News and Notes From Week 9

In a week where Arizona, Denver, Detroit, Jacksonville, San Fransisco, and the New York Giants were all on bye, the fantasy football world scattered to find a starting lineup without cutting loose important bench players.  You may have been forced to either cut ties with that injured player that you were hoping could come back 100%, or just not fill a position with your team limited by byes.  It was an ugly week in fantasy to say the least,but it also raised important questions going forward…

 

Eagles @ Raiders, Nick Foles throws for 7 TDs, 406 yards in route over Raiders in Oakland

– This was the pleasant surprise of the week, as many touted the Raiders defense as a sneaky plug-and-play for this week.  That didn’t work out, as a player I doubted lit up that Oakland defense and went on to throw more touch downs than incompletions.  I am sort of buying this, but by no means is he a sure top 10 play going forward.  He’s worth an add if your QB situation is weak right now, but don’t get too excited over Foles.

– McFadden is hurt again wait a pulled hamstring.  This is the same hamstring that he hurt a month ago, and at this point it comes to no surprise to people that are frustrated by his inability to stay healthy.  If your drafted him, you knew this was going to happen, and if you didn’t, then you were being foolish.  This guy can’t stay healthy, and you cannot roster him without a legit backup to fill his place in half the weeks he misses.

Steelers @ Patriots, Brady gets back on track, Ridley keeps starting position even after fumble

– The New England Patriots have been underwhelming on offense to say the least,  but this week was the complete opposite of their 2013-2014 season thus far.  Tom Brady throws for 432 yards and 4 touch downs, which gives hope to Brady owners from here on out.  Gronk looks great again, and even the other receivers seem to be making strides which is helping Brady and this offense return to greatness.

– Steven Ridley fumbled, and we all know this is his Achilles heal.  Belichick tends to bench people when they fumble, but he decided to keep him out there after, and he produced BIG TIME.  115 yards and 2 TDs for Ridley, and he is a top 12 running back going forward.  When Shane Vereen returns, he will be taking snaps and touches away from Brandon Bolden, as Vereen is a receiving threat, not the between the tackles guy Ridley is.

Chiefs @ Bills, Chiefs defense remains #1, Spiller looks good

– While the Bills kept the Chiefs offense from getting anything going, Kansas City looked for their defense to do the scoring for them.  2 defensive TDs.  They continue to be a difference-maker in fantasy and are the locked #1 defense on a week-to-week basis, regardless of the match-up.

– He wasn’t 100%, But CJ Spiller returned to the line-up and looked electric, putting up over 150 total yards on a great defense.  It was obvious he wasn’t 100% as he struggled to make explosive cuts and leaving a couple of times with pain in his ankle, but still.  Spiller is a ticking time bomb for fantasy owners, but as long as he is out there, he’s a must start.

Vikings @ Cowboys, Cowboys total 9 rushing plays

– Tony Romo only handed the ball off 9 times this game, with 4 of them to DeMarco Murray who just returned from injury.  This didn’t appear to be a coaching decision to limit his touches since he was targeted in the passing game as well, so it’s hard to really comprehend what happened.  The Cowboys were never trailing terribly in the game, but they still abandoned the running game.  A head scratcher for sure, but I am not overreacting to this.

Ravens @ Browns, Ray Rice continues to be terrible, Marlon Brown and Davone Bess?

– Ray Rice told us he felt a lot better with the bye week and that he was excited to return fully healthy and rested.  So much for that.  11 carries for 17 yards is pathetic, it’s starting to look like Ray Rice has hit a wall in his career.  You cannot start him on a weekly basis, so please, go ahead and put him on the bench and hope for some reason he can turn it around.

– Bess and Brown caught 2 TDs each for their respective teams. I am buying Brown a little bit, but don’t count on Bess to even find the end zone again this year.

Titans @ Rams, Chris Johnson and Zac Stacy legitimate running backs going forward

– Chris Johnson put up 170 yards and 2 TDs and Zac Stacy gets 178 yards and 2 TDs on sunday.  If you had question marks about these two guys, they were answered yesterday.  Start with confidence going forward.

Colts @ Texans, Luck pulls off another comeback win

– Case Keenum appears to be a servicable quarterback going forward for the Texans receivers.  This is good news for Andre Johnson owners as they watched him pile up 9 catches for 229 yards and 3 TDs.

– T.Y. Hilton is a top 20 receiver going forward. He’s showing he is a legit #1 option for the Colts now that Reggie Wayne is out for the year.

Other notes…

– Robert Griffin III did not play poorly yesterday, but fantasy-wise his statistics weren’t spectacular.  If you own RG3, you need to be actively looking for another option until you see some consistent production from Griffin.

– Danny Woodhead is the running back in San Diego that you can count on to get touches on a week-to-week basis.  Ryan Matthews has looked great recently, but the Chargers prefer Woodhead’s ability to catch the ball, so he will be on the field more often.

– Need a TE to fill in for Gronk next week?  Grab Tim Wright from Tampa Bay.

– Sproles suffered a concussion sunday, so if Daniel Thomas is available and you need RB help, he’s a legit addition if Sproles can’t play next week.

– Matt Ryan is really going to suffer the rest of the year.  Roddy White might not be 100% ever this year, so don’t feel bad about dropping either of these guys if you really like someone on waivers.

 

Ryan Jackson

About Ryan Jackson

My name is Ryan Jackson and I love fantasy sports. I graduated from the University of Maine in 2014 with a degree in Journalism, and I am now a graduate student at Quinnipiac University working on a sports journalism degree.