Studs

Marques Colston, WR, NO – So typically Colston is a very hit or miss player but with two simply great performances in a row, fantasy owners might just be falling in love… Don’t. This is what he has done for years, he WILL finish the season as a top 15 or so WR every year and it will be because of a few really big games and a whole slew of mediocre or worse ones.  Despite that, I enjoy drafting Colston because if he often slips far down and if he gets a couple of these games in a row, someone will be willing to pick him up in a trade. Try and sell high if you can but do not expect Colston to be turning into a new #1 WR.

Andrew Luck, QB, IND – Indianapolis Colts fans should be almost as excited as dynasty league fantasy-owners of Andrew Luck as he won a really big statement making game against the Packers this week. Watch the game if you can, it was an incredible drive where Luck continued to find Reggie Wayne despite all 11 defenders being fully aware that he was the target the entire time.  Luck is climbing the ranks of #2 QBs at the moment but I would still be surprised to see him crack the top 10 at all.

Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, NYG – 30 carries and 200 yards is exactly what you want to see if you have an irrational fear of odd numbers.  Really a very impressive outing from a guy that we thought would be sharing the load with Andre Brown.  I’m not dropping Brown yet however because Bradshaw isn’t known for durability and the Giants would be smart to let Brown keep him healthy a bit more than was the plan this week. Bradshaw will be ranked somewhere around the 10-15 range I am thinking right now.

Reggie Wayne, WR, IND – What a phenomenal game here from Wayne. I mentioned him above so I’ll just throw the numbers at you. 20 targets, 13 receptions, 212 yards and a score. He was super human and he is not going to stop any time soon.  He has a slew of awesome match ups until week 15 against the Texans seems likely to dampen his numbers.  Kudos to you for this draft day steal, might be the biggest one of the year.

Alex Smith, QB, SF – Yes, I am bitter about it but I almost didn’t put Smith in the list as his numbers were more a by-product of abysmal coverage by my Bills on Sunday than anything else. That isn’t really fair because they registered for fantasy owners all the same. You wish you had Alex Smith to back up Matthew Stafford this week because 28 points is always a welcome sight from your back up QB. Don’t overreact though because sadly, my Bills’ secondary IS that bad.

Stevan Ridley, RB, NE – So you will always have this lingering thought in your head whispering “committee back” but the numbers are there. Another big week with 28 carries 151 yards and a TD. I can’t imagine a scenario where your team is so good that you aren’t starting this guy.  I don’t think he is a sell high unless someone is absolutely in love with him and thinks he’s a top 5 guy but he is an ideal #2 RB at the moment.

Duds

Cam Newton, QB, CAR – He has elite-level upside but he isn’t showing me the consistency to think that he will always be a top 10 guy.  It’ll take an especially tough match-up to drop him that low but you have to be worried and you HAVE to have another option at your disposal at this point.

Stevie Johnson, WR, BUF – The Bills absolutely sucked. The offense was completely inept and while no one was surprised that they got smothered by the 49ers defense, I ranked Johnson well on an expectation of junk-time.  Boy was there a TON of junk time.  San Francisco pulled their starters with like 9 minutes left and yet still… three points. Disappointing. Johnson might just prove to be a frustrating player the rest of the way as he almost alternates between good and bad match ups. I think the Bills will beat the really bad teams but continue to struggle against talented ones.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB, CIN – I never am happy to see a guy get injured but law firm owners are lucky that Bernard Scott got hurt in this game because the Bengals had Scott in the game for the entire second series so indications were that a time share was incoming for the Bengals offense. I guess it’s back to the original high volume plan for Green-Ellis.

Chris Johnson, RB, TEN – I say it a ton but honestly, can you really count on this guy ever again? Completely random good weeks don’t help anyone. The fact that he did well against Houston of all teams makes this all the more frustrating. Don’t own him anymore.  Someone will pick him up and he WILL be a blight on their roster.

Antonio Gates, TE, SD – There is no secondary elite tier anymore. Gates used to be the only one there and I’m over that. Wake me up when he gets double digit points.

Darren Sproles, RB, NO – Bye weeks are the ONLY reason that he will likely remain inside or around the top 20-25. Hugely disappointing year in my opinion so far.

Andre Johnson, WR, HOU – I haven’t seen this game yet but I don’t have to in order to understand that fantasy owners aren’t going to like one point. The stats tell me that New York’s defense is still at least average in the passing game and Schaub wasn’t at his best. This will happen on such a run-focused team but you still gotta start this guy.

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Studs

Brian Hartline, WR, MIA – All season so far the Cardinals have leaned on their defense to get wins and the best part of their defense has been the secondary, featuring Patrick Peterson. Meanwhile, the Miami offense was centered around Reggie Bush. Rookie QB Ryan Tannehill has been doing a good job of managing the game and minimizing mistakes. Seemingly out of nowhere, Hartline exploded against the Cardinals for 12 catches on 19 targets for 253 yards and a touchdown. I’m honestly not too sure how I will rank him yet for next week but given the bye weeks, he is certainly going to be a serviceable flex-play at least.

