Week 9 Fantasy Football rankings

Last week was just ‘one of those weeks’ for fantasy football owners.

With duds at every position, there were many frustrated fantasy GMs out there, myself included.  Everyone has an off game from time to time, but some of last week’s numbers were horrific.

Victor Cruz (2/23/0), Vincent Jackson (2/40/0), and Calvin Johnson (3/46/0) all posted poor outings, and that’s just the beginning of the list at receiver.

Remember; one week is no reason to panic in fantasy.  Everyone posts a dud, and it can’t deter you from benching your star.  The frequency of Megatron’s poor games is troubling, but I’m sticking with him based on the talent theory.

Power through last week’s rough outings and stick with the guys who have gotten you to this point.

Quarterback

1. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints

One of the guys who struck out last week, Brees will be back to his usual 30-point self this week.  Brees is 7-0 all-time on Monday Night Football, and facing an Eagles secondary that has struggled against elite passing attacks (Detroit, Atlanta), Brees will rebound.

2. Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos

Peyton has defined elite over his past four games, throwing for 300+ yards and three TDs in each of them.  Nothing changes against Cincinnati this week.

3. Michael Vick, Philadelphia Eagles

Vick has been a roller coaster this season, but against New Orleans’ pass defense, I’ll trust guys with a lot less upside than Vick.

4. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

Arizona has been pretty good at limiting opposing passing attacks, but they haven’t faced Rodgers and the Packers yet.  Dismiss Rodgers’ struggles last week and start him confidently.

5. Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins

RG3 is looking to bounce back from a loss last week against Pittsburgh.  At home against Carolina, I expect him to do so, racking up plenty of fantasy points along the way.

6. Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

Ryan has been brilliant this season, solidifying himself as an elite quarterback.  After a big road win against Philly last week, expect Ryan and the Falcons to return home in style against a tough Cowboys defense.

7. Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh Steelers

Big Ben threw three TDs last week, and should continue throwing for scores this week against a pretty bad Giants secondary.

8. Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions

Stafford played his best game of the season last week against Seattle, and I look for him to take that play into Jacksonville.

9. Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts

The Colts keep winning, and Luck keeps chucking.  Start him with optimism against Miami this week.

10. Matt Schaub, Houston Texans

Schaub hasn’t blown anyone away this year, mostly due to star running back Arian Foster.  Against a pitiful Bills defense, there will be enough points to go around for both Foster and Schaub.

Running Back

1. Arian Foster, Houston Texans

If you play against Foster and his cupcake matchup this week, your only hope may be an early Texans blowout and lots of Ben Tate.  The only problem is that Foster is so good, he might score points from the bench.

2. Trent Richardson, Cleveland Browns

Richardson is the Brown’s best offensive weapon, and playing a lackluster Baltimore run defense, expect him to see a lot of touches.

3. Matt Forte, Chicago Bears

Forte finally rewarded owners with a touchdown last week, his first since week one.  I expect another one (or two) this week against a bad Tennessee defense.

4. LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia Eagles

McCoy is coming off his best fantasy performance of the year, and now faces one of the league’s worst defenses.  Sounds like a good time.

5. Ray Rice, Baltimore Ravens

Cleveland has given up 100 yards rushing to opponents more often than not this year; expect a heavy dose of Rice.

6. Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings

Peterson has back-to-back 100-yard outings now, and even against a stout Seattle defense, he’s one of the best options out there.

7. Darren McFadden, Oakland Raiders

DMC racked up 113 yards last week, and this week faces a middling Tampa Bay run defense.

8. Willis McGahee, Denver Broncos

The ageless McGahee is coming off a great game last week and now faces a similarly bad defense in Cincinnati.  I see no reason Willis won’t rack up 100 yards and a score.

9. Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Martin lit up a solid Vikings run defense last Thursday, rushing for 135 yards and a score as well as taking a screen pass 60+ yards to the house.  I have confidence that Martin can beat a sketchy Oakland front this week.

10. Alfred Morris, Washington Redskins

Morris has been a consistent fantasy performer in 2012, and against a weak Carolina run defense, he might break out.

