Who to Start, Who to Sit–Week 9
Quarterbacks
Start: Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia Eagles vs. Seattle Seahawks. In five of his seven games McNabb has thrown one or zero touchdowns, and he has actually been pretty inconsistent. But now Donovan is finally getting his full offense back as Brian Westbrook looks to be back, as well as Kevin Curtis and Reggie Brown. Not to mention the Seahawks STINK! I know they just had a good game against the 49ers, but that isn’t really saying anything given the turnover machine they had at QB. McNabb should be able to throw for at least 250 yards and two touchdowns.
Start: Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons vs. Oakland Raiders. Ryan has five touchdowns in the past three weeks, and has shown maturity far beyond his experience in the NFL and has been good against bad pass defenses. He certainly has shown a chemistry with his number one receiver, Roddy White, and has been able to find him on a number of big plays. Bring in the Oakland Raiders. They aren’t the worst against the pass, but their defense is nothing to write home about, and Ryan should have plenty of opportunities to have another ground breaking game for the rookie.
Sit: Brett Favre, New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills. The Jets’ offensive line has been horrible this season, leaving the Hall of Famer running for his life for most of the season. And we all know what happens when Favre has to improvise and get on the move. Sometimes, it means a SportsCenter moment. However, most of the time it means someone wearing the other color jersey is going to be catching the ball. He has been doing that a lot lately, and not against great competition. Now, the tough Bills defense will be playing the Jets and I think that they will keep Brett under wraps. Look for a two or three interception game, and probably only one touchdown pass….maybe two. But he won’t be a good play this week.
Sit: Jason Campbell, Washington Redskins vs. Pittsburgh Steelers. After six touchdowns in the first four games, Campbell has thrown only two in the last four games. He still hasn’t thrown an interception yet this season, but he just hasn’t put up good fantasy numbers either. Campbell is a much better real football player than he is a fantasy QB. The Steelers are the best defense against the pass, and have averaged allowing less than one passing TD a game. Don’t expect Campbell to thrown more than one TD, or to break 200 yards passing. Hopefully, you have a better option on your team.
Running Backs
Start: Matt Forte, Chicago Bears vs. Detroit Lions. One of my new favorite fantasy players in 2008, Forte has been a workhorse for the Bears. He has carried the ball 20 times or more in the majority of games, and has scored in three straight. Forte has also proven to be a good receiver out of the backfield, as he has averaged four catches a game. What has been the best thing for any fantasy owner? Playing the Detroit Lions!!! They are second worst against the run, and should be a great day for Forte.
Start: Ronnie Brown, Miami Dolphins vs. Denver Broncos. Brown has slowed down in the past three weeks after having a few incredible games. However, the Dolphins have been playing a few tough defenses in Buffalo and Baltimore. Denver is third worst in the NFL against the run, and look for Miami to employ the “wildcat” formations again, and get Ronnie back in the endzone and most likely back over 100 yards rushing.
Sit: Ryan Grant, Green Bay Packers vs. Tennessee Titans. His past three games have started to improve, and he finally broke the 100 yard plateau and scored for the first time in Week 8. The Titans are coming off a short week after just playing on Monday night, but they are still in the top 10 in run defense, and should be able to keep Grant in check. Look for him to gain no more than 65 yards, and I don’t expect a touchdown.
Sit: Jamal Lewis, Cleveland Browns vs. Baltimore Ravens. The Cleveland offense has been incredibly inconsistent, and most times they have been bad. Lewis has been pretty decent lately getting over 80 yards and a touchdown in three of the last four weeks. But this week it is the Ravens coming to town, and they just don’t mess around. They are still the best team against the run, allowing less than 65 yards a game, and have only allowed one runner to cross the goal line.
Wide Receivers
Start: Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions vs. Chicago Bears. This appears to be a mistake. Start Calvin Johnson with a bum QB against the Bears? But Johnson has scored in three straight weeks despite the inconsistency at QB, and the Bears are actually bad at pass defense. They haven’t allowed as many touchdowns as other teams that allow similar number of yards, but the Bears are statistically fourth worst against the pass. Orlovsky has been better than we thought and the Bears worse. Get Calvin on the field for you.
