The Oakland Raiders are still looking for their first win of the season, and they would like to avoid joining the 2008-09 Detroit Lions as one of the only two teams to finish a full regular season with an 0-16 record. They enter their Week 11 matchup against the San Diego Chargers after getting pummeled last week by Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos in a 41-17 massacre. While there is some optimism to be had in the Oakland camp due to their near victory against San Diego in their 31-28 heartbreaker during Week 6, they were still torched by 313 passing yards, three TDs and zero INTs from Philip Rivers. Additionally, RB Branden Oliver rushed for 101 yards and a TD against them. Lastly, they gave up five catches, 103 yards and a TD to an enticing fantasy football WR for their rematch this week named Malcom Floyd.
Floyd owners have been justifiably disappointed with his performances since his explosion against Oakland. In his last three games, based on PPR scoring, he has produced 8.0, 9.8 and then 10 fantasy points, which is a far cry from his 21.3 points against the Raiders. While those are underwhelming outputs, the blame can’t be blamed on Floyd, Rivers or any of the Chargers offense. They had the unfortunate circumstances of facing the Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins for their last three contests. All three of those teams grade extremely well in pass coverage, according to Pro Football Focus. The Dolphins in particular have a grade of 12.8, which is outstanding, and has them ranked third among all pass coverages in the league. The Broncos’ grade of 5.8 and the Chiefs’ grade of 3.5 are nothing to take lightly either. Therefore, the fact that Floyd had fantasy outputs close to 10 points against those elite pass coverages is actually better than it seems. As for the Raiders, their pass coverage grade is an abysmal -21.3. This is the only number that Floyd owners need to remember when they consider starting him.
Perhaps the Chargers took the Raiders too lightly in their last game, and that’s why they had to squeeze out a victory late. It seems like a safe bet that this won’t happen in their rematch, especially since it’s within the Qualcomm Stadium as opposed to the O.co Coliseum.
There is no reason for Floyd not to repeat his previous performance against Oakland. Their secondary hasn’t magically improved and the Chargers will be looking to take out some frustration after their 38-0 humiliation at the hands of the Dolphins. Floyd owners can start him as a WR3 or in the Flex position as a sneaky play with tons of upside. It would be especially wise to deploy him this week, as the remainder of the Chargers’ schedule is comprised of more teams with strong and effective pass coverages.
Roje Smith is a Fantasy Sports writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @RoKnowsDFS, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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