If you haven’t heard, Troy Polamalu is currently listed as doubtful for the Steelers’ game this week against the Jets. How might this affect your fantasy football team?
If you own the Steelers’ defense, it isn’t like you won’t start it, but you obviously don’t like that Polamalu will be out. Polamalu, personally, has been a fantasy gold mine recently, with four interceptions in his last four games, including two and a touchdown in last week’s game against the Bengals. The Steelers’ D still has a great matchup against a struggling Jets team, but that matchup just got a little less favorable.
From the perspective of Jets fantasy players, it’s hard to see how you can take advantage of Polamalu’s absence. Polamalu doesn’t line up against receivers, so this is unlikely to affect Santonio Holmes much. Against a different team, Polamalu’s absence might make the tight end or running back a better play, because Polamalu might ordinarily end up covering them, but here, quarterback Mark Sanchez is struggling badly. It’s possible the Jets could try to exploit Polamalu’s replacement Ryan Mundy by getting the ball to Dustin Keller more, so maybe Keller becomes a slightly better play, but that’s only if Sanchez can get him the ball. And running backs LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene tend not to be big factors in the passing game.