Nature Of The Beast

Quarterbacks

Eli Manning was likely your leagues highest scoring fantasy player this week.  Most of you likely benched him in favor of another quarterback only to watch as Eli threw for 391 yards and 3 TD's in a Sunday night shootout vs. division rivals Eagles.  Eli once again proved he is frustrating fantasy quarterback with tremendous upside.  He is on pace for his first 4,000 yard passing season and has a young and talented receiving corp to boost his future stat lines.

Eli's brother Peyton has already led the Colts to homefield advantage and a first round bye through the NFL playoffs.  While this bodes well for the Colts playoff hopes, those of you who have been riding Peyton to fantasy domination this season can officially get concerned.  The Colts have stated today that they will play their starters but Peyton cannot be counted on to post any more gigantic fantasy point totals for the remainder of the season.

Jamarcus Russell is really bad.  That is it, we quit!  It is hard to believe he will ever be any good.  His desire to be good just isn't there.  Reports from Raiders camp were that the energy was sucked out of the team following the exit of an injured Bruce Gradkowski and the entrance of a healthy Jamarcus Russell.  This was a response to the loss of Bruce Gradkowski folks.  Not a good sign of how the Raiders feel about Russell.

Ched Henne gets better each week.

Phillip Rivers is so good.  He had one of his more mediocre performances in Week 14 and he still posted a solid stat line.  He is extremely consistent.

Running Backs

Kevin Smith was expected to improve upon his rookie campaign in 2009, but that will not be the case. It looks like his season is over after tearing his ACL this weekend. He was not playing all too well prior to the injury, averaging just 3.4 yards per carry. He did become a weapon in the passing game, catching 40 balls for 409 yards and a TD. He showed grit by playing through numerous injuries this year, but this latest injury puts a damper on his value for 2010. Dynasty owners can take solice in the fact that Smith has a strong work ethic and is just 22 years old. It would not be suprising if he made some type of impact during the second half of 2010. This may increase the chances that the Lions draft or sign another RB, which is another situation to monitor closely this offseason. More about Smith's value during our Podcast this Thursday.

As the last healthy running back standing in Kansas City, Jamaal Charles was going to get an opportunity to prove himself. So far, so good for the 2nd year back. He has received at least 17 touches in his last 5 games, producing over 550 yards and 5 TD's. His Dynasty value is going up. He is looking like the type of player that can be part of a committee and still produce RB2 numbers in 2010. He has three games left to continue to impress the Chiefs Brass (and Dynasty owners).

Last week, Jerome Harrison was a popular waiver addition in all formats after 2 receiving TD's in Week 13. This week it is undrafted rookie Chris Jennings, who pushed an ineffective Harrison aside to rush for 73 yards and a TD against the Steelers on Thursday Night.  The other cog in this well-oiled machine is playmaking Joshua Cribbs, who showed excellent burst and rushed for 87 yards on just 8 carries. More about Cribbs in our latest Dynasty Digging article, which will go live later this week. With Jamal Lewis potentialy retiring, there are going to be carries available for the taking in 2010. Keep an eye on all three of these guys, but it is very likely that the leading rusher for the Browns next season is not yet on their roster. Don't forget about about James Davis, though, a sixth round draft pick in 2009 who missed most all of his rookie season with a shoulder injury.

Having easily exceeded his season best total for touches, is Maurice Jones-Drew starting to slow down? In his past four games, he has no more than 76 yards rushing and only one game with more than 100 yards combined. He has just 2 of his 14 TD's during that span. He is certainly still Top 5 in your league regardless of format and unbenchable, but it is a trend that should be watched in the final three games.

Wide Receivers

Brandon Marshall is a Beast.  Even more beastly than his NFL record setting 21 receptions in addition to a 200 yards 2 TD's performance was that he called a monster performance for himself before the game.

It had been a while since Andre Johnson busted out a huge game.  He finished Week 14 with his biggest stat line of the season despite the constant double and triple team coverage.  There are few receivers in the league capable of a performance like this.  AJ is one of them.  Unfortunately for those of you who were hoping to acquire AJ on the semi cheap this offseason, have a much more difficult negotiation ahead of them while current owners got a reminder how important it is to own elite talent.

All DeSean Jackson does is make big plays.  He loves the big play and this is a recipe for continued success.  He will occassionally get taken out of a game, but we have yet to see his potential.

Hakeem Nicks should be one of your top WR acquisitions.  He still has a bit of a learning curve, but he is a young Anquan Boldin with potentially a higher upside.

Santonio Holmes has been very consistent.  Nothing hugely spectacular but his consistency makes him a solid high end WR2.  We still need to see a bump in TD's but he is on pace for over 1,300 yards and is steadily replacing Hines Ward as the Steelers top target.  If you can buy him low this offseason try and play the overhyped card to his current owner.

Steve Smith likes having Matt Moore under center much more than Jake Delhomme.

Marques Colston's value is down some.  He needs more targets.  Brees spreads the ball all over the place.  He catches TD passes most games, but a bump in his yardage totals would be nice.

Tight Ends

Kevin Boss is no more than a TE2, but he turned in 7 catches for 70 yards and a touchdown in Sunday Night's Shootout. He is a nice bye week fill-in / back-up type for 2010 and he does have some upside in his fantasy game. He is a reliable redzone threat and he has the confidence of Eli Manning in pressure situations. Boss' counterpart on Sunday Night has already established himself as a legit TE1 in all fantasy leagues. Brent Celek finished with 5 catches, 64 yards and a TD and he will be shooting up Dynasty lists heading into 2010.

Looking for a breakout TE next season? Look no further than Jermichael Finley of the Green Bay Packers. He followed up his huge Monday Night performance in Week 13 with a solid 5 catches for 70 yards on Sunday. He has wide receiver-type ability and could make a big leap next season. Watch how he performs the rest of this season, but in his past two games he has done nothing but impress. He makes for an excellent acquisition right now in Dynasty leagues.

No one is quite sure how he will be used next season, but Fred Davis is making an impression in Washington. He has 4 TD's in his last three games, including 2 on Sunday. Jason Campbell is playing very well and Davis has emerged as a low-end TE1. Chris Cooley will most likely be back and healthy at the beginning of training camp, but Davis' potential could make for an interesting situation.