Post Week Nine NFL Team Rankings

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1. Kansas City- I hate to put the Chiefs atop the rankings but they’ve earned it. A 9-0 stand alone record.
2. San Francisco 49ers- I like the way the 49ers have rebalanced their team before their bye week. Seattle doesn’t look the same and the NFC seems to be setup for an easier run than the AFC is.
3. Denver Broncos- It’s November and the hot topic is the weather change. Can Manning avoid his paternalistic cold weather melt downs?
4. New England Patriots- If the Patriots key contributors on offense can stay healthy, they’ll be able to outscore most opponents even with a hindered defense.
5. Seattle Seahawks- There are some serious problems for the Seahawks. They need to diagnose what’s going on with their defense rather quickly. If not they’re going to end up being defeated by a wildcard team in the playoffs.
6. Cincinnati- They suffered a hiccup on Thursday night, but are in full control of their division. With the pressure off they should be able to gain forward as the season moves on.
7. New Orleans- The Saints have to lessen the burden on Drew Brees and get a running game in place.
8. Indianapolis- Second year quarterback Andrew Luck might have to much weight on his shoulders to handle at this stage. We will see if he can keep his heroics going.
9. Carolina Panthers- Quietly the Panthers are emerging as a serious threat. The next two games against the 49ers and Patriots will truly show how far they’ve come.
10. Detroit Lions- The type of win the Lions had before their bye week against the Cowboys is a rally type of win. The whole team has to be motivated now especially with divisional counterparts having issues at quarterback.
11. Green Bay Packers
12. Dallas Cowboys
13. San Diego Chargers
14. Philadelphia Eagles
15. NY Jets
16. Baltimore Ravens
17. Chicago Bears
18. Miami Dolphins
19. Arizona Cardinals
20. Tennessee Titans
21. Cleveland Browns
22. Washington Redskins
23. St. Louis Rams
24. Pittsburgh Steelers
25. Atlanta Falcons
26. Buffalo Bills
27. Oakland Raiders
28. NY Giants
29. Houston Texans
30. Minnesota Vikings
31. Jacksonville Jaguars
32. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Week Ten Potential Fourth Quarter Killers

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RG3
RG3 and the Redskins just don’t want to make things easy on themselves. While that has been the case, there has been a fantasy points spree from RG3 late in games as a result. Thursday games this season have not necessarily been fantasy friendly but RG3 will break that mold.

Carson Palmer
Houston is in a dire situation that does not look good. Case Keenum shined against the Colts but will be facing a higher grade defense in the Arizona Cardinals. They’ll shadow Andre Johnson much better than the Colts did. Arizona has also been stout on defense at stopping the run. This is a perfect setup game for Palmer to have a coming out party with his arm. Look for Arizona to beat a poor Houston secondary time after time.

Matt Forte
Forte has had two great games, one against Washington before the bye week and last week against the Packers. New head coach Marc Trestman is putting on a show with his play calling. Everyone wants to talk about the Eagles being the most potent offense, but the Bears have been scoring at a higher rate this season. Watch Forte have another strong performance that leads into the fourth quarter.

Rashad Jennings
With Darren McFadden out Jennings gets a chance to fill the role he embraced as MJD’s backup in Jacksonville. Oakland needs their running game to be successful to have any shot at aiding Terrelle Pryor. It may not happen immediately this weekend, but Jennings should continue the trend of Oakland being a consistent threat for an RB2 in fantasy football.

DeMaryius Thomas
When Denver has big leads they don’t let off the gas. Peyton will still call audibles at the line of scrimmage to get the most out of a play. Against the Washington Redskins it resulted in a few miscues with interceptions. Other times it led to big plays. DeMaryius Thomas is a big receiver that no one wants to take down in the fourth quarter.

Keenan Allen
San Diego is going to need to throw a ton to try and compete with the Broncos. Over the last six weeks, Keenan Allen has been an ignition in the Chargers offense. Philip Rivers will continue to lean on his rookie and the Chargers will draw up favorable play calls for both. This game may be closer than people think but San Diego will certainly be in passing situations.

Others: Marshawn Lynch, Le’Veon Bell, Anquan Boldin, Jason Witten, Mike James, Frank Gore, and Zac Stacy.

Stretching the Field Post Week Nine

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Andre Johnson
The play calling for the Texans nose dived without head coach Gary Kubiak. For now though the Texans appear to have their new quarterback settled in Case Keenum. He revived Andre Johnson who had been held without a touchdown for a long time. He finished Sunday with two touchdowns on nine catches for over 220 yards.

Jimmy Graham
You have to think the rest of the season may get tougher for Graham. Marques Colston has been hobbled and Brees is having a tough time finding a main receiver to target frequently. For the first nine games of the season you’d can argue that Graham’s name deserves to be in the running for offensive MVP. He has been virtually unstoppable every game. He tacked on two more touchdowns Sunday.

