Vincent Jackson

Week Seventeen Analysis: Last week was just another day at the office for Vincent Jackson. He tallied 108 yards on seven catches against the Rams and he's now had five games of 80 or more yards in the last six weeks. I expect a similar game this week against the Falcons. Atlanta has given up huge yardage totals to wide receivers this season, including 225 to Calvin Johnson last week and over 100 to Steve Smith and Lance Moore in the last month. They do not give up touchdowns though, as they've only allowed six to the position all season, with the last coming way back in Week 10. The Falcons starting secondary could be resting by halftime.

Week Sixteen Analysis: One of the only bright spots in last Sunday's drubbing in New Orleans may have been Vincent Jackson, but his six catches for 81 yards weren't even that bright. In fact they were still dim. V-Jax's season has been anything but dim though. He's now topped 80 yards in five of his last seven games and scored in half of his contests. We hope that Jackson can stay consistent when he faces the Rams this week. Aside from the Vikings wideouts, who don't really count, St. Louis has given up at least 70 yards to a team's top wide receiver in three of the last four games. However, only two teams have given up fewer touchdowns to wideouts this season, which is why you find Jackson this low in Week 16.

Week Fifteen Analysis: It doesn't get much better in your fantasy playoffs to have a stud receiver face off against one of the league's worst secondaries. That's exactly what Vincent Jackson is up against this week when he heads to the Bayou to face the Saints. Jackson has topped 90 yards in three of his last four games and has scored in seven contests this season, including going for 216 yards and a score against these same Saints in Week 7. New Orleans has given up multiple wide receiver touchdowns in six games this season including three touchdowns to the Giants' wideouts just last week.

Week Fourteen Analysis: Vincent Jackson was held out of the end zone for the second straight week, but there's no need to panic. This is the same player who had scored in six of his previous nine weeks and he faced a couple devilish matchups against the Falcons and Broncos over the last two weeks. The Eagles are anything but a devilish matchup, in fact, they're almost angelic to opposing wide receivers. In the last seven games the Eagles have allowed 11 touchdowns from enemy wideouts, including three last week to Dez Bryant and Miles Austin. Philly has allowed 28 or more points in six straight games, so I find it hard to believe that one of the Bucs' biggest scoring threats will be denied a score this weekend.

Week Thirteen Analysis: Over the last two weeks Vincent Jackson has faced two brutally tough secondaries in Carolina and Atlanta. But has managed to top 90 yards in both games and he scored against the Panthers. Jackson has not been held scoreless in consecutive games yet this season. If V-Jax can get to 72 yards, he'll probably find paydirt, since six of the seven wideouts to hit 72 yards against the Broncos this season have also scored a touchdown. However, the Broncos seem to know how to defend Jackson well. In his last seven meetings with the Broncos, all while he was with the Chargers, Jackson has topped that important 72 yard mark only once. He'll get a heavy dose of Champ Bailey, just like old times.

Week Twelve Analysis: The Vincent Jackson experiment in Tampa Bay has been a great success so far as Jackson has scored a touchdown in six games and topped 80 yards in five contests. Tampa has now won five of their last six games and will face their toughest test of the season when they host a 9-1 Atlanta team this weekend. The Falcons secondary has been a tough nut to crack. In the last two weeks only one wide receiver has topped 28 yards against Atlanta. The Falcons have only allowed six touchdowns this season to opposing wideouts, which is the second-best mark in the NFL.

Week Eleven Analysis: Vincent Jackson has uncovered the secret to a great fantasy week. It's called opportunity. In Jackson's five highest yardage games, he has scored a touchdown. In the four games in which he was held to fewer than 60 yards, he did not score. You've got to think that Greg Schiano has realized this, and will try to feature Jackson this week in Carolina. But the Panthers have been fantastic against the pass this season, specifically when it comes to scoring. Only six wide receivers have scored a touchdown against the Panthers this season. On the bright side for Jackson, three wideouts have bested 95 yards against the Panthers in just the last four weeks, and yards usually equal touchdowns for Jackson.

