Week Fifteen: Playoff Time!

Fantasy Sharks December 13, 2007

Week 15 is round one or round two of the playoffs, depending on the league you play in. For those who fell short, start making notes now on what prevented you from making the post season. Many of us like to blame injuries and bad luck on a poor fantasy season but if you look back on your season game by game you may uncover the root of the problem. There are many factors that go into a winning and losing season. Some of it is just unexplainable like injuries or players underperforming but often it can be poor drafting and poor waiver pick ups. If you were on the ball you may have picked up players like Earnest Graham, Derek Anderson and Ryan Grant. Those who didn’t are stick with players like Dominic Rhodes, J.P. Losman and Joe Horn. The draft is never your final team. The draft is a starting point for you to mold your team into contention. Start with the roster you had in week one and map out the changes from week to week and see where you came up short. This will help you for next years planning.

When trying to decide who should be in your line-ups you need to look at who has been hot at each position over the last three weeks. You must also keep in mind injuries and opportunities.

The charts below are ranked according to Shark League PPR scoring.

Color Key:

COLD

AVERAGE

HOT

Rank

QBs

WK 12

WK 13

WK 14

3 WK AVE

+/–

Tom Brady

24.00

Peyton Manning

23.33

Drew Brees

22.00

Tony Romo

20.67

-2

Kurt Warner

20.33

-1

Jay Cutler

19.00

David Garrard

17.67

Matt Hasselbeck

17.67

Derek Anderson

17.00

-3

Brett Favre

15.33

Philip Rivers

15.00

Tarvaris Jackson

14.67

Ben Roethlisberger

14.00

Jon Kitna

13.33

Carson

Palmer

12.67

-4

Kellen Clemens

12.67

Vince Young

12.33

-14

Kyle Boller

12.33

-1

Luke McCown

12.33

Eli Manning

11.67

-1

Removed From list:

A. J. Feeley, Jason Campbell,

Rex Grossman

Rank

RBs

WK 12

WK 13

WK 14

3 WK AVE

+/–

Ladainian Tomlinson

32.33

Frank Gore

28.33

Brian Westbrook

28.00

Earnest Graham

26.67

Ryan Grant

26.67

Jamal Lewis

26.00

Marion Barber

25.00

+12

Steven Jackson

23.67

-1

Justin Fargus

21.00

Chester

Taylor

20.67

-8

Willis McGahee

19.67

-3

Fred Taylor

19.67

Clinton

Portis

19.00

Joseph Addai

18.33

-1

Kevin Jones

18.00

Adrian Peterson CHI

18.00

Kolby Smith

17.33

-6

Rudi Johnson

16.67

Willie Parker

16.67

Fred Jackson

15.67

Removed From list:

Thomas Jones, Ron Dayne, Edgerrin James

Maurice Morris, Reggie Bush

Rank

WRs

WK 12

WK 13

WK 14

3 WK AVE

+/–

Roddy White

22.67

Brandon Marshall

21.67

+13

Chad

Johnson

20.67

Greg Jennings

20.00

Reggie Wayne

19.33

Braylon Edwards

19.00

Hines Ward

19.00

Marques Colston

19.00

Larry Fitzgerald

18.33

-5

Andre Johnson

18.33

-1

Randy Moss

18.00

-9

Plaxico Burress

18.00

Wes Welker

17.67

Torry Holt

17.33

-3

Jabar Gaffney

17.33

-7

Terrell Owens

17.00

-15

Anthony Gonzalez

16.67

Bobby Engram

16.00

Donald Driver

14.33

-7

Deion Branch

14.33

Removed From list:

Kevin Curtis, Derrick Mason

T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Santana Moss

Rank

TEs

WK 12

WK 13

WK 14

3 WK AVE

+/–

Jason Witten

20.33

Tony Gonzalez

17.00

Chris Cooley

16.67

-2

Antonio Gates

15.33

-1

Dallas

Clark

14.00

-1

Kellen Winslow

13.67

-4

Owen Daniels

13.00

-1

Desmond Clark

10.67

Marcedes Lewis

10.00

-1

Tony Scheffler

9.33

Vernon

Davis

9.00

Robert Royal

8.67

Donals Lee

8.33

-4

Ben Utecht

7.67

Zach Miller

7.33

-3

Delanie Walker

7.33

Alge Crumpler

7.00

Bo Scaife

6.67

-3

Jeff King

6.33

Leonard Pope

6.33

Removed From list:

Alex Smith, Chris Baker

Jeremy Shockey, Ben Watson

Rank

KRs

WK 12

WK 13

WK 14

3 WK AVE

+/–

Robbie Gould

14.00

Josh Scobee

14.00

Mike Nugent

13.67

Jason Hanson

12.67

Mason Crosby

12.33

Jason Elam

11.00

Rian Lindell

11.00

Nick Folk

10.67

Ryan Longwell

10.67

Nate Kaeding

10.33

Matt Bryant

9.67

-3

Stephen Gostkowski

9.67

Shaun Suisham

9.00

-6

Shayne Graham

8.67

Sebastian Janikowski

8.33

Phil Dawson

8.33

-10

Kris Brown

8.00

-9

John Kasay

8.00

Josh Brown

7.67

-3

Olindo Mare

7.67

Removed From list:

Matt Stover, Jeff Reed,

Lawrence Tynes

Rank

DEFs

WK 12

WK 13

WK 14

3 WK AVE

+/–

Vikings

25.00

Seahawks

19.00

Chargers

16.33

Saints

15.67

Colts

14.67

+13

Bills

14.33

+15

Rams

13.67

Jaguars

13.33

+14

Broncos

13.00

+11

Buccaneers

12.67

-8

Bears

12.67

Panthers

12.33

Packers

12.00

+10

Dolphins

11.67

-11

Bengals

11.67

-1

Jets

11.33

-11

Patriots

10.67

-11

Cowboys

10.67

-2

49ers

10.33

-9

Texans

9.67

Removed From list:

Steelers, Cardinals, Browns, Raiders

The Golden Mug Award

Awarded to the fantasy player who came through for their team.

Peyton Manning

– 249 yds 4TDs. Manning got some owners into the playoffs last week and looked like his old self. Owners will need him to continue his hot streak as he’s thrown 11TDs over the last 3 weeks.

Honorable Mention

Marion Barber III

– 43 yds 2TDs 61 yds rec 1TD. Barber has been more productive over the last 3 weeks as he has 4 total TDs in those games. Big game last week for his owners.

The Urinal Cake Award

Awarded to the fantasy player who you would like to, well you know.

Adrian Peterson

– 3 yds 0TDs. In week 13, he return from injury and received praises for his effort. Last week he laid an egg and may have cost some owners a chance to get into the playoffs.

Dishonorable Mention

Carson

Palmer

– 189 yds 0Tds 2INTs. Not a lot of people have been talking about Palmer’s lack of production but as a Fantasy QB he has been somewhat of a bust. He is currently the #9 QB in Shark Leagues but has only posted 3 games this year of 20+ points.

MATCH-UPS

The match-ups

I like this week for QBs:

Drew Brees

against the Cardinals- Brees is playing well at the right time for his owners. He has 8TDs over the past 3 weeks.

Arizona has given up plenty of yards and TDs over the past 3 weeks. They have allowed 832 yds with 8TDs and 2INTs. Look for Brees to continue on his hot streak now that Bush is done for the season.

Matt Hasselbeck

against the Panthers- Hasselbeck has been play well also over the past 3 weeks with 7TDs in those games. The Seahawks will rely more on the passing game as Alexander continues to struggle. The Panthers have given up 680 yds over the last 3 weeks with 7TDs allowed and 4INTs (all against

Trent Dilfer)

The match-ups

I like this week for RBs:

Earnest Graham against the Falcons.

Atlanta has lost their QB’s, their fans and now their head coach. This team is in a bigger mess than the Miami Dolphins are in my opinion.

Tampa will smell the blood and go for the jugular to secure the division. Over the last 3 weeks

Atlanta has gevin up 356 yds on the ground and 2TDs. Look for

Tampa to use Graham early and often. In case you haven’t noticed, Graham has 4TDs since week 12.

Ryan Grant

against the Rams. Grant has been a beast the last 3 weeks. He has rushed for 351 yds with 4TDs. Amazing enough is he is averaging 6 yds a carry in those games.

St. Louis is out of the playoff picture and have given up 382 yds on the ground over the last 3 weeks with 2TDs. The Packers will look to secure a 1^st round by with Grant paving the way.

The match-ups

I don’t like this week for QBs:

Vinny Testaverde

against the Seahawks. With his age and his injuries, Vinny hasn’t played well all year. He had a decent game against the 49ers but was shut down at

Jacksonville. The Panthers haven’t played well at home and face a Seahawk team that has allowed just 750 yds and 5TDs over the past 3 weeks. The big stat is the Seahawks 11INTs in those games.

Shaun Hill

against the Bengals. If there ever was a game where the Bengals defense can look good, it may be this one. Hill starts as the 49ers QB situation is hit by injuries. Look for the 49ers to rely on

Frank Gore but don’t expect much more. The Bengals defense has played well over the past 3 weeks allowing just 583 yds with only 2TDs and 4INTs.

The match-up

I don’t like this week for RBs:

Darius Walker

against the Broncos. Earlier in the season it seemed that everyone could run on the Broncos with ease. Over the last 3 weeks, they have cut that production down by allowing just 286 yds on the ground and 2TDs. Ron Dayne will likely be out leaving the bulk of the carries to Walker who will be the focus of the Broncos defense.

Shaun Alexander

against the Panthers. Alexander hasn’t been effective all year and if you haven’t been using him as a RB3 then he’s probably been on your bench. Even though the Panthers looked bad last week, Alexander will still perform poorly.

Carolina has given up just 328 yds and 1TD over the past 3 weeks.

Week fourteen’s brew of choice was Heineken draft. As always drink responsibly and don’t drink and drive.