FantasyFootball Week 9 Studs & Duds
By: David Bachman
Fantasy Football Editor For WagerOnFootball.com

Here's a quick rundown of the NFL's week 9 fantasy football stars. These guys are the WagerOnFootball.com "ALL Week 9 STUD Team". After you check out these top performers surf over to our NFL sportsbooks page and see what great sponsors we have here at Wager On Football Sportsbook Review.

A quick look at the big fantasy performers from the weekend.

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I'm Venting Off The Bat

OK, let's all take a minute to cuss out the moron that runs the NFL injury report operation. No, it isn't run by a team of professionals or NFL front office personnel. It is run by one guy. A fat slobbingliny guy named "The Moron" who has 3 chins and a giant set of man-boobs. "The Moron"has 3 teeth and 3 brain cells. Let's all thank "The Moron" for telling us David Givens was questionable. Let's thank "The Moron" for providing us with all that great info about Darrell Jackson being on crutches. Hey...MORON, thank you for the questionable info on Corey Dillon. "The Moron" single-handedly screwed us all like a light bulb.

Notable Injuries

Top inactive players: Duce Staley (hamstring), Stephen Davis (knee), Thomas Jones (foot)

Priest Holmes injured his knee in the second half against the Bucs, and with Derrick Blaylock hurt, Larry Johnson picked up the slack.

Chad Pennington injured his right shoulder late against the Bills. Quincy Carter stepped in and threw a touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.

Marty Booker hurt his leg late in the game on a long reception that set up a touchdown. Jay Fiedler left earlier in the game with a shoulder injury, bringing A.J. Feely back into the QB role.

News, notes and observations

Larry Fitzgerald is taking advantage of Anquan Boldin's return, as he came up with a couple of big catches late to lead the Cardinals over the Dolphins.

Troy Brown, who had his share of injuries this season, played some defensive back for the Patriots on Sunday because of other injuries.

It was a nice game from the Bengals, but they were a week late with the bright orange jerseys, which would've been better on Halloween. At least their better than Syracuse's all-orange getups.

Willis McGahee has more than cemented himself as the main in Buffalo. I think 37 carries shows a lot of faith in a running back.

Santana Moss finally had his first big game of the season -- in tough weather, no less. However, I'm not sure if this is the start of something good, especially if Pennington's injury is serious.

Corey Dillon came back earlier than expected and had a solid game on the ground that New England sorely lacked last week.

Reuben Droughns has four 100-yard games in his past five outings, but he's just not punching it into the zone.

Week 9 NFL Sunday Studs

1. Michael Pittman, RB, Buccaneers (15 carries, 128 yards, 3 TDs; 2 catches, 30 yards): For those who were patient in drafting him late and stashing him on the bench, and waiting for him to return from his early-season suspension, you're now rewarded.

2. Shaun Alexander, RB, Seahawks (26 carries, 160 yards, 2 TDs): The beat goes on for Alexander, who has put up 355 yards and three TDs the past two weeks. He's always seemed to be a better player in the second half of the season, and this is no different.

3. Drew Brees, QB, Chargers (22-36, 257 yards, 4 TDs; 2 carries, 4 yards): It's more of the same for Brees, who now has nine TD passes over the past two weeks. I'm still wondering why it took him an extra year to finally turn things around, however. On a related note, Philip Rivers finally got some action in late relief of Brees. However, he threw no passes as he ran out the clock.

4. Jake Plummer, QB, Broncos (16-24, 234 yards, 4 TDs; 1 carry, 2 yards): He picked up where he left off last week, although this time he wasn't as interception-happy, which meant the big numbers led to a big win in Denver. He's been looking good lately, just in time for the bye, so you don't have to make the wrenching decision of starting him over another decent quarterback.

