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Week 9 marked the second to last week of byes in the 2005 season.   We hope that you were able to make the most of your fantasy roster with the rash of injuries that has hit the NFL in the past few weeks.   In a week where league fantasy scores were down, we were able to make some good calls for many fantasy teams.   This solid week of picking the fantasy bench / start players has been recorded in our wrap up.   We hope that you were able to take advantage of these calls and pull off a fantasy win or two.   As always, we own up to our calls in the weekly bench / start wrap up.   Sit back in your chair and enjoy this look back at week 9.

Nostradamus (a.k.a. psychic)
Start:
Jacksonville Jaguars D – The Jaguars had a very solid week.   They only allowed 14 points and they racked up 6 sacks.   Tack on a fumble recovery and you have a very solid fantasy start in most scoring systems.

Trent Dilfer (only if he starts at QB) – Dilfer started and he didn’t disappoint.   He had a big touchdown pass that put many of you in big play leagues over the top.   His 58 yard TD strike to Dennis Northcutt was a huge boost to his fantasy numbers in those big play leagues.   Dilfer also took pretty good care of the ball by only throwing 1 interception.   Add in Dilfer’s passing and rushing yardage and you have a very respectable fantasy start.

Chris Brown – Brown was a money start call week 9.   He rolled up over 100 total yards of offense and he tacked on a TD.   We hope that you got to take advantage of this very strong start week 9.   Brown tied his season high in carries week 9 with 22 attempts.

John Kasay – With 4 PATs and 2 field goals, Kasay was a great start week 9.   We hope that you were able to take advantage of this solid fantasy game.   We have no doubt that Kasay helped more than a few fantasy teams win this past weekend.

New York Giants D – 3 sacks and 1 interception were a little on the low side, but holding the opposition to only 6 points is a big fantasy score in many leagues.   The Giants ended up being a good start week 9.

Larry Fitzgerald – Fitzgerald hauled in a whopping 8 receptions for over 110 yards of total offense.   Fitzgerald was a great start in most leagues and an even better start in point per reception leagues.   If you own him in a point per reception league, you have a very big star on your hands while Anquan Boldin is out.

Tony Gonzalez – Gonzalez was a very solid start in reception leagues.   He hauled in 5 receptions for good yardage.   We would like to some scores start to come Mr. Gonzalez’s way, but he is starting to gain fantasy momentum.

Kerry Collins – Collins went for 175 yards passing (which isn’t where he needs to be) and an interception, but he did throw a couple of TD passes that helped salvage his fantasy game.   Collins just made it into our good calls of the week.

Jerry Porter – Porter had decent yardage, but his TD reception helpd to put him into the good start calls of the week.   If you own Porter, you should continue to see good games form him while Randy Moss is still hampered by injury.

Bench:
Keenan McCardell – McCardell had two solid weeks in a row coming into his week 9 game, but we told you to bench him.   IN out bench prediction for McCardell we mentioned a Tomlinson eruption.   We think 4 TDs counts as an eruption.   As for McCardell, he only had two catches for 25 yards.   He was only thrown to 2 times.   McCardell owners should be concerned about the heavy load being carried by Antonio gates and Tomlinson.

Tony Fisher – Fisher ended up being inactive and now it looks like he will miss even more time.   Hopefully, you left him on the bench.   He would have given you a big fat goose egg.   ReShard Lee was supposed to start in his place.   He fumbled early and didn’t see much action after that.   You better not have started Lee either.   Both guys were terrible start options week 9.

Anthony Wright – There were worst QBs you could have started other than Wright, but he still wasn’t something you would want to start.   He barley broke 150 yards passing and he didn’t throw a single TD.   His few rushing yards helped to keep him from hitting the bottom of the barrel, but he was still a player you were happy to have on the bench.

Jerome Bettis – Bettis was a late scratch in Sunday’s bout with the Packers.   Hopefully you left Bettis out of our starting plans.   He would have laid a big goose egg if he was left in your roster.

Rod Gardner & Keary Colbert – Rod would have given you a zero had he been in your lineup and Colbert didn’t do much better with a 1 catch 18 yard performance.   We told you it was going to be all about the “Steve Smith Show” and it was.   Colbert started to show signs of life with a solid week 8 performance, but it a solid fantasy game just wasn’t in the cards for him.


Farmer's Almanac (a.k.a. not so bad/not so good)
Start:
Fred Taylor – As we mentioned, this was a relatively low scoring fantasy weekend.   As such, Taylor has a pretty reasonable day.   Taylor racked 63 yards of total offense and a couple of receptions for those of you in point per reception leagues.   Fred was a so-so start week 9.

Cedric Benson if Jones can’t play or sees limited action – Jones was limited and Benson had a pretty solid fantasy game for week 9.   Benson rushed the ball for 79 yards.   While this wasn’t exactly what we expected from Benson against the Saints, he still had a reasonable day that wouldn’t have killed your fantasy team.   As a result, Benson was a so-so start week 9.

Plaxico Burress – Burress was thrown to an amazing 10 times, but he only hauled in 5 of those.   He didn’t score and he didn’t break 100 yards on the day, so we have to put Burress in the so-so starts of the week.

Bench:
Donte Stallworth – Stallworth didn’t do much in the air.   He only had 37 yards receiving on 3 catches, but he did score on a 15 yard strike.   Since he is a WR and he is expected to grab a little more than 3 receptions, we are going to put him in the so-so bench calls of the week.   However, he is very close to being a busted bench call.


Weather Forecast (a.k.a. oops better luck next time)
Start:
Kevin Jones – Well if you would have put all of the Lions backs together, you would have had a good fantasy performance.   However, we suspect that your league doesn’t let you do that.   Thus, Jones wasn’t that great of a start thanks to a nerve injury that forced him to leave the game early.   If you started Jones, you were probably weren’t very happy with his results.   We suggest staying away from Jones for a while if you can.   He has been getting a little banged up lately and he should be considered a higher than average injury risk at this point.

Detroit Lions D – The Lions had 3 sacks and 1 turnover, but they gave up way too many points.   In most leagues, the Lions weren’t that good of a start.

Bench:
Antowain Smith – Smith did break 100 yards on the ground, but he fumbled.   That almost lands Smith in the so-so bench calls, but we have to give him credit for his two receptions.   Those are just enough to make him a busted call week 9.   We are very impressed that he was able to have such a good game against one of the toughest run Ds in the league.   Keep your eyes on Smith.   He has a history of being a late season bloomer.

Laveranues Coles – We didn’t see Brooks Bollinger coming.   Coles made a fantastic catch for a score that helped make him a busted call week 9.   Coles owners should keep their fingers crossed and hope for more chemistry like this.