Brandon Pettigrew (TE Week 13 Ranking: No. 14)
2010 Season: 55 receptions for 554 yards & 3 TDs
I’m interested to see how the Shaun Hill injury affects Pettigrew’s development as a tight end. It could really go either way, as Stanton could either end up depending on him even more for dump-offs, or neglect him while searching for Megatron and possible status enhancement. Take a chance if you have to, but if you don’t, wait and see what happens for a week.
Tony Scheffler (TE Week 13 Ranking: Not ranked)
2010 Season: 32 receptions for 283 yards & 1 TD
Scheff still isn’t one hundred percent, but either way, with a third-string QB in there, you can’t really call on a second-string tight end.
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