Fantasy Fallout, Week 12: QBs
Posted by John Paulsen (11/30/2009 @ 9:00 am)
- Vince Young (387 yards, TD) continues to play well. He threw the game-winning TD in the fourth quarter to Kenny Britt.
- Josh Freeman (250 yards, 2 TD) has played well since taking over as the starter. He’s still a rookie, so he’s going to struggle against the better teams, but when he has a nice matchup he’s borderline startable.
- Matt Ryan (15 yards) left the game with a toe injury and was unable to return. Chris Redman (243 yards, 2 TD) played pretty well in his place.
- Ryan Fitzpatrick (246 yards, TD, INT, rush TD) is playing well and showed some wheels on a 31-yard TD scamper in the second quarter.
- Jason Campbell (231 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, rush TD) had a big fantasy day against the Eagles.
- Matt Hasselbeck (102 yards) had a surprisingly quiet game against a pretty bad Rams secondary.
- Alex Smith (232 yards, 2 TD) had yet another solid fantasy outing. He has had at least two pass TD in four of his six starts this season.
- Brett Favre (392 yards, 3 TD) torched a bad Chicago secondary.
- Kurt Warner was a surprise scratch, and Matt Leinart (220 yards) was rather pedestrian in his place.
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Fantasy Fallout, Week 12: RBs
Posted by John Paulsen (11/30/2009 @ 8:40 am)
- Michael Turner (12 carries, 33 yards) probably should have sat out another week. He was largely ineffective and reinjured the ankle that kept him out last week.
- Fred Jackson (20 touches, 116 yards, 2 TD) dominated the touches in the BUF backfield. Marshawn Lynch (4 touches, 15 yards) was ineffective.
- Rock Cartwright (18 touches, 64 yards) got most of the work, but didn’t do much.
- LeSean McCoy (21 touches, 101 yards) got the lion’s share of the carries for the Eagles, but it was Eldra Buckley who got the goal line work.
- Julius Jones didn’t dress, and Justin Forsett (22 carries, 130 yards, 2 TD) took full advantage. He didn’t catch a pass, however.
- Steven Jackson (28 touches, 116 yards, TD) didn’t practice this week, but that didn’t stop him from having a nice fantasy day.
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Fantasy Fallout, Week 12: WRs
Posted by John Paulsen (11/30/2009 @ 8:20 am)
- Antonio Bryant (3-91-1) is starting to play like his old self. Josh Freeman looks pretty good, so feel free to use Bryant when he has a good matchup.
- Michael Jenkins (7-80) has posted 13-156 over the past two weeks and merits consideration in PPR leagues.
- Terrell Owens (5-96-1) seems to like Ryan Fitzpatrick more than Trent Edwards. Fitzpatrick says he is more willing to throw the ball downfield and let his wideouts make a play.
- Jason Avant (5-94) has posted 17-276-1 over the last three weeks and has filled the void left by Brian Westbrook in the passing game. DeSean Jackson (2-40-1) left the game with a head/neck injury.
- Donnie Avery (4-48-1) had a TD early, but was quiet for much of the day until the Rams went into catch up mode.
- Steve Smith (1-5) had a TD catch that was called back due to lack of control over the ball. He’s never going to be consistent with Jake Delhomme as his QB.
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Fantasy Fallout, Week 12: TEs
Posted by John Paulsen (11/30/2009 @ 8:00 am)
- There weren’t a lot of yards or catches to go around in the Seattle passing game, which is why John Carlson (2-14) posted such an anemic line.
- Dante Rosario (4-62) has 8-102 over the last two weeks. Owners who need a TE (in a PPR league) should give him a look.
- Dallas Clark (9-63-1) had another monster day and has been great all season.
- With Owen Daniels sidelined, neither James Casey (2-17) nor Joel Dreessen (1-14) did enough to warrant a pickup.
- Antonio Gates (7-118-2) had just his second monster day of the season. The first came in Week 4 against the Steelers (9-124-2). He has four TD in two games, and zero in the others.
- Visanthe Shiancoe followed up his 8-78-1 performance in Week 11 with a 5-51-1 outing against the Bears. He is a solid start in most formats.
