NFL Fantasy Football Week 9: Ranking QBs, RBs and WRs from Top to Bottom

Due to the fact that the majority of us do not have control over the NFL, we all turn to fantasy football. It gives us some sense of control, and allows us to root for players when our teams are underachieving to our limitless standards.

Among other things, we do not have control over bye weeks and injuries. That's where you, as a fantasy team owner, need to dig deep into your arsenal and pick up the right players to get you through tough times.

Ranking quarterback's, running back's, and wide receiver's from top to bottom may also guide you in the right direction. Let's take a look. Shall we?

Week 9 Quarterbacks

If there is a better time than this week for Michael Vick to get back to his old fantasy form, feel free to share your opinions with me. The Saints defense has been historically awful. Over the last four contests, they have given up an average of 336 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and 30 fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. Look for Number 7 to blow up the stat sheet Monday night in New Orleans.

Cam Newton is another guy who needs to start earning the respect of his fantasy owners. Things are looking up considering he is going up against a Redskins defense with more holes than Swiss cheese.

If you have Tom Brady, obviously you need to choose someone to replace him for the week. Consider Andy Dalton. The Bengals need a win right now as desperately as anyone. The Cowboys have defeated the last three teams they have faced with a 7-0 record. If history is going to repeat itself, expect Tony Romo to get you a solid 20 to 30 fantasy points in Atlanta. 

Among the players to avoid this week are Ryan Fitzpatrick, Andrew Luck, Jay Cutler and Brandon Weeden. The Browns are going up against Baltimore, who, might I add, is coming off of a bye week. No Ray Lewis, no Ladarius Webb, no problem. They are going to make life very difficult for the 29-year old Rookie.

Rank	Player	Position	Team	Opponent
1	D. Brees	QB	NO	PHI
2	R. Griffin III	QB	WAS	CAR
3	P. Manning	QB	DEN	@ CIN
4	M. Vick	QB	PHI	@ NO
5	A. Rodgers	QB	GB	ARZ
6	M. Ryan	QB	ATL	DAL
7	E. Manning	QB	NYG	PIT
8	M. Stafford	QB	DET	@ JAC
9	C. Newton	QB	CAR	@ WAS
10	B. Roethlisberger	QB	PIT	@ NYG
11	P. Rivers	QB	SD	KC
12	T. Romo	QB	DAL	@ ATL
13	A. Dalton	QB	CIN	DEN
14	J. Cutler	QB	CHI	@ TEN
15	J. Freeman	QB	TB	@ OAK
16	M. Schaub	QB	HOU	BUF
17	A. Luck	QB	IND	MIA
18	C. Palmer	QB	OAK	TB
19	J. Flacco	QB	BAL	@ CLE
20	R. Fitzpatrick	QB	BUF	@ HOU
21	R. Tannehill	QB	MIA	@ IND
22	B. Weeden	QB	CLE	BAL
23	M. Hasselbeck	QB	TEN	CHI
24	R. Wilson	QB	SEA	MIN
25	B. Gabbert	QB	JAC	DET
26	C. Ponder	QB	MIN	@ SEA
27	M. Cassel	QB	KC	@ SD
28	J. Skelton	QB	ARZ	@ GB

Week 9 Running Backs

Fantasy owners have had to really hold back their temperament when it comes to the role LeSean McCoy has had in the Eagles' scheme this season. Andy Reid may have said Michael Vick's job is safe, but if his team doesn't make the playoffs this season, he could very well be looking for new employment.

Getting McCoy involved is a great starting point for him. Expect Shady to get plenty of touches this week. The formula is simple: hand the ball off to him and you will control the tempo of the ball game.

Ravens defensive players have said Trent Richardson is the hardest back in the league to tackle. Now this is either a publicity stunt or some weird attempt at reverse psychology. Either way, the rookie from Alabama is a no-brainer to start in all formats this week against a Ravens run defense that has been exploited this year. 

