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Here's a quick
rundown of the NFL's week 13 fantasy football stars.
These guys are the WagerOnFootball.com "ALL
Week 13 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.
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Monday Injury
Update
Here's some major fantasy injuries
which occurred during Week 13 action.
Kevan Barlow, RB, SF - Concussion
- Status uncertain
Derrick Blaylock, RB, KC - Strained Neck - Returned
to game, status uncertain
Chris Brown, RB, TEN - Turf Toe - Aggravated injury
in the 3rd quarter - Status uncertain
Marc Bulger, QB, STL - Sprained AC Joint - Aggravated
old injury, status uncertain.
Mark Campbell, TE, BUF - Sprained Knee - Status
uncertain
Ronald Currey, WR, OAK - Torn Achilles Tendon -
Out for the season.
Corey Dillon, RB, NE - Unspecified Leg Injury -
Status uncertain
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Sunday Notes I Scribbled
Down
Could we have just seen the
emergence of two more valuable fantasy running backs
in Week 13? In Kansas City, Larry Johnson now looks
like he could emerge as the featured back to finish
out the season, after rushing for 118 yards and
a touchdown on 20 carries and adding three catches
for 56 yards and a score. Derrick Blaylock had been
doing a decent job in place of the injured Priest
Holmes (knee) earlier in the year, but he has been
banged up of late and the team needs to make some
decisions on Johnson's future. Considering Johnson
has shown he can find the end zone, he's an excellent
pickup if still available, since Kansas City might
spend the final four games showcasing him for an
offseason trade. In St. Louis, Steven Jackson lit
up a weak San Francisco defense for 119 yards on
26 carries, and he's now averaging a healthy 5.0
yards-per-carry average on the season. Marshall
Faulk, by comparison, managed just 13 yards on 20
carries in weeks 11-12 and is averaging just 4.0
yards per attempt in his last seven games. St. Louis
draws mediocre Carolina, Arizona and Philadelphia
rush defenses in its next three games, and Jackson
seems to be this team's future. If Faulk's knee
continues to act up, Jackson could be quite a good
No. 2 option in the season's final weeks.
Unlikely Heroes - Week 13 was
the last week of the regular season for many fantasy
football leagues and there were a handful of NFL
players who came out of nowhere to help desperate
fantasy teams on the playoff bubble to important
wins. Bills QB Drew Bledsoe, who is on the brink
of becoming a backup, completed 19 of 30 passes
for 277 yards and 4 TDs against the Dolphins in
what many experts thought was going to be a defensive
battle. Fins QB A.J. Feeley had big numbers as well
(303 yards passing and 3 TDs) but his 5 interceptions
were probably too much for teams in performance
leagues to overcome. With season-ending injuries
to RBs DeShaun Foster and Stephen Davis the Panthers
thought their running game was in major trouble.
But full back Nick Goings has stepped into the featured
role and he has been very productive. Goings faced
the Swiss-cheese defense of the New Orleans Saints
and had a monster game rushing for 122 yards and
a touchdown on 36 carries and adding another 46
yards receiving. Goings has now rushed for over
100 yards in three-straight games and although he
faces some tough defenses in the coming weeks (Falcons
and Bucs in Week 15 and 16) he'll still get enough
carries to be productive. Speaking of unlikely heroes,
with Priest Holmes out this past weekend with a
sprained knee and Derrick Blaylock injured early
in the game, second year running back and former
first-round pick Larry Johnson picked up the slack
and had his best game as a pro. Johnson had 110
yards rushing, 59 yards receiving and scored twice
in helping the Chiefs to a come-from-behind victory
over the Raiders. Head coach Dick Vermeil has never
been a big fan of L.J. and has publicly ridiculed
the young player about his attitude and work ethic
on several occasions this year. But Johnson had
his act together on Sunday and the with so much
invested in him the Chiefs will probably make him
their starting running back for the remainder of
the season.
Next year you may want to consider grabbing McNabb
and Manning in the first round instead of trying
to roll the dice on Fred Taylor or Rudi Johnson.
McNabb has a great target in Terrell Owens, who
has more than lived up to they hype in Philly. Meanwhile,
Manning has a ton of receivers, starting with Marvin
Harrison. Manning may not run much, but McNabb can
turn on the jets if need be. Both are also very
durable.