5. Trent Green, QB, Chiefs (32-42, 369 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs; 2 carries, 4 yards): He's coming on after a slow start, putting up his second 350-yard, 3-TD effort in as many weeks. However, the two picks this time around led to a Kansas City loss, but for many fantasy owners, it's not a huge issue (depending on how the picks are counted). While Tony Gonzalez continues to be the main beneficiary of Green's surge, both Eddie Kennison and Johnnie Morton are healthy again, which also helps matters. However, if Priest Holmes' knee injury is serious, there could be more on Green's shoulders.

6. Jake Delhomme, QB, Panthers (25-45, 299 yards, 3 TDs; 2 carries, 7 yards): With the running game still nonexistent (Brad Hoover had 17 yards rushing, starter Joey Harris had 2) without Stephen Davis, Delhomme took the air as Carolina played catchup for a good part of the game. Slightly more aggravating for fantasy owners is that his top three receivers, Muhsin Muhammad, Keary Colbert and Ricky Proehl, had 227 yards receiving, but the three TDs went to running backs Nick Goings and Brad Hoover and tight end Kris Mangum.

7. Tiki Barber, RB, Giants (21 carries, 72 yards, 2 TDs; 4 catches, 59 yards): Barber just continues to pile up stats, even if the Giants seem to be falling apart around him.

8. Darrell Jackson, WR, Seahawks (5 catches, 114 yards, 2 TDs): So much for being listed doubtful with an ankle injury. Instead, he shreds the 49ers for a huge game. Bobby Engram's injury left Seattle thin at receiver, so Jackson stayed in, got the start and had a huge game. The late start time might've burned some owners (like myself) since the team waited a little later to announce that he would start.

9. Matt Hasselbeck, QB, Seahawks (17-28, 285 yards, 3 TDs): He likes playing against the 49ers as he put up 525 yards and five TDs with no picks this season. However, he's been pretty ordinary against everyone else so far. And you've got to wonder what will happen when Koren Robinson serves his suspension, since his targets other than Jackson

10. Anthony Thomas, RB, Bears (28 carries, 110 yards, 2 TDs; 1 catch, 5 yards): Maybe the Bears were smart in not sending the A-Train to Miami earlier this year. Thomas stepped in nicely again for the injured Thomas Jones and had his way with the Giants, especially in the second half. He's providing a strong enough running game to keep Craig Krenzel at ease.

Other top performances: Antonio Gates, TE, Chargers (5 catches, 56 yards, 3 TDs); Santana Moss, WR, Jets (6 catches, 157 yards, 1 TD); Willis McGahee, RB, Bills (37 carries, 132 yards, 1 TD; 2 catches, 11 yards); Clinton Portis, RB, Redskins (34 carries, 147 yards; 1-1, 15 yards, 1 TD); Domanick Davis, RB, Texans (19 carries, 71 yards, 2 TDs; 2 catches, 19 yards); Brian Griese, QB, Buccaneers (22-34, 296 yards. 2 TDs); Tony Gonzalez, TE, Chiefs (9 catches, 128 yards, 1 TD); Carson Palmer, QB, Bengals (21-32, 212 yards, 1 TD; 2 carries, 1 yards, 1 TD); Tyrone Wheatley, RB, Raiders (19 carries, 54 yards, 2 TDs; 3 catches, 10 yards); Hines Ward, WR, Steelers (2 catches, 32 yards, 1 TD; 1 carry, 16 yards, 1 TD); Corey Dillon, RB, Patriots (25 carries, 112 yards, 1 TD; 2 catches, 19 yards); Tom Brady, QB, Patriots (18-31, 234 yards, 2 TDs, 1 lost fumble); Marc Bulger, QB, Rams (23-33, 285 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT; 2 carries, 14 yards); Torry Holt, WR, Rams (6 catches, 111 yards, 1 TD)

Sunday Week 9 Duds

Mark Brunell, QB, Redskins (6-17, 58 yards): Remember, in fantasy football, it usually doesn't matter if a player's "real" team wins a game, if the stats aren't there, it means little. And in Brunell's case, the stats have been terrible for a while. This is his fourth game with under 100 yards passing this year. And when it came time to get the ball to Laveranues Coles in the end zone, it was Clinton Portis doing the honors.


