Fantasy Football articles - Sports Grumblings.com

Coming down the homestretch.

Sometimes the kings play like jesters. Who would have thought that Tom Brady and Tony Romo would have such listless games this past week. Brady had his worst start as a Patriot quarterback and failed to throw a touchdown pass. Romo, who was 13-36, for 214 yards with no scores and three interceptions, at least had the excuse of an injured thumb that led to a fumble and three interceptions. While Brady does have bad weather as an excuse, all the playoff games, that the Patriots play, will be in Foxboro. If they want to reach the Super Bowl, they will have to win in bad weather against better teams than the Jets.

As a team, the jesters have to be the Bears. They became the seventh team in eight years to lose the Super Bowl and then be unable to make the playoffs in the following year. For a half they looked like they would defeat the Vikings as they turned a poorly thrown Tarvaris Jackson pass into a short score and a 13-6 halftime lead. Then the Vikings put the Adrian Peterson and Chester Taylor show on. As a result, the Bears, Lions, Cardinals , Eagles and Panthers all fall by the wayside and it is “wait until next year.”

***Treasures: Who you should acquire:

Fred Taylor, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars
25 Carries, 147 Yards Rushing, One Touchdown
It is time for the veterans to come out and play. Taylor has always been a good runner when healthy and he has four consecutive 104 yard plus rushing games. With two weeks to go, Taylor already has 1,091 yards rushing and perhaps his first pro bowl invite will come of this.

Aaron Stecker, RB, New Orleans Saints
22 Carries, 95 Yards Rushing, Two Touchdowns; Six Receptions, 46 yards
Reggie who? Stecker has provided the balance lacking in the Saints attack. Stecker has run for 100 and 95 yards in the last two games, respectively. He is not someone from whom you can expect greatness in the future because he is 32 years old. However, if you need a few numbers in your fantasy playoff battles, Stecker is your man.

Laurence Maroney, RB, New England Patriots
26 Carries, 104 Yards Rushing, One Touchdown
Yes, Virginia, the Patriots do have a running attack. Maroney had his best game of his short career and proved he can be a go to back in short yardage situations. Maroney has only rushed for 633 yards as the Patriots have ignored the run and frequently gone to the air. However wind gusts of over 20 miles per hour made passing an experience and Maroney a needed component.

Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints
26-30, 315 Yards Passing, Two Touchdowns
After heading into his last four games with a scant 15-14 lead in touchdowns over interceptions, Brees has begun to look like the Drew Brees of last year. The past two weeks, Brees has thrown for over 300 yards in each game. Oddly this has coincided with Aaron Stecker replacing Reggie Bush in the Saints backfield. (See Above)

Shaun Hill, QB, San Francisco 49ers
21-28, 181 Yards Passing, One Touchdown Passing, Five Carries, 12 yards, One Touchdown Rushing
Closely resembling Chad Pennington in his ability to make short passes but without the arm strength to go downfield consistently, Shaun Hill is made for the West Coast offense loved by offensive coordinator Jim Hostler. Hill had not thrown a pass in his six year career until two week ago. In two weeks, Hill has completed 43 passes and missed on only 11 while also running in a score.

Calvin Johnson, WR Detroit Lions
Five Receptions, 102 yards
Finally the rookie is starting to pull his weight. Expect big things of him but he still is a work in progress on the NFL level. He plays a weak Kansas City team and a Green Bay Packer team likely to be resting some players for the playoffs. If you can pick him up for next year, you should.

Roydell Williams, WR, Tennessee Titans
Four Receptions, 94 yards, Two Touchdowns
The third year pro out of Tulane has bounced back after a slow November to finish with good numbers in December.

Marty Booker, WR, Miami Dolphins
Eight Receptions, 88 yards
Best day for Booker since the Dolphins last win last December over the New England Patriots. Next week they face the Patriots again in Foxboro. Expect all the Patriots to stay alive and ready. A Belichick does not go on cruise control. Nothing puts a damper on the first win after 13 losses than to realize you face the undefeated Patriots next.

Cleo Lemon, QB, Miami Dolphins
23-39, 315 Yards Passing, One Touchdown, Three Carries, 12 yards
Move over Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, there is a new gun in town. Thanks to a Philadelphia field goal miss by David Akers, the Dolphins were able to go into overtime and come out with their first win of the season. The 28 year old Lemon has been playing acceptable for the Dolphins but do not expect him to quarterback the team next year.

***Fool’s Gold: Who you should drop:

Greg Camarillo, WR, Miami Dolphins
Three Receptions, 109 yards, One Touchdown
Making the most of the overtime, Camarillo caught a Lemon pass and ran 64 yards for a game winning touchdown. Enjoy it Greg. Next week you face the Patriots who will not tank like Brian Billick’s Ravens.

Todd Collins, QB, Washington Redskins
8-25, 156 Yards Passing
Collins is 102 years old (actually “only” 36) and a 13 year veteran. This was Collins first start in ten years! Fortunately, it was against the New York Giants who, under Tom Coughlin, seem always to turn into pumpkins in the second half of every season. Collins is of little fantasy value, and some match ups may even be worse than no one.

Darren Sproles, RB, San Diego Chargers
25 Carries, 122 Yards Rushing, Two Touchdowns
Sproles is the new caddy for Ladainian Tomlinson, who sat out the entire second half. Unless you hear that Tomlinson is hurt as was Michael Turner, forgetabout Sproles.

Troy Smith, QB, Baltimore Ravens
5-11, 49 Yards Passing
Given the total lack of team chemistry on the Ravens, there is no way to gage the effectiveness of Smith after Kyle Boller was hurt. Next year may be an opportunity to see what Smith can do.

Now a moment of real life.

It was much ado about nothing. I had wondered what kind of reception Bill Belichick would give Eric Mangini after the game at Foxboro Massachusetts when the New York Jets visited the New England Patriots on Sunday. Those of us in the media look for subplots to add to the mystery and intrigue in a game. However, had we not known it was Coach Mangini, former friend and assistant coach under Belichick, who “ratted out” his former mentor for filming signals on the sidelines in their first meeting, no one would think anything of the comments made by either man before, during or after. The infamous handshake was cordial and complementary. Who would know that Mangini’s revelation had cost Belichick $500,000.00. The game was boring because of the weather and the Patriots demonstrated the ability to win by grounding it out as well as through the air. The post game fireworks fizzled as well.