Strikes & Gutters: Week 9 Fantasy Football Advice

Full Disclosure:

That was a rough week for my predictions. We learn from our mistakes. I know what I've learned; I am never making any predictions involving the Washington Redskins again. Except this one: they won't make the play-offs. Recapping last week's catastrophe, the Lions decided that Joique Bell can never be trusted to carry the full load, and their #2 RB Theo Riddick gained all the glory. I was right about a Lions RB having a good game, just the wrong one. Tate and McKinnon paid dividends, and Palmer was great against the Eagles. Jarvis Landry played well enough but didn't produce very many stats. 3 out of 5 on the Strikes. The Gutters were a disaster. DeSean Jackson is matchup proof I guess. Bernard and Foles both played well. Hartline continued to be a forgotten man in the Phins Offense and Roddy White was pedestrian. 2 out of 5 on the Gutters giving me a very poor showing of 50% for the week.

ON TO THE STRIKES!

STRIKES:

Mark Ingram: Short week for the Saints. He is their only really healthy RB and they are on the road against a team that doesn't play a ton of defense. Added bonus, I traded him off my fantasy team along with Tom Brady. We all know what that means.

Giovanni Bernard: From Gutter to Strike in one week's time. That's what happens when you play the Jags. Though, If I were the Bengals, I wouldn't take any chances. I'd punt every first down and just wait for Blake Bortles to throw a couple pick sixes, before just having Andy Dalton take a knee on the rest of my offensive snaps. Why risk this happening again?

Doug Baldwin: Seahawks get the Raiders at home this weekend. It should be a massacre, but I could see Oakland keeping it close for long enough to force Wilson to have the throw the ball a decent amount. Look for his favorite target to have a nice game.

Alex Smith: Looking for a decent plug in play in A-Rod's absence? I think you could do a lot worse than Alex Smith at home versus a Jets Defense that just allowed a drunk guy to throw 4 TDs against them.

Courtesy Dolphin Start of the Week, Mike Wallace: Got some deep looks last week, which was great to see. Also, I didn't take his comments this week to suggest that he was clamoring for more targets. I think he was just frustrated with the offense's performance as a whole, which I have 0 problem with. I could see Tannhehill feeding him early and often in this game. If we are going to win this game, it will need to be through the air.

GUTTERS:

Vincent Jackson: Poor V-Jax. All the talent in the world on maybe the worst offense the NFL has ever seen. The line is atrocious, the QB is not a fit for the system and the interim coordinator was never supposed to call plays. Plus, they get the Browns and their very solid corners. Avoid at all costs.

Denard Robinson: Well, I think the Bengals will do a better job of keying on him as it is clear that he's basically Jacksonville's entire offense. I see him getting a decent amount of touches, but I also see his productions coming back to earth.

Shane Vereen: While I do think this game will be a shoot out with Denver coming to town, I see the Pats trying to play keep away from Manning. That means less of Vereen and more of our old pal Jonas Gray. The Broncos Defense has done a great job stopping the run this season, and contained Brandon Oliver last week nicely, who is similar to Vereen.

Tony Romo: November starts this weekend..

Courtesy Dolphin Sit of the Week, Charles Clay: No way the Chargers allow Clay to go off like he did last season against them. I hope my trend of being wrong on Dolphins gutter calls continues, because I love Charles Clay, but his fantasy value seems to be suffering from the "spread the wealth" offensive philosophy currently employed by Bill Lazor. I have been a fan of the offense this season, but it has diminished the returns on guys like Clay and Hartline.

Huge game on Sunday for the Phins. I think the defense plays well again, and the offense just just enough to win the game. I hope your fantasy teams are still in contention at the moment as the play-off push is definitely starting. I also hope that my predictions are a little better than last week. let's get back to at least that 70% average that has made me so famous. COME ON C MINUS!

Well, dude, sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you...