 | ||
 | | |
Week Nine | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Byes:Chicago, Miami, New York Giants, St. Louis Arizona at Tampa Bay Bench: Kurt Warner, QB, Cardinals: The Bucs have the number 2 pass defense in the league right now, and they’ve also notched 16 sacks on the season, which means Warner, who I wouldn’t exactly call “rugged” might be on his back quite a bit. Start: Anquan Boldin, WR, Cardinals: Now that the rickety K-Warn is back in the fold, Boldin is back on top as Arizona’s de-facto number 1 receiver. He caught 2 TD passes from Warner in Week 7. Edgerrin James, RB, Cardinals: The Edge is the only option in Arizona’s backfield, and he should find room against a Bucs D that has surrendered 124 yards per game and 8 rushing scores on the season. Carolina at Tennessee Bench: Vince Young, QB, Titans (and the rest of the Titan WR’s): This situation is quickly becoming Mike Vick ver. 2.0 as it pertains to passing numbers. Vince has been horrendous, and with him, all of his wideouts. You can do better. Start: LenDale White, RB, Titans: The portly playmaker out of USC has been a pleasant surprise for fantasy owners. Nice that he’s getting the majority of looks in the Titans run-first scheme. Cincinnati at Buffalo Bench: Kenny Watson, RB, Bengals: It’s been a nice run for Ken, who got his bell rung last week and who, rumor has it, will welcome Rudi Johnson back into the backfield. Keep your eye on injury reports for both players. Start: JP Losman, QB, Bills: Normally I wouldn’t recommend starting Losman (okay, never), but take special note of the fact that he faces the Bengals, who make all quarterbacks look like Joe Montana. Denver at Detroit Bench: Jon Kitna, QB, Lions: Kitna has cooled considerably after a fast start, and doesn’t figure to do much this week against a stingy Broncos secondary. Start: Kevin Jones, RB, Lions: Jones found running lanes last week against Chicago, and should absolutely destroy the Broncos, who made Ryan Grant look like an All-Pro last week. Green Bay at Kansas City Bench: Ryan Grant, RB, Packers: The temptation, after Monday night, would be to start Grant (see above), who was a backup at Notre Dame and has been a journeyman in the league. Unfortunately, Grant won’t get to play the Broncos each week, and will share the ball with Vernand Morency. Start: Larry Johnson, RB, Chiefs: In three out of his last four games, Larry has looked like himself, gaining well over 100 yards, receiving well over 20 carries, and finding the end zone twice. The Chiefs have come to their senses and realized they still don’t have a passing game, and should feed the rock to Johnson often on Sunday. Brett Favre, QB, Packers: There are good years and bad years to own Brett Favre and this, by all appearances, looks like a good year in part because Favre has had over 40 pass attempts in 4 of 7 starts. Jacksonville at New Orleans Bench: Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, Jags: MJD has been hot lately, but New Orleans is surprisingly stout on the ground, surrendering only 98 YPG and 4 scores on the season. Start: Drew Brees, QB, Saints: Brees has been on fire over the last three weeks a trend which should continue against Jacksonville’s middling pass defense. Marques Colston, WR, Saints: The beneficiary of Brees’ on-fire-ness has been Colston, who you hopefully didn’t unload in the first month of the season. San Diego at Minnesota Bench: Chester Taylor, RB, Vikings: A moment of silence as we reflect on the career of the gritty speedster out of ToledoÉthis is Adrian Peterson’s show for the foreseeable future. Start: Adrian Peterson, RB, Vikings: Peterson is now the “starter” and is the only Viking you can ever seriously consider starting. Philip Rivers, QB, Chargers: Rivers should continue his hot streak against Minnesota’s suspect secondary. San Francisco at Atlanta Bench: Warrick Dunn, RB, Falcons: This is one of those games where you look at the lineups and realize there’s really nobody worth starting to be found on either roster. That said, Dunn is ready to be put out to pasture, and have the keys handed over to Jerious Norwood. Start: Joey Harrington, QB, Falcons: Call it pluck, but Harrington just keeps finding himself in starting situations. The fact of the matter is, there are more bad quarterbacks than good ones starting in the NFL right now, and Harrington may actually be a decent start against San Fran’s spotty secondary. Washington at New York Jets Bench: Kellen Clemens, QB, Jets: Jets fans should resist the urge to think that Clemens is the answer, as quite frankly this team just sucks. He also may be without the services of Laveraneus Coles, who was concussed last week. Start: Clinton Portis, RB, Redskins: Why? He’s playing the Jets, that’s why. Seattle at Cleveland Bench: Jamal Lewis, RB, Browns: The Seahawks have only given up 5 rushing scores on the year, and don’t figure to surrender one to the plodding Lewis. Start: Passing Games, Both Teams: Hard to believe, but Derek Anderson is a top-five fantasy quarterback, and Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow have been reaping the benefits. These players are every-week starts. On the flip side, the Seahawks should welcome back Deion Branch and DJ Hackett this week, making their passing game more attractiveÉit also helps to face Cleveland and its Conference USA esque pass defense. Houston at Oakland Bench: Daunte Culpepper, QB, Raiders: Ahh, if only C-Pep could play the Dolphins every week. After a breakout performance in Week 4, Culpepper has returned to earth, and should return to your bench for the foreseeable future. Start: A Texans RB Provided That RB Isn’t Named Ron Dayne: If the Texans can get Adimchinobe Echemandu back up to speed after a promising debut last week, he might be worth a flyer, as the Raiders surrender nearly 150 yards a game on the ground. New England at Indianapolis Bench: Laurence Maroney, RB, Patriots: The only player who probably won’t figure prominently in the de-facto Super Bowl is Maroney, who hasn’t sniffed the end zone in a very long time, and won’t against the Colts. Start: Everyone Else, Both Teams: With the caveat, however, that the Colts posses the number 1 pass defense in football right now, meaning that Brady may only toss 3 or 4 TD passes. Dallas at Philadelphia Bench: Julius Jones and Marion Barber, Cowboys: We don’t have to tell you to bench Jones, but Barber, usually an attractive start, won’t find the stripe against a Philly D that has only given up 2 rushing TD’s this season. Start: Jason Witten, TE, Cowboys: Has been a favorite target of Tony Romo this season, and has put up respectable WR numbers, going over 100 yards twice and catching 10 balls in Week 7. Baltimore at Pittsburgh Bench: Running Backs, Both Teams: Both Fast Willie and McGahee have had nice seasons thus far, but both of these run defenses are unbelievable. This is shaping up to be a classic 14-10 type of matchup, and those 24 points figure to be scored by WR’s and K’s. Start: Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Steelers: Big Ben has 15 TD passes this season and has looked much more comfortable all the way around. If anyone finds a way to score in this game I think it’s Roethlisberger. Sleepers Brandon Stokley, WR, Broncos: Has 10 catches for 141yards in the last 2 weeks, as Shanny has finally realized that Stokley is a good player. He makes the Broncos and Jay Cutler better. DJ Hackett, WR, Seahawks: Returns from a high ankle sprain (good) and faces the Cleveland Browns (better). Michael Bush, RB, Raiders: Bush makes this list not because he is usable this week, but because he comes off the PUP and may be worth a pickup in keeper leagues. Oakland’s running game has been spotty at best this season, and Bush may be the future. Ted Kluck is the author of three books, including “Paper Tiger: One Athlete’s Journey to the Underbelly of Pro Football.” Visit him online at www.tedkluck.com.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| | | | | | | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[Home] [Newsletters] [FREE Plays] [Publications] | ||
| | |