Fantasy Football Week 9: Soft Defenses For Your Stars To Exploit
Fantasy football Week 9 is a crucial time in many leagues. It's the time to begin making a playoff push, and there's no better way to do that than feasting on a few cupcakes.
Cupcakes are the soft, tasty defensive matchups in the NFL this week. They are teams whose defenses are incapable of stopping the run, the pass, or in many cases, both.
These five pass catchers and rushers are your best bets to take a bite out of their cupcake foes this week. Using our patented cupcake meter, we'll tell you just how soft the matchup is and we will breakdown why each player is poised for a big day.
Rushing Cupcake Eater Honorable Mention: Michael Turner, RB, Atlanta Falcons
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Why He’s a Cupcake Eater: Turner has been a bit up-and-down in 2010, but he has shown us on occasion that he is capable of devouring a soft matchup as well as anyone. Need proof? Ask New Orleans, which Turner smoked for 18 points in Week 3.
Who’s the Cupcake: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers rank 26th against the run in 2010, and they've been vulnerable to allowing monster games to running backs all season long.
Cupcake Meter: 5/10. Turner has struggled at times this season (like his 15-carry, 45-yard performance against Philly in Week 6), and Tampa is going to focus on containing the run. But Turner has still got serious potential for a huge game this week.
Passing Cupcake Eater Honorable Mention: Antonio Gates, TE, San Diego Chargers
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Why He’s a Cupcake Eater: There isn't a tight end in the NFL more capable of taking advantage of a soft matchup than Antonio Gates. He has been sublime all season, and he submits his best work when the defense is weak against tight ends.
Who’s the Cupcake: Houston ranks 31st against opposing tight ends, and it has given up four double-digit scoring days on the year.
Cupcake Meter: 5/10. Why isn't Gates near the top of the list? He's suffering from injuries to both of his feet and he might not play this week. If we knew he was going to play, rest assured that he would be topping the charts. But with his status in doubt, it's honorable mention status for him.
Rushing Cupcake Eater 5: Matt Forte, RB, Chicago Bears
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Why He’s a Cupcake Eater: Forte has struggled finding his running game in 2010, but he flashed his potential against the soft Carolina defense in Week 5. He's an excellent receiver, and he is capable of giving sub-par defenses fits with his versatility.
Who’s the Cupcake: The Bears travel to take on the moribund Bills defense in Toronto, which ranks next-to-last in points allowed to opposing running backs.
Cupcake Meter: 6.5/10. Forte has struggled rushing the ball in almost every game in 2010, but the Bills are giving up big days to everyone. Plus, Forte's versatility means that even if he struggles rushing the ball, he could find success in the passing game, making him an excellent option against a cupcake defense.
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Passing Cupcake Eater 5: Jacob Tamme, TE, Indianapolis Colts
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Why He’s a Cupcake Eater: Tamme looked fantastic in his first start of 2010, slicing and dicing the Texans' porous defense and evoking memories of the injured Dallas Clark. He has got good hands and the right size-and-speed combination to be successful in the NFL.
Who’s the Cupcake: Philly ranks 26th against opposing tight ends in 2010, having given up big days to good tight ends all season long.
Cupcake Meter: 6.5/10. Can he do it again? That's the biggest question with the youngster Tamme heading into this week's game. The Eagles defense is far from solid this season, and with Tamme's skill set, he could easily have another strong performance this week.
Rushing Cupcake 4: LeSean McCoy, RB, Philadelphia Eagles
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Why He’s a Cupcake Eater: McCoy has been a solid runner for most of 2010, but he has been downright excellent against the league's worst defenses, racking up 30 points against Detroit in Week 2.
Who’s the Cupcake: The Colts have been vulnerable to the run all season long, giving up 20.9 points per game to opposing running backs. LeSean is just the kind of back who's capable of gashing them: big, strong and explosive.
Cupcake Meter: 7.5/10. The Colts will be focused pretty heavily on containing the Eagles' dynamic quarterback, Michael Vick, which should open up some running lanes for McCoy. Plus, his size makes him capable of breaking off big runs against an undersized Indy defense.
Passing Cupcake Eater 4: Anquan Boldin, WR, Baltimore Ravens
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Why He’s a Cupcake Eater: Boldin is still one of the league's best wideouts. And he has done his best work against the league's worst defenses in 2010.
