Fantasy Playoffs Approacheth

Another week and the NFC South standings are still gridlocked. Of course, that is due to another 0-4 run by the division. It is embarrassing to think that one of those four teams, and it could be ANY of them, will host a playoff game. Even the Raiders would not be out of the running if they were in that division. On the flip side, EVERY team in the AFC North could lose all of their remaining games and would most likely have a better record than the eventual NFC South champ.

Speaking of the Raiders, I was not shocked in the least that they beat the Chiefs. That type of game has happened far too many times already this season not to expect it to continue. This week looks like it could be the Bengals turn to lose a game that, on paper, they shouldn't. Fortunately, we also get some good games in the mix as well, such as Miami-Denver, Dallas-Giants and San Diego-St. Louis.

A few notes from Week 12:

• Jeff Fisher was able to call another perfect fake punt and put his team in position to win at San Diego. Unfortunately, QB Shaun Hill had a mental misfire and tried to force a game-winning pass into heavy traffic instead of playing conservative and settling for a game-tying field goal, at the very least.
• Thanks to a record-setting snowstorm, the people of Detroit got a reminder that they should be happy that their Lions still have hope for the season, even after getting drilled in Foxboro, by getting to watch a true NFL aberration in the New York Jets perform for them for free.
• OK, I am done writing off Cleveland. They have been chosen as a Team of Destiny this season. I do find happiness that they committed to QB Brian Hoyer and stuck with him all season instead of giving into the Johnny Manziel hype. At least they beat Denver in that regard (reference of Denver creating the ruckus back in the Tim Tebow fervor).
• The slate of Thanksgiving games this year will provide plenty of drama with a lot on the line in each game. It rarely works out like that so that is something to be thankful for this year.

With December and fantasy football playoffs right around the corner, it is time to make that last waiver wire claims that could put you over the edge for getting paid.

QB: Ryan Tannehill (MIA) - it has been a love/hate relationship with Tannehill this season but he is turning is more good games than bad lately. He had a stellar performance in Denver last week, accounting for 4 scores, and gets the Jets this week. With many other QBs struggling, yes, we are looking at you Jay Cutler, Tannehill is a nice fill-in this week if available.

RB: Latavius Murray (OAK) - the Raiders finally showed a sense of intelligence, not sure if it was purposely or not. However, they finally got Murray into the offense and he showed why Darren McFadden and MoJo will not be wearing black-and-silver next season. As long as he is healthy, he is their feature back for the remainder of the season.

RB: LeGarrette Blount (NE) - last week was a new low for Bill Belichick and his ability to crush fantasy football owners. Maybe it wouldn't have went down like it did if Jonas Gray did not miss a team meeting, but to completely bench him and put faith in malcontent Blount was unjustified. Blount owners who had him as a handcuff to La'Veon Bell and dropped him after he was released by Pittsburgh were almost as furious as Gray owners.

RB: Dan "Boom" Herron (IND) - much like the Raiders, the Colts made a long overdue change in their backfield as well. Herron has been wasted on the bench while Trent Richardson has plodded his way to next-to-nothingness since being acquired from Cleveland. TRich will still get some carries, but Herron figures to be the main back in Indy going forward.

WR: Charles Johnson (MINN) - it is not easy to start a Vikings' WR right now, but, if you have to, it appears that Johnson is your man after back-to-back good games. He is not going to produce Mike Evans' numbers, but he did put up 3/52/1 this past week and has Carolina and the Jets next on his schedule as fantasy playoffs arrive.

WR: Jarvis Landry (MIA) - another solid week for Landry as Miami's WR2 as he delivered with 7 catches for 50 yards and 2 scores! Miami is playing very well on offense, particularly in the passing game.......and they get the Jets this week.

Feeling Foolish?

Lots of owners were Sunday night when Jonas Gray went off for 199 yards and 4 TDs. He was started in 2% of MFS leagues and those were by desperate owners, at the time. As a matter of fact, many owners actually dumped Gray after watching Shane Vereen get most of the work against Denver. This was reminiscent of actions by Ben Roethlisberger owners prior to his first 6-TD game. The streak of 6-TD passing weeks came to an end this past week, though Aaron Rodgers could have repeated if his defense and special teams quit scoring. I guess the new streak is 5-INT games. There is a good chance that we could see The Elite One repeat that effort again this coming week.