Michael Turner, RB, ATL – This was a really strong bounce-back game for Turner, who appears to have lost a little quickness this year. It may not have been much but in the NFL, a tenth of a second difference to the hole can mean the difference between a 2 yard gain and a 20+ yard gain.  Turner had just 13 carries for 103 yards rushing. The biggest surprise was the 3 catches for 68 yards and receiving touchdown.  You can’t count on the receiving production but it was still a really nice game if he didn’t catch any passes.  Hopefully you have a good enough team that Turner is a flex-play at best.

Tom Brady, QB, NE – If you own Tom Brady and were paying attention on Sunday, you were pretty disappointed at half time.  It looked like Buffalo had taken over the game by half time with the Patriots only having 7 points. 45 points later the second half and ended and you finally had the highest scoring QB for the week in Brady.  He shredded a pretty poor secondary but what impressed me was the offensive line play. With two 100 yard rushers and a clean jersey for Tom Brady facing what was thought to be one of the best front four in the NFL. He’ll have a tough time duplicating this level of production too often but it’s nice to see him putting up elite QB numbers again.

Roddy White, WR, ATL – A lot of people commented about me ranking Roddy White over Julio Jones in my preseason rankings.  I’ll admit that my logic wasn’t fool proof but it was pretty solid. White has proven to be a fantasy stud and not just for one season.  He’s been doing this for a few years now. Jones may have twice the talent but there is a lot to be said for confidence and ability to fight off defensive attention.  Thus far, teams have been able to keep Jones pinned down but not so much with White. He’s living up to that #2 preseason rank I gave him so far.

Marques Colston, WR, NO – Colston is a really frustrating guy to own, historically. In the first three weeks, he didn’t get over 5 fantasy points and seemingly at random, he goes off for a huge game.  That game was on Sunday. 9 catches for 153 yards and a TD on 13 targets.  If you own Colston, you have to deal with the mediocrity to make it to these games. Start him every week.

Andre Roberts, WR, ARI – It still just feels awkward and a little dirty to mention that the Cardinals are 4-0, but their record stands and they won a big overtime game against the Dolphins on Sunday. Roberts has 4 TDs in 4 games and is a must-own in all leagues.  I couldn’t use him as more than a bye-week fill-in quite yet but if Kolb can keep his stats up, he could crawl his way up to being a WR2 at best after a few weeks.

Duds

Tony Romo, QB, DAL – That makes two games that the Cowboys lost on the arm of their QB. I would be in a full-panic right now if Romo was my QB and I think you should try and trade for a better option immediately. This guy is going to lose his job and he will be the first QB of the season to do so.

Ryan Williams, RB, ARI – A lot of people really liked Ryan Williams now that Beanie Wells is out of the picture. This isn’t what they had in mind.  Miami admittedly has a really solid run defense but I haven’t seen Williams do ANYTHING worth mentioning yet. He will be the lowest ranked of the feature backs until he can show me that he deserves the job.

Martellus Bennett, TE, NYG – The Giants were using him as the #2 receiving threat when Nicks was out and it seemed like he was going to be a sure-fire starter for his fantasy owners.  I’ll still rank him as such but he really raised a lot of questions with his zero point performance.

Julio Jones, WR, ATL – People had him pegged at the #2 WR going into draft day and while I was NOT one of them (having him outside my top 10), he disappointed a lot of people.  He hasn’t even outscored the team’s kicker on the year.  Ouch.

Dennis Pitta, TE, BAL – He went from the most targeted TE in the league to not listed in the box score. Zeros hurt fantasy owners but don’t panic, they just didn’t need to look to a check-down option against the Browns secondary.  The receivers were open on just about every play.

Jeremy Maclin, WR, PHI – I didn’t start him with confidence but he killed me this week and I’m sure I am not alone. I’m not starting this guy until he proves himself again and I don’t think you should either.

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Studs

Jamaal Charles, RB, KC – I love this time of year for fantasy owners. Weeks 2 and 3 teach us more about our draft strategies and tell us a lot about how good our teams will be for the rest of the way.  The verdict isn’t fully in on Charles yet but I did learn a lot in the last two games.  The first thing I learned is that if Charles isn’t performing well or suffering ANY pain in his knee, he will sit. The second thing I learned is that I am not worried about that.  Charles had THIRTY THREE carries just one game after he only managed one fantasy point and didn’t play in the 2nd half of week 2.  33 carries isn’t going to repeat itself, not for this runner in that offense but at least we KNOW he’s got his speed and lateral quickness back.  And if your thinking that these impressive numbers are all about that one big play… without it he still average 4.4 yards per carry on 32 carries.

Torrey Smith, WR, BAL – God bless this man and his family.  Smith played in this game very shortly after learning of his brother’s motorcycle accident that resulted in his death. Where he summoned the strength required to put up this performance, I couldn’t ever figure out. He hauled in 6 catches on 10 targets for 127 yards and two scores.  Not much else to say here as performances like this speak for themselves.

Andre Brown, RB, NYG – I rated Brown as a low-end RB2 or good flex-play this week but I didn’t expect the numbers he put up.  I also didn’t expect Cam Newton and the Panthers to collapse and hand the game to the Giants either.  That is why Brown looked so good… because the Panthers played awfully.  Regardless, Brown showed some traits that make him a solid RB2 for as long as Bradshaw is out and those traits were vision and patience.  Brown saw holes before they developed and the reason I know this is because he would delay himself behind his blockers and wait for them to open before putting on a burst and getting through them.  It was a very impressive performance.

