I don't hear about this subject often enough in Fantasy Football, so I thought I would add some information to it.
I think the OL is extremely important to your fantasy team. In fact, I think you should follow the ups and downs of any offensive line that is associated with your quarterback or running back.
In their 2007 Football Prospectus, the Football Outsiders wrote a small article on the impact of a good defense on your fantasy players. Long story short, they found that a "stud" RB was likely to preform (on average) worse against a great run defense than was his likely replacement that was facing an average or below average run defense. The same thing applied to the quaterback position, but not as much to the wide receivers. Here is where your offensive line comes into play - they need to hold off the attack of an aggressive defense - and they need all their starters to do it.
Wondering why some of your favorite fantasy players are struggling? Here are some potential reasons why...
The Rams OL is a mess. Even when Steven Jackson comes back, he is in trouble. The Rams are without left tackle Orlando Pace, their original right and left guards, a backup tackle...and now they lost Adam Goldberg (starting right tackle) for at least 4 weeks.
The Bears OL took the blame for the loss in Detroit. For stretches of the game, they were without one of their best lineman John Tait - who sprained his ankle.
The Giants sacked the Eagles - TWELVE times on Sunday night? Huh? This is the same Giants team that didn't have secondary to stop anybody...and then they make McNabb look silly! I think this partly also had to do with Westbrook being out - McNabb had no one to dump off to to break a big play when the rush was on.
The Raiders OL - looking great - and rolling over everyone. One of the reasons for Lamont Jordan's success early. I would think that anyone filling in for Jordan (see Dominic Rhodes) might be as successful as Jordan - Fargas put up over 170 yards last week. Justin Fargas!
The Patriots OL is also looking dominant. Sure - Tom Brady is playing great. So is Randy Moss. But have you seen the time that Brady has had to throw the ball?
The Browns - yeah, they have some play makers in Winslow and Braylon Edwards. They've made great plays for sure. But how about that offensive line? Even with the injuries (see LeCharles Bentley), they've jelled great - and now the offense is successful. Even against the Ravens!
In summary, when looking at difficult matchups from week to week...also evaluate how your players offensive line is playing...and use that to your advantage.
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