FAABulous Football Week 9: Always Start Your Studs
Welcome to Week 9
Last week was difficult, I struggled with what to do in fantasy. When the news dropped that Puka Nacua was likely to be active along with Cooper Kupp I didn’t know how to feel. Of course I was excited to get my first round player back, but he had no full practices and was said to still be a couple weeks away from returning. The last thing I wanted was to see Puka have another injury setback because he was rushed back before being healthy. On the other hand Cooper Kupp was progressing accordingly, and this return fit the original timeline, instilling a greater feeling of confidence.
My hesitation and questions were also undoubtedly marred by the rug pull of Jordan Whittington only a week prior in this same offense. Whittington had been on the injury report, then active for the game, only to not play, costing my team a win. I was bound and determined not to be fooled twice in a row by Sean McVay.
I sat idly by the computer Thursday clicking Puka several times into and out of my lineup. I assessed what my other options were… nothing great. I had two other of my star receivers questionable, which meant I could get stuck with some very thin starts depending how the injury reports played out.
I knew at that moment the right thing to do was to play Puka Nacua, I had no option in a must win matchup where I needed a ceiling performance. I came to terms that I would rather lose starting Puka than lose because I played scared and sat him.
I breathed a sigh of relief… yeah this feels right, then came another update. Puka was going to be on a limited snap count. Now I assumed he might be limited a bit and hoped that when he was out there he would be the one to see the work, and was healthy enough to produce. Was this update causing me to double count something I should have already known or was this a sign to sit him after what I just witnessed the week prior.
No, I was standing firm. Then with a few minutes remaining before lock I was told the other team was going to sit Puka for Rome Odunze coming off the bye… and in that moment I became weak. I also have Rome Odunze and several risky, but possible options and I took Puka out.
I turned on the game and the first two pass plays went to Puka, my stomach instantly dropped, I immediately knew I had made a colossal mistake. Puka was in fact limited that game and only played 61% of snaps, but was targeted on 38.5% of his routes and produced 7.3 YAC per reception with a 4.82 YPRR… yeah Puka was a freaking beast, finishing his day with 7 receptions for 106 yards.
I had forgotten one of the simplest and biggest lessons in all of fantasy football, don’t over think things and start your studs.
I was ready for the next time I was faced with a decision like this, and did not have to wait long to test myself and see if I had in fact learned my lesson.
I spent the week believing Jayden Daniels would most likely miss the Sunday afternoon game, but now he too was likely to play. I was scared, there was still a chance he might get to pregame warmups and not even play. But it was a chance I knew I had to take. Yes, there was a high chance for reinjury with ribs as it is very difficult to avoid being hit in the NFL, but I knew it was the right move.
At the end of the week I lost my matchup, after facing the highest scoring team in the league. While I continued to beat myself up over the Puka decision over the entire weekend, I found some solace in the fact I still would have lost even with all the right starts this week.
The results however are not a valid excuse, my process was flawed, this was a mistake I cannot allow to occur again.
Now heading into Week 9 on the bright side there are no more questions on if I should start Puka Nacua, and we only have two teams on bye with the Steelers and 49ers.
There are still some trade possibilities out there, and I tried to include a few of these players as stashes if we can see their fantasy situations improve. So without any further procrastination and time spent wallowing in the misery of my mistakes, let's move forward… where I will continue to live, learn, and do better.
All stats and data for this article are pulled from Fantasy Life, PFF, ETR, and Stealing Signals.
A Look Back at Week 8
Week 8 Waiver Wire Wins
When I say “wins” it is in reference to the player(s) won on the waiver wire, not a performance evaluation. Because I am releasing this article after the conclusion of Week 8, many things, in hindsight, may not be a win after all. I include this section not for bragging rights or victory laps but rather to keep myself accountable and demonstrate that I am, in fact bidding on many of the players I am writing about (for better and worse).
Several of the top waiver options were not available or right for teams’ roster needs. I included these players I did not win any shares of as well ones along with the winning bid range I saw these players go for in other leagues.