Ben Roethlisberger, QB, PIT – Ben had a great game and did what he could to get the win and it worked for many of his fantasy owners at least… Ben was 36/49 for 384 yards with 4 TDs and no turnovers.  These stats are impressive considering the offensive line that guards him. He will remain a streaky player and he isn’t a reliable QB1 but when the defense isn’t particularly adept at rushing the QB, he will be ranked as one for the week.

Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, JAC – There was a lot of mystery around MJD at fantasy drafts.  We all expected the team to struggle but even through struggles, MJD was always a productive and elite fantasy back.  There is a big stigma surrounding players that hold out of their contracts.  Players like Chris Johnson have done it and then collapsed into complete irrelevance ever since and others come back only to suffer an early-season injury and cost fantasy-owners dearly.  MJD put those fears to bed and debunked the myth in this game.  He simply looked great in this game and had the numbers to back it up, 193 total yards and a score.  Even if he goes out and gets hurt next week, I think it’s safe to say it wasn’t because of the hold out.

Mikel Leshoure, RB, DET – He might be a second year player but Week 3 was Mikel’s first ever game. 26 carries, 100 yards and a TD. Funny thing is, the Lions always wanted him to be a weekly 100 yard rusher so expect them to keep giving him the opportunity to fulfill this need.

Duds

Mark Ingram, RB, NO – Another week and another loss for the Saints.  Ingram had fantasy value on draft day because he was the goal line back on an elite offense. Woops, this offense and this team are not what we thought they would be and neither is Ingram.

Antonio Gates, TE, SD – Admittedly the entire team stayed at home on Sunday, but Gates has NOT been worth a round 10 or higher draft pick yet. He has been drafted in higher than the 10th round in just about every league.  Most frustrating thing about this is that Rosario scored three times in Gates’ absence.

Jonathan Dwyer, RB, PIT – I had previously thought that this was the guy to own of the Steelers’ running backs. Now I just don’t want to own any of them but Mendenhall and I promise, my expectations are pretty low for him too.

Demaryius Thomas, WR, DEN – I know that the match-up was bad against Houston but Thomas had shown himself to be the top receiver in that offense.  If the Broncos are going to be a playoff contender, then Thomas must stand up and make plays in the tough games.  His value won’t take a hit from one game but it certainly got my attention.

Rob Gronkowski, TE, NE – I am not going to pretend like this guy isn’t still the #2 TE for fantasy owners but there is a reason I put Graham at #1 and this is why.  Gronk will do this at least one more time over the course of the season, twice if Hernandez is out a while.

Chris Johnson, RB, TEN – I said to drop him in yesterday’s article. I’ve got nothing left to add today.

Tony Romo, QB, DAL – Oh Dallas, you got the win but what happened? The Buccaneers secondary has played terribly and yet, the Cowboys could only manage 283 yards passing and an INT. Disappointing and from the limited film I’ve seen on the game, it was Romo’s fault.

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Studs

Reggie Bush, RB, MIA – Bush carried the ball 26 times for 172 yards and 2 scores with an added 25 receiving yards on 3 catches. He was week 2′s highest scoring player and is on what was thought to be one of the worst teams in the NFL.  For the record, I still think they are but west coast teams always struggle on the road to an east coast city for a 1 o’clock start. Also, the Raiders aren’t as good as I thought thus far and they could NOT contain Bush at all. Tannehill simply didn’t throw any interceptions and that was the ball game. This was a great draft day pick and he’s a must-start at the moment. The offense will come back down to earth against the Jets, especially if Revis is back. Bush will still be a great flex option or low-end #2 RB.

Hakeem Nicks, WR, NYG – Nicks just beat up on Aqib Talib all day. He was effective in the first half when the Giants offense wasn’t as a whole and he was pivotal on the final drive and came up with the big play when it was needed most.  I think he’s still a shade behind Cruz in the rankings but it is close and Nicks remains the safer and more consistent of the two. This week showed that he still has plenty of upside as he put up 199 yards on 10 catches with a score. Cruz had similar numbers but his stats are much more invested in one play (80 yard TD) than Nicks’.

Robert Griffen III, QB, WAS – Griffen was more impressive to me this week than last week. The Shanahan offense is going to look good with this guy at the helm but I’m starting to worry about this team winning many games, which is pretty much how it went for Newton.  Shanahan is doing a good job of incorporating some of RGIII’s college playbook into the offense to keep him comfortable and he’s throwing accurately down the field. He got his team up big early and the defense let them down.  Expect more of this with Orakpo and Adam Carriker on injured reserve. These were KEY players on the front-seven and they simply won’t be able to fill those needs with the people on their roster. So what i’m hearing is that Griffen will be throwing more late in the game and he should be quite an effective junk-time player as well. He’s a top 5 QB at the moment. Even if this wave doesn’t last, ride it to a few wins while you can.

C.J. Spiller, RB, BUF – Spiller has an average yards per carry of OVER 10 yards. No RB has done this over a two week span since Jim Brown forever ago. Impressive, to say the least. We were all so blinded by the defensive line that we may have missed the maturation of Buffalo’s OFFENSIVE line. Spiller has had BIG holes to run through against KC as well as the Jets (more impressive). The team has also not allowed a single sack yet this season. Fitzpatrick is even worse than we thought but congrats Spiller owners, he’s playing his way to the starting job and the lion’s share of the carries after Jackson is back. Cleveland next week, so I’ll be sure to have more fun-facts on this guy again next week. Top 3 RB next week.

