Getty Gallery: 2/7
Start: WR Calvin Ridley vs. Bucs
Sit: WR John Brown at Titans
The Falcons offense is back in Atlanta, which means Calvin Ridley and even Mohamed Sanu are solid starts this week. During the Falcons last two home games, Ridley had 11 receptions for 200 yards and five touchdowns. The Falcons are facing the worst passing defense in the league this week.
Tampa Bay is allowing 358 yards per game, the most in the NFL by 15 yards. The Bucs are one of only two teams who are allowing at least 300 passing yards each week. Matt Ryan explained why he thought Ridley has been able to contribute right away.
"He's done an excellent job for us coming in, and the reason he's gotten those looks is because we got a pretty good guy on the other side," Ryan told ESPN. "And Julio creates matchup problems for the defense and requires so much coverage that other guys get really good opportunities. Calvin has taken advantage of those opportunities and done a really nice job."
You could get away with starting both Ridley and Sanu this week against a terrible Bucs defense. If I could only pick one, I would prioritize Ridley.
It seems like we explain this every week, but the Falcons understand their only chance to win each week is to outscore teams with their offense. Thanks to multiple members of the secondary and linebacker core being lost for the season, the Falcons have been a team where offenses take advantage of their misfortune.
John Brown Faces a Difficult Titans Secondary
Brown is coming off his worst performance of the season with four receptions for 58 yards against the Browns. This week, the Ravens wide receiver faces a Titans secondary that ranks No. 3 in the NFL for yards allowed at just 210 yards per game.
You may be in a situation where you have to start Brown, which is okay as long as you are tempering your expectations. With such a difficult matchup, you should not expect Brown to be more than a WR3 for Week 6.
Baltimore only managed to score nine points last week against the Browns. Their offensive struggles are likely to continue this week against the Titans. Joe Flacco spoke about the team's offensive woes after their loss to the Browns.
“We just weren’t able to keep and sustain it for anything significant,” Flacco told the Baltimore Sun. “We had our chances. In these kind of games when you have little chances, you have to be able to take advantage of them. The couple we had, we probably just didn’t execute well.”
According to CBS Sports, Brown managed to catch just four of his 14 targets against the Browns. If you are looking at this positively, you would note that 14 targets are a lot for one receiver. The downside is Brown only converted on four of these opportunities, which is a very bad percentage.
Sit Brown where you can, and otherwise expect him to produce as a WR3 against the Titans.