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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As training camps creep closer and closer, there is undoubtedly at least one position on most teams where fans can look and see a hole that could be filled with a capable veteran. While these players are not expected to come in and shine for an organization, it is typically thought that they can offer unparalleled knowledge and can serve the role of a capable backup in case the main guy at a position goes down with an injury. Ten years removed from being the NFL Rookie of the Year, Edgerrin James is fitting that mold in 2009.

James was drafted fourth overall out of Miami in 1999 and dazzled the football world when in his first two years he became the perfect complement to budding quarterback Peyton Manning. He ran for 1553 yards and 13 touchdowns his rookie year and followed up with a sophomore surge of 1709 yards and another 13 touchdowns. Clearly, James was on the road to becoming one of the greatest of all time. However, in 2001, James tore his ACL and following the surgery put up only 1600 yards over the next two years and a combined five touchdowns which led critics to believe that another knee injury had claimed yet another talented runningback.

James proved the naysayers wrong when from 2003 through 2007 in his time in Indianapolis and Arizona, he never posted less than 1150 yards rushing and six touchdowns. Despite recording over 1200 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground in 2007, Arizona decided that they would focus on their passing game and abandoned the ground attack for the better part of 2008 which significantly hindered James. He only had 133 carries (the lowest of his career) and reached the endzone just three times. In fact, over the course of weeks eight through 16 in which James played in six games, he had just 18 carries. With Tim Hightower already in the fold, the Cardinals drafted Ohio State runningback Chris Wells in this year’s draft which was consequently Edgerrin’s ticket out of Arizona.

Here we are as July comes to a close and James still hasn’t signed on with a team. His name has been linked to New Orleans and Philadelphia at different times throughout the offseason, but still no team has even stepped up to make an offer. In a recent article in the Fort Myers News-Press, James was candid about his thoughts on playing again when he said, “There are not 32 backs out there who are better than me…I want to continue to play. I can play at a high level.”

There is no doubt in this writer’s mind that James can still bring it on the football field. Despite having passed the foreboding age of 30, James stepped it up last year as the Cardinals began to balance their offense toward the end of the season. He recorded a 100 yard game in week 17 against Seattle on just 14 carries and had almost 75 yards rushing against both Atlanta and Philadelphia in postseason play (in each of those games he averaged 4.6 yards per carry). If James had not stepped it up when his number was finally called as the season wore on, the Cardinals may not have made it to the Super Bowl.

For some reason, James has been given a bad label of being injured and not quite the player he once was. But since his injury season of 2001, James has missed just nine games in seven seasons and continues to increase his career totals in yardage which now stands at 12,121. If James were to have a 1000 yard season in 2009, he would jump to seventh on the all-time rushing list just behind Eric Dickerson and would only be looking at Jerome Bettis, Curtis Martin, Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, and Emmitt Smith in front of him.

James has been around the block for quite some time in the NFL. While he is not looked at as the flashy rookie of the year winner that he was in the early and mid-parts of the decade, James still has gas left in the tank and if he were to sign on with a team, would immediately provide the squad with a more than dangerous backup to spell a starter. Not only that, but his successes in the league would be invaluable from a teaching standpoint.

Even when James is signed, he will most likely not be the number one guy in a given city. New Orleans loves what they have in Pierre Thomas behind Reggie Bush and Philadelphia is slowly falling in love with rookie LeSean McCoy who is seated nicely underneath Brian Westbrook on the team’s depth chart. No matter what team James ends up with (and trust me, he’ll be playing in 2009), he will immediately become a stellar fantasy handcuff to a franchise’s lead back. Keep an eye on news surrounding James as the weeks go by and when he signs, don’t hesitate to give him a good look.

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