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Bye Weeks: N/A
Grab a Helmet
The only fantasy option in KC.
Jamaal
Charles @ OAK: Many expected the former Longhorn to resume his
role as dangerous everyman for the Chiefs in 2012 after missing
out on most of the 2011 campaign. And, for much of the season, he’s
done exactly that, registering triple digits in total yards eight
times despite Kansas City’s overall struggles. When he’s failed
to reach that mark, however, he’s failed in catastrophic fashion.
Here are his point totals for the five weeks in which he’s failed
to exceed 100 yards rushing/receiving: 8.7, 6.6, 4.7, 2.2, and 1.0.
Yeesh. That one-point outing occurred in Week 8 against Oakland,
by the way, Charles’ opponent in Week 15. How much you wanna bet
he tallies significantly more than that this coming Sunday? He might
actually be good for TWENTY times that amount if the Raiders’ front
continues with its recent disappearing act. They’ve given up nearly
150 yards per contest in the last six, so unless something changes
fast, Charles is one of your best bets in Week 15.
Mikel
Leshoure or Joique
Bell @ ARZ: Speaking of giving up, Larry Fitzgerald Sr.
took to the Twitterverse last Sunday after Arizona’s 58-0 shellacking
at the hands of Seattle, alleging his son’s squad has quit this
season. It wasn’t terribly diplomatic, granted, but the numbers
back him up. After allowing just a single 100-yard rusher through
the first 11 weeks of the season, the Cards have now allowed five
of them just three weeks later. Do the math on that and then consider
that two of those century club members are named Shonn Greene and
Robert Turbin. Nope, not exactly a who’s who of stud rock-toters.
Papa Fitz might be cranky but he’s got a point. Here’s mine: Either
LeShoure or Bell (or both) is going to go off this weekend. Merry
Christmas just a tad early if you own one of them.
David
Wilson @ ATL: Apparently, it takes a l-o-n-g time to get out
of Commandant Coughlin’s doghouse. Wilson, the freakishly talented
rookie from Virginia Tech who excited Giants fans in the preseason,
fumbled his second professional carry way back in Week 1 and rarely
saw the field after that, let alone the football. In fact, he never
tallied more than 10 touches from scrimmage in a game until last
week. Last week was Week 14, by the way. What Wilson did with those
double-digit touches (100 rushing yards and two scores) has everyone
buzzing again and now, at long last, he’s in position to earn his
redemption. Ahmad Bradshaw is highly questionable for the Week 15
showdown with the Falcons and Wilson stands to inherit most of his
work should the Giants’ main man sit this one out. That could be
special for Wilson’s owners because Atlanta is good at lots of things…but
slowing down opposing ball carriers isn’t one of them (4.9 yards/carry
yielded, 31st in the league).
Grab a Gatorade
Chris
Johnson v. NYJ: He’s become the prototypical love/hate running
back at this point, a guy who can net you 20 fantasy points one
week and then 5 (or worse) the next. Accordingly, I’ve been all
over the map with him this year, running the gamut from strong
start recommendation to equally strong sit recommendation. Though
I’ve mostly been spot-on to date (toot, toot!), I always feel
uneasy about calling the shot on C2K. Here’s why I’m willing to
do so next Monday night: It’s obvious he’s less valuable with
Jake Locker under center. Need evidence? In the eight games he’s
played with Locker running the show, Johnson has averaged a modest
8.7 fantasy points per game. In the five tilts he’s played with
Hasselbeck at the helm, he’s averaged almost double that (15.7).
Hmmm. I didn’t even include Week 4, incidentally, when Johnson
racked up most of his points after Locker departed. I’ll leave
the whys to people smarter than me, but it’s plain the young triggerman
has been bad for Chris Johnson’s bottom line. That’s bad for yours
if you’re still alive and own him.
Vick
Ballard @ HOU: Ballard has been quite a bit less mercurial
than Johnson since stepping into the Colts’ lineup but that’s
not necessarily a good thing. Because he’s young, rarely merits
20 carries, and plays in a pass-happy offense, his ceiling is
much lower to begin with. Accordingly, even on his best days,
he’s not likely to get you more than 10-12 points. That’s nice
if you’re grinding out a midseason W against one of your league’s
bottom feeders but not so much when you start facing the cream
come playoff time. And just as you’re taking a step up in class,
so is Mr. Ballard. The Colts haven’t faced the Texans yet this
year but draw them twice in the final three weeks. This would
be the same Texans team which has allowed the fewest fantasy points
to running backs this year (161.1). Don’t count on the up and
coming rook this Sunday against a team that can be more easily
dissected by air.
Any New Orleans RB not named Darren
Sproles v. TB: I didn’t have the gumption to
recommend a sit-down of Bryce Brown last week but I sure tossed
the idea around quite a bit. Easy for me to say in hindsight,
right? Understood. Regardless, I’d like you to know why
I was even considering it: Almost nobody runs the ball well against
the Bucs. That includes white hot rookies coming off consecutive
30-point outings. Indeed, only Alfred Morris and Adrian Peterson
have notched more than 75 yards on the ground against Tampa this
year and most backs end up in the 30-50 yard range...or worse
(Brown managed 6). Expect prolific numbers from the New Orleans
passing attack this Sunday (of which Sproles is an essential contributor)
but not much from the muddled committee of Mark Ingram, Pierre
Thomas, and Chris Ivory.
Wide Receivers 
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