Wow, did you see all the offense that took place during the second
playoff week in fantasy football? You didn’t? That’s
funny because here at the Buzz, we didn’t see much of it
either. All in all, fantasy points were hard to come by on Sunday,
so if you met your weekly average, you earned it. So, who were
the stars of Week 15…and who left you a game short of playing
for your league title? It’s all right here…the Buzz
starts…now!
The Super-Heroes:
The following players will be forever etched in your mind in a
positive way if you go on to win your league’s championship
this upcoming weekend. That’s because they produced at a
level that far exceeded their peers on Sunday:
Odell
Beckham Jr. - Normally, the phrase “the sky is the limit”
is uttered without a great deal of context to it. I think we have
finally found a player that aptly meets that description. Odell
Beckham, Jr. was dominant on many levels - 12 catches, 143 yards,
3 TDs against the Redskins. Maybe you drafted Beckham at the beginning
of the year and held on to him based on perceived potential. Maybe
you drafted him, but gave up on him as a rostered player after
a few weeks given he couldn’t get healthy until October. Maybe
you were the guy who out-bid everyone else for his services and
are now reaping the championship-level benefits. Whatever the
case, Beckham’s season has gone from being eye-opening to something
else entirely. As in, there’s not a player I would be more fearful
of having to face in a fantasy title game than Beckham right now.
That’s the highest praise a rookie WR could ever receive in the
print world of fantasy football. What a game.
Jeremy
Hill - The first time Cincinnati played Cleveland this season,
Hill made juvenile comments about how little respect the Browns
deserved after beating the Bengals soundly. This time around,
Hill let his play do the talking and if you started him on Sunday,
you had in your lineup the only running back to run for 100-plus
yards. Usually in December, a half dozen RBs will grind out 100-plus
due to poor weather conditions, but with the weather causing few
problems on Sunday, teams continued to try to pass the ball more
than run it. No so for Hill and the Bengals. Jeremy ran it 25
times for 148 yards and 2 TDs as the lead dog in a two-man pack
that included Giovani Bernard (15 carries, 90 yards). As was stated
before, on most fantasy semi-final weekends, Hill’s stat line
would still be great, but it wouldn’t stand out the way it did
this season. And, wouldn’t you know it- like Beckham, Hill is
just a rookie. Sometimes, the future of an endeavor becomes the
present.
Le’Veon
Bell - The trend continues. Bell has been a “super-hero” for
the better part of five weeks now. It really doesn’t even matter
that he gained less than three yards per carry on Sunday. What
matters most is the 119 total yards, the 2 TDs, and the 5 receptions
if you’re part of the PPR world. Bell has cemented himself as
a top-three pick in redrafts next year and with a solid Week 16,
he’ll likely be named the MVP of the fantasy playoff season. We’ll
announce the winner of that distinction along with several other
season-ending awards next Tuesday. For now, though, Bell remains
a poor man’s Marshall Faulk, which is good enough in this day
and age to qualify one as the best fantasy RBs in the business.
Bryant's 3-TDs on Sunday night moved him
into the top five among fantasy WRs for the season.
Dez
Bryant - Bryant is the guy Odell Beckham reminds me of most.
He drove the Philadelphia cornerbacks nuts on Sunday night with
his tremendous speed, separation ability, and hands. Bryant’s
3 TDs (to go along with 114 yards on 6 receptions) gave him 13
on the season and when the Cowboys get within 35 yards of the
goal line, he is a dynamic weapon. For fantasy owners, that sometimes
translates into transcendent performances that save your season
or propel you to a huge win. Chalk up Week 15 as one of those
performances. If you had Dez in your lineup, congrats. Chances
are about 80% that you will be playing for a title next weekend.
Drew
Brees - How many big games has Drew Brees had over the years
at the quarterback position during the fantasy playoff season?
Too many to count. And so it was Monday night as Brees no doubt
brought a few teams back from the brink and into the championship
round. 375 passing yards and 3 TDs was the best performance by
a quarterback for the week. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Pleased?
If you’re a Brees owner, you better be.
The Reliables:
Here’s to the guys that didn’t necessarily win you the game, but
certainly didn’t lose it for you, either.
Quarterbacks
What you’re looking for in the fantasy playoffs from your quarterback
is a multiple touchdown game and 250+ yards or 300+ yards and
a TD. You hope for even more, but on Sunday, only one QB went
beyond the “reliable” expectation, so here are the guys who met
the criteria noted above:
Tony
Romo, Eli
Manning - I don’t know if either guy got much play in terms
of starting lineups this week, but these two represent the only
QBs (other than Brees) to throw for 3 or more TDs in Week 15.
That’s a big deal because if you started either guy and made it
this far doing so, chances are you had plenty of talent surrounding
them.
Tom
Brady, Matt
Ryan, Alex
Smith - Matt Ryan was a popular play this week, although some
may have pulled him from lineups when they learned that Julio
Jones was going to be inactive. If you kept him in, he did you
a solid as did Tom Terrific and surprisingly, Alex Smith (although
against the Raiders, how surprised should we be?). These three
threw for 250+ and 2 TDs. Again, that’s the baseline come playoff
time in terms of what you’re looking for.
Ryan
Tannehill, Teddy
Bridgewater - Only one touchdown thrown by each guy, but the
300+ yards was a positive and if your league rewards 300+ yard
games with a bonus, well, it was an OK day.
