Week Sixteen Wrap Up

With everything on the line in most fantasy football leagues this week, most star players didn't live up to expectations and possibly ruined their owners season.  Until the 8pm game, not a single running back reached 20 fantasy points, while 10 QB's scored 20 or more points.  It was unfortunately, that type of day in the NFL and if you survived it, congratulations.  If you didn't, I hope your league has a Week 17.

Stars

DeAngelo Williams - It was a rough day for running backs in the NFL, but not for the top fantasy back, DeAngelo Williams who ran for 108 and scored 4 TDs against the New York Giants.  Williams won a lot of fantasy championships yesterday for a lot of owners, too bad the Panthers lost the game.

(Photo by Reuters Photos)

Philip Rivers - With their playoff hopes on the line and a tough secondary in front him, Rivers had a fantastic game, passing for 287 yards and 4 TDs.  The Chargers will now host the Broncos with the AFC West title on the line.

Peyton Manning - Speaking of playoff spots on the line, the Colts had a chance to lockup their spot in the playoffs with a win over the Jaguars.  Manning didn't disappoint and connected for 3 TDs with 364 yards passing.  Peyton came up in a big way for his owners on Fantasy Super Bowl week.  However, if your league counts Week 17, you should be careful.  The Colts don't have anything to play for and Peyton will probably sit.

Brandon Jacobs - Playing on a bad knee, Brandon Jacobs came up big with 3 TDs and 87 yards rushing.  His bruising performance helped the Giants capture home field advantage throughout the playoffs in the NFC.

Visanthe Shiancoe - Now here's a name you don't see everyday.  The TE who is most famous for being filmed in the buff, caught 7 passes for 136 yards and 2 TDs.  Incredible numbers for a guy that never received for more than 68 yards this season before today.

 

Stumblers

Arizona Cardinals - For the second straight week the Cardinals were slammed by their opponent.  Perhaps they were not aware, but they needed to play 3 more games after clinching the division title.  Aside from Larry Fitzgerald, the Cards have been fantasy nightmares the past couple weeks.  If you were riding this offense throughout the season, you're really paying for it now.

Ben Roethlisberger - With the number one seed on the line, Big Ben didn't have one of his better games.  His indecisiveness and 4 turnovers (2 INTs, 2 lost fumbles) helped the Titans clinch home field throughout the playoffs.

Brett Favre - The "Pro Bowl" quarterback had a typical 2008 Brett Favre performance... bad.  Playing against the worst pass defense in the the NFL he threw for only 187 yards, 2 INTs and zero TDs.  Favre now has 1 TD and 6 INTs in his last four games.  Thank goodness the Pro Bowl doesn't count for anything.

Cowboys Defense - Playing in front of some of the greatest Cowboys of all time, including the No Name defense, the No Name offense of the Ravens ripped apart the Cowboys defense in the second half and lost 33-24.  Knowing that the Ravens were going to run the ball to try to run out the clock, the Boys stacked the line and gave up TD runs of 77 and 82 yards in the final three minutes of the game. 

Steve Slaton - After running for 100+ yards in three straight games, the Texans had the Raiders next on the schedule.  Slaton owners had to be salivating over this.  Too bad the meal never came.  Slaton only ran for 66 yards and failed to score a TD.

Posted Dec 22 2008, 09:19 AM by Nick Fruscello
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Comments

KevinZuk wrote re: Week Sixteen Wrap Up
on Mon, Dec 22 2008 12:51 PM

Hey Nick,

Hope the rest of the season went well for you. Mine was pretty good. I went into the last week of the regular season needing a win, and got it (by only about 4 points) limping into the playoffs as the sixth seed. Then I got superstitious (which is why I stopped commenting/asking questions... I also grew a "fantasy playoff beard" which I refused to shave, and I didn't wear my Steelers Jersey on gamedays in the playoffs) and won BIG the following week (my opponent benched DeAngelo Williams that week, but even with him in the lineup, I still would have won) scoring almost 200 points. Last week wasn't nearly as kind and I choked in the semi's against the eventual league champion. Mostly forgiven, though as my team scored more than the two championship teams this week (although there's no extra prize money for that). I picked up and started Tavaris Jackson and Visanthe Shiancoe, which got me some big points, Colston made up for a season-long absence, and Brandon Marshall even had 100 yards for a change. Housh got shut out, but going into tonight I hold a 155-58 lead over my opponent (a big-time rivalry game, anyway) who still has Ryan Grant and Donald Lee to go. Thanks for the advice this season, and I hope the rest of your playoffs go/went well.

KevinZuk wrote re: Week Sixteen Wrap Up
on Mon, Dec 22 2008 12:57 PM

By the way, two other notes here:

1. I dropped Scheffler as my TE this week after he LOST A YARD RUSHING last week... the only reason I picked up Shiancoe and started him was because I wanted to start Jackson as well.

2. DERRICK BRASSARD IS OUT FOR THE SEASON! Heartbreaking news for me, and definitely bad news for the fantasy community relying on any Blue Jackets players (All BOTH of you).

Nick Fruscello wrote re: Week Sixteen Wrap Up
on Mon, Dec 22 2008 3:12 PM

Hey Kevin,

Sorry to hear about your luck at the end, but it sounded like fun.  I try to avoid superstitions as much as possible because it'll drive me crazy.  If I believed in them and I lost, I would be like, "Ohhhhh man, I knew I should shouldn't have stepped on that crack in the street!"  I'm doing okay in my fantasy championship, I still have Week 17 to go.  Thanks to injuries (Romo, Barber, Colston, Winslow) I was under .500, but went on a big winning streak, made the playoffs, clobbered the 2nd seed in the semi finals and I had a 40 point lead against the 1st seed going into last night's game.  Of course, he had DeAngelo Williams and my comfortable 40 point lead is down to just 6 points.  UGH!  Stupid Giants... to make matters worse, the Panthers ended up losing the game, which means they'll have to play hard next week against the Saints, so I'm going to have to deal with Williams again.  

Its weird how moves help you from week to week.  I wanted Peyton Hillis against KC a few weeks ago and I lost out to someone who was higher on the waiver wire list, so I ended up with Pierre Thomas instead.  I can't say I'm too down about that, although he should have scored a lot more against the Lions yesterday.  I know, I thought of you when I saw Brassard was lost for the season.  He was pretty talented and I can already see him on my 09-10 fantasy hockey sleeper list.

Not a problem, Kevin.   To you and anyone else who didn't win your championship, there's always fantasy hockey!