- Bo Scaife (5-68) put up a decent PPR line, as usual.
Check back in a bit for the WR, RB and QB positions.
Q&A Question of the Week: Week 12
Posted by John Paulsen (11/29/2009 @ 12:33 pm)
Every week, I pick one question from our Fantasy Football Q&A and post it on Sunday morning. This week’s question comes from RJR, who is wondering how he should cut Dustin Keller for James Casey.
“Do you think it would be worth dropping [Dustin] Keller for [James] Casey? My TE position is killing me and even though it seems like Keller has a lot of targets he does not put up a ton of points. What do you think Casey’s value going forward is? (or I can wait and drop Finley on Monday for Casey but a few teams in my league also need TE help and he may not last that long) or should I just leave it alone unless he blows up.”
My answer: At TE, I’d stick with Keller. Like you said, he gets a ton of targets and that’s half the battle. I’d rather have Finley than Casey right now.
Over the last three weeks, Keller is averaging 5.7-57-0.3, which are very good TE numbers. Clearly, he went through a bad stretch in the middle of the season, but he seems to have developed a better rapport with Mark Sanchez as the season has worn on.
While Casey does have some upside filling in for Owen Daniels, he is a rookie and it’s not often that a rookie TE becomes a viable starting option in fantasy football. Keller has more experience and a decent QB and should be starter-quality for the remainder of the season.
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Ben Roethlisberger out for Week 12?
Posted by John Paulsen (11/28/2009 @ 1:04 pm)
Yes, according to Jay Glazer.
Glazer reports that Roethlisberger has been suffering from exercise-induced headaches. Thus, the team has decided to shut him down.
Dennis Dixon gets the start in the place of the injured Charlie Batch. This is an upgrade for the Baltimore DT and a downgrade for Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes and (probably) Heath Miller.
Did anyone else bench Tony Romo in a tough matchup on Thursday (OAK) thinking that Roethlisberger would play this week? I did.
Vince Young, baby!
Fantasy Football Quick-Hitters: Peterson, Benson, Slaton and Julius
Posted by John Paulsen (11/27/2009 @ 3:00 pm)
Adrian Peterson limited in practice. His ankle is bothering him. This could just be precautionary or there might be a real possibility that he’ll miss Week 12. Keep an eye on the Vikings injury report. If he’s listed as “probable” his owners can breathe a sigh of relief. Chester Taylor obviously becomes starter-worthy if AP sits.
Cedric Benson “ready to play” but still iffy? Marvin Lewis said he was ready to play but was noncommittal about Benson’s availability for Sunday. The Bengals face the Browns, so if Benson sits another week, then Bernard Scott becomes a terrific start. Cincy may want to give Benson another week of rest if they think they can win with Scott carrying the load.
Slaton continues to start; Chris Brown will see time. So much for Ryan Moats turning into a stretch-run starter. It appears the Texans benched Slaton for motivation, but know that he’s their best RB. The Indy rush defense is so-so, which makes Slaton a decent RB2 start this week.
Julius Jones back at practice, but limited. Justin Forsett will get some work whether or not Jones returns this week, but he’s obviously a much better play if Jones sits out. The Rams are pretty bad against the run, so if the two share RB duties, they’re both decent flex starts.
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Love ‘Em & Leave ‘Em: Week 12
Posted by John Paulsen (11/25/2009 @ 6:00 pm)
Every week, I will highlight a few players to start and a few players to sit at each position. I’m a firm believer in starting your studs, so I won’t tell you about how Drew Brees or Adrian Peterson has a tough matchup – just go ahead and keep them in your lineup. Instead, I’ll focus on the borderline guys – players you’ll only start under the right circumstances. It’s important to note that depending on your roster and situation, you may not be able to follow these recommendations. For example, if I suggest you bench a solid starter like Tony Romo, only do so if you have a clearly better option on your bench.
The “love ‘em” players are listed in the order that I’d start them this week.


