Here is some last minute analysis on for week 9.  This is a make or break week and there have been many injuries and some intriguing matchups, this may help you as you look at your lineup Sunday morning.

Washington at Atlanta- The Redskins off a bye week and the Falcons are coming off a shootout loss against the Saints.  Even with the bye week the Skins are still lousy, but ATL’s defense has not been great this year and they are susceptible to the pass, with other teams on a bye, you can take a gamble on Santana Moss, and maybe even a look at Fred Davis, who is taking over for Cooley.  As for the Falcons, go ahead and play their top guys, I expect them to win easily.

Baltimore at Cincinnati- Great match up division rivals.  Baltimore’s offense is an enigma to me, I just do not get it, so many check downs.  Ray Rice is a fantasy must start as he benefits from the check downs, look for Flacco to put together something this week as well.  As for the Bengals, Carson Palmer has been great this year and I do not think that the Ravens D puts fear into teams as it once did, he should have a great game.  Look for Chad Ochocinco to make them “kiss the babies!”   Be careful of Cedric Benson, he has had a great season, but the Ravens know he was the first back to have 100 yards against them in about 2 years, they will be focused on stopping him.  Look for Chris Henry to make some big plays for the Bengals as well.

Arizona at Chicago- Wow, two teams that are some much alike, good one week and horrible the next.  I have been waiting for Fitzgerald and Boldin to do something, I have a feeling it may be this week, but the offensive line will have to protect Warner.  For Chicago, they will ride Forte as far as they can, I do expect Jay Cutler to have a good game as the Cards will put 8 in the box to stop the run.  Devin Hester has been averaging 80 yards a game the last few weeks, he is becoming a must start as a receiver.

Houston at Indianapolis- This is the biggest game in the Texans history and the Colts have lost Bob Sanders, and two cornerbacks to season ending injuries.  Look for a strong passing game for Matt Schaub.  We all know about Andre Johnson, but look at Jacoby Jones and Kevin Walter to get some looks as well as Ryan Moats to take some carries from Steve Slaton.  I still think the Colts will win, because they are the Colts and that’s what they do, for their players, its business as usual, play all of their normal guys and look for Garcon and Collie to make more of a difference this week.

Miami at New England- The Pats after a bye are unstoppable, but the ‘Fins have the Pats number.  We all know this is the matchup that started the “Wildcat” phenomenon, the the second matchup Bellichek stopped it completely.  With that said, you still have to play Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams, they will get the ball early and often.  Keep this name in mind, Devon Bess, he may be a difference maker is this game as the Pats will look to stop Ted Ginn, Jr.  On the Pats side, play all of their receivers, and shy away from any of their RBs, as the Dolphins cornerbacks are young and Brady will be passing all day.  A few sleepers for the Pats, Sam Aiken, a third receiver who will be open because of Moss and Welker, and Chris Baker, TE, Watson has been banged up, this guy can catch the ball too.

Green Bay at Tampa Bay- Poor Tampa Bay, they have the Pack after they lost to Brett Favre last week.  I see no problem playing Rodgers, Driver, Jennings, and Grant and their Defense as Josh Freeman, the Bucs 1^st round pick will be making his first start.  The only bright spot for the Bucs is that Charles Woodson is out for GB, they may have a long pass play, that’s about it, stay away from any player on the Bucs.

Kansas City at Jacksonville- Bad teams means ugly games.  On the Jax side, MJD is a must start, and even Garrard and Sims Walker are guys to consider starting against a bad team.  For KC, wow, this is tough because they have some decent receivers but they cannot catch the ball and they are one of the worst offenses in the league, play guys at your own risk.

Detroit at Seattle- This is what Seattle needs, a team like Detroit to come in and help jump start their offense.  The Seahawks let Edge go, so they must like what they have at RB, but I don’t, these guys are not Stephen Jackson, but of you have to, you know Julius Jones will get touches.  Look at John Carlson and Deion Branch to have decent games as well.  For Detroit, Kevin Smith is a must start as Seattle’s defense has injury problems.  Megatron (Calvin Johnson) is still a game time decision, so keep an eye on the reports.  If you have to pick someone up, look at Bryant Johnson, he will have increased targets if Megatron does not play.

Carolina at New Orleans- I still do not think that the Panthers have solved their offensive problems, but they realized that they have to run the ball, so look at De Angelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart to get a lot of touches.  Do not count the original Steve Smith out, he makes things happen, keep him on your radar.  For the Saints, like the Colts, business as usual, I like all of their guys, Brees, Colston, Shockey, Thomas, and look at Bush to get more touches, they have been increasing each week.