If I had posted this before Thursday night, which I should have, I would have suggested (just like I did on my own website) to bench Jamaal Charles. Since I am a bit too late on that, I will try to redeem myself by telling you to try and avoid starting Ahmad Bradshaw this week. The Steelers run defense has been great, and in a close game such as their matchup with the Giants should pan out to be, you will see the Giants rely more on Eli's arm to win the ball game. 

As far as sleepers go, I love Jonathan Stewart and Mikel Leshoure.

Rank	Player	Position	Team	Opponent
1	L. McCoy	RB	PHI	@ NO
2	R. Rice	RB	BAL	@ CLE
3	A. Foster	RB	HOU	BUF
4	T. Richardson	RB	CLE	BAL
5	A. Peterson	RB	MIN	@ SEA
6	R. Mathews	RB	SD	KC
7	M. Lynch	RB	SEA	MIN
8	M. Forte	RB	CHI	@ TEN
9	A. Morris	RB	WAS	CAR
10	W. McGahee	RB	DEN	@ CIN
11	J. Charles	RB	KC	@ SD
12	R. Bush	RB	MIA	@ IND
13	D. Martin	RB	TB	@ OAK
14	D. McFadden	RB	OAK	TB
15	A. Bradshaw	RB	NYG	PIT
16	C. Johnson	RB	TEN	CHI
17	J. Stewart	RB	CAR	@ WAS
18	M. Turner	RB	ATL	DAL
19	R. Jennings	RB	JAC	DET
20	F. Jones	RB	DAL	@ ATL
21	C. Spiller	RB	BUF	@ HOU
22	D. Sproles	RB	NO	PHI
23	J. Dwyer	RB	PIT	@ NYG
24	F. Jackson	RB	BUF	@ HOU
25	B. Green-Ellis	RB	CIN	DEN
26	A. Green	RB	GB	ARZ
27	P. Thomas	RB	NO	PHI
28	M. Leshoure	RB	DET	@ JAC
29	D. Brown	RB	IND	MIA
30	L. Stephens-Howling	RB	ARZ	@ GB
31	M. Bush	RB	CHI	@ TEN
32	J. Bell	RB	DET	@ JAC
33	P. Tanner	RB	DAL	@ ATL
34	P. Hillis	RB	KC	@ SD
35	J. Rodgers	RB	ATL	DAL
36	D. Thomas	RB	MIA	@ IND
37	V. Ballard	RB	IND	MIA
38	M. Tolbert	RB	CAR	@ WAS
39	D. Williams	RB	CAR	@ WAS
40	R. Hillman	RB	DEN	@ CIN
41	A. Brown	RB	NYG	PIT
42	R. Brown	RB	SD	KC
43	E. Royster	RB	WAS	CAR
44	J. Starks	RB	GB	ARZ
45	W. Powell	RB	ARZ	@ GB
46	M. Ingram	RB	NO	PHI
47	I. Redman	RB	PIT	@ NYG
48	J. Forsett	RB	HOU	BUF
49	M. Goodson	RB	OAK	TB
50	R. Turbin	RB	SEA	MIN
51	L. Blount	RB	TB	@ OAK
52	B. Pierce	RB	BAL	@ CLE
53	R. Mendenhall	RB	PIT	@ NYG
54	T. Gerhart	RB	MIN	@ SEA
55	B. Brown	RB	PHI	@ NO
56	D. Wilson	RB	NYG	PIT
57	C. Rainey	RB	PIT	@ NYG
58	J. Harper	RB	TEN	CHI

Week 9 Wide Receivers

There are few superstitions I believe in, and one of them is the Madden Curse. How is it that the best receiver in the league hasn't caught a pass from his starting quarterback this season? Beats me, but I am going to make a bold prediction for this week. Calvin Johnson will have more yards receiving than Blaine Gabbert will have throwing the ball. 

As mentioned previously, the Bengals are in desperate need of a win. In order to do that, they are going to need to heavily target A.J. Green.