Brett Favre should have a big game against a Bears secondary that has been really spotty, especially lately…Despite leaving the game early last week, Kurt Warner still looks like a nice start against a Titans defense that is ranked 31st against the pass…Carson Palmer faces a Cleveland defense that is yielding 247 yards and 1.5 pass TD per game…Matt Hasselbeck has a nice matchup with the Rams’ 24th-ranked pass defense….In five starts, Alex Smith is averaging 207 yards and 1.8 pass TD, and with the Jags’ 25th-ranked pass defense coming to down, he should have a nice day…Matt Ryan has been struggling of late, and the Bucs pass defense is somewhat improved, but he is still a pretty good start…Desperate? Josh Freeman (@ ATL) and Ryan Fitzpatrick (vs. MIA) both have nice matchups this week.
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Posted in: Fantasy Football, NFL
Tags: 2009 fantasy football, 2009 fantasy football week 12, 2009 NFL Week 12, Fantasy Football, fantasy football strategy, fantasy football week 12, fantasy football week 12 busts, fantasy football week 12 sleepers, Headlines, Love 'Em & Leave 'Em
Defensive Team By Waiver Wire (DTBWW): Week 12
Posted by John Paulsen (11/24/2009 @ 4:30 pm)
The strategy behind DTBWW is that each week, you pick up a defense, preferably one playing at home against a bad offense. And each week, you get pretty good numbers out of your DT position. To see how this approach performed last season, click here.
Last week, I recommended three DTBWW picks. Let’s see how they fared…
#1 Bengals: 20 PA (0) + 1 INT + 2 FR = 3 fantasy points
#2 Cowboys: 6 PA (8) + 1 SK + 1 INT = 10 fp
#3 Lions: 37 PA (0) + 1 SK = 1 fp
Ouch. Needless to say, it wasn’t a strong week for DTBWW. The Bengals laid an egg against Oakland and the Lions’ defense turned out to be more inept than the Browns’ offense, and that’s saying something. I *almost* picked the Cardinals versus the Rams (8 fp), but once again I let my esteemed colleague, Anthony Stalter, talk me out of a better pick. At least the Cowboys showed up — they put forth a nice defensive effort against the Redskins.
For the season, my #1 pick is averaging 9.5 fantasy points, my #2 pick is averaging 10.6 and my #3 pick is averaging 6.3. On the whole, DTBWW is averaging 8.8 fppg, which are DT2-type numbers. My #2 pick has been particularly hot of late, averaging 11.4 fp over the last eight weeks. Go figure.
Let’s take a look at this week’s picks. Keep in mind that to be eligible for DTBWW, a defense must be available in at least 40% of ESPN fantasy leagues.
I’d love to recommend the Bengals (vs. CLE) or the Packers (@ DET) this week, but they aren’t eligible because they are owned in 72% and 80% of ESPN leagues, respectively. If they are available, pick them up before moving on to this list. (I’d also take the Jets — owned in 66% of leagues — over the Dolphins.)
Pick #1: Dallas Cowboys (vs. OAK)
A stingy Cowboy defense hosts a fairly inept Raiders offense on a short week. Bruce Gradkowski seems better than JaMarcus Russell, but now Dallas has some recent tape to game plan against him.
Pick #2: Seattle Seahawks (@ STL)
The Seahawks were embarrassed last week against the Vikings and are a better team than they showed in Minnesota. The defense isn’t great, but it’s opportunistic and with Marc Bulger out, St. Louis has a problem at QB.
Pick #3: Miami Dolphins (@ BUF)
The Dolphins really need this game and the Bills have been a quality matchup for fantasy defenses all year long. Terrell Owens’ big Week 11 will ensure that the Dolphins don’t forget about him in Week 12.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
Fantasy Football Q&A: Week 12
Posted by John Paulsen (11/24/2009 @ 1:45 pm)

Be sure to check out Week 11’s Fantasy Fallout and our Waiver Wire Watch for Week 12. Still have questions? Fire away, but be sure to tell me about your league’s roster requirements and whether or not you’re in a PPR league.
Posted in: Fantasy Football, NFL
Tags: 2009 fantasy football, 2009 fantasy football week 12, 2009 NFL Week 12, Fantasy Football, fantasy football advice, Fantasy Football Q&A, fantasy football strategy, fantasy football week 12, fantasy Q&A, Headlines
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