Fantasy Football Top 10: Week 9
BOSTON (CBS) – Each week 98.5 The Sports Hub's Nick Cattles will bring you 10 things he noticed from the week in Fantasy Football, and how it will all help your team.
10) Boldin Still Has It – A lot of fantasy owners probably felt like they were taking somewhat of a risk when they invested a draft pick in Anquan Boldin. Well, that risk is starting to pay off, as Boldin is starting to become more than a reliable option. This past week, he put up 145 yards receiving, albeit against a bad Arizona pass defense. That's three straight games of at least 10 points in standard scoring leagues…
9) Stop Asking Yourself About Newton! – I've received some questions over the past two weeks about Cam Newton, as owners actually wonder if they should be starting him over other QB's with good matchups. Um, one word – YES! Look, I didn't think he'd be this good this early, but he is. Newton is an every week start…except for this week, due to the Carolina bye.
8) A Surprise in Jacksonville – He might not light the world on fire, but Jason Hill in Jacksonville has earned consideration to be a flex play, in the very least. He has scored a TD in three of his last four games and looks like the clear No. 1 receiver for Blaine Gabbert.
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7) Forget History, it's 2011 – As you readied yourself for your draft this season, you likely sat down and drafted running backs such as Ahmad Bradshaw and Rashard Mendenhall, thinking, hey, it's the Giants and Steelers, they'll run the ball! Not so fast. This is 2011 and the NFL is a QB league. In Week 8, Eli Manning threw 45 times on the Dolphins defense and Ben Roethlisberger slung it 50 times against the Patriots. This isn't an anomaly. Each team has given the reigns to their quarterback and it's mostly paid off.
6) Give Your Best Players the Ball – This might seem like a simple thing, but really, if you look across the league each week you'd be astounded by how many studs aren't given the ball enough. Remember Ray Rice in Week 7? Eight carries, enough said. Well, the Rams must have realized this before their upset of the Saints. Steven Jackson is still a damn good NFL running back and he showed that on Sunday when he was given 25 carries and finished with 159 yards and two touchdowns.
5) Garcon is Worth Starting – I hate the Colts from a fantasy standpoint, but Pierre Garcon should be in your lineup every week. He's clearly Curtis Painter's favorite target, continuing the recent trend by getting 15 targets on Sunday versus the Titans. Yes, fifteen! When a player receives that many looks, no matter who his QB is, you should start him. Just don't expect ridiculous numbers week in and week out.
4) I Had My Doubts – In the preseason, I remember listening to the Sports Hub and Mark Kelso was a guest of the Patriots pre-game show. Kelso called Fred Jackson a top-5 back and I scoffed. Even though I was a big fan of Jackson heading into this season, top five seemed like a stretch. After eight weeks, I've been proven wrong. The Buffalo running back has over 1,000 total yards already, to go along with 6 touchdowns.
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3) Ocho No Go – This writer believed that the Chad Ochocinco acquisition was perfect, writing before it happened, that it should, and after it happened, to be patient. Well, no longer be patient. This is an example of not knowing a player's football IQ, until it's tested. I still believe Ochocinco is talented. I no longer believe he can learn a difficult playbook.
2) Speaking About Ocho… - His old team in Cincinnati is doing OK without him, thanks to rookie freak, A.J. Green. Green has developed an awesome rapport with fellow rookie, Andy Dalton, and continues to get more than enough targets and opportunities to put points up. And, he's done just that. This kid's good and will only get better.
1) Is Philly Ready to Crush It? – It certainly looked like the Eagles were ready to do so on Sunday night. Putting up 34 points against a damn good defense in Dallas was absolutely impressive. LeSean McCoy is a beast, Brent Celek has woken up from his coma, Jeremy Maclin has become a legit #1 (pay attention to his status this week) and it looks like Andy Reid has simplified things a little for Michael Vick after attempting to make him a pure pocket passer.
You can follow Nick on twitter @NickCattles, listen to him on The Progress Software Fantasy Football Show Sundays at 9am on 98.5 The Sports Hub, and send him a question with the new fantasy mailbag on cbsbostonsports.com
