Wrap Up - Week 9

Start’em

Kurt Warner, Cardinals. In his return to St. Louis, Warner was 23-34 for 342 yards and two touchdowns. He is completing around 70% on the season. On Sunday, he averaged about 15 yards per completion. Warner has the hot hand. For a guy that was not drafted in most leagues, he is performing like a Fantasy MVP candidate.

Michael Turner, Falcons. Falcons are riding the Turner Train. He had 31 carries for 139 yards. Remarkably, this game played out exactly like I figured that it would. The Falcons jumped on the Raiders in the 1st quarter and used Turner to control the clock. He is hard to tackle with just one or two people. Amazingly, the Falcons held the Raiders to -2 total yards in the 1st half. No team has done that to another team since 1992!

Earnest Graham, Buccaneers. Graham had a wild day for a running back. On a halfback pass play, he threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to TE Alex Smith. He also had 24 touches on offense for 91 combined rushing and receiving yards. He lost two fumbles for -2 points. One of the fumbles was in the 4th quarter at the 2-yard line that the Chiefs recovered for a touchback. With Warrick Dunn inactive and hurting, Graham will have lots of opportunities.

Jamal Lewis, Browns. I seriously underestimated the Ravens’ defense. They gave up some yards in the passing game, but Lewis could find no running room. Lewis has not scored many Fantasy points in the last few weeks. On Sunday, he had 19 carries for 49 yards and one reception for 13 yards. You might look at other options in your line up in place of Lewis.

Plaxico Burress, Giants. This team is proving a point to Plaxico that they can score without him. Manning found almost every other wide receiver for a touchdown against the Cowboys. Steve Smith, Amani Toomer, and Kevin Boss scored on short pass plays. Burress finished the game with 3 catches for 34 yards. Giants look like the best team in the NFL.

Sit’em

Matt Cassel, Patriots. This game had few touchdowns scored. The Patriots controlled the game with their offensive line and by running the football. Some strange time-outs called by Coach Belichick. Cassel completed 25-34 passes for 204 yards and one interception. He also scrambled for 20 yards and another Fantasy point. Cassel should have better numbers with his corps of players around him. Patriots have to find a way to get Moss open deep down the field.

Brad Johnson, Cowboys. The Cowboys are in serious danger of not making the playoffs this year. I knew it was not good when I saw on the game ticker during the Falcons’ game that Brooks Bollinger was in the game. Johnson finished the game 5-11 for 71 yards and two interceptions for a -2 Fantasy points. This outing was a predictably horrible performance for Johnson and the Cowboys.

Santana Moss, Redskins. Monday night was a tough night for Santana Moss. The Steelers defense was all over QB Jason Campbell, and Moss came into the game injured. You have to be 100% to make plays against the Steelers #1 defense. Moss finished the game with 2 catches for 14 yards.

Reggie Wayne, Colts. Wayne finished the game with 5 receptions for 65 yards, but he was able to add to his Fantasy point total by catching a 2-point conversion in the 2nd half. This game is the third below average game for Wayne. More than half of his catches came on the Colts second half scoring drive. For most of the game, Wayne was not a factor and he is not getting the number of targets that he normally does.

Tony Gonzalez, Chiefs. This game had to be frustrating for the Chiefs. They had a huge lead on the Buccaneers and lost in overtime. Gonzalez finished the game with 7 receptions for 62 yards for a grand total of 4 Fantasy points. The Chiefs’ offense is improving, but this was a below average day for Gonzalez.

Totals: 8-2 (Overall 52-30-5)

My Picks

Wins: Lions, Packers, Cardinals, Falcons, Patriots, Steelers
Losses: Bills, Texans, Jaguars, Browns, Buccaneers, Cowboys, Seahawks, Broncos
Total: 6-8 (Overall 67-58-5)

Fantasy Games. Tough week for me picking games against the spread, but I felt much better about my teams’ performances in Fantasy games. In both games, the teams scored over 60 points. I need the Steelers’ defense to come up big on Monday night to help me secure a win in my Atlanta league. I am losing by 8 points. In my other league, my opponent has the Redskins’ kicker and Antwaan Randle El. MNF has to be a low scoring game for me to win both my games this week. This week was a rare week where almost everything came together for me to win two Fantasy games. The Steelers’ defense came up big.

Make sure to go and vote tomorrow!