Rod Gardner, WR, Redskins (1 carry, -10 yards): The Washington passing game is so anemic that the No. 2 receiver got negative points without turning the ball over.

Donovan McNabb, QB, Eagles (15-24, 109 yards, 1 INT): The Steelers raced out to a huge lead, and then the defense stifled McNabb all game long, sacking him four times. Pittsburgh is on a roll on both sides of the ball. Let's see if the shouting match with Terrell Owens late in the game will have an effect next week.

Brian Westbrook, RB, Eagles (6 carries, 17 yards; 3 catches, 4 yards): It's nice to see him back from his rib injury, but the Steelers didn't make him feel welcome.

Kevin Jones, RB, Lions (12 carries, 20 yards; 1 catch, 3 yards): We're still waiting for the big game from the rookie. We could also add fellow first-year man Roy Williams (3 catches, 33 yards)

Vinny Testaverde, QB, Cowboys (18-30, 207 yards, 3 INTs; 3 carries, 18 yards): Three INT's against the Bengals?

Eddie George, RB, Cowboys (8 carries, 23 yards; 1 catch, 3 yards): Like Hec and Vic of ESPN I thought Eddie might have a big week..........ReShard Lee (6 carries, 39 yards) and Richie Anderson (10 carries, 29 yards) also saw some action as Dallas went to a committee system. That's not good for any of their fantasy values.

Andre Johnson, WR, Texans (3 catches, 28 yards): Champ Bailey put the clamps down on David Carr's top target.

Game NOTES:

Arizona had a late come from behind drive to get the road win over the sad sack of Dolphins. AJ Feel-me and Jay Fielder are without a doubt two of the worst QB's ever to lead an NFL team...they each got 129 yards passing. Travis Minor comes out of nowhere to lead the Phins in rushing

That's it! I'm convinced, the Steelers are the best team in the NFL right now! They didn't even have their best runner in Duce Staley and they still stomped an absolute mudhole in the Eagles. Last week they tore up the Patriots, this week they stomped the Eagles...can you deny they are the best team going right now?

The Jets were favored and lost. The Jets had already beaten the Bills this season and had rolled up a 6-1 record against the 2-5 of the Bills. Of course on Sunday this meant that the Bills held Martin to 67 yards rushing, Pennington only had 141 yards and one score and Willis McGahee ran 37 times for 132 yards. There's a pace that likely will not continue.

The Chiefs were favored and lost. The Buccaneers almost doubled their previous season high game score when they pulled a Chiefs on the Chiefs and Michael Pittman ran for 128 yards and scored three times. Brian Griese threw for 296 yards and two scores that went to tight ends and running backs instead of wideouts. It was like the Chiefs playing the Chiefs, except for the Tampa Bay version had a defense that held Priest Holmes to only 59 yards on 16 carries.

Ty Wheatley hit paydirt twice and Amos Zeroue got in once. Kerry Collins sucked moon-crack just like he has pretty much every other week. Jake Delhomme had a great game...he had to. Stephen Davis sat out again and the Panthers had ZERO running game. Delhomme threw for 299 yards and 3 scores but it still wasn't enough.

The Tuna has to be thinking about retirement again. The Cowgirls fooled us all last season. They weren't that good...not even close. They have no running game at all. If you can't run the ball on the Bengals, you can't run it on anyone. Vinny had his standard 3 INT's this week and no touchdowns. None of the Bengal players had a big fantasy day because they were too busy watching Dallas lose the ball. Hard to rack up yardage when you have to start out on the opponent 20-yard line so often.

