Fantasy Football: The Aaron Rodgers Dilemma

Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is having an MVP fantasy football season. He’s the top scorer in most leagues, he has 30 points more than Saints quarterback Drew Brees (53 more than Tom Brady) and he’s scored 20 or more fantasy points in 14 of his 15 games this year.

For many fantasy teams, including my own, Rodgers is the reason we’re still chasing a championship. But this week we’re facing a dilemma that has some of us considering benching our star quarterback.

Wait, what?

I’m I really thinking about benching Rodgers with the fantasy season at a crucial juncture?

Yes, the thought has crossed my mind.

Before you call me crazy, hear me out. The idea is not as far-fetched as it seems when you look at how Week 16 sets up.

Rodgers and the Packers host the Chicago Bears on Sunday night, which is a very favorable matchup for Rodgers. The Bears currently rank 26^th against the pass and Rodgers lit them up for 297 passing yards and three touchdowns in Week 3.

But the main issue facing Rodgers’ owners this week isn’t his opponent, it’s the schedule. When the Packers/Bears game kickoffs on Sunday night, the Packers may not be playing for anything.

The NFL scheduled most of the Week 16 games on Saturday because Christmas falls on a Sunday this year. Included on Saturday slate of game is a 3:15 p.m. (CST) matchup between the San Francisco 49ers (11-3) and Seattle Seahawks (7-7). The game is intriguing to the Packers because with a Niners loss, the Packers would clinch the NFC’s top seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Do you see the dilemma? A Niners loss would make Sunday’s Packers/Bears game meaningless. Therefore, Rodgers may not play the entire game. The Packers might choose to protect him from injury and sit him down. Which isn’t a bad idea considering how banged up the Packers offensive line is right now.

A simple solution for Rodgers’ owners would be to bench Rodgers for his back-up Matt Flynn. The problem with that strategy is Rodgers will likely play at least half of the game, maybe more depending on the score and how often he’s getting hit. There are too many variables to say, start Flynn.

The schedule makers also didn’t do Rodgers’ owners any favors when they scheduled the Niners game at 3:15 p.m. (CST). By the time that game ends, all ten noon games will be long over, as will the two other games scheduled for 3:15. That leaves just two games remaining in Week 16, the Bears/Packers game on Sunday night and the Falcons/Saints game on Monday night.

I would venture a guess and say that if you own Rodgers, you probably don’t have Drew Brees or Matt Ryan. That leaves Caleb Hanie has the only other starting quarterback option, if Rodgers and the Packers aren’t playing for anything Sunday night.

I cannot in good conscience recommend that you start Hanie in your league championship. I don’t care how bad the Packers pass defense is right now.

So, with all that said, we’re back to our original dilemma: Should you start Aaron Rodgers this week?

Unless you have a back-up quarterback who’s a top 10 fantasy scorer, absolutely you start Rodgers this weekend.

Rodgers playing just a portion of a game is still better than most fantasy quarterbacks who play an entire game.

Good luck and go Niners!

Fantasy Football: 7 Unsung Heroes from Week 14

A heroic moment in sports is hard to anticipate, but easy to celebrate.

Often times those moments occur when a star athlete grabs victory from the jaws of defeat, even when it seemed impossible.

Then there are those moments where the unsuspecting athlete rises to a level beyond expectation and delivers a performance that reads like a football fable.

We refer to them as unsung heroes and in Week 14, there were several players who can wear that moniker.

Here are seven unsung heroes who not only made a difference on the field, but likely had a big impact in your fantasy league.

Ryan Grant, running back, Green Bay Packers

Grant, who was filling in for the injured James Starks, ran for 85 yards and two touchdowns in Green Bay's 46-16 win over the Oakland Raiders.

Sunday's game marked the first time since Week 3 that Grant rushed for more than 80 yards and his two touchdowns were his first scores of the season.

Prior to Week 14, Grant had tallied 31 fantasy points in standard scoring league. On Sunday, he scored 21 points.

For the owners who stuck with Grant, he rewarded them in a big way this week.

Brandon Jacobs, running backs, New York Giants

Jacobs had a season-high 19 carries Sunday night against the Dallas Cowboys and responded with 101 yards and two touchdowns.

While Jacobs has found the end zone four times in his last four games, the 101 yards were the most for him this season. In fact, the closest he's come to gaining 100 yards in a game was in Week 9 against the New England Patriots when he rushed for 72 yards.

