Week 9 Fantasy Thoughts

We are now looking to the playoff stretch and every player that you start could win or lose your game as has already happened to me this season.  Now is the time to really make sure that the guys you have in your lineup are the correct ones.  Hopefully, the following may be on your roster or are available to be picked up.

Quarterbacks

Tony Romo,  in a season where outside of Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, there are not too many automatic starts at quarterback.  Tony Romo is beginning to look that way himself as even when he has a bad first half, he tends to pull out at least a couple of touchdowns.  This week he is at home against the Vikings and there anemic defense, so that means it should be a pretty good week for this guy.

Alex Smith,  going to Buffalo this week and this could be a week that the usually conservative Smith may be able to finally get you 3 touchdowns.  He is always good for 14-18 points as he rarely turns the ball over, will rush for about 30 yards and get a touchdown one way or the other. This week he should be able to get over the conservative hump and be a fantasy game changer. 

Russell Wilson,  Wilson is at home, which usually means a very good game regardless of who they are playing.  This week Revis and company are coming to town, but expect 20 points at the minimum as Wilson's running ability is always good for 5-8 points.  If Wilson can put together a big passing game, it could be a great day for Wilson owners.

Desperation

Geno Smith,  Smith has had a very up and down year and this is an opportunity for it to go back up as the Saints always seem to have a tough time on the road and maybe you catch Geno on the upswing.  If you are desperate in a 2 quarterback league, Geno may be your man.

Stay Away

Joe Flacco, going against Joe Haden and company, expect Flacco to be under some pressure as the Browns defense has been getting better and better.  With Haden taking away a side, it will make it difficult for Flacco and company.  They are coming off a bye, which could leave Flacco owners with a glimmer of hope.

Tom Brady,  it is pretty amazing to ever say this, but he has not been great all season and now with a rivalry game against the #2 passing defense in town, you should look elsewhere.  Who am I kidding?  These are the same type of games where he surprises everybody and throws for 400 and 4 touchdowns.  Good luck figuring this guy out this season.

Running Backs

Demarco Murray,  should be back in action this week and I expect him to feast on one of the NFL's worst all around defenses, but particularly bad against the run with Minnesota coming to town.

Arian Foster,  this is rivalry game on Sunday night and they have Case Keenum starting.  I assume that with Ben Tate nursing some fractured ribs, Foster will be getting the bulk of the carries and they are going to try and run the ball against the Colts.  Should be able to get over the century mark, but has not been scoring with the same frequency Foster owners have been accustomed to.

Bilal Powell,  should get a lot of carries with the Saints coming to town.  Powell should get 20 carries at home against a suspect run defense.

Leveon Bell,  going against a depleted middle of the defense with Mayo and Wilfork out, expect Bell to get a good amount of carries and take full advantage of them.

Desperation

Can CJ break the century mark
for the first time this week?

Chris Johnson, did not think it would come to picking Powell as a guy to start and CJ2000k as a desperation pick, but when you have not scored a rushing touchdown or had a 100 yard game, that is how the cookie crumbles.  He has not been as bad in a PPR league as he has been catching balls out of the backfield and even scored this way in 2 of the past 3 weeks.

Stay Away

Ray Rice,  I know they are coming off a bye and have tried to recommit to him, but they are playing the Browns, who have a solid defense, and Rice never seems to do too well against them.

Fred Jackson,  Spiller is back in the mix, KC is coming to town and they have no idea who will be playing quarterback for the Bills.  Those all seem like pretty good reasons not to start Jackson.

Wide Receivers

TY Hilton and Darius Heyward Bey, with Reggie Wayne out, somebody is going to need to pick up the slack.  Heyward Bey is going to most likely take Reggie's spot and TY has already been a pretty good option.  Both will see upside and if you are desperate Darius may be the guy.

Josh Gordon, should be an every week start now that we know Campbell is comfortable throwing him the ball as evidence from last week's game against KC.  Should have an easier time with Baltimore and another week of practice with Campbell.

Desperation

Kendall Wright, if you are looking for a guy to give you some consistent numbers, this is your man.  Unfortunately, he consistently gives you no touchdowns, but he gets 7 or 8 catches for over 70 yards most of the time.  If you have to pick somebody up, especially in a PPR league, Wright could help you.

Kenny Stills and Lance Moore,  if Cromartie ends up covering Graham, Brees will be looking to throw to some other guys and these 2 may be the ones to benefit.  Stills is turning into his longball guy and Moore just came back last week and should begin to see more targets.

Tight Ends

Coby Fleener,  Fleener is beginning to become more important to this offense an with Reggie Wayne out for the rest of the season, this could be the perfect time to pick this guy up.  Outside of a couple of tight ends, it is pretty much a crap shoot on who to start, why not take a chance on this guy.

Defense

Dallas,  there are a lot of Cowboys on this list, so I might as well add these guys.  Going against a Minnesota team that relies too heavily on Peterson, the Cowboys will be happy to see a quarterback that can't throw as their secondary has been pretty abysmal.  They should be looking to go at the Minnesota running game and cross their fingers that Ponder doesn't figure it out.