The Lions were favored and lost. The Lions did not exorcise their road demons this season, they just keep them locked up in the dressing room at Ford Field. The Redskins won in spite of Mark Brunell throwing for only 58 yards in the entire game and Clinton Portis ran 34 times for 147 yards and yet still somehow never rushed or recevied a touchdown. Kevin Jones...where to begin here...you are a massive underachiever. 12 carries for 20 yards? Are you kidding me?

Does anyone doubt the Chargers are for real anymore? Brees threw 4 more touchdowns and had a nice yardage game and the Chargers' D locked the Saints down. Okay - enough already. We said we were sorry for all the summer slams. We already said "Brees is king". We're already making a "Gates of Heaven" banner for the endzone.

The Patriots throttled the Rams using a wide receiver as a cornerback because "they ran out". They have linebackers catching touchdowns and kickers throwing them. The only positive out of this entire game was that Bulger finally remembered Holt in the fourth-quarter trash time and gave him 110 yards and a score. The Pats are truly a great team. Tom Brady was solid throwing a couple of td's, David Givens played through the pain and hung a C-note, and Dillon went over 100 and scored as well. The defense managed to shut Faulk down and contain Bulger and the passing attack. You want to know how good a TOTAL team the Pats are? The MVP of this game hands down was Adam Vinatieri.

The Browns opened the game with a kickoff return for a score by a guy who was selling cars this time last week. He remained their leading scorer. The Ravens welcomed back Jamal Lewis but didn't get serious about jamming him down Cleveland's throat until later in the game. This game bored the absolute crap out of me. Until the last minute when Garcia drove Cleveland deep into Baltimore territory with the chance to tie the game only to have some goof of a tight end not catch a pass that ricocheted into Ed Reed's hand for a 105 yard touchdown return, the game was a snoozer. That was the most exciting play and it happened with like a minute left. Ed Reed sort of ruined the fairy tale ending (though he did set a record). The Browns punted for seven yards before the Ravens scored their first touchdown and it's hard to believe that was by plan.

What the hell happened here? The Bears have Craig Krenzel at QB. Craig FREAKIN' Krenzel! How in THE hell do the Bears go into New York and beat the red hot Giants? Yeah, Tiki got his 2 touchdowns, but he was largely contained. The Bears are varying between terrible and merely bad but they're smart enough to stand back and let someone self-destruct. Conversely, the Giants have zipped through the infancy of Coughlin's new regime and now are in menopause.

The Seahawks lifted a leg on Candlestick yesterday, even though Darrell Jackson went from doubtful and getting worse to leading the entire league in receiving. This game pissed me off beyond belief! For one, I had D-Jack on my bench in every league because of the damn injury reports of him being on crutches until yesterday. Yeah, sure looked like he was hobbled to me...2 long touchdowns and 114 yards later, I'm ready to choke the injury report. Shaun Alexander went silly rolling up 160 yards and 2 scores. There is little doubt that when Rattay is the quarterback, these 49ers are a much improved team and yet still not good enough.

I can remember not too long ago when you dreamed your opponent had Jake Plummer as his QB. Not any longer. Jake Plummer has been on fire lately and today he tossed 4 damn touchdowns. Finally. Someone won their game, covered the spread and played somewhat similar to last week. The Texans went back to 2003 form with Domanick Davis scoring twice but not gaining any yards while Andre Johnson drew the short straw and had to play against the real Champ Bailey. Here's a game that met expectations, had the favored team win big in a traditional manner and the Texans are still bad on the road.

Records

While records are breaking like a fat kid sitting on a chair at McDonalds,
Tim Brown finally had a game where he had no catches. After 179 consecutive starts, he did not manage to make a touchdown, first down or even keep the clock running. In fact, he never even had a pass the entire game. This was hard to see coming since his last four games contained catches and yards of 1-3, 1-6, 2-26 (but with a fumble) and 1-13. Records are made to be broken, but most of them are a bit more noticeable when they're being set.

Now get back to work!!!

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