2009 Fantasy Football Start and Bench Advice: Week 17

Here is our Week 17 Fantasy Football Start and Bench Advice for the 2009 Fantasy Football Season. Before we turn to the defensive rankings against the run and the pass heading into Week 17, here is a bit of dynasty info for those of you already looking to the 2010 fantasy football season. We realize this first section isn’t necessarily Start ‘Em & Sit ‘Em content, but because some dynasty leagues allow for trading year-round, it’s important to talk about next year’s breakouts/sleepers before they play even one more game — Sometimes sleepers shine in Week 17 and values increase. So, in Start/Bench fashion, here we go:

Dynasty Corner

Players To Trade For Heading Into The 2010 Fantasy Football Off-Season

I have to say that Mike Sims-Walker is looking like a nice sleeper keeper heading into the early 2010 off-season. Granted, many fantasy dynasty league owners out there might just be too stacked to consider keeping players like Sims-Walker, but I have one league I’m in where we can only keep two WRs and I had Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith (CAR) and Mike Sims-Walker to decide from. Instead of tossing Sims-Walker back in the 2010 player pool, I traded both Anquan Boldin and Steve Smith for Andre Johnson, thus allowing myself the ability to set my WR keepers as Andre Johnson and Mike Sims-Walker vs Anquan Boldin and Steve Smith. Sims-Walker easily has low-end fantasy WR1 upside entering 2010 and I advise dynasty league owners to think of creative ways to secure the receiver’s services heading into next year.

Other sleeper keeper candidates include Matt Forte, Knowshon Moreno and Matt Ryan. Clearly Forte disappointed this season, but he is EXTREMELY undervalued right now and that should be taken advantage of given the risk is minimal. I still firmly believe in Forte… I believe that he just needs room to run and I believe that he will find that room to run in 2010. I could be wrong, but I just don’t see Forte pulling an Anthony "A-Train" Thomas. He is the real deal in my book and he will once again prove his worth.

As for Moreno, his mediocre finish to the 2009 fantasy football season is sure to lower his 2010 fantasy value. Take advantage! Moreno could be a top 10-12RB next season and he is being tossed around in dynasty trade talks as if he is just a flex-like option entering 2010.

As for Matt Ryan, he didn’t explode in 2009 like so many thought he would, but he is a big-time talent and should thrive in 2010. He can be had right now in dynasty leagues at the cost of a top 8-12 fantasy QB, so the risk is extremely low and the upside is huge.

tavaner is a contributor of fantasy footballxtreme Greg Jennings: Inconsistency plagued him in 2009; Only 4 TDs, catching 58% of passes thrown his way and Donald Driver’s play have all dropped him to the low-end of the WR1 spectrum. He’s young and Aaron Rodgers is just coming into his own.

Pierre Thomas is an underrated RB due to Mike Bell’s presence and goal line touches. Rumor is Reggie Bush may be gone next year, along with Bell, UFA. If that happens, Thomas’ expected emergence happens a year after expectations.

"Trade Away" Bonus:

Ryan Grant – He’s a decent RB2 for fantasy purposes, but GB may be looking to add another RB in FA or the 2010 NFL Draft, limiting his touches and value.

For more on sleeper advice for next season, read this week’s Fantasy Football Round Table Debate on this topic.

Know Who Is Playing In Week 17!

If your league plays through Week 17, something we advise against, make sure you stay on top of the news!

For example, Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Chris Wells and the rest of the Cardinals’ starters could play in Week 17 because they still has a shot at earning the NFC’s No. 2 seed and a first-round bye, but AZ needs to win against the Packers in Week 17 and the Cowboys have to beat the Eagles, while the Giants have to beat the Vikings. Since both the Giants and Vikings play in early games, fantasy owners who own Cardinals will know by kickoff whether or not to trust in Cardinals players. All AZ players are very risky plays given this situation, because your replacements might be playing in the morning games. This is the kind of stuff you need to know, so stay on top of our Breaking Fantasy Football News all week long.

2009 Defensive Rankings Against The RUN Entering Week 17

Here are the defensive ranks against the run through Week 16.

