5 UP & 5 DOWN: Week 12
By Grant Ramey, Contributing Writer to EA SPORTS Fantasy Football
Everybody, look! It's Tony Romo! He's back! Ok, (exhale) breathe. No more hourly updates on what Romo is doing with his pinky. So now what? More Jessica Simpson trash talk? Lucky us, right? Other headlines from the week included the Titans remaining undefeated with a second half comeback on the road against the Jags -- always finding a way to win. And the Lions actually held a lead, on the road, but lost - always finding a way to lose. And Tom Brady is still out. Sigh. In honor of the Romo road to recovery, pull my finger and we'll get started with week eleven's 5-Up, 5-Down.
Up
Matt Cassel, New England - Matt Cassel's play has steadily increased since he replaced the irreplaceable Tom Brady in week one. He went off on the Jets on Thursday night in their oh-so-close comeback attempt. Cassel passed for 400 yards even and three touchdowns. His 62 rushing yards are also noteworthy as he became the first quarterback in the history of the NFL to pass for at least 400 yards and rush for at least 60 in a single game.
Steve Slaton, Houston - Let the year of the rookie running back continue. For the third time this season a rookie running back led the league in rushing, this time it was Steve Slaton who rushed for 156 yards on 14 carries - including a 71-yard touchdown run. This is only the second 100-plus yard performance for Slaton this year, but his versatility combined with a steady rushing workload and the ability to catch balls out of the backfield has been a fantasy surprise.
Fantasy Cardinals - The success of the Arizona Cardinals is the flavor of the month story in the NFL, led by the two-gloved Kurt Warner and his cast of elite receiving options. This week Warner completed 32 of 44 passes for 395 yards and a touchdown. Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald both had double-figure receptions, with Boldin hauling in 13 passes for 186 yards and Fitzgerald grabbing 10 passes for 151 yards. The two combined for a record-setting 337 yards through the air.
Justin Gage, Tennessee - Raise your hand if you predicted the Titans would rally behind Chris Johnson and Kerry Collins to start 10-0. That's what I thought. Justin Gage was a big part of the Titans comeback with a career-best 147 receiving yards on four receptions and a touchdown. The cast of unlikely hero's for the Titans continues to grow each week.
T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Cincinnati - So what if they tied. That's a moral victory for the Bengals in 2008, right? Houshmandzadeh has been decently successful in fantasy circles with at least seven receptions in each of his last six games, including his 12 reception, 149 yard performance on Sunday against the Eagles. Now, someone please inform Donovan McNabb that an NFL game ends in a tie if neither team scores in sudden death overtime.
Down
Chicago Defense/Special Teams - The Bears looked solid against the run in the week ten loss to the Titans, but Sunday in Green Bay was a complete collapse. Aaron Rodgers threw for 227 and two touchdowns and the Packers rushed for 200 yards in the dismantling of what looks to be a quickly aging Bears defense. And remember this guy named Devin Hester? The suddenly hesitant Hester finds himself without a kickoff or punt return for a score this year after returning 11 kicks for touchdowns in his first two seasons.
Kyle Orton, Chicago - We'll stick with the Chicago theme here. If Orton's ankle was 100% against the Packers on Sunday, it will be an extremely long six game stretch to end the regular season. Orton completed 13 of 26 passes for 133 yards as the Bears failed to establish any offense in their 37-3 drubbing.
LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego - When you think of fantasy football who is the first player that comes to mind? More than likely it's going to be LaDainian Tomlinson. And that's not much of a stretch given his performance over the past few seasons in San Diego. So far this year LT has broken the 100-yard barrier only two times (week four against Oakland, week eight against New Orleans) and averages only 68.6 yards rushing per game. It seems as though LT may have lost a step, and when you're the poster boy for fantasy sports you have to have more production.
Donovan McNabb, Philadelphia - Throwing for 339 yards and three picks didn't get McNabb into the honorary fourth position on the down list. His post game comments regarding ties in the NFL, however, most certainly did. It has been a solid year for McNabb up to this point but his knowledge of the rule book drops him to the dark side of the column. And I'm sure there are rules in place to settle post season ties after a sudden death period. Ties are rare in the NFL, but when two teams put on the offensive display that took place in Cincinnati on Sunday, no team deserves to win.
Clinton Portis, Washington - It's hard to imagine the word 'down' in association with Redskins' running back Clinton Portis. After a week of injury rumors, Portis played on Sunday night, but played poorly. The MVP candidate rushed 15 times for 68 yards. Not bad for Joe the Plumber, but when you're accustomed to putting up the stats Ports does, 68 yards just isn't going to cut it. Time will tell if the injury affected Portis' performance, or if the Dallas defense rose to the occasion.
Author's Bio - Grant Ramey
Contributing Writer - School of Journalism at the University of Tennessee
Comments or Questions? Email us at fantasy@ea.com
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