I Love Football: Week 9

You may notice that I've changed the title of this post from Fantasy Notes to I Love Football. Because admittedly, I've been slacking on the fantasy notes. Not to say they weren't relatively successful foresights -- a lot of my advice panned out -- but I've been more preoccupied with other stories around the league and, as you know, re-formatting the website as a whole. So instead this will just be my weekly football post about not only the players and teams I like, but also the stories I'm watching and the predictions I'm making.

So I'm choosing to start in the AFC West, where the Kansas City Chiefs will battle the Oakland Raiders this weekend. Before the season started, my guess would have been that I would never even mention this matchup on Ultimate Boston. Who would have thought the combined records of these teams would be 9-6? It will be a battle of the ground games on Sunday. The Chiefs have their dynamic duo of rock-solid Thomas Jones and big-play monster Jamaal Charles, who went wild for 238 yards last week. On the black and silver side, Darren McFadden has climbed to the #3 ranking in the fantasy running back category despite missing two full games due to injury. He's been a beast, and the Raiders have Michael Bush in the backfield as well. ESPN will project McFadden slightly higher than Charles, mainly because  McFadden is going to get more touches in all likelihood. If you ask me, though, this is a Raiders team that will be brought down to reality by a Chiefs team that is legit. I don't expect McFadden to break the century mark in this game, and Charles -- coming off that monster week -- just might turn the corner for the second half of the season the way he did last year.

Jump on your plane and shoot across the country to the eastern side of the continent. Remember the Titans? If you don't you'll remember them soon. Because they're poised to put themselves back on the radar after a subpar season last year (an 0-6 start the cause) and a mere 5-3 record this year despite monster expectations for Chris Johnson. The addition of Randy Moss is nothing to take lightly. And here's my fantasy advice on Moss -- be a customer. His price tag will be low in a lot of leagues with so much uncertainty moving forward. I'm buying Randy's new situation. Everyone will turn to the Vikings stint and question whether or not he can do it. Not me. Look at the stability of the Titans in comparison with the previous. Jeff Fisher is the longest tenured coach in the league. Maybe the safest with his job besides Belichick. Randy isn't going in there and bossing anyone around. He won't have a choice. Reports say he's happy to be there. And here's my biggest reason why I'm buying Randy's fantasy success moving forward. Teams saw what he's done this year. Facing Chris Johnson, are defenses going to empty the box to focus on Moss? I think not. They're going to make the Vince Young to Randy Moss connection beat them, not the proven superstar in CJ. I've said it a thousand times -- Moss can beat any corner in the league who doesn't play for the Jets in one-on-one coverage. Teams will start to learn that the Titans are a formidable offense with the addition of Moss. Maybe it's just because I'm a Randy fan, but I'm advising you make a run at getting him on your fantasy quad if the price is right.

From Tennessee, we fly northeast to visit the Philadelphia Eagles, who are hosting the AFC South leaders from Indianapolis. The big story line, of course, is Michael Vick, who is making his return to the starting lineup for the Eagles coming off a bye week. What's the deal with Vick? I've been saying I loved him ever since he played the latter half of week one. And it panned out. Those of you who listened to me were rewarded. I grabbed him myself, and he helped me win some games. And then once Vick went down, I lost 4 straight games (not because of poor QB play solely -- because of some rotten luck and underperforming running backs, but I'm back on track coming off a 107 point victory; you read that correctly). So it would make sense that I throw him back into my starting lineup, right? Not so fast. I'm a little weary about Vick, and I'm even considering that Vick owners may want to trade him while his value is high. Kevin Kolb definitely added some pressure with solid play, and the string will be shorter for the previously unpredictable Vick. He started his season exceptionally well, firing 6 touchdowns without an interception. But his schedule gets tougher moving forward, facing the Bears (1st ranked fantasy pass defense) once and the Giants (4th ranked fantasy pass defense) twice. I wouldn't count on Vick being as productive as he was in weeks 1-3, so if you have a reliable option at QB that can hold the fort for you, I might look to deal the southpaw.

Alright, I investigated a few specific stories. And people in my league may realize that I was slightly biased toward talking about players on my own team. But to be fair, these are some of the bigger story lines in the NFL this week. But I'll transition into some waiver wire picks, which are always necessary at this juncture of the season. Let's look at quarterbacks first.

For waiver wire pick-ups under center, I'm looking at Matthew Stafford (owned in 38% of leagues, started in 11% of leagues) and Jay Cutler (owned in 80%, started in 31%). Stafford had a big week in his return from injury, tossing 4 touchdowns (3 to Calvin Johnson) in a win over Washington. I think Stafford is a legitimate QB in the making. I truly believe the Lions could be playoff contenders as soon as next season. Stafford's the guy who will get them there. With a star receiver like Johnson at his disposal, he's always got the chance to be great. I know he's facing the Jets, who shut down Aaron Rodgers last week, but I still believe the Jets are the most overrated defense in the league. If you're in need, Stafford might be someone to turn to. But if you don't like him, Cutler's a decent option as well. Facing an 0-7 Buffalo team ranked 27th in the league against opposing fantasy QBs, I think Cutler could get back onto his early season track as far as fantasy numbers go.

So what about the other positions? Need waiver wire suggestions? I want you all to pick up Seyi Ajirotutu because his name is awesome. He's a receiver for the Chargers, but he's had 5 catches for 74 yards over the past two weeks. Maybe he's starting to get his bearings in that Philip Rivers offense. It's worth a shot, especially against the atrocious pass defense of the Houston Texans. Additionally, I like any of the Packers mid-level receivers. James Jones and Jordy Nelson in particular. Donald Driver won't be suiting up, so one of those guys is going to slide up into Driver's slot. Rodgers looks to have a bounce-back week, so those guys are potential sleepers for Sunday. Finally, I might be looking at Steve Breaston as a guy to get some points if you need him. He's owned in about half the fantasy leagues out there, and he had a monster game in his return from injury last week. Against a Minnesota team that is completely in shambles, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Cardinals come up big with Breaston being a part of it.

There you have it, a few suggestions. If you guys have any questions, post them as comments here or, as always, use the Contact Us link to shoot us an email about whatever you need. Without further adieu, here are my Week 9 Winners, including my upsets (I've decided to make a few this week) and my lock.

Lions 24, Jets 21 -- [UPSET]
Dolphins 23, Ravens 17 -- [UPSET]
Patriots 20, Browns 10 -- [LOCK]
Chargers 31, Texans 30
Bears 28, Bills 23
Cardinals 26, Vikings 22 -- [UPSET]
Falcons 24, Buccaneers 10
Saints 30, Panthers 13
Giants 27, Seahawks 14
Eagles 24, Colts 23
Chiefs 30, Raiders 16
Packers 34, Cowboys 21
Steelers 20, Bengals 17