James Morris hails from Rio Rancho, NM and has been playing fantasy sports for just over 15 years. Not only does he write the Bengals fantasy section, but he also does the Miami Dolphins fantasy section. Crossing over, Morris writes the fantasy sections for the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA. Just send him an email and he will reply back the same day with your answer. Or, find him on Twitter (Fantasyguy23) and get all your NFL news before it hits the national media. *
Eagles fans have to be partying like it is 1976 and they knew who Vince Papale was when he made the team! Nick Foles's 406 passing yards and 7 TDs (45.64 fantasy points) nearly doubled the fantasy points scored by the No. 2-ranked QB on NFL.com this week (Tom Brady had 26.04). This will go down as a career-high statline for Foles and far too many fantasy owners are going to pick him up off waivers and ending up chasing points the rest of the year. He's certainly worth owning as a roster stash, but he doesn't get to play the Raiders every week.
Closer to home, the Bengals lost a tough one on Thursday night to the Dolphins. Even though they lost, Giovani Bernard locked himself into the top 10 plays of 2013 with a highlight-reel 35-yard score in the fourth quarter. Bernard finished with 79 yards rushing, 25 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns on the day. Andy Dalton struggled in this one and finished with 338 passing yards, no TDs and 3 INTs. Dalton is the player of the month for October, so the talent cannot be disputed. Fantasy owners just have to chalk this one up to a bad game and move on. Mohamed Sanu got into the action as he hauled in 6 receptions for 62 yards; Marvin Jones finished with 4 catches for 66 yards; and Mr. Payday, A.J. Green, finished with a game-high 11 catches for 128 yards.
Nick Foles – QB, Eagles: Someone better check under Foles's jersey to make sure there isn't a big "S" on the front with a cape hanging out of the back! On Sunday, Foles finished with a record-tying 7 touchdown passes, and added 406 yards just to make fantasy owners happy. He finished No. 1 among all fantasy players this week and is going to be a hot waiver wire addition this week. I personally think owners are chasing points here, but he is certainly worth a play as a QB2 with the Eagles offense moving the ball well.
Case Keenum – QB, Texans: Keenum is making a serious case for the Texans to move on from Matt Schaub permanently as he put up 350 passing yards, 26 rushing yards, and 3 TDs on Sunday night. Keenum has a good working relationship with stud WR Andre Johnson and together they burned the Colts defense for 7 receptions, 190 receiving yards and 3 TDs. While he did finish No. 3 for QBs in Week 9, he is still in the QB2 range, so don't go throwing him into your starting lineup just yet.
Christian Ponder – QB, Vikings: Ponder is owned in a modest 1.1 percent of NFL.com league as of Sunday evening, so virtually nobody got to take advantage of his Week 9 performance. While he only had 236 passing yards, he was able to throw for a touchdown, run for a touchdown, and add 29 rushing yards for additional fantasy points. His 18.34 fantasy points ranked him No. 9 for QBs in NFL.com's standard scoring system this week.
Zac Stacy – RB, Rams: I told you to start Stacy this week because the Titans defense doesn't do well at stopping fantasy RBs this season. Stacy ran for 127 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground, and added 6 catches for 51 yards for the No. 1 RB spot on NFL.com this week. His 29.80 fantasy points were a season high and his 68.4 percent ownership on NFL.com is sure to rise when the waiver wire opens.
Chris Johnson – RB, Titans: I remember the days when CJ2K would have never made the Winners list because he was an every week must-start player in any format. But, those days are gone and Johnson entered Week 9 ranked 20th among RBs on NFL.com. However, he found the holes in the defense this week and scampered his way to 150 rushing yards, 20 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns. Next week CJ2K gets the soft Jaguars defense, so make sure he is in your starting lineup in Week 10 and see if he can go back-to-back with fantasy glory.
Giovani Bernard – RB, Bengals: As I said in the opening, Bernard came through for fantasy owners with 104 total yards and 2 TDs in Week 9. His 22.40 fantasy points on NFL.com ranked him No. 5 for RBs in Week 9, and the points moved him into the No. 11 overall ranking at RB for the season. Gio was drafted as a flex player in most leagues, and those smart enough to put their faith in him have gotten back RB1 numbers in return. That is what we call a "Return On Investment" in the business world!
Riley Cooper – WR, Eagles: Cooper was the product of an amazing performance this week by Foles, and because of that he turned in 139 receiving yards on 5 receptions and 3 touchdowns. For those in standard scoring leagues on NFL.com, Cooper finished No. 2 for WRs. He's still owned in just 2.7 percent of NFL.com leagues, and that number should stay that way for most owners. Only those in either deep leagues or those in need of an emergency WR need consider Cooper as a waiver wire add.
