Post Week 9: Fantasy Football Pass Targets

Que Biz Markie….”Let me clear my throat...uh,uh,uh,” and introduce myself. I am Michael Pichan, known by many as the Fantasy Nomad, and will now be roaming to your RSS feed, hopefully, each week with your   Week-by-Week NFL Target Report (Winners and Losers)  . I know I have big shoes to fill, from the great job Tom Blaz did to start the season, but what better person to follow a man named “Blaz” then to hand the reigns off to a ginger, but enough about me, and in honor of Tom, let’s “Blaz” on.

Week Nine has come and gone, but not without another injury to a super-star player, this time at the quarterback position. As most of you have already heard, Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rodgers may miss between 1-3 weeks due to a slight fracture in his collarbone. (In other ironic news, the Bills released Matt Flynn on Monday). On a more positive note, the six-team bye weeks have now passed us by and I hope the injuries go Pharcyde and “Keep passing you by,” as well. Speaking of passing here are your target leaders (winners and losers) from Week 9.

Week 9 Target Leaders: Winners

* My campaign for Andy Dalton for MVP was short lived, but despite his poor performance it was nice to see him target Green a season high 19 times (season high 11 receptions, as well) after throwing his way just 14 times the previous two games combined.

* Back-up quarterbacks be damned Andre Johnson and Brandon Marshall still delivered.

* Any questions on whether T.Y. Hilton can step in and be a number one wide receiver may have been put to rest with his seven catches for 121 yards and three touchdowns performance versus the Texans Sunday. And the same can be said for Chargers rookie Keenan Allen.

* Back-to-back weeks of 10 targets and 88 or more yards receiving for Sanders as he is showing he can co-exist with Antonio Brown as both are providing solid Fantasy value in PPR formats.

* No surprise to see Danny Woodhead atop this list as he has cemented himself as a must start in PPR formats. Woody has scored about 10 Fantasy Points or more in that format every week since Week One.

* Rashad Jennings and Jacquizz Rodgers are worth stashing in deeper formats as they continue to provide value in the receiving game and they play behind two injury-risk running backs.

* Two rookies appear on this list, in Steelers Le'Veon Bell and Zac Stacy, both on their way to proving the naysayers wrong, if they have not already, especially in Stacy's case.

* No surprises in the top-four other than maybe the fact that Jimmy Graham proved that there is no doubt he is healthy enough to provide similar numbers as he did prior to his injury.

* Plenty of targets for Chandler, Gresham, and Quarless but they are too inconsistent due to their team's quarterback situation, lack of receptions on the targets, and/or competition from teammate(s).

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Week 9 Target Losers

For this portion of the target report I am going to take a little different approach than you may be used to. The criteria going forward is that each player eligible to land in this "Land of Let Down" must have been on the field for 60% or more of their team's snaps (50% for running backs), had fewer than 60 yards receiving, and did not reach the end zone. For example, Tiquan Underwood saw only three targets (two receptions), which was tied for the second fewest among receivers who saw 60% of their team's snap, but he did reach the end zone. So, I think we would agree that Underwood over performed despite a limited number of targets. Get it? Got it? Good, Let's Go...

* Fantasy owners were expecting more from Golden Tate with the loss of Sidney Rice, but unlike T.Y. Hilton, Tate does not seem to posses the talent to be a team's number one wide receiver.

* Chalk up Vincent Jackson's low numbers to a tough matchup.

* Julian Edelman and Vincent Brown are both dropable at this point.

* Shocker to see the Law Firm atop this list? Doubt it as he has seen just three targets all season, with the last one coming back in Week 5.

* Alfred Morris and Eddie Lacy made not of made an impact in the passing game, but they did plenty on the ground.

* Dismal performance by Jordan Cameron in Week 9, his most disappointing week to date, but hey every player is due for a bad game here or there, so don't overreact.

* Back-to-back bad weeks for Charles Clay who had put together a three game stretch of getting in the end zone prior to Week 8. He has earned at least one more week, before you consider dropping him.

Hopefully, you found my first edition of the Fantasy Football Pass Targets report both helpful and enjoyable. As always, you can leave a comment in the comments section below.

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