Your Week 9 Fantasy Football Review

It’s a wrap for Week 9 in the NFL. Just like every other week in the season, we saw more big name injuries. We also saw the Colts take down the Broncos, handing them their first loss of the season. Meanwhile, the Panthers remained undefeated as they took it to the Packers [and almost let it slip away]. Here’s your NFL week in review:

Five key storylines from Week 9

1. What can Brown do for you?

He’s baaaaack!!!! Well momentarily he is. Antonio Brown returned to form last week when Ben Roethlisberger returned to the lineup and this week Brown just killed it on the field with almost 300 yards in receiving. He looked like the number one receiver in the game and the on-field relationship that he’s established with Big Ben over the years is just making for amazing chemistry. They both trust each other and it shows. Unfortunately, just as things looked like things were turning around for Brown, the Steelers were hit with another dose of bad luck, as I’ll talk about in the number two storyline of the week.

2. Down Goes Big Ben

This week’s big injury victim is Ben Roethlisberger who just returned to the lineup last week after missing time with another injury. Roethlisberger is expected to miss 1-2 weeks with a foot sprain. While this is a huge blow to the Steelers, it’s even a bigger blow to Antonio Brown’s fantasy value. Brown had a monster Sunday and he’ll go from being the best WR in the league with Big Ben to a mediocre WR with either Landry Jones as his QB.

3. Carolina puts league on notice

The Panthers are legit and if you had any doubt of that, well it was put to bed on Sunday when the Panthers remained undefeated by taking down Green Bay 37-29. The Packers made a game of it in the second half, but make no mistake about it, the Panthers were a way better team than the Packers on that day. Cam Newton continued to make his case for League MVP with a total of 4 touchdowns. The Panthers quest for perfection continues next week against the Titans.

Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

4. The Boy Wonder

The Tennessee Titans are a different team when Marcus Mariota is leading their offense. Mariota returned on Sunday from an injury and led the Titans to a stunning win in New Orleans 34-28. He knows how to get everyone involved on offense and he has a great pocket presence. He was responsible for 30+ fantasy points and threw 0 interceptions. I know that the Eagles are kicking themselves for not going all in for Mariota because he sure would look great in an Eagles uniform right about now.

5. Falcon Fizzle

Remember when the Falcons were undefeated and looked unbeatable? Well, those days are long gone as they crashed and burned for their third loss in a row, this time dropping to the Blaine Gabbert led 49ers. That’s sad. San Fran took down Atlanta 17-16 and a big reason for this Falcons slump is the terrible play by their offense. They’re reverting back to the offense that we saw in previous years under Mike Smith. The Falcons are now 6-3 and they’re in desperate need of a win and their bye week is coming at a perfect time for them, as they’ll need to regroup.

Bonus Storyline

Special message to Roger Goodell and the NFL

We see that you tried to send in your henchmen in to help out your buddy Jerry Jones towards the end of the fourth quarter of the Eagles game. Ed Hochuli and his boys did their best to screw the Eagles like he was Vince McMahon in a wrestling ring, but this happened in overtime:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JSDMm9NG8U

It was a slick attempt to do Jerry a solid, but it didn’t work. So from the bottom of my heart, and from the City of Brotherly Love, here’s a special message for ya:

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Waiver Wire Watch (*Keep an eye on, **Time to consider it, *** MUST Grab)

Each week, I will supply you with a list of players that you should consider adding from the waiver wire. Above, I listed the three tiers of players they are. So let’s take a look at the guys that you should be paying attention to. To qualify as a Waiver Wire guy, I’ll only consider those players that are owned in less than 60% of Yahoo! leagues at the time of this writing.

Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

***Tony Romo (DAL – QB) – 56% owned – If he was dropped in your league and you need QB help, grab him now. Romo could play as soon as week 11. Most people may’ve forgotten about him on your wire, but you shouldn’t. Dez Bryant is slowly but surely getting back to 100% and Cole Beasley looked great against the Eagles. The Cowboys need him back in a hurry, so do your thing with him for a late playoff push in your league.

***Karlos Williams (BUF – RB) – 34% owned – Shady McCoy went to the locker room twice on Sunday for a shoulder injury. With the Bills playing on Thursday Night Football this week, there’s a chance that McCoy either misses the game or at the very least is limited. Either way, Williams proved what he could do early on in the season without Shady, so he really shouldn’t be on most waiver wires just in case the injury is more severe.

