State of the Nation

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By Jason Stolberg

New England: The good news -- the Patriots’ were firing on all cylinders in Week 11, blasting the Colts 59-24, getting scores from offense, defense, and special teams.

The bad news -- on the last extra point to make the score a ridiculous 59, Rob Gronkowski gronked his own forearm and ended up breaking it as a result. 

Which begs the question… why was Gronkowski even out there in the 4^th quarter of a rout, and why was he blocking on an extra point of all things?

None of that really matters at this point, as he’s out for probably the rest of the fantasy season and owners will just have to make do with whatever they can scrounge off the waiver wire. 

This does make Aaron Hernandez owners happy though, as he should come back to find the TE duties all to himself this week. Also, anyone wise enough to pick up Julian Edelman will be rewarded, as he’s seen an uptick in his playing time and should help pick up some of the slack left from Gronk’s absence.

Of course, Tom Brady will keep plugging away with his standard 300-yard and three TD efforts, and even against a Jets defense that has played fairly tough of late, there’s no reason to think Brady won’t get his normal stat line. 

Wes Welker might be a bit corralled, as the Jets are ranking in the top 5 of pass defenses against the top opponent pass catcher. Welker is still worth his weight in PPR leagues, but don’t expect a score here.

Stevan Ridley will likely get a lot of work, as the Jets have been vulnerable to power running backs the last few weeks, so his skills will translate best in the New England backfield. Also if you’re desperate for a flex play, Danny Woodhead might not be a bad play, as he usually seems to show up well in the stat lines against the Jets.

Good Start: QB Tom Brady, RB Stevan Ridley, WR Wes Welker, TE Aaron Hernandez

Middle of the Road:  WR Brandon Lloyd, WR Julian Edelman, RB Danny Woodhead

Bad Start:  RB Shane Vereen

 

New York: Finally the Jets got off the deck and found their fight, beating a scrappy St. Louis Rams team in Week 11. Now they return home to play against divisional thorn New England, a team they do traditionally play fairly tough.

Unfortunately for the Jets, their offense still is in complete disarray, and even though Mark Sanchez notched the win and didn’t make any mistakes, he still didn’t look very good doing it. The Jets just don’t have the talent to keep up with the Patriots on offense, especially when Sanchez is forced to air it out 30+ times a game, which he’s bound to have to do here.

With that many attempts though, his pass catchers should be fairly useful; look for decent games from Jeremy Kerley and even Chaz Schilens, and we should see Dustin Keller reemerge to a fringe flex territory or injury replacement candidate.

Shonn Greene continues to plod his way to more of a time share situation with Bilal Powell, who got 11 carries and the two rushing touchdowns for the Jets in Week 11. Rex Ryan has said that Greene, Powell, and Joe McKnight will all get reps on offense this week, further muddying an already muddy RB committee situation.

Good Start: WR Jeremy Kerley

Middle of the Road: QB Mark Sanchez, WR Chaz Schilens, RB Bilal Powell

Bad Start: RB Shonn Greene, RB Joe McKnight, TE Dustin Keller

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