2014 Fantasy Football Week 9 Rankings

Looking forward to another Brady/Manning matchup this week.

Well I finally lost one in my money league.  I faced Tom Brady and couldn't overcome that huge performance.  But I actually had Brady myself in my fun league (along with Gronk), so I got a much needed win there.  It wasn't a terrible week to lose though, as there were some huge scores all around.  I think I would have lost to at least half of the teams in my money league, so whatever.  It's now on to Week 9, and it's time to get back on the winning track.

Over the next three weeks, the byes are hitting hard.  There are 6 teams off this week and next week, and 4 more will be off in Week 11.  I'm actually going to cut down my rankings a bit because there just aren't 50 RBs worth ranking when 6 teams have a bye.  If you're digging into the 20s for a starting QB this week, I feel for you.  Hopefully you can pick up a guy like Alex Smith or Teddy Bridgewater and win the dice roll (but I'll actually tell you about another guy I like better than both of those two this week!).  By the way, you'll want to keep an eye on the trade deadline in your league, as it is probably approaching sooner than you think.  Mine is just two weeks away, so double check your league settings and try to get your roster looking good for the stretch run.

OK.  Let's do the rankings!

BYES: Packers, Bears, Lions, Falcons, Bills, Titans

QBs 1.Peyton Manning 2.Andrew Luck 3.Tom Brady 4.Philip Rivers 5.Drew Brees 6.Russell Wilson  7.Colin Kaepernick 8.Cam Newton 9.Tony Romo 10.Nick Foles  11.Andy Dalton   12.Carson Palmer 13.Ben Roethlisberger 14.Ryan Tannehill 15.Eli Manning  16.Ryan Fitzpatrick  17.Alex Smith 18.Joe Flacco 19.RGIII 20.Teddy Bridgewater My pick of Tony Romo last week (ESPN #7, ME #4) gets an "incomplete" because he missed a huge chunk of the second half in the loss on Monday night.  Yes, that LOSS on Monday night (woohoo!).  As for Joe Flacco (ESPN #16, ME #19), he struggled in Cincy and finished outside of the top-25.  In fact, he was pretty much the worst starting QB in fantasy in Week 8.  I mentioned Tom Brady's big game above, but it didn't even come close to Big Ben's numbers against the Colts.  He threw for over 500 yards and 6 TDs...and was likely on most people's fantasy benches.  This week the Steelers host the Ravens, so I won't move him up the rankings for that bloodbath (and Flacco remains well into the teens for me as well).  As for my top-10 this week, it's nearly identical to ESPN's consensus.  So it was tough to pick two guys to talk about this week, but I'll dig deep and give you a couple. I'm high on: Ryan Fitzpatrick (ESPN #21, ME #16)    Philly should fear the beard in Week 9. With decent fantasy production in his last two games (both on the road), Fitzpatrick heads back to Houston to face the Eagles.  I realize he's been the definition of mediocre this year.  But I'll tell you who has been much worse than mediocre, and that's Philly's pass defense.  They're decent against the run: they're top-10 in yards/carry and have only allowed 3 rushing TDs this year.  But against opposing fantasy QBs?  They're the 3rd-worst in the league after the Jets and Redskins.  I mean, Alex Smith is facing the Jets this week and has been just as bad as Fitzpatrick this year.  Yet, the ESPN guys rank Smith 4 spots higher.  I actually like Fitzpatrick a little better (mainly because he has better receivers), and I think he's worth a start if you're looking for someone to fill in for Rodgers, Stafford, Cutler, or Ryan. I'm down on: Brian Hoyer (ESPN #17, ME not ranked in top-20)  At first glance, one might really like Hoyer's home matchup this week, but take a second look at the defensive numbers of the Buccaneers.  While they do give up top-5 fantasy numbers to opposing QBs (on average), I feel like those numbers are a bit skewed.  If you take a look at Tampa Bay's schedule, you'll notice they've given up HUGE games to QBs like Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco, and Drew Brees.  But the rest of the bunch?  Pretty bad actually.  Hoyer will likely be without Jordan Cameron in this one, and I don't really trust that he'll light up the scoreboard throwing to Andrew Hawkins and Miles Austin.  He didn't do much in Jacksonville in Week 7, and the Jags got their first win of the year.  In Week 8, he didn't do much better as the Browns squeaked by the winless Raiders.  Maybe Tampa is just as bad (heck, they're only 1-6).  