The top rush defenses this year have been The Texans, Broncos, 49ers, Buccaneers, Chargers, and Steelers. However, DeMarco Murray, Mark Ingram, Mike Tolbert, and Danny Woodhead each scored at least one TD against one of those teams this past weekend. Vick Ballard didn’t score, but he did manage 100+ yards against Houston as well. In short, a great run defense can still be beaten from time to time. So what does this mean for your fantasy team?
It feels weird making Montell Owens a suggestion. I mean, he's been the starter for Jacksonville for the last couple of weeks, there are no signs we see Maurice Jones-Drew at any point for the rest of the season and Rashad Jennings has done nothing to prove he deserves more than a bit role when he fully recovers from his concussion. However, facts are facts. Montell is still owned in only 27% of yahoo leagues and only 11% over at ESPN and I've never seen a starting RB I didn't like. Well, there's Michael Turner but that's for an entirely different post. What I see is a flex play in a playoff week where anything goes. The studs that got you to week 16 could be sitting in week 17. I remember the one year I played the championship in week 17 because I accidentally didn't set it correctly for week 16 before the season started. I won because I picked up the 43 yards, 4 receptions and the touchdown Jerheme Urban brought to the table that week. Don't know who that is? Good, you shouldn't. Welcome to what David Bowie no doubt was singing about. Week 17 is all about the guys who don't start typically but are going to get the snaps to prove they should at least make the team's practice squad the next year. So with that, let's take a look at just a few more week 17 heroes for 2012 fantasy football...
It all comes down to this, at least for the vast majority of fantasy leagues. With fifteen weeks in the books, fantasy teams suddenly need to start worrying about which teams will bench their star players if the score gets out of hand. Please, blog, may I have some more?
"Everybody loves a winner!
Cause when it all begins
My eyes on the prize so it's on again
I refuse to loose I ain't gon pretend
I thought I told you I was born to win
Everybody loves a winner!
Victory I choose
Ain't no turning back cause I paid my dues
I tighten up my laces when I tie my shoes
Born to win, I refuse to lose
Everybody loves a winner!"
-Papoose "Born to Win" (featured on Madden NFL 2006)
It's championship week in most leagues and hopefully, you're still in it. Last week provided a very epic set of upsets and wacky results that could have shaken up your league's playoffs. You know when New Orleans and its Swiss cheese defense throws a shutout that the unexpected will ensue.
At one extreme, I saw a 14-0 team that was rolling over teams all season long take a face-plant and lose by nearly 40 points in a standard league. I had an 11-2 team of mine get bounced out of an eight-team playoff by a 5-8 squad where the owner hadn't looked at his lineup in months and got extremely lucky. Clearly, the meek might be inheriting the fantasy football earth.
By this week, you should know who you will be trotting out as your starters for this final game. However, if teams choose to rest some players you still need to have a backup plan in place. That's what this edition of the waiver wire is about, calling for backup.
Keep in mind that there is no Thursday night game this week for the first time all season. The only game before Sunday is Detroit-Atlanta on Saturday. Availability is based on ESPN leagues and FAAB is basically whatever you have left.
Well here was the Monday Night Football game everyone no doubt had circled on their calendars this season. Truly one of the few games where Gruden's 'this guy/that guy' analysis fits perfectly since we don't really know who this or that guy is any better than he does. I had a better joke to lead this paragraph off with but felt starting and ending a paragraph with 'The Jets' would leave many wanting. But outside my sarcastic comments, there was still fantasy relevance to be had...well, there was very little to be had but we write about fantasy football so we feel obliged to dig and find some and what we came up with was Jake Locker. As I was doing rankings for QBs, I left him out of my top 20 QBs for 2012 but did decide to blurb on him as he was on everyone's radar in 2011 and was being tabbed as a sleeper in 2012, especially for 2 QB leagues. Jake was the big armed, big bodied QB of the future for Tennessee and 2012 was going to be his year to showcase his skills. Well, a shoulder issue derailed him week 4 and he didn't return until week 10 and then it took a couple of weeks to shake the rust off. Peering under the hood that is the Monday night spotlight game, what I saw was a very raw athlete and someone who doesn't deserve a grade for his 2012 season, whether in his favor or punitive. Against a tough Jets secondary, Locker finished the night with a respectable line, completing 13/22 pass attempts for 149 yards without any touchdowns but, more importantly, no interceptions. Of course, this is not what made people interested in Jake coming into the year. Jake also finished the night with 43 rushing yards on 7 attempts with the game winning touchdown. As we all know, quarterbacks with great legs get fantasy owners hot and bothered. If you don't believe me, just ask yourself how many times we've talked about Tim Tebow this year...you know, the guy with only 126 total yards on the season coming into the game. Legs change leagues like Tebow and Cam Newton did last year and Robert Griffin, III is doing this year. So the fever about Locker for that reason is understandable but some reality needs to get tossed into your fantasy, folks. Unless Locker can figure out how to cure inaccuracy issues and how to - good GAWD man - slide rather than hurdle himself into a defensive player head first, Locker's chance at success ROS and beyond is going to be extremely hampered by inconsistency and leaving himself open to pointless injury and incessant 'Hurt Locker' puns. In other Monday Night Football news for 2012 fantasy football...