Jacobs has quietly put together a solid fantasy season, with eight total touchdowns. If he can continue to gain yards and keep getting into the end zone, he's going to a hard guy to keep out of your lineup.

Mark Sanchez, quarterback, New York Jets

With his 25 fantasy points in Week 14, Sanchez outscored Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees in standard scoring leagues. The only two quarterback who scored more points were Tony Romo (28) and Matt Ryan (28).

Sanchez is the epitome of a risk-versus-reward fantasy quarterback. It's really quite remarkable when you look at the last six weeks.

Week 9: nine fantasy points at Buffalo Bills
Week 10: 19 fantasy points vs. New England Patriots
Week 11: eight points vs. Denver Broncos
Week 12: 21 points vs. Bills
Week 13: 10 points at Washington Redskins
Week 14: 25 points vs. Kansas City Chiefs
It's uncanny how Sanchez has been good one week, then bad the next.

In Week 14, he was great. He finished with 181 yards passing, two passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns.

Sanchez and Jets face the Philadelphia Eagles next week and if history is any indication, he's due for a dud.

Antonio Brown, wide receiver, Pittsburgh Steelers

After Thursday night's performance against the Cleveland Browns, a lot more people know the name Antonio Brown.

Often overshadowed by Mike Wallace, Brown has emerged as the Steelers' most valuable fantasy wide receiver. If you don't believe me, look at the numbers.

Since Week 7, when Brown took over as Pittsburgh's No. 2 receiver, he has outperformed Wallace in nearly every statistical category.

In Weeks 7-14, Wallace has 39 targets, 29 catches, 422 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

During that same span, Brown has 59 targets, 37 catches, 663 receiving yards and two touchdowns.

When you convert those numbers into fantasy points, Brown has 81 points since Week 7 and Wallace has 65 points.

Detroit Lions D/ST

After four straight weeks of single-digit fantasy points, the Lions defense exploded for fantasy 24 points in standard scoring leagues in Week 14.

The Lions forced six turnovers against the Minnesota Vikings and scored two defensive touchdowns. The Lions also tallied four sacks and they did all that without Ndamukong Suh in the lineup due to suspension.

The Lions were a hot defense at the beginning of the year, with five double-digit fantasy games in the first eight weeks.

For the fantasy owners that started the Lions D/ST in Week 14, they have to be happy that their patience paid off and their Detroit defense came through at a crucial time.

Julio Jones, wide receiver, Atlanta Falcons

Jones has been one of the most frustrating fantasy players this year, mostly because of injury.

Jones has missed a significant amount of time this year with a hamstring injury, forcing him in and out of the lineup.

In Week 14, he was definitely in the lineup and rewarded the fantasy owners that started him against the Carolina Panthers.

Jones finished Sunday with three catches for 104 yards and two touchdowns. That was good enough for 22 fantasy points in standard leagues.

It's clear that Jones, when healthy, has big-play ability that will make him a star in the NFL. However, for fantasy owners, his standout performances have been too far and few between.

So far this season, Jones has 90 fantasy points. Fifty of those points came in two games, Week 14 against the Panthers (22 points) and Week 9 against the Indianapolis Colts (28 points).

Jones' next task is proving he can get ready for his next opponent on a short week. The Falcons host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday night in Week 15.

T.J. Yates, quarterback, Houston Texans (pictured)

Texans head coach Gary Kubiak gave Yates the game ball for his late-game heroics in Sunday's last-second win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

And Yates deserved it.

The rookie fifth-round pick from North Carolina rallied the Texans from 10 points down late in the fourth quarter to beat the Bengals 20-19 on six-yard touchdown pass to Kevin Walter with two seconds left.

Yates' comeback wasn't the only impressive part of his performance Sunday; he also ranked ahead of Aaron Rodgers and Cam Newton in quarterback fantasy points.

Yates finished the afternoon with 300 yards passing, two touchdowns and 36 yards rushing. It was good enough for 19 fantasy points in standard scoring leagues, compared to Newton and Rodgers who had 18 and 17, respectively.

Yates' rise to relevance has been fun to watch, and it's not over yet. The rookie will lead the AFC South champion Texans into the playoffs in January 2012.

NFL Tuesday Takeaway: What We Learned in Week 13

You know what makes the NFL great, its unpredictability.

Each week, contradiction and conventional thinking collide, giving us sport writers more than enough good stuff to write about on Tuesday.

