NFL Week 9 Daily Fantasy Recap

by Stephen Keech (SBK) Last Updated 2013-11-07 00:28:15

What Worked

• The Eagles. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bigger turn-around than what I witnessed with Nick Foles yesterday. I’m a Philly fan and have been all my life, so his performance against the Cowboys a few weeks ago not only destroyed some of my DFS lineups, it also happened to come against our biggest rivals. He looked like he had absolutely no clue in that game, but after a few weeks off to heal I was expecting a decent performance out of him against the Raiders. But he didn’t have a decent performance, he threw SEVEN touchdowns. He went from JaMarcus Russell to Joe Montana in one game, hooking up with Riley Cooper on 3 TD’s and also finding DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy and Brent Celek for scores. Jackson ended up with 5 catches for 150 yards and a TD, while McCoy finished with 80 total yards and a touchdown. Will we see the Eagles offense clicking again next week in Green Bay? It should be interesting to see how much of the field hops back on this team in Week 10.

• Sunday Night WR’s. I didn’t think Case Keenum under center would hurt Andre Johnson production, but I certainly didn’t see it playing out like this. It looks like the bye week gave these two a chance to build rapport with one another, as Johnson was targeted a game-high 13 times, reeling in 9 catches for 229 yards and 3 TD’s. Johnson completely dominated the first half, accounting for all of Houston’s touchdowns at that point, but the second half belonged to a receiver on the other side. T.Y. Hilton’s first touchdown didn’t come until just before the end of the third quarter, but he added two more in fourth to give the Colts the 27-24 lead, which they held onto for the win. Hilton finished with 7 catches for 121 yards and 3 TD’s on 12 targets, and looks like the main beneficiary from the Reggie Wayne injury. Two of Hilton’s scores came inside the red-zone, where Wayne used to play a prominent role for Andrew Luck. If you played either of these guys (or both), SNF was definitely a fun game to watch this week.

• The running game for St. Louis/Tennessee. During the week, it wasn’t clear whether or not Zac Stacy would even suit up on Sunday. Luckily for him, he decided to give it a go against a weak Titans run defense and proceeded to torch them for 178 total yards and 2 TD’s. Coming into this week, the Rams had not scored a rushing touchdown all season. Stacy also picked up six receptions for over 50 yards, and is turning into one of the few workhorse RB’s in the NFL. After it was reported that Shonn Greene would see “15 touches” (turned out to be 10, turned one into a TD), Chris Johnson couldn’t have been happy, and showed his displeasure by running for 150 yards and 2 TD’s on 23 carries. He looked like the CJ2K we used to love, breaking off a few big runs and picking up consistent yardage on his touches, something we haven’t seen much from him lately.

• Premier tight ends. Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowski, Jason Witten, Tony Gonzalez and Greg Olsen all caught at least one touchdown on Sunday. Graham turned in the best day of the group, as he was the only one who found the endzone twice. With Marques Colston out, Graham once again led the Saints in receiving with 116 yards on 9 catches. Gronk had a similar stat line (minus a TD), finishing with 9-143-1. For the first week in awhile, the Patriots passing game was back on track. Jason Witten managed to lead the Cowboys passing attack, reeling in eight catches for 102 yards and a score. Gonzalez and Olsen weren’t as productive as the big three, but each went for over 65 yards and a TD.

• The Brady Bunch. Just when I thought I was out, he pulls me back in! After having just one 300-yard/2 TD game through the first eight weeks, Brady easily put forth his best game of the season with 432 passing yards and 4 TD’s. I read a few articles this week about how this was “the beginning of the end” for Brady, and maybe this game will prove to be an anomaly, but it looked to me like he still has plenty left in the tank. Brady and Gronk are clicking again, and Brady has always managed to make middling receivers look like studs in this offense. Aaron Dobson is a nice example, as he managed to rack up 150 receiving yards and two scores against a pass-defense that had been very solid coming into Sunday. The running game was also producing; Stevan Ridley ran for 115 yards and 2 TD’s, finally getting a full workload. The Patriots will be even healthier after they come off their bye in Week 10, so this could be a very nice offense to target down the stretch this year.

• Adrian Peterson. After a few down weeks following the tragic death of his son, AP looked like himself again against the Cowboys. All Day piled up 177 total yards on 28 touches, and added an 11-yard TD run to cap off his day. With the Minnesota offense struggling mightily over the past few weeks as they experiment with different QB’s, it was easy to see how teams were stopping AP. The Giants were putting nine guys in the box a few weeks ago on MNF, and Minnesota still couldn’t get anything going in the passing game. Christian Ponder is probably AP’s best hope for success, since he’s mobile himself, and Peterson should be able to build on his success against the Redskins this week.

• The Chiefs Defense. Once Jeff Tuel was announced as the starting QB, the Chiefs defense became an even better play. They produced just like many thought they would, limiting the Bills to just 13 points and scoring two more defensive touchdowns, one on a 100-yard interception return. This unit somehow managed to be kept without a sack, but anyone who took them was probably happy with the end result.

