WR Rankings for Week 11

Anquan Boldin is just the man - he is in a prolific passing offense with fellow receivers to draw coverage off him, with a great matchup. On top of that, he's getting plenty of scoring targets in the red zone - more than Larry Fitzgerald since Boldin returned from injury. Could be a fairly huge day for Boldin, who is certainly the Anti-Mr.Glass round these parts.

Roddy White broke his streak of consecutive games with a TD in Week 9, but got back on track against New Orleans. Along with his fresh status as a weapon, he's getting tighter coverage and opportunities for catches are a little more scarce. But he's facing a secondary with it's fair share of problems, not the least of which is Champ Bailey's continuing absence. Bailey started practicing, but even with him, the secondary give up a lot of yards (242 per game) and TDs (14) with almost no sacks (3). They have a good pass rush, but the Falcons Oline has protected Ryan well and that should give White time to break free from coeverage and have himself a good day.

Brandon Marshall was thrown to a ton in the first half and would have had a truly monster game had he been able to hang onto a few passes he dropped. As it is, the late TD gave his day a little more oomph - but that's Marshall. he gets the opportunity, he has the ability, he just needs to maintain focus. Atlanta's secondary is shaky and as I mention in the review of Cutler, the run game is messy enough to where Cutler will have to throw. He will target Marshall early and often and I expect the WR to hang onto the ball better thisweek, putting him in line for a huge game.

So, Reggie Wayne was hurt last week, right? And he didn't practice Wednesday and Thursday, right? True on both counts. But last week he was questionable and all he did was catch 114 yards and a TD. Some people have him ranked farther back due to the questionable status but if he's in, this is where I have him. And I think he will be in and productive against a shaky Houston secondary that is playing better but will not be able to contain Wayne and Manning.

Steve Smith was just getting rolling going into last week, coming off three 100 yard games in a row. And then he biffed hard against a stouter than expected Oakland secondary and probably killed more owners than Bernard Berrian's donut. He gets back on track this week, against a horrific pass defense in the Lions. They have no corner that can match up to Smith and while I have Delhomme ranked fairly far back, that is in great part to the fact that DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart will get a huge workload. But when he throws, it will be to Smith and I think Smith will have a much better day than Delhomme.

Other Notes:
Yes, that's Dwayne Bowe at 10 - he has a Qb who can throw and is playing pretty well, Mark Bradley or not.... Hines Ward sits at 15, where he is an excellent red zone target and reliable pass catcher for Roethlisberger and is the steadiest thing in that offense..... At #16 Vincent Jackson is right behind Ward and like Steve Smith, is a guy who could have a better day than his QB does, even against a stout Steeler defense..... And yes, Terrell Owens is still a marginal top 20 guy, at 18, even with Romo back. Let's see if anything has changed since they weren't connecting enough before the injury to Romo...... Show of hands. When the season started, who would have forseen Houshmandzedah (31), Chad Johnson (Ocho Whatever at 33) and Plaxico Burress (35) on the bottom end of any rankings?

Wide receivers

1. Anquan Boldin, Cardinals at Seahawks
2. Roddy White, Falcons vs. Broncos
3. Brandon Marshall, Broncos at Falcons
4. Reggie Wayne, Colts vs. Texans
5. Steve Smith, Panthers vs. Lions
6. Andre Johnson, Texans at Colts
7. Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals at Seahawks
8. Calvin Johnson, Lions at Panthers
9. Greg Jennings, Packers vs. Bears
10. Dwayne Bowe, Chiefs vs. Saints
11. Marques Colston, Saints at Chiefs
12. Lee Evans, Bills vs. Browns
13. Antonio Bryant, Buccaneers vs. Vikings
14. Santana Moss, Redskins vs. Cowboys
15. Hines Ward, Steelers vs. Chargers
16. Vincent Jackson, Chargers at Steelers
17. Santonio Holmes, Steelers vs. Chargers
18. Terrell Owens, Cowboys at Redskins
19. Eddie Royal, Broncos at Falcons
20. Muhsin Muhammad, Panthers vs. Lions
21. Bernard Berrian, Vikings at Buccaneers
22. Lance Moore, Saints at Chiefs
23. Donald Driver, Packers vs. Bears
24. Steve Breaston, Cardinals at Seahawks
25. Donnie Avery, Rams at 49ers
26. Braylon Edwards, Browns at Bills
27. Devery Henderson, Saints at Chiefs
28. Michael Jenkins, Falcons vs. Broncos
29. Roy Williams, Cowboys at Redskins
30. Marvin Harrison, Colts vs. Texans
31. T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Bengals vs. Eagles
32. DeSean Jackson, Eagles at Bengals
33. Chad Ocho Cinco, Bengals vs. Eagles
34. Kevin Curtis, Eagles at Bengals
35. Plaxico Burress, Giants vs. Ravens

Back later with the RBs...