Attention Fantasy Football Players: Revised Week 9 Outlook for Matt Schaub

Earlier this week in my start em, sit em post, I recommended that you should start David Garrard over Matt Shaub in Week 9. I’ll let you read the post to get the full detail of the reasoning, but it boiled down to the following two points:

#1 – the Colts have the 7th best pass defense in the league in terms of yards given up (180.1 yards per game) and have given up the fewest touchdown passes (three). Thus, I looked at Matt Schaub as a shaky start.

#2 – David Garrard and his Jaguars are at home this week taking on the Kansas City Chiefs and their crappy pass defense. Garrard is only playable when he’s at home and this seems like about as plum a matchup as you’ll get if you’re a Garrard owner.

There is a problem though. A couple of them. And I’m changing my vote to Schaub over Garrard for Week 9.

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Fantasy Football Week 9 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Lineup Advice and Projections

Crunch time is upon us.

As enter Week 9 of the fantasy football season, some of us are breathing easy with playoff spots all but assured, some of us are struggling with each decision in our quest to improve playoff positioning, and others are desperately trying to make a late season surge just to have a chance.

And then there are others who are out of it and just playing out the string, although I doubt too many of those owners are bothering to scour start ‘em, sit ‘em posts in preparation for this week.

For the majority of us still scratching and clawing for every point and every win, here is your weekly start ‘em, start ‘em breakdown…and then the endless string of Q&A in the comment section.

Here’s a quick teaser: who would you rather start in Week 9 between Matt Schaub and David Garrard? The answer might not be as clear as you may think.

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Week 9 Fantasy Play ‘Em, Bench ‘Em: QBs and Defenses

Another crazy week of fantasy football is in the books.

Last week’s insanity included the fact that Joseph Addai threw for more touchdowns than Peyton Manning….Ryan Moats had 3 TD’s….Kurt Warner completds 5 passes to Panthers…

And T.O. actually scored a TD.

What does Week 9 have in store? First, the following teams are on a bye: Bills, Browns, Vikings, Jets, Raiders and Rams. Most of these teams being on a bye will not hurt fantasy owners too badly; I have an offensive starting ban on the Browns, Bills and Raiders which still has not been lifted.

For the teams that are taking the field, which QBs and D/ST units offer the best potential value in Week 9? Let’s investigate.

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Fantasy Football: Midseason Disappointments and Surprises

We have now reached the NFL mid-season, and it is time for Pro Football Insight to issue their Fantasy Mid-Season Awards.

The 2009 season has definitely had its share of disappointments and surprises, so without further delay, onto the PFI awards.

PFI Biggest Disappointment Team

QB-Trent Edwards-Bills This award could have went to several QB’s, but Edwards was a run away winner for me. Edwards was always middle of the pack as far as being a fantasy QB, but with the off-season acquisition of Terrell Owens, along with an array of other proven wide receivers and running backs, Edwards’ stock soared in the off-season. Edwards, however, has played his worst football since taking the starting job from J.P. Losman his rookie year.

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NFL Week 8 Injury Updates: The Johnson WRs, Wayne, Westbrook & More

It’s Friday morning, so let’s do our typical roundup of the most important injuries on the fantasy football landscape, going game-by-game down the Week 8 schedule.

There are some big names on the injury report this week, especially at the WR position where Calvin Johnson, Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne, Percy Harvin, Bernard Berrian, Anquan Boldin, and Jerricho Cotchery all are batting maladies.

Denver-Baltimore

Nothing pertinent here. Joe Flacco showed up on the injury report with an ankle, but he’s fine.

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Fantasy Football Week 8 Start Em, Sit Em Lineup Advice and Projections

First of all, my apologies to anyone who asked questions in the comment section last week from Friday afternoon on. I was hoping I’d have time to get some of those answered once I got to Cleveland, but I did not.

I don’t have any more trips planned between now and the NFL playoffs, so that should not be a problem again.

Secondly, my apologies to anyone who started Jay Cutler and Greg Olsen last week. I really miscalculated how the Bears-Bengals game would go — as did most everybody — and had to take my medicine on that one.

Otherwise, Week 7 was relatively prosperous. The good: Laurence Maroney, Austin Collie, and the Patriots D/ST as starts; Donovan McNabb, Jerome Harrison, Zach Miller, and Steve Smith (Carolina…if you needed a TD) as sits. The bad: Cutler and Olsen obviously, and the Pittsburgh D as a sit.

Now let’s look forward and gaze into the crystal ball for Week 8. A little bit different format this week; hopefully you like it.

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PFI’s Week 8 QB and RB Play Em, Bench Em

Week 7 is in the books with an amazing milestone: Peyton Manning did NOT pass for 300 yards (the first time in six games that he had not done so).

Week 7 was also a week of blowouts. Six NFL teams lost this weekend by 28 points or more, and one of those teams was the Bears…at the hands of the Bengals! Unbelievable.

Most of this we all saw coming (Week 7 Start Em or Sit Em), but the Bears game was a shocker.

Let’s break down the fantasy football landscape for Week 8, including which players you should play and which players you should bench. (By the way, week 8 is a bye week for the Bengals, Chiefs, Patriots, Steelers, Buccaneers and Redskins.)

As a side note: My ban on starting any Bills, Browns or Raiders offensive players has not been lifted! This rule is still in effect.

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Week 8 Sleepers and Waiver Wire Steals: Shonn Greene and Alex Smith

Week 8, as usual, is filled with injuries, six bye weeks, and numerous underachieving players. This is the time of year when uncovering a waiver wire player about to step into more opportunity can be exactly the boon that your team needs.

