Following their bye week, the Falcons are ready to take on the Indianapolis Colts this Sunday. As far as all things fantasy are concerned, this is good news. The Colts are not a good football team, and I think mostly anyone who even casually follows the NFL can figure that out.
As I've already mentioned, Indy is repping the second-worst total defense in the NFL while allowing an average of 144.0 rushing yards per game. An offense that ranks 30th in total yards hasn't been much better for the struggling Colts. So while I love to kick an opposing team when they're down as much as the next guy (not really), I am quite serious when I say "start every Falcon you own." No benching required.
START
Matt Ryan- Ryan has had a pretty mediocre season thus far, but this easy matchup looks to be a way for Matty Ice to get back on track. He'll finally have a healthy Julio Jones back on the outside again, and Roddy White will have a fresh pair of legs coming off that all-important bye week. Plus, he should be better than most other options at QB this week.
Michael Turner- Turner has continued to be the Falcons feature back in 2011. He's gotten a ton of carries, and the abysmal Colts run defense means he'll have another productive week if not a great one.
Roddy White- Though Jerraud Powers has been one of the bright spots in a weak Colts secondary, Roddy White should also join the list of Falcons to have productive days. Indy is currently allowing the second most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers, and with Julio not at 100% Roddy is still receiving target No. 1.
Julio Jones- But that doesn't mean you shouldn't start him. He's been confirmed as an expected starter already, and he's likely to be matched up with the struggling Jacob Lacey in coverage. In fact, Jones will have yet another size advantage over either starting cornerback (both are 5'10). That also increases his chances of catching his first NFL touchdown (how has he not caught one yet?).
Tony Gonzalez- The Colts have actually been very good against opposing tight ends (they're allowing the seventh-fewest number of fantasy points per game to TEs). But Gonzalez is still deserving of a start if only for the fact that he's been Ryan's favorite red zone target by far this season. Stick with Tony G.
Matt Bryant- He's easily been the most consistent fantasy performer on the Falcons, having not missed a field goal all year. He'll still be in a dome this week, so no reason you shouldn't start him.
Atlanta D/ST- Yep, even the Colts offense has been bad. That actually makes Atlanta's defense a pretty good play this week. Curtis Painter has struggled, and while their pass protection has actually been pretty good they tend to... um... not score. So, I'd even recommend starting these guys this week.
For more, check out Falcons blog The Falcoholic and Colts blog Stampede Blue