Fantasy football analyst John Halpin has been a big fan of the "Beat the Strick" format.
Now he's a really big fan.
Riding the lethal Week 9 duo of Saints quarterback Drew Brees and receiver Michael Thomas - and big weeks from Christian McCaffrey and O.J. Howard in the Panthers-Bucs game - Halpin posted the second-best single week of the entire season to take over the top spot overall. Halpin's 125.62 points fell short of only Jordan Gross' 141.9-point explosion back in Week 4.
As a result, Halpin becomes the fifth different person on the 10-player panel to claim the overall lead.
At the opposite end of the scoring spectrum, Jourdan Rodrigue's struggles continue, though there are whispers that the Charlotte Observer reporter may actually be tanking (but tanking for what?). I thought she might know something that no one else did when she picked Carson Wentz on the Eagles' bye last week. She did not.
 Bryan Strickland |
 Max Henson |
 Bill Voth |
 Jordan Gross |
 Jim Szoke |
|
| Total Pts (rank) | 725.32 (3rd) | 681.46 (8th) | 681.68 (7th) | 698.28 (5th) | 683.32 (6th) |
| Last week | 74.18 (4th) | 66.08 (6th) | 67.48 (5th) | 74.94 (3rd) | 59.48 (8th) |
| QB | C. Wentz | P. Mahomes | M. Ryan | P. Rivers | R. Fitzpatrick |
| RB | M. Gordon | K. Hunt | J. Mixon | C. McCaffrey | S. Barkley |
| RB | N. Chubb | D. Lewis | J. Howard | K. Drake | T. Coleman |
| WR | D. Funchess | DJ Moore | M. Thomas | J. Gordon | DJ Moore |
| WR | C. Kupp | D. Adams | J. Landry | T. Boyd | B. Cooks |
| TE | Z. Ertz | O.J. Howard | G. Olsen | C. Herndon | G. Kittle |
 Jourdan Rodrigue |
 Mike Solarte |
 Kelsey Riggs |
 Josh Klein |
 John Halpin |
|
| Total Pts (rank) | 612.52 (10th) | 652.02 (9th) | 719.90 (4th) | 734.54 (2nd) | 749.58 (1st) |
| Last week | 44.70 (10th) | 57.14 (9th) | 85.24 (2nd) | 64.64 (7th) | 125.62 (1st) |
| QB | P. Rivers | C. Newton | C. Newton | R. Fitzpatrick | A. Rodgers |
| RB | J. Howard | A. Kamara | T. Coleman | T. Coleman | M. Gordon |
| RB | A. Jones | J. White | D. Lewis | A. Jones | D. Lewis |
| WR | C. Samuel | D. Adams | J. Gordon | J. Jones | M. Evans |
| WR | Smith-Schuster | E. Sanders | T. Boyd | R. Woods | J. Landry |
| TE | V. McDonald | Z. Ertz | Z. Ertz | G. Olsen | G. Olsen |
This week in the survivor-pool-meets-fantasy-football contest, I'm going with Wentz when the Eagles actually play a game – against the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football. And I'm pairing him with Zach Ertz, one of fantasy's top three tight ends so far.
Everyone must pick one Panther each week, so with Carolina facing the Steelers on Thursday Night Football, the entire panel will be in action and I'll attempt to get rolling with receiver Devin Funchess (I'm the only one doing so). Then I'll pull one of the Rams' trio of productive receivers out of a hat and go with Cooper Kupp.
At running back, I'm hoping to get good weeks from a star and an upstart. Melvin Gordon of the Chargers gets a reeling Raiders defense, while rookie Nick Chubb of the Browns has gotten about 20 carries a game the last three weeks and gets a vulnerable Falcons defense.
