Category: Fantasy Football (Page 276 of 324)

Week 13 represents the final week of the regular season in many fantasy leagues, meaning that a ton of fantasy owners around the country needed big performances to land a spot in the playoffs. So who put up big numbers? I’m guessing that two of our Headliners rode the pine in a lot of leagues while three of our Flatliners broke more than a few hearts. But enough with the tease, let’s get to this week’s Headliners and Flatliners.

HEADLINERS

Trent Green (297 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT)
It’s tough to come back and play the QB position well after taking so much time off, but it looks like Green is ready for a playoff run. Fantasy owners playing against Larry Johnson are certainly grateful that they the Chiefs threw the ball so much.

Honorable Mention: Vince Young (163 pass yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 78 rush yards), Marc Bulger (314 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT), Peyton Manning (351 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT), Eli Manning (270 yards, 2 TD)

Reggie Bush (19 touches, 168 yards, 4 TD)
Owners who drafted Bush in the third or fourth round this summer have been waiting all year for a breakout game. After rushing for one TD all season, he rushed for three and caught another against the 49ers. It’s a good thing he was on my bench in two leagues.

Honorable Mention: LaDainian Tomlinson (31 touches, 192 yards, 2 TD), Cedric Houston (25 touches, 129 yards, 2 TD), Ladell Betts (31 touches, 173 yards, 1 TD), Corey Dillon (9 touches, 25 yards, 3 TD), Marcel Shipp (7 touches, 21 yards, 3 TD), Marion Barber (12 touches, 76 yards, 2 TD)

Marvin Harrison (7 rec, 172 yards, 1 TD)
There were rumblings in Indianapolis that Harrison was none too happy about the two targets he got against the Eagles last Sunday night, but he got the lion’s share against the Titans. Even so, Reggie Wayne’s progress is cutting into Harrison’s consistency.

Honorable Mention: Matt Jones (6 rec, 128 yards, 1 TD), Mike Furrey (9 rec, 123 yards, 1 TD), Santana Moss (7 rec, 123 yards, 1 TD), Eddie Kennison (7 rec, 117 yards, 1 TD), Torry Holt (7 rec, 115 yards, 1 TD), Jericho Cotchery (9 rec, 99 yards, 1 TD)

Tony Gonzalez (9 rec, 105 yards, 2 TD)
So which guy called himself “the best tight end in the league”? Gonzo staked his claim on the title with a monster game against the Browns, but the Chiefs couldn’t get the win.

Honorable Mention: Antonio Gates (7 rec, 90 yards, 1 TD), Jeremy Shockey (6 rec, 65 yards, 1 TD), Alge Crumpler (2 rec, 62 yards, 1 TD), Chris Baker (4 rec, 50 yards, 1 TD)

FLATLINERS

Brad Johnson (73 yards, 4 INT) & Rex Grossman (34 yards, 3 INT)
The starting QBs in the Vikings/Bears matchup combined for 107 passing yards and seven interceptions. I find that stat line amazing.

Dishonorable Mention: David Carr (32 yards), Bruce Gradkowski (175 yards, 3 INT)

Joseph Addai (17 touches, 67 yards)
Talk about falling back to Earth. After a HUGE game last Sunday, Addai crashed hard and I’m sure more than a few fantasy owners were counting on getting more from the young back.

Dishonorable Mention: Frank Gore (18 touches, 68 yards), Fred Taylor (19 touches, 76 yards), Willie Parker (23 touches, 86 yards)

Andre Johnson (1 rec, 9 yards)
It’s not often that you see AJ’s name in the Flatliners section, but a one-catch/nine-yard effort hurt a lot of fantasy teams this week.

Dishonorable Mention: Joe Horn (1 rec, 18 yards), Devery Henderson (2 rec, 14 yards), Greg Jennings (2 rec, 14 yards), Laveranues Coles (3 rec, 28 yards), Randy Moss (4 rec, 44 yards), Roy Williams (3 rec, 50 yards)

Kellen Winslow (1 rec, 26 yards)
This was a pretty brutal performance from Winslow, who had been one of the most consistent TEs heading into the game. Considering how Gonzo completely outplayed him, expect Winslow to come back strong next week. At least his team got the win.

