FantasyFootball Week 12 Studs & Duds
By: David Bachman
Fantasy Football Editor For WagerOnFootball.com

Here's a quick rundown of the NFL's week 12 fantasy football stars. These guys are the WagerOnFootball.com "ALL Week 12 STUD Team". After you check out these top performers surf over to our NFL sportsbooks page and see what great sponsors we have here at Wager On Football Sportsbook Review.

A quick look at the big fantasy performers from the weekend.

More Weeks 1 . 2 . 3 . 4 . 5 . 6 . 7 . 8 . 9  .10 . 11 . 12 . 13 . 14 . 15 . 16 . 17

Monday Injury Update

Ahman Green (ribs) remains a gametime decision for Week 12. If he doesn't play and you have the luxury of a last-minute lineup switch, Najeh Davenport would likely get the start in his absence and is a useful fantasy starter.
Torry Holt (knee) is expected to play in Week 12, despite being listed as questionable. Keep him active if you haven't yet locked in your final lineup spots.

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Sunday Notes I Scribbled Down

Football on a Thursday afternoon? And than all Sunday too!!! Who can complain about that? We are nearing playoff time, and many of us are simply in the spoiler role while others are gearing up for that championship run. Hopefully everyone has enjoyed the season, and nobody GIVE UP! There is nothing worse than a quitter. Let's get to the action...

Time to give thanks - if you already haven't - for Peyton Manning. Doesn't seem to matter the defense in question, though it's hard to ignore that the last three opponents that the Colts have beaten up to the tune of 131-33 - Chicago, Houston and Detroit - aren't exactly Super Bowl contenders. I'd like to see a team score on the Colts (the Colts finish with three other 7-3 teams, might Jake Plummer match Peyton?). Had that happened today, Manning might have thrown more than six touchdowns. You know, in the first half, no Lions covered Brandon Stokley. In the second half, nobody got covered. Manning's just doing whatever he wants. Edgerrin James has his way each week, but remains hardly a scoring threat because of Manning's success. Manning needs just eight touchdowns to top Dan Marino's record of 48. If you own Manning, be thankful. You don't need much else to contend each week. You knew that already, but here's the news: Nobody has ever thrown four touchdowns - at least - every week. Play safe guys around Peyton and you can win any week.

In case you haven't noticed yet, Peyton Manning is having a pretty good season.
Ok, I won't patronize you. Fantasy owners are probably well aware that Manning is on pace for 60 touchdowns, which would shatter Dan Marino's single-season record of 48. You likely know that Manning now has as many touchdowns in his last six games (27) as any other quarterback has this entire season. And if you're into the numbers, you might also know that Manning already has as many games of two-plus touchdowns (11) as last year's leader in the category, Steve McNair, had the entire 2003 season. It's not always your early-round draft picks who will carry your team to a championship. ie Super Stud Payton Manning. It's the wise mid- and late-round picks, as well as the shrewd free-agent acquisitions who ultimately will make the difference.

It's proven itself in a huge way at the running back position, probably the most coveted in fantasy football. Already we've seen undrafted guys like Nick Goings and Reuben Droughns come out of nowhere to have huge games. And we're now seeing it with late bloomers like Michael Pittman and Willis McGahee.

Sometimes you never know if those gambles on backups will come through, but it doesn't hurt to take a chance. Pittman got lucky that Charlie Garner injured his knee just in time for his return from a suspension. In recent weeks, he's been a dual threat and actually finding the end zone. His emergence probably helped make up for a loss of Garner or Stephen Davis on your fantasy squad. He came back in enough time to give many teams a lift into the playoffs.

In McGahee's case, it seemed hard to believe he would supplant a solid fantasy contributor in Travis Henry, but Henry got hurt and was ineffective when he was in there, giving the former Miami star a chance to shine. And McGahee, who ruffled plenty of feathers this summer by saying he should be the starter, is looking really good, recording five 100-yard games in his six starts and piling up seven touchdowns, including a whopping four against the Seahawks on Sunday.

If you had Henry and were lucky enough to get McGahee, you're probably looking really good. If someone else got him before you could "handcuff" that pick, you're probably not looking so hot heading into the fantasy playoff push. In fact, McGahee's resurgence is coming at a good time for both Buffalo and your fantasy team.

The Bills have won four of their past five after starting the season 0-4 and have four very winnable games up next (at Miami, vs. Cleveland, at Cincinnati, at San Francisco) before facing the Steelers in Week 17. They could be in contention for a playoff spot, even in the very tough AFC. For fantasy owners, all of those games are favorable matchups (he rushed for 111 yards against a good Dolphins defense in their last meeting). Only Week 17 looks tough, and many fantasy leagues are done by then. So even if you started the year 0-4, you still might be in position for the fantasy playoffs if you played your cards right.

