Fine or Pine, Week Nine

By Adam Filadelfo (@FNTSYArchitect)

Week nine is a few hours away and that can only mean one thing to fantasy owners. Time to set those lineups. With the fantasy playoffs coming up quickly, there's no time to waste in making each week count and each lineup decision mean the most. Crunch time is drawing closer so get those lineups in now before the Panthers take on the Saints in an NFC South divisional matchup.

Quarterback

Fine- Colin Kaepernick- San Francisco 49ers- While Kaepernick hasn't been anything close to what fantasy owners were hoping for when he took over the starting job a couple of years ago, he should have no problems being a top quarterback in week nine when he faces the lowly Rams. Last time Kaepernick faced the Rams in week six, he scored almost 33 fantasy points. The Rams defense is allowing the fifth most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks and over 22 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs which could mean a good game through the air and on the ground this week for Kaepernick.

Pine- Mike Glennon- Tampa Bay Buccaneers- While some fantasy owners may not have much of a choice this week on playing Glennon due to the six teams on byes, it will not be a great matchup for him versus the Browns defense which is allowing only 17.1 fantasy points per game to the quarterback. It doesn't help that the Buccaneers offense has looked lost for most of the season and since Glennon took over the starting job in week three, has not scored more than 23 fantasy points in a game. Last week when Glennon faced a lowly Vikings defense, he managed under 14 fantasy points and cannot be trusted.

Wide Receiver

Fine- Kelvin Benjamin- Carolina Panthers- With the Thursday night games showing fantasy owners that points can be scored in droves and the Saints defense giving up the fourth most points to wide receivers at 44 points per game, Kelvin Benjamin should have himself a pretty nice week nine as the Panther host the Saints. As a rookie, Benjamin is averaging almost 11 fantasy points per week and has missed scoring double digit fantasy points only three games while starting all eight for the Panthers. With the Saints bleeding fantasy points to wide outs, Benjamin is a must start this week.

Pine- Michael Floyd- Arizona Cardinals- Earlier this season, Floyd looked ready to being on his way to becoming a top receiver both in the NFL and for fantasy owners. The last few weeks have been a disappointment though. Last week, Floyd gave fantasy owners a big old goose egg while only seeing four targets. The previous week he only saw three targets. This week he faces a Dallas secondary that is allowing the third least amount of fantasy points to opposing receivers. While it is possible for him to get back on track at any moment, the targets just haven't been there since Carson Palmer returned like fantasy owners thought they'd be.

Running Back

Fine- Ben Tate- Cleveland Browns- The week nine matchup for Tate looks good considering the Browns face a team in the Buccaneers that allow 27.6 fantasy points per game to the running back position and Tate is averaging close to 10 fantasy points per week himself. As long as Tate doesn't get vultured by Crowell or West for touchdowns, fantasy owners can expect a solid game from Ben Tate.

Pine- Tre Mason- St. Louis Rams- The 49ers are allowing the sixth least amount of fantasy points to running backs and Tre Mason is in a full blown running back by committee situation. Before last week, fantasy owners thought Mason was going to run away with the starting tail back job and then week eight made fantasy owners think again. Mason saw just eight touches in week eight and scored just over three fantasy points for his owners. As a matter of fact, thought to be dead Zac Stacy had just as many touches as the rookie with Benny Cunningham having five touches. The Rams look to be a mess on both sides of the ball and until that situation is cleared up, fantasy owners would be wise to stay away.

Tight End

Fine- Dwayne Allen- Indianapolis Colts- While it should go without saying at this point, Dwayne Allen is a reliable tight end that could be counted on each week. The Colts passing game is tops in fantasy and Allen himself has scored a touchdown in each of the last two games and has posted double digit fantasy points in two out of his last four games. He faces a defense this week in the New York Giants that allow almost 14 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends making Allen a top choice for this week.

Pine- Charles Clay- Miami Dolphins- Many fantasy owners thought Charles Clay would be a serviceable option at tight end this year but up until this point, it just hasn't worked out that way. He's only posted one double digit fantasy point game thus far and has not scored more than 3.5 fantasy points in a game before or after his double digit game in week seven. His opponent for week nine, the San Diego Chargers are allowing just over eight fantasy points per week to opposing tight ends so week nine doesn't look to be a breakout week for the Miami tight end.

D/ST

Fine- Kansas City Chiefs- It should be enough to say the Chiefs face the Jets in week nine with that being reason enough to start the Chiefs defense but let's get a little more in depth than that. The Chiefs are third best when it comes to defending against the quarterback at 15.5 fantasy points per week while the Jets are starting Michael Vick who hasn't started a game since week four of last season. While Vick may end up playing better than Geno Smith did last week versus the Bills, it still gives fantasy owners enough reason to believe that the Kansas City defense is going to be a top fantasy defense for week nine.

Pine- New England Patriots- Again, just the fact alone that the Patriots face the Broncos this week should be enough reason to bench the New England unit but we like to go a little more in depth here at The Fantasy Sports Brain so let's take a closer look. While the Patriots defense has been a top four defense when it comes to defending the pass, they aren't facing just another quarterback this week. While the Patriots are allowing just over 16 fantasy points per week to the quarterback, Peyton Manning is averaging 27.7 fantasy points per game himself and unless the Patriots can cause a couple of turnovers in this game (which is highly possible), it will be hard to start them this week against one of the best if not the best offense in the NFL.