Willis McGahee, RB, DEN – Once that first quarter ended, the Broncos were pretty much the team we were expecting.  The hole they dug was simply too deep to climb out of. Playing from behind the entire time, McGahee tallied 22 carries for 113 yards and 2 TDs. He may not have the same physical prowess he did in his youth but Manning will do a lot for his value the rest of the way.  Manning knows when they should be running the ball and has done a good job of audible-ing into effective running plays, most notably inside the 5 yard line.  Lastly, don’t worry about seeing Lance Ball and Knowshon Moreno get some carries. McGahee isn’t a young guy and these carries are about keeping his legs fresh.

Trent Richardson, RB, CLE – The Bengals were supposed to be a good defense, I don’t know what happened.  They were fine from a fantasy-perspective thanks to a return TD but they were assaulted by Richardson and Weeden.  I believe that if Haden was active in this game, the Browns would have won. Richardson’s value depends on the offensive line and Weeden keeping the passing game relevant. If I owned Richardson, which I don’t, I’d feel pretty decent about him as my RB2.

Danny Amendola, WR, STL – I don’t have anything new to say after my Pickups/Dump List post. But how can I not include him here? 15 grabs, 160 yards and a score.

Duds

Jamaal Charles, RB, KC – There are a lot of confusing reports about why Charles saw barely any work in this lopsided defeat. Some are saying that he simply wasn’t getting it done and was pulled and others say he suffered a minor set-back to his knee injury and was sidelined to preserve the work he’s put in rehabbing since last season.  I don’t know what happened but I do know that he gave me one point in 2 leagues and that’s not acceptable.  I personally don’t think he saw enough carries to reasonably be benched for poor performance and lean towards the set-back side of the conversation, which is potentially worse. If he plays, I’m gonna start him. I was a firm believer in the preseason and I’m a stubborn guy.

Jay Cutler, QB, CHI – I’m not going to discuss his rant or the pre-game comments. I’m going to talk about fantasy points. He had two. I severely mis-judged Cutler in this match up and it’s because I let the poor secondary play of the Packers in week 1 distract me from the perpetually poor offensive line play of the Bears. Marshall was bottled up in man coverage with a safety keeping a lid on the deep routes all game and they both got frustrated.  Cutler couldn’t find a guy down the field under the pressure that Clay Matthews was bringing and forced some bad throws.  The day could have been salvaged if Marshall didn’t drop that pass in the end-zone.

Brandon Marshall, WR, CHI – Read above.  They were both so bad, they each just needed to be named on this list. Don’t worry much going forward though, they’ll remain a competitive team.

Chris Johnson, RB, TEN – He doesn’t have an offensive line to open and holes for him and on the few occasions they do open one up, he isn’t running through them.  It’s like last season all over again and I’m getting close to suggesting you bail out and dump him in almost any trade you can make happen. He needs to use his quickness to burst through the opening and get into the second level before he starts trying to dance a round and break off a HUGE gain.

Dez Bryant, WR, DAL – The Cowboys just never seem to put it all together over multiple weeks. They go on the road to Seattle, which isn’t easy but they just knocked off the defending champs in Week 1 and sights were set high.  Get ready for a roller coaster.  Ill let Bryant be the poster-boy for this failure but everyone but Murray was a disappointment.  They’ll keep being a hot and cold offense but your going to have to keep them out there unless the cold spells last more than 2 weeks in a row.

Peyton Manning, QB, DEN – Don’t panic about this one but three first-quarter interceptions is not a promising way to start a game on the road.  This was his first road game since his return and I suppose it got to him early on.  He looked good later though and audibles to a run at the goal line which kept him from a decent fantasy-point total on the week.  He wasn’t drafted as an elite guy so you can expect some sub-optimal games but he’s still going to be quite effective.

Andre Johnson, WR, HOU – The Texans are a run-first team and there is a reason why Johnson went late.  I bit too hard on his week 1 performance and ranked him on talent. There will be games when the Texans have no need to push the ball through the air and while you are going to have to start him, hopefully he is your WR2.

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Studs

Robert Griffen III, QB, WAS – Griffen became the first player to EVER amass 300 yards passing, at least 2 TDs and 0 INT’s in his debut performance.  I want to caution people from assuming that RG3 is this season’s Cam Newton.  There was NEVER a Cam Newton before and I will continue to assume that these young guys who have early success are going to be inconsistent and hard to trust until they prove to me that I’m wrong, just like Cam did.

Kevin Ogletree, WR, DAL – With all the Cowboys receiving threats banged up and out of sync due to missing practice, Ogletree has a CAREER day. As I said yesterday, his game totals in week 1 stack up favorably against the entire rest of his career.  I think we can expect Ogletree to be a poor-man’s Laurent Robinson from last season.

C.J. Spiller, RB, BUF – I’m going to keep this brief because talking about my Bills makes me want to tear my hair out and hibernate until next season already.  Fred Jackson is out for 3-8 weeks and this job is WITHOUT A DOUBT Spiller’s. After coming in for Jackson on Sunday, CJ totaled 169 yards and 2 scores with a lost fumble. Spiller is a mediocre RB2 and great flex play for as long as Jackson is out.