In New York and San Francisco, two such sleeper players exist: RB Shonn Greene and QB Alex Smith.

We look at these two Week 8 diamonds in the rough, plus link you to PFI for more sleepers and waiver wire steals for Week 8.

[Editor's Note: Jerod's Week 8 start 'em, sit 'em column will be one day late but will be posted tomorrow morning.]

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Friday Morning Would…You Rather Start Marion Barber or Jonathan Stewart in Week 7?

I’ve got a flight to catch at 5:20 — headed to Cleveland for the Sports Media 360 conference — and a full day of work to squeeze in between now and when I leave the office around 2:30. Thus, there is no time to waste.

Let’s get right to our usual Friday Morning Would debate.

Today, we are going to look at two running backs who have had up and down seasons to this point: Dallas battering ram Marion Barber and Panthers second-year scamperer Jonathan Stewart.

A few weeks ago, when Barber was tearing it up and Stewart was on the sidelines nursing what seemed to be an endless array of maladies, this would have been a no-brainer.

But as we know, things can change quickly in the NFL. And as Week 7 approaches, I am suggesting that you start Jonathan Stewart over Marion Barber.

Here’s why:

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Fantasy Football Week 7 Sleepers and Waiver Wire Pick-Ups

Coming off of a great Week 6 for ProFootballinsight’s sleepers and waiver wire steals, we have some great Week 7 advice for you to help you replace players who are on bye, injured, or just plan under performing.

We’ll do a brief recap of last week and then get into a couple of running backs who may be available in your league and who could be in store for very nice days this Sunday.

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Fantasy Football Week 7 Start Em, Sit Em Lineup Advice and Projections

I don’t really know that to say about Week 6.

I suppose there were some not-so-surprising results (Tom Brady and Randy Moss dominating, Drew Brees and Marques Colston dominating, Derek Anderson sucking, etc.) but they were countered by some very surprising results.

How does Cedric Benson dominate Baltimore and struggle against Houston? How do the Eagles get dominated by the Raiders? How does Adrian Peterson not get in the endzone when he ran that well. What happened to the time share between Ray Rice and Willis McGahee???

In the end, I guess Week 6 was like every other week: some stuff happened that we expect, some other stuff happened that we didn’t, and now we have to pick up the pieces and move on.

So let’s do it. Onto the Week 7 start em, sit em lineup advice and projections post.

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Does Guy Code Dictate Letting Mike Sims-Walker Off the Hook?

As many of you know, especially those of you who have been keeping tabs on the comment section of this week’s start em, sit em post, I have not been happy with Mike Sims-Walker since Sunday.

Last week, I touted him as a great play to everyone who would listen, started him in multiple leagues, and then watched him figuratively kick us all in the groin by being a late scratch Sunday and contributing nothing to any of our Week 5 causes.

So, needless to say, I’ve been pissed along with everyone else who started MS-W.

However, now that we know the reason for his Week 5 absence, the question must be asked: does guy code dictate that we no longer harbor ill will towards him?

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MSF Podcast: Week 6 Fantasy Flash with Jerod & Kurt

It’s midweek, which means it’s time for the Fantasy Flash podcast with me and Kurt.

We start the Fantasy Flash last week and got a good response, so it looks like this will become a weekly staple here on MSF.

And in the future, if you have questions that you want us to address in the Fantasy Flash, write them in the comment section of one of our fantasy football posts. In future episodes we will be choosing a couple of the best questions and discussing them during the podcast.

On this week’s Flash, Kurt and I do the usual: predict this week’s top individual scorer, provide three start ‘ems and three sit ‘ems a piece, and then discuss a few sleeper picks and waiver wire possibilities.

Among the players discussed this week: Brandon Jacobs, Jonathan Stewart, Matt Hasselbeck, Donnie Avery, Maurice Jones-Drew, Aaron Rodgers, Jermichael Finley, Jerome Harrison, Terrell Owens, Lee Evans, Jamal Lewis, and many, many more.

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Fantasy Football Sleepers and Waiver Wire Steals for Week 6

Week 5 was arguably the most unpredictable week of the 2009 NFL season to date. Chris Johnson does nothing, Matt Hasselbeck explodes with two cracked ribs and the Broncos are still undefeated after beating the Patriots.

Lets try to make sense of what’s to come in Week 6!

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Fantasy Football Week 6 Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em Lineup Advice and Projections

Week 5 was one of those strange weeks during which things just seemed to come out of nowhere.

For instance, who had Jeremy Maclin or Miles Austin starting? If you did, you were in a hell of a lot better shape than people like me who felt good running Mike Sims-Walker out there.

And how many people thought Cedric Benson would get shut down by the normally stout Ravens’ D? Obviously I did, since I told everyone who would listen that he was a solid sit ‘em candidate. What does Benson do? He turns in a great performance and now leads the NFL in rushing.

Yes, ladies and gentleman, we are currently living in a world in which Cedric Benson is the NFL’s leading rusher.

If you’re thinking “WTF?” you are not alone.

I took it on the chin in a lot of my leagues last weekend. As many of you know, I am built around Saints players in many leagues. This is typically a very good strategy…in all weeks other than their bye week.

With my Saints back in action this week, hopefully I can get back to two or three-games over .500 in most of my leagues. 

For the rest of this post and on into the comments section, I’ll do my best to help you get a win in Week 6 as well.

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