Start: Donnie Avery, St. Louis Rams vs. Arizona Cardinals. One of my new favorite fantasy players, Donnie Avery looks like the second coming of Torry Holt. The 1999 Torry Holt of course. Avery is a speedster who knows how to spread the field and get open deep. He has scored in consecutive weeks, and put up a huge 163 yard effort in Week 8. The Cardinals are among the weaker teams against the pass, and if Marc Bulger’s resurgence continues, look for another 100+ yard game from Avery.
Sit: Randy Moss, New England Patriots vs. Indianapolis Colts. Three of his last four games have been better statistically, but the Pats were playing the Little Sisters of the Blind on pass defense. This week they play the Colts who aren’t exactly the Steel Curtain, but they are second in the league in pass defense, and have only allowed two passing TDs all season long. Cassel is starting to look better, but this week I think he might struggle. And if the QB struggles, Moss should as well.
Sit: Terrell Owens, Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants. This is going to be very, very tough for you Owens owners to do, but if you think about it, it probably makes sense. One, Brad Johnson is back behind center this week, and he has proven unable to run the offense efficiently so far. And if he struggles again you will most likely see Brooks Bollinger. Doesn’t that get you excited? Two, they are playing the NY Giants who not only have a great defense, but usually play close and usually low scoring games against their bitter rivals. If you have anything that resembles a similar option, I would sit T.O. down this week.
Tight End
Start: Tony Scheffler, Denver Broncos vs. Miami Dolphins. Scheffler should be returning this week from a groin injury, so check your waiver wire to see if he was dropped in your league. He is clearly one of Jay Cutler’s favorite targets, and as far as tight ends are concerned, he is a top five option. Be sure that he is going to be active for the game before you put him in your lineup, but it will be good to get a guy back into your lineup that can help you. The Dolphins defense can be tough, but look for 75 yards and a score if Scheffler is able to return this week.
Sit: Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Gonzalez had one of his better games of the season in Week 8 against the Jets, with 79 yards and a touchdown. Tony G is having a solid season, although his time among the top few tight ends is clearly over. In Week 9 he faces a really tough Bucs defense that is allowing under 200 yards a game through the air. I know Tyler Thigpen looked pretty decent against the Jets, but I need to see more than that before I gain any trust in him.
As always, your comments and questions (adds/drops, trade advice, lineup help, etc) are welcome at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. I guarantee a response within 18 hours.
hey Ryan,
Alright … Do you think I should really start avery over t.o????I have 4 wr slot and i have 6 guyys. T.O , Plaxico, Roddy White, Eddie Royal, Marvin Harrison and Donnie Avery?? Who should i put in??
I have 2 spots for Qb’s.. I have Aaron Rogers, Brett Farvre, Chad Pennington or Jay Cutler?????
For DEF i have either Buffalo home vs. the jets
OR
Pit whos at washington??
Which one??
One more question have you heard if portis is going to play??
J-Unit
yes portis is going to play this week…i would sit t.o. also until he proves to do anything. i have him also and i am starting kevin walter over him this week.
From what I am reading, Portis hasn’t been practicing but they still think he should play.
Your WRs is a tough one. I would definitely start White, Plax, and Avery. Tough between T.O, Royal, and Harrison. Owens does have a tough matchup against the G-Men, so he might not be the best option. Royal has the best matchup against the Dolphins, while Harrison goes against the Pats. I think it is a toss up between the three. I like the Denver offense the best of the three, but I won’t kill you for starting Owens.
Rodgers and Cutler are your starters at QB, no questions.
I think Pitt is the better defense, but the Jets have been a pretty decent fantasy defense. I still think I would go with the Steelers though.
Ryan
Ryan,
ok What about torry Holt should i put him in for any of these guys???
Will ronnie brown have a big rushing game????
J-Unit
Ryan,
I traded Warner for Cutler two weeks ago and it looks like a bad trade. What is your thought?
I will be starting MJD at one RB spot. Which of these two would you go with? Addai or Thomas Jones?