Dishonorable Mention: Chris Cooley (2 rec, 12 yards), Randy McMichael (2 rec, 14 yards)

Joe Horn and Marques Colston will be game-time decisions on Sunday, meaning that Devery Henderson should get a lot of work…Cedric Houston is reportedly going to start against the Jets, but will give way to Leon Washington on third downs…The Jags put Byron Leftwich on IR, which means that David Garrard should be the starter the rest of the way…Chester Taylor was upgraded to probable and Troy Williamson may be inactive on Sunday. Williamson was a fantasy sleeper at the beginning of the year and he never quite got out of bed…Kellen Winslow and Reuben Droughns were upgraded to probable, but Jason Wright is going to remain the starting RB for the remainder of the season…Eric Johnson sustained a knee injury and it looks like he may be out for the season. Vernon Davis should see more action in his place.

Each week in the Pregame, I’ll provide a few players to start and a few to bench. These recommendations are based on that player’s strength of schedule (SOS) for that particular week or that player’s specific situation.

I’m a strong advocate of always starting your studs, so I won’t be telling you about LaDainian Tomlinson’s tough matchup or how Peyton Manning and company will light it up against a bad defense. Anyone can make those calls. I’ll be discussing marginal fantasy starters – guys that can start for you, but only under certain circumstances.

START

Several fringe QBs have nice matchups this week. You could do worse than BEN ROETHLISBERGER, JASON CAMPBELL and STEVE MCNAIR this week…With a matchup against the 49ers, his is a good week to start DEUCE MCALLISTER and REGGIE BUSH. JOSEPH ADDAI is a must-start with his recent performance and a nice matchup against the Titans this week…Look for MUHSIN MUHAMMAD and BERNARD BERRIAN to have productive games against the Vikings, who have had trouble defending the pass. Weather is always an issue in Chicago this time of year, so keep an eye on the forecast.

BENCH

JON KITNA, DAVID CARR, JAKE DELHOMME, BRAD JOHNSON and JOEY HARRINGTON all have poor matchups this week and should be avoided if possible…THOMAS JONES, RUDI JOHNSON, FRED TAYLOR and KEVIN JONES face good defenses this week, so choose wisely. It’s tough to bench these guys (especially RJ and KJ), but if you have a good option available, it might be a good idea…KEYSHAWN JOHNSON and CHRIS CHAMBERS have pretty tough matchups this week, so it wouldn’t be a bad idea to bench them if you have another decent option.

INJURY UPDATE (THURSDAY GAME)

With the season-ending injury to Chris Perry, Kenny Watson takes over as Rudi Johnson’s primary backup…Jamal Lewis is questionable after missing part of Wednesday’s practice, but is still expected to start. Todd Heap also missed part of practice Wednesday and his status for Thursday is considered a “game-time decision.”

Check back Saturday for a complete injury update. Meanwhile, feel free to post a question on our Fantasy Q & A.

Now that Week 12 is complete, it’s time to hand out awards for the third quarter of the fantasy football season. These awards are based on performance scoring, such as this one from Antsports.com. For those players that missed games due to injury, I included those games in their per game averages. Keep in mind, I’m only looking at performances during Weeks 9-12.

QUARTERBACKS

MVP: Drew Brees (27.5 ppg)
So much for that iffy shoulder. All Drew Brees has done in the last four weeks is throw for an average of 393 yards and two scores per game. I wonder how dumb the Dolphins feel right now. During the offseason, they felt that Brees’ shoulder was a bigger risk than Daunte Culpepper’s knee. I wouldn’t want to put “Dolphins’ team doctor” on my resume right now.

Honorable Mention: Carson Palmer (24.0), Tony Romo (23.1)

Biggest Surprise: Tony Romo (23.1)
Many thought that Romo would be better than Drew Bledsoe, but who thought that he’d be this much better? In the last four games, he has averaged 281 pass yards and 2.3 TDs per game. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Honorable Mention: Matt Leinart (20.2), Ben Roethlisberger (19.5), Vince Young (19.3)

Biggest Disappointment: Eli Manning (9.9)
After a pretty nice start, the “other” Manning has fizzled of late, throwing for an average of 168 yards and 0.8 TD against 1.8 INT over the last four games. While arguments could be made for handing this award to Matt Hasselbeck or Donovan McNabb, Manning hasn’t missed any time with injury.