I just don't think they are, and I think they'll keep Hoyer in check in a close, low-scoring affair. I also think it's possible that any week now, Johnny Football could get an opportunity.  I'm not 100% confident that Hoyer makes it through an entire game with that possibility hanging over his head, and it's also why I have RGIII (aka Bobby Glasslegs, nickname trademark pending) ranked so conservatively...though his is more health-related at this point.  I'd just rather make a safer play if I'm using one of these guys as a bye week fill-in. RBs 1.Arian Foster 2.DeMarco Murray  3.Jamaal Charles  4.Marshawn Lynch 5.Le'Veon Bell   6.LeSean McCoy 7.Ronnie Hillman  8.Andre Ellington 9.Lamar Miller 10.Mark Ingram 11.Ahmad Bradshaw  12.Alfred Morris 13.Ben Tate 14.Jerick McKinnon   15.Branden Oliver 16.Frank Gore 17.Chris Ivory  18.Jeremy Hill 19.Denard Robinson 20.Justin Forsett 21.Shane Vereen 22.Bobby Rainey  23.Andre Williams 24.Darren McFadden 25.Jonas Gray 26.Trent Richardson  27.Travaris Cadet 28.DeAngelo Williams 29.Lorenzo Taliaferro  30.Tre Mason  31.Knile Davis 32.Jonathan Stewart  33.Juwan Thompson 34.Darren Sproles  35.Charles Sims 36.Peyton Hillis  37.Roy Helu 38.Matt Asiata   39.Carlos Hyde 40.Terrance West Once again I killed it with both of my RB picks in Week 8.  Mark Ingram (ESPN #22, ME #15) barely had to share any touches against the Packers and finished as a top-5 fantasy running back.  As for the Raven backfield, Bernard Pierce was a healthy inactive against the Bengals but it didn't matter because the Ravens just fed Taliaferro near the goal line.  Either way, Forsett racked up the yardage but continued to get vultured on the TDs.  He finished 20th, so closer to where I ranked him than those other guys (ESPN #10, ME #18).  I'll keep ranking him more like a RB2 than RB1, and once again the experts have him much higher than I do. You'll notice I'm not ranking guys like Giovani Bernard, Ryan Mathews, Rashad Jennings, and Doug Martin.  Three of those are for health reasons and one is for both health and general suckiness.  Man, I wish I had my second round pick back!  That being said, just keep an eye on your injured guys leading up to their games.  Things will surely change between now and Sunday.  But if a guy like Bernard does end up playing, then Jeremy Hill clearly isn't a top-20 option this week. I'm high on: Travaris Cadet (ESPN #35, ME #27) For the second week in a row, I'm going to give some love to an under-ranked Saint running back.  We all saw what Ingram did in Week 8, but this time around I'll talk about Cadet.  Working on a short week, Khiry Robinson and Pierre Thomas are both expected to be out of the game tonight.  That means more Ingram, but it also means more Cadet.  I think the Panthers will have game planned for the bigger back and Sean Payton will adapt and actually get Travaris more involved in the game this week.  I like Cadet as a solid Flex option in a week with 6 teams on a bye.  I'm down on: Isaiah Crowell (ESPN #37, ME not ranked)  Tate is the only Brown RB to consider starting these days. Even after back-to-back horrible weeks, the ESPN guys are still ranking Crowell like he's the #2 RB in Cleveland.  I'm not totally sold that it's once again Terrance West, but I am enough to rank West over Crowell.  Isaiah has been getting fewer touches ever since he had a pair of fumbles in Week 6 against the Steelers, and I think Terrance is the safer pick.  Of course I realize this is pretty nit-picky since we're talking about ESPN's #37 ranked RB this week, but I think you should consider other options if you're digging this deep in the first place. WRs 1.Antonio Brown  2.Dez Bryant  3.Demaryius Thomas  4.Jeremy Maclin  5.T.Y. Hilton 6.Kelvin Benjamin   7.Emmanuel Sanders  8.A.J. Green 9.Mike Wallace  10.Andre Johnson 11.DeSean Jackson 12.Keenan Allen  13.Steve Smith, Sr.  14.DeAndre Hopkins  15.Rueben Randle 16.Mohamed Sanu   17.Brandin Cooks   18.Doug Baldwin 19.Vincent Jackson 20.Terrance Williams 21.Odell Beckham, Jr.  22.Brandon LaFell  23.Michael Crabtree 24.Pierre Garcon 25.Michael Floyd     26.Andrew Hawkins  27.Larry Fitzgerald     28.Julian Edelman  29.Marques Colston 30.Allen Robinson 31.Dwayne Bowe 32.Reggie Wayne 33.Torrey Smith 34.Cordarrelle Patterson 35.Eric Decker  36.Mike Evans   37.Andre Holmes   38.Anquan Boldin 39.James Jones   40.Martavis Bryant I was high on Sammy Watkins last week, as I had him as a top-10 WR and the ESPN experts ranked him all the way down at #22.  Well, not only did he finish as a top-10 fantasy WR, but he could have been even higher if not for this play on the right of the screen.  