JR
J-Unit,
I wouldn’t put Holt in over any of those guys, he hasn’t done much this season and he isn’t the same receiver he used to be.
I like Ronnie Brown this week, I think he is a good play. Who would you start instead of him on your team?
Ryan
JR,
Not sure why that trade looks bad? Warner has one more TD and one less pick. There is a yardage difference, but if your league is 50 yards per point, it is a very small difference. By the end the trade will look good.
I would go with Addai as long as you are sure he is playing, which it is very likely. I don’t like Thomas Jones going against the Bills, and even with Thomas Jones having a three touchdown game and Addai missing some time, they both have the same number of TDs for the season. It is Addai easy in my book as long as he is in there, which I expect.
Ryan
Fantasy Football Week 8 Winners & Losers Recap…
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I have four running backs and only three spots to start, so I have to bench one. Who should I start and who should I bench out of these guys? Portis, Lynch, MJD, and Chris Johnson?
Also, I own the Titans and Jets Defenses. I always start the Titans. Do you think the Titans can put good Fantasy numbers against the Packers? If not, do you have a waiver wire suggestion on Defense?
Thanks.
Wiley C.
I am in a ten team PPR league that awards bonus points for the length of td’s. I am confused who to start at Flex this week:
Fargas vs. Falcons
Eddie Royal vs. Dolphins
Braylon Edwards vs. Ravens
Also, I see you recommend Scheffler above. He is questionable and had limited practice all week should I gamble and pick him up and drop Zach Miller? Thanks.
Wiley,
I think you have to sit MJD. I know he has a pretty favorable matchup against the Bengals, but the other three guys you have are having such productive seasons that I think it would be tough to sit any of them for a guy who has struggled so much even though I like his talent. MJD has had four games of under ten carries and has only had two quality games. I think you have to sit him regardless of how bad the Bungles might be.
And I would keep running Tennessee out there. This could be the week that their undefeated streak goes down, but I think you should have enough confidence in them until they prove otherwise. They kept the Colts in check and have forced the most turnovers in the league. Their 18 sacks rank them 8th in the league and they are nasty against the run. Not sure that they will win, but I think you can run the Titans out there every week and feel good about it. They can’t dominate every week, but they will much more often than not.
Thanks for the comment and hope to hear from you again.
Ryan
David,
I think that you have to start Royal. Fargas isn’t consistent enough to start over either of the other two players that you listed, and Braylon against the Ravens doesn’t fill me with confidence about scoring a touchdown. Royal and the Broncs are coming off their bye, and although Miami has played some tough D, I love Cutler and Royal should have a decent chance of scoring, or at least better than Fargas or Edwards this week.
Read this about Scheffler:
Tight end Tony Scheffler (groin) and wide receiver Brandon Stokley (concussion) practiced Friday and should be able to play Sunday against the Dolphins.
Looks like he will be good to go, but it is a mild risk to drop your only TE for him. But if he plays he is a better fantasy player than Miller by a decent margin.
Thanks and let me know how it works out.
Ryan
ryan…for wk 9, i have rivers on bye so who do i use…orlovsky or warner???and as for rb, which 2 should i use out of MJD/lendale/mewelde?? thanks
Greg,
Warner is a no brainer.
And from what I am reading, Willie Parker should be back this week, so I would hesitate to use Mewelde. I’d go Jones-Drew and LenDale White.
Any more questions, throw them my way.
Ryan
Ryan,
I am having trouble picking my wide recievers, I have Boldin, Calvin Johnson, and Housmanzadeh and I ca play two of them… Should I go with Boldin and Johnson?
And my RB’s are very tough…I have steve slaton, adrian peterson, lendale white, chris johnson, and brandon jacobs. I can start only three, who do i start?
Thanks very much,
Seth
Seth,
Yeah, I like Boldin and Calvin for you this week. Housh could have a good week too, but I think Calvin is a little more likely to score.
At RB, Peterson is a must start every week, no questions asked. Slaton has a tough matchup against the Minny run defense. Jacobs goes against the Cowboys who are middle of the pack against the run, and the Titans two headed monster plays Green Bay who gives up over 140 yards a game on the ground.