These two have dominated the scene this year, with
Culpepper also in the mix, and deserve major consideration
for fantasy player of the year. You can't even say
that about Holmes, Green or LaDainian Tomlinson,
who have done well, but not necessarily up to par,
compared to recent seasons. Besides, seeing how
Reuben Droughns, Nick Goings, or even old favorites
like Tiki Barber and Curtis Martin are playing,
maybe it's best to play it safe with an elite quarterback
early on and then building out from there since
they provide a great foundation for a fantasy week.
Studs
It's getting tougher and tougher to keep this
list down to 10. There are plenty of players scoring
25 points in traditional scoring system who are
relegated to the "other top performers"
list.
1. Donovan McNabb, QB, Eagles (32-43, 464 yards,
5 TDs): I guess last year's 4th-and-26 play against
Green Bay was just the tip of the iceberg. McNabb
had more than 300 yards and all five scores by halftime.
Oddly enough, Terrell Owens only had one of those
TDs.
2. Brian Westbrook, RB, Eagles (12 carries, 37
yards; 11 catches, 156 yards, 3 TDs): I knew he
was getting more involved in the passing game, but
this was ridiculous as he caught three scores to
more than offset a mediocre performance on the ground.
Brian Westbrook has been coming on in recent weeks,
which makes him a great play in the fantasy playoffs.
3. Drew Bennett, WR, Titans (3 catches, 124 yards,
3 TDs): He scored on TD strikes of 48, 28 and 48
yards in the first quarter, and it looked like he
could be on his way to a record day. However, Indy
then held down Tennessee the rest of the way, and
Bennett's amazing quarter stood. Still, it was more
than enough to help many leagues this week.
4. Peyton Manning, QB, Colts (25-33, 425 yards,
3 TDs, 2 INTs): He's that much closer to the TD
record, and he could've had a couple of more scores,
except that his two picks both came in the end zone.
Even with Tennessee scoring 24 in the first quarter,
you knew that Manning was going to find his ways
to get his numbers. What was surprising was Indy
shutting out Tennessee the rest of the way.
5. Larry Johnson, RB, Chiefs (20 carries, 118 yards,
1 TD; 3 catches, 56 yards, 1 TD): This is the third
Kansas City running back to hit the list this season.
It's hard to believe it's taken him so long to finally
turn in a real prime performance, especially given
some of Holmes' injuries. Then again, it took an
injury to Derrick Blaylock for Johnson to get an
extended look.
6. Chad Johnson, WR, Bengals (10 catches, 161 yards,
2 TDs): Last week, Rudi Johnson had a huge game.
This week, it's Chad Johnson, who helped lead Cincinnati's
big rally over Baltimore. Just imagine if both of
them would come up huge in the same week.
7. Joe Horn, WR, Saints (8 catches, 160 yards,
2 TDs): This is an example of getting stats by any
means possible. For the past few weeks, New Orleans
has dug itself a huge hole, forcing Aaron Brooks
to throw a lot, meaning plenty of passing yards
for Brooks and plenty of receiving yards for Horn
or sometimes Donte' Stallworth. It doesn't matter
how it's done, as long as he gets the stats.
8. Clinton Portis, RB, Redskins (31 carries 148
yards, 1 TD; 3 catches, 14 yards, 1 TD): A number
of people asked this week whether to dump Portis
altogether after a bunch of mediocre performances.
I mentioned to many that he has some better matchups
and you just never know what will happen down the
stretch, given that he does a history of big games.
Well, this time he ran into a shell-shocked Giants
defense and it looked like the Portis of old.
9. Drew Bledsoe, QB, Bills (19-30, 277 yards, 4
TDs; 1 carry, 7 yards): Just when you think he's
all washed up, he comes up with another big game.
This time he burned a pretty good Dolphins defense
with a flashback to his days in New England. He
also finally got rookie receiver Lee Evans out of
his shell.