Running Backs
Again, fantasy owners look at certain benchmarks as a standard
when forming their expectations and anything involving multiple
touchdowns fits the bill. 60 totals yards and a TD is certainly
solid, but not spectacular, as is 120 yards, but no paydirt. There
were no rushers in that latter category this weekend, but a few
in the others. Let’s take a look at who they were:
DeMarco
Murray, Knile
Davis - Everybody in the whole wide world still alive in fantasy
playoffs started DeMarco Murray this past weekend. And you were
rewarded with multiple TDs and a crunch-time worthy performance
against a good run defense. Few probably had Knile Davis in, although
it’s certainly possible given that garbage time points vs. the
Raiders were certainly conceivable. Davis was one of only five
guys who scored multiple TDs. The other three? Jeremy Hill (see
above), Le’Veon Bell (see above), Murray, and Chris Polk. Just
say the name Chris Polk around a LeSean McCoy owner today. You
might get a semi-hostile response…
Eddie
Lacy, Marshawn
Lynch, Matt
Asiata - Making up the 60+ yards and a touchdown group of
RBs are two guys who have been “reliable” for most of the season
in every sense of the word and one guy whose numbers are the product
of being his team’s only backfield option at this point. This
was Lacy’s sixth game this season with 60+ yards and a TD, while
Lynch has accomplished the feat six times as well. As for Asiata,
it was his 7 catches and 50 yards receiving that really made him
a valuable contributor on Sunday. But, don’t get cute and rely
on him in your championship game.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
Using the same standard for what constitutes a “reliable” performance
at RB, we’ll look at the wide receiver standouts from Week 15.
Demaryius
Thomas - DT almost qualified as a super-hero on Sunday as
123 yards and a TD isn’t too shabby for a guy who disappeared
in Week 14. It was proof positive that you never even think of
benching your studs- even after a rough previous week.
Marques
Colston, Julian
Edelman, Devin
Hester, Alshon
Jeffery, Mike
Wallace - Wallace, Colston, Jeffery, and Edelman were likely
in a bunch of lineups on Sunday/Monday, particularly in leagues
that call for a third WR in the mix. Hester was likely not on
anyone’s radar after starting the season strong and essentially
disappearing in early October. Nevertheless, if you needed a solid
60+ yard receiving performance with a TD added in, these were
your guys.
Antonio
Brown, Harry
Douglas - No TDs from this duo, but 120+ yards never hurts.
Ten catches apiece from both was a big boost as well in PPR formats.
Rob
Gronkowski - 96 receiving yards and a TD is exactly how you
draw it up when looking at what you need from your stud tight
end to gain an advantage over the other guy at the position. Gronk
has been fantasy football’s best tight end for most of the 2014
season and it’s not close.
The Momentum Killers:
The following players may have led you to the semi-finals of your
league’s playoffs, but their performances on Sunday left a LOT
to be desired. Here are this week’s “goats” if you will…
Aaron
Rodgers - It’s hard to fault a guy who has been so fantastic
more weeks than not this season, but a road game in Buffalo proved
to be Rodgers’s kryptonite and the penalty for starting him was
almost certainly playoff elimination. His 185 passing yards with
no TDs and two interceptions was so out of character that you
likely sat there just waiting for things to evolve. It didn’t
help that Jordy Nelson absolutely dropped what would have been
a 94-yard touchdown. We’ll get to that in a minute…
Jamaal
Charles/LeSean
McCoy - You have to put these two guys together because in
most leagues, they were drafted No.1 and No.2 in August. And,
there’s a good chance that if you owned one of them this year,
you didn’t make your semi-finals, but if you did, there’s a far
lesser chance that you’re still standing now. It’s not that either
has been a total flop this season. After all, they’ve combined
for 2,429 yards from scrimmage in 2015. The problem is, they’ve
had too many “vultured” touchdowns and Sunday marked the pinnacle
of that trend with McCoy giving up three to Chris Polk and Darren
Sproles & Charles netting an end zone goose egg while Knile Davis
scored twice. Both guys will probably be first round picks in
redrafts again next season, but nobody who drafted them this year
got their money’s worth.
Calvin
Johnson/Jordy
Nelson - After such tremendous performances in Week 14, the
stat lines for both Megatron and Jordy were fairly silent on this
weekend and as such, elation turned to sorrow for many fantasy
owners nationwide. Like McCoy and Charles, neither found the end
zone and neither broke 60 yards from scrimmage. If you made it
to your league’s version of the Super Bowl in spite of their lackluster
performances on Sunday, hat’s off to you. Chances are pretty good
they’ll both bounce back to have big games this upcoming weekend
when it matters the most.
Julius
Thomas - It’s not Julius’s fault, but fantasy
owners would like to forget everything that’s happened with
respect to him since Week Ten. His early catch of 30 yards no
doubt gave some people hope with respect to his presence in their
lineups finally paying dividends. But, what started there also
ended there and in the end, he was of little help to your fantasy
team. Here’s hoping Julius stays in healthy in 2015. He’s
a wonderful talent and player and a fantastic contributor in the
world of fantasy football when he’s at full strength.
As was noted above, the Buzz will be back next week to wrap up
our series for this season with some fantasy football awards.
Look to the Shot Caller’s report for advice about who to
start in the biggest week of your fantasy season…until then,
live from rural Oklahoma…it’s Tuesday morning! Buzz
out.
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