Mid Season Recap:

We are beginning week 9 and I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the first 8 weeks in Fantasy Football.

Most Impressive Player: Aaron Rodgers continues his dominant ways week after week.  I would guess that most people who have him as their starting quarterback are in first place (like me) or at the top of your league.  There are only a couple of other quarterbacks who even come close to the fantasy numbers he puts up.

Pleasant surprise: Cam Newton has been incredible.  He clearly has the best value in all of fantasy because most owners drafted him really late or even picked him up off waivers.  He can score touchdowns on the ground or in the air, which allows more options for fantasy points.

Disappointing surprise: Anytime someone talks about disappointments in fantasy this year, they have to start with the name Chris Johnson. He decides to hold out during training camp and isn’t at his elite level this year. If you drafted him early, you are probably out of your league’s playoff hunt.

Walk the Plank: I must “walk the plank” for my poor predictions about Arian Foster. I was worried that he might be a “one hit wonder” in Houston, but he has been a stud again. He was a little injured early in the season, but he has gotten back on track in a big way.

I was right: Jimmy Graham has been the best tight end in the first half of the season. He has been one of Drew Brees’ key targets. He was my “keeper” in one of my fantasy leagues because I had real high hopes and expectations for him. He has been great and even exceeded what I anticipated.

What’s Boiling Bryce: Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco were supposed to take a step in the right direction this season, but instead they have been very inconsistent and unreliable. I still hold out hope that they will get it together the rest of the way, but I’m frustrated they struggled in the first half of the year.

Convinced he will improve: I really believe that Steven Jackson continues what he has done the past couple of weeks. He put the Rams on his back last week to upset the Saints and I’m convinced that this type of production will be what we can count on the rest of the way.

Week 9 Predictions:

Best Matchup: I really like the Atlanta Falcons this week against the Colts. We saw the Colts give up 62 points to the Saints, so I think the Falcons could have a nice day as well. I hope the Falcons worked on a few things during their bye week to allow their offense to be even more dynamic moving forward.

Sleeper of the Week: I was impressed with the way Jackie Battle played for the Chiefs on Monday Night Football. I think the team will be more comfortable with him and he’ll have more confidence this week against the Dolphins.

Bandwagon Riding: I’m still not ready to hop off the Tim Tebow bandwagon. He has the ability to put up numbers running and throwing and that is intriguing to me in fantasy football. The Detroit Lions have a really good defense and that was a major reason Tebow had a terrible day.

Bandwagon Jumping: Darren McFadden is banged up for the Raiders and it looks like he’ll be out this week. He was playing as well as any running back in the league before his injury, but now he’s going to hurt his fantasy owners until he’s back on the field.

Dare you to start: Javon Ringer for the Titans against the Bengals. Chris Johnson continues to struggle and the Titans will have to give more carries to Ringer. If you have multiple running backs on a bye this week, Ringer could be a good guy to slide into your starting lineup.

Dare you to bench: Mike Williams from the Bucs. He has had an issue with drops all year long and he’s only scored one touchdown. It’s hard to have confidence in him at this point.

Player I’m counting on this week for my own team: I traded for DeSean Jackson and I need him to be a solid starting receiver for me.