Monday Night Football sees a battle of AFC North rivals. The Pittsburgh Steelers visit the Cincinnati Bengals. What does it mean for fantasy football? Certainly many players have the Pittsburgh defense set for the start tonight. The Steelers can get turnovers in bunches and generally limit the opponents points. They've had a couple of down weeks fantasy-wise, and the Bengals will throw the football.
Fantasy Football Monday Night Preview, Week 9: Steelers Defense Vs. Palmer And Owens
The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals square-off on MNF. What’s the fantasy impact?
Carson Palmer to Terrell Owens has been a good connection recently. The Bengals do feed Cedric Benson the ball regularly, but the results have been decidedly middle of the road. It's doubtful he'll be able to get it going against a tough run defense. The Bengals will attack through the air, meaning Palmer, Owens and Ochocinco will have plenty of opportunities at fantasy points, but how many they'll get is in question.
Behind The Steel Curtain has a full game breakdown, here is their take on the Bengals WR corps against the Steelers secondary.
* Who do you think lines up against T.O.? My guess is Ike Taylor stays on Ocho Cinco, while the bigger Bryant McFadden matches up against the taller, more physical Owens. It's not those two that I'm as concerned about quite frankly. I'm more concerned that two rookies out of the Big 12 might have a big impact - Jordan Shipley and Jermaine Gresham. I'll be keeping a close eye on William Gay, who I imagine will be responsible for tracking Shipley at times in the slot.
The Bengals defense has been getting shredded recently, that's good news for owners of Ben Roethlisberger, Hines Ward and Rashard Mendenhall, among others. For a few weeks, it was injuries to the secondary that was the problem. That appears to be getting better, but Cincy Jungle tells us it's the defensive line that's the problem.
And quite frankly, injuries still pose a problem on the Bengals defense. Whereas before it was the secondary, now it's the defensive line.
Jonathan Fanene, last year's second-best pass rusher, is already out. Even though Antwan Odom, who led the team with eight quarterback sacks in 2009, is serving a four-game suspension for violating the league's drug policy, a knee injury suffered against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers already had him in a knee brace and likely missing several weeks anyway. Frostee Rucker (knee) was limited during practice last week and listed as questionable while Tank Johnson (knee), also listed as questionable, missed all of last week's practices.
If neither Rucker or Johnson can go, then expect Michael Johnson and Pat Sims to get the start respectively.
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