Fantasy File

Why aren’t you in the playoffs? Here are some reasons why

Eddie George is averaging just 2.9 yards per carry this season and has scored just three TDs. AP

By James Quintong, CNNSI.com

For many fantasy football leagues, including Full Blitz, the playoffs start this week. For many others, it’s time to do that last-minute Christmas shopping with much less guilt and anguish.

A big reason why a lot of owners are not playing this week is that a number of players have been huge disappointments this season. And by disappointments, I mean a consistent pattern of substandard play, not a season-ending injury (thus Jamal Anderson and Edgerrin James are not included). These players were likely taken very high in your draft, thus crippling your team in a big way right off the bat.

QB: Elvis Grbac, Ravens: After last year’s big season in Kansas City, there were high expectations for Grbac under offensive wizard Brian Billick. However, Grbac never seemed that comfortable in the offense and the lack of a consistent running game hurt his effectiveness (although he didn’t really have one with the Chiefs). In leagues with interceptions, his numbers were even worse. (At least Peyton Manning still throws for 300 yards and a few TDs with his picks).

RB: Eddie George, Titans: He’s had two solid games this year with about 100 combined yards and a touchdown. That’s it. For someone chosen likely in the first five picks overall, that is definitely unacceptable. Some nagging injuries plus struggles with his offensive line and fullback (or lack thereof) hurt his numbers in a big way.

RB: Fred Taylor, Jaguars: Because his nagging injuries made him such a question mark to begin with, he ends up on this list. There are plenty of Taylor owners this year vowing not to draft him ever again. On the plus side, there was no playing around whether or not he’d play from week to week, you just knew he was toast. On the down side, you had no idea when he was going to return, making bench space that much more critical.

WR: Derrick Alexander, Chiefs: He and Grbac hooked up for career seasons in 2000. With Grbac struggling in Baltimore, Alexander was doing the same in Kansas City. Alexander struggled with a number of nagging injuries throughout the season, which limited his numbers. He’s finally healthy and could make some noise in the fantasy playoffs as Trent Green is grateful for a healthy wide receiver.

WR: Eric Moulds, Bills: Except for a huge Week 11 (196 yards, 2 TDs), Moulds has been one of the most disappointing players of the year, scoring just four touchdowns in total and one other 100-yard receiving game. He was among the elite receivers coming into the season and ended up being very average.

TE: Ken Dilger, Colts: He finally scored his first touchdown last week against the Falcons. Before that, he was relegated to the No. 2 tight end option behind the emerging Marcus Pollard. The second tight end isn’t bad in Indianapolis but more was definitely expected.

K: Mike Hollis, Jaguars: The Jacksonville offense wasn’t as good as advertised, especially with Taylor struggling. And Hollis didn’t take advantage of the few opportunities he did get.

Monday’s Best

Kurt Warner, QB, Rams (23-32, 338 yards, 4 TDs): He gets the nod slightly over Isaac Bruce, who scored three TDs with 86 yards receiving. He didn’t throw any interceptions, which had plagued him the last time the Rams played the Saints. It was a great Monday night shootout with plenty of chances for fantasy scoring.

Monday’s Worst

Ricky Williams, RB, Saints (14 carries, 57 yards; 4 catches, 13 yards): It was hard to find really disappointing performances in this game, but Williams just didn’t get enough touches to make a huge fantasy impact.

Bye week watch

Denver has the week off, but many fantasy owners were ready for that fact heading into the season. Brian Griese does get an extra week to recover from his concussion, and Rod Smith can continue working on his sprained ankles, although he had a good game in the loss to the Chiefs. It does cool off one of the hotter fantasy prospects in kicker Jason Elam.

Injury watch

Jerome Bettis, RB, Steelers: He’s not definite that he’ll play this week, so you may want to check out Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala again, or Amos Zereoue, who was sharp against the Ravens.

Daunte Culpepper, QB, Vikings: He’s going to have knee surgery this week, so at least that solves that caper as to whether or not he’ll play. Todd Bouman got dinged up, but he looks good to go for another start.

Gus Frerotte, QB, Broncos: His season is done as Denver put him on IR after suffering a separated shoulder.

Bill Gramatica, K, Cardinals: It’s hard to laugh at other people’s misery, so I’ll keep my chuckling down after this bizarre injury. The weird thing is that I’ve seen something similar. During Northwestern’s Rose Bowl run in 1995, starting kicker Sam Valenzisi also tore his ACL celebrating a kick. In Valenzisi’s case, he was celebrating a kickoff against Wisconsin that ended up being downed at the 1. Valenzisi had been taken off kickoffs for most of the season but returned just in time to tear his ACL on that weird play.

Travis Henry, RB, Bills: He injured his knee, allowing Shawn Bryson to see more playing time against the Patriots. His return is still up in the air.

Akili Smith, QB, Bengals: He’s done for the year with a torn hamstring. Just for your information. If this means anything for your fantasy team, you’re probably already done anyway.

Ricky Watters, RB, Seahawks: It’s a shame that he’s done for the year with a broken ankle after such a huge game against the Cowboys. But at the same time, Shaun Alexander owners are happy to have him back.

James Quintong is Fantasy Sports producer at CNNSI.com.

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