The Touches Report for Week 9 is starting to see the cream rise to the top (Frank Gore, Steven Jackson), while a couple of newbies crash the party as well (Reggie Bush, Bernard Scott and Javon Ringer). How to make sense of it? It's all below -- including a Nena reference. Yes, I'm very proud of that. And yes, I liked the German version just as much as the English one -- and they both wound up rhyming even though the words were allegedly the same in both languages. Interesting.
TOUCHES ANALYSIS
Jackie Battle, Maurice Jones-Drew and Javon Ringer also had 19 touches each. Ringer is really interesting because now the Titans seem to have turned the page from Chris Johnson. It's time to sit him down in fantasy. You can slice it up all you want, but 43 yards per game doesn't get it done for you. One hundred yards from scrimmage once in his last nine games? Johnson looks like he hits the holes, buries his head and readies for contact. He's just not the same guy and if you can't do it against the Colts who can you do it against? Please have a seat. Need a RB pickup? You could do worse than Ringer, especially during the byes. You can potentially project him for between eight and 10 points. ...
Battle is going to be a star. I love the way he runs and accelerates past the line of scrimmage. He's going to be the bell cow for the Chiefs, who have rediscovered their offense after the loss of Jamaal Charles. Battle should be a weekly start and is a strong No. 2 right now. He's going to win people fantasy championships. ...
Hey Reggie Bush is on our list! Over 100 yards rushing against the Giants, who admittedly are terrible against the run. Is Bush worth starting? Yes, as a flex, and only if Daniel Thomas is a DNP. Bush just doesn't get the workload to merit putting in your lineup unless he's the only one getting the football. And don't expect red zone carries as Steve Slaton was the only option once Miami started sniffing the goal line -- he had five such touches Sunday. Still, Bush has gone from irrelevance to at least a curiosity. ...
Frank Gore is a stud again. Gore had his fourth consecutive game of more than 150 yards on the ground, and the only guy more dependable than him in fantasy football has been Arian Foster. He's a strong No. 1 play every week, regardless of opponent. This is how San Francisco is going to win, and the formula its going to continue to follow. I'm fully back on the Gore bandwagon after being off it the first month of the season. The guy also had 14 red zone touches on Sunday. That's incredible. ...
For those of you who doubted Steven Jackson, his fantasy points have now increased in each of the past four weeks. While you can't expect the explosion you got Sunday, he's back to being the No. 1 workhorse for your lineup, no matter who's playing quarterbacks for the Rams, and that includes Tom Jarrett.* ...
Answer: "99 Luftballoons," "Come on Eileen" and Bernard Scott. Question: Who are one-hit wonders? Just 76 rush yards for Scott, who played due to Cedric Benson's suspension. Benson is back now and Scott will be relegated to backup work. If you have the roster space, (or if you own Benson), you can hold onto him just in case something happens down the road, but Benson gets his job back with no issues. ...
See Jason Smith on NFL Fantasy Live, airing Sundays at 11:30 a.m. ET on the Red Zone Channel, and Tuesday-Friday on NFL Network at 2 p.m. ET and 12 a.m. ET/9 p.m. PT. He writes Fantasy and other NFL pith on NFL.com daily. Talk to him on Twitter @howaboutafresca. He only asks you never bring up when the Jets play poorly.
