Fantasy Football Week 9 Cheat Sheet, Rankings Guide and Waiver Projections

The fantasy football season has reached a critical stage, as every move made from this point forward will have playoff implications.

Since the fantasy season is well past the halfway point, all decisions have to be made with a player’s production and health in mind. While the injury report is a less valuable tool for fantasy players than it was in years past, thanks to the NFL’ s less specific designations, it’s vital to check out every player on the report with further research on Thursdays and Fridays.

The biggest question mark this week involves Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who is just a couple of weeks removed from surgery on his torn meniscus. Roethlisberger was involved in a light practice session Monday as the Steelers returned to action from their bye week, and he looked good, according to Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The Steelers will be on the road this week against the Baltimore Ravens, and they have lost two games in a row. If the Steelers had won both of those games against the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots, Roethlisberger wouldn’t necessarily need to play against the Ravens.

However, those losses should mean that, unless the big quarterback is forced to leave practice due to pain or complications, he should be in the lineup this week.

The Steelers’ Big Three of Roethlisberger, running back Le’Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown are all near the top of the rankings at their positions on our cheat sheet and rankings guide for Week 9.

Quarterback

Aaron Rodgers is returning to form for the Green Bay Packers. After a dull start to the season for the two-time MVP, Rodgers has been forced into a pass-first, pass-second mentality due to injuries at the running back position.

The Packers don’t have Eddie Lacy or James Starks and have had to turn to Aaron Ripkowski for their running game. While his numbers were not bad—six carries for 34 yards—we prefer to put our trust in Rodgers.

The Packers came out on the short end of a 33-32 score against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 8, but the quarterback was on point for the second week in a row. Rodgers threw four touchdown passes without an interception, and he also completed 28 of 38 passes for 246 yards. 

That game came on the heels of a 326-yard, three-touchdown performance in Green Bay’s Week 7 victory over the Chicago Bears. As a result of those two performances, it feels safe to say that Rodgers is back in top form.

He comes into his Week 9 game against the Indianapolis Colts with full confidence and momentum. He also gets to face a defense that has been atrocious. The Colts rank 31st in passing yards allowed per game, according to CBS Sports.

The Colts are a desperate team, as they are just 3-5 at the halfway point, and the frustration level around this team is undeniable.

We talk about when he struggles…. worth noting when Andrew Luck is ballin’ again https://t.co/kWMaCgFGoS

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 29, 2016

Andrew Luck is one of the most productive quarterbacks in the league, and he has an impressive 16-5 touchdown-interception ratio. Those numbers indicate that the Colts should be a team that is .500 or better, but that is not the case.

Luck is going to have to be on top of his game against the Green Bay defense. Opponents cannot run the ball against the Packers, and the Colts seem likely to follow the same game plan that the Falcons used in Week 8, as Matt Ryan threw for 288 yards and three touchdowns.

It’s never easy to go cross-country, but that’s no reason to get off the Drew Brees train.

The Saints are fighting hard every week, and they have won three of their last four games. While they have to travel for their game against the San Francisco …

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