Week 9 NFL Recap: Injuries, Breakout Performers & Game by Game Analysis

 

We're Officially Halfway Through the NFL Season

Week 8's NFL slate had some absurd fantasy performances and real-life outcomes, followed up by an equally crazy Week 9. With six teams on a bye, there were bound to be some holes to fill in your league, especially when you consider the caliber of teams that were off. It’s not going to get any less concerning in Week 10, with yet another six teams off, so hopefully you’ve managed to garner some depth by now. There were some performances over this past weekend that could help you out going forward.

Let’s start with some of the more obvious guys like Jeremy Hill, Mike Evans and Ben Roethlisberger. Cincinnati running back Jeremy Hill filled in for an injured Giovani Bernard and ended the day with 154 yards and two touchdowns. That’s a huge boost for a backfield that was feared to be closer to a timeshare. Unfortunately, it appears as if Bernard will miss another week due to the Bengals quick turnaround against the Browns on Thursday night. If Hill were to put up big numbers once again, I’d expect this to start looking more like the dreaded running back by committee some expected in the offseason. It took an injury rather than strategy for it to turn out that way, but sometimes we just have to take what the fantasy gods give us.

Buccaneers receiver Mike Evans outperformed teammate Vincent Jackson once again, which is worrisome for Jackson owners, for sure. Look, Jackson is still the veteran on this team and he does have some value, but it’s clear this is a lot closer than any of us anticipated. The concern in the offseason wasn't whether or not Evans had value (some even suggested he was in the best situation as far as rookie wide receivers go), it was whether or not Jackson would get too many targets, rendering Evans's production moot. With Evans ending the day with 124 yards and two touchdowns, he’s a decent add going forward.

 

Big Ben Does It Again for All the Non-Believers

That leaves us with Ben Roethlisberger, who managed to throw six touchdown passses for the second consecutive week. That’s an unbelievable feat, and unexpected, not just for Big Ben but for any quarterback in the league.

No one is going to suggest to you that Ben is now a top five fantasy QB going forward, but if you look at the players who have struggled this season, Roethlisberger has to be at least in the top 10 or 12 right? Nick Foles is hurt, Robert Griffin III has seemingly lost his luster, Cam Newton and Colin Kaepernick are struggling, Matt Ryan hasn’t had a great outing since Week 4, and who knows what the status of Tony Romo’s back is?

Again, take what fantasy is giving you. Expecting six touchdowns a week is insane, but with the way this offense is scoring the last few weeks, it’s hard to dismiss Roethlisberger’s stats entirely.

 

Notable Week 9 Injuries

Thankfully there weren’t too many serious injuries this week, but we should touch on the implications of some of the bigger ones before diving into the individual games. Lamar Miller left Miami’s rout of the San Diego Chargers with a shoulder injury that isn’t believed to be too serious. It would be a real shame if Miller were to miss any time after finally rounding into form about a year and a half after the train derailed. Daniel Thomas and Damien Williams would be the backs to add should Miller be out, but I can’t imagine starting either of those guys.

Wes Welker left Denver’s surprising blowout loss to the Patriots with a back injury. Welker has been a non-factor all season, so this pretty much renders him droppable. I’ve mentioned before that Welker is now the fourth receiving option on the team, and with a new injury lingering, there’s just no way you can count on him going forward.

Arian Foster injured his groin against the Philadelphia Eagles, which forces an eye roll for anyone who has ever owned Foster in a league. Foster has been injury prone in recent years so ideally you handcuffed him early with backup Alfred Blue.  Blue has played well in Foster’s absence before, so he’s absolutely a must-add even for non-Foster owners. The Texans have a bye this week, so it’s not like you’d be able to use Blue right away, but with how dinged-up Foster gets you should go out of your way to grab him.

WHich brings us to Nick Foles. I can’t believe I’m going to write the following sentence, but Mark Sanchez actually looked good against the Texans filling in for Foles this week. We’ve heard that Chicago Bears head coach Marc Trestman is a quarterback whisperer and if that’s true, Eagles coach Chip Kelly is right there with him. His system allows for the QB to air it out, so Sanchez will certainly have the opportunity to put up fantasy numbers. He’s a must-add in two-QB leagues, and he could be usable if you need a bye-week fill-in or are fed up with the guys we’ve mentioned are struggling. Mark Sanchez as a fantasy starter in 2014-- who knew?

 

Week 9 Recap - Impact Players & Game-by-Game Analysis

Saints @ Panthers

The New Orleans Saints finally get a win on the road on the heels of Mark Ingram’s second consecutive big week. I mentioned last week that Ingram was a great sell-high candidate due to the imminent returns of both Khiry Robinson and Pierre Thomas, and I stand by that statement. The Saints are known for mixing up their backs without warning, so if you’ve benefitted from this nice mini run from Ingram, trade him now or prepare to be disappointed.  There isn’t really much else to touch on the Saints side of things, other than Jimmy Graham looks healthy again, so that’s reassuring.