Aaron Dobson – WR, Patriots: After back-to-back impressive fantasy performances, Dobson's value is on the rise in all formats. This week he took advantage of a vintage effort on the part of Brady and reeled in 5 passes for 130 yards and 2 TDs, good enough for No. 3 overall at WR on NFL.com in their standard scoring format. This was Dobson's breakout game and he is officially a must-own player going forward in all formats. The Patriots are done with the Kenbrell Thompkins experiment, meaning Dobson is the WR2 opposite Danny Amendola going forward.
Tim Wright – TE, Buccaneers: After hauling in 4 passes for 59 yards and a touchdown this week, Wright has now visited the end zone in back-to-back weeks. Because TE is such a thin spot in fantasy football, those looking for help at the position need to run to the waiver wire right now and grab Wright (owned in 1.1 percent of NFL.com leagues).
Miami Dolphins Defense: I know you don't want to see or hear this, but the Dolphins defense did finish tied for No. 1 on NFL.com for fantasy defenses this week. I've been saying all season long that the Dolphins defense is underrated and deserves to be owned in more than 14.9 percent of NFL.com leagues, but they are obviously a matchup defense that has to be played only in certain weeks. Next week the Dolphins take on a Buccaneers team that is moving the ball well right now, so they have their work cut out for them.
Alex Smith – QB, Chiefs: As I have been saying all season long, sooner or later Smith is going to come crashing back to fantasy Earth. While it wasn't all his fault (the defense scored twice and the offense wasn't needed), he still managed just 124 passing yards and no touchdowns. Smith finished dead last for all QBs in Week 9 and shouldn't be looked at as a true starting QB in any standard 12-team league.
Aaron Rodgers – QB, Packers: Rodgers was only able to get 27 yards passing and 9 yards rushing before leaving the game with a left shoulder injury. Since he did not return, there are 92.9 percent (his start percentage) of NFL.com owners mad this week. Early reports say Rodgers fractured his collarbone, which would put him out a minimum three weeks. His fantasy owners better hit the waiver wire and see if they can grab Foles!
Arian Foster – RB, Texans: I'll say again what I said in the preseason: Foster is an injury risk and WILL be a bust in fantasy leagues this season. Foster left the Week 9 game after the first series with a back injury and finished with no carries and no receptions. Foster has elite talent, but his body is breaking down and he should be sat down in all formats until further notice.
DeMarco Murray – RB, Cowboys: Murray was the victim of questionable playcalling at the hands of the Cowboys this week and finished with an empty 31 yards rushing and 19 yards receiving. Murray was clearly at 100 percent health, but the Cowboys opted instead to give snaps to Lance Dunbar and Joseph Randle. Next week the Cowboys face the Saints and Murray should see his role increase to normal levels.
Darren McFadden – RB, Raiders: With the Eagles out to an early lead, the Raiders abandoned the run and McFadden left early in the second quarter with a hamstring injury. Run DMC finished with just 12 yards rushing and 3 yards receiving, barely enough to register a blip on the fantasy radar (1.50 fantasy points). Check my Facebook and Twitter feeds for more information on McFadden's status.
Vincent Jackson – WR, Buccaneers: V-Jax had a bad game this week and finished with just 2 catches for 11 yards and no touchdowns. It wasn't that he got shut down by a cornerback; it wasn't that he was injured; and it wasn't that his QB played poorly (Mike Glennon had 168 passing yards and 2 TDs); rather Jackson just lost the matchup outside against Seahawks CB Brandon Browner. Chalk it up as a bad game and move on.
Golden Tate – WR, Seahawks: Tate got the unfortunate job on Sunday of matching up against Darrelle Revis in man coverage, causing him to finish with a modest 3 catches for 29 yards. He did, however, have an impressive 71-yard Beast-Mode punt return for those who get return yards. With all that, Tate was still not even worth playing in the flex and is one of the biggest rolls of the dice each week for fantasy production. The Seahawks take on the much softer Falcons next week, so look for Tate to possibly be a WR3 or flex play in Week 10.
Jordan Cameron – TE, Browns: The Browns may have won against the defending Super Bowl champs, but the ones who lost were fantasy owners who started anyone but Jason Campbell. You see, all the stats for offense went to guys like Davone Bess (3 catches for 24 yards and 2 TDs) and Greg Little (7 catches for 122 yards). If you add both of their fantasy ownership numbers together, you still get just 1.9 percent (Little = 1.7; Bess = 0.2). Cameron is still a top-tier fantasy TE option following the Browns Week 10 bye.
Seattle Seahawks Defense: It happens every so often in fantasy football; a universally-owned fantasy defense (99.4 percent) puts up a dud. This week the Seahawks managed just 3 sacks to go along with the 24 points they allowed to the Bucs, and that provided their owners with just 3.00 fantasy points for Week 9. The thing to remember about the Seahawks is their fantasy playoff schedule is brutal with the Saints in Week 13, 49ers in Week 14, and Giants in Week 15 (you can never count Eli Manning out). Should you make it to the finals, they do get the Cardinals in Week 16, but you'll need to go through a possible minefield of offenses before getting there.
