Week 9 Fantasy Football Running Back Rankings: The Bills Are Matt's Forte

Sometimes doing your best just simply isn't good enough.

And when it comes to Detroit Lions running back Jahvid Best, his best as thus far been sub-par.

Despite laying what amounts to fantasy goose eggs the last five games, Best is still a top 15 running back, which speaks to just how great his first two weeks were.

In the first two weeks of the season, Best scored five touchdowns, rushed for 98 yards and picked up another 170 yards through the air. That's some serious production.

In the five games since his huge Week 2, Best has rushed for only 207 yards and added 146 receiving yards. You can do the math, and it's not pretty. That equals 41 rushing yards and 29 receiving yards in subsequent weeks.

Oh, and scored zero touchdowns.

So in terms of fantasy points, Best posted 55 points in Weeks 1 and 2, and just 29 total points thereafter.

Best's toe injury may have have played a large part in his sudden and sustained drop in production. While the toe doesn't appear to be getting worse, it sure doesn't appear to be getting better either.

One final point on Best that should be noted is that RB Kevin Smith's carries have been increasing every week, and in Week 8 he carried the ball the same number of times as Best.

So now, along with the toe injury and decreased production, Best owners must worry about a committee situation developing.

Unless Best owners bought high after the first two weeks, they should be hoping for one more big game and then looking to dump Best on a willing buyer.

Please note that the Denver Broncos, Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, St. Louis Rams, Washington Redskins and San Francisco 49ers are all on a bye in Week 9.

Rank	Player Name	Opponent	Comments
1.	Adrian Peterson	v. ARI	ARI surrendering 23 points to RBs, and Peterson will be the best RB they have faced.
2.	Michael Turner	v. TB	Bucs allowing 27 points to RBs and 146 rushing yards every week.
3.	LaDainian Tomlinson	@ DET	DET allowing 25 fantasy points to RBs and two touchdowns.
4.	Arian Foster	v. SD	SD defense is stingy, but much more forgiving on the road.
5.	LeSean McCoy	v. IND	IND is giving up 30 points per week to RBs, and 9.5 receptions.
6.	Darren McFadden	v. KC	Another solid game in store as KC is giving up 7 receptions and 50 receiving yards to RBs.
7.	Ahmad Bradshaw	@ SEA	SEA only giving up 116 rushing yards, but 77 receiving yards to RBs.
8.	Matt Forte	@ BUF	BUF allowing 196 yards on the ground and 56 through the air.
9.	Peyton Hillis	v. NE	NE allowing a whopping 11 receptions and 89 receiving yards to RBs.
10.	Rashard Mendenhall	@ CIN	CIN surrendering 122 rushing yards and over one TD per game.
11.	Jamaal Charles	@ OAK	May not score, but with his 6.5 yards per carry, he'll produce without touchdowns.
12.	Ray Rice	v. MIA	MIA has allowed only one 100-yard rusher playing on the road, and no TDs to RBs in three weeks.
13.	Brandon Jackson	v. DAL	DAL gouged by RB Jones-Drew in Week 8, and defense playing poorly.
14.	Beanie Wells	@ MIN	MIN surprisingly weak against RBs, allowing 23 fantasy points every week.
15.	BenJarvus Green-Ellis	@ CLE	Green-Ellis has scored six touchdowns in five games, so ride him while he's hot.
16.	Thomas Jones	@ OAK	Averaging 100 yards and nearly a TD per contest over his last three starts.
17.	LeGarrette Blount	@ ATL	Not a great matchup, but should get the volume he needs to produce.
18.	Jahvid Best	v. NYJ	Hasn't scored since Week 2, nor topped 100 yards. Still worth starting.
19.	Cedric Benson	v. PIT	Benson's only TDs have come on the road, and PIT giving up little to RBs these days.
20.	Mike Tolbert	@ HOU	Can't ask for more than five TDs in five games, can you?
21.	Chester Taylor	@ BUF	BUF allowing too many points for Taylor to be shut out.
22.	Jonathan Stewart	v. NO	Failed to produce in Week 8, and Saints giving up just 66 rushing yards.
23.	Ryan Mathews	@ HOU	HOU giving up the points, but Mathews limited in his opportunities.
24.	Donald Brown	@ PHI	The starter by default, but sure hasn't earned it with his play on the field.
25.	Fred Jackson	v. CHI	CHI softening up against the run, and Jackson getting the touches needed.
26.	Tim Hightower	@ MIN	There's a chance Wells misses this game, so Hightower would get a bump.
27.	Brandon Jacobs	@ SEA	Jacobs has taken TD vulturing to the McGahee level.
28.	Chris Ivory	@ CAR	Hasn't done much lately, and may lose job, but might just get carries. So who knows.
29.	Darren Sproles	@ HOU	With WR corps decimated, Sproles finally being used as he should be. Bump in PPR.
30.	Ricky Williams	@ BAL	So far Williams has been the better running back in the Dolphin backfield.

Feel free to post any sit/start questions you may have in the comments, and we will work through them to find an answer.

If you need wide receiver rankings for Week 9, here you go.

For an all you can eat buffet of fantasy football information, you can follow Nathan on Twitter @NathanWaddell.