From the superstar running back who's turned around his season to Tebowmania to a pair of rookie quarterbacks taking charge in year one, it's all covered in the Week 13 edition of the Tuesday Takeaway.  

CJ2K is OK

Don't look now, but Tennessee Titans running back Chris Johnson is relevant again.

Johnson had his best game of the season Sunday, rushing for 153 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-17 win over the Buffalo Bills.

In the last four games, Johnson has 486 rushing yards and three touchdowns, which included a 13-yard dud of a game against the Atlanta Falcons.

Prior to his recent breakout games, Johnson had rushed for a total of 366 yards in the Titans previous eight games.

Johnson needs just 148 yards to reach the 1000-yard rushing mark for the year. Johnson can make a lot of people forget about his sluggish start with a strong finish.

Tebow at ten

Tim Tebow started his tenth career game for the Denver Broncos on Sunday and he won again. Tebow has figured out how to win in the NFL, even though most of us haven't figured out have he's doing it.

Tebow is 7-3 as a starter, including 6-1 this season since taking over for Kyle Orton. Despite the continued winning, V.P. of Football Operations John Elway still isn't ready to commit to Tebow as the Broncos quarterback of the future.

Elway's non-commital approach to Tebowmania got me wondering about Elway's first ten games as a starter.

In 1983, Elway started ten games as a rookie. He was afwul.

Elway finished 4-6 as a starter that year. He threw seven touchdowns, 14 interceptions and completed just 47.5 percent of his passes. He also had one game-winning drive, something he would become known for during his career.

When you compare the two player's stats, there really is no comparison.

In ten starts, Tebow has 14 touchdown passes, six rushing touchdowns and four interceptions. And perhaps the most intriguing stat, Tebow has a higher completion percentage at 48 percent.  

I know it's only ten starts and it's a small sample size, but right now it's all we have,

Pondering Percy's big day

The Minnesota Vikings are getting Percy Harvin (pictured) the ball more often these days and it's paying off.

Harvin is coming off his best game of the year in Week 13 against the Denver Broncos. Harvin finished with eight catches for 156 yards and two touchdowns. He also had five carries for 19 yards.

I've documented Harvin's rise this season in a previous article, but it bares repeating, he's on the brink of superstardom.

In the past five games, Harvin has 32 catches for 434 yards and five touchdowns (four receiving, one rushing). In the previous seven games, Harvin had 27 receptions for 276 yards and zero touchdowns.

It's clear that Harvin and rookie quarterback Christian Ponder are clicking right now. I expect this duo to be great for many years to come for the Vikings.

Run, Cam, run

Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton broke an NFL record Sunday that stood for 35 years.

In the Panther's Week 13 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Newton ran for three touchdowns giving him 13 rushing touchdowns on the season.

Those 13 rushing touchdowns by Newton are the most rushing touchdowns in NFL history, one more than New England Patriots quarterback Steve Grogan scored in 1976.

Newton also became just the second player in NFL history to score a rushing touchdown in nine of first 12 games. The other player was hall of famer Eric Dickerson.

Newton has single-handedly turned around the Panthers offense. He's accounted for 26 touchdowns this year, which is remarkable when you consider the Panthers offense scored 16 touchdowns total last season.

A former quarterback leads Bills wide receivers

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Brad Smith was a heckuva quarterback at Missouri. Now he's a heckuva wide receiver in Buffalo.

In Week 13, Smith led all Bills players with ten targets. He made seven catches and 72 yards in a loss to the Tennessee Titans.

With all the injuries to the Bills receivers, Smith has moved into the starting line-up for Buffalo. In two games as a starter he has 17 targets, 11 catches, 149 yards and a touchdown.

The quarterback-to-wide receiver transition is not an easy thing to do. But Smith looks like he's ready to put his quarterbacking days behind him.

Green Bay Packers Stock Goes on Sale Today

The Green Bay Packers are the hottest team in the NFL at 12-0 and today you can own a piece of the franchise.

The Packers are selling stock in the franchise for $250 per share.

The team has 250,000 shares available at Packers.com and by mail. The team is hoping the stock sale helps raise a portion of the $130 million needed to cover the renovation costs of Lambeau Field.

This is just the fifth stock sale in team history. The last time the Packers held a stock sale was in 1997. That year, they put up 400,000 shares for sale for $200 apiece. The team only sold about 120,000, raising $24 million.

The Packers stock is not like a regular stock. The value never goes up and dividends aren't paid out.

The Packers have been a publicly owned team since 1923.

The stock sale runs through February 29.