NFL Fantasy 2021 Start 'Em, Sit 'Em Week 9: Intro
Marcas Grant and Michael F. Florio recap every game from Week 8, starting with recent fantasy headlines: Derrick Henry is expected to miss the rest of the fantasy football season with a broken bone in his foot, Calvin Ridley announced that he is stepping away from football for the time being to focus on his mental health, Jameis Winston will be out the rest of the season with a torn ACL, and James Robinson is day to day with a foot injury. Then, Marcas and Michael discuss what they learned this week, including a second-year receiver who is now a must-start player each week. Next, the hosts look at the week’s most notable top performers, wondering what to make of Justin Fields’ big day on the ground and how to view Michael Carter after he led all running backs in fantasy points on Sunday. After that, the experts cover the week’s biggest fantasy disappointments, discussing what happened to Kenneth Gainwell and the Eagles’ running backs. Later, Marcas and Michael enter the Wide Receiver Drop Zone, discussing some big name receivers you can drop from your roster, as well as a couple underrated replacement options. Then, the hosts discuss their top waiver wire targets of the week, and finally, we close the show previewing the Monday Night Football match between the Giants and Chiefs.
You have lineup questions. We have answers. At least we hope. Start 'Em & Sit 'Em has helped fantasy managers for years make those pressing lineup decisions. And you know what is a good decision? Starting Patrick Mahomes. But that's too obvious, so you won't see that here. Instead here are some of the most-pressing questions. And, if you can't find a player you are looking for, please check out latest NFL Fantasy lineup rankings right here.
I’ve got the best idea in the world. How about sometime around Week 6, every team has a bye. Except for the Vikings and Chargers. And they will play in a bowl game and one of them will be crowned champion. They can then use that to hang banners in their stadium and be really proud of themselves and carry on. It will also save the rest of us from getting our hopes up and saying, “this team could make a run this year, and it feels different.”
And honestly, the Los Angeles Dodgers already do this, pretending like their 2020 “World Series” championship was a real thing.
I say this because, one, I’m an idiot. I wrote in this space weeks ago this year’s version of the Los Angeles Chargers felt different. It’s not. It’s the same. They may have a baby-faced coach who loves to go for it on fourth-down manning the helm, but the Chargers are still out there making Chargers-like moves.
Don’t even get me started on Kirk Cousins. I had Cousins in my League of Record, and the Vikings defense going against CeeDee Lamb in my Second City League. Two of my most important leagues (I have five I really care about). I needed to shoot the moon in order to win both matchups. I lost both. I mean, one more Cousins completion would have given me the win. I did not get that win and now I’m as miserable as my SKOL mates out there.
And honestly, I really would love to know what possessed Vikings fans from strolling into my mentions on various social media platforms last week to victory lap me on Kirk Cousins? Have the last 60 years not taught you anything about humility?
I will tread lightly because I’m a Bears fan. But I’m also realistic. Monday would normally be a tough day for me after a disappointing loss. That was an easily winnable game for the Bears. Watching Justin Fields work his magic, however, was really the only thing I cared about. The Bears have to make a coaching change at the end of the year. They will. The Bears will likely have to move on from some of my favorite players, too. That’s fine. Fields looks like the real deal. I’m not sure if he’s going to be playing for Brian Daboll, Kellen Moore or Byron Leftwich next season. I’ll leave that up to Theo Epstein to decide. I’m just going to enjoy these next few months watching my quarterback develop and go into next season knowing that we have our franchise guy at the helm.
Let’s do some starts and sits!
Follow Adam Rank on Twitter @adamrank.