NFL Week 9

Weekly rankings take into account opponent, injuries and other incidental factors.

QUARTERBACKS

Ryan Boser highlights one quarterback who will "POP," and one who will "FLOP."

Matt Cassel (Kansas City Chiefs) vs. Miami

Matt Cassel averaged just 143 passing yards in the Chiefs’ first three games, as Kansas City sputtered to an 0-3 start. However, during the Chiefs’ current four-game winning streak, Cassel’s topped 250 passing yards in three of four...Click here to read the rest of the breakdown at Bruno Boys.

Ryan Fitzpatrick (Buffalo Bills) vs. New York Jets

So far, so good for new $59 million man Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fresh off his lucrative bye week, the 28-year old franchise quarterback completed 21-of-27 passes for two touchdowns and one interception in Buffalo’s 23-0 blanking of the Redskins...Click here to read the rest of the breakdown at Bruno Boys.

RUNNING BACKS

UPDATE: Darren McFadden has been ruled out, and Ahmad Bradshaw and Peyton Hillis appear extremely doubtful.

Joey Cavalier highlights one running back who will "POP," and one who will "FLOP."

Michael Bush (Oakland Raiders) vs. Denver

Michael Bush is one of the most productive backup running backs in all of fantasy football. Through seven games this season, the bruiser has accounted for 348 yards of total offense, along with 3 rushing touchdowns, and that’s while being the backup to one of the league’s leading rushers (Darren McFadden). Throughout his career, every time that Bush has been given a chance to produce, he takes full advantage of the opportunity. This week he faces the Denver Broncos defense, which has been rather weak against the run in recent weeks. With McFadden out, Bush will likely get 15-20 carries along with a few catches out of the backfield. Plug him into your lineups this week and watch him run all over the weary Broncos’ defense. He is a solid RB2 that has RB1 upside this week.

Ryan Torain (Washington Redskins) vs. San Francisco
There are many fantasy owners who still want to believe that Ryan Torain is/was a solid waiver wire addition. Unfortunately that is not the case. The Redskins offense is terrible, Torain simply hasn’t looked good this year, and Mike Shanahan is far too sinister to let a single running back emerge out of that disastrous backfield. Combine the above-mentioned points with the fact that the Redskins are playing the 49ers this week, and you should be inspired to keep Ryan Torain as far away from your fantasy lineups as it is possible. The 49ers have allowed the fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs this year; and they should continue that type of dominance this week against Torain and the ‘Skins. Only play Torain if you have no other options.

WIDE RECEIVERS

Brian Dezelske highlights one wide receiver who will "POP," and one who will "FLOP."

Jonathan Baldwin (Kansas City Chiefs) vs. Miami

Do I dare pimp a guy who has had just one good game so far during his rookie campaign? Absolutely! Last week Jonathan Baldwin hauled in five catches for 82 yards and a touchdown, and was targeted eight times. The catches and yards led the Chiefs, and only Dwayne Bowe had more targets with 11.

The Miami Dolphins are struggling this year at every phase of the game, including pass defense. Baldwin should be able to exploit that out of the slot-receiver position, just like he did against the San Diego Chargers this past week. 

Nate Washington (Tennessee Titans) vs. Cincinnati

There were rumblings of excitement over the two-touchdown performance Nate Washington had last week. However, one was a rare rushing score, and he only ended up with 34 yards receiving. For someone who’s supposed to be the feature player in the passing game, 34 yards scares me.

This week the Tennessee Titans take on a tough Cincinnati Bengals defense that ranks sixth against the pass and has only allowed six passing touchdowns.

If you have him in your lineup and think he’s going to duplicate last week, you could be in for a big letdown. 

TIGHT ENDS