Robert Meachem
Meachem didn’t get in the end zone but he did make four big catches. If Meachem can have half the impact that he did as a New Orleans Saint his first time around he can be of fantasy significance. With Colston nursing a knee injury, there is going to be an opportunity for Meachem to re-arise in the Saints offense.

Pierre Garcon
It was Garcon who talked about RG3 in the media about his knee brace. Since then the days of our lives media soap opera with RG3 has not been as near an issue. He has calmed down quite a bit and the sound bites have filtered down. Garcon has risen RG3’s game, when a year ago it was the opposite. Garcon is making phenomenal catches and finished with seven for over 170 yards.

Harry Douglas
Douglas continues to put up great stats as a number one receiver in spot duty over Julio Jones and Roddy White. Douglas had three catches for over eighty yards. He seemed to be having success for a couple of drives against Carolina before it all came to a halt. The ceiling for Douglas may have been reached, but the positive is that Roddy White should be back soon.

Riley Cooper and DeSean Jackson
Oakland’s secondary and defense obviously was not prepared to take on the Eagles assault. Once it started it was beginning of a marathon of nightmarish highlights for the Raiders. Now the Eagles get the spotlight again after the offense hadn’t clicked like that since week one. Cooper and Jackson will look to continue their show with Nick Foles at quarterback.

Greg Little
I wouldn’t rush to the waiver wire for Little, as he has been non-existent for much of the season. Sunday though the Ravens were the first defense to ensure Josh Gordon doesn’t beat them for big play after big play. They held him in check to just three catches for over forty yards. It was the other side that they struggled which led Little to a stellar game.

Aaron Dobson, Danny Amendola, and Rob Gronkowski
A game that was 24-all looked like it was on course to be a great finish. In a span of minutes the Patriots extended the lead with quick strike after quick strike. When the Steelers weren’t allowing big plays to Dobson, Amendola, and Gronk it came via pass interferences. We will see if the show can continue with all now healthy.

TY Hilton
Andrew Luck’s second half comeback heroics were similar to an NBA marksmen. Luck targeted TY Hilton and saw that the Texans couldn’t stop him once they got going. Hilton finished with seven catches for over 120 yards. Still, the Colts will have to find another receiver to step up in absence of Reggie Wayne.

POST WEEK NINE WAIVER WIRE ACQUISITIONS

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There are a lot of options suddenly after week nine to help bolster your fantasy football rosters. Review and get your waiver wire bids and priorities optioned before waivers go through.

Nick Foles
Chip Kelly’s demeanor in post games is right beneath Bill Belicheck in his tone. Sunday though you could tell his body language was saying finally! This is the offense Chip Kelly envisioned for four full quarters. Turnovers were avoided and the defense of the Raiders just couldn’t stop Foles. Can Foles keep this up or will he have a major regressive game? For now he is a must pick up after that performance.

Christian Ponder
Ponder had a couple of poor plays Sunday but he is showing strong signs of growing. He threw the football down the field more than he has since the week one game against Detroit. In turn the offense had a balance which resulted in AP’s first breakout game in quite some time. Don’t look now but Ponder has sudden fantasy value. With his ability to get fantasy points for you with his legs, Ponder is a sneaky waiver wire pickup.

Zac Stacy
I won’t point out the obvious performance from Stacy Sunday. The only notion I’ll give for fantasy owners is that he is possibly available for your league. Owned in just 71% of Yahoo Leagues currently.

Jon Stewart
Stewart’s first action on the field this season went fairly well. He ran the football nine times for forty two yards and also netted over twenty yards receiving. Carolina is going to remain one of the heaviest running teams in the NFL. Stewart may not get 100 yards rushing on a weekly basis but he can be a solid eight to ten fantasy points here and there with net yardage.

Chris Ivory
The Jets success in their five wins is simple. They have to play sound defense and their running game has to be clicking on all cylinders. That formula keeps the pressure off of Geno Smith and the game manageable. Ivory delivered a resounding performance against his former team in the Saints Sunday. Now it’s a matter of if Ivory can propel his success forward or not.

Rashad Jennings
Down goes McFadden. The Raiders need to hire a live DJ that not only pumps music through the stadium but also acts like a boxing referee for the injury woes of McFadden. Jennings stepped in and performed well, albeit, in a blowout home loss to the Eagles. If you heavily depend on McFadden you likely already have Jennings. Other owners just may want to pickup Jennings and see how the situation plays out with McFadden.

Giovanni Bernard
Cincinnati could do no wrong when they involved Bernard in their offense Thursday night. Somehow the Bengals need to get a higher volume of play calls for Bernard. You can see the same pattern with Bernard that the Cardinals had with Andre Ellington, before he exploded in his first heavy action against Atlanta.

