Week 9 Fantasy picks

Why? Why not? It's not like I have a ton of stuff going on here at Oscar Meyer Shire (my new nickname for where I live, HDN's house), got a nice ring to it, huh?

Let's get to the games:

Tampa Bay @ Atlanta: Matt Ryan (QB), Atlanta-he plays a little bit better at home, and he will exploit the Bucs secondary after RB Michael Turner softens up the D.

Miami @ Baltimore: Brandon Marshall (WR), Miami-rumor has it that Dolphins coaches were looking at old Broncos tapes to find ways to get Marshall open. Crazy thought-put him in motion and let him go to work, the guy is a beast. Or, better yet, put he and WR Devone Bess on the same side and go 3WR. It would work, and Baltimore's secondary is not that good.

Chicago @ Buffalo: Matt Forte (RB), Chicago-Buffalo can't stop anyone, and this will be another week where maybe, just maybe, Bears OC Mike Martz smartens up and runs the ball.

New Orleans @ Carolina: Robert Meachem (WR), New Orleans-he gets loose for a long TD.

New England @ Cleveland: Tom Brady (QB), New England-New England coach Bill Belichick doesn't like Browns coach Eric Mangini, and this goes back to the "Mangenius" Jets coaching days, the whole Spygate crap and the icy post-game handshakes. I think BB runs it up.

NY Jets @ Detroit: Santonio Holmes (WR), NY Jets-everyone has been waiting for Holmes to heat up after he served his suspension and the Jets had their bye week. Both of those things have happened, so now it's time for Holmes to be the WR the Jets paid a good draft pick for to show up.

San Diego @ Houston: Mike Tolbert (RB), San Diego-While the Chargers have a 3-headed timeshare at RB, Tolbert is the goal line back, and if you're going to have any RB in a committee, that's the one you want, the guy that scores TDs.

Arizona @ Minnesota: Visante Shiancoe (TE), Minnesota-much like I wrote last week, Arizona doesn't cover the TE well, like, at all. With the Vikings waiving WR Randy Moss, QB Brett Favre will look back to his friend from earlier this season, Shiancoe.

NY Giants @ Seattle: Steve Smith (WR), NY Giants-While the Seahawks play better at home, they still give up a ton of yards. Smith will get his with a huge possession day, making him a great start in PPR leagues.

Kansas City @ Oakland: Thomas Jones (RB), Kansas City-the Chiefs have the best running game in the league, and while Oakland has blown out its last two opponents, that tends to skew the numbers. This is a huge division game, and Jones is the hammer for KC. Expect a fine day from him.

Indianapolis @ Philadelphia: Michael Vick (QB), Philadelphia-Vick returns after sitting out the last few weeks with busted rib cartilage. Ow. I know, some might think that the super fast DE's of Indy, Freeney and Mathis, might be able to contain Vick, but if Vick gets out of the pocket, he's still the best running QB in the league and busted plays get turned into long gains.

Dallas @ Green Bay: Brandon Jackson (RB), Green Bay-it sure as heck wasn't going to be anyone from Dallas. What a sad state the Cowboys are. Jackson will probably have a nice night running with some giant holes the Pack O-Line will be able to generate against a non-caring Dallas front seven.

Pittsburgh @ Cincinnati: Rashard Mendenhall (RB), Pittsburgh-his numbers look pretty good, but he's had a couple of long gains for TDs. Take those outliers out of the mix, he's pretty average. But on Monday night he shows up, to pound on the Bengals and bring some balance to the Steelers offense, allowing QB Ben Roethlisberger the time to set up the play-action game.