Mark Sanchez, QB, NYJ – Can you believe this guy was a top 10 QB? Me neither. Don’t freak out and don’t go grab him… this team has some serious problems and my major issue is Sanchez’s talent.  Treat this as a fluke and maybe give him a bench spot after next week if he can repeat this performance.

Stevan Ridley, RB, NE – Shane Vereen wasn’t there for the Pats on Sunday but from a team that has always been a committee, no matter who is healthy, Ridley did it all this week. 21 carries for 125 yards and a score was a big surprise to me. It will get more murky in the Pats backfield once Vereen comes back but until then, I’d be willing to risk being burned and start Ridley next week as an RB2 or flex.

Lance Moore, WR, NO – Now this was admittedly a weird game but, Moore saw 10 targets with his team playing from behind.  I don’t have stats to see what quarter the targets came in but he was clearly being targeted more than I thought he would and he wasn’t deemed own-able by a lot of people in a standard, 10 team league.  That is different now. PPR flex play and bench depth is how I see Moore now.

Duds

Wes Welker, WR, NE – Welker was not on the field all the time and he wasn’t the most targeted receiver… The Pats aren’t typically an open book with injuries and maybe Welker was slightly banged up… but I don’t think so.  We need to keep an eye open to figure this out but you gotta keep running Welker out there a couple more weeks, no matter how painful it gets.

Michael Turner, RB, ATL – Alright Turner, the offense actually appears to be moving though the air.  The reason I believe that they are really shying away from the run is that Turner did so poorly ON THE ROAD.  In the past they leaned on Turner and the run game when they traveled and Matt Ryan just went nuts in this game anyways. You’ve gotta love what you saw from the passing game… unless you own Turner.  Try and get him to your bench if you can… but it will probably be tough.

Hakeem Nicks, WR, NYG – I am not going to panic as the Giants as a whole did not play a good football game but, I think Nicks is the guy they look at to pick them up and give them a tide-turning play and he couldn’t do that.  3 points is NOT enough from a WR1 and I know I’m not alone in having a team at 0-1 because of him.  Expect better the rest of the way and try to remember that the Giants are historically slow starters.

Chris Johnson, RB, TEN – In the preseason, CJ looked almost back to 2k form.  He looked more like he was in 1k form in this game.  The Titans were facing the aerial assault of Tom Brady but they kept the game in reach for a while and if Johnson was more effective, he’d have gotten more touches. The lack of RB depth forced people to take a chance on Johnson but he could prove to cost a LOT of people their season if he can’t get it turned around. Now.

Peyton Hillis, RB, KC – This was the “back up” that was supposed to be safest to play… Charles was indeed held to a limited number of touches and HE was effective with them… but the Chiefs were down quick and had to throw, leaving Hillis with not much to do. Don’t overreact yet but maybe he won’t be the smartest flex play until that offense settles down.

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Studs

Victor Cruz, WR, NYG – He only had three catches but when one of them is a 99 yard TD grab, it’s a good day regardless. Cruz had 167 yards and a score on those three catches in a BIG win for the Giants.  He will need another big win next week against the Cowboys to make the playoffs and Cruz will remain a must-start and one of the biggest free agency acquisitions of the 2011 season.

Bills, D/ST, BUF – The Buffalo defense started the season as an incredibly opportunistic unit that forced an absurd amount of interceptions and turnovers.  Going into this game, Tim Tebow had just 5 interceptions on his entire career and yet he had 4 in this game.  The only thing I take from this game is the same thing I took from the Bills-Patriots game earlier in the season; The Bills defense has some great pieces in place for the future and they faced a QB having an off day.

Jordy Nelson, WR, GB – The Packers bounced back quick against the Bears this week and did so on the arm of Aaron Rodgers as normal.  They were still without Greg Jennings but Nelson stepped up in a big way. Nelson was over 100 yards with 2 scores and really rewarded his fantasy-owners that stuck by him the past couple weeks.

C.J. Spiller, RB, BUF – Spiller just keeps getting better with each passing game.  People were eager to call him a bust but there was just no reason to do so as he wasn’t given a chance to succeed behind Fred Jackson.  Since Jackson went on IR and Spiller took over, he has gotten better with each passing game. Expect that to continue next week against a poor Patriots secondary.

Joe Webb, QB, MIN – The Vikings were playing mediocre football when Christian Ponder left the game this week with a concussion and Joe Webb stepped in. Webb attempted just 5 passes but still got to 20 fantasy points with 4 completions for 84 yards and 2 passing TDs.  He also had 5 carries for 34 yards and another TD.  Webb is a playmaker and will be a bit “feast or famine” when he plays.  But if your in a 2 QB league or able to play a QB in your flex spot, Webb might be a solid play in your week 17 super bowl.

Duds

Cedric Benson, RB, CIN – The Bengals had a soft match up against the Cardinals this week and they won to keep their playoff hopes alive. Benson on the other hand only had 50 yards on the ground and yet with two lost fumbles, his fantasy owners got just one fantasy point. Huge disappointment.

A.J. Green, WR, CIN – Clearly the Bengals relied on some unusual suspects this week in their win, with the 2nd offensive star showing up on my Duds list.  Green had been a huge offensive star for the Bengals and had beaten almost every match up that he had faced this season.  He did not get the better of Patrick Peterson however and had just 25 yards receiving. He also had 25 yards rushing to add a couple extra points in there but four points is disappointing.

