Seth Vigdor
It’s Week 9 time in the NFL and what a wonderful week it will be. From division rivalries to perhaps the last meeting of a legend and his replacement, business is about to pick up big time. Let’s hit it.
Here’s my five biggest Fantasy Football storylines heading into Week 9:
1. Birds/Cowboys (Part II)
We’re back at it again with the Eagles/Dallas in their second meeting of the season. The Cowboys dominated the first game in Philly 20-10. Hopefully, if you’re an Eagles fan, the Birds come prepared for this one. The Cowboys are in a complete downward spiral and have lost five games in a row, as they’re 2-5. The Eagles aren’t much better at 3-4 and that’s because their offense can’t pull things together. Either the WR’s drop the balls when Sam Bradford finally makes a nice throw or Sam Bradford can’t throw a nice ball if his life depended on it. They’ve had slow starts in all but one game this year. They can’t afford another slow start in this one.
Meanwhile, in cell block number one, A.K.A. Dallas, they’ve struggled since Tony Romo suffered a shoulder injury. If you think Sam Bradford sucks, try watching Matt Cassell play. He’s absolutely brutal. Dez Bryant returned from his foot injury last week, so he should be more involved in the Cowboys offense this week.
And yes, the woman beater Greg Hardy is still on the Cowboys.
He’s a disgrace…
2. The Final Battle?
In what could be the last time these two quarterbacks play each other, Peyton Manning and the Broncos will face off against Andrew Luck and the Colts. Luck has been playingwith fractured ribs, which would explain his disappointing season to date. Meanwhile, though Peyton Manning hasn’t looked sharp most of the season, the Broncos are 7-0. Manning doesn’t have much time left in his career, so this may be the last time they step on the field against each other. Luck replaced Manning in Indianapolis years back and while these guys aren’t at the top of their game this year, we all need to soak this one in.
3. Life without Le’Veon
It sounds like a movie on lifetime, doesn’t it? The Steelers march to make the playoffs will have to be without Le’Veon Bell, who is done for the season with a torn MCL. DeAngelo Williams will be his fill-in, but the Steelers will have to rely more on Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant through the air. The journey starts at home this week against the 4-3 Raiders. Saying that this game is huge for the 4-4 Steelers would be a major understatement. Great teams step up when their backs are against the wall, so let’s see what kind of fight the Steelers have in them.
4. How low can it go?
The sh#t is hitting the fan in San Francisco. Besides the obvious fact that they’re a terrible football team, we are now starting to see the Niners implode. They traded Vernon Davis to the Broncos at the trade deadline and word broke on Tuesday that Colin Kaepernick was being benched for Blaine Gabbert. It was a long time coming, but damn does that have to sting Kaepernick’s ego.
I mean think about it. A guy that thinks he’s this f’n amazing…
Loses his starting gig to this…
C’mon! When I look at Gabbert all I see is Uncle Rico from Napolean Dynamite.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who their QB is this year. The Niners aren’t going anywhere except for a battle for the first pick in next year’s draft.
5. Trouble in Green Bay?
Fresh off of their first loss of the season to the Denver Broncos, the Green Bay Packers will look to regroup with another tough game this week against the undefeated Carolina Panthers on the road. The Pack’s O went silent in Denver and things won’t get much easier this week against the strong Panthers D. Aaron Rodgers threw for 77 yards and 0 touchdowns last week and that’s not going to cut it this week. Randall Cobb’s shoulder must be giving him problems because he’s been quiet the last month and Eddie Lacy has been virtually invisible all year. I expect the Packers to be ready, but the Panthers appear ready for war as well.
Week 9 Byes: Detroit, Kansas City, Arizona, Seattle, Baltimore, Houston
Each week I will present what I think are the juiciest fantasy matchups at each position. I don’t want to keep you guys waiting, so let’s take a look at the juiciest matchups for Week 9:
Quarterbacks
Derek Carr (OAK vs. PIT) – On the season Carr is 150/229 for 1793 yards and 15 touchdowns. The Raiders actually aren’t that bad this year and Carr is big reason for that. Oakland should be able to move the ball on the Steelers, so I’m expecting 2-3 touchdowns this week for him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwdfCi2LHEg
Ben Roethlisberger (PIT vs. OAK) – Big Ben looked rusty in his return from injury last week against the Bengals. On the year he’s 95/134 for 1,174 yards with 5 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Those aren’t great numbers, but with Le’Veon Bell done for the season, look for the Big Ben/Antonio Brown connection to get going. I think that we’re looking at 3 touchdowns at least this week for Roethlisberger against the Raiders.
Philip Rivers (SD vs. CHI) – Rivers is having a monster year so far and he should be in line for another big week against the Bears on Monday Night Football. Though it was announced on Monday that Keenan Allen is lost for the season, due to Kidney issues, Rivers is still armed with enough talent to make big things happen in their offense going forward.
Wide Receivers
Brandin Cooks (NO vs. TEN) – Brandin Cooks finally broke out a bit last week against the Giants with 2 touchdowns. It’s been a down year for him as he has 41 receptions for 532 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Saints opponent this week, the Titans are a really bad team. Drew Brees should be able to carve their defense up, which should mean a big week for Cooks.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOPFGXiD4Pg
Mike Evans (TB vs. NYG) –Evans is without a doubt suffering from the sophomore slump as he has 24 receptions for 386 yards and 1 touchdown on the year. Tampa Bay gets the Giants this week at home and by no means do I expect a Bucs win here, but I do expect them to put up a nice amount of points against them. Look for 100+ yards and 1 touchdown this week for Evans.
