Category: NFL (Page 222 of 1282)

2010 Fantasy Football Awards

Now that Week 16 has come and gone, it’s time to hand out a few awards for the 2010 season. Let’s jump right in…

Most Valuable QB: Michael Vick, Eagles
While I believe that Tom Brady deserves the real-world MVP, Vick is without a doubt the top fantasy QB of the year. He finished QB1 despite missing three-plus games due to injury, and the best fantasy playoff numbers of any QB, scoring 27.1, 42.1 and 28.5, respectively.

Most Valuable RB: Arian Foster, Texans
It’s amazing to think that Foster was going in the 5th or 6th round (or even later) in fantasy drafts in late August. Through W16, Foster racked up 2,030 total yards and 16 TDs, becoming (out of necessity) one of the few every-down RBs in the league. He didn’t have the greatest fantasy playoff by his standards (321 total yards, one TD), but he dominated the competition throughout the season and none of the other top RBs had good enough playoff numbers to trump Foster’s regular season exploits.

Most Valuable WR: Roddy White, Falcons
Just like Foster, White didn’t have eye-popping numbers in the playoffs (18 catches, 187 yards, two TDs) but he didn’t lay any eggs, either. In PPR leagues, he finished 30 points ahead of the next best WR and no other top WR had a great W14-16 run to offset White’s performance in the regular season. He’ll likely be the top fantasy WR heading into next season given his age and consistency.

Most Valuable TE: Jason Witten, Cowboys
Antonio Gates was well on his way to winning this award, but a midseason foot injury knocked him out of the stretch run. Meanwhile, Witten raised his game down the stretch, posting 40-395-5 over the last five games and 25-254-4 during the three-week fantasy playoffs. In fact, I’d argue that Witten outperformed his competition during W14-16 more than any other player at any other position this season, at least in PPR formats.

Most Valuable DT: New England Patriots
The Steelers were a little better for the entire season, but the Patriots really came on down the stretch, scoring 60 fantasy points over the final four games (and 48 in W14-16). What’s funny is that a midseason swoon made the Pats available on the waiver wires in a lot of leagues, so owners who were fortunate enough to pick the NE DT up (and hold onto them), gave themselves a big boost during the fantasy playoffs.

Most Valuable K: Sebastian Janikowski, Raiders
Janikowski started the season strong, scoring 10+ in seven of his first nine games (and 6.9+ in the other two) before his bye. Over the next three games, he failed to score more than 5.0, but turned it on during the fantasy playoffs, scoring 7.0, 17.1 and 21.3 over the final three weeks of the season, finishing as the top fantasy kicker in the process. Despite all the uncertainty at QB, Janikowski was a dependable weapon this season for fantasy owners. And it just goes to show how much depth there is at kicker — he was the #14 kicker off the draft board back in August.

Biggest Surprise: Brandon Lloyd, Broncos
All due respect to Michael Vick, Peyton Hillis and Marcedes Lewis, Brandon Lloyd became fantasy’s #2 WR just one season removed from an eight-catch 2009. As the 93rd WR off the draft board, he was the definition of a waiver wire gem, finishing with 72 catches for 1375 yards and 10 TDs. I was admittedly slow to get on the Lloyd bandwagon, as I had been burned by him before (in San Francisco, and then in Washington), but those owners with short memories who managed to snag him off the waiver wire enjoyed his fine play for much of the season. He did crap the bed in W13 and W14 (totaling just five catches for 63 yards), which gave this writer a certain sense of satisfaction, but he turned it on again in W15-16, racking up nine catches for 190 yards and a TD with Tim Tebow under center.

Jaguars’ MJD, Garrard out against Texans

Less than three weeks ago the Jaguars held their playoff destiny in their own hands.

Now their season is falling apart at the seams.

According to SI.com, Maurice Jones-Drew ill probably require offseason surgery on his right knee and is likely out for the Jaguars’ important tilt against the Texans on Sunday. Considering he had a cleanup procedure done on his knee in preseason, it’s probably safe to assume that he played hurt for the first 15 weeks of the season. He was still able to gain 1,641 total yards and seven touchdowns, which is remarkable if he was injured.

Making matters worse for the Jags is that quarterback David Garrard will also be held out against Houston after having surgery on his finger. Trent Edwards will start in his place and although he’s facing a brutal Houston secondary, it’s certainly not in Jacksonville’s best interest to be starting a backup quarterback for the most important game of the season.

The Jaguars can still make the playoffs but their chances are slim to none. First and foremost, they need the Colts to lose to the Titans in Indianapolis on Sunday. They also need to beat the Texans and given the way they played last Sunday against the Redskins when they didn’t have Jones-Drew, there’s a good chance that Jacksonville will end its season on a three-game losing streak.