Other Notes from Week 11:

• Speaking of Jonas Gray, he had half of Sunday's overall rushing TDs. Those would be some extremely long odds.
• Arizona keeps on winning. You have to admire the script that they are writing – much more than the script for Interstellar which I saw over the weekend. Horrible, just horrible. I give it as many stars as the Giants have on their team; one (Odell Beckham Jr.)
• I see where AP is now suspended for the remainder of the year. The way the NFL makes up the rules regarding personal conduct penalties is a joke. I have a bad feeling that this will lead to some ugly sessions during the next Collective Bargaining Agreement sessions.
• Starting a Cleveland running back is definitely a crapshoot. I suppose the smartest thing to do is to find out who is listed as the number 3 back for the week and start him.

With a new spate of injuries, the waiver wire will be busy again this week, Jonas Gray aside.

QB: Ryan Mallett (Hou) – RGIII owners have to be looking elsewhere for a QB. Houston will rely heavily on their ground game, but, with DeAndre Hopkins and Andre Johnson as wideouts, it is not hard to envision Mallett being a good starter in the right matchups, like this weekend, especially if you overlooked our recommendations on Drew Stanton and Josh McCown from last week and they are gone.

RB: Bryce Brown (BUF) – with Fred Jackson struggling to get healthy, Brown is seeing the bulk of the workload. He does have a tough matchup versus the Jets this weekend but he does catch enough passes to be useful if you need a starter.

RB: C.J. Anderson (DEN) – Anderson makes a repeat visit here from last week. Many thought that he could be a one-week fill-in with Montee Ball returning, but Ball re-injured his groin last weekend and is reportedly out another 2-3 weeks. Anderson didn't get much ground work last week, but he factored heavily into the passing game.

RB: Dan Herron (IND) – Ahmad Bradshaw might be done for the regular season so Herron’s outlook looks a little brighter. The Colts keep trying to salvage their wasted pick on Trent Richardson by continuing to give him the ball, but, for a team with Super Bowl aspirations, they really need a better running game. Wisdom sez to get Herron into the gameplan. Pick him up in case they see the light.

WR: Kenny Britt (STL) – the Rams have been decimated by injuries under center and at wideout the past few years. After a long bout of injuries himself, Britt seems to be healthy. With strong-armed Shaun Hill under center, Britt becomes more of a deep-ball threat. He may not rack up loads of catches but he is considered the Rams’ number 1 receiver right now.

WR: Wes Welker (Den) – sure, Welker has been a bust this year and is a head-shake away from another concussion, but it is doubtful that Emmanuel Sanders can count the number of fingers on his right hand yet after that shot he took from Rodney McLeod in St. Louis last week. With Julius Thomas banged up and Welker’s original team in town, he becomes a sneaky play this week and he is found on the majority of waiver wires.

TE: Coby Fleener (Ind) – Fleener turned back the clock last weekend and reminded Andrew Luck of the success that they had together in college at Stanford. It helped that TE Dwayne Allen sprained his ankle, but Fleener becomes a must-add for Allen or Thomas owners. His 7/144/0 day shows what he can do on a pass-first team.

TE Jacob Tamme (Den) – it is the week for QB-TE relationships. If Thomas is out this week, Tamme steps into his place and has long-term familiarity with Manning going back a to their Colts years.

Time To Make A Move

We are now into double digit week numbers for the NFL season, which means that fantasy football playoffs are approaching quickly. Those teams hovering at .500, or just under, better make some last ditch effort to make the playoffs. Don’t hesitate to trade a stud, especially at QB, to solidify multiple positions. Trading Peyton, Luck or Brady for a top RB and WR could be just the move that gets you into the post-season mix. QBs are the easiest position to replace, especially now that you are seeing a lot of turnover. Two words that everyone expected to be uttered this season when it came to who will be your Fantasy savior; “Mark Sanchez”!!!!

Week 10 saw a lot of easy fantasy wins turn into losses with the last two games of the week. I personally saw a 50+ point lead evaporate to my Packers fan fantasy opponent who had Aaron Rodgers (and only needed him for a 6-TD 315 yd half), Mason Crosby (who got two FGs when they were already up a gazillion points) and the Green Bay D. Other wins were snatched away by a late long TD to Kelvin Benjamin at the end of MNF and a steady diet of sacks on Cam. Garbage time points for QBs, WRs and Defenses can really turn a fantasy matchup. Of course, they are spotlighted when they come on SNF and MNF.

