Fantasy Football Week 9 Rankings: QB

Michael Vick is back.

Those four words could easily transform your fantasy football playoff race. Vick, when on the field, has been one of the top fantasy scorers in the land. In less than three full games of playing time (half of Week 1, two weeks as the starter, and a fraction of Week 4), Vick has amassed 799 passing yards, 187 rushing yards, seven TDs (one rushing) and no interceptions. Wow.

Forget about the injury -- Vick has been healing for a month, and he's more than ready to get back on the field. Forget about the competition -- Vick has the skill set to post QB1 numbers in any matchup. If Vick's playing, he needs to be starting in all fantasy leagues. Well, Vick's playing. Go do what you have to do.

1. Philip Rivers, SD at HOU
2. Peyton Manning, IND at PHI
3. Tom Brady, NE at CLE
4. Aaron Rodgers, GB vs. DAL
5. Drew Brees, NO at CAR
6. Michael Vick, PHI vs. IND

Week 9 Rankings: QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST | K | IDP | Sleepers | Top Pickups/Drops

7. Ben Roethlisberger, PIT at CIN
8. Josh Freeman, TB at ATL
9. Matt Schaub, HOU vs. SD
10. Matt Ryan, ATL vs. TB
11. Eli Manning, NYG at SEA
12. Joe Flacco, BAL vs. MIA
13. Matthew Stafford, DET vs. NYJ
14. Ryan Fitzpatrick, BUF vs. CHI
15. Jay Cutler, CHI at BUF
16. Mark Sanchez, NYJ at DET
17. Matt Cassel, KC at OAK
18. Jon Kitna, DAL at GB
19. Colt McCoy, CLE vs. NE
20. Carson Palmer, CIN vs. PIT
21. Chad Henne, MIA at BAL
22. Jason Campbell, OAK vs. KC
23. Matt Moore, CAR vs. NO
24. Matt Hasselbeck, SEA vs. NYG
25. Brett Favre, MIN vs. ARI
26. Max Hall, ARI at MIN
27. Seneca Wallace, CLE vs. NE
28. Derek Anderson, ARI at MIN
29. Tarvaris Jackson, MIN vs. ARI
30. Jake Delhomme, CLE vs. NE
31. Bruce Gradkowski, OAK vs. KC
32. Charlie Whitehurst, SEA vs. NYG

• Does having Josh Freeman at No. 8 seem a little high to you? It did to me, until I double checked and saw Freeman was ranked 10th in my standard-scoring fantasy league heading into Week 9. He smells a bit like David Garrard of a few years back -- under the radar, limits turnovers and posts solid fantasy points week to week. Even on the road in Atlanta he seems like a solid pick. By the way, two of the nine quarterbacks playing better than Freeman are off this week, making No. 8 just right in terms of production thus far.

• Matthew Stafford shined in his return from injury, throwing four TDs (three to Calvin Johnson) in a big Detroit win. Now the Jets come to town, and while that sounds like a terrible matchup for the Lions, the Jets' passing defense has been more bark than bite this season. The Jets are giving up over 18 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks, which puts them in the bottom half of the league in that regard. Darrelle Revis' return to good health is sure to help, but Stafford still remains a borderline QB1 against this unit.

• It's about time the Carson Palmer feel-good train is stopped in its tracks. He's the seventh best fantasy QB in the land, thanks in large part to three performances of 345 yards or better, but anyone that's watched him play can tell you he hasn't been that good. He has 12 TDs and seven INTs this season, but thanks to the bounce of the ball and defensive players dropping sure TDs, those two numbers should really be flipped. Don't mistake Palmer's top ten season for talent, and above all else, don't play him against the Steelers in Week 9.