Shimmering T: Monday Evening Observations
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15 of 16 games gone in Week 12 and here are some of my thoughts from Sunday:
- For those of you who paid attention, I repeatedly mentioned throughout my mailbags that Kolby Smith was a top-5 RB this week. Do you believe me now?
- I also mentioned that Lee Evans was a top-5 WR this week. Is there any more frustrating fantasy football player in the NFL?
- One WR who may be more erratic is Chad Johnson. Once again he will likely finish among the top fantasy WRs even though he has only posted two huge games, surrounded by a lot of mediocrity. These are the type of receivers that lose you games in the fantasy playoffs.
- For the first time all season the Patriots showed some weaknesses on Sunday Night. While I still say go undefeated, the Eagles’ effort made me at least consider the possibility that they’ll lose at some point.
- As I’ve mentioned before, Larry Fitzgerald is the receiver you want down the stretch. He has a terrific schedule, is clearly Warner’s #1 target, and he’s a huge red-zone threat.
- Where did Frank Gore come from? He is by far my least favorite fantasy player in the NFL, having knocked me out of the playoffs last season in one league and coming close to doing that again this week. Nothing like must-wins on the last week of the season.
- I should have listened to my earlier advice and learned that Eli Manning always comes out strong to start the season and then fades into fantasy irrelevance.
- Earnest Graham has become a steady fantasy contributor, once against getting 20+ touches and adding a TD for the third straight contest.
- A lot of fantasy seasons were severely injured during the Rams/Seahawks game when both DJ Hackett and Marc Bulger left the game for their respective teams. I had Bulger in a game to lock up the division and am now fighting for my playoff life.
- Mo Morris ran well, despite getting only 17 touches, and his performance will likely keep Shaun Alexander out of the starting role for another week if not for the rest of the season.
- Deion Branch is back stealing the thunder from other Seahawks WRs—most notably Bobby Engram and DJ Hackett—making the three WRs even tougher to start in the upcoming weeks.
- The Carolina Panthers are a great team to play for Team Defenses, as is St. Louis.
- In what will likely be his last game as a starter, Chester Taylor ran decently. While he only had 77 yards on 31 carries, he managed to run in an 8-yarder for a score. The Giants have a tough run D and are not a good matchup for your RBs in the fantasy playoffs.
- Justin Fargas blew up for the Raiders, notching 139 yards and a TD on only 22 carries. Looks like the Raiders are all set at RB for the remainder of the season, despite Lamont Jordan sneaking in to steal a TD.
- Did I mention I was right about Kolby Smith?
- I was wrong about MoJo Drew, however, as I thought he would have a terrific day against the Bills. Instead he needed a 17-yard TD run toward the end of the game to dig himself out of a hole that at one point had MoJo sitting on -17 rushing yards. How does one get -17 yards rushing?
- The Browns are a team that will decide the fate of many fantasy teams, and I guess it will likely be helping them to bring home their respective fantasy crowns. Cleveland has a soft schedule down the stretch, which means Derek Anderson, Jamal Lewis, Braylon Edwards, and Kellen Winslow should be racking up points when it matters most.
- Ron Dayne was disappointing for the Texans, despite running well. He never really had a sniff of the end zone and won’t be a good play next week against the Titans.
- Speaking of the Titans, is there any fantasy value on that team? And is it just me, or do they win more often when Vince Young has less than 100 yards passing?
- Carson Palmer returned to form but should have his toughest test of the season next week against the top-rated pass defense of the Steelers. After that it is pretty smooth sailing for the Bengals QB with the Rams, 49ers, and Browns left on the fantasy schedule.
- Kurt Warner threw for 484 yards and 2 TDs against the 49ers and still lost. I hate to keep tooting my own horn (except that it ispractically required in this line of work, so people trust your future judgment), but I mentioned a few weeks back that he was a good guy to grab in your leagues for the stretch run. He has the Browns next week…mmm…delicious.
- Why are teams still kicking to Devin Hester? Many fantasy owners that were going against the Bears D are asking themselves this very question today.
- Andre Hall, Selvin Young Travis Henry…does it really matter who the Broncos have at RB? Hall looked very good.
- The only bright spot in an otherwise dismal season for the Ravens is RB Willis McGahee, who put up a TD for the sixth straight game. You’ll get a good idea of what to expect come fantasy playoff time when he goes up against the Patriots next week.
- Congratulations to LDT for reaching the 10,000-yard plateau. I’m sure fantasy owners would have preferred he add a TD to his mediocre yardage total instead, but we are a demanding bunch. Can we also please have announcers stop with the cliché about a player being a better person off the field than on it? These types of pronouncements are impossible to quantify unless we start giving people TDs or yardage for various acts of charity. Can someone get on that? Fantasy Charity, anyone?
- What happened to the great Ravens Team Defense of yesteryear?
I hope all of your Monday nights bring you the fantasy points you need,
- Shimmering T. at Flea Fanatics
