Week 9 Fantasy Player Rankings: The Most In-Depth Analysis in The Industry

Week 9 QB Player Rankings

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Rankings for RBs, WRs, and TEs

1. Philip Rivers (@ Hou) – Rivers has now thrown for the most yards over the first eight games of a season in the history of the NFL.  At his current pace, he'll end up throwing for 5,298 yards, which would break Dan Marino’s single season record by 214 yards.  Pretty disgusting considering his WR1 (Vincent Jackson) has been gone all year while his WR2 & WR3 have both been injured at least the last couple of games.  Basically, against the worst Pass D in the league, he’s a lock.

2. Peyton Manning (@ Phi) – It doesn’t matter who lines up at receiver for the Colts because, quite frankly, Peyton doesn’t care.  The Eagles have a pretty good Pass D in terms of yards allowed, but they’re in the bottom third of the league in TDs allowed, so Manning should be able to go for around 300 yards and two to three TDs.

3. Drew Brees (@ Car) – Brees makes things happen when you think nothing is there to be had, and he didn’t disappoint against the Steelers last weekend.  He may have started off the season a bit slow, but feel free to have the same confidence you had in him last year for the remainder of the season now as he seems to have found his groove again.

4. Ben Roethlisberger (@ Cin) – Big Ben had a bit of a tough time against the Bengals last year, but this isn’t the same Pass D Cincinnati had in 2009.  Roethlisberger threw for zero touchdowns last week in a loss to the Saints.  Each time he put up a goose-egg last year, he came back to throw for three TDs and at least 398 yards in the next game.  I’m not saying that’s what you’ll see this week, but it definitely shows his resiliency.

5. Aaron Rodgers (vs Dal) – First he lost Ryan Grant, then Jermichael Finley, and now he’ll be without Donald Driver this week as well.  So what?!  Fact is, Aaron Rodgers and the Pack are a pass-first team at all costs and they’re about to go up against a team that just allowed David Freakin’ Garrard throw for four TDs (plus a rushing TD) at home.  My bet’s on Aaron “it out” this week.

6. Tom Brady (@ Cle) – Brady rode his home winning-streak to 23 games last weekend against the Vikings, which is sure to take a load off his mind.  What that likely means is a bit of a letdown by the Patriots to start off the game, so if Mr. Gisele Bundchen and Co. get down by a bit, you can bet Belichick will hand The Stetson Man the reins and tell him to just go get him a win.  Oh, and Cleveland also happens to own one of the worst Pass Ds in the league.

7. Eli Manning (@ Sea) – Seattle is pretty stout against the run, especially at home, which can only mean pass, pass, pass, and a little more pass for Eli and the Giants.  Seattle’s pretty stingy in allowing passing TDs, but they give up the farm in yards (29^th in the NFL), so look for Manning to capitalize when he can.

8. Michael Vick (vs Ind) – Like a childhood nightmare about the first time you watched Halloween, the guy just can’t seem to leave us alone.  He keeps coming back for more, and quite frankly, he gets a little scarier every time.  This time will be no exception as I expect around 100 yards rushing along with two TDs (one rushing/one passing).

9. Jay Cutler (@ Buf) – Alright, the Bears have had two weeks now to get their ship together, so we’ll see what they worked out against a Bills defense that has no problem giving up points (last in the league at 30.1 points allowed/game).  Cutler and Martz should be able to pick apart this Buffalo squad come Sunday, and I’m betting they will.

10. Ryan Fitzpatrick (vs Chi) – So did Fitzpatrick show his true colors against the Chiefs this past weekend, or was that merely a blip on the radar?  I’m actually guessing it was closer to reality as Fitz simply isn’t that good.  However, since the Bears Rush D should be able to stop Fred Jackson without a problem and their Pass D isn’t all that, the Harvard boy could be looking at another 40+ pass attempt day en route to some nice starting fantasy numbers.

11. Matt Ryan (vs TB) – Ryan has been far better at home over the course of his career than on the road, so a game against a Buccaneers' team that is in the bottom quarter of the league in passing TDs allowed shouldn’t hurt that trend.  He also happens to have the best wide receiver in the game to throw to in Roddy White.

12. Matt Schaub (vs SD) – Andre Johnson is banged up, Owen Daniels has sucked, and the Texans are facing the toughest Pass D in the league to this point.  If it weren’t Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson, I’d say bench him and go with your backup this week, but these two guys work together as well as anyone in the league so have a little faith as this could end up a shootout.

13. Jon Kitna (@ GB) – Yeah he threw almost as many completions to Jacksonville last week as he did his own teammates, but he still threw for 379 yards and a touchdown.  Against a banged up Green Bay defense, he could just as easily rattle off 300 yards and two to three TDs as throw for 175 yards and zero TDs.  Somewhere in between is likely the scenario you’re looking at.

14. Joe Flacco (vs Mia) – Flacco has done well in games that have ended up with a final score within seven points, and the Dolphins are definitely a team that keeps games close.  Look for Flacco to throw for around 250 yards and one to two TDs in this one.

15. Matthew Stafford (vs NYJ) – Every time I see a team playing the Jets, I want to tell readers with the opposing QB to run for the hills!  Then I remember, this Jets' Pass D isn’t even close to what they put out there last year.  Stafford, though a bit shaky, put up some good numbers last week against the Redskins.  He won’t throw four TDs again, but 225 yards and one to two TDs isn’t out of reach… especially with Megatron roaming the field.

16. Mark Sanchez (@ Det) – I’m guessing that the Jets turn back to the running game this week against a Detroit D that can’t seem to hold their opponents down in that manner.  Sanchez may not throw more than 20-25 passes in this one as he only tossed up 24 passes against a similar Rush D in Buffalo earlier this year.  However, he also threw for two TDs in that game, so not all will be lost on those minimal throws.

Week 9 rankings for RBs, WRs, and TEs

Teams with QBs on a bye this week are Denver, Jacksonville, San Francisco, St. Louis, Tennessee, Washington