**Antonio Andrews (TEN – RB) – 50% owned – Andrews got the vote of confidence from his head coach last week, who said that Andrews needs to be fed more. You could do a lot worse than Andrews, so you should really consider picking him up.

***Marcus Mariota (TEN – QB) – 34% owned – Mariota sparked the Titans upset win against the Saints by throwing for four touchdowns. I’d rather own him than a guy like Sam Bradford. If you’re looking for a spark plug with your offense, Mariota might be your guy.

**James Starks (GB – RB) – 38% owned – It was another week where Packer starting RB, Eddie Lacy did nothing. If Lacy’s struggles continue, Starks could officially overthrow him as the lead back in Green Bay. He’s been the better back and they’ve been used in a platoon system. It’s time to be concerned about Lacy and therefore, Starks needs to be owned in more leagues.

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Here are Week 9’s Studs:

Quarterbacks

1. Marcus Mariota (TEN vs. NO) – Mariota was 28/39 for 371 yards and 4 touchdowns against the Saints. He was the big reason for the Titans victory this week. The kid has a nice career ahead of him and the Titans have a star to build their team around.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=762QWaLe_n4

2. Cam Newton (CAR vs. GB) – Cam led the way for the Panthers against the Packers, as he was 15/30 for 297 yards with 3 passing touchdowns and 1 rushing touchdown. The Panthers are legit!

3. Aaron Rodgers (GB vs. CAR) – Rodgers was 25/48 for 369 YDS and 4 touchdowns in a losing effort to the Panthers. He didn’t look sharp, but he put up tons of fantasy points this week and that’s all we care about.

Running Backs

1. DeAngelo Williams (PIT vs. OAK) – Le’Veon who? Williams had 27 carries for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Raiders. He looks rejuvenated in a Steelers uniform.

He can block too…

https://vine.co/v/el7OUwAmJLO

2. Karlos Williams (BUF vs. MIA) – Karlos Wiiliams looked great in his first week back, since suffering a concussion. He had 9 carries for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns and with or without LeSean McCoy in the lineup, Williams will get his share of carries.

3. LeGarrette Blount (NE vs. WAS) – With Dion Lewis done for the season, look for Blount to shoulder the load in the Patriots backfield. Against Washington he had 29 carries for 129 yards and 1 touchdown. The Patriots can make a star out of anyone.

Wide Receivers

1. Sammy Watkins (BUF vs. MIA) – Watkins had his biggest game of the season against the Dolphins on Sunday when he had 8 receptions for 168 yards and 1 touchdown. He did suffer an ankle injury, so monitor his status as the Bills play the Jets on Thursday Night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cTNqwZ5gkY

2. Antonio Brown (PIT vs. OAK) – I already touched on it, but Brown was back to his animalistic ways against the Raiders. He had 17 receptions for 284 yards. Let’s hope he can keep it going for the next couple of weeks with Big Ben out of the lineup.

3. Michael Crabtree (OAK vs. PIT) – Crabtree has been a great investment for the Raiders. He had 7 receptions for 108 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Steelers. The Raiders have something good going in Oakland, despite their loss this week.

Tight Ends

1. Tyler Eifert (CIN vs. CLE) – Eifert had 5 receptions for 53 yards and 3 touchdowns this week against the Browns.I hope he wasn’t on your bench this week, or else you’re probably not feeling great about yourself this week.

2. Owen Daniels (DEN vs. IND) – 6 receptions for 102 yards and 1 touchdown. The Broncos went out and traded for Vernon Davis last week, so it’s only right that this was the week that they decided to show Owen Daniels some love. Makes sense to you, right? I didn’t think so. Still, it was a great week for Daniels.

3. Delanie Walker (TEN vs. NO) – Walker went off for 7 receptions for 95 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Saints. With Marcus Mariota as his QB, Walker is a TE 1. and he proved why this week. Let’s hope for his sake that Mariota doesn’t go down to injury any more.

Defense

New England Patriots (vs. WAS) – Though not a shocker, the Patriots defense did what they needed to do against Washington to remain undefeated. They had 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery and only allowed 10 points in their win against the Redskins.

Kickers

Josh Brown (NYG vs. TB) – Josh Brown has been money most of the season and this week was no different. He was 4/4 with field goal attempts, while knocking home 2 XP’s for a total of 17 fantasy points.

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