WEEK NINE FANTASY PREVIEW

Dan Lewis, Fantasy Football Insiders

San Diego @ Minnesota
San Diego’s blowout over the Texans last week didn’t really tell me much about the Chargers. Chris Chambers owners were glad to see he got 5 of 6 targets to WRs in the game, and that he caught a TD. Chambers maintained his high-target, low-reception ratio that he’s used to from the Dolphins, so he seems at home in San Diego. Minny’s Adrian Peterson came back to reality and was held in check by the Eagles. Bad matchup for him and Chester Taylor this week: the Chargers have allowed only 2 rushing TDs to date. Tarvaris Jackson will be back in this week after Kelly Holcomb was injured. Who cares?

Arizona @ Tampa Bay
Kurt Warner will be starting again for the Cardinals, so keep an eye on what sort of kooky injury he will suffer in this one. The Cardinals have a pretty bad defense, so start Earnest Graham, who is clearly still favored by Gruden over Michael Bennett. Joey Galloway and Ike Hilliard are both strong plays in this one.

Carolina @ Tennessee
If anyone is still starting Vince Young, you need to stop. Now. LenDale White is making a strong move to become the featured back in Tennessee, but rookie Chris Henry is keeping up with him. White gets the bulk of the carries, and gets goal line carries, so he remains the stronger option. Carolina’s pointless offense remains pointless. It says something about David Carr when you read that he is forced back into the lineup because Vinny Testaverde is injured. David Carr is bad… DeShaun Foster is a sit against the Titans.

Green Bay @ Kansas City
Ryan Grant did what no other Packer runner could: gain 100 yards rushing. Granted, it was against the porous Broncos, but this was the first time this season that the Packers really committed to the run game. Kansas City is decent against the run, but isn’t great. Coach Mike McCarthy was apparently beaming when talking about Grant after the game, so I’d start him as a flex if you need him. The Packers’ defense is good, but not good enough to bench your Chiefs. Despite an iffy matchup, get Dwayne Bowe in there.

Washington @ New York Jets
Here’s a matchup between two teams that looked kinda pathetic last week. Kellen Clemens is finally replacing my beloved Penningnoodlearm at QB, but his matchup is bad this week, so look elsewhere for your desperate QB needs. Thomas Jones also has a poor matchup against this tough D. Laveranues Coles may not play this week, and if he sits, Jerricho Cotchery and Brad Smith will see more looks, though the Skins are tough. Leon Washington will have chances to bust a big run, and his kick returns are a bonus. Start all your Redskins, including Santana Moss, who unbenched himself last week and caught 6 passes.

Denver @ Detroit
I see a lot of points scored in this game. Denver has Champ Bailey and Dre’ Bly at CB, but the Lions are deep at receiver and have put up good points in all but one game this season. I see another good game for Kevin Jones here: if the Packers could run for over 100 on the Broncos, then anyone can. Detroit can’t stop anyone. The only question will be Travis Henry’s health, and Mike Shanahan’s dastardliness and cunning. This may be a game-time decision, so have Selvin Young ready to insert if need be.

San Francisco @ Atlanta
Frank Gore was ineffective last week, and hurt his ankle. If he plays this week, though, he’ll have a great matchup against Atlanta. If he can’t go, Michael Robinson is likely to start in his place, making him a sneaky sleeper play. Vernon Davis had maybe his best game last week, so his talent and high draft position make him alluring again. If he continues to play well he could become a solid play the rest of the year. The 49ers allow over 100 on the ground, although I cringe even thinking about starting a RB on the Falcons. Jerious Norwood is explosive, but I can’t recommend starting him or Warrick Dunn. Roddy White has been a nice surprise, but he’ll have Nate Clements on him most likely, which is tough.

