Most of Week 14 has come and gone and it’s time to put up or shut up for a lot of fantasy owners, as most leagues start playoffs this week. Players from the late games took three of our four Headliner honors, while players from the early games dominated the Flatliner column. And get this: LT set the single-season touchdown record (29) by scoring three times against the Broncos, but it wasn’t enough to earn top honors. But enough with the tease, let’s get right to this week’s Headliners and Flatliners.
HEADLINERS
Matt Hasselbeck (243 pass yards, 3 TD, 32 rush yards)
Despite being bothered by a sore knee and a bruised non-throwing hand, Hass whipped the ball around the field with velocity, and showed a little something by running for 32 yards on three carries. Too bad his team couldn’t beat the Cardinals. Ouch.
Honorable Mention: Brett Favre (293 yards, 2 TD), Vince Young (218 pass yards, 1 INT, 86 rush yards, 1 rush TD), Philip Rivers (279 yards, 2 TD), Matt Leinart (232 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT), Carson Palmer (297 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT), Steve McNair (283 yards, 1 TD), Eli Manning (172 yards, 3 TD), Chris Weinke (423 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT)
Maurice Jones-Drew (16 touches, 181 yards, 2 TD)
Are you kidding me? Drew’s line is pretty amazing, but take a look at the entire Jacksonville ground game: 42 rushes, 375 yards, 4 TD. That’s 8.9 yards per carry. I knew the Colts’ rushing defense was bad, I just didn’t know it was this bad. (Note: I listed Drew ahead of Pinner even though Pinner had a better line, because no one started Artrose Pinner this week. Except for the Vikings, that is.)
Honorable Mention: Artrose Pinner (31 touches, 140 yards, 3 TD), LaDainian Tomlinson (29 touches, 112 yards, 3 TD), Rudi Johnson (31 touches, 122 yards, 2 TD), Frank Gore (22 touches, 168 yards, 1 TD), Sammy Morris (27 touches, 162 yards, 1 TD), Travis Henry (22 touches, 95 yards, 2 TD), Ron Dayne (24 touches, 99 yards, 2 TD), Fred Taylor (9 touches, 131 yards, 1 TD), Ladell Betts (35 touches, 185 yards)
Donald Driver (9 rec, 160 yards, 1 TD)
Driver took advantage of a very nice matchup against the 49ers this week, catching a 68-yard bomb to seal the victory. It seems like Driver is one of those guys that, year after year, is underestimated on draft day.
Honorable Mention: Drew Carter (8 rec, 144 yards, 1 TD), T.J. Houshmandzadeh (8 rec, 118 yards, 1 TD), Marty Booker (8 rec, 103 yards, 1 TD), Mark Clayton (5 rec, 112 yards, 1 TD), D.J. Hackett (4 rec, 104 yards, 1 TD), Ronald Curry (8 rec, 99 yards, 1 TD)
Antonio Gates (7 rec, 104 yards, 2 TD)
Now this is why fantasy owners drafted Gates in the 2nd-4th rounds. When most of the other big name tight ends are doing diddly-squat, Gates comes up with a HUGE day. As the season comes to a close, teams keep trying to stack the line to stop LT, and Gates should be able to find openings. He and Rivers are on the same page, which was not the case earlier in the season.
Honorable Mention: Tony Scheffler (3 rec, 66 yards, 2 TD), Vernon Davis (3 rec, 74 yards, 1 TD), Jeremy Shockey (6 rec, 49 yards, 1 TD)
FLATLINERS
Tom Brady (78 yards)
The entire Patriots offense was a giant disappointment against the Dolphins. Brady was miserable, but the team was pretty bad all around. Nobody thought the Pats would get blanked in Miami.
Dishonorable Mention: Michael Vick (155 pass yards, 1 INT, 5 rush yards), David Garrard (79 yards, 1 INT)
Shaun Alexander (24 touches, 84 yards)
Sure, there were guys that had worse days, but all I kept hearing while Alexander was out nursing his foot injury was how his schedule was so favorable if his fantasy owners could just get to the playoffs. Well, it’s playoff time and all he can put up is 84 total yards against the Cardinals? No, thanks.
Dishonorable Mention: Joseph Addai (12 touches, 36 yards), Carnell Williams (21 touches, 53 yards), DeShaun Foster (8 rec, 23 yards)
Randy Moss (2 rec, 28 yards)
And it continues. Moss was targeted just four times and was seen sitting down on the sideline during a crucial third down play in first half. Most owners have probably given up on the grumpy talent, and I can’t blame them. It’s not worth waiting for him to break out of his funk. I just hope everyone remembers this when it’s draft time next season. Every year, someone takes him in the first or second round and, every year, I just chuckle to myself. There’s always a chance he’ll put up a monster season, but I wouldn’t bet on it.
Dishonorable Mention: Chris Chambers (3 rec, 11 yards), Eddie Kennison (1 rec, 13 yards)
Ben Watson (1 rec, 5 yards)
Surely, fantasy owners aren’t too thrilled with Ben Watson’s pitiful performance against Miami. Of course, they can take solace in the fact that the entire Pats’ offense looked like it was doped up on Vicodin for much the game. (It wasn’t like Daniel Graham went off.)
Dishonorable Mention: Tony Gonzalez (3 rec, 31 yards), Alge Crumpler (3 rec, 30 yards), Todd Heap (4 rec, 33 yards)
