SI.com Experts League: Week 16 recap

By James Quintong, SI.com

Congratulations to Richard Harris for coming away with the title and setting the season-high in scoring along the way. It seemed only fitting that the highest-scoring team all season long would emerge with the championship.

Harris' road to the title was even more impressive considering he drew the last pick in the draft. However, with the draft done in a serpentine fashion, getting the 12th and 13th picks in the draft isn't a bad thing, as long as you select the right players. In Harris' case, his first two picks carried him for a good part of the season and were the anchors of his championship team.

Here's how the championship game (and the third-place game) played out. Neither game featured anyone playing in the Monday nighter.

Richard Harris 140, Joe Levit 93: There were plenty of great running backs available in the draft, so someone in Harris' case picking 12th and 13th was in prime position. In this case, they were Fred Taylor and Jamal Lewis. Taylor was coming on late in the year, just in time for the playoffs, and you all know what Lewis has done. It seemed almost fitting that Lewis' rematch with the Browns after his 295-yard performance in Week 2 came in Week 16 -- Super Bowl week. Taylor (28) and Lewis (34) provided a huge foundation for his team and the rout was on.

Just as impressive as his backs were the 49 points from his trio of receivers. While Hines Ward was no surprise with 17 against the hapless Chargers, Harris pulled out 32 from late fill-ins Todd Pinkston (18) and Charles Lee (14) -- taking over for Marcus Robinson and the injured Peter Warrick. Those two late moves were just additional examples of how Harris used the waiver wire all year to his advantage.

When your backs and receivers start with 111 points, all you need is average points from the rest of the team to coast to victory. Matt Hasselbeck (10) and Tony Gonzalez (6) were ordinary. Jeff Wilkins (9) provided decent points again, while the Cowboys defense (4) would've scored better in a league that counts points allowed.

Levit did have 25 points from the always steady Shaun Alexander, but he was doomed by just three points from the ever inconsistent Troy Hambrick. Jeff Garcia (16), Chad Johnson (11) and the Ravens defense (19) got him in good position for points, but he got burned by Darrell Jackson, who got hurt before scoring any points. Levit also did some late roster shuffling, but his recent additions of Antonio Gates (6) and Matt Stover (5) didn't have the same effect as Harris.

By Sunday night and Marvin Harrison left to go, Levit was down 55. Even a player as good as Harrison couldn't pull that off, leaving Levit with a solid second-place performance.

James Quintong 98, Bob Harris 88: Yet again, I guessed wrong on my starting quarterback, but unlike last week, I still had enough to win the third-place game. Priest Holmes (28) yet again led the way for my team, and I had help from Laveranues Coles, who scored 21 one week after a big goose egg. I had decent games from Donovan McNabb (12), Curtis Martin (10) and Chris Chambers (8), but their bench counterparts were even better: Chad Pennington (23 -- remember, picks don't count in this league), Antowain Smith (12) and Marty Booker (14). The Rams defense was helpful again, but Mikhael Ricks provided my weekly zero. Thankfully, Harris' tight end Desmond Clark also got nothing.

All those bench points would've made a difference against the other Harris. Still, I had to wait until McNabb's late points to seal the victory.

Harris had a solid team, getting 20 points each from Daunte Culpepper and the Patriots defense on Saturday, plus eight from Eddie Kennison to counter my Holmes-Martin-Santana Moss (5) combination. As usual, Torry Holt (18) had a big game, although Deuce McAllister (11) was slowed down a little. However, he got burned in the late games. While Jeff Reed did kick his way to 10 points, Koren Robinson was held to one point and Correll Buckhalter was a late scratch, which eventually doomed his team.

I'd like to thank everyone in the league for a fun and competitive season. It's been a wild ride, and I think it was a good reflection on how fantasy owners around the country and around the world were playing things out. And I thank all of those readers who kept following along. As you can see, even the "experts" have their issues regarding their teams.

James Quintong is Fantasy Sports Producer at SI.com.