Atlanta Falcons Week 16 Fantasy Analysis

Week 16 – @ NO – W 30-14

QB: Ryan a decent game against a bad D.  Should have been better for fantasy purposes.

RB: Jackson injured.  Freeman broke one long TD but got little else on the ground.  Had good receiving game.  Line still can’t block so doesn’t really matter who is running.

WR: Jones a big game and was beating coverage at will.  White okay but just doesn’t look like the same player as he was anymore.  Will surprise occasionally but consistency is gone.

TE: Toilolo an improved game but still not doing enough for consideration.  Have to hope for a vast off-season improvement, especially in his hands.

OL: Still terrible.  Did nothing for run game but was decent against a bad pass rush.  Needs huge improvement.

Def: Good pass rush against terrible line.  Nice job stopping the run but lead limited carries.  Gave up good games to TE and RB.  Decent games to WRs.

Atlanta Falcons Week 15 Fantasy Analysis

Week 15 – vs Pittsburgh – L 20-27

QB: Ryan another big game as line allowed him time to throw.  He’ll have them as long as he is protected.

RB: Jackson a decent game but is TD-dependent and not getting enough touches.  Looks like he could still be a stud in a different offense and behind a better line.

WR: Jones DNP.  Douglas another big game and is probably in the running for best WR handcuff.  White a big game as well despite some drops.  Really looks like he’s lost a step at this point.  Hester a big game but still the hardest to trust.

TE: Toilolo still doing nothing.  Wouldn’t be shocked if they get someone else next season.

OL: Playing a lot better but came against weaker D.  Really protecting the QB well right now.

Def: Great run D considering the opponent.  Got thrown on for a ton and wasn’t covering well.  No pass rush.  Gave up big games to RB, and #1 WR.  Decent games to the rest.

Atlanta Falcons Week 14 Fantasy Analysis

Week 14 – @ GB – L 37-43

QB: Ryan a huge game despite a slow start.  Got time and picked apart a weak secondary, as he should.

RB: Jackson still looks good and runs as hard as anyone in the league.  Just needs a better line in front of him.

WR: Jones a monster game and just dominated in this one.  Coverage just didn’t matter.  White a good game getting a TD but not much else.  Douglas also a nice TD grab.

TE: 1 catch for Toilolo.  Doesn’t seem to be developing at all right now.

OL: Really strong game all-around.  Better pass protecting in this one but wasn’t terrible run blocking.

Def: Obliterated.  Did nothing well.  Gave up huge games to QB, RBs, and #1 WR.  Just destroyed by an elite O.

Atlanta Falcons Week 13 Fantasy Analysis

Week 13 – vs Arizona – W 29-18

QB: Ryan a good fantasy game but had some really bad throws and should have thrown more picks.  Still looked pretty good most of the time.

RB: Jackson a good game against a tough D and still looks great when the blocking is there.  Running really hard.

WR: White DNP.  Jones a monster game against a tough CB.  Looked incredible.  Douglas was great and is always a solid play when an injury happens.

TE: Toilolo got a short TD but little else.  Same story all season.

OL: Strong game against tough D.  Run blocking was surprisingly good in this one.  Still a little tough to trust for now.

Def: Halped by shaky QB play.  Lead limited runs.  Gave up decent games to WRs.  Held everything else in check.

Atlanta Falcons Week 12 Fantasy Analysis

Week 12 – vs Cleveland – L 24-26

QB: Ryan with a few bad throws but a good game overall.  Was protected well at home again and hopefully that continues.

RB: Jackson a good game but not a ton of yards.  Rodgers looked a little better than Freeman this game.  Looks like the team will stick with Jackson as the workhorse.

WR: White and Jones good games and Hester decent.  Same story: can trust them at home but less confidence in them on the road.

TE: Toilolo did little.  Still TD-dependent and that’s clearly not changing at this point.

OL: Looked good in pass protection but did little for running game against improving D.  Makes the RBs so much more unstable for fantasy.

Def: Helped by bad QB throws for picks but gave up a ton of yards and should have given up more points.  Got run on and thrown on with ease.  Gave up monster to RB and good games to 3 WRs.  Held backup TE to little.

