And Down The Stretch They Come….Week #14 Hopefuls

Dec 8, 2010

Unlike past seasons when certain teams could afford to rest star players (having secured playoff and seedings), this year the races are much tighter. Many fantasy owners actually count on being able to pick up certain players to replace those “sitting” and although this doesn’t always work out, a few diamonds in the rough can be had.

When we made our week #13 selections, we looked at trends and match-ups and went with the predominant choices. Clearly, with more teams still in the mix, we should have given greater respect to other starters still competing instead of falling back on “obvious” position leaders.

At quarterback, we had another up and down scenario. Michael Vick again gave us a strong performance going 22 for 33 for 302 yds. He accounted for 2 tds through the air with 1 interception while gaining another 48 yds and a score on the ground. Philip Rivers gave us a rather pedestrian performance (by his own standards thus far) completing 23 out of 39 attempts for 280 yds, 1 td., and 1 interception. Lastly, our old standby Peyton Manning once again put up superb numbers only to give them right back. His 36 for 48 and 365 yds performance was highlighted by 2 td tosses. Unfortunately, he also threw 2 td passes to the Cowboys “D” and 2 more interceptions that thwarted any offensive continuity (including in overtime).

Our running backs did us proud. Jamaal Charles of the Chiefs ran for 116 yds and caught 2 balls for another 20. Although not crossing the goal line, we’ll take those numbers any week. Unless of course you dangle Maurice Jones-Drew in front of us. His 186 yds rushing (and 1 catch for 4 yds) helped the Jags seal the deal and garner first place in the division. Lastly, Arian Foster’s performance in Philly last Thursday evening was predictable. His total of 109 yds from scrimmage (83 on the ground) and 2 tds., made him a significant contributor to our cause.

It seems we took “the field” when we said we liked both the Eagles and Chargers receiving corps. Jackson and Maclin gave us a combined 8 catches for 152 yds. The Bolts’ wide-outs were virtually non-existent with Floyd being the only significant contributor with 5 catches for 72 yds. Manningham of the Giants and Brandon Lloyd of the Broncos each had 2 receptions for little more than 30 yds. That brings us to our stud for the week. All hail Reggie Wayne. His 14 catches for 200 yds and 1 td. were outstanding and darn near helped pull Indy out of the fire against Dallas.

Not much to crow about with our tight ends. The Colts’ Tamme had 4 balls for 47 yds and Dustin Keller added 3 catches for 27 yds in that embarassment they called MNF. No significant pluses or minuses regarding our kickers. Robbie Gould was his steady self going 1/1 on fg attempts (a 54 yarder) and 3/3 on xps. David Akers continues to show why he is one of the safest picks a fantasy owner can make as he went 2/2 in fgs and 4/4 on his PATs. Lastly, our “hunch” pick of the Vikings defense paid off big time. They had 1 interception, 4 fumble recoveries and 1 sack. Likewise, the Ravens turned in 4 sacks, 1 interception and 1 fumble recovery.

So, where does that leave us? As I stated early on, no one has anything sewn up just yet. So it is clear all teams will look to play their best performers. The problem is….who is going to step up and be counted?

Quarterbacks are inconsistent this year (with the possible exceptions of Mr. Brady and maybe Mr.Vick, thank you very much). I’m not high on either this week however, as both are on the road against “hot” teams. Let’s go with Aaron Rodgers of the Pack and Peyton Manning of the Colts (yeah, I know but we’re talking about Manning here. No way this interception trend continues).

At running back, we like Hillis of the Browns, Turner of those “dirty birds” and Ray Rice on Monday night at Houston. Also, would give a small play to McCoy of the Eagles. Take Mike Williams of the Bucs at wide receiver along with Crabtree of the Niners (did you hear that Alex Smith will be under center once again?) and Driver of the Packers. Look at the Vikings’ Shiancoe and the Chargers’ Gates to provide numbers at tight end.

Why mess with a good thing? Go with Gould of the Bears and Akers of the Eagles. Both should have multiple field goal opportunities against decent defenses. And speaking of defense, how can you not take the Jets at home against a below average Dolphins team. We also would go with the Giants on the road at Minnesota, regardless of who the Vikings start at quarterback.

Well, that’s all for now…. I look forward to recapping week #14 and getting set for a very interesting fantasy football league playoff run. Here’s hoping you do well this upcoming week.