2012 Fantasy Football, Week 17 Free Agent Fix: Roll the Dice With Dennis Pitta
Dennis Pitta
Maybe your starter is banged up. Maybe they have a bad matchup. Whatever the case, you’re looking for a quick Fix, and we’ve got you covered. Every week, we’ll scan the matchups and provide you with two or three favorable options that are available in the majority of Fantasy Leagues. With your season winding down, the Free Agent Fix serves up a TE on the rise and a defensive unit with huge Week 17 potential.
San Diego Chargers DEF/ST
Fantasy football is a game of matchups, and there are few matchups more appealing to a defense than a home date with the Raiders. Throw in the fact that it will be either Matt Leinart or Terrelle Pryor under center for Oakland, and you’ve got all the ingredients for a huge afternoon.
In Week 16, the Chargers sacked Jets’ QB Greg McElroy 11 times in his first NFL start. They’ve registered eight takeaways over their last four games, and have been tough on the run all year, allowing just 95.1 YPG. That doesn’t bode well for an Oakland team that will undoubtedly ask Darren McFadden to carry a heavy load on Sunday. That’s going to be a tall order. We expect the box to be stacked all day, making life miserable for DMC before San Diego is forced to go to the air. The turnovers will follow.
San Diego is owned in only 49% of Yahoo leagues. Feel free to add them, and start them with confidence.
Dennis Pitta, TE, Baltimore Ravens
Dennis Pitta has had a solid year at a position where your options are often limited. His only problem has been consistency. Three times this year, Pitta was held to one catch or less. Back on September 27, the Browns shut him out entirely. That kind of feast-or-famine production can be bad for business, but we like what we’ve seen the past few weeks enough to think Pitta is worth a roll of the dice. He has averaged 5/76/1 in the Ravens’ last three games, and is still available in 55% of Yahoo leagues.
TE Ed Dickson returned in Week 16 after missing four weeks with a knee injury, but we don’t see Dickson as a real threat to Pitta’s opportunities. Yes, we’re aware that Pitta managed just five targets against the Giants last week. We attribute that more to the incredible success that Baltimore was having in the running game and picking on CB Corey Webster downfield. They’ll face a much better run defense in Cincinnati on Sunday, which should open the door for a strong effort from Pitta.
Written by Aaron Schuldiner exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com. For more great fantasy analysis, follow Aaron on Twitter @SheaLivesOn.
San Diego Chargers DEF/ST
Fantasy football is a game of matchups, and there are few matchups more appealing to a defense than a home date with the Raiders. Throw in the fact that it will be either Matt Leinart or Terrelle Pryor under center for Oakland, and you’ve got all the ingredients for a huge afternoon.
In Week 16, the Chargers sacked Jets’ QB Greg McElroy 11 times in his first NFL start. They’ve registered eight takeaways over their last four games, and have been tough on the run all year, allowing just 95.1 YPG. That doesn’t bode well for an Oakland team that will undoubtedly ask Darren McFadden to carry a heavy load on Sunday. That’s going to be a tall order. We expect the box to be stacked all day, making life miserable for DMC before San Diego is forced to go to the air. The turnovers will follow.
San Diego is owned in only 49% of Yahoo leagues. Feel free to add them, and start them with confidence.
Dennis Pitta, TE, Baltimore Ravens
Dennis Pitta has had a solid year at a position where your options are often limited. His only problem has been consistency. Three times this year, Pitta was held to one catch or less. Back on September 27, the Browns shut him out entirely. That kind of feast-or-famine production can be bad for business, but we like what we’ve seen the past few weeks enough to think Pitta is worth a roll of the dice. He has averaged 5/76/1 in the Ravens’ last three games, and is still available in 55% of Yahoo leagues.
TE Ed Dickson returned in Week 16 after missing four weeks with a knee injury, but we don’t see Dickson as a real threat to Pitta’s opportunities. Yes, we’re aware that Pitta managed just five targets against the Giants last week. We attribute that more to the incredible success that Baltimore was having in the running game and picking on CB Corey Webster downfield. They’ll face a much better run defense in Cincinnati on Sunday, which should open the door for a strong effort from Pitta.
Written by Aaron Schuldiner exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com. For more great fantasy analysis, follow Aaron on Twitter @SheaLivesOn.
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