^{Copyright © 2009 Jay Charles Johnson, all rights reserved}

The next to last week of the Fantasy season for most leagues had its’ share of excitement with record setting performances and some unlikely stars.  After the dust cleared, I am only alive in one of my eight leagues to play for a league championship.  I hope most of you reading are still in contention for some prize.

On to the Week 15 player notes that do not include those involved in the Giants/Redskins skirmish that Washington is hosting.

Quarterbacks:

Ben Roethlisberger

The Steelers are unlikely to make the playoffs, but they sure played like the defending Super Bowl Champion yesterday.  Pittsburgh bested Green Bay 37-36 on the last play of a thrilling game, with a 19 yard TD pass from Roethlisberger to rookie Mike Wallace as time expired.

Big Ben’s numbers for the day are almost beyond belief – completing 29 of 46 passes for a whopping 503 yards and 3 TDs, while becoming the first Steelers’ QB in history to throw for over 400 yards.  Anyone who had Roth on their bench this week must now give him consideration in Week 16 with the matchup hosting the Ravens.

Tony Romo

Tony Romo out-Breesed Drew Brees and was the best QB on field Saturday night against the Saints.  He was in a zone for most of the game, passing at will, converting big third downs and coolly moving his team down the field with a crowd noise level that was described as deafening.

He was 22 of 34 for 312 yards, and a TD and no INTs.  In fact, he hasn’t thrown a pick in four games, the longest streak in his career.  Maybe he has finally gotten the monkey off his back that he can’t win in December and/or an important game – the rest of the season will be telling.

Drew Brees

Brees stats weren’t that bad with 298 yards passing, with 1 TD and 1 INT.  However he was sacked four times and was pressured all night.  More worrisome is that the vertical game wasn’t there for New Orleans.  This was particularly true on the last drive when the Saints needed to move the ball downfield quickly to tie, but fell short.

It remains to be seen if the Cowboys have stumbled on the winning formula in stopping Brees and company.  It should be of little concern to his Fantasy owners, as with his current receiving corps, the numbers should remain solid.  However, if the rest of the season plays out in similar fashion as it did against Dallas, Brees won’t be the undisputed # 1 QB in Dynasty drafts starting next year.

Matt Schaub

From a Fantasy perspective, I think Schaub must now be ranked among the top fantasy QBs.  Despite his shoulder injury, he again put up good numbers, passing for 367 yards and 1 TD in the 16-13 victory over the Rams.

He has now topped the 4000 yard mark for the season.  This was his eighth 300+ yard game of the year and also his fifth game of at least 350 yards (which leads the NFL).  More importantly, he seems to have silenced those who questioned his durability.

Brett Favre

Favre was involved in an interesting soap opera on the sidelines last night and had a heated discussion with coach Brad Childress.  Childress tried to pull Favre in the third quarter with the Vikings leading 7-6, except Brett refused to leave the game. 

Favre’s insubordinate behavior does call into question who exactly is the coach and who is player on this team.  We all know Brett is a prima donna, but this crossed the line even for him.  I think the expression “be careful what you wish for, you may get it” is more than apt for Childress.

 Aaron Rodgers

In the losing effort to the Steelers, Rodgers is finishing the season in top form and was 26 of 48 for 383 yards and 3 TDs.  He should have a fine week upcoming facing the Seahawks at Lambeau Field.

Tom Brady

Tom Brady has not been doing his Fantasy owners any favors recently.  The Patriots beat the Bills 17-10, however Brady passed for a season low 115 yards and 1 TD.  This was the second week of substandard passing numbers and it was the first time he has thrown for less than 200 yards in successive games since weeks 14-15 of the 2006 season.  Jacksonville in next on the calendar, so perhaps he can redeem himself.

Peyton Manning

Despite rumors of being rested, Peyton Manning delighted his Fantasy owners in a surprisingly high scoring 35-31 win against the Jaguars by posting 308 yards passing along with 4 TDS and 1 INT. 

So, Manning and most of starters played the entire game, but what about next week?  Jim Caldwell was vague in his Monday press conference when asked that. Per Rotoworld, Caldwell said that “for a guy to be excluded from the game, it will be a health issue,” but he qualified that by saying “I could not tell you exactly…whether a guy is going to play one series or the entire game.”

Terrific, that is as clear as mud.  I would suggest Manning, Wayne, and Clark owners monitor any comments coming out of Colts headquarters this week to see if anything more is stated that would suggest that these players will not see limited action.  Alternative plans for substitute starters must be carefully considered as the star performers are all risky fantasy bets as things currently stand.

Joe Flacco

I will repeat what I said a couple months back, that Flacco will eventually develop into one of the top NFL and Fantasy QBs.  He affirmed that again yesterday, keeping the Ravens in the playoff hunt in a 31-7 route over the Bears.   He threw for 234 yards and a career high 4 TDs.  

Flacco is still a year or two away from morphing into elite QB status.  However, maturity will do that, along with eventually replacing the current receiving corps.   Derrick Mason is fine, but at 35 he doesn’t have many years left, while Mark Clayton is maddingly inconsistent.  The pieces of the puzzle will eventually all fall into place, but how long that will be is speculative.

Jamarcus Russell

Believe it or don’t, but Jamarcus Russell actually led the Raiders to victory on a 75 yard TD drive to beat the Broncos 20-19.  Russell entered the game after Charlie Frye was injured and the winning drive ended with Russell finding Chaz Schilens for a 10 yard TD with 35 seconds left on the clock. 