What Disappointed Us

• The Cowboys. With the exception of Jason Witten (and Cole Beasley, sort of), this offensive unit was a big letdown for many DFS players on Sunday. Six catches for 64 yards isn’t necessarily a bad game, but it is if you paid for Dez Bryant. With Minnesota missing 3 of it’s 4 top defensive backs, it looked like the Cowboys WR’s would be in for a field day. Terrance Williams was a very popular play across the industry this weekend, but was kept out of the endzone and thus wasn’t worth taking. He was targeted seven times, but could only hang on to two of them for 33 yards. Since it looked like the Cowboys would probably build a nice lead at some point in the game, DeMarco Murray looked like a solid play on sites that had dropped his price. However, he carried the ball only four times (for 31 yards), and was only able to turn his six catches into 19 yards. Tony Romo finished the day with a respectable line, but his top WR’s weren’t the guys to benefit.

• Robert Griffin III and Jordan Reed. For the second straight week, RGIII finds himself in the dog house. In what looked like another prime match-up for the Skins passing game, Griffin failed to record a TD and picked up just 17 yards on the ground. His 291 yards passing were nice, but when your TD/INT ratio is 0/1, you have no shot at a productive fantasy game. Anyone who went with Pierre Garcon on Sunday is happy, but if you paired him with Griffin, it didn’t go so well. Jordan Reed was the most popular TE play of Week 9, but ended up as a big time bust. Reed totaled just 55 total yards with zero scores, while the high-priced TE’s exploded.

• Secondary WR’s stealing the limelight. Instead of Antonio Brown putting up a big game against the Aqib Talib-less Patriots, Jerricho Cotchery somehow managed to reel in 3 TD’s and came just shy of 100 yards receiving. Brown didn’t have a bad game, finishing with 71 yards and a score, but it could have been much bigger. While Davone Bess caught two red-zone TD’s, both Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron were held in check by the Ravens defense. Going back to Philly, could you imagine the kind of stat line DeSean Jackson could have put up if he saw a few more of Riley Cooper targets?

• Trent Richardson. This is almost to be expected at this point, but with the Colts OC talking up T-Rich heading into Week 9, there were still some people who had faith in the guy the Colts traded a first round pick for. I wanted nothing to do with Richardson after the past few weeks, but for his price on Draftkings, I could understand why people still wanted to play him. This week ended up being no different for Richardson, as he saw only ten total touches to Donald Brown six. 20 yards on eight carries? Stay away from this guy until he shows some sign of life.

• Terrelle Pryor and Darren McFadden. Playing against an Eagles defense that had allowed the 2nd most passing yards in the NFL, Pryor looked like a nice option on 2-QB sites. He is always a threat to break off a long run – as we saw last week – and this game could have turned into a major shootout had the Raiders been able to get anything going offensively. Pryor ended up getting pulled during the game, and was ultimately held without a touchdown on the day. Darren McFadden day wasn’t any better, totaling just 15 total yards on just six touches before leaving with an injury. His performance was even more maddening after Rashad Jennings proceeded to shine in his absence, finishing with 176 total yards and a score.

What Surprised Us

• Jason Campbell. After a nice game on the road against the Chiefs, Campbell earned another start and made the best of it. He tied his career high with three passing TD’s, two of which ended up in the hands of Davone Bess. He has thrown for just under 300 yards in both of his starts with a 5/0 TD-to-INT ratio, so expect him to remain under center in the near future for Cleveland. With him having a big day, it was certainly surprising to see Jordan Cameron and Josh Gordon produce less than stellar efforts.

• Mike James running wild on the Seahawks Defense. Even after Zac Stacy had room to run against this unit last week, I was not at all convinced of James’ ability to do the same. He hadn’t been very effective in his time as Doug Martin successor, but it went much different in Week 9. While the Seahawks D is always a solid bet at home (especially against teams who can’t win), this was not the case on Sunday. James obviously was not played by many people, but the point here is that the Seahawks are no longer a brick wall against the run.

• The Texans. After a decent debut against a stout Chiefs defense, a match-up with the Colts at home brought out stats we used to see from Case Keenum in college. 350 yards and 3 TD’s for the rookie QB had to make Texans fans feel a little better after a tough loss. It looks like he has built some chemistry with Andre Johnson, so don’t forget about this passing game if Foster and Tate continue to play banged up. Foster was questionable all week, but after it was announced he would be active, we were surely expecting to see him touch the ball at least once. Instead, he left very early in the game, and Ben Tate carried the load in his stead.

• Nick Foles. Seven touchdowns? It was impossible for me to leave him out of the surprises, as not a soul on this planet could have expected that (okay, maybe headchopper). Riley Cooper also fits the bill as a surprise, since he has been relatively non-existent this season except for a few big games. Both Eagles TE’s managed to catch touchdowns for the first time this year, but it seems like every time this team takes a step forward, they take about three steps backwards. A match-up with the Packers should be very interesting next week.