LeGarrette Blount, RB, TB – After fumbling the opening snap of the game, Blount didn’t see the field much Sunday.  Head coach Maurice Morris said ”To not get that play executed on the first play of the football game is unacceptable” and he is right.  He also said that he won’t give up on Blount but his fantasy owners should next week.

Steve Smith, WR, CAR – The Panthers won big and Smith was a big part of their turn-around season.  He was not a big part of this win though. Just two fantasy points.  He was never the most consistent receiver but you should still be starting him next week if your still alive.

BenJarvus Green-Ellis, RB, NE – You don’t need me to tell you that starting the Law Firm is really risky these days but just one fantasy point is a huge disappointment.  I know he is in a committee system but he used to see the lion’s share of the work. He doesn’t always get that anymore.

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Studs

Drew Brees, QB, NO – The Saints are still clicking on all cylinders and Drew Brees really put any concerns to rest that may have come from their narrow victory in Tennessee. Brees completed 32 of 40 passes for 412 yards and 5 scores in a dismantling of the Minnesota Vikings.  Brees has finished the year incredibly well and especially considering that he saved his best football for the playoffs. He has catapulted thousands of mediocre teams to the championship game with his past two performances.

LeSean McCoy, RB, PHI – McCoy is most likely going to be #2 in my MVP race for the 2011 Fantasy Football season.  Aaron Rodgers is almost a lock and Drew Brees is simply out playing Rodgers in the playoffs as of right now but no one has had the consistency of McCoy outside of the QB position. Another 100 yard game and 3 TDs. Welcome to your Super Bowl.

Calvin Johnson, WR, DET – It is very possible that Calvin Johnson owners survived last week in the playoffs and were still in the hunt for a championship title but plenty, myself included, are not. Regardless, Oakland was not able to answer the duo of Megatron and Matthew Stafford who were in 2nd and 3rd place for total fantasy points in week 15. This duo will be a nightmare should the Lions right the ship and finish strong enough to make the post-season.

C.J. Spiller, RB, BUF – The Dolphins have had some considerable success stopping the run and that has been a big part of their recent turn-around. C.J. Spiller had a break out performance this week despite only 12 carries.  Spiller had 91 yards and a score on the ground and complimented this performance with another 9 catches, 76 yards and a score.

Roddy White, WR, ATL – White has been somewhat of a disappointment this season despite finishing strong with this week being his 5th straight game with double digit points and best game of the season this week.  10 catches for 135 yards and 2 TDs. Obviously you can’t expect too many games like this but I didn’t think it would take until week 15 for his first one!  Nice to see if his fantasy owners are still alive and White has been playing well for a few weeks and just may have given you a late push into the post season.

Donald Brown, RB, IND – Brown averaged just over 10 yards per rush in the Colts’ first win of the season.  He totaled 161 yards and had an 80 yard TD run at the end to close out the game.  You weren’t starting him but anyone that can get the Colts a win is worth mentioning.

Duds

Percy Harvin, WR, MIN – Just 3 catches for 8 yards is a HUGE disappointment for a guy that went on a hot streak as soon as the best offensive weapon of the Vikings went down with injury.  Peterson came back and Harvin did absolutely nothing.  He was even targeted 7 times in the passing game and there is no excuse for his inability to get one fantasy point.  If you made it into the Super Bowl with Harvin on your team you need to seriously consider sending Harvin to the bench.

Eli Manning, QB, NYG – Your season is over Eli owners. Eli outscored just one QB that started this week so far and that was Blaine Gabbert.  Two different Titan QBs were either tied or better than Eli and you were better off playing T.J. Yates, Dan Orlovsky, Tavaris Jackson, Seneca Wallace or even Caleb Hanie.

Wes Welker, WR, NE – People don’t give Champ Bailey any credit but I will when I rank Stevie Johnson next week.  Bailey held Welker to 4 fantasy points and while you can survive a bad game from a WR or RB, the playoffs isn’t where you want these games from your studs.

Adrian Peterson, RB, MIN – He averaged 6 yards per carry but only had 10 touches. You need more than 6 points from your number one overall draft pick in the playoffs and more importantly to me, the Viking offense lost a spark when they got their best player back.  Toby Gerhart and Percy Harvin were both getting carries the past few weeks and Gerhart was getting better numbers than Peterson did this week and Harvin completely disappeared.

Jordy Nelson, WR, GB – All of the Packer receivers were targeted just 4 times in this game but Nelson was the guy that needed to step up and fill-in for Greg Jennings and he was not able to get it done against Brandon Flowers and the Chiefs.  Jermichael Finley stepped up big-time with 10 targets and the best yardage total but Donald Driver got the score.  At the end of the day, Rodgers had over 20 fantasy points and that isn’t really that bad, despite what his average on the season is.

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Studs

Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, JAC – There is certainly no better place to start than the guy who ended my season and the season of many others.  MJD went absolutely crazy this week against the Buccaneers and totalled FOUR TDs on 136 all-purpose yards.  He was the highest scoring player from week 14 and if he can carry the Jaguars’ offense, he can carry your fantasy team too.

