Week Fifteen Recap

Week Fifteen Recap

Updated: Tuesday, 20 Dec 2011, 12:01 PM CST
Published : Tuesday, 20 Dec 2011, 11:58 AM CST

Don Hanson

It is Sunday night as I sit and write this recap. The Ravens and Chargers are battling it out and Ed Dixon has just caught a touchdown from Joe Flacco. Today has been one of those days that owners either rejoice or hate as the fantasy landscape has either extended your season for another week, or made it come crashing down at your feet. As week 15 has come and gone the theme for this week has very little to do with injuries and a lot to do with some tremendous fantasy performances. Let’s take a closer look at the action and what it means to the owners who have survived to play for one more week.

Injury Notes:

Johnny Knox was down for quite a while in the Bears loss to the Seahawks. Knox appeared to injure his back early in the game and was carted off the field on a stretcher. Knox shouldn’t be on fantasy rosters, but an injury like this is tough to watch regardless of the player’s fantasy status.

Stevie Johnson aggravated a groin injury late in the Bills game with the Dolphins. Johnson missed time late in the game and nothing is known in regards to his status for next week. He has been battling injuries all year, so don’t expect him to practice until late in the week as the Bills were limiting his reps in practice heading into this week’s game.

I normally keep the injury report to just the skill players, but the Packers offensive line was hit hard this week. Starting RT, Bryan Bulaga went down with a knee injury, and then backup Derek Sherrod went down with a broken leg. The Packers are already without LT Chad Clifton who is nursing a severe hamstring injury. The injuries to the line today could have a significant impact on the production of Aaron Rodgers and the rest of the Packers fantasy starters going forward.

A.J. Green suffered a shoulder sprain during the first half of the Bengals win over the Rams. Green returned in the second half, but was clearly limited. The Bengals used him more as a decoy for the majority of the game. Green should play next week, but you will still want to keep an eye on him as the week progresses.

Jake Ballard suffered a knee injury and left the game early in the second half of the Giants loss to the Redskins. More will be known as to the severity of the injury after he has an MRI on Monday.

Thoughts from Sunday:

Cincinnati @ St. Louis: As I stated in the injury recap, A. J. Green suffered a sprained shoulder in this game, but he fought through it to top a 100 yards receiving in a game the Bengals had to have. It is safe to say that if Green had not hurt his shoulder during the second quarter of this game, that he might have enjoyed the best game of his young career. Green had his way with the Rams secondary that was clearly overmatched from start to finish. You will need to stay aware of Green’s status going into next week. However, the standout rookie talked as if it will take more than a mild shoulder industry to keep him out of next week’s home game against the Cardinals.

New Orleans @ Minnesota: While Adrian Peterson owners were thankful that No. 28 was able to suit up for this game; it is Drew Brees owners who are thanking St. Nick for an early Christmas present. Brees and the Saints destroyed the Vikings secondary to the tune of 412 yards passing and five touchdowns. The Vikings had no answers for the Saints as Brees got whatever he wanted and may have single handedly carried your team to a win today.
For the Vikings the return of Adrian Peterson also meant the death of Percy Harvin. With Peterson back, the Vikings struggled to find enough plays to keep Harvin relevant and both the Vikings and fantasy owners were left scratching their heads. Harvin has been carrying many a fantasy team over the last few weeks, and this week was a huge letdown for his owners. If your squad was strong enough to overcome his poor showing, you may want to evaluate your other options going forward as the Vikings are a mess on offense right now.

Carolina @ Houston: This was supposed to be the type of matchup that would have Arian Foster owners penciling their names into the next round of the playoffs. Instead, we are left to wonder what the heck happened to a Texan’s offense that normally feasts on run defenses as pathetic as the Panthers. Don’t get me wrong, Foster scored and topped 150 combined yards, but if you watched any of this game you still came away with an empty feeling. The Texan’s really struggled to keep drives going in the first half, and both Foster and Ben Tate suffered because of it.
On the Carolina side it was nothing but good news once again. The Panthers were effective in both the running and passing game as Cam Newton really shined. If you either had no other options and had to start Steve Smith, or were simply smarter than the rest of us than good for you. Smith got a very early touchdown to get Carolina up early, and his line of 5/82/1 is way more than most owners could expect on a day where the veteran was drawing a horrible matchup with Jonathon

Joseph.

