Fantasy Football Week 9 Projections: QBs
November 1, 2011 by Uzo Ometu
Our Fantasy Football Week 9 Projections are in, and we do have a couple of surprises for you. That being said, we weren’t very surprised about what conspired in the NFL last week. We saw Michael Vick and Andy Dalton have great games, while Tim Tebow and Philip Rivers continued to disappoint. Sure, Tom Brady struggled against the Steelers and Drew Brees was wildly off against the St. Louis Rams, but both defenses are tougher than most people had given them credit for up to this point in the season.
Here are your Fantasy Football Week 9 Projections at the quarterback position:
Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons at Indianapolis Colts
If Matt Hasselbeck can go 23 of 33 against the Colts, than Matty “Ice” Ryan should have no problem doing the same thing. Clearly, the Colts just have deficiencies all around. And even if they had Peyton Manning, the fact that their two defensive ends have been shells of their former selves this season means that the defense just isn’t going to be what it was one and two seasons ago. Without much of a pass rush, Matt Ryan should have all day to throw the ball down the field to Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez. Add in a running game that will keep Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis on their heels, and you should expect the short yardage stuff to be their too. If Matt Ryan doesn’t have a good game against this defense, he’s just not capable of having one in 2011.
Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
I was as shocked as you were to see the Saints lose to the Rams last week, and truth be told, Drew Brees was a large part of the problems that contributed to the Saints struggles. But rest assure, Brees is not going to have two bad weeks in a row for your fantasy football team. In Fantasy Football Week 9, expect Brees to come out with a fury unbeknownst to quarterbacking. Actually, I take that back. You can probably equate what you’re going to see in Week 9 against the Bucs with what we saw from Brees in Week 7 against the Colts. Only this time, the Brees actually has a reason to be upset.
Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears at Philadelphia Eagles
In full disclosure, I am an Eagles fan, but I will do everything in my power to be objective here. Cutler won’t have a good game for your fantasy football team this week. Not against these cornerbacks. Most of Cutler’s big plays are made against 1-on-1 coverage, down the sideline or across the middle of the field on a rollout. Starting with the latter, there’s no way Cutler successfully rolls out against the wide-nine technique of the Eagles defensive ends. Addressing the former, the Eagles cornerbacks looked like they got their stuff together during the bye week, as none of their guys were beat down the sideline against the Cowboys respectable wide receiving core. Given that the Eagles get to go from covering Mile Austin and Dez Bryant to covering Devin Hester and Johnny Knox, I think Cutler is going to find it extremely difficult to find open wide receivers in NFL Week 9.