DeAngelo Williams returned to the Panthers lineup in this game, and I think we can all collectively agree this means next to nothing. The Panthers are another team that rotates backs, so it’s impossible to trust any of them in any given week. That leaves Cam Newton, who continues to struggle. Hopefully you’ve been smart with your waiver claims and decided to add a guy like Ben Roethlisberger or Carson Palmer. If not, see if they’re available in your league and stick them in your lineup until Cam turns it around. You can’t ride out the bad forever; it’s time to make a lineup change. Cam’s struggles are a real concern at this point, so it’s best to sit him down before it’s too late.

 

Buccaneers @ Browns

Everything about this game is directly related to the running back play on both sides. Doug Martin missed this game for the Buccaneers, which left Bobby Rainey as the sole rusher as we await for Charles Sims to get up to speed from his own injury. Rainey ran well in this game to the tune of 87 yards but didn’t find the endzone. Nothing you can do about that except hope the Bucs offer some more insight as to who will get the bulk of the carries going forward.

Tampa Bay isn’t going anywhere this year so we’re definitely going to see Charles Sims get a lot of touches at some point or another. That basically renders Doug Martin droppable if he wasn’t already. It’s over folks; Martin isn’t “bouncing back.” This regime inherited Martin so they don’t owe him anything more than a paycheck. As for the Browns rushing attack, Ben Tate was pretty bad here while Terrance West outperformed him yet didn’t exactly have a stellar day himself. This is another situation I’d like to avoid if at all possible but I’m not willing to simply drop Tate. He’s talented enough to hang on to but I can’t imagine a scenario where I’d feel comfortable starting him unless I were truly desperate. (Unfortunately for me, I actually am desperate in one of my own leagues where I still have to start Tate thanks to Adrian Peterson’s debacle and Rashad Jennings being hurt. Oof.)

 

Cardinals @ Cowboys

I mentioned that Carson Palmer is a great add for any team struggling at the QB position as evidenced by another multi-touchdown game here. The Cardinals love to spread the ball around which, in a weird sort of way, is both good and bad for Michael Floyd and Larry Fitzgerald owners. Earlier this year, it looked as if Floyd was going to runaway with the bulk of the targets for the season but now Fitzgerald is getting some love as well.

Throw in running back Andre Ellington, Justin Brown, and even John Carlson, and you’ve got an additional 17 targets floating around. In short, the biggest beneficiary to this pass happy offense is, well, the quarterback. It sounds weird but it’s true; Palmer has jumped into top 10-12 QB territory at the expense of week-to-week consistency from his receivers. They’ll all get work and score it just won’t be easy to rely on. For Dallas, Brandon Weeden is simply not a good quarterback so let’s just hope Tony Romo comes back soon. Weeden simply could not get the ball to Dez Bryant despite his 10 targets but did manage to dump it off to tight end Jason Witten when possible. To that I say “meh.” Witten hasn’t been startable as isn’t more than a bye week fill-in at tight end at this point in his career. If Romo misses the Cowboys tilt against the Jaguars in London this week, expect DeMarco Murray to get something like 40 touches. It sounds like I’m exaggerating but I’m kind of not. The Cowboys are going to ride that horse till its hooves fall off.

 

Eagles @ Texans

Between Mark Sanchez and Arian Foster, there isn’t really a whole lot else to talk about in this game, other than LeSean McCoy might be the best buy-low candidate in the league at this point. He racked up 117 yards in this game, but he failed to score a touchdown. I’m not concerned about the latter at all; he’ll get his.

I highly doubt the McCoy owner in your league is sitting there with a great record, so see what you can get him for. Beyond that, what else is there to say? Jeremy Maclin is a stud for as long as he’s healthy, Andre Johnson is just okay at this point in his career, and DeAndre Hopkins continues to put up great stats.

 

Jets @ Chiefs

Just when we had all agreed that Chris Ivory was the only running back worth paying attention to on the Jets, Chris Johnson pokes his head in for 11 rushes and 69 yards. It’s not a great day by any means, but come on Johnson, let Ivory have this job, would you please? We have enough timeshares and injuries that it’s reassuring to see one running back fully take over a starting gig. Let Ivory have this one. In all seriousness though, I’m not overly concerned about this. Johnson outperformed Ivory one time, so I think it’s still Ivory’s job to lose. Michael Vick looked okay here, I suppose, but I’m not touching him outside of a two-QB league.

