Week 9 Rankings

So now that my lengthy mid-year fantasy season review is complete, let's get to the rankings.  I was back in the loss column last week, so I'm sitting at 3-5.  Much like the Redskins, I'm starting to get into "must win" territory.  OK let's go!

QBs

1.Aaron Rodgers

2.RGIII

3.Matt Ryan

4.Drew Brees

5.Michael Vick

6.Peyton Manning

7.Matthew Stafford

8.Andrew Luck 9.Cam Newton 10.Ben Roethlisberger 11.Josh Freeman 12.Matt Schaub 13.Eli Manning

14.Carson Palmer 15.Joe Flacco 16.Tony Romo 17.Philip Rivers 18.Jay Cutler 19.Andy Dalton 20.Russell Wilson 21.Ryan Fitzpatrick 22.Brandon Weeden 23.Christian Ponder 24.Matt Hasselbeck  Rodgers and Brees were no where near the top spot last week, but you know who was?  Peyton Manning.  OK, so he wasn't the #1 QB in Week 8, but he was #3.  Stafford had a big game, and so did Brady, but Manning was right behind them.  I also said that Cam Newton would have under 300 total yards and 1.5 total TDs, and although he did have 351 total yards, the Bears kept him out of the endzone.  I wasn't 3 for 3 on my predictions because I mentioned how I didn't rank Alex Smith, but come on, who did?!?  This week I'm ranking Vick highly on Monday night against that horrible Saints defense.  It also sounds like he's playing for his job, so I think he'll show up in a big way.  I also have Josh Freeman near the top-10, which sucks because I'll be playing against him this week.  Not a bad bye week fill-in for the Tom Brady-less Fightin Zovkos!  I think he'll easily break the 20 fantasy point mark against that Raider D.

RBs

1.Arian Foster

2.Ray Rice 3.LeSean McCoy 4.Matt Forte

5.Ryan Mathews 6.Alfred Morris 7.Marshawn Lynch 8.Trent Richardson 9.Willis McGahee 10.Adrian Peterson 11.Doug Martin 12.Jamaal Charles 13.Reggie Bush 14.Ahmad Bradshaw 15.Chris Johnson 16.Darren McFadden 17.CJ Spiller 18.Michael Turner 19.Darren Sproles 20.Rashad Jennings 21.Benjarvis Green-Ellis 22.Mikel LeShoure 23.Fred Jackson 24.Jonathan Stewart 25.Jonathan Dwyer 26.Alex Green 27.Felix Jones 28.LaRod Stephens-Howling 29.Michael Bush 30.Vick Ballard 31.Pierre Thomas 32.Daniel Thomas 33.Andre Brown 34.Donald Brown 35.LaGarrette Blount 36.Joique Bell 37.Jacquizz Rodgers 38.Philip Tanner 39.Ronnie Brown 40.Peyton Hillis So I said I would keep Jamaal Charles at the top spot against any defense he goes up against, but I'm backing off that a little bit after Week 8.  I had AP a lot lower than most of the experts last week and said he wouldn't be a top-5 RB.  Well I was right, but he finished 6th, and well ahead of some of the other top ranked RBs.  So let's just call that a wash.  Chris Johnson continued his recent hot play, but he should cool off a little this week against the Bears.  If he get 100 yards and a TD against that defense, I'll be shocked.  I'll also give him mad respect from here on out.  It's no surprise that Foster and Rice are back at the top spots after their bye weeks, and I have my guys Forte and Mathews right behind them.  I'm hoping for a big game out of Mathews against KC, and I have him ranked much higher than the experts this week. WRs

1.Calvin Johnson 2.Brandon Marshall 3.AJ Green 4.Percy Harvin 5.Victor Cruz 6.Demaryius Thomas 7.Reggie Wayne 8.Vincent Jackson 9.Julio Jones 10.Jordy Nelson 11.Andre Johnson 12.Roddie White 13.Mike Wallace 14.Marques Colston 15.Denarius Moore  16.Steve Smith 17.Miles Austin 18.Jeremy Maclin 19.Eric Decker 20.Dez Bryant 21.Antonio Brown 22.Larry Fitzgerald 23.Torrey Smith  24.Dwayne Bowe 25.Mike Williams 26.Steve Johnson 27.Hakeem Nicks 28.Randall Cobb 29.DeShaun Jackson 30.Josh Gordon 31.Lance Moore 32.Malcom Floyd 33.James Jones 34.Titus Young 35.Andre Roberts 36.Anquan Boldin 37.Sidney Rice 38.Brian Hartline 39.Donnie Avery 40.Kenny Britt 41.Cecil Shorts 42.Darius Heyward-Bey I'm dropping Dwayne Bowe even further in my rankings this week, but Cassell is back and San Diego has a tough rush defense.  That makes me think they'll air it out a bit, so I'm actually expecting something from Bowe this week.  I just like a lot of other WRs more than him right now.  The experts jumped off the Megatron bandwagon pretty quickly, but I'm ranking him #1 this week.  That's right.  I'm going out on a limb and ranking Calvin Johnson as the #1 fantasy wide receiver for Week 9.  Please try to contain your disbelief.  Vincent Jackson is a top-10 WR for me this week, and I'm keeping Jordy up there because I think the hamstring is fine.  I have no basis for that right now, but I'm thinking he would have played last week if it was the playoffs.  He'll be OK. TEs

1.Jimmy Graham

2.Jason Witten 3.Heath Miller 4.Tony Gonzalez 5.Owen Daniels 6.Brent Celek 7.Antonio Gates 8.Martellus Bennett 9.Greg Olsen 10.Brandon Pettigrew 11.Kyle Rudolph 12.Scott Chandler 13.Jermaine Gresham 14.Jared Cook 15.Dennis Pitta 16.Brandon Myers 17.Jermichael Finley 18.Jacob Tamme Gates was back to his mediocre self in Week 8, Aaron Hernandez didn't make the trip to London due to his wife having a baby (but I still think he’s instantly a top-5 fantasy tight end when he comes back in Week 10), and Dustin Keller had another solid week (as predicted).  This week, I'm being pretty boring with the tight end rankings.  Nothing exciting really.  I still have Gates ranked in the top-10, but at this point, who knows?

DEF 1.Bears

2.Texans 3.Packers 4.Ravens 5.Lions 6.Seahawks 7.Chargers 8.Falcons 9.Dolphins 10.Broncos 11.Giants

12.Vikings 13.Cardinals 14.Steelers The Bears didn't claim the top spot last week, but they still had a good week.  The Packers and Niners were in the top-5 in Week 8, and those defenses will probably both be near the top moving forward.  I did say I liked both the Lions and Seahawks in the same way I liked both the Rams and Dolphins in Week 6, but I was wrong there (although neither team got -2 like the Vikings did for my fantasy team).  I also suggested that if you needed a bye week fill-in on defense, the Raiders were a good option against KC.  Well that advice could have won me a game in Week 8, but who knew the Vikings would get torched by the Bucs like they did on Thursday night?  (Note: I sure didn't.)  This week I'm taking San Diego's defense at home against those same Chiefs.  I hope my advice can just work well for me a week later. Cheers, Bart