Fantasy football rankings, Week 9: Quarterbacks

It was a great weekend for owners of Drew Brees and Eli Manning. The duel in the dome generated 13 touchdown passes and 855 passing yards. Both these offenses can definitely sling it but the pass defense by both teams was almost non-existent. Looking ahead, I expect both Brees and Manning to have strong finishes to their fantasy seasons. Brees looks healthy again and has the team in the Wild Card race.

The Saints' schedule has some real soft spots, so look for a few more big games from Brees. Manning will always have an opportunity for a good game, as long as he has a healthy Odell Beckham. The Giants schedule is not nearly as forgiving with tough matchups against the Jets and Panthers. I would love to see more games like this, especially if one of my quarterbacks is throwing the touchdowns.

The inevitable finally happened in San Francisco, with the benching of Colin Kaepernick. The team will now start Blaine Gabbert but it may not be a permanent move. I believe we'll see Kaepernick starting again before the season's over. Gabbert has a career 53.2 completion percentage with 23 touchdowns in 29 games. The offense is in trouble with three injured running backs and the recent trading of Vernon Davis. Gabbert is entering a tough situation and isn't worth rostering unless you're in a desperate situation. Watch for Kaepernick to be starting by December.

We've arrived again at the worst bye week of the season. The six teams that are off this week are the Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs, Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans. Matthew Stafford has had a rough season and his performance in London was no different. Maybe the Lions straighten things out over the bye but I have my doubts. Alex Smith is having a typical Alex Smith-like season. Not dependable enough to be an every week fantasy starter but good for a spot start on occasion.

Carson Palmer has had an impressive season. He's currently third among fantasy quarterbacks and has thrown for 20 touchdowns. The Cardinals schedule increases in difficulty in the second half of the season but this passing offense should continue to produce. Russell Wilson hasn't had the best fantasy season thus far. He's only had one performance for 20+ fantasy points and only one game where he passed for multiple touchdowns.

The Seahawks need to make some adjustments over the bye to take more advantage of Jimmy Graham. Joe Flacco is a top 10 fantasy quarterback so far this season. The loss of Steve Smith will hurt but the Ravens schedule isn't terribly hard in the second half. Lastly, we have Brian Hoyer, who has passed for multiple touchdowns in five of his six starts. A lot of his points come in garbage time but that doesn't matter in fantasy. With Ryan Mallett out of the picture, Hoyer should finish the season as starter barring injury.

On the injury front, there are a few situations. Josh McCown will probably sit out Week 9 and maybe longer with his rib injury. Johnny Manziel will probably start on Thursday night against the Bengals. I'm not too optimistic about Manziel's chances against Cincinnati. Marcus Mariota has missed the last two games for the Titans but might play this week. If he can't play, Zach Mettenberger would get his third straight start. Since he's struggled in both starts, I'd avoid Mettenberger.

The New York Jets' situation is completely up in the air at this point. Ryan Fitzpatrick has torn ligaments in his thumb and Geno Smith has a bruised shoulder. The Jets haven't added a quarterback, so maybe either Fitzpatrick and Smith will be able to start on Sunday. The Jets also have Bryce Petty but he's in no way ready to play.

My sleeper start this week is Derek Carr. Carr has been playing recently like an every week starter. Since the Raiders bye week, he's averaged 311 passing yards and thrown seven touchdowns. Two concerns are that the Raiders are traveling east and they're facing the Pittsburgh Steelers. Carr and the Raiders proved earlier this year, when they traveled to Cleveland, they can perform at a high level out east.

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