They do however play the Steelers this week in a matchup that has Pittsburgh’s two best defensive players out with injuries in Troy Polamalu and Ryan Shazier. Vick could be a low-end bye week fill-in if you have Tom Brady or Philip Rivers on a bye this week.

Here’s a neat little stat about the Kansas City Chiefs: Alex Smith has not thrown a touchdown pass to a wide receiver all season. Not one. Four have gone to stud tight end Travis Kelce, two to fellow tight end Anthony Fasano, running backs Jamaal Charles and Joe McKnight each have two and fullback Anthony Sherman has one. The takeaways here are that Alex Smith is about as safe as it gets, and that Charles and Kelce are having solid years. If you need a QB who is going to get you about 15 fantasy points in a bye week and isn’t going to hurt you with interceptions, Alex Smith is your guy, but be prepared to punt any form of upside.

 

Jaguars @ Bengals

The Denard Robinson show continued in this game with him putting up another 94 yards and finding the end zone. Robinson is the only Jaguar worth starting as the wide receivers once again proved to be completely unpredictable. A.J. Green returned for the Bengals in this game and scored a touchdown despite Mohamed Sanu leading the team in targets. Sanu will continue to have value even with Green back in the lineup so hopefully you didn’t panic and drop him once that news game out.

I don’t think he’s the worst sell high candidate either though. I recognize that sounds a tad contradictory but both things can be true. Sanu’s value going forward is solid but there may be an owner in your league willing to pay top dollar for him. It’s one of those things where it’s worth seeing what you can get for him but if no one wants to pay for what his actual value is right now, ride it out.

 

Chargers @ Dolphins

Ever hear that whole “West coast team going east for a 1:00 P.M. game” thing? If not, check out this week’s sweet 37 - 0 blowout that the Dolphins put on the Chargers. The most concerning aspect of this game was that Philip Rivers put up an awesome negative score in most fantasy formats. That’s just brutal. I mentioned at the start of the year that I wasn’t buying into Rivers having another big fantasy year, but I also stated that waiting on QB meant committing to it entirely and grabbing a guy like Rivers in the tenth but quickly grabbing a second guy just in case the first one didn’t pan out.

It’s conceivable you ended up with both Rivers and Roethlisberger or something similar. Which, as evidenced by the last two weeks, means you can roll with Big Ben at least temporarily. I wouldn’t straight-up bail on Rivers, but I would certainly start to worry. It takes more than one awful game to give up on a guy, just like it takes more than one big day to buy in. The Chargers are on a bye in Week 10 followed by a two-game homestand against Oakland and St. Louis. If Rivers struggles in either of those matchups, abandon ship.

The other quarterback in this game was Miami’s Ryan Tannehill, who has somehow become a trendy spot-start at QB. I’m not buying into this as much as I've heard from some analysts, but he’s at least worth keeping an eye in. Their next three matchups are against the Lions, Bills and Broncos so I’d prefer to look elsewhere if I’m in need of a QB.

 

Redskins @ Vikings

And speaking of quarterbacks, welcome back Robert Griffin III…sorta. He’s back in terms of him actually playing. As far as performance is concerned, not so much. RGIII had 251 yards a touchdown with an interception, which isn’t all that terrible, but he was also only 18 for 28. RGIII is only worth hanging on to if you can afford the roster spot so I don’t have a problem dropping him if you need to fill a roster spot. DeSean Jackson continues to put up huge numbers on big plays with a four reception 120 yard day with a touchdown. Jackson is clearly a big play guy who doesn’t need a bunch of targets to put up fantasy numbers. Four receptions with 120 yards? I’ll take that every week easily.

The Minnesota Vikings fed the ball to Jerrick McKinnon 14 times who ran the ball far more efficiently than Matt Asiata who received 10 carries. The strange part about this is that Asiata scored three touchdowns to McKinnon’s zero. McKinnon is still the running back you’d rather own in Minnesota but the touchdown part of it is extremely frustrating. It’s still a tad too early to speculate on Adrian Peterson’s potential return after reaching a plea deal with the team. Both the NFL and the Vikings organization were put in a tough spot due to the timing of that case so no one has any real idea how or if Peterson can end up playing again this season. Luckily the team is on a bye this week so ideally that yields us some extra information before they take the field against the Bears the following week.

 

Rams @ 49ers

I would love to read a study about every game that has already been played this season and figure out if there has been a more fantasy irrelevant game than Week 9’s matchup between these two teams. I suppose the only noteworthy thing to come out of this game is that Tre Mason receieved the bulk of the carries for the Rams once again but that could easily change again next week. Colin Kaepernick continues to struggle fantasy wise and Frank Gore is finally showing his age.

