Looking Back

Week 14 of the fantasy season is upon us, and for many, that means playoffs. If you are one of the six teams in your league fortunate enough to make it this far, I’m assuming you have all the parts you need, so we should dive into reminiscing about what got us this far.

In this post, I’ll be running down the sidelines with the top five things that went right and the top five things that, well, didn’t help us when we needed them to.

What went right?

1. Antonio Gates. Last year it was Vernon Davis, but this time around the West Coast has provided another top receiver from the TE slot. Gates ranks 17th in receiving yards but 4th in TD’s and is fantasy’s best TE this year.

2. The Kansas City Chiefs. The AFC West leading Chiefs are having a tremendous season after they were offensively challenged last year. Matt Cassel is performing at as high of a level as when he was on the Patriots oh so long ago. Dwayne Bowe leads receivers in TD’s, and their running attack is one of the best in the game and is split between Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones.

3. Michael Vick. This story has been my favorite all year long and is really encouraging. Vick went from convict to MVP candidate and leading Pro-Bowl vote getter in a matter of a year and a half. He has been trouble for defenses both on the ground and in the air. His 15 passing TD’s and six rushing TD’s are remarkable since he didn’t even start out as the Eagles’ starter and also has lost time to injury. His attitude toward life has changed since his dog-fighting incident in 2007 and he is poised to make the most of the rest of his career.

4. Wide Receivers. I know most of us didn’t know these guys were still playing, much less providing great fantasy value. Terrell Owens and Brandon Lloyd are top wide receivers of the year and have been producing solidly all season long.

5. Running backs. Let me list off the guys we have counted on all year long: Arian Foster, Adrian Peterson, Maurice Jones-Drew, Darren McFadden. The RB slot has been solid all year long with the only surprise coming from the NFL’s leading rusher Foster. Peterson and Jones-Drew were no slouches either and they have repaid those who drafted them first or second with great seasons.

What went wrong?

1. Tony Romo. Romo has missed the entire season since week seven and a return isn’t in sight. He was one of the league’s top QB’s when healthy, but he ruined many fantasy teams’ chances of glory when he went down early on.

2. Vincent Jackson. With a suspension and an injury to start the year many still had hope that he could come through toward the end of the year and be a top WR, but since his return, he hasn’t touched the playing field because his injuries are piling up.

3. Beanie Wells. I know he isn’t really a household name and wasn’t expected to overwhelm us with fantasy goodness, but Wells was supposed to provide us with some cheer from the abysmal Cardinals offense. Well, he hasn’t and isn’t even their starting RB at this point.

4. Anyone on the Vikings not named Adrian. Brett Favre has been a disappointment. Unless off-field scandals scored points, he won’t be relevant the rest of the year this season, nor will he be next season. At this point I am thoroughly convinced he will die in the huddle, which is admirable, but he needs to hang things up. His buddy, Brad Childress, was fired as head coach and I wouldn’t be surprised if the team went a different direction without Favre next year. The surprising trade and then release of star WR Randy Moss was just funny, enough said. Percy Harvin and Sidney Rice have had their bright spots, when they were on the field, but health has been an issue for the two young WR’s. Hopefully the Vikings can redeem themselves next time around.

5. The San Francisco 49ers. Perhaps I am just biased and so I am severely disappointed because they are my team, but the Niners just haven’t been those division-dominating, fantasy value supplying machines we thought they’d be this year. To start out, the loss of Frank Gore two weeks ago was a major hit. When most teams needed him, Gore had to be shut down for the year with a broken hip leaving our playoff hopes in jeopardy. Michael Crabtree was also a major factor in the downfall of the 49ers fantasy potential. The sophomore WR was expecting big things, but he didn’t really live up to the hype. Their defense was a top ranked squad this year, but hasn’t quite fulfilled our expectations. Oh Well. I’m looking forward to next year with my fingers crossed