Shane Vereen
This is just a friendly reminder that Vereen is expected to return by week eleven. This late in the season is crucial for fantasy football owners heading to the playoffs to seek an advantage. Vereen can be that, as the Patriots should resort back to running the football more once he returns.

Mike James
Tampa Bay is becoming the new fit for plug in running backs to succeed. LeGarrette Blount did it after Cadillac Williams had success. Then came current injured running back Doug Martin, and now it’s Mike James. James nearly became the main reason for a monumental Las Vegas underdog upset Sunday in Seattle. Nevertheless the current 47 percent of James owners in Yahoo leagues are thrilled.

Doug Baldwin
He just keeps cracking the fantasy radar. When things are looking dim for the Seahawks, Baldwin sees the field more. It happened against the Houston Texans and in other situations this year. Even when Percy Harvin hits the field do not expect Baldwin to fade out of Russ Wilson’s favor.

Riley Cooper
Cooper was non existent the first five games of the season. Over the last month he has come along strong. It’s a shocker that he wasn’t more productive earlier in the season with the amount of throws the Eagles do. The difference in time frames was who was at quarterback. Since Foles has been under center Riley has been a solid WR3 or flex option for fantasy owners. Yet he is still available for fantasy owners to pursue on the waiver wire.

Week Nine Automatics/Don’t Do Its

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Who are fantasy football automatics and don’t do its for week nine. Zack has players under the radar to start and ones to also sit out.

Josh McCown
With the Bears coming off a bye week some may have forgot how McCown performed filling in for Jay Cutler against the Redskins. Green Bay has improved defensively but has not faced a stellar offense in quite awhile. Trestman is an offensive guru and will assuredly have some play calls up his sleeve from the extra preparation coming off a bye week.

Thad Lewis
Call it how you want to but Lewis has been a difference maker in all three starts that he has played in. Pulling off a near upset against the Bengals and doing so against Miami. He has a solid accurate arm and the Bills do a good job of calling correct play calls for him. Kansas City’s defense has been a bit vulnerable against the pass lately. Lewis should be able to make the same amount of factor plays that he has been doing the last three games.

Marshawn Lynch
I touched on Lynch in my fourth quarter killers. This is the perfect setup for Lynch to finally get rolling. Tampa Bay has been torched every week. At first it was just poor results from their offense as the defense held ground. But over the last three to four games it has been on both sides of the football. Look for Lynch to get going early and for the Seahawks to have a high tally of rushing yards.

Danny Woodhead
The favorable matchups for the Chargers as a top fantasy football team just don’t stop. Philip Rivers has been great to the first half of the season, and will look to continue to keep the offense motivated against a Redskins defense that gives up a lot of yardage. An unsung fantasy football performer has been Danny Woodhead. He isn’t going to rush for 100 yards, but he will outproduce plenty of fantasy football running backs that do.

Marques Colston
New York’s defense is going to get all it can handle and then some Sunday. Andy Dalton has never been a fantasy football stalwart yet he still torched them. Imagine what Drew Brees and Sean Payton will have in store Sunday? Colston has been the forgotten Saint. His stats haven’t been there and he seems to be dropping by the second in fantasy enthusiasts minds. Wait just a few more weeks on him. He should show some positive signs with this matchup against the Jets.

Others: Joe Flacco, Terrelle Pryor, Le’Veon Bell, Kyle Rudolph and Darren McFadden

Don’t Do Its

Tom Brady
Brady’s poor performance against a Dolphins defense that has been struggling should be a high indicator that the Patriots have issues. He was able to lead the Patriots back to a win, but also got away with a late fumble that was recovered by New England. If that had been scooped up and returned for a touchdown things could have been completely different. Statistically Tom Brady has never fared well against defenses that attack. Pittsburgh gave up some big plays early to Oakland and then settled down. They’ll be ready for Brady.

Nick Foles
Mike Vick tried to return from a hamstring and now Nick Foles tries to return from a concussion. The ebb and flow of the Eagles offense that is vital to Chip Kelly’s success is gone. I don’t see it suddenly surging with Nick Foles return. Foles last time out was a woeful outing against the Cowboys. Teams now know how to prepare for Foles and he has yet to adjust.

DeMarco Murray
Murray has been the hot potato fantasy football player that drives owners nuts. Coming off of an injury I would not trust Murray one bit. Minnesota’s defense showed strong pride last week in their loss to Green Bay. Down and out they held the Packers to a field goal from inside their own five yard line. Look for the Vikings to get after a Cowboys team still probing and searching to what happened last week.

Jason Witten
Dez Bryant was on the sideline being held back by Jason Witten at the end of their devastating loss to the Detroit Lions. Maybe Bryant should have been yelling at Witten. Before he was an automatic top five tight end week in and week out. The offense has not changed from a high volume pass offense, yet Witten’s fantasy production has dropped immensely. I believe the Cowboys as a whole will struggle offensively except for Dez.