San Diego at New York Giants- Two more teams that look great and then horrible, but I expect a shoot out and the Giants to win.  San Diego will throw the ball and Vincent Jackson is on fire, so look at Rivers and Gates to have big games too.  I am still not sold on their running game, but they are giving Tomlinson the ball, so he is a good play too, stay away from Sproles as his touches are going down. Manning will have a good game, but look for the Giants to run early and often, Bradshaw has been quiet, but I feel he will have a good game.  Their receivers have been good, but each week a new one steps up, Steve Smith is consistent, but Manningham and Nicks can be good plays as well in deep leagues.

Tennessee at San Francisco- Vince Young is back and the Titans have won, his stats are ugly, but the guy wins.  Chris Johnson is having a great season and should have another good game but do not expect a 200 yarder this week.  Nate Washington is healthy and coming along as well, keep an eye on him to see if VY looks at him more.  For San Fran, Frank Gore is back and running well, he is a safe play the rest of the year.  Michael Crabtree is for real and will eat up the Titans secondary.  Alex Smith and Vernon Davis are solid starts here too.

Dallas at Philadelphia- This should be a great game, an offensive game.  The Eagles have been putting McNabb in the shot gun more and it has paid off he is throwing better and more touchdowns.  Expect the Eagles speedy receivers to give the Dallas defense a hard time, Desean Jackson should continue to light up defenses.  Brian Westbrook should play this weekend, but look at the rookie, Lesean McCoy to steal some touches from him.  On the Cowboys side, I am not sold on Romo this game, the Eagles have stout defense and may great jumps in the passing lanes.  With that said, they have enough fire power to make this a great game.  Miles Austin will be held in check, but look for Jason Witten to finally have a good game, and Roy Williams is doing his best T.O. impression, he may do well also.  Don’t sleep on Marion Barber either.

Pittsburgh at Denver- Just like the Pats, the Steelers are great after a bye.  Denver is licking their wounds from another AFC North Team’s beat down last week in Baltimore, now they have the Steelers to deal with.  Expect the Steelers defense to pressure Orton and stop the Denver running game, in my opinion, only Brandon Marshall is a good start for Denver.  For the Steelers, Big Ben wants to be in the no huddle more, look for that this Monday, he has been great this year and is becoming a top fantasy QB.  With Ty Law expected to play corner back for the Broncos this week, that means their defense is banged up, look for the Steelers receivers to make a lot of plays, and look at Mike Wallace to have a deep pass in the play action.  Don’t worry about Hines Ward, he won’t be shut out this week.  Look for Mendenhall to carry the load on the ground, with Parker getting some touches.

Follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/sportsguymike and ask me questions about your lineup Sunday morning.

You can also email me at sportsguymike@gmail.com with fantasy questions and suggestions for my weekly blog!

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Like most of us that are addicted to Fantasy Football, we work with some of the guys in my league.  As a new blogger I really want to talk about the usuals, start/sit and sleepers, etc (I still do though).  My co-worker suggested that I write an article on how to make a late run.  We are both 2-4 (byes weeks, 9 team league) in the same league and even though we look great on paper, we have not caught good match ups.  These are a few things that you can do if you want to compete and make a run at the playoffs.

Waiver Wire

I have mentioned this before, but since there are so many bye weeks, you can pick up a gem to use the rest of the season.  Look at the add/drops and waiver wire, if you can afford to add a player on a bye to block someone else for picking them up, go for it.  At this point, the guys on the bench are not winning you games.  Teams that are doing well and need to add something for a bye week may end up dropping something valuable.  For example, I dropped Marshawn Lynch last week because I have RB depth, but needed a Defense.  He was scooped up right away, what I didn’t notice is that he has some favorable match ups moving forward.  I got my defense, but lost a starting RB.

Don’t Jump at the One Hit Wonders!

OK we all realize that Miles Austin is for real.  But for the most part, these guys that have unbelievable games in one week that are available is because they probably won’t do it again.  You have to look at the real numbers, how many people picked up Brandon Stokely after week 1?  He scored a TD, a crazy catch that bounced off Brandon Marshall’s pads.  Let your competitors jump on those guys and concentrate on the guys who have been there before.