10. Carson Palmer, QB, Bengals (29-36, 382 yards,
3 TDs, 1 INT; 2 carries, 7 yards): His stats were
relatively low in Cincinnati's scorefest last week,
but this time he was the man in leading the Bengals
to a wild rally over a supposedly very good Ravens
defense. He's also found a good second receiver
to Chad Johnson in Johnson's Oregon State teammate
T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
Other top performances: Curtis Martin, RB, Jets
(23 carries, 134 yards, 1 TD; 4 catches, 20 yards,
1 TD); Kevin Jones, RB, Lions (26 carries, 196 yards,
1 TD; 4 catches, 22 yards); Kerry Collins, QB, Raiders
(27-41, 343 yards, 3 TDs); Trent Green, QB, Chiefs
(23-35, 340 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT; 4 carries, 5 yards);
Ronald Curry, WR, Raiders (9 catches, 141 yards,
2 TDs); Edgerrin James, RB, Colts (18 carries, 105
yards, 2 TDs; 4 catches, 31 yards); T.J. Houshmandzadeh,
WR, Bengals (10 catches, 171 yards, 1 TD; 1 carry,
16 yards); Lee Evans, WR, Bills (4 catches, 110
yards, 2 TDs); Antonio Bryant, WR, Browns (7 catches,
115 yards, 2 TDs); Brandon Stokley, WR, Colts (8
catches, 153 yards, 1 TD); Eddie Kennison, WR, Chiefs
(8 catches, 149 yards, 1 TD); Marvin Harrison, WR,
Colts (4 catches, 103 yards, 1 TD); A.J. Feeley,
QB, Dolphins (25-51, 303 yards, 3 TDs, 5 INTs);
Corey Dillon, RB, Patriots (18 carries, 100 yards,
2 TDs); Torry Holt, WR, Rams (10 catches, 160 yards,
1 TD); Daunte Culpepper, QB, Vikings (23-33, 279
yards, 2 TDs, 3 INTs; 6 carries, 50 yards); Chester
Taylor, RB, Ravens (23 carries, 139 yards, 1 TD;
3 catches, 25 yards); John Kasay, K, Panthers (6-6
FGs, 2-2 XPs); Aaron Brooks, QB, Saints (20-40,
251 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs); Muhsin Muhammad, WR,
Panthers (10 catches, 179 yards, 1 TD); Nick Goings,
RB, Panthers (36 carries, 122 yards, 1 TD; 6 catches,
46 yards); LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, Chargers (30
carries, 113 yards, 2 TDs; 5 catches, 17 yards);
Terrell Owens, WR, Eagles (8 catches, 161 yards,
1 TD); Billy Volek, QB, Titans (21-35, 269 yards,
3 TDs, 2 INTs); Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Steelers
(14-17, 221 yards, 2 TDs; 3 carries, 40 yards).
Duds
Michael Vick, QB, Falcons (13-27, 115 yards, 2
INTs; 8 carries, 81 yards, 2 lost fumbles): The
good news: he piled up more rushing yards. The bad
news, he turned the ball over four times and could
barely find his receivers. In fact, Alge Crumpler
had just one catch for 5 yards. The Bucs seem to
have Vick's number in Tampa Bay.
William Green, RB, Browns (12 carries, 15 yards;
3 catches, 24 yards): He's been a solid fill-in
for Lee Suggs, but you know how the Patriots defense
can be at times. He was benched in the third quarter.
Santana Moss, WR, Jets (1 catch, 6 yards): So much
for that possible resurgence of his game. Even Chad
Pennington's return didn't help matters. He had
a nice punt return to set up a TD, but that was
about it.
Randy Moss, WR, Vikings (4 catches, 31 yards, 1
lost fumble): Is he really healthy? You've got to
wonder about his stats down the stretch.
David Carr, QB, Texans (12-25, 157 yards, 2 INTs;
4 carries, 16 yards): The Jets defense can be tough,
but if Carr wants to be considered a top-notch prospect
for next year (and the fantasy playoffs), he needs
to do better than this.
Brett Favre, QB, Packers (14-29, 131 yards, 2 INTs):
His 36-game TD streak finally ended, and he looked
bad against an Eagles team that just seemed to overwhelm
him.
Ahman Green, QB, Packers (11 carries, 37 yards;
3 catches, 17 yards): He did little in his return
from a rib injury, but Philadelphia's defense probably
had a lot to do with it.
Drew Brees, QB, Chargers (14-27, 106 yards, 1 INT;
1 carry, 2 yards): The numbers (and the weather)
weren't pretty, but at least his team beat Denver
and ...
Jake Plummer, QB, Broncos (16-40, 278 yards, 4
INTs; 2 carries, 6 yards): But the same can't be
said about Plummer, who piled up yards but got picked
at some inopportune times.
Tiki Barber, RB, Giants (15 carries, 38 yards):
Even as Big Blue struggles, Barber would still get
his yards. This time, Washington really shut him
down.
Deuce McAllister, RB, Saints (7 carries, 22 yards,
1 lost fumble; 1 catch, 1 yard): While Brooks can
pile up stats playing from behind, it's a lot hard
for McAllister to do the same.
Michael Clayton, WR, Buccaneers (1 catch, 15 yards):
It looks like his stock is dropping a bit, although
he's still the most reliable receiving threat in
many ways.
Now get back to work!!!
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