Pro Football 101

1. Antonio Gates vs. New York Giants

If C.C Brown is assigned to cover Gates, DC Bill Sheridan should be fired and Gates fantasy owners should be ecstatic. You’ll be guaranteed at least one TD and probably close to 100 yards working the middle of the field. Going against a troubled Giants defense at this point, Gates is our top fantasy football TE in Week Nine.

2. Dallas Clark vs. Houston Texans

Clark is a beast to handle who works the middle of the field better than anyone. And Peyton Manning knows how to get him the ball. Expect another strong effort with at least one TD when the Texans come to town.

3. Brent Celek vs. Dallas Cowboys

Celek, a top fantasy sleeper coming into the season, is on pace to be one of the top TEs in the league in 2009. He caught his third TD of the season against the Giants and continues to amass impressive yardage totals. Look for him to be a mismatch for the Cowboys secondary on Sunday Night and finish the game with 70 plus yards and a score.

4. Vernon Davis vs. Tennessee Titans

The Titans thin secondary will have trouble containing the red hot TE on Sunday. He’s caught four TDs in the last two games and the rapport that he and Smith have developed is what Niners fans envisioned back in 2006. It took a while to get here, but it looks like it finally has.

Sleepers

1. Kevin Boss vs. San Diego Chargers

If Eli’s going to correct some of the offensive woes, he’s going to need to begin looking Boss’s way. Boss has a knack for finding holes in the secondary and Manning finally found him for 70 yards and a TD in Philly. But a lot of plays were left on the field last Sunday… that’ll change this week and expect Boss to come up big vs. San Diego.

2. Tony Scheffler vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers defense is very tough and extremely fast. They don’t allow QBs the time to sit back and scan the field. So, to offset their attacking style, expect McDaniels to focus on the short passing game and for Scheffler to be a big part of this week’s game plan.

Others We Like

Tony Gonzalez vs. Washington Redskins

Tony G’s numbers have cooled since his hot start to the season but Ryan will look his way against a good Redskins secondary. While yards will be hard to come by, expect Gonzalez to be a menace in the red zone.

Jason Witten vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Witten’s production has taken a hit in 2009 but a lot of that is due to do the team keeping him into block. And when he does go out for routes, he usually receives extra attention. But he’s always played well vs. Philly so look for a solid effort in Week Nine.

John Carlson vs. Detroit Lions

Carlson’s been a huge fantasy disappointment since his impressive Week One and has not scored since then too. That all changes on Sunday; Detroit doesn’t matchup well with Carlson and look for Hasselback to exploit this mismatch in the red zone.

A Few More

Greg Olsen vs. Arizona Cardinals

Jeremy Shockey vs. Carolina Panthers

Heath Miller vs. Denver Broncos