• High scores. This week was filled with monster performances, and it seemed to me that they were much more common this week than they have been recently. Take a look at the optimal lineups for FD, DS and DK below and you will see what I mean. All of the QB’s, RB’s and WR’s in those lineups scored a minimum of 30 points, with a few guys going into the 40’s. If you didn’t have a few of these plays in your lineup, you had absolutely no shot in a GPP or qualifier. Just an insane week in some areas; for example, the DS optimal lineup only used 87% of total salary, due to Riley Cooper and Jerricho Cotchery (a combined 9K) putting up almost 70 points.

What to Take Away

• Pay close attention to mid/late-week news. I’ve seen some threads in the forums complaining about expert picks, and it seems like some players don’t know how to use them. When those picks are written (early in the week), there is still a lot of news still to develop and things can change immensely on Sunday morning alone. Those writers simply don’t have the time to edit their earlier selections for all the news that is released, so that part is on each individual player. You cannot expect to win by relying solely on outside sources; you have to stay up-to-date on an injury news and any developments at all that could affect things on Sunday. Zac Stacy is a nice example… He was questionable most of the week but as of Sunday morning, looked like a solid play as not only was he active, but Daryl Richardson was inactive. I read all the expert picks every week (partly because it’s my job), and they play a role in the player’s I choose, but you need to add some individuality into your plays or you will never be able to set yourself apart from the masses. While expert picks are great in that they give you insight into how the better players are thinking, your final lineups are decided by no one but yourself.

• The Redskins hate Alfred Morris. I’m obviously not being serious, but they seem to love letting other player’s bang around near the goal-line after Morris does the work between the 20’s. After Roy Helu stole 3 TD’s from Morris a few weeks ago, it was Darrel Young taking the honors this week. Young scored twice from the one-yard line, and added a score from four-yards out later in the game. Morris still carried it 25 times and scored a TD of his own, but he could have had two much bigger weeks if not for a few unsavory vultures.

• C.J. Spiller finally shows some life. One of the supposed year-long RB1’s, Spiller has gotten off to a painfully slow start this year, breaking 100 yards rushing just once before Sunday. When healthy, we’ve seen what this guy can do, and there is no question that he can be one of the best backs in the NFL. Fred Jackson is still around to split work, and he’s played admirably enough to keep that workload, but Spiller probably won’t really take off until he’s out of the way. Regardless, it’s good to see him look healthy again and he could be a sneaky GPP play over the next few weeks.

• Drew Brees is not the same QB on the road. Don’t get me wrong, Brees is a great quarterback and is top-3 among NFL QB’s this year, but his numbers take a pretty serious dip on the road. While he hasn’t broken the 20 point plateau on the road yet this season, he has managed to do it in every game he has played at home. While Jimmy Graham is the same reliable red-zone target each and every week, Brees is better utilized when he gets to play in the Superdome.

Top Performers by Position: Week 9

This Week’s Top Performers: Quarterbacks

This Week’s Top Performers: Running Backs – Half Point PPR

This Week’s Top Performers: Wide Receivers – Half Point PPR

This Week’s Top Performers: Tight Ends – Half Point PPR

This Week’s Top Performers: Running Backs – Full Point PPR

This Week’s Top Performers: Wide Receivers – Full Point PPR

This Week’s Top Performers: Tight Ends – Full Point PPR

Perfect Lineups

Optimal Lineup: FanDuel

POS		Salary	Score
QB	Nick Foles	$6,800	45.64
RB	Zac Stacy	$5,800	32.80
RB	Chris Johnson	$7,000	30.50
WR	Andre Johnson	$6,900	45.40
WR	Riley Cooper	$4,500	36.20
WR	T.Y. Hilton	$6,000	33.60
TE	Jimmy Graham	$8,100	28.10
K	Nick Folk	$5,500	14.00
DEF	Kansas City	$5,800	25.00
	TOTALS	$56,400	291.24

Optimal Lineup: DraftStreet

POS		Salary	Score
QB	Nick Foles	$10,071	45.64
QB	Tom Brady	$11,761	33.18
RB	Zac Stacy	$8,638	32.80
RB	Chris Johnson	$10,692	30.50
WR	Andre Johnson	$10,328	45.40
WR	T.Y. Hilton	$9,258	33.60
TE	Jimmy Graham	$11,097	28.10
FLEX	Riley Cooper	$5,063	36.20
FLEX	Jerricho Cotchery	$4,288	31.10
DEF	Kansas City	$6,498	24.00
	TOTALS	$87,694	340.52

Optimal Lineup: DraftKings

POS		Salary	Score
QB	Nick Foles	$6,500	45.64
RB	Zac Stacy	$3,900	35.80
RB	Chris Johnson	$5,800	32.00
WR	Andre Johnson	$6,700	49.90
WR	Riley Cooper	$3,900	38.70
TE	Jimmy Graham	$7,600	32.60
FLEX	T.Y. Hilton	$6,300	37.10
K	Nick Folk	$3,800	14.00
DEF	Kansas City	$5,200	25.00
	TOTALS	$49,700	310.74

Note: DraftKings Optimals does not include bonuses awarded in DK’s scoring system