Analyze The Match Ups and Reports

I know I have said go with your gut and do not analyze to much, when you are 2-5, 2-4, etc, the gut just isn’t working.  Take a look at each team and who they are playing, every crucial thing at this point can help.  What are the conditions going to be, windy, sunny, rainy, snowy, this all can make a difference, unless you are the Patriots (I lost that week because of Brady, still VERY bitter).  Look at each teams defense and see what type of yardage they let up, for example, the Titans are real good against the run, but horrible against the pass, a bunch of their DBs are hurt (just ask the Pats, why do I keep bringing it up?).

Look at the Injury Report

Your team may have a bad record, but the player that plays on the “real” team may not be bad.  If the player is a little banged up, keep an eye on the injury report that come out on Wed and look at the updates on practice through the week.  This could be crucial as a player that is questionable could change at game time.  Also if the team is rolling and they are deep at that position, they may sit the guy and that could impact your lineup last minute.  Last year with “Earth, Wind, and Fire” of the Giants last year, Jacobs was sat at the last minute and it hurt me in a crucial game, they sat him last minute because they had to good RBs behind him.

Try those things and see what happens.  I truely believe that these can help, and I have used these tips in my own league.  I once had 7 RBs on my roster, because if someone dropped a good player to cover a Kicker or Def, I simply picked them up and put them on my bench and now they are a crucial part of my line-up (someone dropped Ricky Williams and Frank Gore!).

Good Luck this week, more to come.  Please email any comments or suggestions to sportsguymike@gmail.com

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Brian Westbrook has been one of the top backs on the field for several years now and is a perennial first round pick. However, his injuries are common sources of angst for fantasy owners. I’d like to introduce the cure for this pain. And brace yourself…he’s a rookie.

Increasingly as time has worn on over the past couple of seasons, teams all over the league have adopted a runningback by committee (RBBC) approach. What started out as a rare thing in Tampa with Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott has become common throughout football. RBBC used to be used by teams who did not have that sure fire thing in the backfield but now even teams with great backs are going with the committee approach. Tennessee uses Chris Johnson and LenDale White, San Diego sends out LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Not only do these situations allow for the starter to take a break throughout the course of the game, but also provide teams with solid backups if the main guy is to go down with an injury. This of course leads to fantasy owners drafting these backups as handcuff picks to their starter.

One team that hasn’t been known for employing the committee approach as it became the norm was the Philadelphia Eagles. Brian Westbrook has been the big man on campus in the City of Brotherly Love since he took over the starting job in 2004. Westbrook quickly became known as one of the best all-around backs in the league and had the hybrid runningback/receiver abilities of Marshall Faulk, but added invaluable speed to the mix as well.

Over the past few years, it has been clear that the Eagles offense ebbs and flows around Westbrook. When the soon-to-be 30 year old rusher was on the bench thanks to yet another injury, the Eagles seemed to slow down and their offense became much more predictable with guys like Correll Buckhalter, Lorenzo Booker, and Reno Mahe backing him up. While Buckhalter provided a spark at times, by no means was he a suitable handcuff on draft day. Buckhalter left town in the offseason and that left a gaping hole in the Eagles backfield. Often criticized for never drafting skill positions early, Andy Reid went out and much to fans’ delight, found the one guy who is not only a great handcuff, but possibly the next coming of Brian Westbrook: LeSean McCoy.

McCoy was one of the most highly touted runningbacks coming out of high school and stayed close to his hometown of Harrisburg, PA when he elected to attend Pitt. In just two years at the school, he racked up over 3300 rushing and receiving yards while also scoring a combined 36 touchdowns (21 of these coming on the ground in 2008). With the 5’10, 203 pound Westbrook reaching that scary age of 30, Reid found Westbrook’s clone in McCoy who stands at 5’10 and 198 pounds.

The Eagles received bad news soon after the draft when Westbrook went under the knife to clean up his ankle and were told that he would most likely be out through training camp, the entire preseason, and might not even be 100% when the regular season begins in September. Suddenly, the McCoy pick was looking even better. If Westbrook thrives in Reid’s offense, there is no reason why McCoy shouldn’t experience a lot of the same success. While he might not put up top numbers this year, McCoy could become the ultimate handcuff to Westbrook who is seemingly plagued with injuries which is never good for fantasy owners who make him a first round pick in his/her draft. Westbrook’s fantasy owners should not waste any time picking up McCoy with their last pick because it is practically guaranteed that his name will be there just before the final bell sounds.

McCoy inked his contract on Monday (the first second round pick to do so) which tells me one thing: he is ready to focus on football and could open a lot of eyes in training camp and the preseason when he is placed into the shoes of Brian Westbrook, which seem to fit just perfectly.

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