Stompin' Tom Connors
Footballguy
It's hopefully the week us Ryan Mathews owners have been waiting for since we drafted him a month or so ago.
Many of us received some relative value on the dollar watching Mathews slide from a projected Top 5 back pre-preseason/pre-clavicle break, to an upside RB2 who slid in drafts as others went for more (*ahem*) durable options like Fred Jackson. (That's not to say FJax is not durable; more like "Hey, you never know what's going to happen week to week in this crazy world we call FF.")
Anyway, here we are. Week 3, with Ryan taking the field as the projected starter against an Atlanta D who was shredded by McGahee last night, and let the Chiefs RBs roll up a combined 132 and a TD against them in Week 1s tilt. This does not seem to be the same stout ATL run D as last year, but they may just needed to get their sea legs under them, and are rolling after a tidy defeat of Manning's Broncs. Then again, they have to be on the road on a short week.
On Mathews side is an Oline that enabled the likes of Battle, Brinkley, McClain and Brown to put up 120 and 2 last week against the woeful Titans, and they are riding a 2-0 streak as well. Mathews is rested and likely itching to go. That said, while the Chargers running game wasn't able to get it going against the Raiders, it's not as if they were facing top echelon Ds the last two weeks.
So, prognosticators, what are you expecting from the guy we are counting on to elevate our team's play in the halfback slot? Will he get the full load or will the team ease him in and use Battle in rotation? Will he show some rust or will he be raring to take on 20+ carries? Will SD prove they are for real this year, or will they fold like a house of cards, even at home, to their first real challenge of the season in an all-around well-balance team in ATL?
I am imagining Ryan as a lock for 100 all purpose -- 18 for 75 on the ground, 4 for 25 through the air -- and a TD to boot.
You?
ETA, or should I say, ETR(emove) the various extraneous t's I used in his last name....
Many of us received some relative value on the dollar watching Mathews slide from a projected Top 5 back pre-preseason/pre-clavicle break, to an upside RB2 who slid in drafts as others went for more (*ahem*) durable options like Fred Jackson. (That's not to say FJax is not durable; more like "Hey, you never know what's going to happen week to week in this crazy world we call FF.")
Anyway, here we are. Week 3, with Ryan taking the field as the projected starter against an Atlanta D who was shredded by McGahee last night, and let the Chiefs RBs roll up a combined 132 and a TD against them in Week 1s tilt. This does not seem to be the same stout ATL run D as last year, but they may just needed to get their sea legs under them, and are rolling after a tidy defeat of Manning's Broncs. Then again, they have to be on the road on a short week.
On Mathews side is an Oline that enabled the likes of Battle, Brinkley, McClain and Brown to put up 120 and 2 last week against the woeful Titans, and they are riding a 2-0 streak as well. Mathews is rested and likely itching to go. That said, while the Chargers running game wasn't able to get it going against the Raiders, it's not as if they were facing top echelon Ds the last two weeks.
So, prognosticators, what are you expecting from the guy we are counting on to elevate our team's play in the halfback slot? Will he get the full load or will the team ease him in and use Battle in rotation? Will he show some rust or will he be raring to take on 20+ carries? Will SD prove they are for real this year, or will they fold like a house of cards, even at home, to their first real challenge of the season in an all-around well-balance team in ATL?
I am imagining Ryan as a lock for 100 all purpose -- 18 for 75 on the ground, 4 for 25 through the air -- and a TD to boot.
You?
ETA, or should I say, ETR(emove) the various extraneous t's I used in his last name....
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I drafted Matthews at the end of the second round of a 14-team league, and Martin at the end of the third (3rd round reverse). Dallas, whom Martin faces, is ranked 23rd versus the run. The Falcons are 25th versus the run. Last years running defense stats (