Washington @ N.Y. Giants: Just a week ago Eli Manning looked as if he couldn’t be stopped as the Giants beat the Cowboys in Dallas. How quickly things can change in just one week in today’s NFL. Manning didn’t complete his first pass until the second quarter and the Giants were dismantled by the Redskins. If you had been relying on the Giants passing game this season, this was a stunner to say the least. The Giants will have these kind of games every once in a while, it is just a shame it had to come during a time when most fantasy owners are in a one and done type of situation. No Giants receiver hit the 75-yard mark for receiving, and if not for a late Ahmad Bradshaw touchdown run, this would have been a complete washout for all of the Giants fantasy starters.
For the Redskins it was all about maximizing opportunities. The offense was not spectacular, but it was efficient. Jabar Gaffney had another solid game as he topped 80 yards receiving, and Santana Moss found the end-zone even though he was held in check by the Giants for most of the game. The Skins have clearly not packed it in for coach Shanahan, so if you need their starters in a pinch you could be in luck for the next couple of weeks.

Green Bay @ Kansas City: Don’t look now, but there may be some trouble in fantasy paradise as the Packers lost not only their first game, but some of their fantasy swagger also. The Chiefs spent the majority of the afternoon harassing Aaron Rodgers and crushing many fantasy owners’ playoff aspirations. This was a tough one to watch as the Packers killed themselves with bad penalties and dropped passes.
JerMicheal Finley and Jordy Nelson struggled to get anything going as both players were guilty of some bad offensive penalties and drops. Finley was especially hard to watch as he was targeted a team high 10 times, but only managed three receptions in a game which should have been one of his best matchups all year. While there is no doubt that Rodgers and company will all be in the starting lineup for week 16, this loss may have a big impact on leagues that play into week 17. The Packers may have home-field advantage wrapped up by then and if that is the case you may see your Packers either out of the lineup entirely or on a limited basis at best come week 17.

Miami @ Buffalo: Who would have thought that both Reggie Bush and C.J. Spiller would lead fantasy teams to a possible fantasy championship? Bush rushed for over 200 yards while scoring on a long run in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Spiller was an afterthought this week for fantasy owners as he really struggled against the Dolphins earlier in the year. However, he also scored and went over the 100-yard mark in combined yardage. Bush is enjoying his best run of games as a professional right now and if you own him this performance has to be enough for you to feel good about using him next week in a game against a very soft Patriots defense.

New England @ Denver: Rob Gronkowski is human after all. The beast of a tight end came up small in the Patriots win over the Broncos. However, all was not lost for the Patriots tight ends as Aaron Hernandez had a great game as he led the Patriots with a line of 9/129/1. Denver had no answer for Hernandez as they clearly were more concerned with stopping Gronkowski and Wes Welker.
For the Broncos it wasn’t all that bad. Tim Tebow wasn’t great, but he did enough to help fantasy owners again this week. Tebow ran for over 90 yards and also rushed for two touchdowns. At this point if Tebow has gotten you this far it would be foolish not to ride him into your championship week. The Broncos are calling plays that effectively utilize his talents as a rusher, and he is doing just enough in the passing game to keep defenses honest.

N.Y. Jets @ Philadelphia: If it wasn’t for Rob Gronkowski, LeSean McCoy would have a serious case for a fantasy MVP award. McCoy rushed for over 100 yards and scored three touchdowns as the Eagles destroyed the Jets. Even better for fantasy owners is the fact that the Eagles are still in the playoff hunt so there will be no worries about McCoy sitting for the rest of the season as the Eagles have plenty to play for.

That is it for a great week 15 of football. We have a short week of practices this week as most games will be held on Saturday this coming weekend. Check the waiver wire and practice reports starting on Wednesday. Until then, have a great week and I will see you later in the week for the week 16 preview.