Four Downs: Can you say bad timing?

December 18, 2007

Last week, Minnesota rookie running back Adrian Peterson ruined a lot of owners hopes for a Fantasy championship when he ran for three yards at San Francisco. There was no way it could get any worse, right? Wrong.

For all those owners with Tom Brady who laughed when Peterson was stuffed by the lowly 49ers, they learned their lesson Sunday. The same goes for plenty of other Fantasy owners because it was a rough day for a lot of stars.

Brady ruined plenty of Fantasy league playoffs when he had zero touchdowns (that’s not a misprint) against the Jets and less passing yards than Brodie Croyle, Matt Moore and Cleo Lemon with his 140-yard outing. It was the first game Brady didn’t throw a touchdown this year, and it came at the wrong time.

Along with Brady’s poor showing in the rain and wind — which can be used as an excuse, if you want to make yourself feel better — Randy Moss (five catches for 79 yards) and Wes Welker (three catches for 30 yards) also suffered. In Week 16, the pass-happy Patriots decided to run the ball with Laurence Maroney (26 carries for 104 yards and a touchdown).

Hey, thanks Bill Belichick.

But the Patriots weren’t the only team to let Fantasy owners down. Dallas was just as bad. Against the Eagles, the No. 2 quarterback in most Fantasy leagues, Tony Romo, had 214 yards passing, no touchdowns and three interceptions. And Terrell Owens had only two catches for 37 yards.

That’s no touchdowns combined for the top two quarterbacks and top two wide receivers during the Fantasy playoffs. For Owens, that’s now five catches for 58 yards and no touchdowns in his past two games.

Joseph Addai, a top five Fantasy running back, also was down in the dumps with 77 total yards and no touchdowns. And Peyton Manning wasn’t exactly stellar with 276 yards passing, one touchdown and an interception.

The one team who could legitimately use weather as an excuse was Cleveland, where Derek Anderson (137-yards passing and no touchdowns), Braylon Edwards (four catches for 64 yards and no touchdowns) and Kellen Winslow (two catches for 28 yards and no touchdowns) were far below their usual standards because of four inches of snow. And those are three of the top players at their respective positions.

Aside from the stars failing to play well, one player’s decision might be the difference between a Fantasy championship and a loss. Philadelphia running back Brian Westbrook had an easy touchdown at the end of the game at Dallas but instead stopped at the 1-yard line to kill the clock.

“It was brilliant,” Philadelphia coach Andy Reid said to the media after the game. “He used that Villanova education and transferred it to the football field.”

Brilliant? Westbrook had 81 yards rushing and nine catches for 63 yards. Do you think Fantasy owners wouldn’t take a touchdown on top of that?

I doubt anyone was yelling “brilliant” when they were throwing things at the TV.
First down

Old running backs continue to shine.

When the season started, Fred Taylor was being phased out in Jacksonville for Maurice Jones-Drew, and Jamal Lewis was just trying to hang on in Cleveland.

Not quite.

Taylor, who will turn 32 in January, had 25 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown at Pittsburgh and continues to get better as the season goes on. He now has 617 yards rushing and four touchdowns in his past six games, including over 100 yards in four straight, and should dominate next week against Oakland.

Lewis, meanwhile, ran for 163 yards against Buffalo. In his last five games, the 28-year-old Lewis has 604 yards rushing and five touchdowns, and next week he has a great matchup at Cincinnati.

I bet you never expected during the Fantasy playoffs you’d be counting on these elder statesmen. But they’re playing well, so continue to ride them while they’re hot.
Second Down

Brett Favre sets another record.

The Green Bay quarterback, who already passed Dan Marino for career touchdown passes this season, broke Marino’s record for passing yards Sunday. Marino passed for 61,361 yards in 17 seasons. Favre, who now has 61,405 yards and counting, also in his 17th season, broke the record with 227 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions at St. Louis.

While that’s a nice accomplishment, Fantasy owners should be pleased that Favre will keep throwing for at least two more weeks. Since Dallas lost, the Packers are now in the hunt for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, so Favre and Co. won’t be taking it easy.

Continue to start all the usual suspects for Green Bay, which plays at Chicago next week.
Third Down

Backup running backs are leading the way.

It was another week where free agent Fantasy running backs were stars. Aaron Stecker had 95 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Justin Fargas had 89 yards rushing and a touchdown. Earnest Graham had 79 yards rushing and a touchdown. And Ryan Grant had 55 yards rushing and a touchdown.

All these players should continue to help your Fantasy team this season, but Fargas left the game with a sprained MCL in his knee. Keep an eye on his status because if Fargas is out, LaMont Jordan could be Fantasy relevant again.
Fourth Down

Congratulations to the Tampa Bay special teams unit and return man Michael Spurlock. It took 32 seasons and 1,865 tries, but the Bucs finally returned a kickoff for a touchdown Sunday against Atlanta. … Congratulations to the Dolphins, who finally won a game this season. Miami was led by Cleo Lemon (315 yards passing and a touchdown), Samkon Gado (43 yards rushing and a touchdown) and backup wide receiver Greg Camarillo, who caught the game-winning touchdown and finished with three catches for 109 yards. … Raise your hand if you thought David Garrard and Ben Roethlisberger would combine for six touchdown passes Sunday? I never expected that. … Dallas tight end Jason Witten had eight catches for 113 yards against the Eagles and now has 23 catches for 251 yards and a touchdown the past two games. With the way he’s played recently and throughout the season, has Witten become the best tight end in Fantasy Football? Let me know your thoughts as we start looking ahead to next year.

Written by sbucciarel Filed Under Fantasy Football 

Comments

Got something to say?





Bad Behavior has blocked 211 access attempts in the last 7 days.