We are sitting at the same place we were last week. Do we play both Titans? They both scored again for the second consecutive week, so it is looking more and more like a decent strategy. Johnson is getting the yards and one score while White is just picking up a couple short yardage scores. I still don’t like to do that though.
I think Jacobs should do ok against Dallas, although they bottled up the Tampa ground game pretty good. Man this is pretty tough. My gut is saying play both Titans, but I am having a hard time actually telling you to do that. I would definitely sit Slaton, and I think the other three will all do well (Jacobs, White, Johnson). three of the last four game (not in the Baltimore game), both Titan RBs scored. I guess go with them, but I am shaky on this one. I gotta figure Jacobs finds his way into the endzone once against Dallas.
I’d go Jacobs and Johnson, but that is just a gut call. Really tough decision there. Sorry I couldn’t be more definitive. What were you leaning towards?
I have Jacobs Peterson and Johnson right now but I am thinking about putting White in For Jacobs.
thank you again
Seth
PPR league- Fargas vs. Falcons or Eddie Royal vs. Dolphins?
PPR league- Eddie Royal vs. Dolphins or Fargas vs. Falcons. Thanks.
David,
I like Royal, but the majority of things I’ve read think Fargas will have a good day especially without McFadden stealing carries.
Ryan
Hey ryan
I decided to go with owens instead of avery and I think that went well but thank you a lot because I got my second WIN in a row~!!!
Ill need your help for next week! thanks.
J-Unit
J-Unit,
Nice work, glad to hear you won again.
Let me know, I’ll probably have my Week 10 start/sit up tomorrow.
Ryan
nice!
Ryan,
I have Jonathan Stewart as a back up RB. I am encouraged that their offensive line is finally healthy, but DeAngelo Williams’ role does not help. Both Ray Rice and Ryan Torain are both available. Should I replace Stewart with one of them? Which one?
JR
JR,
I don’t know that I would let Stewart go, but I like the thought of both Rice and Torain. Especially Torain now that Pittman is done for the year. Only he and Selvin Young are even on the roster and Young is beat up. I don’t think I would drop Stewart though, are there any other options on your team for guys to let go?
I love Rice, but I don’t know if McGahee’s injury is long term, while Torain’s competiion has been placed on IR, ending their seasons.
Ryan
Do you have any idea whe week 10 will be posted!??
BALLA,
The Week 10 start and sit has just been posted. Enjoy!
Ryan
ryan,
here’s my team:
e.manning/campbell/schaub
turner/peterson/MJD/rice
wayne/curtis/moore/v.jackson/washington
gates
panthers/vikings
gotiskowski
is my team particually weak anywhere?
which WR’s should i start?
what would be a fair trade for fitsgerald?
i have 1 qb spot, 2 rb, 2 wr, 1 wr/rb, and one everything else
thanks
Peno
Peno,
Schaub is hurt and campbell is on a bye which makes manning the only choice, although I don’t have high hopes for him against Philly.
At RB I would go Peterson and Turner, although a strong arguement could be made for MJD, but Turner has been very good against bad defenses while Jones-Drew has been mostly hit or miss.
At WR I would go Vincent Jackson and Reggie Wayne. That is a pretty clear cut pair on that one.
At flex I would play Jones-Drew because he is playing the Lions.
Gates at TE obviously
Definitely Panthers at defense. The Raiders were just shut out by the Falcons who are not a good defense.
Your team isn’t weak anywhere, but you could definitely use some more depth at WR. Wayne and V. Jackson are great receivers, Moore was good but might be used less in the second half, Curtis is kind of a wild card for the 2nd half, could be great, could be a flop and Nate is good for some big plays but isn’t consistent.
A fair trade for Fitzgerald is giving up a lot. He is maybe my favorite fantasy WR. I would think you would have to give up one of your RBs not named Peterson and probably add more to the package.
If you need help coming up with a trade offer, just shoot me an email at fightingchancefantasy@gmail.com. Thanks for writing in.
Ryan