Everything you need to know (and a lot that you don’t) about the fantasy implications of the NFL’s Week 12 action…
QUARTERBACKS
It looks like the beginning of the end of the Donovan McNabb era in Philly. He was yanked for Kevin Kolb after tossing two picks in the first half. Kolb didn’t fare any better…Joe Flacco (183 yards, 2 TD) was once again effective. He isn’t going to throw for a lot of yards, but he has tossed at least one TD in each of the last six games…Brady Quinn (94 yards, 2 INT) was supposed to have a nice day against a pretty bad Houston pass defense, but he stunk up the joint and was actually replaced by Derek Anderson (51 yards, INT), who didn’t do any better…Gus Frerotte (120 yards, INT) had a string of solid performances broken against the Jags. The Vikings got up by 14 early and didn’t look deep very often. Bernard Berrian (1-6) is suffering as a result…After a strong start, something seems to be wrong with the Denver passing game. Jay Cutler is averaging just 210 yards and 0.5 TD over the last two weeks.
RUNNING BACKS
Brian Westbrook (16 touches, 34 yards) looks like a shadow of his old self, and it’s not clear if it’s the injuries that are bothering him or the lack of good play from his QB. Correll Buckhalter sprained his knee, so the Eagles are really hurting at RB…Jamal Lewis (12 touches, 68 yards) was fairly productive, but he failed to score a TD and fumbled once. I thought he’d be a solid start due to a nice schedule down the stretch, but the Browns’ offense is in trouble and Lewis’ numbers are suffering because of it…Warrick Dunn (19 touches, 127 yards, TD) was very productive against a bad Lions rush defense. Cadillac Williams (16 touches, 27 yards) came in for mop up duty…Kevin Smith (16 carries, 86 yards) looked pretty good against a good Bucs rush defense before leaving the game with an apparent knee injury…Larry Johnson (9 touches, 105 yards) ran the ball well, but only received seven carries since the game got out of hand…Apologies to anyone who started Antonio Pittman (12 touches, 19 yards) on my recommendation. Ryan Grant was successful against the Bears rush defense last week and I thought that Pittman would at least post 70-80 total yards and maybe score a TD…The Tennessee running game is suddenly ineffective. Over the last three games Chris Johnson and LenDale White have combined for just 243 yards and one TD. White carried the ball once against the Jets, so right now, it looks like the Chris Johnson show. He might have big week in a great matchup against the Lions next week…Even though he’s supposedly healthy, Sammy Morris (10 touches, 49 yards) didn’t get as many touches as Kevin Faulk (14 touches, 105 yards, TD). Moreover, Faulk was more productive and BenJarvus Green-Ellis (a.k.a. “The Law Firm”) vultured seven carries and a TD…Maurice Jones-Drew (12 touches, 117 yards) is so valuable in PPR leagues because when things aren’t going well on the ground (3 carries, 4 yards), he can be heavily involved in the passing game (9-113)…DeAngelo Williams (21 touches, 120 yards, TD) appears to be RB1 in Carolina for the time being. He’s startable this week, against the Packers and in Week 15, against the Broncos…Michael Turner (117 yards, 4 TD) finally broke out against a good rush defense. All year, he’s been overperforming against bad defenses and underperforming against good ones…Clinton Portis (31 touches, 159 yards) is a warrior…LaDainian Tomlinson has scored just two TD in his last seven games.
WIDE RECEIVERS
If the Eagles go with Kevin Kolb at QB, I’d downgrade DeSean Jackson and Kevin Curtis…It doesn’t appear that any Detroit WR other than Calvin Johnson (3-66-1) is worth owning right now…Dwayne Bowe (3-58-1) continues to clean up in garbage time. His numbers weren’t looking very good, but late in the game he caught a garbage TD to finish with a nice stat line…It looks like Torry Holt (4-84) is still WR1 in St. Louis. Donnie Avery (1-14) cannot be counted on…After a couple shoddy weeks, Greg Camarillo (6-75-1) had a nice day, but he’s going to miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. This should give Ted Ginn and Davone Bess a boost in value…Terrell Owens (7-213-1) busted out with a huge game against his old team. He hadn’t gained more than 38 receiving yards in the last five games…Simply stated, Plaxico Burress (0-0) can’t be counted on right now.
TIGHT ENDS
Kellen Winslow’s poor day (1-11) could be attributed to poor play at QB or his sprained shoulder. Either way, he was a disappointment…In a week when guys like Winslow, Jason Witten (1-11) and Antonio Gates (3-28) were disappointments, Tony Gonzalez (10-113-1) came up huge…Dustin Keller (6-42) continues to be a favorite target of Brett Favre. Over the last three weeks, he has posted 20-236-1 and looks like a good TE start down the stretch.
FREE AGENTS
LeRon McClain (18 carries, 88 yards, TD) was the most productive RB for the Ravens, continuing the season-long carousel at the position. There’s no telling who will play well week to week…Over the last three weeks, Kerry Collins has averaged 254 passing yards and 2.0 TD per game. He did most of his work this week in garbage time, which is an unusual situation for the Titans to be in…Tatum Bell got some work (7 touches, 14 yards), but it was Peyton Hillis (19 touches, 96 yards, TD) that got the lion’s share of the touches in the Denver backfield.. He has a tough matchup with the Jets next week, but a great matchup with the Chiefs in Week 14…Derrick Ward played well (24 touches, 99 yards, TD) with Brandon Jacobs out. Keep an eye on this situation as Ward could be a productive back if Jacobs misses more time. Keeper league owners should take note – Ward will be a free agent after this season…Maurice Morris produces 113 yards and a TD on 17 touches. Julius Jones had two carries for 21 yards and injured his calf. Morris might be able to help fantasy owners down the stretch.
“Donovan is the quarterback. I don’t want to leave here until you understand that,” coach Andy Reid emphasized at his news conference Monday. “Donovan is the quarterback for this football team.”