A team that had so much promise a couple of weeks ago, the Jaguars will probably be left to think about the season that could have been.

Top 5 Biggest Pro Bowl Snubs

If you’re looking for cliff notes on the 2011 Pro Bowl rosters, here they are:

– Michael Vick will start opposite Tom Brady assuming both quarterbacks aren’t playing each other in the Super Bowl the following week.

– The Falcons have the most representatives at seven.

– The Patriots had six representatives, while the Eagles, Ravens, Packers and Cowboys had five apiece.

– Four rookies will be making the trip to Honolulu, including Lions’ behemoth Ndamukong Suh.

– Altogether, there were seven first-timers on the NFC squad and 14 for the AFC.

– The Bills, Bengals, Seahawks and Bucs were the only teams not represented. I think it’s telling that Seattle could win the NFC West and not have a single player go to the Pro Bowl.

To view complete rosters for both conferences, click here. If you’re looking to spice things up a little on your Wednesday morning, proceed below.

Top 5 Biggest Pro Bowl Snubs:

1. Tamba Hali, Chiefs, OLB
There’s an argument to be made that Hali deserves consideration for Defensive Player of the Year. So the fact that he was left off the Pro Bowl roster is saying something. He has 12 sacks this season and is a big reason why the Chiefs will be playing behind this week. The problem is that if you put Hali on the roster, whom are you going to take off? Cameron Wake leads the league in sacks and while Hali has one more QB-takedown than Harrison and Suggs, both of those players have more tackles. Harrison is more of a complete player than Hali and Suggs has 18 more tackles. Hali deserves to be on the roster but that doesn’t mean that Wake, Harrison and Suggs don’t.

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Favre to be disciplined in Sterger case?

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, a decision on the Jenn Sterger case involving Brett Favre is expected to come in the next 48 hours. And per the report, Favre will be disciplined.

The league has been investigating allegations that Favre sent inappropriate photos and phone messages to Sterger in 2008, when he was the quarterback for the New York Jets and she was a game hostess for the team.

Sterger’s manager, Phil Reese, has said his client would like the league to “implement a program” to prevent unwanted advances similar to those she is alleging Favre made.

Reese said Sterger wants the league to discipline Favre before his career ends. “It’s not a money story,” Reese said, adding his client’s goal is some acknowledgment that Favre was in the wrong.

Unless they fine him an inordinate amount of money, this won’t be a very big win for Sterger. The Vikings were knocked out of the playoffs weeks ago and he’s not expected to play in their season finale this Sunday. So what’s the worst that can happen to him? He gets suspended for a game he wasn’t going to suit up for anyway?

That said, there will be some embarrassment that comes along with any punishment that Favre receives. This could very well be his last season in the NFL and he’s going to go out severing a fine for sending inappropriate text messages to a sideline reporter. Talk about your anti-victory lap.

Of course, as always with Favre, there’s never a guarantee that he’ll walk away.

Update: Favre has been fined $50,000 for his lack of cooperation during the NFL’s investigation into his relationship with Sterger. Seeing as how he made $16 million this season, I don’t he’ll lose sleep over the one percent he lost with his fee. He won’t be suspended, as the league decided that he didn’t violate any rules.

Uh-oh: Michael Vick seen limping following loss to Vikings

As if we needed further proof that nobody knows what they’re talking about when it comes to the NFL, the Vikings go on the road and beat the Eagles on Tuesday night.

This was the same Minnesota team that looked hapless, helpless and completely unmotivated against the Bears on Monday night just one week ago. They flat out gave up in that game as soon as Brett Favre left in the second quarter with a concussion. But give them credit, they came out ready to play on Tuesday in Philly.

Michael Vick completed 25-of-43 passes for 263 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also added eight rushes for 63 yards and another touchdown in the Eagles’ 24-14 loss.

But the story isn’t in his numbers. The story is how the Vikings brought the heat early and often and battered Vick throughout the night. It was the worst physical beating that Vick took all season, as he struggled to read Minnesota’s blitzes and took unnecessary hits. He lost two fumbles throughout the game and could have been picked off several more times if Viking defenders knew how to catch.

The worst part is that Vick was scene limping in the locker room due to a quad contusion that he suffered on the first play of the game. With the Eagles now locked into the No. 3 seed in the NFC, there’s no reason for Andy Reid to play Vick against the Cowboys this Sunday. He’ll need all the rest he can get with either the Packers, Giants or Bucs coming to town next weekend.

The biggest benefactors of Minnesota’s win were ironically their division rivals the Bears, who are now guaranteed a first round bye.

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