Other notes from Week 10:

• Jordy Nelson has 259 receiving yards and 2 TDs in 6 quarters against the Bears this season.
• Chicago has given up 106 points in its past two games, including being outscored 80-7 in the first half of those games. Hard to believe that the fan base was upset at the quality of their play in the second half of games early in the season.
• The Jets seem to play their best games against the best teams. Too bad they play a lot of bad teams each year. With the up-and-down NFL, it seems fitting that the hottest QB in the league would completely cool off against the league’s worst pass defense, right?
• How could no team have given Justin Forsett a longer-term look in the past? Enough teams have had him on their roster.
• Welcome back, Megatron, we missed you!
• Seattle had 350 yards rushing….THREE HUNDRED FIFTY! I guess Pete Carroll went back to college and channeled his inner Tom Osborne.
• What happens to the Saints’ DBs at the end of the game where their only concern should be to NOT let a WR get behind them (See Tampa game and San Fran game)? Has one division ever been so talented and so bad? Remember how bad the NFC West was a few years ago when no one was above .500? Somehow, Atlanta could be in first place in the NFC South after not winning a game prior to last week since 9/18.
• Many Fantasy team owners, bettors and Survivor Pool participants were treated generously by Arizona’s D last Sunday in the 4th quarter with back-to-back Pick-6s to beat St. Louis going away. That was a huge pick-me-up for a team that knew it just lost its starting QB for the season, though the Stanton-to-Brown scoring bomb may have been more important.

If you can’t pull off a big trade, you can always look at the waiver wire for some help. Don’t be afraid to cut some high-priced dead weight on your team hen dropping a player to make room.

QB: Drew Stanton (AZ) – Stanton can seamlessly step into action under center for the rest of the year for the Cardinals since he has 3+ games already under his belt with Palmer on the sidelines. With loads of talent at the offensive skill positions, Stanton can make a nice starter in the proper matchups if you currently own Palmer or Cam as your starter.

QB: Josh McCown (TB) – McCown is back under center in Tampa and returns at a time when the team is better suited offensively with WR Mike Evans now a threat. Their running game is still suspect, but I expect good numbers out of McCown going forward. Once again, a solid play with proper matchups. I prefer him this week to Stanton with a game against the Redskins versus Stanton matching up against the Lions.

RB: Terrance West (CLE) – it is hard to trust the RBBC approach of the Browns, but West is still the best RB out of that trio and it shows in the pct of plays he is involved in over Ben Tate and Isaiah Crowell. Finding any quality RBs now on the waiver wire in 10+ team leagues is rare so grab him if you can.

RB: C.J. Anderson (DEN) – Much like many other teams, Denver’s backfield is a crapshoot. A few weeks ago, it appeared that Juwan Thompson would be next in line for carries after Ronnie Hillman but that all changed last week when Ronnie Hillman’s ankle knocked him out of action. After a game with 163 total yards and a TD on 17 touches, I would expect him to see the majority of action this weekend, but don’t be shocked if it goes to Thompson or even Ball. It is worth the risk if you need an RB though.

WR: Jordan Matthews (PHL) – Matthews was just an underutilized rookie receiver until last week. The Riley Cooper fad officially died and Matthews is VERY happy with Mark Sanchez under center. With a stat line of 7/138/2, he needs to be owned!

WR: Cecil Shorts (JAX) – Though he is off this week, pick up Shorts if you have roster space and need WR depth. He is finally healthy and the other Jags’ receivers are dinged up, including Allen Robinson out for the year.

TE: Mychal Rivera (OAK) – Rivera is an official Must Add now. He has gone for 21/185/3 over his past 3 games, even if a bunch of it was in garbage time. With this team, 60 minutes is garbage time. The Charges are tough on tight ends so temper your expectations for this week, but get him if you need help.

TE: Kyle Rudolph (MINN) – Rudolph is finally going to be activated. He has spent almost the whole season on the waiver wire and is coming off at a good time. The Bears’ D is a wreck, especially across the middle of the field. There is a good chance that he makes an immediate impact.