AN ITEM OF NOTE

The Bears have signed Jeff George, and he should immediately become Chad Hutchinson's backup. Although George has not played since 2001. George, who was a fantasy standout at one time, could quickly get a chance to start, and might pump some life into a moribund offense. No one knows how much George has left, yet he should at least play well enough to possibly boost the numbers of receivers David Terrell and Bobby Wade. The return of George is intriguing, to say the least. He is at least worth picking up as a free agent, because he has veteran smarts and still might have some good, although, rusty tools. He might turn out to be a solid fantasy backup.

Wow Are These Guys For Real??

Here are some of Week 12's unlikely standout performers, and what to expect from them in the near future.

Jamaar Taylor: Eli Manning hit him with two pretty deep balls, and the third receiver has been a quality option in the Giants' offense before. Taylor might score occasionally, but he won't be consistent enough to use in most leagues.

Antonio Bryant: He's no fleeting star. Bryant has been getting increasingly comfortable in the Cleveland offense ever sinc ehe arrived, and more good outings are ahead.

Jerry Porter: He finally had the big game we were waiting for. Now that means more defensive attention, and more disappointments ahead.

Julius Jones: Lock him into your lineup. He's a poorer man's version of LaDainian Tomlinson. Great moves, great vision, great instincts in traffic. If he had L.T.'s unreal open-field gears, he'd be a superstar. But he's a pretty good fantasy starter, anyway.

Denver vs Oakland - The Rivalry

What an AWESOME game! Snow in Denver, we had Kerry Collins throwing for over 300 yards and 4 scores, we had Denver getting a score on D, a score from Droughns and a deep chuck from Plummer to Rod Smith...it was all there! It was back and forth all night long in the snow until finally, a blocked last second FG by Elam locked the win for the Raiders. Jerry Porter was as untouchable as he absolutely shredded the Broncos secondary...Chump Bailey couldn't get in his zip code. Porter had 3 scores on the night. Ronald Curry had one of the sickest 1 handed touchdown grabs you'll ever see and over 100 yards himself. This was classic rivalry football. You can toss out the records, the lineups, the weather, and any other variable...it was destined to be a smashmouth thriller...we got what we wanted.

Top 10 Fantasy Studs
Before we begin, just remember that it was a wild week fantasy-wise, with plenty of high scores just missing out on the top 10.

1. Willis McGahee, RB, Bills (28 carries, 116 yards, 4 TDs; 2 catches, 26 yards): It usually takes at least a year and a half for a player to be at full speed after a torn ACL, meaning that second season is usually when things look brightest. McGahee is hitting that time right now, not only supplanting Travis Henry as Buffalo's primary back but developing into one of the best late-bloomers

2. Kelly Holcomb, QB, Browns (30-39, 413 yards, 5 TDs, 2 INTs): Cleveland's offense was a mess, and with Jeff Garcia hurt, it didn't seem like Holcomb would amount to much. So much for that. In what turned out to be one of the wildest shootouts in years, Holcomb put up fantasy stud numbers, albeit in a loss. Holcomb probably doesn't take Garcia's job, and even if he gets another start, it's hard to think he'll have a repeat performance against the Patriots.

3. Peyton Manning, QB, Colts (23-28, 236 yards, 6 TDs; 1 carry, 4 yards): He continues to be a fixture on this list, and he picked the national Thanksgiving stage to match his six-TD effort from last season. He's by far the top fantasy player this season and he could break Dan Marino's single-season TD record by Week 14 against the Texans.

4. Rudi Johnson, RB, Bengals (26 carries, 202 yards, 2 TDs; 1 catch, 5 yards): He had a couple of huge games like this last season to lift him into the first round in many drafts this year, but it took him until now to pull another one off. The whole game had to be a treat for fantasy owners as the studs got their points and then an entire waiver wire made themselves available.

5. Jerry Porter, WR, Raiders (6 catches, 135 yards, 3 TDs): He was supposed to have a big season with Jerry Rice and Tim Brown gone. Instead, he entered the game with one TD and looked to be a bust. So he made up for it in a huge way by burning Champ Bailey in the snow for the type of game we've been looking for all year from him.

6. Marvin Harrison, WR, Colts (12 catches, 127 yards, 3 TDs): The Indy receivers seem to take turns with big games, and actually Harrison was a bit overdue, so it probably wasn't a surprise that he cashed in on Thanksgiving.

7. Michael Vick, QB, Falcons (16-29, 212 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT; 10 carries, 69 yards, 1 TD): Vick did a lot with his legs, but he also used his arm a lot to rally Atlanta past the enigmatic Saints. The Falcons probably should've won this game by more, but they'll take victories by any means possible. Vick even got Peerless Price into the action.

