FF Upgrades/Downgrades after Week 9

Below is a list of player upgrades/downgrades in fantasy football value following Week 9 of the NFL season (excluding Monday Night's BAL-PIT game).

UPGRADES

Running Backs
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JUSTIN FARGAS – Fargas was downgraded in this column a few weeks ago because he was not receiving carries and Dominic Rhodes returned from a four-game suspension. But Fargas needs to be upgraded after he ran for 104 yards in Sunday’s loss to Houston. Fargas actually got the start and scored on a one-yard touchdown as well as catching two passes for 15 yards. Coach Lane Kiffin said that Fargas would receive more work this week and he stayed true to his word, giving the fifth-year back a season-high 23 carries. Fargas has played well when given the opportunity this season, running for 179 yards on September 30 at Miami and recording 12 carries for 61 yards in last week’s loss at Tennessee. LaMont Jordan only had four carries for 10 yards on Sunday, despite the fact that he is relatively healthy, and Rhodes hasn’t been used at all over the last two games. Fargas has always had the reputation of being an unnatural runner, but he has good size and great speed so his strong play might not be a fluke. In breaking news, Fargas was named the starter by Kiffin until further notice so Fargas’ upgrade is of the highest level.

PRIEST HOLMES – Holmes had just three carries for eight yards in Sunday’s loss to Green Bay, but Larry Johnson suffered an ankle injury late in the game. Johnson could not put any weight on his ankle after the game so there is a chance the injury is fairly serious. Holmes did have a nice two-point conversion in the fourth quarter when he dove over the top of the defense at the goal line, showing he still has some athleticism at 34 years old. Holmes was of course a fantasy monster from 2001-03, but suffered a serious head/neck injury in 2005 that was thought to be career ending. However, Holmes worked his way back to the field and would probably shoulder most of the load if Johnson’s injury is indeed of a significant nature. The Chiefs offensive line is not what it used to be and Holmes running skills are not either so don’t expect LJ type numbers. But Holmes has been an underdog many times in his career and proved most of the so called experts wrong before.

MAURICE MORRIS – Morris played well in Sunday’s 33-30 overtime loss at Cleveland, running nine times for 55 yards and catching a pair of passes for 43 yards. Shaun Alexander struggled again on Sunday and had to leave the game in the first quarter with knee and ankle injuries. Alexander, who was already dealing with a wrist injury, returned later but could not finish the game. Morris is an average runner, but he has some speed and can catch the ball well. Morris is not a big/power back - he got stuffed on a crucial 4th down and 1 situation in overtime, but can be effective at times, rushing for 100+ yards in a couple of games last year when Alexander was hurt. The way Alexander has played this season combined with his new injuries, makes Morris somewhat of an appealing option, especially in deep leagues.

Wide Receivers
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GREG JENNINGS – Jennings is not an unknown commodity, but his play of late has been dazzling and certainly upgrade worthy. Jennings has three touchdowns over the last two games, routinely hooking up with Brett Favre on long pass plays. Jennings looks like one of the fastest receivers in the league, running away from Denver’s Dre Bly two weeks ago to catch the game-winning touchdown pass in overtime and smoking a pair of Chiefs’ players on a 60-yard score in Sunday’s 33-22 victory. Favre seems to trust Jennings and looks his way in crucial situations (Favre’s record-tying 420th and record-setting 421st touchdown passes were to Jennings). Donald Driver is the number one target in Green Bay, but he is not much of a downfield threat anymore and James Jones is not as explosive as Jennings. And considering how much the Packers rely on the pass, Jennings has to warrant top-20 consideration for the rest of the season.

D.J. HACKETT – Making his first appearance since Week 1, Hackett (ankle) caught six passes for 58 yards with a touchdown in Sunday’s overtime loss at Cleveland. Somewhat of a disappointing performance for Hackett considering the Browns have the worst overall defense in the league and Matt Hasselbeck attempted 47 passes. But Hackett was coming off a serious ankle injury so he was probably rusty and his speed somewhat limited. Moving forward, Hackett should be a strong play. He has a good size/speed combo, Hasselbeck has looked his way in the past and the Seahawks have been forced to throw more often because Shaun Alexander has become a liability at the running back position. Seattle’s wide receivers are deep so Hackett probably won’t put up amazing numbers, but is definitely someone to target on the waiver wire or via trade.