Who’s the Cupcake: Miami ranks 21st against opposing wideouts and the Dolphins lack the safeties to stop the deep routes Boldin loves to run for quarterback Joe Flacco.
Cupcake Meter: 7.5/10. Boldin and Flacco have been clicking in recent weeks, and Miami lacks the skill to stop them from doing so. It should be a big day for Anquan.
Rushing Cupcake Eater 3: Jamaal Charles, RB, Kansas City Chiefs
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Why He’s a Cupcake Eater: He's big, he's explosive and he's capable of breaking off a big run at any time. We saw what he can do against a soft defense last week, when he rang up 177 rush yards and 23 points on the Bills.
Who’s the Cupcake: Charles faces an Oakland Raiders defense that has been awful against the run in 2010. They rank 28th in the NFL and they have allowed a 35-point game, a 47-point game, a 20-point game and 12 or more points to all of their other opponents, save the Seattle Seahawks, which can't run the ball anyway.
Cupcake Meter: 8/10. Charles' value takes a hit with the presence of Thomas Jones in Kansas City's backfield, taking half of his carries. But he still figures to go off against the Raiders this week. Roll him with confidence.
Passing Cupcake Eater 3: Calvin Johnson, WR, Detroit Lions
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Why He’s a Cupcake Eater: You saw what he did to the Redskins in Week 8, right? Those 101 yards and three touchdowns speak to Johnson's cupcake credibility as much as anything.
Who’s the Cupcake: The Jets rank 26th against opposing wideouts in 2010, even with a healthy Darrelle Revis.
Cupcake Meter: 8/10. The Jets' pass defense has been shaky at best, and quarterback Matthew Stafford has the arm to make them pay over the top. Megatron has the skills to beat Revis when he's healthy, much less when he's still getting up to speed. He should have a monster game this week.
Rushing Cupcake Eater 2: LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, New York Jets
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Why He’s a Cupcake Eater: Tomlinson has rejuvenated his career in 2010, but he has saved his best games for the league's worst defenses, lighting up both the Bills and Broncos so far this season.
Who’s the Cupcake: The Detroit Lions rank dead last against the run this season, and they have given up fewer than 13 points to opposing running backs just once—against a Packers team that has no interest in rushing the football.
Cupcake Meter: 9/10. The Lions are as soft as a defense gets, so expect a huge day from LT in this one.
Passing Cupcake Eater 2: Roddy White, WR, Atlanta Falcons
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Why He’s a Cupcake Eater: White has beaten up on some of the best pass defenses in the NFL in 2010, so what hope does a weak one have? Look no further than Week 5 against Cleveland or last week against an injury-depleted Cincinnati secondary to see how much he likes cupcakes.
Who’s the Cupcake: Tampa Bay ranks 25th against opposing wideouts, and it has allowed at least one touchdown to every receiving corps it has faced in 2010. Guess where that touchdown is heading this week?
Cupcake Meter: 9/10. White has been on fire this season, and the Bucs don't have the experience to cool him off. He should have a huge day.
Rushing Cupcake Eater 1: Adrian Peterson, RB, Minnesota Vikings
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Why He’s a Cupcake Eater: Peterson is one of the best backs in football, and, given his performance against the Lions in Week 3, he loves him some cupcakes.
Who’s the Cupcake: Arizona ranks 29th against opposing running backs in 2010, and it has given up 43 points to the Falcons, 32 points to the Chargers, 25 to the Buccaneers and 15 or more to the Seahawks and Raiders. Peterson is better than any of the running backs on those teams.
Cupcake Meter: 10/10. With such a soft matchup, Peterson would have a big day anyway. But combine that with a passing game that has looked awful and he should be in line to go off this week.
Passing Cupcake Eater 1: Greg Jennings, WR, Green Bay Packers
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Why He’s a Cupcake Eater: He's the only healthy wideout in Green Bay right now, and he's got the skills to take full advantage of that fact. He's been firing on all cylinders in recent weeks, so a cupcake is just what his owners were hoping for.
Who’s the Cupcake: The Dallas Cowboys rank 29th in the NFL against opposing wideouts, and they have given up 20-or-more points to the position in six of their seven games this season, including a 50-point explosion from the Giants. They'll be without corner Terence Newman this week, so they'll be even weaker than usual.
Cupcake Meter: 10/10. Jennings will be quarterback Aaron Rodgers' primary target once again this week. And without their top corner, the Cowboys will be powerless to stop the connection. Big day for Jennings in this one.
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