8. Michael Pittman, RB, Buccaneers (18 carries, 29 yards; 8 catches, 134 yards, 2 TDs): He was bottled up on the ground, but he's a dangerous receiver out of the backfield and he showed that skill again this week. Pittman has seven TDs in his past four games.

9. Julius Jones, RB, Cowboys (33 carries, 150 yards, 2 TDs; 1 catch, -1 yards): While Drew Henson may or may not be the answer at QB for Dallas, Jones is definitely the future stud back. He struggled with injuries through camp and then broke a shoulder blade early on, but he finally returned against the Ravens last week and got 30 carries for a passable 81 yards. Against a lesser Bears defense, Jones proved his worthiness and really outdid brother Thomas on the other sideline.

10. Steve Heiden, TE, Browns (7 catches, 82 yards, 3 TDs): Even without Kellen Winslow Jr., Cleveland is using its tight ends a lot. Aaron Shea had been a nice producer in recent weeks, and all of a sudden Heiden breaks out. Let's see how long it lasts.

Other top performances: Drew Brees, QB, Chargers (28-37, 378 yards, 2 TDs; 8 carries, 23 yards); Kerry Collins, QB, Raiders (26-45, 339 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs; 3 carries, 7 yards); Antonio Bryant, WR, Browns (8 catches, 131 yards, 2 TDs); Brandon Stokley, WR, Colts (5 catches, 57 yards, 3 TDs); Brian Westbrook, RB, Eagles (18 carries, 74 yards, 1 TD; 5 catches, 53 yards, 1 TD); Steve McNair, QB, Titans (25-34, 227 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT; 3 carries, 24 yards); Domanick Davis, QB, Texans (16 carries, 129 yards, 1 TD; 7 catches, 52 yards); LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, Chargers (21 carries, 46 yards, 2 TDs; 10 catches, 57 yards); Antonio Gates, TE, Chargers (7 catches, 97 yards, 2 TDs); Brian Griese, QB, Buccaneers (27-39, 347 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT; 2 carries, 9 yards); Derrick Blaylock, RB, Chiefs (8 carries, 57 yards, 2 TDs; 3 catches, 21 yards); Erron Kinney, TE, Titans (6 catches, 53 yards, 2 TDs); T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR, Bengals (4 catches, 79 yards, 2 TDs); Chad Johnson, WR, Bengals (10 catches, 117 yards, 1 TD); Keary Colbert, WR, Panthers (3 catches, 72 yards, 2 TDs); Daunte Culpepper, QB, Vikings (19-27, 235 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT; 6 carries, 18 yards, 1 TD); Donovan McNabb, QB, Eagles (18-27, 244 yards, 1 TD; 5 carries, 30 yards, 1 TD); Corey Dillon, RB, Patriots (30 carries, 123 yards, 1 TD, 1 2-point conversion)

Duds


Clinton Portis, RB, Redskins (6 carries, 17 yards; 1 catch, 0 yards): Portis did blame himself for some of Washington's problems, but this was a very bad game for fantasy owners across the board. Ladell Betts outgained him -- not a good sign.

Hines Ward, WR, Steelers (3 catches, 42 yards): I guess Plaxico Burress' injury doesn't mean Ben Roethlisberger will rely on Ward more.

Reggie Wayne, WR, Colts (3 catches, 37 yards): Despite Manning's air show, Wayne came up almost empty, although he was close to catching a TD early on.

Drew Henson, QB, Cowboys (4-12, 31 yards, 1 INT): Hopefully you weren't pinning your hopes this week on him. He was gone after halftime, with Vinny Testaverde taking over and leading two second-half TD drives.

Eddie Kennison, WR, Chiefs (1 catch, 9 yards; 1 2-point conversion): After a couple of huge games, including on Monday night, Kennison was relatively quiet against the Chargers.

Eli Manning, QB, Giants (6-21, 148 yards, 2 INTs): Manning looked OK last week, but the Eagles gave the rookie a rude awakening. It also meant bad things for Jeremy Shockey (2 catches, 31 yards) and Amani Toomer (1 catch, 6 yards). For further comparison, Eli had as many completions as brother Peyton had touchdowns on Thanksgiving.

Martin Gramatica, K, Buccaneeers (0-3 FGs): Remember when he was a top kicker prospect? It seems like so long ago.

Kyle Boller, QB, Ravens (15-35, 93 yards, 1 INT; 2 carries, 10 yards, 1 lost fumble): Nothing like facing the Patriots to cool off a hot streak.

Nate Burleson, WR, Vikings (2 catches, 21 yards): Randy Moss did return with four catches, 40 yards and a score, but he still took a few plays off here and there to rest his hamstring. But Burleson didn't take advantage of that absence. Instead, Jermaine Wiggins led the team in receiving.

Now get back to work!!!

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