Carolina's Steve Smith is poised for a breakout game against the vaunted Redskins secondary. 

You could also expect to see big games from both DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin. Their quarterback is a competitor, despite all of the criticism. He will find a way to get these guys involved and play a big role in their Monday night game against the Saints.

I would avoid Stevie Johnson as he will be seeing Jonathan Joseph in his sleep Sunday night.

As much as I believe Gabbert is going to have an awful game, I love Cecil Shorts in PPR leagues. 

With Jordy Nelson (game-time decision) hampered by a hamstring injury, I would avoid starting him Sunday even if he does wind up playing. Hence why he is towards the middle of the pack in my rankings below. Although, I have confidence Aaron Rodgers will find no issue getting Randall Cobb and James Jones to fill his shoes with big plays at home against the Cardinals. 

Rank	Player	Position	Team	Opponent
1	C. Johnson	WR	DET	@ JAC
2	D. Thomas	WR	DEN	@ CIN
3	A. Green	WR	CIN	DEN
4	B. Marshall	WR	CHI	@ TEN
5	J. Jones	WR	ATL	DAL
6	P. Harvin	WR	MIN	@ SEA
7	V. Jackson	WR	TB	@ OAK
8	V. Cruz	WR	NYG	PIT
9	R. Wayne	WR	IND	MIA
10	E. Decker	WR	DEN	@ CIN
11	R. White	WR	ATL	DAL
12	S. Smith	WR	CAR	@ WAS
13	M. Wallace	WR	PIT	@ NYG
14	R. Cobb	WR	GB	ARZ
15	A. Johnson	WR	HOU	BUF
16	L. Fitzgerald	WR	ARZ	@ GB
17	J. Maclin	WR	PHI	@ NO
18	M. Colston	WR	NO	PHI
19	D. Moore	WR	OAK	TB
20	D. Jackson	WR	PHI	@ NO
21	D. Bryant	WR	DAL	@ ATL
22	M. Austin	WR	DAL	@ ATL
23	J. Jones	WR	GB	ARZ
24	D. Bowe	WR	KC	@ SD
25	A. Brown	WR	PIT	@ NYG
26	H. Nicks	WR	NYG	PIT
27	T. Smith	WR	BAL	@ CLE
28	T. Young	WR	DET	@ JAC
29	M. Floyd	WR	SD	KC
30	L. Moore	WR	NO	PHI
31	J. Nelson	WR	GB	ARZ
32	S. Johnson	WR	BUF	@ HOU
33	K. Britt	WR	TEN	CHI
34	S. Rice	WR	SEA	MIN
35	M. Williams	WR	TB	@ OAK
36	C. Shorts	WR	JAC	DET
37	B. Hartline	WR	MIA	@ IND
38	J. Gordon	WR	CLE	BAL
39	D. Heyward-Bey	WR	OAK	TB
40	A. Boldin	WR	BAL	@ CLE
41	N. Washington	WR	TEN	CHI
42	A. Roberts	WR	ARZ	@ GB
43	D. Avery	WR	IND	MIA
44	K. Wright	WR	TEN	CHI
45	R. Broyles	WR	DET	@ JAC
46	G. Little	WR	CLE	BAL
47	A. Hawkins	WR	CIN	DEN
48	L. Hankerson	WR	WAS	CAR
49	S. Moss	WR	WAS	CAR
50	D. Bess	WR	MIA	@ IND
51	J. Blackmon	WR	JAC	DET
52	D. Hixon	WR	NYG	PIT
53	R. Meachem	WR	SD	KC
54	J. Baldwin	WR	KC	@ SD
55	D. Jones	WR	BUF	@ HOU
56	E. Bennett	WR	CHI	@ TEN
57	B. Stokley	WR	DEN	@ CIN
58	J. Morgan	WR	WAS	CAR
59	G. Tate	WR	SEA	MIN
60	J. Simpson	WR	MIN	@ SEA
61	B. LaFell	WR	CAR	@ WAS