Martavis Bryant (PIT vs. OAK) – I’ve already mentioned that the Steelers should be looking to air the football out more and that will benefit all of their WR’s. Martavis Bryant should be able to make some big plays happen this week against the Raiders. I’m looking for 80+ yards and 2 touchdowns this week for Bryant.
Running Backs
Ronnie Hillman (DEN vs. IND) – Hillman has been the best back all year (including training camp and pre-season) for Denver. He has 85 carries for 383 yards and 4 touchdowns on the year and he’ll remain a key part of their offense down the stretch. I think we get 90+ yards and a touchdown this week from him against the Colts.
Danny Woodhead (SD vs. CHI) – This matchup against the Bears for the Chargers has Danny Woodhead’s name written all over it. Woodhead has 52 carries for 197 yards and 2 touchdowns on the year to go along with 36 receptions and 2 touchdowns through the air. Woodhead will cause all types of matchup problems for the Bears. I expect 120+ total yards plus 2 touchdowns for Woody on Monday Night.
Ryan Mathews (PHI vs. DAL) – Not sure if it’s my head or heart talking here, but I have a feeling that Chip Kelly is going to unleash a total Oregon Duck type of offensive barrage on the Cowboys. I think he’s going to run DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews until they drop. Mathews has 56 carries for 342 yards and 3 touchdowns on the season and has been the best Eagle running back this year. I think Mathews goes over the 100 yard, to go along with 1 touchdown this week.
Tight Ends
Tyler Eifert (CIN vs. CLE) – Tyler Eifert is having a pretty nice season for the undefeated Bengals as he 32 receptions for 381 yards and 6 touchdowns. The Bengals draw the Browns this week on the dreaded Thursday Night Football game. Eifert will find the end zone at least once.
Martellus Bennett (CHI vs. SD) – Bennett is due for a big game and though I think that the Chargers will make relatively easy work of Da Bears, Bennett should see his share of touches in what promises to be a game that involves a ton of passes, as they try to keep pace with Philip Rivers and his high powered offense.
Kicker
Blair Walsh (MIN vs. STL) – The 5-2 Vikings are going to have a tough time finding the end zone against a great Rams D, but that doesn’t mean that the Vikings can’t move the ball. I expect this to be a game of field goals, which plays into Blair Walsh’s favor.
Defense
New England (vs. WAS) – It doesn’t get any juicier than the undefeated Patriots hosting the Redskins. We know that the Patriots are going to put up 30+ points and we know that the Redskins will be playing from behind. All of this points to the Patriots defense forcing a bunch of Redskins mistakes.
Bust of the Week
Stefon Diggs (vs. STL) – The rookie phenom Diggs showed up on the injury report on Wednesday with a hamstring injury. He’s been rockin’ and rollin’ over the past few weeks and while I think that he has many great games left in him this year, I don’t think a matchup against the Rams will present him with the best opportunity to continue his success this week. Should he play, it’ll feel like he’s not even on the field. The Rams will shut him down.
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Daily Fantasy Sports
Each week I will give you my value picks for both FanDuel and DraftKings. Please remember that the salaries are a bit different at each site, so you may not see the same guys on each list because of that. Also, at the end of the day, the final decisions are yours to make, but I’m here to guide you through some value picks. Without further hesitation, let’s get into my DFS value picks for Week 9:
Derek Carr (OAK – QB – $7,000) vs. PIT – Carr has looked impressive recently and I think that the Raiders will present some problems for the Steelers. I think Carr will make some noise this week.
Ronnie Hillman (DEN – RB – $6,400) vs. IND – Hillman is a big part of the Broncos O and with the Colts struggling badly, I think that Hillman can do some damage here.
Malcolm Floyd (SD – WR – $6,100) vs. CHI – With Keenan Allen on IR, Floyd will play a bigger part in the Chargers passing game, plus I love the $6,100 price tag.
Benjamin Watson (NO – TE – $5,700) vs. TEN – Watson doesn’t seem to get any respect in regular or daily fantasy. The fact that his salary is so low and because he has a juicy matchup against the Titans, I’m snatching him up for the TE position.
New York Giants (DEF – $4,500) vs. TB – The Giants have blown a bunch of games over the last month, but my gut is telling me that their defense has a big time game this week against Tampa Bay.
Andy Dalton (CIN- QB – $6,200) vs. CLE – The red rocket is coming off of a poor game against the Steelers. Dalton will bounce back this week and is an absolute steal at $6,200 on DraftKings.
Jonathan Stewart (CAR– RB – $4,300) vs. GB – Stewart has impressed me as of late and I think the Panthers will turn to him at least 20+ times this week against a Packers team that’s coming off of their first loss of the season. Stewart has a big time game coming his way this week.
Danny Amendola (NE– WR – $4,000) vs. WAS – This game will be a blowout and usually in games like this for the Patriots, some of their D list players get involved in their offense. I think that guy this week is Danny Amendola and $4,000 is super cheap for him.
Benjamin Watson (NO – TE –$4,000) vs. TEN – As is the case in FanDuel, Watson’s salary is extremely low. Against the Titans, Watson will continue to shine.
New Orleans (DEF – $2,000) vs. TEN– Sticking with the Saints dominating the Titans theme, I love the Saints at $2,000 at home this week. They’re going to force a bunch of turnovers and there’s nothing that the Titans can do to stop it.
Good luck this week!
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