Others: Chris Johnson, Alex Smith, Ryan Tannehill, Matt Ryan, Jacquizz Rodgers, and Texans Rb’s

Week Eight Automatics/Don’t Do Its Follow@cimini It’s Thursday which means if you plan on having a Panther or Buccaneer in your week eight lineups you must have it submitted before kickoff. With several teams on byes this week it is imperative to dig deep on your rosters for points. Here are some automatic starters and others to sit for this week.

Automatics

Tony Romo Romo gets all the negative publicity for the way the Cowboys falter in big games and rightfully so. As a fantasy football week to week performer Romo has been stellar. Dallas has had an unbalanced offensive ratio of run to pass plays most of the season. Thus far it hasn’t caused Romo any extra unnecessary hits or injuries like years past. Keep Romo in your fantasy football lineups this week against the Detroit Lions. Victor Cruz For facing a Vikings secondary that has been ripped apart all season there it was an undeniable Monday night poor performance from Cruz. Fantasy owners should have been able to expect ten to sixteen fantasy points from Cruz to catapult them to a come from behind fantasy performance. I do not expect Cruz to have back to back poor performances against a struggling defense. RG3 RG3 finally displayed what fans have been waiting for---to utilize his legs a bit more. Washington’s offense was able to outscore the Bears because of RG3’s offsetting abilities. When RG3 can be a threat with his legs it allowed the Redskins running game to finally flourish. Numbers likely won’t be sky high like they were against the Bears, but RG3 should end up being a top eight to ten fantasy performer. Kendall Hunter Jacksonville’s defense has been thrashed every week against the run. Meanwhile San Francisco has picked up a lot of steam since their blowout road win over the St. Louis Rams. They’ve done it by shifting the focus from Colin Kapernick and utilizing the run game. With how poor Jacksonville has been against the run you can expect the 49ers to exploit it early with Frank Gore. When San Francisco has a comfortable lead they continue to pound the football. Expect Hunter to get double digit carries and hit pay dirt at least once. Jarrett Boykin Aaron Rodgers is a prime time glutton. He loves to devour opponents on the big stage. It’s not a secret that Minnesota is a very vulnerable team at this stage. Look for Aaron Rodgers to come out early to put a team dispirited in a hole quickly. Boykin should have a second consecutive solid fantasy week. Marques Colston A lot of fantasy owners are likely extremely upset with how Colston has underperformed to start the season. Returning off a bye week the Saints should find a way to get Colston re-emerged in the offense. You never want to phase out a guy like Colston who has proven his longevity in the NFL for years, especially with a quarterback like Drew Brees on the field. Others: Michael Floyd, Vincent Jackson, Khiry Robinson, and Stevan Ridley

Don’t Do Its

Terrelle Pryor I’m very concerned for how Pryor is going to finish out the second half of the NFL season. He had a poor second half against San Diego and an even worse performance in the second half against Kansas City. Teams have tracked down the Raiders game plan with Pryor. It’s now putting Pryor in situations that he has to think more instead of create. Pittsburgh should only challenge Pryor more this week. Cam Newton The Panthers have won consecutive games but fantasy owners still can’t figure out what to do with Newton’s see-saw stats. The offense still doesn’t have a strong ebb and flow to it. They’re getting performance from the run game but having a mediocre impact with the pass game. Carolina has even turned to Mike Tolbert for the short yardage touchdowns that Cam Newton use to get. Jacquizz Rodgers With Steven Jackson expected to return Rodgers value automatically drops. Some will likely still insert Rodgers in their fantasy lineups thinking that Jackson won’t be a big factor off his return. It’s likely Jackson won’t garner a high load upon his return. But I think defenses will start impacting the Falcons offense more without their big weapons on the field. Last year Matt Ryan had an awful first half with several interceptions at home against the Arizona Cardinals. Julius Thomas After his monster start to the season it’s hard to decide to sit a player such as Thomas. Getting exposed on prime time repeatedly for poor blocking is something that all the NFL saw and will attack. Denver’s coaching staff is going to have to limit his plays on the field to prevent Peyton Manning from an unwarranted pass rush. Remember this is Thomas’s first success as a football player. Springing back and regaining his confidence is going to be something he has to do for the first time mentally as a pro football player. Jerome Simpson Christian Ponder has been hearing from the media and Vikings fans for quite awhile that he needs to be replaced as a starter. It happened and now the Vikings are going right back to him. With his confidence shaken I do not expect Ponder to life up the Vikings offensively against the Packers, though Ponder did play well in two games against Green Bay a year ago. Trust the stats that show Ponder has not shown a strong ability to get the ball down the field. That negates the impact Simpson, Rudolph, and Greg Jennings can have. Others: Percy Harvin, Zac Stacy, CJ Spiller, and Ryan Tannehill