Fantasy Football Week 9: Chicago Bears at Buffalo Bills

Week 9 Matchup:  Chicago Bears (4-3) @ Buffalo Bills (0-7)

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Chicago Bears (Bears Schedule)

Opponent Defensive Ranks

Buffalo Pass Defense, 2010: Yards Allowed/Game sixth, TDs Allowed T-29th

Buffalo Rush Defense, 2010: Yards Allowed/Game 32nd, TDs Allowed T-28th

Chicago Offensive Cast

Jay Cutler

QB Week 9 Ranking No. 9

2010 Season: 111/181 for 1,483 yards and seven TDs

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.

Matt Forte

RB Week 9 Ranking No. 10

2010 Season: 90 Carries for 352 yards and three TDs || 26 Recs for 303 yards and three TDs

Putting Forte up this high in my rankings is a bit of a stretch, even with the Bills being last in the NFL in rush defense.  However, six teams are on a bye, which means the pool of RBs to choose from is a bit slim, so you’ve got to take a chance when you have it. 

Forte is one of those calls this week for sure, especially with the Bears saying they’ll be incorporating the running game a bit more from now on.

Chester Taylor

RB Week 9 Ranking NR

2010 Season: 44 Carries for 160 yards and zero TDs || 10 Recs for 78 yards and zero TDs

Johnny Knox

WR Week 9 Ranking No. 19

2010 Season: 24 Recs for 478 yards and one TD

The Bears are going to come out like gangbusters off their bye this week, and if Martz has his way, they’ll be passing all day yet again despite all the talk about getting the running game more involved.  Knox is Cutler’s go-to guy, so 10 targets, six receptions for around 90-100 yards and a TD could definitely be in the works against this Bills defense.

Devin Hester

WR Week 9 Ranking NR 

2010 Season: 18 Recs for 182 yards and one TD

The Bears will be tapering back on Hester’s offensive snaps in order to get him more involved on Special Teams from here on out.

Earl Bennett

WR Week 9 Ranking NR

2010 Season: 20 Recs for 211 yards and zero TDs

Devin Aromashodu

WR Week 9 Ranking NR

2010 Season: seven Recs for 111 yards and zero TDs

Greg Olsen

TE Week 9 Ranking No. 6

2010 Season: 18 Recs for 222 yards and two TDs

Olsen has been used sporadically at best this year, but in an effort to get Cutler back on track, I can see Martz opening up the game plan to him a bit this weekend.  The Bills also happen to be the worst team in the league defending tight ends as they’ve given up a touchdown per game against them so far.

Buffalo Bills (Bills Schedule)

Opponent Defensive Ranks

Chicago Pass Defense, 2010: Yards Allowed/Game 15th, TDs Allowed first

Chicago Rush Defense, 2010: Yards Allowed/Game fifth, TDs Allowed T-seventh

Buffalo Offensive Cast

Ryan Fitzpatrick

QB Week 9 Ranking No. 10

2010 Season: 105/176 for 1,200 yards and 12 TDs

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-plus pass-attempt day en route to some nice starting fantasy numbers.

Fred Jackson

RB Week 9 Ranking No. 22

2010 Season: 75 Carries for 297 yards and one TD || seven Recs for eight yards and zero TDs

The Bills are obviously saving C.J. Spiller for next year at this point, so FJax will continue to see the bulk of the workload until he either gets injured or proves he can’t hang in the league anymore.  He works as hard as anyone else in the NFL, and against an over-pursuing, opportunistic defense like the Bears, he might just break off a couple of nice runs and have himself a decent day this Sunday.

C.J. Spiller

 RB Week 9 Ranking NR

2010 Season: 32 Carries for 130 yards and zero TDs || 17 Recs for 76 yards and one TD

If Spiller can somehow get his hands on the ball 10-plus times this game, he might be able to rattle off some decent yardage.

Lee Evans

WR Week 9 Ranking No. 30

2010 Season: 26 Recs for 332 yards and four TDs

Evans now has three weeks in a row with five or more catches, a feat he hadn’t accomplished since Week 6 through Week 8 back in 2007 when the combo of Trent Edwards and J.P. Losman were running the show.  It’s tough to imagine the trend continuing, but you never know against a suspect Bears pass D. 

Steve Johnson

WR Week 9 Ranking No. 18

2010 Season: 30 Recs for 409 Yards and six TDs

One of the Bills receivers is going to score against the Bears this weekend, and the smart money has to go on the guy who happens to have a five-game touchdown streak going for him.  However, the Bears are easily first in the league guarding against passing TDs this year (they’ve surrendered only four), so temper your expectations if you’re counting on his scoring streak to stay alive.

Jonathan Stupar

TE Week 9 Ranking NR

2010 Season: seven Recs for 59 yards and zero TDs