Rk	Team	G	Yds	Avg	Yds/G	TD
1	Green Bay Packers	15	1,285	3.6	85.7	5
2	Cincinnati Bengals	15	1,316	3.8	87.7	8
3	Pittsburgh Steelers	15	1,339	3.9	89.3	6
4	Minnesota Vikings	15	1,359	3.9	90.6	4
5	Dallas Cowboys	15	1,411	4	94.1	7
6	Baltimore Ravens	15	1,441	3.5	96.1	8
7	San Francisco 49ers	15	1,465	3.7	97.7	12
8	Philadelphia Eagles	15	1,496	3.9	99.7	10
9	New York Jets	15	1,506	3.7	100.4	11
10	Tennessee Titans	15	1,571	4.2	104.7	16
11	New England Patriots	15	1,624	4.4	108.3	4
12	Miami Dolphins	15	1,633	4.1	108.9	16
13	Houston Texans	15	1,637	4.3	109.1	15
14	Seattle Seahawks	15	1,643	4.2	109.5	15
15	New York Giants	15	1,644	4.2	109.6	20
16	Jacksonville Jaguars	15	1,649	4	109.9	10
17	Atlanta Falcons	15	1,671	4.1	111.4	10
18	Arizona Cardinals	15	1,695	4.6	113	11
19	Denver Broncos	15	1,742	4.1	116.1	8
20	Washington Redskins	15	1,749	4	116.6	10
21	Indianapolis Colts	15	1,776	4.2	118.4	10
22	New Orleans Saints	15	1,777	4.5	118.5	18
23	San Diego Chargers	15	1,818	4.5	121.2	10
24	Detroit Lions	15	1,875	4.4	125	18
25	Carolina Panthers	15	1,886	4.5	125.7	14
26	Chicago Bears	15	1,922	4.3	128.1	14
27	St. Louis Rams	15	2,076	4.4	138.4	21
28	Cleveland Browns	15	2,183	4.5	145.5	15
29	Oakland Raiders	15	2,248	4.4	149.9	21
30	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	15	2,348	4.8	156.5	16
31	Kansas City Chiefs	15	2,420	4.8	161.3	16
32	Buffalo Bills	15	2,476	4.8	165.1	18

2009 Defensive Rankings Against The PASS Entering Week 17

Here are the defensive ranks against the pass through Week 16.

Rk	Team	G	Yds	Yds/G	TD	Int
1	New York Jets	15	2,459	163.9	8	16
2	Denver Broncos	15	2,774	184.9	18	15
3	Buffalo Bills	15	2,816	187.7	14	26
4	Carolina Panthers	15	2,954	196.9	14	21
5	Washington Redskins	15	3,002	200.1	17	10
6	Baltimore Ravens	15	3,042	202.8	16	21
7	New England Patriots	15	3,060	204	23	17
8	New York Giants	15	3,067	204.5	27	13
9	San Diego Chargers	15	3,073	204.9	21	14
10	Green Bay Packers	15	3,079	205.3	28	27
11	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	15	3,104	206.9	26	17
12	Chicago Bears	15	3,133	208.9	27	12
13	Philadelphia Eagles	15	3,167	211.1	25	24
14	Cincinnati Bengals	15	3,186	212.4	18	19
15	Oakland Raiders	15	3,213	214.2	16	8
16	Pittsburgh Steelers	15	3,243	216.2	20	9
17	Houston Texans	15	3,244	216.3	19	13
18	Indianapolis Colts	15	3,248	216.5	16	16
19	Kansas City Chiefs	15	3,279	218.6	24	12
20	Minnesota Vikings	15	3,348	223.2	26	10
21	Dallas Cowboys	15	3,415	227.7	19	11
22	Arizona Cardinals	15	3,503	233.5	21	20
23	Miami Dolphins	15	3,553	236.9	20	14
24	St. Louis Rams	15	3,560	237.3	21	8
25	New Orleans Saints	15	3,620	241.3	14	26
26	San Francisco 49ers	15	3,648	243.2	14	18
27	Jacksonville Jaguars	15	3,688	245.9	28	14
28	Atlanta Falcons	15	3,705	247	24	13
29	Cleveland Browns	15	3,718	247.9	20	9
30	Seattle Seahawks	15	3,756	250.4	27	12
31	Tennessee Titans	15	3,970	264.7	30	19
32	Detroit Lions	15	3,981	265.4	31	9