Dalvin Cook (7 shares)
Winning bid(s): $1, $1, $1, $1, $3, $6, $13
Price range won in other leagues: $19
Troy Franklin (2 shares)
Winning bid(s): $17, $22
Price range won in other leagues: $67- $68
Will Lutz (2 shares)
Winning bid(s): $1, $1
Price range won in other leagues: $21- $50
HOU Def (2 shares)
Winning bid(s): $3, $11
Price range won in other leagues: $3- $18
Drake Maye (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $9
Price range won in other leagues: $57- $145
Jameis Winston (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $17
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $26
Antonio Gibson (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $1
Cedric Tillman (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $109
Price range won in other leagues: $107- $297
Elijah Moore (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $1
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $45
Adonai Mitchell (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $1
Andrei Iosivas (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $1
Brandon McManus (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $1
Price range won in other leagues: $17
DET Defense (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $13
Price range won in other leagues: $14- $40
NYG Defense (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $1
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $5
BAL Def (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $13
Price range won in other leagues: $52
GB Def (1 share)
Winning bid(s): $3
Tua Tagovailoa (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $37- $109
Bo Nix (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $7- $173
Russell Wilson (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $181
Aaron Rodgers (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $23
Geno Smith (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $52
Matthew Stafford (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1
Daniel Jones (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1
JaMycal Hasty (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $12- $53
Jerome Ford (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $22- $87
Justice Hill (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $43
Keaton Mitchell (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $105
Kenneth Gainwell (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $18
Emari Demercado (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $11- $12
Khalil Herbert (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $2
Audric Estime (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $12
Jeremy McNichols (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $3
Jaleel McLaughlin (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $23
Juan Jennings (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $312- $478
Jalen McMillan (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $83- $465
Trey Palmer (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $151
Ricky Pearsall (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $28- $266
Tutu Atwell (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $25- $55
Sterling Shepard (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $7- $182
Mason Tipton (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $28
Jacob Cowing (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $37
Kalif Raymond (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $18- $54
Tim Patrick (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $56
Javon Baker (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $5
Cedrick Wilson (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $117
Tyler Boyd (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $47
Adam Thielen (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $8
Jalen Nailor (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $17- $18
Joshua Palmer (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $18
Allen Lazard (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $68
Devaughn Vele (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $3
Tre Tucker (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $68
Noah Gray (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $37
Ja’Tavion Sanders (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $2- $3
Will Dissly (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $5- $89
Jonnu Smith (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $11- $77
Juwan Johnson (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $2
Ben Sinnott (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $2- $3
Lucas Krull (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $5
Chig Okonkwo (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $8- $36
Jake Bates (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $3- $7
Jason Myers (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $11
Jason Sanders (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $6
Cameron Dicker (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $2- $6
Chris Boswell (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $19
Will Reichard (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $7
Anders Carlson (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1
LAC Defense (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $28- $75
CHI Defense (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $58- $59
SF Def (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $21
ATL Def (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1- $11
KC Def (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $43- $69
NO Def (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $3
DAL Def (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $5- $8
NE Def (no shares)
Price range won in other leagues: $1
Week 8 Ship Chasing Team Standings
FFPC Main Event Teams
Live A Little (3-5) 10th Place 1057.90 pts
It feels nice to start off these write ups with a win and finally see a Mahomes/Kelce stack come through. However, this team might have some work to do in replacing some injured players with Stefon Diggs (done for the year) and Brian Thomas Jr, who could miss next week.
Top 2 Win It Win It (3-5) 10th Place 1067.95 pts
This team had a big week scoring 166.15 points thanks to strong performances from Ceedee Lamb and Tyrone Tracy. It feels like this one could be heating up late.
We Just Don't Know (4-4) 6th Place 1081.90 pts
Boom another win and big 164.60 point score as this is another Ceedee Lamb team who finally saw Devon Achane return to what we all predicted at the start of the season now that Tua is back in Miami. This was another Jayden Daniels team where we debated on if we should start him, but it actually didn't matter here as Jameis Winston had a monster performance of his own and actually scored a few points better.
Tree Branches (5-3) 5th Place 1112.25 pts
I keep looking at this lineup and I still don't understand how this team lost. CJ Stroud put up another disappointing week here and the big dog had one of his worst outputs, that still was better than many running backs best days. Marvin Harrison Jr. finally had a decent week and we started Cedrick Tillman who went the fuck off! Unfortunately Brock Bowers was the only tight end who missed the memo that Sunday was a national holiday with his namesake and none of the Bears pass catchers could overcome Shane Waldron's ineptitude for calling plays here.
Hear Ye Hear Ye (2-6) 11th Place 1016.10 pts
This team reigned victorious in spite of CJ Stroud as it proudly celebrated National tight end's day with two elite tight ends in George Kittle and Trey McBride. FFPC is a great place to start these tight ends as it is tight end premium, which sometimes people forget.
@CrakRok (6-2) 3rd Place 1143.15 pts
This team is back in the winner's circle after a couple bad weeks and saw a big bounce back performance from the slim reaper himself hauling in a beautifully thrown 46 yard touchdown. Jahmyr Gibbs is looking like he might be one of the best running backs in the league and feels like a player to be excited about heading into the second half of the season.
Dairy Queen (4-4) 7th Place 1038.0 pts
If you read the introduction to the week you already know I lost this matchup. After running some numbers the team is still alive, but its on life support. I need to score points from here on out and lots of them to have a shot. Getting Puka back along with Kyren Williams, Ladd McConkey and Tyrone Tracy feels like we may have a chance to put up some big scores and bounce back.
Caveish (3-5) 2nd Place 1144.45 pts
Despite an absolutely gut wrenching defeat by less than a point, this team remains in second place poised to take revenge. The only mistake in this one was benching Kyle Pitts for Drake London... we forgot about National Tight Ends Day!
FFPC $5,000 Big Payback Teams
Leone HS1 (2-6) 12th Place 919.00 pts
I do try and stay optimistic, but this team really feels like thing might be Joever.
Leone HS2 (5-3) 6th Place 1102.45 pts
This team narrowly escaped with a victory after seeing a bit of matchup luck fall on the right side of variance here. Now I just hope we can get some better production from our players this week.
Week 9 Waiver Priorities for FFPC
Below are all the players I like for Week 9 for FFPC leagues. I break down all players into tiers with FAAB suggestions, followed by analysis and a list of players to consider dropping.
This article is also intended to provide value for those of you who play in deeper league formats and dynasty leagues.
Please note with a drop list, you do not have to drop these players and all suggestions are general as it is impossible to cover all nuances of individual leagues.
