Thursday, October 04, 2012

Time To Bench Greg Jennings This Week For Your Fantasy Team

Two other Packers were listed on the injury report, S M.D. Jennings and DE Ryan Pickett, who were both hurt during the Saints game, but it would be a surprise if either of them were out against the Colts. Unlike the Seahawks game, when the Packers left Jennings as a game time decision, they've decided he needs time to rest. His groin injury is lingering and Mike McCarthy is frustrated, so letting him rest is probably the best decision.

So what does it mean for the Packers? Here are the wide receiver rankings for their top four wide receivers according to Football Outsiders:

Player DYAR Rank Passes Yards TD
Jones 77 12 23191 3
Cobb 49 26 21162 0
Nelson 42 33 31260 1
Jennings -19 75 2278 1

Jennings had his ranking slip since last week, but there are now more receivers with over 15 pass attempts. He's now further away from the bottom of the list after recording a touchdown reception against the Saints. Still, he only has 78 yards for the season, with a poor 55% catch rate, so it's understandable. He's unlikely to improve those numbers if he tries to play when he's hurt.

Donald Driver isn't ranked by Football Outsiders because he's only had 2 receptions, although one of them was for a touchdown. He should have more opportunities against the Colts' 26th ranked pass defense, and all of the receivers could be breakout candidates. You'd have to put Jordy Nelson at the top of the list because he's been targeted the most this season (31 times).

A lot of this will depend on how the Colts play because the Packers have different ways to beat them. If the Colts blitz, it could force TE Jermichael Finley to block more and would likely involve more short passes to Cobb and RB Cedric Benson. If the Colts play a deep zone to take the sidelines away from Jones and Nelson, it could open up the intermediate routes for Finley. If the Colts stay with a single deep safety, it could provide great one-on-one match-ups for Jones and Nelson.

Maybe all of them will get into the game as the Colts try different defensive alignments to shut down the offense. QB Aaron Rodgers has said he likes playing indoors, so maybe it will be a good day for whoever touches the ball.

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