I think he'll remain a WR1 for the rest of the season, and Kyle Orton is really messing up a preseason bet I had that Watkins wouldn't be the #1 fantasy rookie WR this year.  Anyway, I was down on Percy Harvin (a whole tier below the ESPN experts), and he finished right around 47th where I had him ranked.  He actually had 9 targets, so that's at least positive.  But I still don't have the confidence to move him much higher just yet, and he's not in my top-40 this week. I'm high on: Dwayne Bowe (ESPN #44, ME #31)   The WR rankings are sort of all over the place this week, and I could easily have talked about Michael Crabtree or Terrance Williams here.  But I'm going way down the list because I think Bowe should be considered as a WR3 this week, and the experts clearly disagree.  He hasn't found the endzone yet this season, but his catches and yardage have been decent (especially in his last couple of games).  Enter the Jets secondary, and I think he finds himself in an excellent spot to have 75 yards and a TD! Believe me, I'm surprised I'm backing Dwayne Bowe this week too. I'm down on: Brandon LaFell  (ESPN #15, ME #22)  Like the ESPN guys, I moved LaFell up this week after that huge game against Chicago.  But I didn't move him up THAT much.  While he has 4 TDs in his last 5 games, he also has a couple of poor fantasy games over that stretch (and one was against the Jets!).  It's possible Aqib Talib will shadow Gronk in some double coverage in his return to Foxboro, but I think he'll also matchup against LaFell quite a bit.  Even with six teams off this week, I still have a hard time ranking LaFell as high as the experts did. TEs 1.Rob Gronkowski 2.Jimmy Graham 3.Julius Thomas 4.Antonio Gates 5.Greg Olsen   6.Dwayne Allen 7.Travis Kelce  8.Jordan Reed 9.Larry Donnell 10.Jason Witten  11.Zach Ertz  12.Vernon Davis  13.Heath Miller 14.Tim Wright 15.Jared Cook The tight end rankings are pretty much the same as ESPN's this week, so on to the defenses... DEF 1.Bengals 2.Chiefs 3.Seahawks 4.49ers 5.Browns 6.Vikings 7.Ravens 8.Texans 9.Redskins 10.Colts  11.Dolphins 12.Cardinals   13.Cowboys 14.Steelers 15.Chargers I was high on the Browns last week (ESPN #16, ME #6), and I even predicted a pick-6 for Joe Haden.  That didn't quite happen, but Haden did get an interception with a decent return.  I was watching the Redzone channel as it unfolded and started to freak out (SO close!).  Anyway, the Browns played well on that side of the ball and finished as a top-5 fantasy defense.  I'm keeping them high this week as they host Tampa Bay, and it looks like the ESPN experts have caught up. I was down on the Broncos, who ESPN ranked #6 but I had outside of my top-15.  They actually finished just outside of the top-15, and I won't be ranking them this week as they travel to Foxboro, where Tom Brady is playing like...well, Tom Brady again.  It's hard not to rank the Bengals #1 this week as they host Jacksonville, who gave up TWO pick-6s against Miami last week.   Bottom line: start your D against the Jags!!! I'm high on: Redskins (ESPN #15, ME #9) It looks like Matthew Berry and I both like our Redskins this week.  The Vikings are giving up top-5 fantasy production to opposing defenses this season, and Teddy Bridgewater is looking a lot more Geno Smith than Terrelle Pryor.  OK, so maybe neither of those are flattering comparisons, but whatever.  He's not doing great.  Meanwhile, Washington is coming off an impressive defensive game and a big win in Dallas.  They're now trying to keep it rolling in another winnable game, which they've done well in so far this season (outside of the Dallas game, their other top fantasy defense performances have come against Jacksonville and Tennessee).  I like them as a top-10 play against a struggling Minnesota offense, and hopefully my boys can go into the bye week sitting at 4-5. I'm down on: Eagles (ESPN #5, ME not ranked)   I'm thinking/hoping Philly's D continues to struggle. No one has better fantasy production this year than Philly, but don't go chasing defensive TDs.  They have 5 on the year, but check their numbers otherwise.  They have 4 games with no INTs and 3 games with zero sacks.  They just aren't consistent enough for me, and I've already told you how I feel about their pass defense.  I think they'll struggle to contain the Texans on the road, and I think they may even lose this one (something like 31-27). That's it for Week 9.  Good luck everyone (except you, Tommy). Cheers, Bart

