FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEK 12

November 23, 2005 4:00 AM ET

Minnesota is putting Moore into its ground game, Joey Galloway pitched a shutout, and the Browns—the Browns?—are playing shutdown defense? Something's gotta give, and we'll tell you which in the latest installment of Trend and Mirage.

Trend: Moore Running in Minnesota
Way back in mid-September, when Mewelde Moore busted a 101-yard game on the Saints, we told you he'd be the Viking's feature back. We were partially right; Moore's rushing stats were hardly anything to behold, but he contributed consistently in the passing game and followed that effort against N'awlins with three straight triple-digit combo yardage outings.

Then he had a couple shaky outings, got hurt and missed a game, and between that and the overall state of disarray the Vikings' organization was in, plenty of folks deserted Mewelde.

So the Vikings tear apart and rebuild their offensive line—mid-game, no less—and suddenly Moore is back amongst the notable performance-league backs with a gaudy 122-yard showing in Lambeau.

Hey, at this point of the season if you're getting unexpected production from a back you just smile and thank the fates. Mewelde admitted after the Green Bay game that his injured wrist bothered him early on, but once the adrenaline got flowing he forgot about it and really started churning up yardage.

This would have been a perfect opportunity for the Vikes to showcase Michael Bennett, who wasn't injured, was coming off a game in which he led the team in receptions, and had a strong track record of success against the Pack. Instead, we got Moore, and an apparent recommitment to smash-mouth football.

At least now you know pretty much what you're going to get from the Vikings the rest of the way. Ciatrick Fason has replaced Moe Williams as the goal line guy, but barring injury Moore is going to be the yardage hog the rest of the way. One caveat, however: following three tasty matchups against the Browns, Lions, and Rams, the Vikings run into the Steelers, Ravens, and Bears—all pretty stout run defenses—to close the season.

Mirage: Galloway's Goose Egg
Joey Galloway is having a wonderful season; he's already posted his best numbers since 2002, and he's well on his way to registering career digits across the board.

So what's with the goose egg in Atlanta?

Truth be told, it was Joey's second donut of the season—which only goes to illustrate just how solid he's been when he does get the ball. Earlier in the year, Galloway had just one ball thrown his way against a stout Bills secondary. Last week, it was a combo platter of the ground game having success against a Falcons defense susceptible to that facet of the game and not asking Chris Simms to do too much on the road. Plus, D'Angelo Hall has kept some pretty good receivers (Terrell Owens, Darrell Jackson, Donald Driver) out of the end zone this year.

Galloway gets a rematch with Hall in week 16, but that meeting will come in Tampa. Until then, he gets the Bears at home and road tilts against the Saints, Panthers, and Patriots. Joey has caught at least five balls in every game except the two shutouts, and we think he'll be much closer to the five than the zero the rest of the way.

Trend: Browns Stout
Cleveland fans will be the first to tell you that since their return to the league, the Browns haven't exactly been a top-shelf football team—and they'll do it in a style that's far less flowery.

But something a little surprising has happened since Romeo Crennel took over this season. While the Browns are still sub-.500 and have plenty of issues, they're no longer a candy-coated pushover for fantasy purposes.

Oh, sure, teams still run on the Browns as if they were made of tissue paper, but check out the points allowed; Cleveland inhabits the rarified air of the top 10 defenses, surrendering fewer points than notables such as the Panthers, Bucs, Giants, and Ravens.

You probably can't name one member of the Cleveland defense, and if you tried you'd probably name a member of the Broncos because the Browns traded their entire front line to Denver in the offseason. But Crennel has this group playing extremely well, especially against the pass. The Browns haven't allowed an opposing quarterback to top 235 yards or throw multiple touchdowns since week two, though in all honesty the quarterbacks they've faced haven't all been of the highest caliber. However, this is the team that shut out Peyton Manning in Indy, so they must be doing something right.

Last week's blanking of the Dolphins can easily be discounted simply by looking at what the Dolphins were forced to regurgitate at quarterback, and we still wouldn't hesitate to play our backs against the Browns in a yardage-heavy scoring system. However, they haven't allowed a 100-yard rusher since week five and have surrendered just two wide receiver touchdowns in their past eight games.

So when you see a date with the Browns on one of your fantasy players' schedule, be afraid; be very afraid.

Mirage: Air Steelers
With all due respect to Steelers coach Bill Cowher… what the heck was he thinking? In the Steelers' overtime loss to the Ravens, Pittsburgh dropped back to pass 44 times and ran the ball only 25. This is a team that prides itself on the run; moreover, this is a team that was forced to use Tommy Maddox at quarterback.

Rather than go strength-against-strength and run into the teeth of the 4-4 defense the Ravens were playing, Cowher opted to put the game in Maddox's hands—with predictable results.

 

You need look no further than this stat to know the Steelers should not be trying to be a passing team. In the team's seven wins, Pittsburgh has averaged 36 running plays and 26 passing plays; in the three losses (two in overtime, one by a field goal, so they were in every game and not forced to throw), they ran 23 times per game and threw 35 times.

Even when Ben Roethlisberger returns from his knee injury this week, the Steelers aren't a passing team. Roethlisberger throws well enough to keep defenses honest, but the way the Steelers make their living is on the ground. Cowher used to know that; we have to believe he'll remember that and quit with the aerial circus—especially when Tommy Maddox is the lead clown.

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