WEEK 9 NFL FANTASY FOOTBALL ADVICE

Bodog Fantasy Football: Midseason Marks

Brown's a delight, Smith's a surprise and Culpepper's just been a killer

Nov. 3, 2005

By Mike Halford
BodogNation Contributing Writer

With the NFL season at the halfway point, it's time to look back at the first eight weeks of action and reminisce on your fantasy football draft day.

Who's been the best rookie? Which draft picks have single-handedly assassinated your fantasy team? What players have surprised? This week, the BodogNation Fantasy Report answers these questions and more as we hand out the BodogNation Midseason Fantasy Football Awards.

Rookie of the Year: RB Ronnie Brown, Miami Dolphins.

After four weeks of action, it seemed inevitable Brown's collegiate teammate at Auburn - Tampa Bay phenomenon Cadillac Williams - would be the NFL's rookie of the year. But after eight weeks of action, the Miami (Dolphin) Sound Machine is singing a different tune.

Brown ($24, Bodog Fantasy in Week 9) has put together a solid freshman campaign, eclipsing the injury-plagued Williams in a number of key categories. And, oddly enough, he's seen his stock rise, not fall, with the return of Ricky Williams to the Miami backfield. Check Brown's numbers since R-Dubb's return. In three games, he's put up 294 all-purpose yards with two TDs. Of the big three running backs from the 2005 draft - Brown, Williams and Cedric Benson - Brown has emerged as the midseason favorite for ROY accolades.

"The Kevorkian Award" (given to the player who assists in the death of numerous fantasy football teams): QB Daunte Culpepper, Minnesota Vikings

There's plenty to be disappointed about in Minnesota. Vikings fans are upset with the team's 2-5 record in the hapless NFC North. Owner Zygi Wilf is despondent over inheriting a flawed franchise. And Love Boat creator Jeraldine Saunders is pissed about all the negative connotations the team has brought to the title of her wholesome TV series.

Outside the questionable conduct surrounding Lake Minnetonka, the Vikings have been slapped with on-the-field hardships, too. No loss is bigger from a fantasy perspective than the departure of Culpepper. After three torn knee ligaments ended his nightmare campaign, Daunte can look back on 2005 and rue the following: in seven games, he registered the lowest QB rating of his career (72.0), and totaled 12 interceptions, five fumbles and six touchdowns. Fantasy GMs will look back and see a consensus first-round pick finish statistically behind QBs like Trent Dilfer, Brian Griese and Kelly Holcomb and wonder - can we get a re-draft?

Comeback Player of the Year: WR Steve Smith, Carolina Panthers

If you told anybody that, heading into 2005, Steve Smith would be a more productive fantasy WR than Terrell Owens, Chad Johnson, Torry Holt and Randy Moss, you would have likely been met with a variety of quizzical looks. Yet, halfway through the season, that's exactly where he sits on the fantasy landscape.

Smith, who missed most of 2004 with a broken leg, has been a wonderful surprise for those who own him. Admittedly, it was easy to sleep on Smith. Mushin Muhammad turned in a huge year for Carolina after Smith ($35) went on the IR last year, and the offseason ballyhoo surrounding Moss and Owens put the return of the former Utah product in the briefs section of most sports pages.

But 2005 has essentially been the Steve Smith Show - he leads the league in catches (50), receiving yards (797), yards per game (113.9) and TD receptions (eight).

The Best Evidence That Growing A Sketchy Beard Can Rejuvenate Your Career Award: QB Jake Plummer, Denver Broncos

Jake Plummer has put up career
numbers for the AFC West-leading
Broncos.

Chalk up the Plummer rejuvenation to excess facial hair - especially since there's no other logical explanation for his Elway-esque performance.

Nine years into his NFL career, The Snake (on a bye this week) finally seems to have figured it all out. His QB rating is at a career high (91.3) because he's thrown for 12 TDs and just three interceptions. The things that have poisoned him in the past - throwing left-handed picks, flipping off Bronco fans, Peter King's preseason MVP predictions - are now just that: things of the past.

While it's still dicey to proclaim Plummer as a new QB (the meltdown game still lurks), it's clear that a dynamite running game and simplified play calling have put him in a position to succeed. His first half of 2005 has been fantastic. But the big question remains...Can he do it for another eight games - and into January, too?

The Jason Alexander Award for Quickest Fall From Grace: RB Duce Staley, Pittsburgh Steelers

The year? 1998. Alexander, playing the role of George Costanza on Seinfeld, registers his sixth Emmy and fourth Golden Globe Nomination for Supporting Actor in a comedy series.

The year? 2002. Staley, voted the Philadelphia Eagles offensive MVP by his teammates, puts up 1,570 all-purpose yards while scoring eight touchdowns, becoming the second player in team history to reach 1,000 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving in a season.

Three years later...

2001: Alexander, mired in the "Seinfeld Curse," is unable to find success outside of the Costanza character. His show, Bob Patterson, lasts for 10 episodes, only five of which were actually aired. A litany of regrettable KFC commercials have followed.

2005: Staley, buried on the Pittsburgh depth chart, struggles with knee injuries and dresses for only one of the first nine games of the regular season. In two seasons with the Steelers, Staley ($5) has scored one touchdown.

Most Dominant at His Position Award: K Neil Rackers, Arizona Cardinals

Arguably the only positive thing to come out of Arizona this season is Rackers. The half-season he's put together is nothing short of incredible. A perfect 22-for-22 on field goals, the Cardinals' kicker is on pace to shatter several NFL records. At this pace, Rackers ($28) should eclipse Olindo Mare's record for most FGs in a season (39), Mike Vanderjagt's perfect season in 1999 (the Colts' kicker went 37-for-37), and could eclipse Morten Andersen's record of field goals from 50 or more yards (Andersen hit eight of them in 1995; Rackers has three through seven games).

Just for good measure, Rackers also leads the NFL in kickoff average and touchbacks, as well.

Fantasy Mailbag: A Defensive Question

Reader Sean Pitchford wants to know "Which defense will dominate this week?"

The Chicago Bears ($25) look to be a strong play against New Orleans this week. After dissecting Team Defenses, it's clear the Bears have emerged as one of the better plays, thanks in large part to their run-stuffing abilities and consistent takeaway totals. They're going up against a squad that has been awful at protecting the football this season (the Saints lead the NFL in giveaways with 23 through eight games). If Chicago can neutralize the New Orleans run game, they'll force Aaron Brooks ($21) to attack through the air - and he's already thrown 10 interceptions.