Dishonorable Mention: Matt Hasselbeck (4.8), Donovan McNabb (8.3)

RUNNING BACKS

MVP: LaDainian Tomlinson (40.1)
Zzzzzzzz. What? You want me to tell you what LT has done over the last four weeks. Okay, well, he averaged 161 yards from scrimmage. Not enough? Let’s see, he averaged 3.3 TDs per game. That’s enough? Good, I’m going back to sleep now.

Honorable Mention: Steven Jackson (34.2), Brian Westbrook (24.9), Willie Parker (24.3)

Biggest Surprise: Joseph Addai (22.3)
Granted, Addai won this award on Sunday night when he gained 208 yards from scrimmage while rushing for four scores against the Eagles. I definitely thought Addai would have a good second half, but I wasn’t expecting that.

Honorable Mention: Jamal Lewis (17.4), Maurice Drew (16.2), Marion Barber (15.4)

Biggest Disappointment: Edgerrin James (9.2)
Arguments can be made for several players, but no back was more disappointing in the third quarter than James, who just can’t seem to get anything going behind the Cardinals’ sketchy offensive line. Arizona had a bye in Week 9, but since then, James has gained an average of 72 yards from scrimmage with no scores. Ugh.

Dishonorable Mention: Shaun Alexander (6.3), Julius Jones (7.3), LaMont Jordan (5.6), Willis McGahee (5.4), Clinton Portis (5.1)

WIDE RECEIVERS

MVP: Chad Johnson (29.9)
Who else? Over the past four games, CJ has averaged seven catches for 151 yards and 1.3 TD and that includes a 4-catch/32-yard game against the Ravens. He had a slow start, but over the last three weeks, he’s been phenomenal.

Honorable Mention: Lee Evans (21.5), Steve Smith (20.9), Javon Walker (20.3)

Biggest Surprise: Devery Henderson (19.5)
Is this even fair? The Saints already have Marques Colston, who is the frontrunner for Offensive Rookie of the Year, and when he goes down with an ankle sprain, they plug in Henderson, who averaged four catches for 110 yards and 0.8 TD over the last four games. And those numbers include a goose egg against Pittsburgh in Week 10. Wowsers.

Honorable Mention: Lee Evans (21.5), Mark Clayton (15.0), Marty Booker (14.7)

Biggest Disappointment: Torry Holt (10.8)
What’s wrong with Torry Holt? After averaging 6-82-1 through the first eight weeks, Holt’s numbers took a nosedive in the third quarter, where he averaged just 5.3 catches for 55 yards and zero scores. This probably has more to do with Marc Bulger’s ribs than anything Torry is doing, but he’s still a disappointment.

Dishonorable Mention: Santana Moss (2.2), Antonio Bryant (5.5), Joe Horn (6.9), Chris Chambers (10.3)

TIGHT ENDS

MVP: Chris Cooley (14.3)
After a slow start, Cooley was cut in many fantasy leagues. Sharp owners jumped on him and over the past four weeks, he’s paid dividends, averaging 3.5 catches for 63 yards and 0.8 TD.

Honorable Mention: Todd Heap (13.1), Ben Watson (13.1), Kellen Winslow (12.9)

Biggest Surprise: Bo Scaife (10.1)
Over the past four weeks, Scaife has benefited from the absence of Ben Troupe, averaging three catches for 38 yards while scoring twice. He should be a good spot starter the rest of the way.

Biggest Disappointment: Desmond Clark (4.7)
Clark teased fantasy owners with a strong first half, but over the last four weeks he’s caught an average of 1.8 passes for 14 yards and 0.3 TD. Ugh.

Dishonorable Mention: Alge Crumpler (7.8), Antonio Gates (11.5)

It’s crunch time and you might need a sanity check. Post all of your fantasy questions here.