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Sleepers: 2011 Week 9
 | QB | Carson Palmer | |
| Palmer's season debut for the Oakland Raiders was pretty ugly. He went 8/21 for 116 yards and 3 interceptions. It's hard to be too harsh on him though, he just joined the team and hadn't played a single snap this season until unexpectedly being called into that game. Lucky for him and his receivers, they had a bye last week to give them extra time to get in sync. We'll get to see how it pays off this weekend, and he couldn't have asked for a better opponent to work out the final kinks against. The Denver Broncos are the worst passing defense in the league giving up an average of 2 passing TDs per week. | |||
 | QB | Matt Cassel | |
| Neither QB in the Monday night game had their best showing, but give Cassel some credit for managing 261 yards and a score against the Chargers who have been very tough on QBs this season. He also showed a great connection with rookie Jonathan Baldwin who is finally on the football field after missing half the year after a preseason fight with Thomas Jones. Cassel found him for 80 yards and a score. His receiving corps looks very solid between Baldwin, Bowe, and Breaston. This weeks matchup looks good again. Miami is near the bottom of passing defenses averaging 282 yards and 2 TDs per week. The last 3 QBs that squared off against them put up at least 18 points each. | |||
 | RB | Kevin Faulk | |
| The Patriots RB returned from the PUP list in week 8 and wound up being the only guy in the backfield that could move the ball against Pittsburgh. He only saw 6 carries, but turned it into 32 yards and he caught 5 passes for 20 more yards. By contrast Green-Ellis had 5 carries for 9 yards. The Patriots are heading into a run of bottom 10 rushing defenses, led off by the Giants who just let Reggie Bush rush for over 100 yards. We know Belichick has liked Faulk in the past and with last weeks showing, he should get enough touches to put up some numbers on the Giants. | |||
 | RB | Reggie Bush | |
| In 2 of his last 3 outings, Reggie managed a per carry average of 6.9 or higher. Maybe he just likes the state of New York (okay New Jersey), because he managed the feat against the Jets and Giants. With Daniel Thomas struggling with his hamstring, Bush has been busy and making the most of the extra touches. He gets another road game in Kansas City and the matchup looks favorable. The Chiefs have averaged over 100 yards and a score to opposing RBs this season. Last week, Ryan Mathews tallied over 100 total yards. Sure, he's better than Bush, but he's an outside runner and a pass catcher similar to Reggie. If Thomas continues to be limited, then it will be on Bush again to move the ball on the ground. | |||
 | WR | Jonathan Baldwin | |
| Baldwin saw his first major action in week 8 and he looks like the kind of dynamic receiver the Chiefs hoped he'd become on draft day. He snagged 5 passes for 82 yards and a score against San Diego. The threat he brings to the field will make it difficult for the Dolphins to cover both Bowe and Baldwin. They'll both get their chances to break things open and this guy has already shown that he can make some big plays. | |||
 | WR | Antonio Brown | |
| Brown finally broke through and put one in the end zone last week. That matchup also gave him back to back outings with at least 7 catches. Over the last three weeks, he leads the team in receptions and trails only Mike Wallace in yardage. This weeks matchup is on the tougher side against the Ravens. They are really tough on the ground, but fall outside the top 10 in the passing game. The big deal here is that the Steelers have shifted away from their M.O. recently, putting the ball in Big Ben's hands more often and he has been getting the job done with 4 straight wins. He's thrown the ball at least 34 times 3 of the last 4 weeks and against New England he aired it out 50 times. I expect him to keep throwing it against the Ravens and his favorite target should benefit. | |||
 | TE | Dustin Keller | |
| Keller started the season on fire with 29 points in his first 2 games before cooling off with 19 total points over the next five. He's due for a good game and the situation is right for it to happen this week against the Bills. Buffalo ranks 26th against TE's this season and with good reason. Over the last 5 weeks, 4 different tight ends have scored 8 points or more (3 of those were 10+ points). Early last season was the last time he played Buffalo and he snagged 2 passes in the end zone. | |||
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