Atlanta Falcons Week 11 Fantasy Analysis

Week 11 – @ Carolina – W 19-17

QB: Ryan had average game as blocking was shaky again.  Just wasn’t able to convert on any big plays.  Looks good when he gets time but isn’t happening often.

RB: Jackson was disappointing in this one.  Freeman actually looked a little better and might steal some more carries in the coming weeks.  Worth keeping an eye on.

WR: White a big game getting the only TD.  Jones was decent.  Both are fine if QB has time to find them down field instead of on short throws only.

TE: Toilolo a couple catches and made one very impressive one.  Still not usable but hopefully is progressing.

OL: Still pretty bad.  Not a great game against a struggling D.  Still look better than earlier in season but will get dominated by elite D-lines.

Def: Some bad QB play and bad blocking helped.  Didn’t really stop the run and got thrown on for plenty.  Gave up good games to scrambling QB, #1 WR, and TE.

Atlanta Falcons Week 10 Fantasy Analysis

Week 10 – @ TB – W 27-17

QB: Ryan an okay game but should have been better considering opponent.  A lot of dropped passes.

RB: Jackson a big game and continues to look like he could carry the load if the blocking was there.  A nice option with this kind of match up.

WR: Jones and White both had big games despite some drops.  Did the bulk of the work in the passing game, as it should be.

TE: Toilolo did nothing but got an end zone target that wasn’t close enough to catch.  Ignore.

OL: An decent game all-around.  Could have run more but team wants to throw.  Pass blocking was pretty strong against good D-line.

Def: Pretty solid against the run but hurt on stat sheet by some QB scrambles.  Gave up a lot through the air.  Big games by QB, WRs, and TE.

Atlanta Falcons Week 8 Fantasy Analysis

Week 8 – vs Detroit (London) – L 21-22

QB: Ryan was solid as blocking was greatly improved and was able to step into throws.  Did have a couple bad plays and an atrocious interception.  Offense is adjusting to strengths but faded in this one.

RB: Jackson a fairly good game with TD but no receptions.  All catches were made by backups.  Running really hard and well when he gets room, however.

WR: White and Jones solid games but no TDs.   Numbers hurt by O running and trying to kill clock with early lead.  Failed and might force more throws even when they lead now.

TE: Continue ignoring.  Toilolo made a couple grabs but just isn’t targeted enough.

OL: Much improved in this one, particularly against a tough D-line.  Faded as the game wore on but both run and pass blocking looked a ton better.  Some quick-strike plays helped a ton as well.

Def: Stout against the run in this one.  Held RBs to virtually nothing on the ground.  Gave up huge games to QB, #1 WR, and receiving RB.  Still no pass rush.

Atlanta Falcons Week 7 Fantasy Analysis

Week 7 – @ Baltimore – L 7-29

QB: Ryan got no blocking and was forced to make mostly short and quick throws.  Looks good but had to get some better protection.

RB: Jackson did little along with other RBs.  Hard to trust with such a bad line, especially on the road.

WR: White a huge game making some good catches and shaking the drops from recent weeks.  Jones okay but the D clearly focused a little more on him instead of White.

TE: Toilolo better but still TD-dependent.  Wouldn’t risk.

OL: Awful.  Did little on run plays and almost zero pass blocking.  Got QB killed this game.

Def: Couldn’t stop much and burned by some big plays.  Gave up big games to RBs, WRs, and TE.  Just a bad unit, particularly on the road.

Atlanta Falcons Week 6 Fantasy Analysis

Week 6 – vs Chicago – L 13-27

QB: Ryan killed by receivers dropping passes.  Was on target and making good throws and they got dropped a ton.  Would not expect it to be this bad again.

RB: Team chose not to run and not sure why.  Jackson continues to look fine when given the chance.  Smith busted another long TD on a screen.  Still doubt he would ever get the starting job unless injury got him there.

WR: So many drops.  Jones a decent game and still the best by far.  White did little because of drops and took some shots.

TE: Toilolo a few catches but had 3 terrible drops.  Assuming this is the reason he wasn’t highly valued in fantasy going into the season.

OL: Decent run blocking on the few runs but awful against the pass rush.  Got Ryan hit and sacked quite a bit.  Pretty awful showing.

Def: All kinds of bad.  Got run on and thrown on at will.  Gave up monster to RB and 2 100+ yard WRs.  Just a terrible unit.