2014 Fantasy Football Week 8 Rankings

Oh, I know what would go well with these uniforms...PINK!

I went to 7-0 on Sunday, and someone finally made a trade with me (yay!).  It wasn't much, but it was something: Torrey Smith for Seattle defense.  It may seem like a strange trade, but I'm buying low on the Hawks and I'll be plugging them in at least in Weeks 9 & 10 while my Patriots D plays Denver and then has a bye.  Also, New England is a little banged up right now on the defensive side of the ball, and I'm a little worried that they'll even be playable for the rest of the season.  Meanwhile, Torrey wasn't finding his way into my weekly lineup because my other WRs (Jordy, Golden Tate, and Steve Smith) were outperforming him.  We'll see how the trade ends up for both teams in the end, but I feel good about at least having someone I know I'll start in the coming weeks.

I'm always trying to look ahead a week or two, and I'm looking forward to this being the last week of the hot pink additions to the uniforms.  It's not that I have anything against breast cancer awareness (that would be pretty horrible of me).  I just think it could be a one week thing and not a one month thing.  There are other colors that they could bring into the mix....maybe some light blue for prostate cancer awareness in the middle of September or purple for domestic violence awareness month (which is also October).  When the NFL starts asking me for suggestions, that will be my first one.  The second will be to actually let people hit each other again.  After a replay in last Monday night's game in Pittsburgh overturned an Antonio Brown touchdown, Jon Gruden kind of said under his breath "I used to really love football."  And while I think his comment was more focused on the use of replay, I feel you, Chucky.  I really do.

But I still love football.  And looking at the record of my Washington Redskins versus my fantasy team's record, I'm loving me some fantasy football even more these days.  Let's get to the rankings!

