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
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14.Ryan Tannehill
15.Eli Manning
16.Ryan Fitzpatrick
17.Alex Smith
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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)
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| 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)
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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.
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RBs |
1.Arian Foster
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2.DeMarco Murray
3.Jamaal Charles
4.Marshawn Lynch
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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
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14.Jerick McKinnon
15.Branden Oliver
16.Frank Gore
17.Chris Ivory
18.Jeremy Hill
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19.Denard Robinson
20.Justin Forsett
21.Shane Vereen
22.Bobby Rainey
23.Andre Williams
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24.Darren McFadden
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25.Jonas Gray
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26.Trent Richardson
27.Travaris Cadet
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28.DeAngelo Williams
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29.Lorenzo Taliaferro
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30.Tre Mason
31.Knile Davis
32.Jonathan Stewart
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33.Juwan Thompson
34.Darren Sproles
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35.Charles Sims
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36.Peyton Hillis
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37.Roy Helu
38.Matt Asiata
39.Carlos Hyde
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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.
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I'm down on: Isaiah Crowell (ESPN #37, ME not ranked)
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| 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.
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WRs
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1.Antonio Brown
2.Dez Bryant
3.Demaryius Thomas
4.Jeremy Maclin
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5.T.Y. Hilton
6.Kelvin Benjamin
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7.Emmanuel Sanders
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8.A.J. Green
9.Mike Wallace
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10.Andre Johnson
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11.DeSean Jackson
12.Keenan Allen
13.Steve Smith, Sr.
14.DeAndre Hopkins
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15.Rueben Randle
16.Mohamed Sanu
17.Brandin Cooks
18.Doug Baldwin
19.Vincent Jackson
20.Terrance Williams
21.Odell Beckham, Jr.
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22.Brandon LaFell
23.Michael Crabtree
24.Pierre Garcon
25.Michael Floyd
26.Andrew Hawkins
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27.Larry Fitzgerald
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28.Julian Edelman
29.Marques Colston
31.Dwayne Bowe
34.Cordarrelle Patterson
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36.Mike Evans
37.Andre Holmes
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38.Anquan Boldin
39.James Jones
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40.Martavis Bryant
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 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!
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| 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.
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TEs
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1.Rob Gronkowski
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2.Jimmy Graham
3.Julius Thomas
4.Antonio Gates
5.Greg Olsen
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6.Dwayne Allen
7.Travis Kelce
8.Jordan Reed
9.Larry Donnell
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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...
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DEF
1.Bengals
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2.Chiefs
3.Seahawks
4.49ers
5.Browns
6.Vikings
7.Ravens
8.Texans
9.Redskins
10.Colts
11.Dolphins
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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)
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| 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
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