Week Ten Analysis: Vincent Jackson only needed two receptions to account for 84 yards and a score in Oakland last weekend. He's efficient, like Ikea, although I don't believe he has a predilection toward lingonberry. V-Jax is second in the NFL in pass receptions of 40 or more yards and has now scored five times in his last five games. This week the Bucs host Jackson's former team, the San Diego Chargers, who look improved on paper. But let's not count the last two weeks for the Chargers as they faced a Browns team in gale-force winds and a Chiefs team that may not win another game this season. Let's look at the fact that in the previous two weeks the Chargers allowed seven touchdowns to wide receivers.

Week Nine Analysis: In his last six games, Vincent Jackson has topped 100 yards and scored three times. In that same time frame Jackson also has a two touchdown game and a decent 66-yarder. That leaves two other games, in which he did almost nothing. In those games he faced a Minnesota team which is shutting down opposing number one receivers and a Dallas team that is shutting down pretty much everyone. The Oakland secondary isn't of that caliber at all. The Raiders have allowed a touchdown to a wide receiver in each of the last five games and have allowed ten different wideouts to top 60 yards this year.

Week Eight Analysis: If you were one of the few steadfast Vincent Jackson believers that hung on through a tumultuous couple of years, he has paid off in a huge way. In the last three weeks Jackson has posted the gigantic numbers of 17 receptions, 382 yards and four touchdowns. Last week could have been even bigger if he wasn't tackled at the 1 on a 95-yard pass play. On Thursday night he faces a Vikings team that has held opposing number one wide outs to Revis-like numbers this season. In seven games, the top wide receiver against the Vikings has averaged four catches for 41 yards, and Reggie Wayne is the only number one wideout to have scored against Minnesota.

Week Seven Analysis: Vincent Jackson has now had back-to-back games with a touchdown for the first time since 2009. Almost like the Randy Ratio, it's notable that in games that V-Jax has scored the Bucs are averaging 31 points, but are averaging only 13 points in the games in which he has been held out of the end zone. If the Bucs score points, Jackson is in the mix. And the Saints are allowing the 3rd-most points, 31 per game. Jackson is also averaging 9 targets per game this season, which is over two more per game than he ever has in his career. He faces one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL, the Saints this week. New Orleans has allowed over 200 yards per game to wideouts and gave up six touchdowns to wide receivers in their last two games.

Week Six Analysis: Nobody does more with less than Vincent Jackson. He's kind of like the Professor from Gilligan's Island, making radios out of coconuts, vines, and Mrs. Howell's bobby pins. This year, Jackson is averaging 19 yards per catch and has two touchdowns in only 16 receptions this season. He matches up eerily well against the Kansas City Chiefs. The Chiefs are allowing a league-low eight receptions per week to opposing wideouts, but have allowed almost 15 yards per catch and five receiving touchdowns to the position in five games. Despite a tough matchup with Brandon Flowers, Jackson should enjoy Sunday's three hour tour.

Week Four Analysis: Vincent Jackson is exactly who we thought he was. One week he'll nab 130-yards and a score, the next week, radio silence. Well, since he had his awful performance in Week 3, we can hope for a bounce back in Week 4 as Washington comes to town. The Redskins are tied for most touchdowns allowed to WRs (6), including a score to three different receivers last week when they hosted Cincinnati. The Redskins have also given up 100 yards to a wide receiver in four straight games. If anyone on the Bucs is going to keep that streak alive, I'd put my money on Jackson.

Week Three Analysis: Last week, was Vincent Jackson's first 100-yard performance since Week 11 of last season and only his sixth since the start of the 2010 season. While Jackson is prone to having huge games, he's also prone to major letdowns in the following weeks. In those last five games of over 100 yards, Jackson has followed up with an average of three catches and 39 yards and he hasn't scored in two consecutive games since 2009. Dallas' new cornerback tandem of Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr have been stellar for the first couple of weeks, allowing zero touchdowns to wide receivers and only 79 yards to the position last week in Seattle.

Week Two Analysis: Vincent Jackson is still getting comfortable at his new home in Tampa Bay and with his new quarterback Josh Freeman. The connection is not quite crisp as of yet, as Jackson was targeted 10 times last week, but only hauled in four catches for 47 yards. The positive in that stat line is the 10 targets, which according to his matchup with the Giants this week makes him look like an attractive play. Last season the Giants saw seven opposing receivers targeted ten or more times, their average stats were seven catches for 84 yards, with four out of the seven receivers scoring a touchdown. The Giants secondary remains injury ravaged, so if Freeman can target Jackson another ten times, he should have a great day.