BYES: Giants and 49ers

QBs 1.Peyton Manning 2.Aaron Rodgers 3.Andrew Luck 4.Tony Romo 5.Drew Brees 6.Russell Wilson 7.Tom Brady 8.Philip Rivers 9.Nick Foles  10.Jay Cutler 11.Carson Palmer 12.Matthew Stafford 13.Cam Newton 14.Ryan Tannehill 15.Matt Ryan  16.Ben Roethlisberger 17.Alex Smith 18.Kyle Orton 19.Joe Flacco 20.Andy Dalton   21.Mike Glennon 22.Austin Davis 23.Teddy Bridgewater 24.Brian Hoyer 25.Geno Smith So I was wrong about Carson Palmer last week, who finished right at #12 where ESPN ranked him (I had him down at #16).  But you know who finished right above him at #11?  That's right, Big Ben (ESPN #17, ME #13).  I predicted 300 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Steeler QB, and he nearly got there (he had the 2 TDs but finished shy of the 300 mark).  Either way, Roethlisberger proved he's usually startable when he plays in primetime.  This week, Rodgers and Brees face off on Sunday night, and I think both should be top-5 QBs in that primetime matchup. I'm high on: Tony Romo (ESPN #7, ME #4)    You didn't think I'd show a positive image of Romo here, did you? Another guy I like as a top-5 play in a primetime matchup is Romo against my Skins on Monday night.  My QB rankings are very similar to ESPN's this week, so I'm splitting hairs with these picks.  But none of the ESPN analysts have Romo higher than 5th, and the other three have him at 7th, 9th, and 10th.  Well I say start Romo over guys like Drew Brees and Philip Rivers this week!  Washington's secondary is terrible, and their run defense has actually been pretty stout this year.  I still have DeMarco Murray ranked as my top RB because his track record this season won't allow me to move him from that spot right now, but I do think the Cowboys will score a lot of points and do most of their damage through the air in this one.  Since the horrible Week 1 home loss to the 49ers, Romo's numbers have been much better in the Jerry Dome versus other venues.  I won't be surprised to see well over 300 passing yards, and I think he'll likely have 3+ TDs as well. I'm down on: Joe Flacco (ESPN #16, ME #19)  Another guy who has been a top-10 fantasy QB over the last 4 weeks, Flacco comes in a little lower for me versus the ESPN experts this week.  That 5-TD game in Tampa really inflated his numbers, but he also had a solid game when my wife and I saw him torch the Panthers in Baltimore.  But aside from those two games, Joe has been his normal, mediocre self (at least when it comes to fantasy numbers).  The Ravens lost to the Bengals at home in Week 1 by a score of 23-16, and Flacco was the #19 fantasy QB that week even though he had 62 pass attempts.  This week's game is in Cincinnati, and while the Bengals are winless since Week 3, this is also only their second division game of the season.  I think they'll be focused and both defenses will be pumped up and keep this as a relatively low scoring affair.  I think Baltimore could win it to split the series, but I think it'll be something like 23-17 and I don't see Flacco with very good numbers in this one. RBs 1.DeMarco Murray  2.Matt Forte 3.Arian Foster 4.Jamaal Charles  5.Le'Veon Bell   6.Marshawn Lynch 7.Lamar Miller 8.Andre Ellington 9.Ben Tate 10.Eddie Lacy 11.LeSean McCoy 12.Joique Bell  13.Giovani Bernard 14.Jerick McKinnon   15.Mark Ingram 16.Ahmad Bradshaw  17.Ronnie Hillman  18.Justin Forsett 19.Shane Vereen 20.Branden Oliver 21.Darren McFadden 22.Alfred Morris 23.Chris Ivory  24.Doug Martin 25.Tre Mason 26.Reggie Bush 27.Jonathan Stewart   28.Denard Robinson 29.Trent Richardson  30.Bishop Sankey    31.Anthony Dixon  32.James Starks 33.Isaiah Crowell   34.Bernard Pierce  35.Khiry Robinson 36.Steven Jackson   37.Darren Sproles 38.Chris Johnson 39.Bobby Rainey  40.Matt Asiata 41.Bryce Brown 42.Knile Davis 43.Jeremy Hill 44.Benny Cuningham 45.Travaris Cadet 46.Stepfan Taylor 47.Jonas Gray  48.Storm Johnson 49.Roy Helu   50.Daniel Thomas ESPN is a week behind me on hyping up Run DMC... I nailed it again with my RBs in Week 7.  I was high on Darren McFadden (ESPN #34, ME #25), and he finished 18th overall.  The Raiders continued their losing ways, but they also continued to feed McFadden the ball.  He's moving up my rankings as Oakland faces a weak Cleveland run defense in Week 8, and I still have him higher than the ESPN experts.  Also I was down on Brandon Bolden (ESPN #32, ME #41), saying you needed to wait and see how the Pats used their RBs after Ridley's season-ending injury...not to mention the fact they were playing the Jets, who are a top-10 run defense.  