Cincinnati @ Buffalo
The Bengals have been frustrating lately. Carson Palmer’s production is way down, and they’ve been pounding Kenny Watson. Rudi Johnson looks like he’ll be back this week, just in time for Watson to be out with a concussion. Watson may still play, though, but Buffalo usually allows plenty of yards for 2 backs to share. Monitor the injuries, but both are solid if they play. Ugh. J.P. Losman back at QB. I don’t know what it is, but I just hate this guy. He looks like a dummy in every headshot I’ve seen of him, and he never appears in control on the field. He just throws it as far as he can to Lee Evans. These two have done a nice job of using each other to convince an unsuspecting public of their talents. Unfortunately for us fantasy players, we have to use these idiots. Use Evans, but not Losman.

Jacksonville @ New Orleans
The scientist in me loves watching Quinn Gray out there for the Jaguars: he is so bad at passing that he creates a situation in which everyone on the field knows that they are going to run, and that if they don’t, the Visor** will throw the ball 5 yards wide of his target. We don’t see many controlled experiments like these in the NFL. Even though the Saints have been pretty good against the run lately, don’t expect Visor to be throwing much, cuz he can’t. If the Saints stop Fred Taylor and MJD, then the Jags lose. Marques Colston finally broke out last week, and David Patten had another productive game. The Jags are a tough defense, but the Saints seem to have figured things out again.

**The Visor refers to Quinn Gray. Did anyone else notice that when he first came into the game against the Colts he had a dark, LaDainian-style visor on his helmet, which he later removed? Why was it on there in the first place if he wasn’t going to play with it? I like to think he didn’t know he was a quarterback until he went into the game…

Seattle @ Cleveland
Cleveland has been surprisingly prolific this year, putting up points against almost everyone they’ve played (Pittsburgh held them to 7 in Week 1). Seattle will present a challenge for them, but Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow have been very explosive lately, and are unsittable. Shaun Alexander has a great matchup against Cleveland, but he has been stopping himself lately. I’ve always gotten a weird impression from him, like he isn’t committed and doesn’t care. He’s running hesitantly this season, and has lost all explosiveness. If he can’t do anything against the Browns, I’m pronouncing him dead.

Houston @ Oakland
It looks like the Sage Rosenfels show this weekend for the Texans. Kevin Walter is his favorite target, so get him in there. The question going into the game will be which Texan RB will start. Joe Echemandu looked good last week, but left with a hammy. Ahman is dinged, and Ron Dayne is a little dinged and hasn’t been effective. You’re going to need to monitor this all week and see what they say on Sunday, but whoever starts should run very well against the Raiders. Justin Fargas has been outperforming LaMont Jordan for Oakland, and he is a decent play this week. I don’t trust the Raider receivers much because Daunte Culpepper spreads the ball and runs it himself a lot; the Texans stop opposing WRs fairly well anyway.

New England @ Indianapolis
What can I say here? You never sit anyone on either of these teams, so don’t sit anyone on either of these teams. Except Laurence Maroney, who couldn’t even score with the Patriots up 38-0. There are a few possible explanations for the Patriots’ play calling this season. Maybe Bill Belichick is a degenerate gambler who thinks he gets extra when he doubles the point spread. Maybe he has Tom Brady on his fantasy team. Maybe his opponent every week has Laurence Maroney. Maybe he’s just a big fat arrogant smug meanie. Whatever the reason, they’re unstoppable, he knows it, and he’s making sure everyone else knows it. The Kenton Keith story didn’t last too long, as he got far fewer carries last week. Joseph Addai is back to his stud fantasy form.

Dallas @ Philadelphia
Forgotten this week will be this classic divisional battle. Reggie Brown may finally be forgetting that he’s a mediocre, inconsistent receiver, which bodes well for his owners. He outperformed Kevin Curtis across the board last week, and is becoming McNabb’s favorite target. He’s got a good matchup against Dallas, too. I’d sit Julius Jones against Philly’s stout run D, but start Marion Barber, who gets all the goal line carries.

Baltimore @ Pittsburgh
The Ravens are getting McNair and Heap back this week, just in time to face Pittsburgh, who will crush them. If you have McGahee, Heap, or Derrick Mason, you’re probably starting them, but none has a good matchup here. Baltimore has been great against the run this year, but just average against the pass. Look for Roethlisberger, Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes to be active in this one. Ward’s return has hurt Heath Miller’s red zone production, but he’s still a solid play.