Tony Romo, QB, DAL – Yes, Dallas lost the game.  Tony Romo still had a big statistical performance for fantasy owners after starting RB DeMarco Murray went down early in the game.  Felix Jones filled in well against a soft rush defense but it was Romo’s 321 yards and 4 TDs that really kept Dallas in this game and it took some late heroics from Eli to take this game from Dallas.

Shonn Greene, RB, NYJ – Assuming you didn’t reach for him as your RB1 at draft time, you may have gotten by and into the playoffs with Green as your RB2. Good for you if you did because now that he is on fire late in the year, he is fast becoming one of the best second RBs that you could ask for. And you have to love a player that is at his best when it matters most for you.

Julio Jones, WR, ATL – These big-play guys can be frustrating but you have to start them when they have a soft match up.  And if you did this week with Jones, it paid off in a big way.  He only managed 3 catches but they totaled 104 yards and two scores.

Rob Gronkowski, TE, NE – The only thing crazier than how unbelievably good Gronkowski has been this season is how early he will be taken in fantasy drafts next year.  He has already set the single-season TD record which was previously 13 for tight ends.  His current tally is 15 and counting with 3 games remaining. I heard an interesting fact on ESPN’s Fantasy Focus Podcast this week; If you took away all the TDs from Gronkowski and let all the other players keep theirs, he would still be the 4th highest scoring TE in the NFL for fantasy.

Marques Colston, WR, NO – The Saints offense did not look like it has in recent weeks.  They don’t play near as well outside and the Titans secondary did a great job of bottling up the receivers of New Orleans until the 4th quarter.  When it mattered most, to win the game, Brees found Colston twice on scoring plays and managed to squeak out a win.

Duds

Calvin Johnson, WR, DET – The Lions passing game was working pretty well with a soft match up this week and yet Calvin Johnson only had 29 receiving yards and 11 rushing.  Three fantasy points is not enough from the top receiver in the NFL for fantasy football and it hurt a lot of people in a bad way. You have to keep starting him but I don’t expect teams to stop double covering him anytime soon.

Jermichael Finley, TE, GB – Zilch. Zippo. Nadda.  This is exactly how many points and catches Finley had this week.  Just one target too, that is what legitimately scares me. I expected more from Finley this year but his targets have been low and aren’t getting any better.  He is not a top 5 option like he was drafted as.

Ahmad Bradshaw, RB, NYG – Hey, Bradshaw… how about you show up to team meetings…  He was benched for the first half of the game and wasn’t that productive in the 2nd half. Brandon Jacobs ran well in his place but there wasn’t much warning about this and it destroyed a lot of match ups this week.

Greg Jennings, WR, GB – This isn’t the first time Jennings’ numbers have been low but it is the first time that the entire Packers passing game had a mediocre day.  That’s what happens when the running game gets the job done for a change. Don’t be too worried about it if you made it through but you could easily have been eliminated by Jennings’ poor performance.

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Studs

Cam Newton, QB, CAR – This week’s highest scoring player is also the NFL record holder for rushing touch downs by a quarterback. Pretty impressive with 4 games left to play from a rookie that frankly many people, myself included, expected to be a bust. I expected this big game to come last week against the Colts but a Josh Freeman-less Buccaneers team is not a whole lot better.  Newton racked up 204 yards passing, 54 yards rushing and he caught a 27 yard pass too, because he needed to do more to justify his super man end zone celebration.

Shonn Greene, RB, NYJ – Greene had only two TDs on the season before Sunday. He had three in this week’s game on the road at Washington.  He rushed 22 times for 88 yards and threw in 2 more fantasy points worth of receiving yards. He was most effective when it mattered, late in the game with the lead and should have earned enough trust to reliably see 20 touches the rest of the way.  Especially considering LT is having a trouble staying healthy.

Percy Harvin, WR, MIN – With Adrian Peterson on the sidelines in street clothes, the Vikings have really looked to Harvin in order to provide a spark.  That spark immediately caught fire as Harvin’s stats and fantasy value have never been better.  He averaged just under 4 yards per rush and had 8 grabs for 159 yards and 2 scores.  My gut says that Peterson misses one more game and Harvin would be considered a top 10 option if this is true.  Coach Frazier was encouraging about Peterson’s progress on Monday and said that he is “very close” to returning.  I for one see no reason for them to rush their franchise back into action too soon with the season already out of control and an offense that is still quite productive.

Ray Rice, RB, BAL – Rice absolutely tore the Cleveland Browns to shreds this week.  It was almost hard to watch unless you happen to own Rice, then it was like Christmas came early. 29 carries for 204 yards and a score in the best game of his young career. Indianapolis, San Diego and Cleveland again are on the horizon for the fantasy playoffs and Rice is sure to be a big part of his owners’ playoff run.

Pierre Garcon, WR, IND – Since Curtis Painter was pretty terrible, the Colts looked to Dan Orlovsky and Pierre Garcon remained the favorite target.  He was targeted twice as much as Reggie Wayne was and hauled in 9 catches for 150 yards and two TDs.  Don’t take this for more that it was, one good game from an inconsistent receiver against the worst secondary in the NFL. With Baltimore next week I will rank Garcon above Wayne, but neither of them are likely to crack the top 40.