ESPN ranked Bolden like a potential Flex play, but he only got one touch on the night.  In fact, it was Jonas Gray who got the chance before Bolden (though he only had 2 touches himself).  We all knew Vereen would be utilized a lot in that game, but I also tried to tell you not to trust Bolden.  Now he'll likely be back to the waiver wire in most leagues.  Just make sure if you pick up Gray, don't go crazy on him yet either! I'm high on: Mark Ingram (ESPN #22, ME #15) Pierre Thomas is expected to be sidelined a couple of weeks with a shoulder injury, but Khiry Robinson is also missing some practice this week with a forearm injury.  While Robinson will likely play against Green Bay on Monday night, Thomas is not expected to suit up.  Travaris Cadet should also be in the mix, but I fully expect Ingram to get the bulk of the work.  And assuming the Saints get into the redzone quite a bit in this one, Ingram should get the first shot at those goal line carries.  He seems like a sure thing to get 75 yards and a TD this week, which has me ranking him as a high end RB2. Pierce is getting the TDs lately... I'm down on: Justin Forsett (ESPN #10, ME #18)  In each of their last two games, Bernard Pierce has vultured a goal line TD from Forsett, and as long as he's healthy I think he'll continue to do so.  Meanwhile, Forsett has at least 95 total yards in each of his last 4 games and is the clear feature back in this Ravens offense.  I think it's very possible he gets close to that number in yardage again this week against the Bengals, but I think Pierce will be the one who finds the endzone and not Forsett. WRs 1.Demaryius Thomas    2.Jordy Nelson  3.Antonio Brown 4.Dez Bryant 5.Randall Cobb 6.T.Y. Hilton 7.Jeremy Maclin  8.Julio Jones 9.Golden Tate  10.Sammy Watkins  11.Brandon Marshall  12.Mike Wallace  13.Vincent Jackson 14.Michael Floyd 15.Alshon Jeffery  16.Emmanuel Sanders  17.Kelvin Benjamin    18.Steve Smith, Sr.  19.Julian Edelman 20.Terrance Williams   21.Mohamed Sanu 22.Andre Johnson   23.Roddy White  24.Doug Baldwin  25.Pierre Garcon  26.Marques Colston 27.DeSean Jackson     28.Torrey Smith   29.DeAndre Hopkins  30.Larry Fitzgerald 31.Eric Decker  32.Wes Welker 33.Keenan Allen  34.Brandin Cooks 35.Andre Holmes   36.Kendall Wright 37.James Jones  38.Dwayne Bowe  39.Malcom Floyd  40.Allen Robinson 41.Mike Evans 42.Cecil Shorts III   43.Brian Quick  44.Brandon LaFell 45.Cordarrelle Patterson 46.Davante Adams 47.Percy Harvin    48.Andrew Hawkins  49.Justin Hunter   50.Hakeem Nicks I feel like I haven't changed my top-3 WRs in my rankings in quite a while.  Those guys have just been super consistent at putting up big numbers.  Man, I love me some Jordy.  Stay healthy, brother!   Just a quick note on guys I didn't rank... AJ Green/Megatron/Reggie Wayne: I'm assuming they're all inactive due to various injuries. Denard Robinson: Yeah, he should be eligible as a WR in your league, but I ranked him with the RBs.  I don't do Flex rankings, and I don't care to take the time to figure out how to rank him on both lists. Adams should have more leaps left this year and beyond. Looking back at my picks last week, I nailed it with my WRs too! I told you about Davante Adams (ESPN #56, ME #42), saying this would likely be the last time you could pick him up off the waiver wire in your league.  And while he didn't continue to get the targets he saw in Week 6, he did find the endzone and put up some decent fantasy numbers with his one catch.  Maybe he's not the best bet for consistent WR3 numbers just yet, but he's someone to stash and maybe even play based on the matchup (like this week even...).  He's also a Nelson or Cobb injury away from being a potential top-20 fantasy WR.  You can't say that about too many people in the NFL.  As for the guy I was down on, DeAndre Hopkins (ESPN #24, ME #30) actually had a decent game on Monday night, but he did finish exactly where I had him at 30th.  I just don't see him as an every week WR2 with Ryan Fitzpatrick throwing the ball to him, and he'll likely stay right around 30 for me for the rest of the season.   I'm high on: Sammy Watkins (ESPN #22, ME #10)   The rookie found himself on Revis island in Week 6, but other than that has been crushing it since the Bills switched from EJ Manuel to Kyle Orton.  