Fantasy Football Week 9 Projections: RBs
November 1, 2011 by Uzo Ometu
As we enter Fantasy Football Week 9, we really have to take a step back and look at the few decent performances we got from the running back position a week ago. For starters, LeSean McCoy busting it out against the Cowboys previously #1 ranked rushing defense had to be a bit of a shocker. Also, Steven Jackson’s 159 yards and two scores was pretty telling of just how good this man is despite his allegiance to a God-awful football team. Will we have similarly big-time performances like the ones we saw from McCoy, Jackson, Frank Gore and Fred Jackson? Or will fantasy football Week 9 fizzle out like the rest of the league’s running backs did?
Here are the Fantasy Football Week 9 Projections at the running back position:
Arian Foster, Houston Texans vs. Cleveland Browns
The Browns aren’t good. The Texans are okay. Arian Foster is the best. Since getting healthy, it’s hard to say that we have seen a more impressive back this NFL season. Foster has run hard and for a good amount of yards against some very good defense. In the month of October, Foster gained 809 yards from scrimmage (499 yards rushing), for an average of 161 yards per game. And it’s not like he has been doing this against crappy teams. During his five-game run in October, the Texans faced the Jaguars (14th against the run), the Ravens (3rd), the Raiders (16th) and the Steelers (8th). He also faced the lowly Titans (27th), and as you would expect, he had 100 & 100 against that defense. So what am I to make of an Arian Foster matchup with the Browns (26th) in Fantasy Football Week 9? Oh, it’s not going to be pretty for the people in Cleveland.
Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers vs. Washington Redskins
Frank Gore apparently does not want to age. The man has been running hard since the Regan administration and it doesn’t look like he’s going to stop anytime soon—especially not in Week 9. The Washington Redskins look like the basement dwellers of the NFC East now. It’s a shame they didn’t start playing this way at the beginning of the season so that they could be in the “Suck for Luck” campaign. The 49ers are too well coached and too good to host Washington and not run the ball down their throats. The Redskins are 21st against the run and the 49ers are the 6th best rushing team in the NFL. Do the math! Frank Gore runs big in Fantasy Football Week 9!
Ahmad Bradshaw, New York Giants at New England Patriots
The one good thing for Bradshaw going into this game is that we know he is not going to split time with Brandon Jacobs. After Jacob’s comments on Sunday, I don’t think Tom Coughlin is going to play Jacobs considerably at the running back position until the Regan administration is back in power. Bradshaw, on the other hand, will get plenty of carries. Unfortunately for him in Week 9, he is going up against a Patriots team that has been very stingy with the run. Whether it’s because Bill Belichick and Vince Wilfork are just out coaching and outplaying opposing offensive lines, or if it’s because Tom Brady gets his teams out to monstrous leads, teams just don’t appear capable of running the ball on the Patriots 9th ranked rushing defense. And given that I think Brady will be out to an early lead over the New York Giants this week, I think that remains the case and Ahmad Bradshaw gets shut down in Fantasy Football Week 9.