It’s championship week in most leagues, so there aren’t many roster holes that need to be plugged. There are teams everywhere who rode Adrian Peterson and Drew Brees to the title game, and they aren’t too worried. But there are also teams that got this far on the backs of Russell Wilson, James Jones and Dennis Pitta, and those owners might have some issues. Please, blog, may I have some more?
NBC asked Obama to speak last night just so sports fans would switch to the NBC Sports Network for the first time ever. Also, judging from the timeslot, I’m guessing the President didn’t have any of the Patriots or Niners on his fantasy team. I think we’ve had a rough couple of days, as a nation, so I will only bring up two points-- First, watching all the news, hearing all their names, listening to the speeches... it's been the opposite of fun. And secondly, I think my ceiling fan was making my eyes water. Maybe kicking up some dust-mites? Now, let’s get back to talking about football!
I previously called this game Waterworld, due to all the rain. I am now referring to this game as ‘New Year’s Eve’, because everyone dropped the ball. What was the rain made out of? KY Jelly? Wait, wait, is it too late to call it the Boston Turnover Party?
Here was my drinking game of choice last night:
The link between Tom Hanks playing a quiet FedEx delivery man who finds himself stranded on a remote island and ​Russell Wilson​'s rookie season is a bit more apropos (snooty word of the day!) than at first it would appear. In watching the movie, you get to observe Tom Hanks evolve before your eyes. Here's a man who is a shining example of civilization. His main challenges for a typical day consist of showing up to work on time, doing a proper job and heading home. But what happens when you take this modern man and throw him back into a time that even the boy scouts can't fully train you for? You get to watch as Hanks' character is first beaten, matches and then eventually triumphs over a harsh environment. Considering Wilson was nothing more than an afterthought by most coming into regular redraft 1QB leagues, the Wilson we saw game 1 of this season is no longer playing. You know, the guy who was asked to hand it off to ​Marshawn Lynch​ over and over and let his defense do the dirty work. Just manage the game, the clock and the field position. Instead, what we have now is a hardened, smart and confident QB who is ready and willing to take over the offensive reigns in Seattle. Coming into the day, Wilson was the 15th ranked QB in terms of fantasy production according to yahoo and no doubt after today, that number will be a little higher. Though his last two weeks will be challenging with San Francisco and St Louis, they're both at home, a place where the Seahawks as a team have excelled. We might be looking at a late season surge to be a QB1 on the year. Oh and the other movie connection? Both the movie and this rookie season have been done in near silence. ​Robert Griffin, III​ has been amazing and ​Andrew Luck​ had the Colts in playoff contention coming into Sunday and they were drafted higher. Of course ESPN is going to talk about them every chance they get. But after today's 92 rushing yards to go with 3 touchdowns with a side of 205 yards through the air and another TD, Russell is leaving his owners Sleepless in Seattle with what the future brings. Now that last one was definitely a pointless and- if I do say so for myself - bad pun. Can't all be apropos! In other fantasy football news for 2012 fantasy football...
The semis are here for fantasy football playoffs, and it’s the most interesting week of the year in my opinion. I don’t know why, but my most memorable stories seem to happen in the semis. Maybe it’s because I seem to lose in the championship more often than not…
There’s the big news that RGIII is officially out, meaning fantasy playoff teams lead by RGII are going to have to search for options either on their bench or on the wire, if their league can even have roster moves. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Bet the Farm is Razzball’s weekly wagering column. Josh Carey and Zorboss compete against your picks in the comments. The rules?
– You start off with $1,000 (and can start playing along in the comments any time you want – even now)
– Every bet must be an increment of $10 up to your full bankroll ($1,000 or maybe more)
– You can bet on the over/under or spread for any NFL game (Yahoo Sports’ Odds page is a good place to pick your lines)
– Win, add $9 to your total for every $10 bet (you have to beat the rake). Please, blog, may I have some more?
How in the world did Tampa Bay lose to Philadelphia? Really, How? Charlie Batch and Nick Foles have given me back-to-back losses. Throw in an improbably Arizona win in week two and my three losses have come from some dreadful quarterback play. Please, blog, may I have some more?
At this time of year, everyone's hurt. And the like the saying runs, "If you're not hurt, you're not playing." You can imagine all the haggling with the insurance companies that the Doc has to do with these injury reports.
Let's take a look at who's all banged up and how they will impact you in your quest for fantasy victory.
