Ever since the discovery of the wildcat offense, it's been awfully difficult to take Miami's Ronnie Brown out of any fantasy lineup.
This may be the week where you want to show him the bench, though.
Brown is coming off a 27-yard game - which ties his worst output in 21 games since the unveiling of the high school-style scheme - and returns to the stadium where it all began. Sunday he'll face the Patriots, who are surely still bitter over his 113 yards and four TDs against them in the wildcat's debut last year.
Even though Brown is fourth in the NFL with seven touchdowns rushing, he faces a stiff test. The Patriots had few problems taking apart the wildcat in their second meeting with Miami last year, limiting Brown to just 37 yards. And now the Patriots, who've allowed just one rushing TD this year, also have the advantage of more game film from the Jets' defanging of the wildcat last week.
As you again wonder why this offense only works for one team, here's a look at some players to start and some to sit in Week 9:
-Overthinker Alert: Yes, Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger is heading into hostile Denver to face a defense that has allowed just 4 TD passes. But Big Ben has had two weeks to prepare, and it seems chinks are starting to appear in that Denver defense.
-There is very little statistical evidence pointing to a big game for Atlanta's Matt Ryan: The Redskins have the NFL's No. 2 pass defense, and Ryan has struggled of late. Yet it's hard to imagine Ryan's woes continuing and easy to imagine the Redskins further unraveling.
-Many have sworn to never again start David Garrard, who stunk last week after being plugged into many lineups (including mine) as a bye-week fill-in. He miraculously became the first QB this year not to destroy Tennessee, but what are the odds of back-to-back flops against the Titans and the Chiefs?
-The 49ers' once-certain first-round bust Alex Smith is looking more quarterbacky all the time. He faces the Titans' league-worst pass defense at home. (That decent outing last week surely was a fluke.)
Please, in the name of Cleo Lemon, don't start these guys:
-Here are Eli Manning's stats during the Giants' three-week skid: 3 TDs, 6 interceptions, 6 sacks. The Chargers aren't too scary on defense, but bench Manning till that offense starts to figure things out again.
-The Jaguars have one of the worst pass defenses around, but don't even consider Kansas City's Matt Cassel. Sure, it's kind of inspiring that he's remaining upright behind that line, but he has one TD while enduring 10 sacks the past two weeks.
-It continues to be a bad idea to have Tennessee's Vince Young on your fantasy team, even if he's undefeated this year.
-You tend to think of the Giants as having a tough run defense, but they've allowed 12 rushing touchdowns. And while LaDainian Tomlinson may never again see 4 yards a carry, your first-round bust seems worthy of a start here.
-In other old-guy news, Brian Westbrook should put up decent numbers against Dallas. He usually does well after games missed to injury, and he scored on Dallas three times in their first meeting last year.
-Julius Jones should normally be ignored by all fantasy players, but with Edgerrin James' release and the Lions in town, count me among those willing to ignore his rich history of underachievement.
-Larry Johnson is still out on disgruntlement/offensive remark leave, so Jamaal Charles could make for a nice sleeper against the Jaguars' 25th-ranked run defense. (There was a serious look of give-up on many of Chris Johnson's huge runs last week.)
-Congratulations if you landed coveted free agent Ryan Moats, but only start him if you're totally out of bodies. Texans coach Gary Kubiak, much like his mentor Mike Shanahan, appears committed to frustrating fantasy players by vaguely saying Moats, Steve Slaton and Chris Brown will all see action.
-Handing off every time won't work against the Saints, so keep Carolina's Jonathan Stewart on the bench despite his 2-TD showing last week.
-Knowshon Moreno struggled against the Ravens and now faces the Steelers' No. 1 run defense. Pittsburgh has allowed just two scoring runs.
-This week offers fantasy bust T.J. Houshmandzadeh a rare opportunity to do more catching than complaining. The Seahawks haven't been good for much recently, but they do know how to throttle terrible teams like the Lions when they visit.
-If the perpetually limping Anquan Boldin can't go for the Cardinals, Steve Breaston is a great start against the mediocre Bears. Over the past three weeks, he's had 6- and 7-catch games.
-Here's some fun with meaningless statistics: Baltimore's Joe Flacco throws 2 touchdown passes every other week. It's happened all year long, and he's due for 2 scores this week. And it's safe to assume Derrick Mason will get at least one.
-Michael Crabtree has 11 catches in his first two games with the 49ers, and the Titans' secondary is his easiest test yet.
-Atlanta is suddenly terrible against the pass, ranking 31st in the league, but Washington's passing offense should out-terrible the Falcons. Don't expect much from Santana Moss, despite the Falcons' recent troubles.
-If you have any better options, leave Denver's Brandon Marshall on the bench. He was OK when turning Kyle Orton 4-yard passes into touchdowns, but things have been stopping far short of that. (He's averaging about 8 yards a catch with no scores the past two games.)
-It's hard to imagine anybody planning to start Roy Williams, but he deserves to be benched - or even cut - based solely on his belief that he's still the No. 1 receiver in Dallas.
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BYES THIS WEEK: Buffalo, N.Y. Jets, Oakland, Minnesota, St. Louis, Cleveland.
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FREE AGENT SHOPPING LIST: RB Ryan Moats (126 yards, 3 TDs), RB Justin Fargas (TD), WR Steve Breaston (more playing time if Boldin's hurt), WR Malcom Floyd (more playing time with Chris Chambers cut?).
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WHAT DO I KNOW?
Big Hits: I expected big things from Brett Favre (4 TDs) and Aaron Rodgers (3 TDs). I also predicted the season's first TD for Steven Jackson as well as a rare sighting of Matt Forte (2 TDs). I forecast good things for LeSean McCoy (82 yards, TD).
Big Misses: I did not expect Steve Slaton to get benched after racking up as many yards (1) as fumbles. I thought Kevin Walter would catch more than one pass. I thought Jay Cutler (INT) and David Garrard (139 yards, 2 INTs) might throw a TD pass, but I didn't expect any from Matt Hasselbeck (2 TDs).