Marshawn Lynch, RB, SEA – Lynch has been on fire lately and incredibly consistent.  Before week 9 Lynch had yet to have a 100 yard game on the season or back-to-back 100 yard games in his entire career.  In four of the last five weeks he crossed the century mark and has done it back-to-back twice. I am confident he will do well next week against the Rams, who are ranked 32nd on the NFL, but after that he plays against Chicago (8th in the league vs. the run) and then San Francisco (1st).  The bubble will burst soon but not next week.

Duds

DeMarco Murray, RB, DAL – Dallas made an effort to get Felix Jones more involved this week against Arizona and it back fired big time.  They lost in overtime to what should have been an easy opponent for them and were forced to turn back to Murray down the stretch.  The momentum was never in Dallas’ favor and Murray only had 12 rushes.  As a Murray owner, I hope Dallas learned their lesson and continues to use him as a feature back. He provided a consistent presence in the running game that this offense has not had in a long time and it was working.  I think you have to start him this week in the playoffs against the Giants.  This is going to be a crucial game for Dallas and New York has been vulnerable to the run, allowing 127 yards per game on the season.

Steve Smith, WR, CAR – Just three points is really hard to swallow considering how well the Panthers offense played and how big a game Cam Newton had.  Because the offense is doing just fine I am not concerned about Smtih going into the playoffs.

Michael Turner, RB, ATL – We need to take notice of how ineffective the run was against the Texans.  They played well and earned a tough win against Atlanta this week with TJ Yates at QB.  Houston is also looking to add Jeff Garcia to the roster and he might just wind up the starter, which I think would be an upgrade once he learns the offensive playbook.  This is two rough games for Turner in a row but going against Carolina this week should get things moving in the right direction.

LeGarrette Blount, RB, TB – The Buccaneers missed Josh Freeman this week but they missed a quality running game more.  Blount had just 1.7 yards per carry on only 11 carries and was a huge disappointment for his fantasy owners in what should have been an easy match up. Jacksonville is next week and they have a very quality rush defense so I would consider Blount a flex play at best.

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Studs

Chris Johnson, RB, TEN – He didn’t find the endzone in this game but we can forgive him because he racked up 190 yards!  About time CJ. I’ll be treating him as a low end RB1 until im sure he really has it turned around. Hopefully he does and hopefully its not too late for you.

Drew Brees, QB, NO – The Saints have been a very good football team all year long. Brees and the offense played as close to perfect as I have seen them play all season last night and Brees ended up the top-scoring fantasy player in the NFL for week 12. If you own Brees and are headed into the playoffs, you should be ecstatic. This offense is scary to say the least and with Graham and Sproles really entrenched into this offense now, they are firing on all cylinders.

Roy Helu, RB, WAS – The Skins finally had a solid running game this week with Helu carrying the load and Torain riding the pine. We have little reason to expect Shanahan to keep riding Helu but he will remain a solid flex play for as long as he keeps being the most productive back on that offense.

Victor Cruz, WR, NYG – I am almost tempted to start rankings Cruz above Nicks but I just won’t be able to do it.  Cruz is a must-start and really ought to be above Manningham on the depth chart when both guys are healthy. Cruz’s hands and speed are a scary combination that have really proved to be a difference maker for the Giants.  Nicks is still the go-to-guy and a better red-zone target so he will remain above Cruz on my rankings but the gap is getting very narrow.

Beanie Wells, RB, ARI – Beanie is incredibly frustrating from a fantasy standpoint. He is #9 in the NFL among RBs for fantasy points scored yet he has had 4 pretty terrible games and very possibly cost you wins in each of those weeks. Bottom line with Wells is that when he is healthy, you have to start him.  The Cardinals offense relies heavily on the running game to provide balance and he WILL see a large number of carries in every start that he gets.

Johnny Knox, WR, CHI – Caleb Hanie played pretty poorly in this game but the Bears were competitive in the game and Hanie was able to exploit the Raiders’ secondary at times and find his top receiver on a fair few big plays. Knox had a great game all around and helped with kick returns too but I would be careful trusting him too much next week.  I want to see him do it next week before I bother to try and start him with my season on the line.

Duds

Jordy Nelson, WR, GB – This was a bit of an off-week for Rodgers and the Packers.  They won fairly convincingly but Jennings, Nelson AND Jones didn’t all catch TD passes.  Off weeks are tough… Keep starting Nelson as he scores far more often than not and there are a lot of mouths to feed in that passing game.

Frank Gore, RB, SF – Don’t beat yourself up for starting him, you had to. But, only one straw was going to break in that game on Thanksgiving night and it wasn’t the Ravens’. With the Rams and Cardinals as opponents over the next two weeks, Gore is sure to get things turned around.

Vincent Jackson, WR, SD – I still can’t decide what the bigger story was out of that GREAT game on Sunday between the Chargers and the Broncos; the Chargers’ continued collapse or the Broncos continued surge.  One thing is sure, talent isn’t enough.  Jackson and Rivers should easily both be top 10 fantasy producers at their positions but Norv Turner does not seem to have this team playing for anything at the moment.  VJax is just a mediocre WR2 the rest of the way and ideally you can use him in your flex.

Mike Wallace, WR, PIT – I loved Wallace this week and couldn’t have been more wrong.  I would love him again next week if they played against the Chiefs again however.  I didn’t see a lot of this game but it was disheartening that the Steelers were not able to rout the hapless Chiefs. A win is a win however so we will have to just keep playing our Steelers and not panic much over a mediocre game.

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