Just Past NFL Midseason Awards

We are almost through the Bye Season and are into the second half of the season. Let’s take a look back at how the first half of the season has unfolded while handing out a few First Half awards.

Best Team: Arizona. This is NFL Karma since they won 10 games last year and didn’t make the playoffs. They have a nice mix of talented offensive players and a solid defense. They may surprisingly clinch their division before any other team. Runner-up: New England. After being written off after their shellacking at Kansas City, no team has looked more dominant.

Worst Team: Oakland. The Raiders have had some close losses (3 to San Diego, a TD to New England,..) but they have a very, very good chance of going 0-16. Runner-up: New York Jets. The Jets are the worst team in the NFL but get runner-up status by virtue of beating Oakland.

MVP: DeMarco Murray, hands down. It took a Romo-less effort against a solid Arizona run defense to stop his streak of 100+ rushing yard games. Runner-Up: Andrew Luck.

LVP: LeSean McCoy. Always be leery when a RB comes off of a big season and start spouting off about a 2000+ yard year coming. LeSean has a whopping 1 TD and half of the yards of Murray. Runner-up: Megatron, though he gets a pass due to injury so we will give it to Brandon Marshall since most of his points have come in one game.

Surprise Team (good): Cleveland. Sure, it helps to have games against Tampa, Tennessee (amazing comeback), and Oakland, but they did beat some quality teams. The most surprising thing is that they didn’t throw Johnny Football in while they were down over 20 points to Tennessee or after they lost to Jacksonville. However, I am not sure we won’t see him in the second half as Cleveland may not win another game. Runner-up: Dallas. They have 5 of their last 7 on the road and will find it difficult to keep their magic rolling.

Surprise Team (bad): Chicago. They lost a few games that they shouldn’t have and they won a few games that they shouldn’t have, but their D is terrible and their offense is bickering. Their Bye came at a good time but they go to Green Bay when they come out of it. They need to treat that game as a playoff game. Their schedule in the second half sets up nicely, but they may be too dysfunctional to take advantage of it. Runner-up: Atlanta. We gave them a pass last year with all of their injuries. Now, they are beat up again this year, but we now know that they are not a good football team….we just didn’t want to believe it at the start of the year.

Best Reason To Handcuff: Matt Asiata. Getting a handcuff for your studs is always recommended, no matter why it kicks in. If you had AP, Asiata went into the year as the backup to have. He immediately produced 47 points in his first 3 games. Granted, he did fall off after Jerick McKinnon emerged, but Asiata did carry a few owners over a tough period where the realization that AP was going to miss the rest of the season was sinking in. Runner-up: Chris Ivory (this should have been obvious with Chris Johnson being a yearly bust).

Wasted Fantasy Performance: Ben Roethlisberger in Week 8. Far too many owners dropped Big Ben after three lackluster performances in a row and many others benched Ben against the Colts as their defense had played very well in the weeks leading up to the game. That left at least 44 points unused that week, depending on the league configuration. Runner-up: Matt Asiata in Week 9 (second 3 TD performance of the year).

Worst Fantasy Move: Far too many owners gave up on Tom Brady after he started the season with 4 Geno Smith-like games in a row. This happened even in 12-team leagues! After a mediocre 2013, the thought was Tom Terrific was Tom Terrible. Yes, Gronk DOES make that much of a difference in the Patriots’ passing game. Runner-up: Overpaying for Toby Gerhart. Minnesota’s running blocking scheme made him look good.

Player To Immediately Trade For: Mark Ingram. He has played in 4 games this year and has put up 16, 16, 23 and 23 (his brief minutes against Detroit are exempt). With New Orleans committed to the running game and Ingram in a contract year, we expect more of this type of production. Runner-up: Sammy Watkins. He loves him some Kyle Orton.

Player To Offload ASAP: Frank Gore. Many people will overpay for a running back and Gore’s last month makes it seem that his best days are behind him. Even when he is feeling spry, Colin Kaepernick is finding a way to ruin San Fran’s season. It won’t be long before you see more of Carlos Hyde on the stat sheet. Runner-up: Steven Jackson. Jackson is faring better than Gore but, with Atlanta’s season soon to be in the tank, expect the Falcons to turn to their younger backs to see what they have in their future.