11. Darren Sproles, New Orleans Saints

12. Mikel Leshoure, Detroit Lions

13. Ryan Mathews, San Diego Chargers

14. Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks

15. C.J. Spiller, Buffalo Bills

16. Reggie Bush, Miami Dolphins

17. Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs

18. Ahmad Bradshaw, New York Giants

19. Rashad Jennings, Jacksonville Jaguars

20. Fred Jackson, Buffalo Bills

Wide Receiver

1. Brandon Marshall, Chicago Bears

Marshall and his quarterback Jay Cutler have been locked in this year, and Tennessee doesn’t have an answer for the tandem.

2. Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos

His QB is on fire, and Thomas is reaping the benefits.

3. Mike Wallace, Pittsburgh Steelers

Facing a shaky Giants pass defense, I think Wallace will get by the defense for at least one big play, and probably more.

4. Marques Colston, New Orleans Saints

Brees has been feeding Colston the ball, chucking toward his big WR 51 times in the last four weeks.  Start him with confidence, even with Nnamdi Asomugha lurking.

5. Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers

Smith has back-to-back seven-catch weeks now, and faces a Washington defense that has struggled mightily defending opposing WRs.

6. Victor Cruz, New York Giants

Cruz posted a stinker last week, and dropped a few balls in doing so.  He had a similar outing in week one, and bounced back with 11 catches for 179 yards and a score in week two.

7. Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis Colts

Opposing defenses have started keying on Wayne lately, and have gotten burned elsewhere by QB Andrew Luck.  Even though his numbers have been down, I’m still starting Wayne without second thought, especially against a poor Miami pass defense.

8. Vincent Jackson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Don’t let his dud last week scare you; V Jax has been known to disappear at times.  He has also been known to tear Oakland apart.

9. Percy Harvin, Minnesota Vikings

Harvin is the number one WR in half-PPR formats, and is an every-week starter.  His matchup against Seattle’s physical secondary is the only thing limiting his upside this week.

10. Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons

White’s home numbers speak for themselves: he’s averaging over 20 points per game in the Georgia Dome.

11. Denarius Moore, Oakland Raiders

12. A.J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals

13. Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions

14. Torrey Smith, Baltimore Ravens

15. Andre Johnson, Houston Texans

16. Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers

17. Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals

18. Jeremy Maclin, Philadelphia Eagles

19. Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City Chiefs

20. Desean Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles

21. Dez Bryant, Dallas Cowboys

22. Brian Hartline, Miami Dolphins

23. Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons

24. Titus Young, Detroit Lions

25. James Jones, Green Bay Packers

Tight End

1. Jimmy Graham, New Orleans Saints

He returned to action last week, and caught a touchdown in the process.  It looks like Graham owners can once again start him and expect an elite performance.

2. Owen Daniels, Houston Texans

Daniels was red-hot going into the Texans’ bye week.  If I’m Gary Kubiak, I used the bye to find out more ways to get Daniels the ball.

3. Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta Falcons

Gonzo had his worst game of the season last week, catching just three balls for 29 yards.  I expect him to bounce back this week and score his 100^th touchdown in prime time on Sunday night.

4. Jason Witten, Dallas Cowboys

Witten went crazy last week, reeling in 18 of Tony Romo’s passes.  Not to be outdone by Gonzalez lining up for the opposing Falcons, Witten should have another good outing.

5. Brandon Pettigrew, Detroit Lions

Pettigrew has been up-and-down this year, but with 30 catches in his last five games, he’s a good option moving forward.

6. Jermaine Gresham, Cincinnati Bengals

With Champ Bailey blanketing A.J. Green, Andy Dalton may look Gresham’s way more than a few times this Sunday.

7. Heath Miller, Pittsburgh Steelers

I guess I really like the Steelers’ pass offense more than the Giants’ pass defense.  Fear the Terrible Towel.

8. Brent Celek, Philadelphia Eagles

Against New Orleans, there will be many fantasy-relevant Eagles.  Celek is one of them.

9. Jacob Tamme, Denver Broncos

Tamme has a good matchup in this game against a Bengals’ defense that has allowed opposing TEs to score 12.7 fantasy points per game.  Now if he can just take advantage…

10. Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers

Olsen faces Washington this week, who has given up the second-most fantasy points to opposing TEs.

 

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