Vernon Davis is no longer a viable option at tight end and the receivers on both teams are inconsistent. Kenny Britt has seen his snap total sky rocket since Brian Quick went down but would anyone ever feel comfortable starting him? It’s a shame these teams offer such little fantasy impact but with 32 teams in the league, not everyone can be relevant.

 

Broncos @ Patriots

This had all the hype to be an awesome contest that ended up fizzling out quickly in the second quarter. The Patriots put up 24 points in the second and the Broncos just never came all the way back. Peyton Manning, however, is still, um, really good. 438 yards and two touchdowns pretty much confirms that it’s okay to draft a top tier QB early. And speaking of QB’s, Tom Brady continues his bounce back mid-season tear. Ronnie Hillman struggled in this game and even tweaked his ankle early but ended up being fine.

The Patriots run game continues to be a headache with Jonas Grey and Shane Vereen essentially splitting carries here. I wouldn’t drop Vereen especially in a PPR format but I have no problem getting rid of Gray. Unless he suddenly goes off after the team’s bye, when would you feel great about starting him? The last takeaway from this game would be the potential to sell high on Brandon LaFell. It would certainly take an additional piece to get anything of value but it’s absolutely worth a shot. LaFell is currently a borderline WR2 and his 13 targets indicate that’s where he could stay. A healthy Rob Gronkowski is and will continue to be the number one passing option on this team so between LaFell and Julian Edelman, someone will be the odd man out week to week.

 

Raiders @ Seahawks

This game ended up being a lot closer than anyone anticipated with Seattle only winning by six. Marshawn Lynch piled up a total of 143 yards between his 21 rushes and five receptions, adding in two touchdowns on the ground as well. There’s no reason to suspect Lynch will be slowing down anytime soon, especially when you consider the fact that the team intends on moving on from him after this season. Might as well use him while you got him right? I’ve never been a Darren McFadden fan yet it’s hard to ignore his production as of late. That in conjunction with how ineffective Maurice Jones-Drew has been forces me to admit that McFadden is actually a decent flex play going forward. That is until of course he hurts himself. McFadden has been super injury prone throughout his career, which is always the crutch argument against him. Personally, I just always thought he was overrated. 67 total yards doesn’t scream “must-start,” particularly when that doesn’t include any touchdowns. He’s getting the work and isn’t blowing it so that has to count for something.

 

Ravens @ Steelers

In another game that many expected to be close, the Steelers blew the Ravens out 43-23 thanks to the aforementioned six touchdowns from Ben Roethlisberger as well as some stellar play from his wide receivers. The Pittsburgh offense has taken a while to click outside of superstars Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell but now that it has it looks supremely potent. Martavis Bryant is a must add for any team looking around for some WR depth while Markus Wheaton has finally figured out how to catch the ball.

I do think Bryant is the clear number two wide receiver on this team, however, so that does hurt Wheaton’s value. Either way, whatever this team went over right before halftime of that Monday night showdown with the Houston Texans is obviously working as they have been on fire ever since. As for the Ravens, this whole Steve Smith versus Torrey Smith debacle continues to be a thorn in my side. I’m out of things to say about these two. Every week it looks totally different and anyone who can accurately predict which guy is going to get into the endzone any given week should be playing the lotto obsessively. Baltimore’s run game is slightly less messy than it appears, however. I do think Justin Forsett is the better weekly play over Lorenzo Taliaferro but that doesn’t necessarily make the latter irrelevant. The team clearly likes to use multiple backs now, I would just rank Forsett above Taliaferro for the rest of the season.

 

Colts @ Giants

As a bonus for this week’s recap coming out later than usual, let’s discuss the Monday night showdown shall we? Here’s some hard hitting fantasy analysis for you: Andrew Luck is good, Andre Williams is not. The Giants must be counting the seconds for when running back Rashad Jennings comes back as that was seemingly the only time this offense was clicking on the ground. That being said, Odell Beckham Jr. is an absolute stud with his eight receptions for 156 yards. Both him and Rueben Randle hold significant fantasy value but I think Beckham Jr. is the guy I would rather own going forward.

If the Giants can hang tough for one more week, this offense could be pretty solid with Jennings and Beckham leading the way, even with Victor Cruz lost for the season. Lastly, Ahmad Bradsaw continues to be one of the league’s biggest sell high candidates but then again, running back has been so dreadful that you might not be able to get enough for him where it’s worth trading him. Much like Mohamed Sanu, Bradshaw is the type of guy where it’s worth seeing his value in your league but if you can’t get something you like in return, stick with him.

 

Week 10 is another rough week for byes so hopefully your teams are deep enough to weather the storm one more time. We’ve reached the point in the season where you’re most likely jockeying for playoff spot if you’re still reading weekly recaps so congrats on still having a relevant team. If not, A for effort in not giving up and going down swinging.