Last week he went for a 9-122-2 line, and he has that upside again this week as the Bills go on the road to face the Jets (who have given up more passing TDs than any other defense in the league). I'm down on: Percy Harvin (ESPN #34, ME #47)  Speaking of the Jets, they had an interesting week in the wide receiver department.  Not only did they sign Jeremy Kerley to a 4-year extension, but they also traded a conditional draft pick for Harvin.  The trade actually happened after the Jets played New England on Thursday night but before the Seahawks played Sunday, so Harvin hasn't played a snap since Week 6 against Dallas.  Of course in that game he had 3 catches for zero yards, so who cares right?  Apparently the ESPN fantasy experts do, that's who.  Percy's stat lines are worse than Cordarrelle Patterson's this year, but the ESPN guys still believe.  In fact, Matthew Berry and Christopher Harris even ranked Harvin all the way up in the 20s.  What?!?  Not only does he not know the new offense, but he also is only expected to play on 30 snaps or so.  There are way too many guys who I'd rather play ahead of this risky pick. TEs 1.Rob Gronkowski 2.Julius Thomas 3.Greg Olsen   4.Jimmy Graham 5.Antonio Gates 6.Martellus Bennett 7.Jordan Reed 8.Travis Kelce 9.Dwayne Allen 10.Zach Ertz  11.Jordan Cameron 12.Owen Daniels 13.Jason Witten 14.Delanie Walker    15.Charles Clay  You're going to trust this guy to get it to Delanie this week? I talked up Josh Hill last Thursday, but that was assuming Jimmy Graham was going to be out 2-3 weeks like the reports were suggesting.  Well, Jimmy actually suited up against the Lions.  And while he was mostly a decoy, it obviously hurt the potential of a guy like Hill as a fill-in for a couple of weeks.  Anyway, I'm putting Graham back up near the top this week.   Speaking of this week, my tight end rankings are staying true to form and are pretty similar to ESPN's.  However, one guy that sticks out to me on my list versus theirs is Delanie Walker (ESPN #8, ME #14).  Walker hasn't had more than 4 catches or 5 fantasy points since Week 4, and now he'll have Zach Mettenberger throwing to him in his first NFL start.  Maybe the rookie will check down to his tight end out of necessity, but I don't think he'll even stand a chance against that Texans defense.  I think this one will be a blowout, and I don't expect Delanie to do much in it. DEF 1.Dolphins 2.Bills 3.Lions 4.Cowboys 5.Texans 6.Chiefs 7.Browns 8.Patriots 9.Ravens 10.Colts 11.Vikings 12.Seahawks 13.Bucs  14.Eagles  15.Cardinals   Green Bay was a top-10 defense as they destroyed the Panthers in Lambeau.  In fact, it was 38-3 at the end of the 3rd quarter, but the Packers surrendered two 4th quarter TDs to take them from a top-5 defense to just a top-10 defense.  Either way, it was a good call on my part versus the ESPN analysts and I'll take it.  I was down on the 49ers, and I still don't understand why the ESPN experts rank defenses who play against Peyton Manning in Mile High Stadium.  It blows my mind.  San Fran's D actually gave up 42 points to the Broncos, got negative fantasy points, and finished dead last among all defenses in most formats.  Again, no surprise here but I guess a bit of a surprise to the ESPN guys.  At least they seem to have learned from their mistakes and aren't ranking the Chargers too highly this week. I'm high on: Browns (ESPN #16, ME #6) I'm also high on a couple of other squads with plus matchups like the Bucs and Jags (the latter was just outside of my top-15), but I'll talk about the Brownies this week.  Like Jacksonville, Cleveland has been right near a top-10 fantasy defense over the last 4 weeks.  And like Tampa Bay, Cleveland will also be at home facing a rookie quarterback.  It's impossible to predict something like a pick-6, but why not?  I think we'll see one from a guy like Joe Haden in this one, and the Browns will add 3 sacks and another turnover or two along the way. I just have a feeling we'll be seeing this in Week 8. I'm down on: Broncos (ESPN #6, ME not ranked)   Yes, Denver has been a top-10 fantasy defense this year, but their two best fantasy days actually came in both of their road games.  Maybe it's a coincidence, maybe not.  But it should also be noted that San Diego is giving up the 2nd fewest fantasy points to team defenses this year, and both squads could put up a lot of points in tonight's game.  I'd look for another option this week if I had the Bronco D. That's it for Week 8.  Good luck everyone (except you, Brandon). Cheers, Bart