Russell had minimal Dynasty value coming into the Sunday game and that has not changed - his valiant performance notwithstanding.  Tom Cable has already indicated that Charlie Frye will again be the starter if he is healthy.  Apparently this unexpected fine performance wasn’t enough change even Al Davis’ mind. 

David Garrard

David Garrard had good Fantasy numbers with 223 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT, however for the second straight week he was unable to lead to his team to a fourth quarter score that was needed to pull out a victory. 

Given his age (31) and persistent rumors that Jacksonville had flirted with replacing him in the preseason, his days as a starter for the Jaguars seem numbered.  Look for the team to draft their QB of the future next spring, or in the alternative bring in some serious competition for him.

Matt Moore

I wouldn’t have given two cents prior to this week that Matt Moore would be the starter next year in Carolina.  However after throwing for 299 yards and 3 TDS last night he is certainly back in the equation. 

Jake Delhomme doesn’t seem to have it any more and the Panthers have traded away their 2010 first round draft pick.  Moore could go a long way towards locking up the QB position with some solid performances in the final two weeks of the season.

Running Backs

Jerome Harrison

I can’t believe I am writing this, but Jerome Harrison rushed for 286 yards and 3 TDs in the Browns 41-34 victory yesterday over the Chiefs.  It was the third highest rushing yard total in a game in NFL history and broke the franchise record of 237 yards posted by Jim Brown in 1961 against Philadelphia.

I certainly didn’t see this coming as Harrison was on the bench for the one league I own in him.  In fact I thought that Chris Jennings was actually the better Fantasy play.  It may be safe to say that the Browns may address other needs besides RB in the early rounds of the draft next year.

Jamal Charles

Another fine day for Charles with 25 carries for 154 yards and 1 TD.  It was against once of the worst run defenses in the league, but one can’t help but be impressed with his continued sustained production.

Chris “Beanie” Wells

Wells became the primary ball carrier for the Cardinals for the first time this season and responded with a career best 110 yards and a TD on 17 carries.  If he continues to develop, Arizona could have a quite a scary offense, attacking with Boldin and Fitzgerald in the air, along with Wells and Hightower on the ground.

Michael Bush

What is it with these Raiders RBs? It seems that every week the leader board changes.  This time it was Michael Bush with 18 carries for 133 yards and a TD. Next week it could well be either Fargas or McFadden.  As a Bush owner I am still hoping he will be dealt to another team next year, as it is impossible to predict with this three-headed-monster when he will have a good game.

Marion Barber

That figures, after most of his Fantasy owners had given up on him, Barber rushes for 62 yards and 2 TDs.  However, this is in the “too little, too late” category to elevate him to starting status in Week 16 against the Redskins.

Joseph Addai

Although the Colts did not officially rest any starters Thursday, it did appear that they were restricting Addai’s carries by getting Mike Hart heavily involved in the mix.  Subsequently, he finished the day with a modest 59 yards on 16 carries.

For the balance of season, Addai’s touches will probably just as limited, given the only healthy backup at the moment is Hart and Indianapolis could ill afford to be without Addai in their post season run.

Wide Receivers

Andre Johnson

Johnson had 9 catches for 196 yards, but amazingly there wasn’t a TD score to go with it.  In fact, he became only the second player this decade to have at least 195 receiving yards without a TD reception.  

Randy Moss

After a week of controversy involving whether or not he has been playing his hardest, Moss bounced back with 5 catches for 70 yards and a TD.  For those into factoids, this is his third straight year with 10 receiving TDs, which ties Jerry Rice for the most seasons with 10 scores in NFL history (at nine).

Joshua Cribbs

Cribbs was the WR to own if your league awards TD points scored on kickoff returns.  Cribbs scored 2 TDs on returns, one for 100 yards and the second for 103 yards.  It will be interesting to see how the Browns utilize Cribbs in the long term.

Vincent Jackson

Jackson seems to have gotten his mojo back at the right time for the Chargers, having a second consecutive good performance with 5 catches for 108 yards and 2 TDs.  Sadly, many of his Fantasy owners didn’t survive the dry spell he had from Weeks 9-13, so they were sitting on the sidelines in their league playoffs as he turned in these numbers.

Percy Harvin

Harvin started last night after missing a game with migraine headaches, but was held to one catch for 10 yards.  However a disturbing NBC report surfaced that he will be examined on Tuesday at the Mayo Clinic for two bulging discs in his neck.  Apparently, this is not something new.  Harvin told NBC’s Andrea Kremer that the back of his neck has become swollen and sore after every game since high school.

This is probably much ado about nothing, but Harvin and Childress fueled speculation regarding the severity of the condition by refusing to discuss the NBC report.  This, in turn, has caused wild speculation on message boards and blogs, with talk running the gamut from this being a minor medical issue to something that is career threatening.  Hopefully the situation will be clarified later in the week.

Mike Sims-Walker

After injures and two weeks of minimal stats, Sims-Walker jumped back into Fantasy relevance with 6 catches for 64 yards and a TD.  I suppose he merits a start next week if you own him, but his wildly inconsistent production would make one very nervous to put him in the lineup in a Fantasy championship game.

Kickers

Nick Folk

The only kicks Folk will be getting next week will probably be on Route 66 on his way out of Dallas.  After struggling for weeks, Folk fended off a replacement by winning a competition last week.  However he missed another chip shot field goal Saturday and almost cost Dallas the game, so he should be replaced.  The leading candidate seems to be former Redskin Shaun Suisham.

That’s all until next week, which will be my final weekly column of the season.

I can be reached at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it