DOWNGRADES

Quarterbacks
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PHILIP RIVERS – Rivers has another miserable game in Sunday’s 35-17 loss at Minnesota, completing just 19-of-42 pass attempts for 197 yards with no touchdowns. Furthermore, Rivers fumbled three times (one lost), tossed an interception and regularly under/over threw open targets. Rivers should have had a pair of touchdowns, but misfired on one to Vincent Jackson and another to Chris Chambers. Rivers is the type of quarterback that will make big plays when the pressure is off and the game is in San Diego’s favor. Once the Chargers get behind and Rivers has to make plays on his own, bad things happen. There are currently 16 quarterbacks in the league with a better passer rating than Rivers’ 82.9 and 14 signal callers with more yards. Considering this guy was in the Pro Bowl last year and drafted early in many fantasy leagues, Rivers has been a major disappointment and needs to be downgraded.

Running Backs
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TRAVIS HENRY – Henry had nine carries for just 31 yards on Sunday against a very average Lions’ defense. If you take away his 22-yard run in the third quarter, Henry had eight rushes for just nine yards. In all fairness to Henry, the entire team has played poorly lately and has had trouble moving the ball. But the bottom line is that Henry has averaged just 3.5 yards per carry over his last three games and has battled through rib, ankle and knee injuries this season. Henry has never been that durable to begin with. Henry also faces a possible suspension for failing a drug test with the hearing is scheduled for November 16. Regardless of the outcome, Henry needs to be downgraded for all of his issues as well as Denver’s problems on both sides of the ball. Selvin Young is probably long gone in your league but if he is still available, do not hesitate to pick him up.

LAMONT JORDAN – Jordan rushed the ball just four times for 10 yards in Sunday’s 24-17 loss while Justin Fargas started and had 23 carries for 104 yards with a touchdown. Coach Lane Kiffin promised to get Fargas more carries, but no one expected Jordan to be a forgotten man so quickly. After all, Jordan was one of the best fantasy running backs in the league after the first four weeks of the season when he ran for 424 yards with two touchdowns. Jordan doesn’t appear to be injured so Fargas’ heavy usage might be a temporary thing. Fargas does have a lot more speed and big-play potential, however, and the offense did become stagnant lately with Jordan serving as the starter. THIMD’s best guess is that Kiffin is beginning to go with somewhat of a youth movement realizing the Raiders are going nowhere fast. If that theory is correct, we’ll be writing about JaMarcus Russell in a few weeks. Kiffin just named Fargas the starter until further notice so Jordan’s value officially takes a major hit.

RUDI JOHNSON – Johnson ran for only 11 yards on nine carries in Sunday’s 33-21 loss at Buffalo. Johnson was coming off a hamstring injury, but the Bills have a below average rush defense. Kenny Watson did not do much as a runner on Sunday, but had seven catches for 90 yards and has always been a superior receiver compared to Johnson. Watson filled in nicely for Johnson when he missed a couple of games and is clearly the more dynamic player. That’s not to say Johnson can’t be productive moving forward - he has been a solid running back for four straight years. But this seems to be a lost year for Johnson and the defensively-challenged Bengals. Until Johnson gets healthier, he says the hamstring is fine but one has to wonder, and Cincinnati fixes its problems on defense, do not expect much from the running game.

Wide Receivers
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STEVE SMITH – Smith is one of the most gifted and explosive receivers in the league, but even he cannot flourish with David Carr at quarterback. Smith had just three catches for 15 yards on Sunday and has been held under 50 yards in five of the last six games. Carr left the game with an undisclosed injury, but he at least looked Smith’s way often on Sunday (10 of Carr’s 27 pass attempts were to Smith) which cannot be said in other games that Carr has played in. As crazy as it sounds the best thing for Smith would be for Vinny Testaverde (Achilles’) to get healthy and return to the starting lineup. Smith’s only good game over the last six weeks came when Testaverde started at Arizona on October 14. Don’t get us wrong, THIMD is not advising that you should give Smith away for nothing, but at this point there are probably about 20-25 receivers that have more fantasy value.